Winter Smith (Book 1): London's Burning (30 page)

              “I want to go back to the leisure centre,” Winter said.

              Violet clicked her tongue.

              “I’ve already told you, Winter, we are not going back there.”

              The sound of rain falling outside became audible to them downstairs in the dusty café.

              “No, I think we do have to go back,” Zach said.

              “Why?” Violet asked. Her tone was becoming nasty, and her expression would make even the strongest man flinch. Zach looked scared, but from a look from Winter he spoke again.

              “Because they told us that area has become high risk, and that it is heavily guarded by government workers like themselves…when we were there, it wasn’t that much of a high risk. It had rumours and a reputation, but judging by all those boarded up houses people were pretty safe or weren’t there at all.”

              “I can live without knowing that.”

              “So you think they’re lying?”

              “Not lying as such…” Zach said. “But I think there’s something in that leisure centre we need to work out.”

              “Don’t be so ridiculous,” Violet said.

              “There were people hiding inside there,” Winter said. “We have to find them.”

              “Why? What could we possibly achieve from finding people?” Winter could sense calm before the storm.

              “We might not achieve anything,” Zach said. “But I have a feeling those people there, if they are alive and well, will know a lot more than we know.”

              “Zach, there is nothing
to
know.” Violet sighed. “We know that zombies are everywhere, and we know that the odds of us getting out of London are slim.”

              “We might go there and find nothing. The people may be dead, or there may be no one there at all. But at least we looked. We can’t just give up. We have to find our own way out of here, and we have to leave London by the end of next week at the latest,” Winter said.

              “Have you got any plans, Winter?” Violet asked. “Do you have any more of an idea than me or Zach on how we are getting out of this city alive?”

              A clap of rolling thunder echoed outside. A few people screamed.

              Winter’s eyes travelled back to Donna, who lay in a pool of her own blood. She realised just how fragile human life was. One bullet had taken away everything Donna had lived for in a second. She had worked hard to get her job; possibly she had her own stories of drama and trauma that Winter would never know. All of her life had built up over the years, put together to form something good, but death was instant. It could knock it all down with one, light touch.

              “Look, I think we should go to the leisure centre, and if there is nothing there we start leaving for the Thames,” Zach said.

              Violet sighed. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. She ran a hand through her hair and rubbed the patch on her arm where her bloods had been taken.

              “Fine.”

              “We’re going?” Winter asked just as another clap of thunder echoed around them.

              “Yes, we’re going. But if there is nothing there, we leave immediately.”

              “Deal,” Zach said.

              Violet glared at him before making her way back upstairs, stepping over Liz’s body. Zach watched her leave before leaning towards Winter.

              “There are going to be guards there. We’ll have to sneak in past them.”

              Winter looked at Donna and Liz.

              “I think we can do that.”

* * *

              “You want us to do what?” Violet asked, staring at Winter like she was an idiot.

              “Me and you put these on, Zach stumbles in hurt and looking for refuge,” Winter said.

              She was holding the uniforms that Donna and Liz had worn. They were stained with their blood, but Zach had insisted the stains would be covered over by the night and by jackets he had found in one of the boxes.

              “But what if you can’t get in, Zach?” Violet asked.

              “We’ve discussed this.” Zach spoke. “I’m going to come into the area looking hurt. I’ll ask for a place to stay, or I’ll say I’m passing through. I’ll turn towards the leisure centre and meet you there.”

              “These government suits aren’t going to work. None of this is going to work.” Violet shook her head. “Who thought of this?”

              “It was my idea, seeing as you didn’t come up with one yourself,” Winter said.

              Violet just stared at her. Winter felt her heart beating. The storm outside had gotten worse as the hours went on. The sky was black with swirling clouds, which lit up every couple of minutes with lightning. Rain poured down and bounced off stone floors and metal car roofs.

              “They’re going to know we don’t work for the government,” Violet said.

              “If they see us,” Winter replied.

              When the sky was the darkest it would be, they packed up their bags and their items and left the refuge of the café, which never saw a day of business.

              They walked down the wooden steps, listening to the rain outside. It beat heavily off the building, drowning out any noise outside. They knew their area was being guarded and watched after the events of this morning. They had heard someone say that this place was deemed a high-risk area. Winter had decided that because of this it was time to move on.

              Winter passed Liz first, who they had left at the bottom of the stairs. She felt pity that such a young, polite girl had died with a cruel fate.

              “I still think we should hide them,” Zach said.

              “They’re going to be found wherever we put them,” Violet said. “We just have to be long gone before it happens.”

              “I’ve already angered the government enough with what David Herald wrote about me,” Winter said. “If they find out we’re responsible for killing two of their people, we’ll never get out of London.”

              Zach passed Donna without looking at her and pulled back the tack of wood that allowed them to exit. He peered out into the dark street, looking up and down. The sound of the rain increased. Winter was not looking forward to going outside.

              “There’s no one there. Come on, if we go left we can go the back way to the leisure centre.”

              “Is that safer?”

              “Dunno.”

              Violet was first to leave. Winter climbed out behind her to see her already half way down the street. Winter waited for Zach before they hurried to catch up with her.

              “If we get caught, I will never forgive you two,” Violet said.

              They strode down dark pathways, wet with rain. Winter was gripping onto the trousers she was wearing. She was thinner than Violet, but had been given Donna’s clothes, who was short and plump. Neither girls fit into the clothes, but Winter thought Violet looked a lot more believable. Winter felt like she was young again, trying on her mother’s clothes.

              Zach signalled for them to stop. They hid behind a car that looked like it hadn’t been used for weeks. The tyres were flat and Winter thought it looked slightly neglected. Zach peered over the roof of the car, at the street and the leisure centre, which was in plain view.

              “Are we going to go or what?” Violet whispered as a clap of thunder sounded from the clouds. Rain was pouring down on them and Winter was freezing. “We can’t just wait outside. It’ll be pneumonia that catches us, not the zombies.”

              Rain bounced off the car roof, distorting their reflections. Winter thought she heard something behind them but when she looked she couldn’t see anything.

              “Oh my god, look!” Violet gasped.

              She pointed to a top window in the leisure centre. Winter wouldn’t have noticed it if Violet hadn’t pointed it out. It was small and square, with thick blue glass that was hard to see through. Yet Winter was sure she could see a light flickering inside and a shadow moving.

              “There’s someone inside,” Violet said, lifting her gun. Zach gripped her arm.

              “Remember, that place was full of zombies last night,” he said. “That could be a zombie we’re looking at.”

              Winter didn’t think it was. The moves were too calculated, too timid. She had had a feeling that there were people locked inside, and if there were she would help get them out.

              Zach led them around the car. At the bonnet he stopped. Winter thought he was looking at the car boot, which was dented and open as if it had been prized open using a crowbar. She saw two boxes at the back, but other than those the boot was empty.

              “So this place really is guarded then.”

              Winter followed the stares of Violet and Zach, and saw two government cars parked in the street, cast in an orange glow of dim light. Government workers dressed in the same clothes as Winter and Violet were strolling up and down the street, holding guns that looked intimidating. Winter saw no signs of a zombie outbreak here. She wondered if the zombies had even left the leisure centre at all.

              “I think we can get to the back of the centre without being seen,” Zach whispered. “I don’t think I’ll have to pretend to be someone passing through.”

              “I don’t think you’d survive if you were just passing through,” Violet said. “They’d probably shoot you dead.”

              “They’re the government; they’re not going to do that.”

              “Let’s just move,” Winter urged. “I’m soaking wet and I’m cold. My hands are going numb, and if I need them to shoot at anything they’re not going to work and then we’ll be screwed.”

              “Good argument,” Violet commented.

              They stayed low, crouched over as they walked across gravely stone floor. Their footsteps crunched over the ground, but it was covered over by the pouring rain and the thunder claps above. Whenever the flash of lightning came, they would duck down to the floor; afraid they would be illuminated and spotted by the patrolling government workers.

              Winter thought they were doing nothing wrong. Suddenly, the plan they had seemed too complicated. It was all too over the top. They could have simply travelled past, pretended they didn’t know this place was guarded, promised to go on their way, before sneaking into the leisure centre once more.

              They got to the back of the centre, the door they had sneaked through last night in view. It looked the same as ever. Winter couldn’t see any zombies yet. The inside was dark.

              “Someone turned off the light,” Zach whispered.

              They had left so quickly the night before they hadn’t turned off the light they had put on. Surely, if the place had remained untouched, it would still be on now?

              “That’s worrying,” Violet said. “Maybe the government know people have been sneaking in. Maybe this place is being watched right now.”

              “I think we would have been stopped getting this close if this was being watched,” Zach said.

              Winter led the way across the mushy, dirty ground and entered the poolroom. It was cold and eerily silent. Winter didn’t like that it was dark. She could see barely anything.

              “Turn on the light,” Violet whispered.

              “No,” Zach said. “If the light comes on again we’ll definitely be caught.”

              “How are we going to get to the rest of the building?” Winter asked. “That door in the changing room was locked remember?”

              Winter heard Zach walking by the crunch of glass under his feet. She could hear clothes rustling and as her eyes focused in the dark she could see Violet taking off the government clothes.

              “What are you doing?” She whispered.

              “Throwing these away.”

              Violet scrunched the clothes up, stained with Liz’s blood, and dropped them in the water where they sunk after a few moments. Winter did the same, finally glad to be rid of the government clothing and the smell of Donna’s blood.

              “Do you realise how dangerous that was?” She whispered. “We walked through streets smelling of blood. We were basically targets.”

              “Nothing came for us,” Violet said.

              “Shh,” Zach hissed.

              They listened. Over the sounds of disturbed water, they could hear footsteps on stone ground outside.

              Winter was frozen to the spot. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do. The footsteps were getting closer, accompanied by two male hushed voices. Just then, the sound of glass smashing, shattering, falling to the floor made Winter move.

              She had no idea what had happened. She thought someone or something had gotten in. Violet had gripped her hand and was pulling her towards the seating stands. Winter was pulled up onto a tiled bench, and she realised the glass that separated the seating area from the pool had been shot down. Zach had already climbed over, and was climbing the steps towards the door. Winter put her hand on the floor to hoist herself up and jumped back as shards of glass cut her palms. She had no time to waste. She could hear the footsteps outside running. Whoever it was would be inside in no time.