Dead Days: The Complete Season Two Collection (24 page)

“Are those people okay, do you think?” Chloë asked as the pair of them moved over to a staircase. At the bottom of the stairs, Claudia could hear voices. Laughter, even. Voices and laughter that didn’t sound like they belonged to Mike, Matt or Seth.

Which meant there were more people.

“Just keep hold of my hand,” Claudia said.

Chloë obliged. Probably didn’t need telling.

When the pair of them got to the bottom of the dark staircase, Claudia stopped by the metal door. The voices were definitely coming from the other side of this door.

This could be a trap. They could be in there, waiting for Claudia and her daughter to walk inside.

They could be toying with them, all along.

It was at that point that Claudia heard a woman’s voice. A woman’s laughter.

She froze for a second. If there was a woman laughing in there, then surely that meant that perhaps these men weren’t as bad as they’d first come across. Sure‌—‌Matt and Seth seemed like a creepy duo, but Mike looked like he had put them in line. Perhaps they were safe after all. Not that Claudia was ready to trust a new group again after what had happened with Ivan at the barracks. But just perhaps…‌

Claudia lowered the handle of the metal door and pulled it open.

“You keep hold of my hand,” Claudia repeated.

Chloë’s grip tightened even harder as the door opened.

In front of Claudia, there was a hotel reception area. A huge chandelier dangled down in the middle of the room, reminding Claudia of one she’d seen at a New York hotel on a family holiday with Pete. The lobby was lit with lamps, which were connected up to a prehistoric looking generator-like machine that constantly hummed.

And in the middle of the lobby area, silenced by their arrival, six people sat around an out-of-place dining table, like you’d find in a school canteen. Three of them Claudia recognised‌—‌Mike, Matt and Seth. But there were three others, too.

And one of them was a woman. Smiling. Sat alongside the men. She didn’t look bruised. She didn’t look violated. She looked…‌‌comfortable. This place…‌‌was it possible these men weren’t what they’d first appeared?

“Welcome,” Mike said, smile wide and eyes gleaming. “Let me introduce you to everyone. We’ve got Smith here‌—‌guy with the bald patch. Keith here with the spiky hair and big nose. Karen with the…‌‌well. The tits if you don’t mind me saying.”

Karen sighed and rolled her eyes. She shook her head as she stared at Claudia and Chloë. “You’ll get used to living with a bunch of men. Just learn when to stand up to them.”

Mike laughed. “And of course you’ve already met Matt and Seth…‌”

An awkward silence. Mike’s eyes peered at Matt and Seth. The pair of them just about managed to crack a smile for a split second, raising their hand in Claudia and Chloë’s direction.

“And you ladies are?” the man called Smith asked.

Claudia was completely still. The welcome had taken her more by surprise than the capture itself. The shock of what she thought was going to happen to her was replaced with the shock of what hadn’t happened to her.

“I…‌‌Claudia. My daughter’s called Chloë.” She squeezed her daughter’s hand tighter. A little tighter couldn’t do anybody any harm.

“Claudia and Chloë,” Mike said. He was stirring something in a murky looking white cup in front of him. Claudia hoped to God they had fresh milk at this place‌—‌long life, or anything like that. Even without milk. It’d been so long since she’d tasted tea. The watered down, weak shit on the narrowboat definitely hadn’t counted.

Mike squeezed a teabag against the side of the cup‌—‌oh God he actually did have tea‌—‌then dropped it into an ash tray in the centre of the table. “Well it’s nice to meet you both. Why don’t you sit down and join us? Plenty to chat about. In your own time, of course.”

Claudia hesitated for a few seconds.

But shit. The allure of Tetley’s was just too strong.

Nobody said very much in the hour or so of sitting at the table, and of the few words that were spoken, Claudia and Chloë managed the least of them.

Claudia finished two cups of tea. She’d checked the tang just in case they were trying to knock them out, but damn‌—‌it was probably worth being knocked out for tea this good. No milk, after all, but it didn’t matter. Just enough sugar to cover up the bitterness.

“So you came in from the sea,” Smith said. He was like a little rodent, with a meek voice and searching eyes. But he seemed nice enough. Harmless enough.

Which meant that he was one to watch out for.

“Yep,” Claudia said, staring down at the table, all eyes on her and her daughter.

“How…‌‌how long were you out there?” Keith asked.

“Erm‌—‌a week. Maybe a bit longer‌—‌”

“And you came from where?” Smith asked.

“Preston. I…‌‌I was with another group and then we hit a storm and…‌‌and yeah.”

“The rest of your group didn’t make it?” Karen asked.

Claudia shook her head. She wasn’t sure, really. But the chances of surviving the storm and ending up on shore, they couldn’t be great.

“Scuse us with all our bloody questions anyway,” Keith said. “It’s just we‌—‌”

“We right to question,” Seth said. His drool had gone. His lips were shaking. His eyes were still predominantly on Chloë.

“Seth,” Mike‌—‌who had been listening and taking in what Claudia and Chloë had to say‌—‌said. “Why don’t you and Matt go find our ladies a new room? Somewhere nicer than the shit tip they woke up in.”

Seth and Matt looked at one another with a grimace, then got up and walked over towards the staircase, muttering amongst themselves.

“I’m sorry about those two,” Mike said. He held out a can of Coke to Chloë and smiled. “They…‌‌they worry. In a world full of dead, sometimes it’s the living who scare the shit out of you. Because the living have histories. They have inconsistencies. Grey areas. It’s not all good and evil, not like the creatures. That’s truly terrifying.”

Claudia nodded as Chloë accepted the can of Coke, checking for her mum’s approval. “We…‌‌we know about that too well,” Claudia said, still keeping her cards close to her chest.

“If they give you any beef just tell ‘em to bugger off,” Karen said, still half-smiling. “Given me and Shania enough crap in’t last few weeks. But they’re harmless enough, really.”

Smith grunted and looked down at the table. Claudia sensed something of a disagreement regarding the morals and motives of Seth and Matt. All she knew is that they’d taken her daughter and her, stuffed them into the back of a car, and driven them to this place as roughly as they could.

Yes, they were creepy. But they were just being safe. Understandable.

To a point.

“They won’t bother you,” Mike said, sliding his chair back and stretching out his muscular chest. “But if they do, you come to me. Zero tolerance policy, and all that. Got to stick together if we want this to work, right?”

Claudia nodded. Didn’t quite meet Mike’s eyes.

“I want to make something very clear to you Claudia. And you too, Chloë. You’re welcome to walk out of this building and try your luck out there. But I would not recommend it. Not with…‌‌like I said. There’s creatures out there, sure, but there’s people out there too. And you never know when you’re going to come across a good bunch or a bad bunch. I think we’re a pretty decent bunch if I say so myself. Do the tough stuff that has to be done, but yeah. Logical. Plus, nobody deserves to spend Christmas alone. Now what do you say to some Ben and Jerry’s?”

Chloë’s eyes lit up. Her jaw dropped. She looked at her mother with the eyes of a kid that had been eating dried food and slimy freshly caught fish for the last few weeks of her life.

“If it’s okay with Mum. Of course.”

Claudia kept tight hold of her daughter’s hand then smiled, letting out a breath.

“Course,” she said. “Of course.”

The food was good. Very good.

Chloë stuffed her face with as much Ben and Jerry’s as possible. Claudia opted for a more conservative beans on toast. She’d been craving hot food since her arrival on land, and she’d never had the sweet tooth her daughter had.

“Must be her dad who gave her that sweet tooth,” Karen said, reading her mind as she sat behind her thick rimmed glasses.

Claudia’s smiled dropped as she watched Chloë stuff her face with ice-cream.

“I…‌‌I’m sorry,” Karen said. “I didn’t mean to‌—‌”

“It’s okay,” Claudia said. “Her dad, he’s…‌‌he’s out there somewhere. Tough fella, he was. I’m sure wherever he is, he’ll be fine.”

“Why…‌‌What split you up?” Smith asked. It was just him, Karen and Mike at the table now. Keith had disappeared to check on a woman called Shania, who had apparently got sick with some kind of cold. Nothing contagious. Apparently.

“Smith,” Karen said, smacking Smith’s wrist.

Smith’s cheeks blushed. “Sorry. I just‌—‌”

“Dad was working away,” Chloë said as she licked the last of the ice-cream from her thumb. “Working down in London somewhere. Maybe he did get away. Maybe he didn’t. Least I’ve got my mum.”

Chloë’s words warmed Claudia up inside. She smiled. Chloë had grown detached in the early days‌—‌complaining about her sister, complaining everybody but herself was weak. And sure, she’d had to do some horrible things. But since the barracks, on the boat, a little bit of normality had been restored.

A little bit. She was a changed girl. But at least she was acting like a little girl again, within reason, of course.

“I’m sure he’s fine, your dad,” Karen said, grinning at Chloë and showing off her yellowing teeth.

Chloë looked back at her mum, smiled, then scraped even more melted ice cream from the bottom of the pot.

“How long have you been in this place?” Claudia asked.

Mike stood up. He really was a twitchy chap. “Best part of a week. Nicest hotel on the coast.”

“Which coast?” Claudia asked. In all of the commotion, she hadn’t even thought to ask where she was.

“Wow, you really were lost at sea, weren’t you? Morecambe. Morecambe Bay. Not the most scenic place in the world, but it does the trick.”

“Was it Preston you’re from, did you say?” Smith asked.

Claudia nodded. “Also not the most scenic place in the world but‌—‌”

“Home,” Mike cut in, overcutting Claudia’s words. “I know. I used to live down in Lancaster. You’re lucky you got to stay in Preston as long as you did. Lancaster was overrun within a day. Still no word on what caused this thing? No whisperings or rumours?”

This disappointed Claudia. She’d been hoping to ask the same question. “No, we‌—‌”

“That’s what Anna was finding out,” Chloë said, looking around the lobby at the decor.

“Anna?” Mike asked.

Claudia cleared her throat and nodded. “A…‌‌a woman from our old group. She‌—‌she was a doctor. She was looking into the possibility that a flu vaccine caused all this.”

Mike raised his eyebrows.

“A flu
vaccine
,” Smith said, fidgeting with his smudged, cheap-looking tie. “Well that’s a new one.”

Claudia paused. “How…‌‌how long have you lot been…‌‌together?”

Mike looked at Smith nervously. Karen stared at her hands, resting on the table in front of her.

“We…‌‌Some of us left another group. Others we met more recently.”

“Why did you leave the other group?” Chloë asked, growing in her annoyingly perceptive confidence. “Were they not nice people?”

Mike waited again for a few seconds. Smiled. “We had a few differences. We moved on.”

The metal door at the back of the hotel lobby opened. Claudia turned around and saw Seth standing by it. He was smiling, but not in that creepy manner he had earlier.

“Got a room sorted?” Mike asked.

“Yup,” Seth said. “Fourth floor. Room four.”

“Well,” Mike said, holding his hand out to Chloë, and then to Claudia. “Again, I’m sorry about how you wound up here. But we can’t be too careful. Now we’ve had a little chat, I think we’re all comfortable with you staying. So room four on the fourth floor is yours as long as you want it. Might have to go on a few supply runs into town every now and then, so‌—‌”

“I love supply runs,” Chloë said, her face lighting up. “I missed them on the boat.”

Mike laughed and paused. He scruffed Chloë’s greasy hair. “She really is something, isn’t she?”

Claudia smiled.
You have no idea
, she wanted to say.

She took hold of her daughter’s hand again. The pair of them walked over to the metal door, which Seth propped open like the most unappealing doorman in the world, and then walked towards the staircase.

“There’s showers in all the fourth floor rooms. The water’s cold, but it’s as clean as it gets.”

The thought of washing in something other than the grimy saltwater of the boat was a treat in itself, it didn’t matter how cold it might be.

“You two rest up,” Mike said as they walked past Seth and into the darkness of the stairway. “If you want to talk, I’m on the third floor in room eight.”

“And I’m on your floor, room sixteen,” Karen called.

Smith and Seth didn’t volunteer their room numbers.

“Thanks,” Claudia said. She figured she could do with some actual rest on a proper bed. Made a nice change from the floor of the boat, or more recently, the cold rocks on the beach.

The pair of them walked up the stairs to the fourth floor, hand in hand.

“What do you think?” Claudia asked her daughter. She figured her daughter could pick up on stuff that adults couldn’t. Different age, different perspective, all that.

“I like them,” Chloë said. “Not the man with the spit on his face though. Or the other. I don’t like them.”

Claudia pushed open the door to the fourth floor. “I can second that,” she said.

“Mum, what’s ‘second that’ mean…‌?”

Claudia didn’t answer. Her stomach tensed. Because right in front of Chloë and her room, the dead-eyed bastard called Matt was standing there, keys on the end of his finger.

He didn’t look like room service.

Claudia gripped her daughter’s hand and walked down the clean, bright corridor towards Matt. She smiled at him as well as she could. As well as anybody could smile at somebody who’d held them captive. But shit‌—‌they’d held Riley and Ted captive when they’d first got to the Chinese Restaurant back in Barton. Was this any different, really?