Isolation: Stories from the World of the Undead by Moody David

Author:Moody, David [Moody, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Zombie Apocalypse
Published: 2021-11-24T00:00:00+00:00

DAY FIVE

When Anna wakes up this morning, she sees that Keith’s on his way out the door. She panics and sits up fast. ‘You leaving me?’

‘Where did that come from?’

‘Dunno,’ she says, feeling foolish. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing’s wrong.’

‘Then where you goin’?’

‘To fetch some water.’

He leaves the bungalow, carrying a number of pots and pans they took from the house yesterday.

Keith’s starting to think they might be all right here, as long as he can keep Anna under control. And he will. He knows he will. He’ll make her behave if he has to.

The more he thinks about it, the better he’s starting to feel about this place. It’ll definitely do for now. He’s realised that making quick scavenging trips out to other houses nearby like they did yesterday might be enough to keep them stocked and supplied here for a while longer, at least until things calm down and the dead stop being such a damn nuisance. He reckons they will, eventually. And as long as they remain invisible to the bulk of the dead population until then, they should be okay. There’s only two of them. How much stuff will they really need to stay alive? Enough food and water, fresh clothes, a supply of decent books... for the first time since everything fell apart, Keith realises he’s actually starting to think slightly longer term.

He collects as much water as he can carry from the stream, then turns back towards the bungalow. In the short time he’s been outside, grey light has begun to seep reluctantly across the scene, brightened by the merest hint of autumnal morning sun on the horizon. It’s good to be out in the open again. He thinks back to this time last week and remembers where he was: queuing for the bus in the rain, heading for work but already knackered after sorting Dad out first thing.

The only visible movement comes from the bodies still gathered around the entrance to the park. They remind him of crowds being held back by security, waiting to be let into a concert arena or the January sales. They’re a damn nuisance, he knows that much. Imagine how much easier life would be if they didn’t have the dead to worry about? Everything would be completely different if it was just him and Anna. He longs for a time when his first thought every morning is what do I want to do today? Not what do I have to do?

He can see the body Anna dealt with on that first afternoon when they were out collecting wood. Christ, he was such an idiot back then, absolutely bloody useless. From here the corpse looks like it’s being absorbed back into the landscape. Its feet stick up like mounds of weeds. A stiff arm twists up like a fleshy sapling. And, for the first time, rather than think thank Christ Anna did that, Keith now thinks I’ve done that too, and I’ll do it again if I have to, as many times as necessary.

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