Safe Haven - Ice: Book 4 of the Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Horror series Read online

  SAFE HAVEN: ICE

  CHRISTOPHER

  ARTINIAN

  DEDICATION

  To Humphrey: The funniest, cheekiest, maddest bastard I’ve ever shared my life with. His body is gone, but his spirit will always be with me. Love you boy!

  Headless RAM Publishing

  ©Copyright Christopher Artinian 2018

  Chapter One

  Mike stood in the doorway for a moment looking at the small, frail figure lying in bed. He cast his gaze out to the grey clouds in the distance, and suddenly a familiar feeling crept over him. He turned and ran down the stairs, jumping the last five, hitting the hallway floorboards with a heavy thud.

  “We’ve got to do something!” he said bursting though the kitchen doorway. “It’s the flu, for fuck’s sake, people don’t die of the flu.”

  “Mike, they do. Flu is a virus, but it can lead to bacterial infections. Without running proper tests, I can’t tell you what exactly, but there’s a whole load. Hell, Streptococcus Pneumoniae has about ninety different variants alone. The flu that’s hit us is the worst I’ve seen. It’s a variant that is more potent, more virulent than any I’ve read about, and for Sammy, it’s gone further,” said Lucy.

  “I need to do something,” said Mike.

  Lucy looked up from the mint leaves she was carefully slicing in order to make some tea. She hoped Sammy might be able to take a sip or two in between bouts of delirium and sleep. If nothing else, it may help clear her airwaves a little. “Mike, sweetie, without the right antibiotics we can’t do anything else,” said Lucy as she reached out and closed her hand around his.

  “Then we get the right antibiotics,” replied Mike.

  “Mikey, we’ve exhausted everywhere within eighty miles.”

  “Then we go further,” he replied.

  A short time later, the pair of them were back upstairs. A mug of steaming mint tea sat on the bedside table, and they stood watching Sammy. Lucy clenched Mike’s hand tighter. Sammy, Mike’s younger sister, had sweat pouring down her forehead, but at the same time was shivering under the covers. She was barely conscious, her eyes were fluttering as the fever consumed more of her with each passing second. Mike and Lucy raised their heads as they heard cries from the other room.

  Mike closed his eyes tight. The winter had been harsh. It had taken twenty citizens of Safe Haven. Now, it threatened to take his own flesh and blood.

  “Babe,” said Lucy, “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. We’ve used up everything we’ve found. Most of the pharmacies were robbed before we even got to them. We need strong stuff at this stage. We need something like Levofloxacin or even stronger. The chances of us finding that aren’t great.”

  “I won’t give up on her. I’ll never give up on her,” said Mike.

  “I wouldn’t want you to. Sammy’s like you. She’s strong. She’ll fight. That’s what we want her to do, fight.”

  “You sound like any other fucking quack right now. You honestly think I won’t tear every village, every town apart to find this stuff?”

  “Stop! Please, stop this,” said Lucy putting her hand to her forehead.

  “I won’t let her go. I won’t allow it!”

  “Mike, you can’t control everything. But knowing that isn’t going to stop you, is it?” She paused and looked to the snow laden sky. “You’re heading out again in this, aren’t you?” said Lucy. “It’s dangerous and irresponsible. People look to you for strength and leadership. Your family needs you right now.”

  Mike stared at Sammy. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her, but it was his only choice. They had raided every surgery, every pharmacy since the flu outbreak started a few weeks earlier. Lucy knew that with outbreaks of flu often came a host of infections that needed antibiotics to clear them up, and she wanted to be prepared. Now though, the stocks had run dry and there was just one option left.

  “The longer I stand here, the worse it gets for her,” he said.

  Lucy didn’t say anything. In her heart, she believed it was eighty-twenty that Sammy would not pull through. She hated lying to Mike, but she knew he would never forgive himself if he ran off on a fool’s errand, and missed the last hours of his little sister’s life, however horrible they would be to witness. “I can’t stop you,” she said, “but I’m telling you now, I think it’s a mistake.”

  “I’m going too,” said Emma, Mike’s older sister, who was standing in the doorway.

  Lucy looked up. “Emma…”

  “We need to try, Lucy!” said Emma interrupting her in an emotional outburst. The two of them had become like sisters over the last few months. The treacherous journey from Leeds across a wasteland filled with reanimated corpses, RAMs, hell-bent on adding to their ranks, had bonded them more than blood or name. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, Emma would have sided with Lucy as she tried to talk Mike out of some ‘Hail Mary’ play, but right now, she was in Mike’s camp. She knew, the chances of success were slim. She also knew she couldn’t just sit around and watch it happen.

  “Right then,” said Mike, “let’s get a move on.”

  “If you’re going, I’m going,” said Lucy.

  “Not a chance,” he replied.

  “Mike. You don’t tell me what I can or can’t do,” she said.

  “Luce,” he said, taking hold of her upper arms. “You’re the only one who can give me the time I need. You’re the only qualified doctor we have. It would be mental for you to head out.”

  “Look at those clouds, Mike,” she said, “It’s mental for anyone to head out. They don’t have snow ploughs and grit trucks clearing the roads anymore.”

  “We’ll take the Land Rover,” he replied.

  “I’ll start getting ready,” said Emma, as she disappeared down the hall.

  Lucy turned from Mike, taking a step towards the window. Her eyes misted over as she looked out towards the wintry clouds. “One of these days, you’re not going to come back.”

  Mike moved close behind her and wrapped his arms around Lucy’s stomach. “I have to do this.”

  “I know,” she said, placing her hands over his.

  “I won’t take any risks,” said Mike.

  “We both know that’s a lie straight off the bat,” she said.

  Mike released his arms from her stomach and turned her around to face him. He took Lucy’s face in his hands and brought her lips to meet his. Their kiss lasted some time, but they both wished it could go on forever. “I love you,” whispered Mike.

  “I know,” she replied. “I love you too.”

  He looked back towards the bed. “I know you’re trying to protect me, Luce. How long does she have if we don’t find this Levo… stuff?”

  “Hard to say...a day...two. I really don’t know,” replied Lucy. “Mike. You do realise that there are no guarantees? Even if you get this stuff, it might be too late for her.”

  “She’s my blood. She’ll keep fighting.”

  “I know.”

  When Emma walked into the kitchen, Sarah, her partner, was sitting at the table sobbing. Emma went to sit beside her and placed a loving arm around her shoulders. She leaned in and kissed the side of her face. “It’s okay, we’re going to get what we need to fight this thing,” said Emma.

  Sarah blotted her tears away with the ball of her palm. She sniffed loudly. Her crying wasn’t just for Sammy, she had lost one of the pupils from her school for the deaf two weeks earlier, and now another had gone down with the flu. “What do you mean?” she asked sniffing back more tears.

  “Mike
and I are going out. We’re going to get what we need to treat Sammy...”

  “No!” said Sarah. “You can’t. Look at the clouds. You’ll get trapped out there.”

  “This is my sister. I need to do this. Mike and I need to do this,” replied Emma.

  “Em. Love. You know she’s…”

  “Don’t!” replied Emma. “Just don’t.”

  “I won’t lose you too,” said Sarah, standing up.

  “You won’t lose me,” she replied. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

  “I want to come with you,” said Sarah.

  Emma looked deeply into Sarah’s eyes and kissed her. “No. You’re needed here.”

  “No I’m not. I want to be with you.”

  Part of Emma was happy and proud, part of her remembered back to their last battle. Sarah had been weak, a worrier. If push came to shove, she would fight, but by then it might be too late. “You should stay here. You’re needed here.”

  “You don’t want me to come?”

  “Sarah,” said Mike from the doorway, “we need you here. My sister is fighting for her life. Em and me are going to get her the meds she needs. I’ve got Lucy with her upstairs, but she can’t be here twenty-four-seven. We need to know when she’s not here that there is another member of our family here with her. You’re the only one.”

  “Erm...okay. I erm…” said Sarah, on the verge of becoming emotional again.

  Mike turned and left. Emma squeezed Sarah tight. “Love you.”

  “I love you too,” replied Sarah.

  Barely a moment passed and Mike returned, placing a heavy holdall down on the table with a clatter. The zipper fell open, revealing an array of hand to hand combat weapons as well as four pump action shotguns and several Glock Seventeen handguns. The rucksack he had carried with him from Leeds was already around his shoulder. Protruding from the back of it were two criss-crossed handles belonging to hand crafted machetes. Those weapons had saved him and his family countless times, now they were going back to work.

  There was plenty more inside the rucksack, but Mike proceeded to take one of the Glock Seventeens, a spare magazine, and one of the shotguns as well as a handful of spare shells. He placed them carefully into his backpack and nodded towards the holdall on the table for Emma to select her weapons.

  A few months earlier, Emma had been a timid girl, terrified of this new world. Now she had changed, almost beyond recognition. Circumstance and necessity had delivered her from her past. She still did not possess the same cavalier attitude to danger or recklessness that her brother did, but nonetheless, she had become a fierce and intelligent fighter. She made the same selection as her brother, but dipped back in to pick out a crowbar and hatchet, in case she got into a situation where she had to fight hand to hand. She also removed a hunting knife and sheath. She undid her belt and looped it through the hole.

  “Okay, ready!” she said.

  “Right, let’s get going. Every second counts,” said Mike.

  Lucy entered the kitchen just as Mike turned. She placed a hand on his chest, and he stopped in mid stride. “Be careful,” she said, before giving him one last kiss.

  Mike smiled. “Course I will, careful’s my middle name, you know that,” he said, before heading into the hallway, picking the car keys off the telephone table, and walking out into the cold, grey morning.

  Lucy looked at Emma. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep him under control,” said Emma.

  “Oh yeah, that always works. Listen, I don’t think you should head out alone. Mike wouldn’t listen, but I’m sure Hughes would go with you if you asked him,” said Lucy.

  “That would be good, taking one of the soldiers,” said Sarah.

  “I’ll talk to him,” said Emma, as the car horn beeped twice. “Subtle isn’t he?”

  “Be careful,” said Sarah, giving Emma one last kiss.

  “Look after him for me,” said Lucy, handing Emma the small sheet of paper with the name of the meds on that could help. “Take care,” she said, giving her a kiss and a hug.

  “I promise. Please do what you can for Sammy. We’ll do our best. If that stuff’s out there, we’ll find it.”

  “I know you will.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  The Land Rover sped through the picturesque Highland scenery. It didn’t slow for the small villages on the way. Mike had been to every single one of them in the past few months. All living residents were long gone. They had either turned or were now members of the Safe Haven community. All useful resources had been procured for Safe Haven. Everything from gardening equipment and fuel, to polytunnels and solid fuel stoves had been relocated to make Safe Haven a functioning and thriving community. Their one big downfall had been medicine.

  They had found bulk supplies of all sorts of painkillers, anti-inflammatories, antiseptic creams, and a whole host of other over-the-counter meds, but the more specialised ones were a problem. The strong antibiotics that Lucy had managed to bring with her from Leeds had been used some time since, and they hadn’t been able to find any in the pharmacies or Doctor’s surgeries. Mike blamed himself. He should have planned further ahead. He should have seen this coming, and now it affected him directly. He had put not just his people, but his family at risk.

  “Can you please slow down?” asked Emma, sinking her nails into the car seat.

  Mike looked across at her. “You do understand what we’re doing? You do understand the sooner we find this stuff, the better chance Sammy has?”

  “Of course I do, we’re just not going to be able to help Sammy if we’re at the bottom of a ravine, dead.”

  Mike ignored her comment and continued along at the same speed. Emma looked out of her window. The grey day cast a wintry darkness over the woodlands. It gave her a sense of doom, of foreboding. Mike had made trips like this dozens of times. He had become blasé about it, but she felt this was different, she felt there was something he was not telling her.

  “Oh shit!” he said, and Emma turned to look at him.

  “What is it?” Mike’s eyes were staring dead ahead. Emma looked through the windscreen. At first she had no idea what could possibly have rattled him, but then she saw it. A single snowflake drifted, then splattered on the glass. “Oh shit!”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  “Oh shit!” said Hughes.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Lucy.

  “This is why they didn’t come for me.”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked.

  Hughes was Mike’s closest friend. He was one of the soldiers they had travelled with from Candleton in Yorkshire. Hughes and Mike had hit it off from day one and bonded quickly. But as much as Hughes cared for Mike, he knew there was a dangerous unpredictability about him. “The last scavenging mission we went on for meds… Mike said then, the next one would have to be to Inverness. I told him he was crazy, that the small village medical practices were our safest option, but he just went quiet. You know the way he goes when he doesn’t want to listen to what you’re saying?”

  “Oh shit!” said Lucy. “He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t take such a risk.”

  “Lucy, this is Mike we’re talking about, and his little sister is dying,” said Hughes.

  “But he’s taken Emma,” said Sarah. “He’s a lot of things, but he wouldn’t put Emma’s life at risk.”

  Hughes combed his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “I’ll get a group together, we’ll go after them,” he said.

  “There’s no way he’ll come back without what he’s looking for,” said Lucy.

  “I know...I know. The least I can do is give him some back-up, the bloody idiot. How’s Sammy doing?”

  “Raj and Talikha are up there at the moment. We’re using every known natural remedy we can think of. We’re keeping her warm. We have bowls of steaming water to help her breathe. When she can, she’s sipping ginger and honey, or mint tea; I’m giving her paracetamol, but she hasn’t really been conscious for some time now. I can make her as comfo
rtable as I can, but without those antibiotics, the prognosis isn’t great.”

  “Can I go up and see her?” asked Hughes.

  “Of course you can, I’m just down here boiling another pan for Jake’s hot water bottle, then I’m heading back up myself,” said Lucy.

  “How’s he doing?” asked Hughes.

  “Better than Sammy, but this is a bad strain of flu.”

  Hughes looked into Lucy’s tired eyes. He knew she had hardly slept these last few weeks since the first cases of flu broke. He knew she would be worried sick about Mike and Emma, and he knew she was doing her best, but every time a citizen of Safe Haven died, she took it personally, as if she was responsible. It was a massive burden to carry. He hugged her, “It’s alright love, I’ll bring him back to you safe and sound.” He pulled away, and she kissed him on the cheek.

  “Thank you,” she said with the start of a smile.

  Hughes left the kitchen and headed up the stairs. As he reached the landing, he heard thundering feet, and within a second, Humphrey, Raj and Talikha’s Labrador Retriever came bounding towards him with a familiar wild look in his eyes and a tail that wagged powerfully, destroying anything delicate it came into contact with. “Eh up! boy,” said Hughes, crouching down and giving the dog a ruffle around his neck and ears, for which he received a wet lick across the face. Hughes spluttered and laughed, Humphrey always managed to put a smile on the soldier’s face. He got back to his feet and passed Jake’s room. The boy was asleep. That was good, rest was important. He went along to the next room and as he walked in Raj and Talikha stood.

  Raj had been a vet down in Candleton and was one of the most well-educated people Hughes had ever met. He was also a good man, honourable and loyal. He had been a great friend to Mike and his family. Talikha, his wife, was beautiful, quiet, but able to turn her hand to anything. She had been the veterinary nurse at Raj’s practice, but in recent times, the two of them had spent most of their days assisting Lucy and helping to establish trading partners with communities on some of the Scottish islands that had remained free of the reanimation virus.