Aftermath

25

“Drink?”

Jackson ushered the new arrivals into the caravan he shared with Howard and Bob, then carried on through into one of the bedrooms. Jas, the last one in, pulled the door closed behind him, shutting everyone else out. Jackson returned carrying bottles of water, Coke, and beer. He gestured for everyone to sit. They squeezed onto a cluttered U-shaped sofa at the end of the caravan, having to move various piles of belongings out of the way to find enough space.

“Decent setup you have here,” Richard said.

“We shouldn’t complain,” Jackson replied, “though Christ alone knows we do. We’re all fortunate just to be alive. The fact we found this spot is a real bonus.”

“Wise move, setting yourself up in a castle,” Cooper said.

“You’re not wrong,” Jackson agreed. “Think about it logically—places like this have already been standing for hundreds of years. They’ve survived wars and who knows what else. A few thousand dead bodies was never going to be that much of a threat to them.”

“Well, it’s thanks to Harte here that we found you,” Cooper said, deliberately involving Harte and giving him credit to try and deflect any bad feelings the others might be harboring against him.

“I just did what anybody else would have done,” Harte said, sounding less than confident. Would everybody else really have faked their own death for an easy life? he wondered. Jackson just nodded and grinned. He looked genuinely pleased to see him.

“So you’re all getting by here?” Cooper asked.

“We’re doing okay,” Jas said, sitting opposite. “Things will get a lot easier when we’ve seen the last of the dead.”

“I don’t think you’ll have long to wait,” Donna said. “From what we saw in the air just now, there’s not a lot of activity out there.”

“Any activity is too much activity,” Jas replied, sounding surprisingly forceful. “We’ve lasted here until now without any problems. Another couple of months and maybe we’ll look at moving on.”

“Why wait?” Cooper asked. “Seriously, from what we’ve seen since we’ve been back on the mainland, things aren’t as bad out there as you probably think.”

“What do you mean, since you’ve been back on the mainland?” Jackson asked. “Where the hell did you come from to get here?”

“They’re from an island,” Harte said enthusiastically, answering for the others.

“An island?” Jackson repeated in disbelief.

“And you haven’t heard the best of it,” Harte continued. “There are no bodies there. They cleared them all out.”

“It’s a lot easier to do in such a small and concentrated area,” Cooper explained. “It’s nothing like the situation you’ve had here.”

“The dead are less of a problem than they used to be,” Jackson said.

“But they are still a problem,” Jas quickly added. “I’m sure Harte’s told you about the day he left us. Those things were frozen solid when we set out. By the time we were ready to head back, they were all over us.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Harte said. “And you forget, Jas, I’ve been out there since then. They’re becoming less and less of a threat eaay.”

“They were all over us,” Jas repeated, laboring the point. “And I for one am not going out there again until every last one of those fuckers has rolled over and given up the ghost for good.”

“So you’ve not been out again since that day?”

“We brought enough stuff back with us. There was no need to go out again. And if we’re sensible, we can make what we’ve got left last until the dead are finished.”

“Seriously,” Cooper said, “you might want to reconsider your strategy. There were still bodies walking around Chadwick yesterday and today. We just walked past them. Seriously, you can outrun them now without even having to run. The threat is over.”

“Then why don’t you go up to the gatehouse and watch them on the road and on the bridge? They’re still coming, friend, and they won’t stop until they’re physically unable to move. We’re still surrounded here. The threat is far from over.”

Richard sensed a sudden tension in the air and changed tack to try and diffuse it.

“Harte says you’ve got about twenty people here.”

“That’s right,” Jackson answered. “What about you? How many of you are on this island of yours?”

“Over fifty, including the five of us.”

“Five of you?”

“We left a couple of men back at the port. Apart from the lack of seats in the helicopter, we didn’t want to risk bringing Michael over here until we’d checked the place out, no offense.”

“None taken. But why? What’s different about this Michael chap?”

“He’s going to be a dad.”

The caravan fell silent. Jackson, taken by surprise, wasn’t sure what to say.

“How…?”

“Jesus, how d’you think?” Donna mumbled.

“I mean, was it before everyone died or…?”

“After,” she answered. “Emma and Michael got together after it had happened.”

“Bloody hell.”

“It’s not that incredible,” Richard said. “Women used to have kids all the time.”

“I know that, but since the world fell apart … I don’t know what I’m trying to say. An hour ago it felt like everything was coming to an end, then you turn up here out of the blue in your bloody helicopter, telling us about your island where there are no dead bodes, and then that you’ve got a woman who’s pregnant and … and it’s like you’ve come here from another world. Truly amazing.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Jas said.

“Well, I would. It sounds like these folks have achieved a huge amount. There’s a lot we could learn from them.”

“With the greatest respect,” Jas interrupted, looking at each of the new arrivals before turning toward Jackson, “we don’t have anything to learn from anyone. All this lot is doing is what we used to do, and it’s what we’ll do again once the bodies are gone and we’re out of here.”

“No one has to learn anything from anyone,” Donna said. “You make it sound like we’re from different tribes. We might be all that’s left, and that’s the main reason we came back here with Harte. We think it makes sense for us all to group together. We think you should all come over to the island.”

“I’m not sure…” Jas began to say before Jackson spoke over him.

“Makes sense, providing we can all get there.”

“We’ve got a couple of boats ready in Chadwick,” Cooper explained. “That’s one of the reasons we came back, to get some alternative transport and take the pressure off Richard here.”

“Sounds good.”

“Just wait,” Jas said, his voice louder and more forceful this time. “You can’t make a blanket decision on behalf of all the people here, not without consulting them and not without thinking it through. There might be some who don’t want to go to an island. Not sure I do, if I’m honest. It sounds a little risky to me, a little cut off and exposed.”

“It’s not perfect,” Cooper admitted, “but I’ve yet to find a better place. As good as this castle looks to have been for you all, I think the island is better. You’ve still not got your freedom here.”

“Doesn’t matter if we’re surrounded by sea of dead flesh or by the ocean itself, sounds to me like we’re all still prisoners.”

“Jas is right about one thing,” Jackson said. “I was wrong to assume. Everyone has the right to make their own choices. We’ll get everybody together and give them the options. We’re talking about decisions which will affect the rest of everybody’s lives.”