The Walk - Part Four.

(Warning Contains strong language and graphic violence.)


The Walk

4 – Kids.

It was a new experience having a a ten year old boy point a double-barrel shotgun at my face. To be honest, I’ve never been threatened with a shotgun, but im sure having some greasy pubescent youth pointing one at me now made it a little more edgy. The little shit was loving it too, a big smug grin laden his mucky chops. I could see the end of the gun shaking, but I could tell that was from the adrenaline of the situation and not from fear. This kid had me and I knew if I made a move for my piece, it wouldn’t end well for me. The kid stood there, his eyes bulging with excitement like when he opened the door he had in fact just opened his birthday and Christmas presents all at once.

“look kid” I stuttered raising my hands to protect my face like that would help in anyway.

“Don’t call me kid!” he snapped. “you one of them?”

I found his question a little strange, but put it down to probably not having any experience with the ghouls. I didn’t want to get my head blown off, so I lied.

“No ki-, sorry. No”

The kid dropped his aim down to my chest. Probably from the weight of the heavy gun rather than trust. His eyes were still wild and wide.

“Look, I’m passing through” I said “please, I’m not going to hurt you”

“You make that explosion?” he asked.

“Yeah, took a lot of them out, but I think some are following me.” I said still watching the barrel and not his eyes.

“You brought them here?”

“no, no, please could I come inside”

The boy pondered my question.

“My mum says I shouldn’t let strangers in the house”

I was starting to panic now.

“Your mum sounds like a smart lady. Where is she now?”.

The boy raised his barrel back to my face.

“She is upstairs, with my dad.”

“Could you get them, so I could talk to them?”

“No.” A glaze came over his eyes, but his face gurned with anger.

What was I doing? Why was I hanging around? The kid obviously didn’t want me in the house. I didn’t really want to go inside the house, all I was really concerned with was not having my head blown off.

“Okay, Fine Kid, I do not need to come inside, but if we keep this up we are going to both die, so I'm just going to go. Okay?”

I started to step backwards as I spoke, Slowly backing away from the boy to try and show I was making sense. Preying he did not pull the trigger. I could seem him mulling it over, but the fire was still in his eyes. After a few steps I turned and that was when the boy noticed my gun tucked into the back of my jeans.

“Hey mister stop” he shouted, a shiver ran through me. I stopped and turned back to the boy to see the gun lowered and him gesturing me over. A good sight to see. I walked over and into the house and the boy closed and locked the door. He waved me through into a large kitchen which seemed out of place in a farm house. There were Light and Dark Marble surfaces, a SMEG fridge and all the modern appliances that loiter in the modern day kitchen. The kid opened the fridge and offered me a beer which made me laugh. I thought it a nice gesture, but wanted to keep my head as clear as possible. But then, as I usually do, decided that one would be fine.

“Thanks ki-”

“Cameron.” he said getting himself a can of fanta “but everyone calls me Cam”

“That’s a big gun you got there champ” I said after taking a long tug on my beer.

“Its my Dad's. He likes hunting geese or something up at the manor.”

“Pheasants?” I asked

“Yeah, sommat like that.”

“So where is your dad? Upstairs right.”

Cam looked down at his drink.

“Yeah, he got Ill. Mum said to lock her in with him and to use the gun if anyone came upstairs.”

I nearly dropped my beer. Was there anywhere left where everyone was not dead? And now I had some kid telling me that he has no parents. Teats a tough place to be in, I was concerned for the kids well being, but I didn’t think I was ready to take responsibility for one.

“When was that?” I asked.

“Last night. Dad fought off a few but mum said he got flu and she said she didn’t feel too good either. Dad was walking with a limp and mum had scratches on her arm. Mum talked to me through the door for a bit but then dad got angry and hurt mum, so I ran downstairs.”

Tears were streaming down his face now and he was blankly staring down at the lino but he continued on.

“I know what happened, I’m not stupid. I know what the news said and I cant do that.” he stopped speaking and his gaze rose to meet mine. I knew as he spoke the words the reason he had brought me into safety, he wanted me to do what obviously needed to be done. I leant towards him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Your a brave kid. Don’t worry. Ill go upstairs and speak to your parents.”

Then the tears came. Joy blurted them out of his glands and they cascaded down his face. He leaned forward and hugged me tightly.

“I need you to come upstairs and lock the door until I say okay?”

His head rocked forward and back in my chest and then he took a breath, raised his head and thanked me.

We headed up the stairs. Cam was holding his shotgun. He had offered me it, but I didn’t know the room and did not know if it was small and how much room I was going to get. Even though, it was very tempting. I decided on the 9mm, which I had decided it was. To be honest I had no idea what my gun was or what ammo it used. It looked like the typical pistol. I was trying to look calm in front of the kid but all about me inside was fear. I’m no hero, im no John McClain, I ain't Tango and Ill certainly never be Cash. I’m a Bozo, an average Joe, but here I was, what else could I do, make the kid do it? No chance. I may be a bastard, but I ain’t that much of a bastard. I tried to think of what I done. Getting to the flat, running for the car. But then since then ive been a bit poor. Getting trapped in a garage, okay I blew it up, but that was pretty stupid if im honest. Yeah I took a few out but I could of badly injured myself or even killed, but with the explosion that I caused would’ve been heard for miles around so all I did was get dumped by an old guy in shit central where all the ghouls where heading from all around. First things first though I thought.

I unlocked the bedroom door with the key Cam had handed me after pointing out the door. I gripped the handle, closed my eyes, breathed in and gathered my thoughts. Shoot straight, aim and pop. Aim and pop. I turned the handle, pushed the door open and stepped inside with the gun aimed out in front of me. I got a bit of a shock.

The room was large and wide, with a large modern bed placed in the centre. There were the typical wooden furniture a dresser table and what looked like a door to a walk in bathroom. The walls were a light grey-blue. Warm, I imagined nice to wake to. It was not really the size or inanimate contents that was in the room, that was two things. One was that there did not seem to be any adults in the room, the second thing was that there was a seven year old girl stood at the end of the bed staring straight at me. She was wearing a worn t-shirt and old jeans and gave me a smile. Before I could comprehend what was happening. I felt movement behind me, then I felt the butt of the shotgun Cam had been holding lunge into my lower spine. I fell to the floor in agony, and watched as Cam walked over to the girl and heard him mutter to her something like it being easy, then I felt someone hit me on the back of the head with something hard and yet again, I became unconscious

I came round tied to a chair. I had no idea how long I had been out, but remembered where and why I was there, mainly because Cam, the girl and two other young boys were stood looking at me.

“You little fucking bastards” I yelled. Fuck etiquette at times like this. It did nothing but make them giggle, all but Cam, he just stared at me, the wild spark back in his eye.

“What the fuck do you want from me!” I yelled.

“Shush now!” the girl said and came over to me, I felt like trying to bite out at her, maybe that was not a part of the real me, who knows? Like I say, I’m new to all this. I realised that they may of noticed my bite mark as they bound my hands and panicked a little more. I have never really been scared of anything before, but been strapped to a chair in a dark room with four filthy kids all stood there (one holding a kitchen knife, one a small cricket bat and Cam was clutching his shotgun) grinning away like they had a plan that was going to plan perfectly.

“Whats your name mister” The girl asked me as she skipped around me on and the chair.

“Mike, Michael” there was no point in playing games.

“Mikey, Mikey Mikey Mikey” she shouted as she skipped round me, one of the boys mimicked her.

She stopped skipping and grabbed both my cheeks hard, smooching them around in her hands.

“I hate it when people do this” she said whilst doing it. I tried to move my head back but it was no good and it just made her do it harder. I took as much as I could but everyone has their limits. I did not know if it was because I was tied down and had no other form of defence or whether it was something far worse, but I opened my mouth and I sunk my teeth into her arm. She screamed and jumped back.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?” I screamed at them and the girl jumped back in fear again. Cam came forward. “Oh your in trouble now” she said holding her wound.

I regretted instantly hurting the girl, it was just a reaction. I could taste her blood and it tasted foul. I felt like being sick.

“You really bought it didn’t you?” Cam said looking at me, he didn’t seem interested in the girls wound.

“You really thought that my parents were upstairs!” he burst into a fit of laughter and turned to face his friends as they joined in.

“look Kid what the fuck do you want from me?”

He whipped back round to me at that with an angry look, poked the shotgun under my chin and growled. “Don't call me Kid.” he stared me out for about five seconds, getting his fix of joy from the fear in my eyes. “Your here for a party” he said it so calmly as if he was being serious, but he did not seem to be following up his statement, so I asked

“A party?”

Cam nodded and smiled. “yeah, my friends are having a party. Its my friends birthday today.”

Was anything real any more? Was I going insane? It certainly felt like it. I was finding everything just a little bit too surreal at the moment. What happened to humanity? And where the fuck are these kids parents?

“Look stop messing about Cam. I'm trying to find my friends. I did not mean anyone any harm.”

The girl laughed at this and her two friends joined her. I was getting sick of these little brats now. The girl was sweating now and once a few giggles left her lips her expression changed to pain and she rubbed her hand. Thats when it hit me. I didn’t believe it, but my brain registered the fact anyway. Cam noticed me not paying attention and banged the stub of the gun on my knee. The pain shot through me like electricity.

“I think we should go show you the party”. As If on cue, the two boys walked over to the chair and together they turned me round and dragged me towards a door. The rope they had used was tight, but not brilliantly tied and loosened as the chair dragged. They had wrapped me in rope rather than just tie the hands and feet. Kids eh? It turned out to be a good thing that they did a bad job with the rope because before I knew it I was tumbled into a room which held three small zombie children. They were wearing bloodstained party dresses and two had party hats, one on the head, the other with it dangling down in front of her left shoulder. They all seemed to have been chewing on what remained of a woman over in the corner when my chair tumbled into the room, breaking my binds on impact and as the door slammed shut and locked behind me. The kids grey eyes seem to light up and they all in unison rose and started towards me. I quickly untangled myself and rose myself. My pistol was taken and was god knows where and all I really had was a chair to use as a weapon. The room was empty and the windows were boarded. I wasn’t too concerned in the fact that I was going to get eaten, but I knew I had to take them down. One of them was about six. I walked towards the lead ghoul and kicked her hard in the chest, making her fly backwards and knocking one of the others down. I then walked over to the remaining vertical zombie and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and walked it over to the nearest wall and started whacking its face against it over and over. I closed my eyes as I did it, but I couldn’t cut out the noise, the crunch of skull on plaster and brick. I stopped after a few seconds and turned to find the remaining ghouls back on their feet’s. I walked over, kicked one back down and repeated the process, then kicked the last back to the floor and put a chair leg through his eye socket. Then I vomited and cried. I lost myself that day. Who I was, who I had ever been. The good things, the bad, they all became obsolete. I cramped in my stomach and vomited again, trying to get the sounds of my actions repeating in my mind. Then, as I was crouched over, I noticed my wrist. The wound had gone, my wrist was fine. I got to my feet and it gave little confidence towards what I would face next. Knifes, Bats, Shotgun.

I started with the windows, the boards came off easily, but it was a twenty foot drop to the ground, and I wasn’t confidant enough to dare jumping. There was no ironic wagon cart of hay or anything to ease my fall, just a drop and dirt. I could hear something going on outside in the hall. Someone was shouting for Cam, then mumbling, then someone screamed. I went to the door and after trying it gently (you never know) I placed my ear to the door. I heard a muffled voice repeating something, then the shot from the gun. I jumped back thinking I was the target and then realised the door was still intact. I could hear footsteps, quick footsteps that faded, then a shout and then came louder, louder then they were at the door. The key rattled the lock and the door flung open. Cam was holding the shotgun and was covered in blood. One of the boys ran up closely behind, also splattered in blood.

“You turned Her.” he said raising the gun towards me “Your one of them!”

I heard him speak, but before the words could register he fired the gun. I had not needed to register the words as I could clearly see straight away by his face and tone that he was about to fire and I had started to leap to my right across the room. I felt the shots pass close by and then felt the plaster from the wall impacts dusting my back and hair as I fell. Cam stepped forward and pulled the second trigger and the gun clicked. He had not reloaded after the first shot. I jumped to my feet and launched myself at him and sent him tumbling backwards into a wall were I pinned him down and with one swift punch to the side of the head knocked him unconscious, then turned my attention on the boy stood looking at me, holding a kitchen knife.

I stood and walked towards him and he lifted the knife out towards me, but he was rigid, was shaking and his eyes full of fear.

“You sure you want to do this kid” I said “I've just taken out all of your friends, living and dead and apparently im one of those things too. So, what ya say kid? You want to put the knife down and ill just go?”

The knife dropped to his side and then to the floor, next to the small pool of urine he had created during my speech. The boy then ran out of the room and I heard his footsteps fade down the stairs and into a room, with the door slamming behind him. I left the room and stopped in the hall and looked at myself for a second in a long mirror hanging on the wall. A second was all I could bare. It was me, but in my reflection I was smiling and my eyes were grey.

I headed down the stairs and heard the boy crying in one of the rooms. I shouted out asking where my gun was and he sniffled a reply saying it was in the kitchen. I found it in the cutlery drawer and took a penknife I found in there. The cupboards were stocked so I took a few basic provisions, leaving plenty for the kids, went to the front door, looked back at the house, sighed at the story those walls now held and then closed the door on my way out.