Spiteful (The Infected Book 3) Read online

  SPITEFUL

  Infected Series: Book Three

  Written By

  Justin Gowland

  Copyright © 2014 Justin Gowland

  Editor Amy Downs

  All rights reserved.

  DEDICATION

  Dedicated to my readers that have made my writing worthwhile. I would also like to say thank you to my friends on Facebook who have helped with beta reading and editing. Thanks guys for your support and help with this new set of books.

  Disclaimer

  All characters contained herein are fictional and all similarities to actual persons, living or dead are purely coincidental. Places and information, while some may be real have been altered for the story and should be taken as such.

  Chapter One

  Coming round, my head felt like it had been split open with an axe. My sight was blurred and the room was dark with a dull glow coming through the barely covered window. I could hear movement nearby but I was finding hard to focus on where it was coming from. A low moaning came from outside of the window and I scrambled back away from it. Only to find that I had something tied round my ankle stopping me from moving too far. Reaching down my leg to my ankle I found that I had a cuff of some sort fastened round it and a chain leading off into the dark of the room.

  My eyes had gotten used to the dark room. There was very little inside the room; just a mattress on the floor and the chain which was bolted to the floor. Apart from the window the only other way in or out was a wooden door. Thinking back to what had happened, all I could remember was the Land Rover going off the road and into a ditch. There was a dim memory of Tracy standing over me, but I wasn’t certain about that. Where was Amy? Had she survived the wreck? My mind was so muddled that I found it harder to concentrate on where I was. Pulling myself over, I lay on the mattress. The room was dry but had the underlying smell of damp that old buildings had. Lying on my side, I rested my head on my arm, when I heard footsteps on the other side of the wall. They sounded too regular to belong to the infected so I wasn’t suddenly going to be eaten. The door creaked as it opened and I was blinded by a torch which was shone in my face.

  “How’s it feel to be captured?” A female voice said.

  “What?” I croaked with a throat that felt like sandpaper.

  “I said how do you like being captured?” The voice said again followed by a kick to my stomach.

  The air whooshed out of my lungs and I lay there gasping for air. A bottle of water was thrown down in front of me. The light from the torch was still in my face making it hard for me to see who was behind it.

  “Who are you?” I asked after my breathing had returned to normal.

  “There is no way I am talking to scum like you.” She said.

  I could hear her footsteps head for the door and the light from the torch was gone and the door closed. Flashing circles of light blinked off and on in my vision as my eyes began to return to normal. Taking the small conversation into account, I was a prisoner of sorts and that whoever they are were under the impression that I had done something. Maybe that vision of Tracy explained some of it. Was it possible that she had found a group of survivors and told them some lies and half-truths? It made sense, but it still didn’t explain why they hadn’t just killed me outright. Drinking some of the water, I set it aside and decided to try and get to the door or even the window. Standing on my wobbling legs I tried the door first. The chain round my ankle stopped me just over an arm’s length short and it was the same for the window. I tried to look outside but it was too dark and I found it hard to see anything from where the window was placed. I could barely see the sky and the tops of some trees. My eyes slowly got used to the darkened room and I couldn’t see anything that I might use to get free. I decided that I might be able to get a better idea of what was going on in the morning. I lay down on the mattress and closed my eyes.

  I woke up feeling the light from the window on my face. Opening my eyes, I rubbed my eyes and blinked at the light streaming in through the window. Sitting up, the first thing I needed to do was have a look at the cuff around my ankle. Looking down, I saw a padded leather cuff that had a ‘D’ ring fastened through the cuff. Giving it a hard tug I felt it pull against my ankle. It didn’t look like it had any give in it. I wanted to check the bolt that was in the floor. Crawling across the floor I came to where the chain was bolted to the floor. It seemed that it had been attached to a joist under the floorboards. There was no way I was going to be able to pull that free. Sitting back on the floor, I gave the room a good look round. The walls were painted a cream colour and the ceiling had a single light bulb, the floor was bare floorboards and the window had nothing on it. The sky was grey and the sunlight was muted by the clouds. Crawling over to the mattress I sat with my back to the wall and tried to figure out how the hell I was going to get free. The other problem that I had was the fact I didn’t know where the hell I was. Even if I did get free I might not be able to get back to the bunker.

  Hearing footsteps outside the room I sat watching the door. It slowly opened and Tracy walked in with a man just behind her. The man was about five feet six and was sort of medium build. He had dark brown hair and short beard. She had a large grin on her face and looked pleased to see me bolted to the floor.

  “Well, well, how the mighty have fallen?” She said.

  I just sat there looking at her.

  “What’s the matter, Marc, has the cat got your tongue?”

  I still said nothing and I could tell it was getting to her.

  “Will you fucking say something?” Said the man beside her.

  Still nothing.

  “Marc, you are going to say something or Thomas is going to have to hurt you.” She said.

  I looked at her and then at him before saying “Has she sucked your dick yet?”

  I must have hit a nerve because Thomas flew across the room and punched me square in the face. My head rocked back and hit the wall behind me. Seeing stars, I started to laugh and looked at the furious look on Tracy’s face.

  “So I gather she has!” I said laughing.

  I got another punch to the face followed by a kick in the stomach. Rolling onto my side I just closed my eyes and sucked in as much air as I could.

  “We’ll talk later.” Tracy said, storming out of the room and Thomas followed her out and slammed the door behind them.

  Rolling on to my back I looked at the ceiling and continued laughing till I heard their footsteps fade away, then just curled up with my arms wrapped round my sore stomach. Breathing hard, I looked at the sky outside my window and my mood soured. Then the image of Amy appeared before my eyes. I hope she managed to come round in time to get away before the infected caught her.

  I had another visit from the woman who had given me the water the night before. This time it was a half can of cold tomato soup. I drank it out of the can whilst she watched me.

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Look, I’m not here to talk to you.” She said.

  She was a cute girl about eighteen, five foot four, had corn blonde hair and blue eyes.

  “It’s not like I can go anywhere or tell anyone about it.” I said.

  “Just shut up!” She said.

  “Suit yourself. I’ll just have to call you Blondie then.” I said.

  Blondie looked at me and said “Fine, give me the can.” with her hand outstretched.

  I threw the can at her feet and rolled over away from her. I heard the door close and grabbed the bottle of water and drank the last of it before squashing the bottle and putting it under the mattress. Plastic might not be the best tool for cutting but might hopefully cut through the leather on the cuff round my leg
if I worked at it hard enough. All I had to do was tear the plastic so that it had a sharp, ragged edge, but I needed it flat first and that was where flattening the plastic under the mattress came in.

  About halfway through the afternoon I had another visit from Tracy and Thomas.

  “Afternoon, Marc. Feeling in the mood to talk?” She asked.

  “Not to you.” I said.

  “Come on, we used to be friends.” She said, smiling.

  “Really? was that before or after you stabbed my friend in the back?” I asked.

  Thomas tilted his head to the side and looked at me.

  “Did she not tell you that?” I said.

  “Shut up, you.” He said looking down at me.

  I just shrugged and looked at them.

  “Now that you’re talking, could you tell us the code for the hatch to the bunker, please?” She asked.

  I just sat there looking at her like she was stupid.

  “Well?”

  “Look, either I answer your questions or I shut up; which do you want me to do?” I asked, grinning.

  “I want you to tell me the code to the bunker.” She said, starting to lose her temper.

  “Sorry, no can do. Is there anything else I can do for you? But don’t ask for anything sexual. I’m sorry, but neither of you are my type.” I said.

  “I’m going to knock that smile off your face, shithead.” Thomas said.

  “Sorry to let you down, Tommy boy.” I said laughing.

  That got me a fist to the side of my face. Falling onto my side, I could feel my left eye slowly swelling up.

  “Answer her.” Thomas shouted.

  “And the answer to the million pound question is ‘FUCK OFF’” I shouted.

  Thomas moved forward to hit me again. I had been waiting for this and swung my leg out and caught him behind his knee and caused his leg to buckle and make him fall forward. As he landed on his face I leapt from the mattress and drove both my elbows into his back. All the air whooshed out of his mouth. Rolling off him, I placed my back to the wall and watched as he struggled to get back up.

  “Hope you try that again, shithead.” I said.

  He rolled away from me and ended lying against the wall near the door.

  “You fucking bastard, you might have killed him.” Tracy said, as she bent down to help him up.

  “Yeah, well please tell your pet ape that if he tries that again, I might just do that.” I said.

  Pulling Thomas to his feet, he glared at me whilst he was trying to get his breath back. Tracy pulled him from the room and slammed the door behind them. I sat there looking at the door through my non swollen eye. I could hardly make out anything from the swollen eyes but light and dark patches. Running my hand down that side of my face, I winced with pain. Grabbing the edge of the mattress, I rolled it back and pulled the now squashed plastic bottle out from underneath. Biting the edge, I pulled at it till the top came loose and left me the ragged edge. Lifting the ankle with the cuff up to my knee I worked the plastic gently near the back so it would be out of sight.

  It took a while but I managed to make a groove from the top of the cuff to the bottom edge. It wasn’t very deep, maybe just the top layer, but it was a start. I placed the ripped up plastic bottle back under the mattress and lay down looking at the ceiling. I could really do with more information on where I was and why. It seemed that every time they came in here I would get them both upset. I needed to stop it or I’d never find out anything. Closing my eyes, I tried to get some sleep. After all, there was very little else for me to do.

  I heard my door open and opened my eyes. Well, I suppose eye is a better term. Looking over at the door, I saw Blondie watching me.

  “Hello.” I said.

  “Is it true you beat Thomas up whilst you were tied up?” She asked.

  “Yes.” I saw no reason to lie about it.

  Taking her time, she crossed the room until she was beside the window. She stood looking out the window and sighed before turning round to look at me.

  “It was different here before Tracy and Thomas came. We had a good group here. She told us all how you and your friends raped and then killed her friends before she could escape, but I always thought she lied to us about it.”

  “Look, we never did anything to any of them. We managed to save them from some bikers, but when we got to the bunker they went nuts and killed my friend and tried to Chris and me. I will admit to killing two of them but Tracy killed her friend just so she could live.” I said.

  “How did she get away?” Blondie asked.

  “I let her live and kicked her out of the Bunker.” I answered.

  “You keep saying the Bunker. What is it?”

  “It’s an army bunker that has food, water, electricity and weapons. There was just Chris and I living there until we picked up some survivors from Thirsk. Now there are twelve of us.” I said.

  “From Thirsk?”

  “Yeah, we managed to get word from them via an old CB Radio that Jake had in his shop.” I said.

  “Is Jake an old man that runs a sort of odds and ends shop?”

  “Well, he did until the infected overran Thirsk.” I answered.

  She gasped and slid down the wall and held her head with her hands.

  “You know Jake?”

  She just nodded her head.

  “He’s alive or at least he was the last time I spoke to him.” I said.

  “I need to go talk to my dad.” She said, running from the room.

  The door slammed and I went back to work trying to cut through the cuff using the plastic bottle. I had managed to cut into the leather a little more, when I heard heavy footsteps outside in the hallway. Stashing the bottle back under the mattress, I sat with my back to the wall watching the door. Blondie walked in first followed by a man who looked like Jake just a lot younger. He must have been late thirties, early forties and had salt and pepper black hair. He stood at the door and looked down at me. I could tell by his face that he wasn’t too happy sharing the same room as me. But to tell you the truth, I didn’t give a fuck.

  “Tessa says you know my father and he is at your bunker?” He asked.

  I looked at Blondie and said “Tessa, eh?”

  “I asked you a question.” He said.

  “Yes, you did, and before I answer your question I would like you to answer mine.” I said.

  “Listen, scumbag, I want to know about my father, and if you don’t tell me in the next two minutes, I’ll come over there and cut your balls off.” He growled.

  “Dad!” Tessa said.

  I sat watching his face and saw the conflict rage across it. He wanted to know that his father was safe and sound but was also thinking of the lies Tracy had been spreading about the bunker. After a short while his face seemed to sag and he walked further into the room closing the door behind him.

  “Okay, ask your question.” He said.

  “How many survivors do you have here?” I asked.

  He looked taken aback by the question and didn’t know what to say for a while.

  “Why do you want to know that?” He asked.

  “Just humour me.” I said.

  “There are forty-five if you count Tracy and her five goons. Why?”

  “Just that the bunker could hold them all and you would have food, hot and cold water and electricity. Oh, and did I mention your Dad works the comms centre for us.” I said.

  “You mean he is your slave back at the bunker.” He said, his face beginning to harden.

  “Nope. We have no slaves in the bunker, only other survivors. Look, there is one way we can settle this and that is for you to talk with your dad.” I said.

  “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but the phones don’t exactly work at the minute.” Tessa said.

  Turning to look at her, I said “If you can find a CB, then you will be able to speak with the bunker. Jake is listening out for other groups every day.”

  Tessa looked at her father and he
just opened the door and walked out of the room. Tessa looked back at me and ran out closing the door behind her.

  Chapter Two

  A few hours later a young man came and left a health bar and bottle of water. I never even looked at him. My mind was thinking of everything I had learnt about where I was. Tracy had managed to find a group of likeminded dicks and then they had found these people. She probably was trying to talk them into making a raid on the bunker or some other stupid plan. The key to her getting into the bunker was me, or at least that was what she thought. You see, I had never asked Chris for the code to the hatch. I had just assumed that he would lead and I would follow. It’s strange how everything had changed. As usual, my thoughts returned to Amy and the way they had left her in the wrecked Land Rover to get eaten by the infected. I began to wish that I had placed a bullet into Tracy’s head back in the bunker, but I couldn’t change that no matter how much I wished I could.

  The sky had darkened outside the window and I could see storm clouds moving quickly by. After a short while the rain began and it ran like a river down the window. The room temperature slowly began to fall and I curled up trying to keep myself as warm as I possibly could. The shadows in the room began to lengthen and all the light seemed to get sucked into them. Closing my one good I eye, I tried to fall asleep. A blazing light in my face woke me up.

  “Wake up, shithead.” A male voice said from the other side of the light.

  Rolling away from the light I said “Fuck off. I’m sleeping.”

  Rough hands grabbed me and pulled me up to my feet. The torch was still shining in my face and it was beginning to make my one good eye water. I tried to raise my hand and shield my eye but it was held firmly against my side. I could feel someone tugging at my ankle and I felt the cuff come away from it.

  “Come on, shithead. You have a date.” The male voice said.

  Getting dragged out of the room wasn’t my idea of fun but I tried not to fight it too much. This was the first time I had seen anything but the inside of the room I had woken up in. The room I had been kept in was at the end of a hallway. Three other doors were along the side that my door had been on. They were all open but had the same setup as mine had; a mattress and nothing else. The hallway was lit with lamps on boxes. At the end of the hallway stood another door and the man with the torch pushed it open and we walked into a well-lit room. Looking about, I could see people lying on sleeping bags and cots. Children holding hands with their parents and old people huddled together. In the centre of the room were several large tables and chairs. To my relief, I couldn’t see Tracy or Thomas anywhere. But I did see Tessa and her father sat talking to several other men and women at the tables. I was shoved toward the tables and forced into a chair facing them.