Spiteful (The Infected Book 3) Read online

  Tessa stood up, turned to me and just said “Bastard.” Before storming out of the dining room. Of course this set me off laughing.

  Mike, Ruby and I sat there laughing for the next five minutes before we could get ourselves under control.

  “You do realize she has gone to tell Chris?” Mike said as he tried to catch his breath.

  Ruby followed up with “And she is going to be really pissed off with you.”

  I just shrugged and said “I’ll handle Chris later and I’ve had women pissed off with me before.”

  “I bet you have!” Ruby said.

  “Hey, if you can’t have a little fun every now and then, what’s life for?” I asked.

  Standing, I picked up my plate and said “Let me know when you have spoken with David and arranged when you want to go get these building materials.”

  “I’ll try and talk with him later today.” Mike said.

  “Okay. I’ll more than likely catch you later.” I said, walking away.

  I carried my plate to the counter and scraped the leftovers into the bucket beside it. Looking up, I saw Rosa looking back.

  “Hey, Rosa! How are you doing?” I asked.

  She actually smiled and said “Not too bad, Marc. Tom and I are better than we have ever been and I got a job in the kitchen. It’s ruined my manicure and my hands are red raw at the end of the day but Jennie is teaching me how to cook and I am really enjoying it.”

  She had changed so much so quickly I thought that she might be up to something. It might be an idea to have a quiet word with Jennie and Tom. The last thing I wanted was to have another Tracy on my hands and especially one that had access to the kitchen and our food supplies.

  “That’s great news, Rosa. Sorry, but I have to go find Chris and Amy. I need to ask them something.” I said, excusing myself.

  “It’s okay. I know you are busy. We’ll catch up another time.” she said, smiling.

  I walked away from the counter and headed for the door with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. The last time I had this feeling I had to kill two women and watch as the other two fought to live.

  I headed for the armoury. I really needed to talk with Tom. I stepped out onto the second floor and headed straight to the armoury. Opening the door, I found Tom and Philip eating sandwiches at a table just inside the door.

  “Hi, Marc.” Philip said, seeing me walk in.

  “Hey, Marc, what you doing here?” Tom asked.

  “Well actually I came to talk with you.” I said, looking at Tom.

  Looking puzzled, Tom asked “Have I done something wrong?”

  Shaking my head, I said “No, nothing's wrong. It just…..” I really didn’t know what to say.

  “Let me guess, Rosa’s sudden change and her odd behaviour?” Tom said.

  “Erm…yeah!” I said.

  Tom laughed and said “When you were away Rosa became more of a bitch than she had been when we first arrived. So much so Amy nearly killed her. It was then that Jennie found a medical pack in one of the officer’s rooms in Operations. Inside the pack were some I suppose you would call them anti-depressants. We started to slip them to her and she slowly became the Rosa we have now.”

  “So what happens when the tablets run out?” I asked.

  “We have enough for a few months, but I want to slowly start to wean her off them.” He said.

  “Okay, but please be careful. The last thing we want is another Tracy situation.” I said.

  “If she starts to change back to the way she was before, I will let you know.” He said.

  “That’s all I ask for. I’ll catch you later on.” I said, leaving them to their sandwiches.

  So Rosa was on drugs and that was why she wasn’t such a raging bitch. I need a rest and a drink so I headed back to my room. Opening the door, I saw Amy sitting on my bed reading a book.

  She looked up when I walked in “Hi, Marc.” She said, as Spirit leapt over her legs and across the room to me.

  Crouching down, I gave Spirit a scratch and said “Hey, Amy, how are you?”

  She put the book down and swung her legs over the side of the bed before saying “I’m interested to know what you were talking to Jake about?”

  Standing, I took off my harness and went to sit in the chair.

  “So? What were you talking to him about?” She asked.

  “I was asking him about boats on the coast.” I asked.

  She actual looked puzzled and asked “Why boats? Are you thinking of leaving the bunker?”

  I shook my head and said “I might as well tell you. I’m thinking of going after the doctor. I thought it might be an idea to sail down the coast to the harbour instead of having to fight through the city.”

  “Are you nuts?” She said, standing up.

  “It’s the only way to get past the infected in the city.” I replied.

  She sighed and walked over “I know it would be the easiest way to get to the ship. What I am saying is, that ship is crawling with infected and you’re wanting to go on board!”

  “I have to save her. She helped me get out of the labs.” I said.

  She knelt down in front of the chair and said “That’s a great sentiment but that ship is a death trap.”

  “I have to try. I managed to save you and the others. What’s to say I can’t save her?” I said, getting frustrated.

  With tears in her eyes, she took my hands and said “Marc, I don’t want you to do this. You go and you may not return.”

  I could understand where she was coming from, but I also owed Jane for helping me get out of the labs.

  I sighed and said “I’m not exactly planning on doing this by myself. I’m wanting to take Chris with me.”

  Amy looked at me with red eyes. “Okay, if you’re taking Chris then you're taking me as well.”

  “Whoa, I didn’t want to put you in harm’s way.” I said.

  “Tough.” Was all she said, as she leaned in to kiss me.

  That kiss lead to another one and then another, we soon found ourselves in bed.

  I woke to someone knocking at my door and Amy draped across me. Slowly sliding out from under her legs and arms I slowly moved to the edge of the bed. Pulling on my combat trousers I walked over to the door and opened it. Chris was standing there.

  “Looks like I called at the wrong time!” He said, smiling.

  “Fuck you.” I said, laughing.

  “You were looking for me earlier.” He said.

  “Yeah, I was. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll meet you upstairs in the comms room.” I said.

  “Take your time.” He said, smiling.

  I closed the door and went to the chair where I had thrown my shirt and socks. Picking them up, I sat on the chair pulling them on when I saw Amy moving around on the bed. Looking over I could see her watching me.

  “I gather that was Chris.” She said.

  “Yeah, I’m going to have a chat and see what he thinks. If he says it is a bad idea, I will drop it.” I said.

  “Marc, you know as well as I do he will follow you anywhere. Plus I already said I’ll be coming as well. So you might as well wait for me to get my clothes on.” She said, getting out of bed and searching the room for her clothes.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I had to admit she has a great body and was surprised that she was with me. Smiling, I fastened my laces and stamped my feet to settle my boots. Pulling on my harness, I squirmed until it settled on my shoulders. Hanging my rifle on the clip, I stood waiting while Amy pulled on the last of her clothes and put her hair up into a ponytail.

  I looked at her and said “Are you ready to go yet?”

  She looked over and said “You’re not used to waiting for a woman to get ready, are you?”

  “No, I have to say I’m a little out of practice.” I said.

  I stood there waiting and after a few minutes she said “Come on, let’s go and sort this out with Chris.”

  I opened the door and let Amy walk through
first. Spirit followed her and I came through last. We headed for the lift to the second floor. Entering the comms room we saw Chris looking at a map on a table, with Jake looking over his shoulder.

  Chris looked up at us and said “Jake told me the bare outlines of your plan. I have got to admit it’s a little crazy but I have to admit taking a boat down the coast to avoid the city is smart idea. I’m surprised that you managed to come up with it.”

  I replied with my middle finger which set him off laughing. Amy and I walked over to the table to look at the map that was spread out. We looked down and saw the coastline near to Hull.

  “There are a few fishing villages all down the coast.” Jake said, pointing to various spots along the coast.

  From what I could see they were mostly clustered to the north of Hull. These were the villages that we had to concentrate on. I looked at the villages and we really needed to find a small village where we could get a small boat. We were finding it hard when Chris stabbed one of his chunky fingers at Hornsea on the map.

  “That’s probably the best place to find what we want.” Jake said, looking at the map.

  I looked at the name on the map and the lines and blocks on it outlining the streets and houses.

  “It looks a little larger than a village.” I said.

  “Shouldn’t be too bad, though.” Chris said.

  I looked at him and said “Mate, anywhere there are infected could be bad.”

  “That’s true.” Amy said, nodding her head.

  “That might be true but we’ll be taking the A.P.C. with us. All we need to do is get to the docks and then we just jump on a boat and head off to Hull, rescue the doc and then head back to Hornsea and then it’s a nice little ride home.” Chris said.

  “If it was that easy, I wouldn’t need to bring your large arse with me.” I said.

  “True, but if you didn’t bring me who would pull your arse out of the fire?” Chris said, grinning.

  “Look you two, we all know that you both have huge brass balls. But even you two have to admit that fighting your way through an infested ship might be a little difficult.” Amy said.

  Chris looked up and smiled “There may not be that many infected on board, and to be honest, it might just be a ruse to get their hands on Marc here. Either way, I’ll be there with him to fight our way out if needs be.”

  “Look, I didn’t say it was going to be an easy trip, just that I had to do it.” I said.

  Amy just sighed and placed her hands on her hips before saying “Marc, Chris, I am just trying to point out that this trip may be one way, and for your information, Chris, I am coming with you both.”

  Chris looked shocked before saying “No fucking way!”

  “Look, there is no way I am letting Marc go into this situation without me. The last trip we went on ended with him being held captive by Tracy. So, Chris, I say this with the utmost regard for you, ‘FUCK OFF’” Amy said, raising her voice.

  Amy and Chris glared at each other and then they started to argue with each other. It started off with a few words but then grew out of control. The comms room became filled with their two voices. Chris arguing that Amy should stay here and Amy arguing that she was coming no matter what Chris said.

  I let them have five minutes before I said “Okay, shut the fuck up, both of you. Chris, Amy is coming with us, and, Amy, stop teasing Chris.”

  They both looked at me.

  “Okay. Now that we have that settled I suggest you get yourselves ready to go soon.” Jake said.

  “Why?” Chris asked.

  “Because the autumn weather is about to set in and I don’t think you want to be out sailing during high seas.” Jake answered.

  “Well, it shouldn’t take more than a few days to get there and back.” I said.

  “You hope that it’s not going to take us that long.” Amy said.

  “I have to agree with Amy on this one, Marc.” Chris said.

  “Okay, but we all agree that Hornsea is our best bet at getting something that will take us down the coast. So let’s talk about what we have to take with us.” I said.

  For the next hour and a half we spoke about what we needed to take and which routes we would need to follow to get there. Of course, there was arguments as to what weapons we should take and other important items. After we had finished hashing out the basics, I asked if it was okay if I went to find Mike and David to talk about the fencing. Amy just waved her hand at me without even looking up. Taking that as a yes, I headed off to the third floor looking for David and Mike.

  Standing looking into the library area I couldn’t see David or Mike anywhere. I did see Tessa sitting in a chair with her legs hanging over the arm of a chair.

  “Hey, Tessa. I’m looking for your dad or David. Have you seen them anywhere?” I asked.

  “The last time I had seen my dad he was talking to Ruby in the dining room.” She said, looking up from her book.

  “Okay. I’ll see if I can find him.” I said.

  I turned to leave and Tessa said “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.” I replied.

  “I wanted to ask how you feel about me and Chris?” She asked.

  I smiled and said “To be honest, I haven’t given it much thought. As long as you are both happy, then I’m alright about it.”

  “Thank you.” She said.

  “Sorry, but I really do need to find either your dad or David.” I said, turning back toward the lifts, leaving Tessa to get on with her reading.

  Taking the lift up to the first floor and the dining room I needed to think about who to entrust the hatch code with whilst we were away. If they were going to start on building the compound they would need the code. After all, Chris and I were heading off, and like Amy reminded us, neither of us might return. David was my main choice. After all, he had been through several fights, as well as other things that I trusted him completely. The doors opened and I walked out to a hallway with kids waiting for the lift. These must be the children that were being taught in the Operations room. I stood aside to let them into the lift. Ruby’s outside space idea came to mind and how these children would benefit from have some kind of outside space to be able to play on.

  I left the lifts with a smile on my lips and headed to the dining room to see if I could catch Mike or David. Opening the doors, I stood looking round the room. I saw David’s big frame sitting at a table. I headed over and saw that Mike and Ruby were sitting opposite him.

  “Been looking for you three!” I said.

  David turned and smiled before saying “We’ve been here for the last few hours going through the idea that Ruby has come up with.”

  “Yeah, she collared me earlier today about it. How do you feel about being the ones running the job whilst Chris, Amy and I are away?” I asked.

  Mike stood up and said “What the hell are you on about?”

  “Remember when Jake came and spoke to me before we went out and sorted Tracy and her goons out?” I said.

  “I think he said that there was some doctor or something asking about you.” David said.

  “Well, it’s a little more complicated than that.” I said. I then went on to tell them about my idea of going to rescue Jane and the other survivors on the ship.

  “Are you touched in the head or something?” Mike asked.

  “We can’t have the leader running off to rescue everybody who asks for help.” Ruby said.

  “Listen, I know you owe her, Marc, but this would be like committing suicide.” David said.

  “It’s because I owe her that I am going to try and save her. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here, and sorry to say it neither would any of you.” I said.

  That quietened the table for a while.

  “I came to find out if you had any ideas as to what you were going to do about the fence?” I asked.

  “Like I said, I know where there is a council depot where we can get everything we need.” Ruby said.

  “I kno
w where she is on about. We’ll use the coach to get there with the people we need. David and I will clear the area of infected and once that’s done we’ll load up some flatbed trucks, bring the materials here and offload. Then erecting the fence might take next couple of days” Mike said.

  “It might take longer than that, Mike.” David said.

  “You might be right but we’ll still have the gear already here.” Mike said.

  “Okay, so you have it planned out. When would you want to head out for the gear?” I asked.

  Mike and David looked at each other and Mike said “As long as we can get some people to help with the heavy lifting and driving the trucks we could go any day.” He said.

  I looked at Ruby “Do you have any people that can do that?” I asked.

  Ruby thought about it before saying “I do have a few people who can do that. They’ll also be able to help erect the fence.”

  “Great. I want you to head out tomorrow and get the fencing.” I said.

  “That quickly?” Mike said.

  “Yeah, that quickly. With myself, Chris and Amy gone you’re going to be the only security for the people putting up the fences. It was a good thing we managed to get rid of Tracy and her group before this.” I said.

  “We’ll sort out the people we need today and head out to the council place in the morning.” David said.

  “Oh! Forgot to tell you. With us three away down Hull, you three are going to be fully in charge.” I said, smiling, because they looked like I had slapped them with a dead fish.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I walked away from the table and over to the counter. I poured a cup of coffee and headed off to the armoury. I wanted to grab some extra mags for my pistol and rifle, I also wanted some flash bangs and grenades. In the past these had come in handy as tools for distraction. I also wanted to see if I could grab a Taser if we had any. From the conversation Jake had with Jane, she had said there was an ex-policeman and the only ex-copper I knew was Foxton. Now, he and I didn’t exactly see eye to eye. The Taser would be the next best thing to shooting him if he got out of hand. I actually had a huge grin on my face as I walked out of the lift on the second floor and headed for the armoury. I knocked on the door and it was opened by Tom.