Dead Days (Book 2): Tess Read Free Page B

I’m sorry I-  I’m just scared ok?  Please help me.  There’s room for two on that thing, I just need to go as far north of here as you can take me.”
    She holds my gaze for a minute.
    “Fine, but hang on tight, I’m not stopping again.”
          I climb on behind her and shoot a look at Mike’s building.  I’m almost sure he won’t have come in today, he’s been working from home more and more and if he’s drinking again there’s little chance of him making the effort.  Besides I can’t see the receptionist at the welcome desk.  The idea of being sealed in a building surrounded by this chaos seems incredibly stupid in retrospect.
     
    God I hope he stayed home.
     
    “Let’s go.” 
     
    My small companion is a skilful rider, I cling on tightly as she weaves in and out of the stalled traffic, keeping as low as I can to help her balance.  A few people try to flag us down when they see the police insignia but we don’t stop. 
           We head up through Camden, I see a group of teenagers smashing up a shop front, an angry crowd gathering around a TFL worker who is trying to close the tube gate, two men punching the hell out of one another in the street. 
     
    I see all of this but my companion never slows.
     
    We skirt the Wittington Hospital via the maze of side streets, the area around there is surely in chaos, and I guess that any hospital is going to become a hotbed of infected people. 
     
    I think of the young waiter’s face again as he was bitten, the fear, the confusion. 
     
    Please God don’t let that happen to me.
     
    When we do eventually stop, it’s in a quiet leafy suburb.  The officer pulls off her helmet and retrieves the pistol from the holster on her thigh.  She produces a box of shells and starts to reload the clip.  I notice the tremor in her hands.
     
    “What’s your name?”
     
    She looks up, very pale.
     
    “I’m Rhona.”
    “Tess, hi.”
    She replaces the clip.
    “Listen Rhona, I wanted to say thanks.  I should have said it sooner but with everything that’s going on- Well, I mean, I don’t know what’s going on but I think you saved my life back there.”
    She nods and looks embarrassed.  It’s kind of endearing.
    “I take it those things aren’t standard issue?”  I say, pointing at the gun.
    “You’re right about that.  I only finished my training with it a month ago, never taken it off the range.  They just started handing them out to us this morning….”
     
    She puts a hand to her mouth and I see tears standing in her eyes.
     
    “I n-never shot anyone before.”
     
    I see her start to tremble and I put my hand on her shoulder.  “Well I’m really glad you did.  I know that’s easy for me to say but, whatever that woman was, she wasn’t coming back from it.  I don’t know how she survived that fall, but I’m pretty sure she would have died anyway.  All you did was save me and put her out of her misery.”
     
    She looks at me and I realise she must be younger than I first thought.  I see her composure start to come back though, and I feel a little relieved.
    “Where’s your son?”  I ask.
    “His school’s close.  I stopped here because it’s quiet and I think you’ll be fine…”  She looks doubtful.
          I don’t know exactly where I am and I really don’t want to be stuck out here when whatever’s going on in the city centre reaches the suburbs. 
    “Rhona, come on, you can’t leave me here.  At least take me as far as the school, there may be a parent there who’s going my way.  Please?”
    She sighs. “Ok, but that’s as far as I can take you.  Once I get Patrick we’re out of here.”
        Rhona’s radio suddenly crackles into life.  We can hear someone shouting for back up, screaming for it.  She clicks it off and looks away.
     
    “Come on.”  Her voice is trembling.
     
    I climb back onto the bike.  I don’t say anything.  What can I say?  Those people crying out