Roamers (Book 1) Read online

  Roamers

  Roamers

  By Velveteen Viper

  Copyright 2017 Amanda Burgoyne

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Connect with Me

  Roamers II Sneak Peek

  For mum.

  Sorry about the adult content.

  Chapter One:

  Nothing could have ever prepared Scarlett McKenzie for her first encounter with a Roamer. The eyes were the worst; blind, expressionless. A mindless automation; just standing there. An empty vessel of a human being. Scarlett wanted to collapse in a flood of tears, a heap on the floor, giving up all hope. Fear prevented her. An involuntary urge to survive kept her eyes dry and her body upright.

  Fight or flight.

  She chose flight. After all, what if there was a cure? Not only that, but at nineteen years of age, she was nothing more than a scared little girl, staring at her dead mother, who didn’t seem to know she was there. Until Scarlett took a step backward. Her heel clipped the lounge door, closing it slightly, making an awful squeak as it moved.

  Scarlett’s mother, who only thirty minutes earlier had ceased breathing forever in her daughter’s arms, lunged at her hungrily. Suddenly, she was no longer expressionless, but voracious.

  Scarlett tried to run, scrambling with the half-closed door. Her mother grabbed her by the shoulders, trying to pull her closer. In fighting her off, Scarlett lost her balance, suffering an almighty bang to the head as she fell. Her mother followed her, hissing angrily, drool and blood pouring from her mouth into Scarlett’s hair as the locket she’d bought Grace for her birthday, containing a picture of the two of them together, swung back and forth above Scarlett’s face.

  Scarlett made a sound like a dog being kicked as she struggled to her feet, taking hold of the locket and yanking it free. She made it to the stairs and stumbled up them on all fours. As she reached the top and turned to look behind her, she realised she was trapped between her dead but walking, cannibal mother and a long drop out of a bedroom window.

  She ran to her room and locked the door behind her, slumping to the floor with her knees to her chest. Only then did she notice the warmth of her blood trickling down from her hairline. Dizzy and confused, she just sat for a moment, listening to the sound of clumsy footsteps drawing closer outside the door.

  Scarlett remembered having had an uneasy feeling for most of that day. Perhaps it was the helicopters she’d heard overhead throughout the afternoon, or the concerned whispers from strangers huddled around mobile phones at the bus stop. She’d been so busy since she left home that morning that she hadn’t so much as glanced at hers.

  Jolting back to reality, Scarlett realised that the house was silent. Her mother didn’t know where she was. This was her chance. She had to escape.

  Slowly and without a sound, Scarlett struggled to her feet and made her way to the window, swinging it open and looking out to confirm her suspicions about the distance between her and the ground outside. At least it would be the fall that killed her. She had no choice but to make her way back downstairs. She put her ear against the door and held her breath, listening for any sign that her mother was close by. Nothing. As quietly as she could, she unlocked the door, opening it about two inches, and peered out, silently praying that her mother had gone.

  There she was, at the end of the hall. There was enough space for Scarlett to sneak past her, but she would have to be completely mute. She took a deep breath before gingerly opening the door further and slipping out. She moved cautiously down the hall toward the stairs, placing each foot carefully down on the carpet. Almost there.

  Scarlett was standing just inches from Grace. Another tear fell from Scarlett’s eyes as she looked into her mother’s face; a face that was once the one she’d seek out for comfort; the woman who’d raised her, nurtured her, encouraged her, always told her everything would be okay and made sacrifices; gone without so that Scarlett didn’t have to. Her mum would be her first thought if she’d had a bad day – all the normal things girls of her age turned to their mothers for.

  Why was this happening? What had her loving mom done so wrong that she deserved this?

  Scarlett didn’t have time to dwell on it now as she slid carefully past the creature and onto the stairs. She had made it this far. She just needed to get outside, into the street. Surely someone could help her.

  One of the middle stairs creaked as she lowered her weight onto it. She froze. Her mother murmured behind her and Scarlett heard hurried feet running toward her. She bolted. She turned when she got to the bottom to see her mum come tumbling down, grunting and groaning as she fell. Scarlett fought the urge to go to her and instead ran for the front door, grabbing her mum’s car keys as she went.

  She opened the door and took one last look.

  “I love you, Mum,” she sobbed, backing out onto the street and slamming the door as Grace approached.

  Outside, Scarlett observed the empty driveways around her. The old cul-de-sac was deadly silent, with the exception of Grace’s clumsy hands slapping at the door behind her. She hurried to her mum’s car, unlocked it and climbed inside, locking herself in.

  She began trying to calm herself; her heart was racing, her face was damp with tears and her breathing was uneven. She made a few attempts at putting the key in the ignition, hands shaking. The car started first time and she slammed her foot down, speeding off down the road. She knew exactly where she was going – to Jimmy and Alice’s. Neither of them, she thought, would have any more idea of what to do than she did, but she needed to be with them.

  Scarlett and Jimmy had been together for three years, since they were both sixteen, and Alice was Jimmy’s twelve-year-old sister. Would they even be home? Scarlett didn’t know, but she had nowhere else to go…

  When she arrived, the house was dark and Scarlett could see the flickering light from the TV through a crack in the curtains. She parked the car as close as she could, driving up onto the curb, and took the keys and locked the vehicle before running to the door and ringing the bell.

  She didn’t care if she woke Jimmy’s parents – surely they would want to know what was happening, if they didn’t already.

  A silhouette that she recognised as Jimmy’s appeared at the door and leant in to look through the spyhole. Scarlett made her face easily visible to him, not wanting to stand outside longer than absolutely necessary.

  Jimmy opened the door and Scarlett barged her way through, closing the door firmly behind her.

  “Scarlett?” Jimmy said, surprised to see her, “God, are you okay?”

  Scarlett couldn’t answer him. Her lip began to tremble as the day’s events started to sink in, and
she bawled. All Jimmy could do was take her in his arms and let her emotions pour out before attempting to get an explanation.

  Jimmy was what Scarlett considered to be average height. He was two or three inches taller than her with shaggy, dark blonde hair and brown eyes, magnified by his rectangular, black framed glasses. He had dressed the same way since they met; loose fitting jeans, old band t-shirts, hoodies and converse hi-tops.

  Jimmy just sat and stared as Scarlett described her ordeal and didn’t know what to say once she’d finished. She wiped away her tears, she reached for the remote, switched off the DVD Jimmy had been watching and selected a news channel.

  The words BREAKING NEWS were placed permanently at the bottom of the screen as Scarlett and Jimmy listened vigilantly to the report.

  “In a statement from the CDC, it’s been confirmed that the virus, codenamed ‘Wildfire’, is directly linked to the experimental drug Rhinovir, which began its human trials yesterday. The perpetrators appear to be having a hostile reaction to the vaccine which was developed to prevent and cure the common cold; resulting in blindness, fever and seemingly, death, all before the victim becomes frenzied, attacking those who do not carry the virus. Police have called in all off duty personnel in an attempt to control both the outbreak and the riots which broke out in The City earlier today. As we’ve said already; do not approach the infected. Stay inside your homes and lock the doors. Along with the common cold curing drug, the contagion is passed on through the bodily fluids of the infected, such as saliva and blood, which seems to be why it’s increasing at such an alarmingly rapid rate…”

  Scarlett switched off the TV and Jimmy ran his hands through his hair. She thought for a moment, wondering what to do now.

  “Are your parents at home?” she asked.

  “No, they’re in Paris. They’re not due back until next week, that’s if this doesn’t get out of hand.”

  Scarlett looked at him in disbelief.

  “Out of hand?” she repeated, “Are you serious?” she stood and began pacing the lounge, “Is Alice here?”

  “Yeah, she’s in her room. Why?”

  “Get her. Pack a bag; spare clothes, some food and water. We’re leaving.” Jimmy continued to stare, “Go!” Scarlett insisted.

  Jimmy made his way upstairs while Scarlett began rifling through the kitchen cupboards, helping herself to a few packets of crisps and chocolate. What she thought would be enough to tide them over until they found a safe place. She assumed that there would be an evacuation soon – one she was determined that they wouldn’t miss.

  Jimmy returned to the lounge, Alice in tow, carrying a large holdall containing a couple of sets of spare clothes. Alice's striking resemblance to Jimmy made it very apparent to everyone they met that they were brother and sister, even down to the way Alice dressed – the only difference being that she seemed to permanently have a baseball cap glued to her head. At only twelve years of age, she was already Scarlett's height.

  “It’s lucky for you that my sister is so damn tall,” Jimmy stated, “I got you a pair of jeans and a shirt. Underwear too, but I understand if that’s weird.”

  Scarlett looked at him and smiled, appreciative of the gesture.

  “Thanks, Jimmy,” she said softly, “I don’t suppose there’s any chance I could grab a shower before we leave? My hair’s soaked with blood and God knows what else.”

  “Of course. You know where everything is.”

  Jimmy handed her the clothes he’d picked out and Scarlett made her way upstairs.

  She undressed, carefully peeling her t-shirt off, trying hard not to spread the congealed mess any further than it already was. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her make-up was gone; washed away by blood and sweat, and her hair was a mess, saturated and tangled.

  She removed her jeans and emptied her pockets, placing the contents on the counter; her mum’s car keys, some crumpled money, an out of date bus ticket, and her mother’s locket. She opened it to see herself and her mother smiling back at her. Closing it quickly, Scarlett examined the chain. One of the links had broken, so she placed it delicately into the pocket of her borrowed jeans, determined that she would fix it later.

  She switched on the shower and stepped in, turning the water up as hot as she could stand while her skin turned a bright shade of pink.

  As she rinsed water through her hair, her mother’s blood began to run down her face and body. Upon noticing, Scarlett let out a small cry, finding the nearest bottle of shower gel and a net sponge, and began scrubbing until her flesh was raw. She washed her hair in the same manner; three times, just to be sure that it was clean.

  The water began to run cold and Scarlett stepped out, turning it off and wrapping a towel around herself.

  She smeared her hand across the mirror to remove the condensation, checking her hair and face for any traces of Grace. Next, she drew her attention to the gouge on her head. Digging through the medicine cabinet, she found some steri-strips and alcohol wipes. After thoroughly cleaning the wound, she carefully pulled it closed and placed the strips on, trying hard not to flinch as she did so.

  She dressed herself in the fresh clothes that Jimmy had provided, and as she brushed her hair, she heard the doorbell, along with frantic knocking.

  Springing to the window, Scarlett poked her head through the curtain to see Jimmy’s neighbour, Charlie, standing on the doorstep, anxiously looking around him as he continued to pound on the door.

  She ran down the stairs and Alice was already at the door and about to open it. Scarlett stepped in front of her and ushered her back into the lounge. She peered through the spyhole and warily opened the door, only for Charlie to charge his way in and slam the door behind him.

  “Oh God,” he began, “Oh God, those things out there!”

  Scarlett didn’t know what to do for him; he was a mess, so she decided to just listen to him.

  “Mr Briggs, calm down, we’re going to try to help you,” she assured him, “Come and sit down, have a hot drink and tell us what happened.”

  Scarlett led the old man to the lounge and helped him to sit down while Jimmy obediently put the kettle on. Scarlett sat next to Charlie and noticed a deep injury on his forearm.

  “Shall I get a towel?” Alice asked sweetly, still unclear as to what was actually going on.

  “Please, Alice. Have your parents got a first aid kit?”

  “Yeah, I’ll go get it.”

  Alice hurried into the kitchen, almost colliding with her big brother as he returned with a mug of tea for their unexpected guest. He received it gratefully and Jimmy sat down as Alice came back with the first aid box, handing it to Scarlett.

  Scarlett began gently cleaning and disinfecting Charlie’s wound as he told his story.

  “I’m so sorry to barge in on you all like this,” he started, “But I only went out for some milk. I saw a young girl, can’t have been much older than Alice, lying in a heap on the ground,” he winced as Scarlett wound a bandage tightly around his arm, “I tried to help her up… she was bleeding, I just wanted to help her. I took her arm and pulled her to her feet, and that’s when it happened. She bit me. She just lunged at me and bit my damn arm. Then, of course, I got home and saw what’s all over the news and didn’t know where else to go.”

  Scarlett and Jimmy took a moment to register what they had just been told. Neither of them had even considered that children would be among the infected. A shiver coursed through Jimmy as he looked over at his little sister, trying hard not to imagine what could happen to her.

  “You’re safe now,” Scarlett finally replied, “You can stay here if you want to. Although I’d usually suggest getting an injury like that seen to properly, I highly doubt they’ll even have any space at the hospital.”

  “So, we’re staying now?” Jimmy asked, hopeful that the answer was yes.

  “For the night, yeah. It’s getting dark, so we’ll stay until morning and leave first thing. If they evacuate, we don’t want to miss i
t.”

  “You think it’ll come to that?”

  “Jimmy, were you and I watching the same news channel? Of course it will.”

  Jimmy didn’t bother to argue. He knew that Scarlett was strong-willed, but above all, he trusted her. That didn’t stop him being scared shitless.

  Alice stood and left the room and Scarlett could hear her padding up the stairs. She had no idea if she would be able to get them to safety. The streets had been quiet on the drive to Jimmy’s, but she had only been driving for about ten minutes, if that, and the route from her mother’s led her through a series of small estates. Nobody had any idea what the main roads and motorways would be like.

  Using her initiative, she helped herself to Jimmy’s laptop, which was balanced on the arm of the couch, and began trawling social media for the answer. The internet connection was remarkably slow, but Scarlett was able to view her homepage. It seemed that not many people had been online for a few hours, but she stumbled upon a video which had been posted in the last few minutes.

  Scarlett regretted opening the link almost instantly; it had been filmed on someone’s mobile phone but still managed to portray immense detail. The video had been shot from a block of apartments in the city and showed scenes of total disarray. She watched in horror as people ran terrified and in complete hysteria on the streets below. The sound was muffled, but she could clearly make out the screams and the crash of metal as individuals were attacked and cars rammed into one another in the gridlocked roads.

  Alice returned to the living room and Scarlett slammed the laptop closed so she didn’t hear. In her arms Alice held a pistol and a few boxes of ammunition. Jimmy sprang out of his seat and took them from her.

  “Alice, what are you doing with all this?” he questioned, astounded that she even knew where they were.

  “They’re Dad’s,” she began, “I thought the gun would be useful when we leave.”