Shane and Rob though came through the gates with the biggest prize and generated the biggest crowd due to the huge Deer, antlers and all, on the front bonnet of the police 90. People surrounded them like flies around shit, and I didn’t blame them, it had been a while since anyone had tasted any real meat. They said they saw it, couldn’t turn the chance down, shot it, bundled it on the bonnet with a bit of rope and bought it home. Not sure who was going to butcher and cook it, but I couldn’t wait to try some real meat for a change. I’m not complaining about spam and sausages made from lips and arses, but some real meat would be fantastic!
I had heard on Radio2 a few weeks before the outbreak an interview with wildlife expert Chris Packham, in which he said that the population of Deer here in the UK was at its highest level in almost a thousand years, and that is despite all the fields and woodlands being used for housing developments. If we could bag a few Deer here and there from woodlands right on our door step along with Rabbits and pigeons that would no longer be controlled as they were before the outbreak then this could be quite a food resource. Rabbit meat is great for bulking out a meal along with vegetables or bread but is so lean that you can’t survive on it alone. There are many stories from the old American Wild West where whole towns have starved in winter even though they had an abundance of rabbit meat. The meat has so little fat that although they were eating they were actually dying of malnutrition but never knew.
I was pretty hyped up from this mornings’ activities, but also worried that we had been listened in on from the Americans. They must have taken the conversation pretty damn seriously to have sent a helicopter with a snatch squad to visit us. I had the bonnet of the 90 up, for a cursory look at my earlier repairs. It had lost no water from my repair on the radiator, so I was pretty happy with that too. I had to do something about the bonnet and slam panel, I couldn’t rely on just a bit of string holding it down. I’ll just add it to the list of things to do once we had got Sue to where she needed to go.
Sue and Sarah came back not long after to meet me for dinner and put the kettle on. That bloody thing wasn’t going to last out the year at this rate, the amount of use it was getting. They were both grubby from working on the veg planting etc. They were laughing and joking, both of them seemed to get on with each other very well. Sarah said she was going to change her top before going to dinner and headed up to the tent like I hadn’t even moved it this morning. Sue came over and gave me a cuddle and a kiss, I could get damn used to this. I pulled her to one side and gave her a very brief rundown of what had happened, keeping quiet so Sarah didn’t hear what we were all up to. She remarked that they had heard distant shots and an explosion earlier, but no one in the camp realised it was related to us. She was very concerned that the Americans were listening in though as we all were.
After we had returned from dinner at the canteen I got the Air rifle out of the 90 for Sarah. It was an Air Arms TX200HC I had owned since 2000. It was an old school underlever spring powered rifle in .22 with the HC standing for Hunter Carbine. The barrel was about eight inches shorter than the standard version, making it a bit lighter and more compact but for a springer its accuracy was still pretty damn good especially with the wide-angle scope on it. Nowadays people go for the CO2 or compressed air multiple shot rifles, but this will do the job and no need to find somewhere to recharge it. With its volumetric silencer it was pretty quiet, though not soundless. I ran her through how to use it, the safety, how to load it, how to find a sight picture, aim it, and fire it. We took a few shots into dead ground behind where we were camped at some old cans and she was pretty good. Once I was happy that she was safe with it and after her promising me she would clear with Christopher before using it and wouldn’t try and take out a zombie with it, I let her go off with it to help with planting and the new greenhouse.
As she headed off with the Air rifle in its black padded case over her shoulder I was secretly hoping for an afternoon repeat of last night’s tent activities with Sue but before I could make any sexual advances towards her I noticed Kev coming our way. Hmmm, I don’t know why but I wasn’t getting a good feeling about his visit and the way he was doing the half run half jog that people do when they want to get somewhere fast but also have to stop themselves from drawing attention to themselves.
‘Yo Kev! You’re looking serious.’ I called out trying to sound upbeat and unworried.
He looked at me. Whether I was or not, it was clear that he was worried. He came under the tarp and looked around. Seeing Sarah wasn’t here he spoke quickly. He was clearly rattled by something. ‘Radio chatter around this area is off the bloody scale about the sighting of the two military helicopters, one Brit and one American, explosions and gun fire and only the brit Helicopter seen leaving the hill.’
‘Like what?’ I asked now concerned.
‘Most of it is people wildly speculating about what the government, ours or the USA’s, or army is doing and if it is rescue related, but others are reporting that one copter went down followed by lots of gun fire followed by another turning up. No one can link it to any one and our official story is still the one we agreed on that we were in town scoping out the local pharmacies several miles away from all of the goings on. The Bristol lot have heard it too and suggest – obviously on the secure communications - that we move our asset.’ He looked at Sue. ‘To a secret and secure location until pick up, if your work and bloods are corroborated of course, can be arranged.’
‘And you think it’s a good idea Kev?’ Sue now asked.
Kev looked at his feet first, then me and Sue. ‘We took out eight of their men and a bloody helicopter! That is no mean feat for a trained army unit never mind a small band of survivors with little in the way of fire power and they are sure to want revenge should they find out the actual details of what happened. We may have met them several miles away in the middle of nowhere, but they may be able to work out it was us. Possibly. Maybe. I don’t know really; I’m just worried for the camp and your safety too.’
‘No need to panic mate, I’ve got an idea. I know of a place about four miles away. It should still be secure as I hid the keys.’ I thought for a moment. ‘I hid some food and water there but if we take enough for three people for maximum of five days then we should be covered food and water wise. Shouldn’t take them long to come back to us once they realise what we have given them. Pretty sure they have plenty of guinea pigs to test on.’
Kev looked down at his feet again and shuffled. ‘As much as I’d love to, I can’t come.’ Said Kev. ‘I’ve too much to sort out here just dealing with the aftermath of the other night and training new security people up.’ He paused for a moment. ‘I also think that someone that knows what is going on should stay here in case something happens to you lot, there will be questions if you are gone more than a day or so.’
‘Fair one, what about if we take Marc? He’d be like taking five people with us, especially if we take the M14s and a chunk of ammo. Think about it. If the yanks do turn up here then they would be looking for us using their weapons as an indication that it was us involved and, to be fair, we’d be daft not to have them on our fences instead of just shot guns and rifles wouldn’t we?’ Kev nodded thoughtfully. ‘If we take the three M4s, ammo and grenades, a pistol each with ammo then you bury or hide the other pistols and 203 grenades, use the 9mm ammo for the MP5s then if they come looking here for them then you won’t have them. Only Paul, Rob and Shane know we’ve got them so tell them to keep quiet, and if we get jumped while on the road or at the hiding place by anyone then they won’t know what hit them with the firepower we’ll have!’
‘You’ll have to take the secure comms though. Will you have power to recharge it at that place?’
‘Mains power is still on with rolling on and off power cuts at times, but I’ve also got two ossing gert leisure batteries and an inverter in the back of the 90. That should charge that thing for several weeks if needed.’ I looked at Sue. ‘We will have to take the X5 to the hidi
ng place and maybe the pick-up point as Sarah will need the tent.’ She nodded it was fine. Having the 90 and its tent left behind and set up would also lessen the visual impact of me not being in the camp. Some may not notice at all.
‘I’ll have a word with Marc, I’m sure he will jump at the chance, he loved that shit earlier! It was another side of him I hadn’t seen before, and I’m bloody glad he is on our side!’ Chuckled Kev as he turned to leave.
‘Cool, we’ll start getting some kit and food together.’ I thought again for a moment. ‘Best to pick the guns up at the gate as we go through, less people likely to see.’ Kev gave a thumbs up as he walked off and headed off over to see Camouflage.
In the meantime, Sue and I started selecting packet meals and tins from my stash in the 90 and putting them into a big kit bag she had. I put my tactical vest gas masks, gas, knives etc in too along with our sleeping bags and roll matts. Sue put the kettle on again, so I decided to pack the jet boil and extra gas cylinders to keep us in tea over the next few days or however long it would take for Bristol to contact us. Weapon wise we were going to have an M4 and a pistol each so I wouldn’t need the shot gun pistols but that didn’t stop me tinkering with a few cartridges. I opened two up on my little camp table with my Gerber Multi-tool and emptied the shot and wadding out. I had a little pot that used to be full of chewing gum and was now full of loose change, some for parking and the rest because I didn’t want it in my pockets etc. I tipped it out and sorted through it finding thirty, five pence piece pieces. I carefully put fifteen inside each cartridge, put the wadding back and carefully folded the end of the cartridge back together with a bit of careful heat from a lighter before placing them both back into one of the shotgun pistols of which I had wrapped red electrical tape around the handle. Sue was watching me intently.
‘You do know that having ammunition without a license is bad enough but modifying said ammunition from standard is a huge no-no according to the law.’ Said Sue.
‘I don’t like to leave Sarah on her own. She has never fired a gun before the air rifle earlier so she will need all the help she can get if she ever needs too. These should shred anything she points it at, even if her aim is off by a foot or so.’
‘Parenting wins from Brian!’ Sue mocked.
I laughed. ‘I can’t help being the man I am!’
‘I like the man you are.’ I got a wink and a big smile from her. Moments later camouflage turned up with a huge rucksack that he dumped by the windbreak.
‘Kev’s got the weapons and ammo ready at the gate for us, along with the comms kit for Bristol and here.’
‘Right, I’m off to find Sarah, give her a bit of advice and ground rules, teenagers eh? Tea or coffee ready if you want some mate then help yourself.’ Then I walked off to the back of the school where the allotment area was. She was laughing as she worked with her friends. The air rifle was in its padded case and stood up in the dry out of the way against a wire mesh fence protecting one of the planted areas. Good girl, looking after it and not letting someone else mess with it. She looked worried when she saw me and came running over. Christopher looked up but I just gave him the thumbs up, he smiled and waved in return before continuing with his work and showing the younger kids how to do it.
‘What’s up?’ Sarah asked.
I put my arm around her shoulder and walked her away from anyone within earshot. ‘I’m afraid I’ve got to go off camp for a few days.’
She stopped walking abruptly. ‘Is it to do with Sue?’ She was fairly bright for a teenager of nowadays.
‘Yes it is. Myself, Marc and Sue. But if it works out it will involve us all, that’s all I can say really.’ I turned back towards Christopher; he was still busy showing the kids how to transfer seedlings. ‘And Christopher is unaware and not to know, it’s very hush hush at the moment but if anyone asks then we have gone to help Sues friends with something. Okay?’ She looked like she was going to cry. I handed her the keys to the 90. She looked at me but didn’t speak. ‘Don’t worry, I’m definitely coming back, but you are in charge of it and everything in it until I am. Hidden behind the seats as you know is the pistols and pump action all fully loaded and ready to fire. This bit is important though, okay?’ She looked at me and nodded. She knew well enough that if I said anything was important then she would listen to me. ‘One of the pistols has red tape around the handle. That one is special and should only be used as a last resort as it will rip everything in front of the barrel to shreds. Do not use it as a warning shot or to maim, it’s a last resort, and an absolute killer. Okay?’
She nodded. ‘Are you going now?’
‘Pretty much, just wanted to see you and explain as much as I can before we went. Help yourself to what you need and if you and your friends do venture into the booze then be fairy sensible, yeah? I was a teenager on the booze once or twice myself you know.’ We both laughed.
She cuddled me tightly and kissed me on the cheek. ‘Just both come back as you are please!’ She let go and turned quickly before going back off to her gardening, she wasn’t one for hanging around for goodbyes, her mum had taught her that the last time she saw her. She joined back in with three girls her own age and continued with the seedling planting, looking up just once and waved. I waved back, not enough to embarrass her, you know how teenagers get, and started a slow thoughtful walk back to camp.
As I got back, Sue and Camouflage were loading up and ready. I jumped into the passenger seat and Sue did a three-point turn and headed back up to the gates. Kev was there with another long black kit bag waiting for us. He handed it to Camouflage in the back sat in the centre seat. He took it and stashed it behind my seat. We gave Kev a nod and he did the same, nothing to say, we all knew we had to be careful and that he did too. Kev signalled for the gate to open and we rolled through and off to the right.
On the ride through Kingshill we could see the parade of shops we had stripped out a few days ago, Lidl was empty, the corner shop was empty as was the car parts shop, takeaway and fish and chip shop where Leighton and Jerry both died. What wasn’t empty was the streets of zombies. Zombie activity was now much higher than that of the other day. They didn’t seem to have any direction in mind of where to go, just seemed to be collectively milling together on the main road in the shop/pub area.
‘Beep your horn and flash the headlights a few times.’ I said to Sue as I hit her blues and twos button on the dash. The sirens came on and the flashing strobes hidden in the rear light clusters and front grill would have burst into life.
‘Won’t hurt to lure as many as possible back along the road with us away from the school.’ She nodded as she did so and weaved around the ones she could. There was the odd thump as she hit a few here and there with glancing blows sending them spinning to the floor. She couldn’t hit too many head on as the X5’S flimsy body work and useless plastic bumper couldn’t take the abuse the 90 could.
She had slowed to fifteen miles an hour, we were in no rush to get to the safe house, and a good few had decided to follow us for the tinned food that we were. We were still at the same speed with blues and twos going as we came upon the police station on the right-hand side. I could hear camouflage rustling in the bag in the back and as we drew level with the police station his window came down, he leaned out of it with his M4 and grenade launcher and fired a grenade into the big solid wood doors of the court house. He didn’t announce it as he did it, but we had kind of guessed that was what he was doing. The doors blew apart in spectacular fashion and an almighty boom. Those grenades certainly packed a punch! Not much flame but plenty of smoke emanated from the now jagged hole where the doors once stood. The following hoard broke away from following us and veered right towards the smoke and echoing noise coming from there. He reloaded and put another one through the now open doors and it exploded further inside the building. This time there was flames and lots of smoke not only out of the door but now from the sky lights on the roof. This should now create an attraction for the zombie
s in the area that didn’t fancy following a black, blue light flashing, noisy BMW.
‘That should keep a few of them away for another day or so.’ Said Camouflage as he sat back down. ‘I’ll radio Kev later and tell him to be aware of the extra activity in the vicinity.’
From there all the way down the hill into Cam and towards the Tesco store were crowds of zombies. They must have given up on the estates and be off to pastures new to find food. Again, Sue was swerving to avoid them.
‘Perhaps we should have left these with the school?’ I said as I nodded towards the M4. ‘They might need that extra fire power in a few days.’
‘They’ll be fine.’ Camouflage assured me. ‘That Para Pun gave us loads of shot gun ammo and .22 rifle ammo. All the trained guys use the MP5s, of which they have got a load of new ammunition for, the rest get the shot guns or rifles. Makes them take proper aim instead of spray and pray like they probably would do with one of these. Anyway, if they get close up to the gates and fences the procedure is to stab them in the head with spears to save noise and ammo. If it gets really bad then a combo of shooting and stabbing but they won’t get in.’ I looked at him saying I'm not too sure about that. ‘There are various points on the gates and fence line I put homemade claymores on. Kev and now Shaun have the controls for them. Each one will take out a large van or a good fifteen plus TRADs in a go if needed. We’ve got barrels of waste oil we can release into the culvert in front of our fences and light them up, we could even clear the gates and get a couple of vans out there and mow a load down every so often. Believe me, all sorts of options are on the table, none of them are too out there if it works and protects the school. Okay mate? Sarah will be fine.’
The Reanimated Dead (Book 2): The Answer Page 5