I heard a shout from behind me and then a bullet smack into the side of the fire engine to my left to grab my attention, I started to turn and saw what Camouflage was trying to tell me. Behind the fire engine and the hard shoulder that it was parked on was a large dip in the verge, leading down into a field in dead ground with at least three thousand zombies in it and they were bunching up as they were filing out from the break in the fence and up to the road. Bollocks! That was where the almighty smell was coming from, being bought my way on the wind. More shots rang out towards the group behind me and then the group on Camouflages side of the motor way.
I picked up the huge disc cutter and semi put it on my shoulder to run across the road, jumped up and down to assess the weight and once fairly comfortable I could run with it I turned to run and ran smack into a man mountain of a fireman zombie. I landed on my ass with a thump and the saw clattered five or six feet away from me. Camouflage must have been busy with his side as no shot came my way to take out the muscle-bound drooling Fireman Sam above me. Freeing the Browning pistol in my waist band I bought it up into the aim and… Zombie Sam walked straight past me, not giving one shit that he had just bumped into a slightly plump and tasty human. I sat there amazed. The next two shuffled past with no interest in me at all, no look, no smell, nothing. I scrabbled to my feet and hauled the disc cutter up again and made for the central reservation. Shots came my way again and took out three behind me. I didn’t have the energy as I was running, not something I was used to, to tell him that he needed not to bother until I got to the railing. ‘Get in the Landy!’ I shouted while gasping and wheezing from my little exertion. He looked at me puzzled. ‘Get in the Landy and hide! They have no interest with me!’ He nodded that he understood but dropped two more to be sure then got in the drivers’ side, no doubt locking the door too, and throwing his smock over his head to stay out of view.
I hefted the disc cutter onto the railing and quickly looked at the side of it. I made sure the plug lead was on secure and then pumped the primer bubble. I moved the choke lever to almost half way and gave the pull cord a hard tug. It spluttered and almost caught on its first pull. I suppose the fire service needed their kit to be the most reliable available but several weeks of no maintenance would have an effect. I pumped the primer three more times and pulled again. The cutter roared into life and I put it to work straight away. As soon as the blade started to bite into the galvanised railing I regretted not having ear defenders and a breathing mask. It was noisy as hell and the fumes from the galvanised coating was chocking. I finished off the first cut without breathing anymore and gasped for breath. The noise had bought all the boys to my yard alright, though they wandered towards the noise, saw what it was and walked away again, I held no interest for them at all. This is how it must have been for Sue.
I judged the width of the 110 and started my second cut. This time I had bought the front of my fleece up over my nose and mouth to stop the worst of the fumes and went at it again. In a few noisy minutes and shower of sparks that wouldn’t have looked out of place from the Flash Dance music video, the barrier was disconnected from the rest and on the floor and we had access to the other carriage way. I looked longingly at the cutter and the rest of the kit on the fire engine. It was a huge shame, but we had no more room on or in the 110. With the engine of the saw still running the zombies were still gathered around me. I put the cutter down with the blade in the air still turning and aimed it northbound on the road, when I lowered it and the blade caught the tarmac it shot up the road like a scalded cat, albeit in a wobbly but fairly straight line with a line of zombies following it.
The noise of the cutting and the funny yellow mini monocycle shooting off up the road had made them all lose interest in Camouflage hiding in the 110, I ran over and got in on my side.
‘That was pretty damn cool, though scared the shite out of me to start with.’ He admitted.
‘Scared you?’ I exclaimed. ‘When fireman Sam knocked me on my ass I thought I was lunch!’ We both laughed. We were now back on track and were determined to stay that way the rest of the way home. Using the open comms we had to hand we notified Bristol and Whittington that we had just had dealings with a Mega Swarm and the location.
To lighten the mood a little and try and cheer myself up a bit I asked Camouflage if he had ever played Zombie Bingo. Luckily he was on the same page as me. He raised his left hand and started folding out fingers as he recounted them. ‘I’ve seen zombies in business suits, School kids, Police, nurses and now firemen.’ He was smiling big time. ‘And you?’
‘I’ve seen naked zombies, swim suit wearing zombies, the fireman, a golfer but I have never seen what every zombie film has ever told us we would see.’ We both looked at each other and said at the same time. ‘A zombie bride and groom!’ We laughed so hard at that even the Land rover shook from side to side in time to our laughter.
At the Strensham M5 services near the M50 junction we had to both get out and thin a crowd out a bit with the SLRs. Apart from the M4s that we had grenade launchers on I was starting to love this rifle for its accuracy and punch. Despite this and the barrier cutting incident we had made fairly good time and arrived back at the garage safe house at a little after seven PM.
The keys were as where I had left them, and the big wooden double door was unmolested. We were quick, got in, grabbed the BMW with the radio and other kit in and then we were gone. As I locked up again I saw movement in the field opposite. I stood there for a few moments concentrating on the area. I saw no more movement but pulled the Browning and walked across the road to the hedge. I looked through the hedge in one place but could see nothing. Camouflage could see me and was obviously interested in what I was looking at and came over with his SLR. I looked through the next bare patch and saw a big cat. When I say big cat I mean BIG cat. It looked like a Lynx and it looked to be stalking something. I had always heard of big cat sightings around here but never took much notice thinking most of the sightings to be bollocks. Camouflage saw it too and started to raise his rifle. I put my hand on the barrel. ‘Leave it mate, let him go, he’s the same as us, adapting to a new world.’
We left our new discovery to it and headed back towards town and the school in convoy, the 110 being out front. Despite the biker boys being one man down now, the signs for the school were still up and hopefully doing their job at recruiting survivors. As we passed the flats on the right the hanging zombie torsos were still swinging back and forth and taking bites out of each other whenever they were blown close enough together to do so. They looked like those swinging ball bearing desk toys that were all the rage in the 80’s knocking back and forth but covered in blood and gore instead of nice clean and shiny chrome.
Zombie activity was pretty heavy everywhere as we drove through Cam. A town of ten thousand plus people, the majority now of who were destined to walk until there wasn’t enough flesh and muscle left of them to be able to walk. Camouflage was out front and hit the odd three or four every now and then, I just stayed in his wake as this thing wouldn’t last long pecking away at heavy bodies with its flimsy bodywork. At the police station we could see that the old court building was just a burnt-out shell after being bombed by Camouflage a week ago as a diversion to keep the hoard away from the school.
As we approached the school we could see about thirty or more zombies at the gates, some were in the culvert before the fence. Standard procedure was to leave them and wait for them to move on unless we had to. We hadn’t told them we were on our way back, so they weren’t expecting us and hadn’t cleared them away. As soon as the guard tower saw us coming you could see spears coming through the bars stabbing the ones closest and the odd shot coming from the towers. We pulled up to the one side of the gates and got out with the SLRs and started picking them off. Once we had cleared enough away for the gate to open we both got back in and drove through the gates as the other guys kept what was left at bay.
We were back home. As soon as the gates shut behi
nd me I felt a weight lift off of my shoulders. I still had to explain to Sarah and others about what happened to Sue but the stress of the mission and journey was off at least, I was home surrounded by armed guards and my hammock would embrace me tonight.
I left the BMW X5 of Sue’s just inside of the gates with the keys and communication equipment in it. Kev came down the stairs of the main watch tower. ‘Did Sue stay?’ He asked. Camouflage had already been doing the sign language for him behind my back not to say anything, but Kev had missed it altogether.
‘Ummm, no mate, she didn’t make it. Short story, we got jumped, she got taken, we got her back and then she was shot. She died at the facility.’ I replied.
‘Bollocks.’ Was Kev’s reply, he looked at Camouflage. ‘Why didn’t you stop me?’
‘I tried but you just jumped in without reading the situation.’
Kev looked at him and then said. ‘Oh, so that’s what all the head shaking and throat cutting gestures were?’ Camouflage just wiped his face and shook his head.
‘It’s alright Kev. We got her there and she did what she needed to do. We have her ashes that she want’s spread in Berkeley and we came back bearing gifts of the bang-bang type that Marc here will no doubt explain and sort out for you when he is rested and ready, we all got a little bit banged up on this little trip one way or another so please bear with us.’ I said and started to walk away.
‘Drink later?’ Asked Kev. ‘Fill us all in?’
I turned around. ‘I’d love to, I’d like nothing less than a bottle of the captains finest, but I want to explain to Sarah before someone else does. Maybe tomorrow? Sure Marc can fill you in on our little adventure.’ I waved to them both and headed back off to my camping spot.
I could see smoke coming from under my tarp, so the fire was going at least. I walked up the little hill and ducked under to see Sarah just about to fill a cup with hot water. I was going to ask her to make me one, but I didn’t want her to jump and scald herself, so I coughed gently.
She looked around slowly as she poured the hot water out. She beamed, put the coffee and the kettle down and ran over to me with her arms outstretched. ‘I’ve missed you both.’ She exclaimed as she cuddled me, then stopped and looked around. ‘Where is Sue?’ She asked solemnly, and immediately realising something was wrong as soon as she looked at my face. ‘No. She can’t be.’ She burst into tears and hugged me harder. I started to cry too. She broke off and arranged two seats and pouring another cup of sweet tea.
I sat down with her and told her everything that had happened finishing with telling her about Sues ashes and where she wanted them to be scattered. I noticed two rabbits hung up under the tarp and she told me that she had got pretty good with the air rifle. I didn’t doubt it looking at the holes in their heads. We sat and chatted for a bit and then she made her excuses for bed. I followed suit, but first I had a nice long slash against the old oak, like old times and reacquainting myself with an old friend and marking my territory like a dog. It was great though getting into the hammock and covering myself with a nice thick blanket and closing my tired eyes.
Chapter 15
I don’t know what time it was but all of a sudden my fore head hurt like hell, I opened my eyes and the pain repeated itself but in my left temple. I was about to bring my hand up to my temple when the pressure increased, and I could smell the familiar smell of cordite and gun oil. It was then that I realised that the pain was external, cold, metallic and belonged to the silencer on the end of an automatic pistol. In the dark with no fire left to illuminate under the tarp I could barely see more than a silhouette of the person on the other end of the gun. I adjusted myself as much as I could in my hammock, but the gun stayed attached to my temple.
‘Stay still fella. No sudden movements.’ Came the American voice. ‘I had been planning to kill you and your mate on the way back earlier today at the crash site until I saw you walk among the massive crowd of dead totally unmolested. It was a pretty neat trick, didn’t realise there was two of you with the answer inside them. Now though you are going to be coming back with me, that way you killing all my mates won’t have been a complete waste, we can have a crack at a cure, and we won’t need the woman eh?’
‘Her name was Sue, and she’s dead thanks to you wankers trying to snatch her!’ I spat at him.
‘She was alive when I dragged her from your convoy, so you can’t pin that on me. Must have been from your botched rescue or was it escape? Oh well, either way I’ve got you now, so all is still good eh?’
A light from one of the watch towers washed over us and illuminated him for a second. He was the Delta Force guy I dropped and stole the Leatherman Multi-tool from back at their compound before my kicking. He also looked and smelt like shit, all scratched, bleeding and bruised. ‘Fair play though you look like shit bud!’ I helpfully informed him in case he was unaware of the fact. Some of it was caused by my backwards head butting and elbows but only some.
He bought his left hand up to his face tracing the fierce looking scratches on his face, throat and neck. ‘I spent several days outside of your shitty Military base, waiting for you to leave while avoiding zombies and armed patrols, then today when I think you are back home or at least basing up in an old garage overnight and try to get a closer look I get attacked by a feral Mane Coon cat.’
‘That was you moving out in the field next door?’ I chuckled. ‘I saw the big cat and thought it was a Lynx, but it was just a domestic pussy cat? Ha-ha, twat!’ I spat. The silencer hit me a good one again, this time drawing blood and making me screw up my eyes in pain. I obviously hadn’t learnt my lesson from getting captured and having my still aching and possibly broken ribs warmed up by him the other day. I should be the grey man like Pun and Camouflage recommended, but unfortunately I could be a sarcastic bastard at the best of times. He threw a pair of hand cuffs onto my blanket, I could see them quite well now my night vision was kicking in, it’s all to do with the cones and rods in your eyes and why you can see slightly better at night by looking to one side of what you are actually looking at. Told you I remembered the eyes lessons from GCSE biology.
‘Put the cuffs on and shut the fuck up, you’re coming back with me.’ The pistol never wavered. I threw the blanket back and swung my legs over the side of the hammock. He took three steps back. ‘The hand cuffs, now.’
‘Alright Cat Boy, chill out.’ I said in my best slow-going teenager attitude. He wasn’t happy with that reply and motioned for me to put them on with a wave of the pistol. I picked the hand cuffs up and placed the bracelet on one hand.
‘Any time today would be a help.’ He spat impatiently.
I saw a slight movement out of my right eye. Was it one of his mates? I thought he was the only one left alive. Were there many more yank Squads out there like he came from? The movement was very slight and whoever it was hadn’t made themselves known so I doubted they were with him.
The search light came around again. I closed one eye like a pirate to save some of my newly acquired night vision and what I saw scared me. It was Sarah, and she was holding the shotgun pistol with the red tape on the handle in both hands out in front of herself level and locked. He must have seen something too as the pistol came off of aim on me ever so slightly just as Sarah whistled in a kind of ‘You! Hoo!’ As he briefly looked in the direction of the whistle I threw myself back over the hammock towards the fire place and windbreak as two one-foot long streaks of flame left the twelve-gauge pistol in her hands. Thirty hot, spinning five pence pieces erupted from the two shortened barrels, spread out in a deadly 360-degree fan and ripped fabric, skin and bone to pieces as they hit and passed through Cat Boys body, limbs and face. He hit the oak tree behind him with force, the odd five pence piece ricocheting here and there off the sides of the old oak. I was going to have to stop pissing on it for all the punishment we were giving it of late.
I got up off my arse and approached Cat Boy. His face was a mess. Chunks of cheek bone missing along with h
is right eye and lower jaw, crimson pulp dripping from half missing forehead while his chest and arms looked like badly minced meat. I tried to take his pulse but there was nowhere on his neck left to try, two sticky, bloody bubbles inflated and popped from just under his chin. I tried his one goodish arm at the wrist and could get no pulse so left him and approached Sarah. The shotgun pistol was on the floor a few feet away and she was rubbing her wrists. I should have let her know the other day that it was a kicker, but she had done what was required, and I was bloody grateful she had.
‘Are you okay?’ I asked her, arms outstretched.
She came to me and cuddled me. ‘Was he one of the ones that killed her?’
I nodded. ‘Yeah he was one of them.’
‘Good.’ Was her only reply, before breaking off and heading back for the tent ladder, just as people came running towards the camp to see what had happened.
Chapter 16
After a night of accusations, questions, a not seen before pissed off Christopher with bulging vein on his balding temple and of course, very little sleep, I had gotten up well before sparrow fart and day light. I just wandered around the quieter bits of the school camp, mainly around the meadow and the graves of the people we had lost so far wondering what to do and on what will happen. If it was just me, I’d happily load up and sod off out of them gates right now, especially now I was able to mingle among the undead without bother or harm, I just had to worry about other humans which so far in my experience was definitely the more dangerous. Tempting, but what would happen to Sarah? In the words of a popular TV fantasy show ‘winter was coming’ and she would need more shelter than just a tent to live in.
The Reanimated Dead (Book 2): The Answer Page 13