The Reanimated Dead (Book 2): The Answer

by Wakefield, Trevor

  As light broke through the darkness, I could see that there were new additions to the meadow in the form of 6 cows and several calves. I saw movement towards them and picked out a person, though be it male or female I couldn’t tell at this distance and in this light, heading towards a very basic lean-to structure. I watched for a little longer to see the person lead the cow to the lean-to, it was obvious then. They were milking them.

  After all I had heard over the last week about Dr Jenner and cow pox though the thought of body warm milk straight from the udder and the milk maids’ puss filled hands didn’t really appeal to me and made me feel really quite queasy. I didn’t fancy any milk unless it had been boiled or cooked in something like a nice rice pudding, or Chinese wedding cake as my dad used to call it. I think I will stick to my UHT milk pots for as long as they last. I much preferred the way the old French guy, Louis Pasteur, who was also into his vaccinations like old Jenner, had invented pasteurisation to rid milk of such ills.

  I started walking back towards the main school building. I saw Sarah, up early, and heading towards the allotments with the padded rifle case over her shoulder, hood of her hoodie up but head held low. I stayed out of sight, it’s bad but I didn’t know what to say to her, the poor girl had just killed her first human being last night to save me. I didn’t mind killing my first few as they were trying to kill me but then I wasn’t fourteen years old.

  I had been angrily instructed, as everyone went back to bed last night, to meet with Christopher, Kev and the elders of the camp, whoever the bloody hell they were, first thing this morning. The first I had heard of them before last night. As I approached the school reception entrance, lights were going out all over the site and building. For us to have to meet this early meant it was going to take all day or they wanted to kick me out before lunch. The door was unlocked and swung open as I pushed it, there was no-one manning the reception, not that I had expected there still to be, but now I had heard there were camp elders I didn’t know what to expect.

  I had only sat down for a minute myself, scanning the walls of old art projects from previous, and probably now dead pupils past when Camouflage charged in half jogging half walking.

  ‘Phew! Thought I was going to be late.’ He said as he looked around the reception.

  ‘What are you doing here mate?’ I asked.

  He sat opposite me and bent forward. ‘I had a chat with Kev after what went down and agreed that it would be best if all those able to attend today that had anything to do with the happenings of the last week were here to speak. First time I have heard of camp Elders and not sure if I like the sound of it.’

  I nodded my agreement. ‘What do we tell them though? Apart from sues ashes, we have nothing to show them apart from...’

  He cut me short knowing what I meant about me. ‘That shit is between you me and Sues ghost mate. I’ve not told Kev, it’s not my place. All we have to tell is the truth and full story of everything else, from when you met Sue weeks ago to the time she was shot the other day. The journey home and being followed by a lone soldier and Sarah shredding him with ballistic lose change is going to be the end. Okay?’ I was sat forward and nodded yet again. ‘I can corroborate your story from the time we left to the time we came back through those gates but rest assured that when Christopher finds out that this camp could be instrumental in the finding of a cure or an end to this outbreak he will be trying so hard to clean up the baby Bostik he will have released in his trousers that disciplining anyone about this will be the last thing on his mind!’ He sat back with a smile.

  ‘There must be a reason for all of this to be this early in the morning though?’

  ‘He will want it done and dusted so that when people wake from their shotgun blast disturbed slumber this morning and start gossiping and Chinese whispering and ending up at lunchtime telling everyone that we were invaded by American special forces last night to take all the able-bodied men away to fight zombies and all the women away to start a child birth program to re-populate the world, he can call bullshit on it and tell them what really happened.’

  I slightly smiled at that. ‘Makes sense I suppose. Though I have a feeling that this is going to be Christopher serving me a huge silver platter full of shit filled sandwiches.’

  ‘If it is mate then the best course of action is to chomp, chew and repeat until you are finished mate, get it over and done with no pissing around with the odd tentative nibble here and there so to speak. Eh?.’ I didn’t get any chance to reply or say anymore as the door at the side of reception opened and Kev popped his head out.

  ‘Follow me chaps, just got the room ready and the others are on their way.’

  We followed Kev through and into the corridors, there were people milling around and already clanking and talking noises coming from the direction of the canteen, no doubt making bread or something from the newly acquired milk givers or whatever for lunch and dinner. It was a short walk left, up some stairs and first on the left again. We were in a room with a curved glass wall overlooking the entrance to the leisure centre/toilets. I wasn’t expecting what I was seeing. I was expecting a long desk with chairs all along one side and one chair in front like an interview. What I wasn’t expecting was a circle of chairs. Coffee, tea and water were on a desk to the side with biscuits and napkins, all very civilised.

  ‘A circle?’ I asked unbelieving. I chuckled to myself and looked round at Kev. ‘I hope to fuck he isn’t going to stand up, pull open his coat, whip his purple headed sword out and declare himself to be King Bloody Arthur!’

  Kev shook his head and smirked while Camouflage spat some tea out involuntary. ‘It’s how Christopher wanted it, doesn’t want it to seem like a court hearing. Help yourself to a drink.’ He waved back towards the refreshment table.

  I just took a cup of water then myself, Kev and Camouflage sat down with Kev in the middle with a black, loaded with sugar coffee.

  There was a knock on the door and Christopher’s head popped in. ‘Okay for us to come in?’ He asked. Still dressed as he normally would for gardening, and I couldn’t see a bulge from a sword under his jacket.

  Being a sarcastic git I couldn’t help being the one to say. ‘Of course Christopher, it’s your meeting mate.’ With a big shit eating smile, which got me a dig in the ribs from Kev’s elbow. It was then I could see who the camps elders were, or should I say weren’t. They weren’t really elder’s, just the heads of departments as it were. Kev obviously was head of security, there was the head guy from the workshops, the head guy from stores, the head woman from the livestock/garden, head woman from medical, head guy from procurement (scavenging) and of course, the King Christ-Arthur himself.

  Christopher sat down and started straight away even before his stubble covered chins had stopped wobbling from the seating impact and looking at his note pad, which they all had, and then addressing myself and Camouflage. He was much more calm and massively less upset than he was last night, in fact you wouldn’t know that he was pissed off about any of this last night looking at him now. ‘Marc and Brian, as you only came back to camp yesterday evening, I am not sure if you know but there were some changes that happened when you left. I realised that after the horrible night we were attacked that I didn’t know all the answers and that the camp needed departmentalising.’ He waved his hand around the circle. ‘And this is it. Everyone here is responsible for their department not me, so for instance, the vetting of people coming into the camp will now be much stricter than I would like but it is necessary and will be carried out by Kevin’s team as had been requested many times before. I made a mistake and lives were lost; I have to live with that because I didn’t listen to people who knew what they were doing. So, now we have the Elders... or management team as it were.’

  There was no need for introductions as we all knew each other luckily. I also got on with everyone here, or at least I did until last night and they now all hear what I have to say about the last week or so’s happenings when it is my
turn. Christopher took a huge slurp of tea that was a tad too hot as he kind of chocked it down rather than swallowed it and then when he had recovered he started. ‘Last night, as we all know, we had an incident here where the camp was infiltrated by an American special forces soldier, a camp member.’ He pointed to me for the benefit of everyone assembled. ‘Was assaulted, and the infiltrator was killed by a young girl we all know, who in Brian’s care.’ He stopped and looked around. ’She is not here today as I and everyone here will understand her actions and also know she will be devastated currently for what she has done, so a few days for her to recover would be best if indeed we do need to talk to her.’ He took a breath and looked at the others writing notes. He looked at me. ‘Brian, I have had a brief discussion with Kevin with regards to what has happened, and I have heard his side of his involvement in this all.’ Kev was sat with his head bowed, I couldn’t see from his face if it was a good or a bad discussion. ‘But the rest of the Elders are not as up to speed as I am. In your own words could you please start from the beginning and tell everyone assembled here what has occurred?’ He gestured towards me with an open palm to indicate that I should start.

  I wasn’t expecting this. After what happened and was said last night I was expecting a full-on shit show, full of accusations and what have you. Getting to tell my story myself and in my own time certainly wasn’t what I was expecting to be able to do. I shuffled in my seat, not sure if I should stand and address everyone like it was an English oral exam or just sit up a bit and start. I opted for the latter.

  ‘Okay. I’ll start many weeks ago, a few days before Myself and Sarah were kindly let through your gates. I was doing a bit of food scavenging along the A38 in a village called Whitminster and met a young lady by the name of Sue in a shop. She had only just been bitten on the wrist. The zombie...’ I corrected myself, knowing the people in the camp preferred the less threatening term. ‘I mean TRAD was led on the floor dead with a chunk of her wrist still in its teeth when I met her...’ I continued at length about her refusing to have her arm removed, leaving to go home, then later finding me at the school and her revealing her secret to me.

  Kev joined in at the point where I talked about using the bitten folks as guinea pigs. He had already told Christopher but thought I could do with a bit of back up and another perspective to tell the assembled how it went down and why. That Cynthia and Dale were fully informed and were happy to be involved (all of this was on the video, but we no longer had this). He also told them about the Veiled message to Bristol.

  Camouflage jumped in at his bit and told them of the incident with the Helicopter and that it was his call to drop the chopper in a combined effort to save the cure and for the safety of the camp. A few eyebrows were raised when he described the firework rocket system, and I told them of us leaving the camp and awaiting the Pathfinders to take us to the military base. We left out specifics such as which base for security reasons.

  Both Camouflage and I retold the story of Sue being captured and then our capture/rescue of her, to say everyone was on the edge of their seats including Kev was an understatement. I cried again uncontrollably when telling of her being shot as we got into the Land Rover, her death whilst holding her hand in the operating theatre and her being harvested for her blood, glands and organs for the cure. Camouflage told them of the return journey and all of the goodies we had managed to obtain for the safety, security, and wellbeing of the camp leaving out the bit where I walked among the TRAD’s unmolested, then I told them of waking up to a pistol in my temple, Sarah shooting the American and I finished by telling them... ‘Her full name was Sue Jenner. Great, great, great, great whatever Granddaughter of Dr Jenner of Small Pox fame and she wants her ashes spread at his house in Berkeley.’

  I stopped and looked at Camouflage, tears still in my eyes, he just nodded as if to say. ‘Well it’s all out now.’ I looked through hazy eyes at the rest of the room and had mixed expressions back in response. I felt my fight or flight instincts kicking in and it was making me look at the door with a view to flight.

  The woman who dealt with the medical side of the school was the first to ask a question. Margaret was her name, normally a quiet but jovial woman. ‘I’m sorry Brian, it seems you and Marc have been through the mill the last few days, but we will have questions. Is that okay?’ I was at least expecting questions, I just thought they would have been first, so I just nodded that it was fine. She continued with the first one. ‘This cure, do you think it would leave everyone invisible as it were to the TRADS as it did Sue or just that a person wouldn’t turn after death?’

  Fair question. ‘I’m not sure Margaret, is my honest answer. I would hope it to be both. Sue was also a police forensic Pathologist, so she knew a fair bit about decomposing. She once told me that it was her theory due to the bodies not being buried, insects and birds not feeding on them and our coldish weather, it could be eleven months plus before they lose enough usable muscle mass to move so quickly and freely, so could be a year and a half or more before the Zombie.’ I corrected myself again. ‘I’m sorry, TRAD threat diminishes to a point where we could start being the majority humanoid presence again. Though that would only be the case if dying people, from whatever cause didn’t turn, and the TRAD’s lost interest in us as food.’ I thought for a moment and spoke again before the next question. ‘Of course if zombie hunting squads such as Sergeant Pun and his men had this cure they could hunt and kill packs of them without worry of being attacked themselves which would be a massive help on its own.’ Marc was nodding his agreement with that.

  The next person with a question was the head Scavenging guy, Matthew, who I knew quite well from the food runs and drinking at Kev’s place. ‘Mate, glad to have you back.’ I nodded my thanks. ‘If we have this cure and we can wander among them, then this could be a huge game changer with regards to food, medical and building supplies. Even going out and starting new camps and repopulating areas. There should be songs written about Sarah and you two like the days of old if you ask me!’ it raised a few laughs and several agreed with him, Christopher’s face was indifferent, but the workshop elder Neal and the gardening elder Caron didn’t agree it would seem.

  Caron got in there first, she was gob shite of a woman at the best of times and only in charge of her area as she was the most full of bullshit and bluster and blagged the position if you asked me. ‘You killed eight American people in a helicopter, then many more in an American Military Base.’

  ‘Compound.’ Camouflage interrupted her. ‘A clandestine make shift operating compound for one goal, and that was to snatch Sue away so they could have the cure alone. If it had been done during normal peace time a year or six months ago it would have caused an international incident.’ And gave her a full toothed smile.

  Caron didn’t like that. ‘Legal several months ago or not, you killed many people did you not?’

  I chipped in at this. ‘It was simply down to kill or be killed, we had no choice. Have you been outside of the gates since the day you arrived here? The world has changed in many more ways than just the dead walking the earth love! The dead eat and attack us out of a single primal instinct. Other humans attack and kill because they still want more than the joneses as it were. What you are saying though is if we had been killed by them and there now was no cure then you wouldn’t give two shits? Is that what you want to say?’

  She continued. ‘We should have been told the truth!’

  I couldn’t help it, it had to be done. She got the full Jack Nicholson. ‘The truth!?’ I stood up and shouted as my chair skidded back towards the refreshment table. ‘You can’t handle the truth!’ She sat back in her chair like I had physically slapped her across her sour looking face. I sat back down as Camouflage pulled my chair back for me and whispered in my ear that he had wanted to say that, his shoulders were rolling as he suppressed his laughter. Despite the film quote I carried on. ‘If we had come to you and told you all of this would we have been believed, would it hav
e been kept quiet?’ I glared at the loudmouthed bitch. ‘At the point of dropping the first Helicopter in self-defence would you have forbidden us from carrying on?’ I looked around the circle. Christopher was still blank, and Caron looked like she was chewing a wasp whilst licking warm, stale piss off a nettle. ‘We did it quietly and under the radar as much as we could to avoid any come back on the camp.’

  ‘Well looking at your face and after what happened last night I’d say that didn’t work.’ Chimed in Neal.

  I shot him an ‘Eat shit and Die’ look. ‘He was just one man who had followed us from the Military base and violently died after absorbing one pound and fifty pence in five pence pieces at 1100 feet per second thanks to Sarah, the poor girl, I haven’t spoken to her yet as I had to be here so early.’ I lied. ‘He had no communications gear on him, and none were found on his vehicle, nor was his vehicle fitted with a tracker.’ I looked at Kev for confirmation. He nodded to me that was the case. ‘So he could have told no one where we were, and no one could track where he was.’

  Camouflage backed me up. ‘We also found out that the Americans are having as much, if not more problems than we are with satellites so it’s not like they can spy on us either.’

  I looked around the room, note pads had been written on, some faces were happy with what they had heard, some weren’t, one was still unreadable, and he spoke next.