“Shit!” Steve broadcast over the radio, his voice sounding apologetic. “Maybe we do need the knights, after all. Sorry chaps, I clearly didn’t think this through enough.”
Woody spoke next, his cheerful voice gently mocking his superior. “Bugger me, guys, we have a Rupert who can admit he’s made a mistake,” he said, referring to the common derogatory nickname the rank and file in the military gave to their officers. “Don’t worry, Sir. We can deal with this lot from here, I reckon. But may I suggest we ask Willie to bring his trailer up with a few knights on board so they can keep the entrance clear while we’re gone.”
I could hear the humour in his voice as he replied, “Good idea, Sergeant. If you could get him to do that, we’ll start thinning them out a bit while we wait.”
Shawn, with his usual companion, Louise, by his side in the tractor, pulled the vehicle forwards, angling it so that those of us in the trailer could bring our weapons to bear more easily.
Without being asked to, we all put our main weapons down and picked up one of the silenced .22 rifles that were stacked in the weapons bin on the trailer. We all agreed there was no point in attracting more zombies by making any more noise than we needed to. Inserting a loaded magazine into my chosen rifle, I pulled and pushed the bolt back and forth to chamber one of the small subsonic bullets, and resting it on the side of the trailer to steady my aim, I began firing.
By the time Willie pulled up in his tractor with six armoured knights aboard its own trailer, we’d shot most of the ones in our sight. Jamie was the first to climb down and walk towards the gate. He had a big smile on his face when he looked up smugly at Steve as he passed.
“Don’t need us, don’t you? Thought you could handle those big scary zombies out there all by yourself, did you?”
Geoff grinned just as broadly as Jamie when he joined him at the gate and they both peered theatrically through the it at the few that were still staggering around, before turning back to us.
“Well!” Geoff said. “It looks like you managed without us after all. Do you want us to head back? I was just brewing a pot of tea before your cry for help had us rushing to your aid. We do need our rest after all, don’t you know.”
Steve, standing on the wheel arch of the armoured car, raised his hands in mock surrender, and replied just as humorously, “Okay, chaps, you got me. There’s no need to go on about it too much, though.” He then waved towards the gate. “If I could trouble you to open the gate and keep any more that appear under control until we get back, I would be most grateful.”
Jamie called to the other four knights, who had climbed down from Willie’s trailer by now. “Come on, lads, they do need us after all. On me, boys.”
Every element of humour and light-heartedness vanished from the knights as they gathered around Jamie and Geoff at the gate. It was game time and they knew it. The time for banter and messing about was over.
Jamie issued a few commands and the knights formed a line behind him with their shields held ready as he fiddled with the code lock that secured the gate. Once he’d removed the lock, he slid back the bar and with a pull, he heaved the gate back on its hinges. Stepping back, he hefted his own shield and the line opened up to add him to the middle of the pack. Another command issued from his throat and keeping formation, they advanced, axes and swords swinging and thrusting at any that lay on the ground to ensure they were permanently dead, before stepping over them as they headed for the ones further away. Within minutes, all within reach were dispatched. He waved his arm as he indicated for us to drive towards him.
He called up to us as we passed, bumping over the few bodies lying in our path,
“Don’t worry, we’ll keep it clear here. Just radio us when you’re on your way back and we’ll open the gates for you.”
We all shouted our thanks to them as we went past. They stood leaning on their shields, gathering their breath after their exertions and offered a few ribald comments in return. Driving in line, we gathered speed and drove towards the nearby motorway junction. Everyone aboard knew what vehicles we were looking for, so as soon as we drove down the motorway slip road, we lined the sides of the trailer, eager to spot our first find. Having driven up this section of motorway only a few days ago when we led the zombies out of the town, we knew that the few miles of road contained several abandoned lorries. It was what was in them we did not know.
Louise’s voice sounded through the radio when Shawn slowed the tractor as we approached the first lorry. “Shawn says we’ll try this one first. Get ready, everyone.”
The plan we’d come up with was, as all the best ones were, simple. It was easier to get in and out of the armoured car, so it made sense for the ones in the trailer to provide cover for them as they disembarked and inspected the vehicle.
Everyone in the trailer stood with their weapons ready as the rear door on the armoured car opened and the four inside stepped out and approached the nearby lorry. I noticed that the unfortunate driver of the lorry was still trapped in its cab and the noise of our arrival had awoken it from whatever stupor the weakened zombie brain went into when there were no external influences to stimulate it. It was now banging its head against the side window and its decaying hands left smears of gore streaked down it. The driver must have been trapped in the cab since the very beginning and the sun beating down on it would have turned it into an oven in the daytime. I thought it must have once been on the obese side of the diet spectrum and the daily broiling it had been receiving had not been kind to its body. It looked bloated to the point of bursting and when it pressed its hands against the window, pieces of skin, flesh and blood remained stuck to the hot glass.
It was not a pleasant sight and from the exclamations of disgust from the others by my side, I wasn’t the only one whose attention was caught by the gruesome display.
Telling myself off for allowing my attention to be drawn to something that wasn’t an immediate danger to any of us, I looked towards the rear of the articulated lorry. Using bolt croppers, the padlock had been removed from the locking bar and the rear doors swung open. One of the group climbed inside to emerge moments later shaking his head.
“It’s full of wheelbarrows,” he shouted disappointedly. Eddy, beside me on the trailer, pulled a notepad from his pocket and wrote down the number plate of the truck and what it contained. What the lorry carried might not be useful to us now, but we’d sensibly decided to write down what we found in case we needed whatever we discovered later.
Eddy put the notepad back into his pocket before lifting his rifle and shooting the unfortunate lorry driver through the head, ending his solitary zombie life forever.
“Okay,” called Steve to us all cheerfully, “it was never going to be that easy, was it? Climb back onboard, everyone, and let’s try the next one.”
The next three lorries revealed nothing of immediate interest to us, but their contents were noted down all the same. Shawn was also looking out for tell-tale signs of a big aerial on lorries, indicating they probably had a CB radio fitted and when he saw one, we stopped and he quickly removed the unit and the aerials from them until we amassed a small collection.
“That’s better,” I exclaimed with delight when the next lorry we came across was emblazoned with the name of a well-known supermarket. “Let’s hope it was on the way to drop off and not the other way around.” I continued with an air of forced hopefulness.
The door to this lorry’s cab was open, which was good news because if it held what we hoped it did, it meant we wouldn’t have the driver to deal with as well. There was a mutual holding of breath, as we all watched the padlock being cut and the door opened. The shouts of delight we all heard from the ones by the doors made us all cheer happily, because even though we couldn’t see what it contained, we could tell from their reaction that it was clearly good news.
“It’s full,” Steve shouted, this time sounding genuinely happy and not echoing the forced tone he’d been putting on at our previous disappointme
nts. He helped to close the door and then slapped the side of the vehicle with his hand as he called out, “Let’s get this bad boy started up and get back home.” Then he turned to Steve and Jim. “Do you want to drive this one back? I’ll let some of my lads drive the next one so you can all have a play at being truckers.”
“Yes, Sir!” they both sounded in unison and with big grins on their faces at the excitement of having the chance to drive the lorry, ran off towards the cab.
“Bloody kids,” exclaimed Eddy by my side. “Just look at ’em both.” As they ran, they were arguing over who was going to drive, neither wanting to concede and let the other have a go before they did. Until they were stopped by a sharp command from Eddy.
“Marine Ellis. You will drive this time and will let Marine Popley do so next time. Now children, we haven’t got all day so stop fucking about and get on with it.”
Brought slightly more under control, they both gave a cheeky salute and Jim climbed up into the cab. “Great, it’s still got the keys in the ignition.” He shouted out loud in delight after a few moments of searching. If the keys had been missing, it wouldn’t have been much of a problem as Shawn had told us he’d be able to bypass the key and hotwire vehicles if necessary.
Unfortunately, when Jim turned the key, nothing happened. The battery on the lorry was dead. This was another event we’d planned and prepared for, because we’d known that if the vehicle was abandoned as this one was, the driver would probably not have turned off the engine, because he’d have had far more terrifying things on his mind at the time, like just getting out of the cab as fast as he could and fleeing. The lorry would then have sat there with its engine running until it ran out of fuel and then with the electrics still on, the battery would have drained.
Knowing this, we’d brought jerry cans full of diesel with us and the heavy-duty battery booster we’d loaded at the vehicle maintenance area at Bickley Barracks. It was one of the many items we’d hurriedly loaded as others kept the horde of zombies at bay. We’d known at the time it might be useful in the future and we were very glad we had it now.
If the lorry had run out of fuel, in all probability the engine would need the air bleeding from the valves. Chris knew how to do this from his experience operating lorries as a builder’s merchant, so we’d naturally included him in the team. He was in the trailer with us, already with the spanners he would need in his pocket.
I called over to Steve. He was standing with the other occupants of the armoured car by the cab, with their weapons held ready, scanning the surroundings, ready for any zombies who had yet to make an appearance on our quiet stretch of road. We all knew with dreaded certainty that eventually, they would if we didn’t move soon.
We didn’t lower the ramp but opened the rear door on the trailer and as Chris jumped down and headed to the front of the lorry, Eddy and I lowered the heavy booster pack and jerry cans into the waiting arms.
While one broke off the lorry fuel filler cap and poured in some diesel, another was connecting the cables to the right terminals on the battery. Chris, who had lifted the engine cover up on the lorry, then told Jim to turn on the ignition. With power now connected, the starter motor turned over. I couldn’t see what Chris was doing as he stood on the lorry’s front bumper and leaned into the engine bay, but as Jim kept the engine turning, it began to cough and splutter until eventually, with a roar and a cloud of black smoke from the exhaust, the engine fired up and with a few revs from Jim’s foot pressing on the accelerator pedal, ran smoothly.
Everyone cheered again. Once more, we’d worked together, using our combined skills and knowledge to overcome events. Steve, not wanting to delay any more, whirled his arms in the air to indicate to everyone to get back on board and shouted to be heard over the engine noise, “Let’s roll, everyone.” Chris slammed the engine cover shut and Eddy and I reached down to help him back into the trailer, as the others hauled the battery booster into the back of the armoured car to save lifting it up to us.
The lorry was already pointing in the right direction as we’d been driving the wrong way down the motorway for this very purpose and it pulled in behind us after we’d turned around, and in convoy, we headed the few miles back to the castle.
At the gates the knights had done a good job of keeping the area clear and opened them when we told them via the radios we were approaching. With barely a pause, the plough smashed through the few new piles of corpses they’d created in our absence and we continued through the grounds. The lorry was too large to attempt to fit through the barbican, so once we’d driven inside, we backed it up to the entrance and after a few cups of tea and a debrief on the mission, we organised its unloading.
‘Many hands make light work’ is the expression. But after a few hours of lifting and carrying, we were all glad when the last few items were offloaded onto Woody’s trailer. Woody drove up to the main entrance door for the other team to carry the stuff inside and stack it in the store rooms under Maud’s direction. She was standing at the door armed with a clipboard to note down everything that was unloaded and then she told the porters where she wanted it stored.
Following a quick lunch, we gathered in the Great Hall to discuss the next item on our wanted list: fuel. The mission to gather more food had been a success and we now had the confidence to venture further down the motorway until we found a fuel lorry. Not much more planning was required as we just needed to repeat what we’d done before and as the tactics had worked, there was no need to change them at all.
With a wave at the ones staying, the knights on Willie’s trailer led us out through the barbican to the castle entrance once more. The plan was that they would then stay and guard the gates while we were gone.
Much later that evening, we popped a few corks on one of the many bottles of champagne we’d scavenged from the lorry and celebrated a successful day. Two more lorries full of food and a tanker that contained both petrol and diesel were parked in the grounds outside the walls, awaiting unloading.
As we sat around chatting and laughing, darkness falling outside, Shawn held two DVDs in the air. “Which training video shall we watch tonight?” he asked as he showed us two zombie movies he’d selected.
Chapter Twenty-One
“What’s the matter, darling?” Becky asked as she watched me getting changed out of my exercise gear in the morning. “You’ve been quiet since we got up.”
Once again, I couldn’t hide anything from my wife, a fact she always reminded me of.
“Nothing much, love,” I said quietly, trying to hide my emotions a little more. “It’s just that now it’s going to happen, I’m a bit nervous about today and this flying business.” I shrugged. “It’s been years since I flew and there’s a lot that can go wrong. Who knows if we’ll be able to find a working plane and then will we be able to navigate around and then land safely? I just don’t know now if it’s a good idea at all.”
She walked up to me and put her arms around me, smiling. “Don’t tell me Maverick is getting scared now. It’s all you and Chris have talked about since it was decided. Regaling us with all your stories of bravely soaring through the air until, to be honest, I think you started boring us.”
I looked at her, shocked. “Me? Boring? They were good stories. Weren’t they?” I said indignantly but knowing that in all fairness it was probably true. Both Chris and I had talked like excited schoolboys about to go on an adventure and little else, once we had decided to give it a go.
“Yes, dear, they were,” she replied in her usual ‘if you say’ so voice. “But now that you mention it, I think Chris was looking a bit nervous, too, earlier on. Maybe you two should go and have a chat about it and decide if you really want to go ahead with it. It’s not too late to back out, you know, and trust me, if you decide not to go, no one will think any the worse of you for it.”
Silently, I donned my clothes as I thought about what she’d said. I was nervous, but was it trepidation or real fear that was making my guts churn? S
he was right, I needed to have a word with Chris before it was too late.
Chris answered when I knocked on the door to his room. Taking one look at my face, he smiled grimly and said, “You too?”
“Yes, mate. Now we’re actually going to try it, I’m bricking myself, if I’m honest about it. Can I come in and have a chat with you out of earshot of everyone else?”
“Of course,” he replied, opening the door fully and waving me in. “Nicky’s here, shall I ask her to leave?” Nicky emerged from the bathroom as I entered the room.
“No,” I replied. “After all, it does concern her too, so she should be here.” Their room was one of the suites that the place rented to people who wanted to experience staying in the splendour of a castle and was luxuriously appointed. He led me into the sitting room and indicated for me to sit in a chair. Nicky joined Chris on the sofa opposite me.
“Nice room,” I opened with, trying to think of how to start the conversation. Not being able to come up with anything other than to be direct, I came out with it. “Are you as nervous about today as me?”
I looked at both of them in the silence that followed until Chris spoke.
“Frankly, mate, yes I am,” he eventually replied. “There’s no instructor sitting by our side who can take over if something happens up there. It’s just going to be me and you up there and no disrespect, but we don’t know really how good either of us is.”
I nodded in agreement. “You ain’t wrong there, pal,” I replied. “It’s a risk and I was well up for it before, but now the time’s getting close, I’m having second thoughts and it looks like you are as well.”
“I certainly am,” he answered “But the way I’m thinking, I reckon we should try anyway. The place may be completely overrun for all we know, or there might not even be a suitable plane for us to use, but if we don’t try, we won’t know. Why don’t we try as planned? We can start by doing a few circuits of the field and maybe a bit of touch and go.” He was referring to the training routine of flying around the landing pattern of the airfield, landing and taking off again in one manoeuvre, to repeat it again and again. It was usually the first solo flights you did as a novice.
Zombie Castle Series (Book 4): ZC Four Page 14