Capital Falling | Book 4 | Sever

by Winkless, Lance

  The next bridge comes upon us quickly, as Alice takes us around yet another bend in the river, another low bridge, which is all we can expect from here on out.

  “God, I don’t like the look of this one,” Josh says, referring to the appearance of the bridge, rather than anything else. Mounted on the red and yellow painted sides of the bridge, statues of people hang, who they are meant to portray, we have no idea. The haunting stone figures give us the chills, whoever they are, and the smoke in the air does little to dispel that feeling as we close in on the bridge.

  “It’s Vauxhall Bridge,” I inform Josh, just as a figure dashes across the bridge from left to right.

  Looking like it is getting into position to launch itself at us when the boat draws near, the creature stops right above our path. The figure at least shows us that the side barriers next to the roadway are low, giving us good visibility onto the bridge. Both Josh and I have the figure in our sights when a shot rings out from the right side of the bridge, taking us both by surprise.

  “A sniper shot,” I announce as the threatening figure drops backwards and out of our sight.

  “Yes, it looks like the army has this bridge covered, let’s hope it isn’t the only one they have covered,” Josh replies.

  “Hopefully, I would have thought they would all be covered. Perhaps somebody was sleeping on the job at the last one?” I question.

  “Just our luck,” Alice says.

  I don’t allow myself to get distracted as we motor under the bridge and out of the other side, without further incident. I don’t even afford the statues that peer down at us a second look.

  A smoke haze begins to hang heavily over the water on the other side of Vauxhall Bridge. London is certainly still smouldering, at least, after the heavy rainfall the city has had since large parts of it went up in flames.

  I resist rubbing my eyes as the smoke is beginning to sting, knowing it will only make the irritation worse. Instead, I look ahead to our next challenge, Lambeth Bridge, another road bridge and one that will cross us into Westminster. The bridge has wrought iron panels next to the roadway, which again affords us a decent view, and it looks clear.

  “This is going to be tough to see, I should think,” I say as we come out of the other side of the bridge.

  “What do you mean?” Josh asks.

  “That,” I say pointing through the dense smoke that is getting trickier to see through.

  “Oh God, yes,” Josh coughs after a moment of staring.

  We are fast approaching the Houses of Parliament, on the left side of the Thames and the source of much of the smoke that is irritating our eyes and clogging our lungs. The Palace of Westminster has been burning for days, unchecked, save for the rain that dampened its flames for a while. Thick, acrid smoke is still billowing from different sections of the long old building, built along the riverbank, and the fire has done horrific damage to the already delicate structure. A large section of the ornate side of the building has crumbled and fallen into the river, the resulting hole leaving the building's innards exposed showing no window that hasn’t cracked and disintegrated from the intense heat.

  We gawp at the damaged building, that was until very recently the seat of government, in silenced astonishment. Through the collapsed side, we can see into its obliterated interior to some extent, through the thick smoke. The view is only made possible by the disappeared roof of the building, allowing extra light in. All we see inside is non-descript black charred remains and rubble, the inferno has destroyed everything.

  “Fucking hell, where’s Big Ben!” Alice says in disbelief from behind me.

  I was so shocked by the damage to the building I hadn’t even considered Big Ben and my eyes dart to find the massive clock tower. It has vanished, there is nothing but sky and smoke where it once stood tall. The shocking loss churns my stomach. I look again, craning my neck, it can’t have disappeared into thin air and then I see, as the boat moves along, the mighty clock tower has toppled over and is now a pile of rubble, heaped across the adjacent road to it and the bridge we are about to float under.

  There is no time to mourn the loss of the iconic landmark, however, my rifle quickly reverts to scanning Westminster Bridge as we approach it, as does Josh’s. Any hope that Big Ben’s rubble will have blocked any access to the bridge disappears, Rabids scramble over the rubble and onto the bridge towards us.

  I quickly open fire, aiming for anything that moves and Josh’s rifle erupts almost in unison to mine. We fire at multiple targets, as creatures scurry and crawl over the rubble and burst onto the bridge. Desperately, I take aim and shoot, trying to hold back the wave of Rabids before they can get into position on top of the bridge ready to launch themselves at us when we get closer to it. I am aware of the sound of gunshots coming from the right side of the bridge but I daren’t pause my firing to steal a glance to try and see who is assisting us.

  A Rabid, that neither of us has seen, launches itself into the air as we come upon the bridge and both Josh and I open fire on it. One, or both of us, I don’t know or care which, hit the creature and it falls into the river in front of the boat.

  Alice swerves the boat urgently, and thankfully, takes us under the shelter of the bridge. The lull in the attack doesn’t last, by the time Josh and I have changed out the magazines in our rifles, the front of the boat becomes exposed again.

  A Rabid, attacks too soon, miss timing its jump and flops into the water in front of the boat, it is ignored. Shadows fly at us from the top of the bridge and this time, Josh is the first to open fire by a split second. Alice maxes out the boats motor to try and get us away from the danger zone next to the bridge, while Josh and I take out our targets. There is no time to aim for headshots, all we can do is shoot at heinous targets as they present themselves, hoping the force of the bullets will direct the Rabids into the water.

  A body falls through our hail of bullets, hitting the deck of the boat. It pounces up onto its feet in a flash, baring its teeth as it goes to attack Josh. In reflex Josh recoils from the attack and stumbles backwards, losing his balance and teetering on the edge of the boat, about to go overboard.

  The creature’s brains are suddenly ejected from its head, splattering across the front of the boat and into the river. I barge the Rabids body sideways as it falls, and I go to grab hold of Josh before he topples backwards into the river. As I pull Josh back from the edge, the beast's body takes Josh’s place and plops into the river with a whimpering splash.

  Josh secure, I spin around raising my rifle again ready to shoot, but the boat has travelled clear of the danger zone. I look to Alice to check she’s okay and she stands at the back of the boat with the throttle for the motor in one hand and her pistol in the other. She was the one who relieved the Rabid of its brains, all the while she was getting us away from the bridge.

  “Good shooting,” I tell Alice and she gives me a nod as she calmly slips her gun back into its holster.

  “Thanks, Alice,” Josh says breathlessly, still shaken up.

  “You’d better reload, there’s another one coming up,” Alice says, looking straight ahead.

  “It’s never-ending,” Josh says.

  “We knew it wouldn’t be easy,” I tell him.

  “I can’t wait for the journey back,” Josh jokes, making me and Alice laugh ominously.

  Josh and I do as Alice says and reload as the London Eye Ferris wheel reaches above us on the right of the boat. Thankfully, the next bridge, which carries the rail lines into Charing Cross Station passes without incident and we are quickly closing in on Waterloo Bridge.

  We can see figures on the bridge as we approach, but then, just as Josh and I get into position to fire, a heavy machine gun erupts from our right. By the time the firing stops, nothing moves on the bridge, but we still stay alert as we go under.

  “Somebody must be watching out for us,” Josh says, referring to the machine gun.

  “Yes, that’s more like it,” I reply as we come out of t
he other side, our rifles at the ready but not needed.

  The next two bridges come in quick succession, the first a road bridge with low slung sides, is again cleared for our passing by a heavy machine gun from the right. The second is a strange-looking one with a roof of some description, no machine gun sounds before we go under it but to our relief no Rabids attack either.

  “Somebody has definitely got the message we’re coming,” I tell Josh and Alice.

  “About bloody time,” Alice responds. “Let’s hope it continues.”

  “We’re nearly at the drop off point,” Josh says, and he is right. The City of London and all its skyscrapers are beginning to fill our view away to our left. The Cheesegrater building, the one Karen and Jim are trapped in, reaches up to the sky in the middle of the cluster. We have been able to see it for some time, but it was only a silhouette before. Now that we are closer, added to the fact that the Sun is higher in the sky it is becoming more than just a shadow. Even through the swirling smoke haze, we can see the buildings glass walls starting to reflect the sunlight and an image of Karen and Jim trapped inside the building pops into my mind.

  “Yes,” I agree, knowing my feet will be on solid ground soon. “But let’s stay on point,” I tell Josh as we approach the ultra-modern Millennium footbridge, that has unwanted figures making use of it.

  Once again, heavy machine-gun fire rips the Rabids on the bridge to pieces. This time we see the location where the tracer rounds are being fired from. The munitions are flashing down from the roof of the Tate Modern Art building that is adjacent to the footbridge. Alice even gives a quick wave of thanks to the soldiers that we see up there, in the distance.

  An unknown party really has taken it upon themselves to help us and clear our path, and I wonder who? More than likely, as we have ventured farther downstream, the word has gone down the line that a boat is coming through and so we have become expected. Perhaps we should have called ahead then things wouldn’t have got so frantic at the earlier bridges, I joke to myself.

  Our estimate on the timing has turned out to be more accurate than we could have hoped for, I see, as I glance at my watch. We have two more bridges to go under and then we’ll reach London Bridge, more or less on time to receive Karen and Jim’s final phone call to check-in. I am suddenly conscious of my phone in my pocket, against my thigh. I hope that they do phone, so I know they are still there and ready to move. The plan is for me to go even if I don’t receive their call, in case the buildings phone system has failed. I would much rather speak to them before though and know my trip into the city isn’t for a lost cause.

  The final two bridges pass by in a blur as my nervous anticipation builds. Machine gun fire sounds as we approach both and we pass them with ease. And then there it is, London Bridge sitting in front of us, with London’s tallest building, The Shard guarding its right flank.

  My nerves instantly turn to fear. Sailing into London is one thing but getting off the relatively secure boat and going into the city on foot is quite another. The sight of Tower Bridge in the distance, behind London Bridge, does little to dispel my trepidations, I didn’t think I would be back here, not yet, not ever. Catherine’s voice echoes in my head, questioning if I will still go unseen past the undead, as I did before? Will my camouflage still work, or will my flesh be as inviting to the Rabids as everyone else’s again?

  Forcing my fears and concerns down inside me, I try to concentrate on the task at hand. The first task is to locate the best drop off point available in the vicinity of the bridge.

  London Bridge is probably the most mundane and nondescript bridge we have seen on our trip down the Thames. There is no red paint or mounted statues here, just bland grey concrete and steel. Nevertheless, it is the one that fills me with the most dread, a dread that escalates as I see HMS Belfast through its arches and my eyes are drawn left, left to the Tower of London.

  The Tower is only just visible under the bridge, but I can’t help but try and look for it. My stomach churns as I see parts of its distinctive embankment and ancient brickwork. I can’t stop horrific images of the Towers blood-soaked innards and piled up bodies, that I found inside its entombed walls, flashing through my mind. My legs go weak, and I’m forced to sit down as my head becomes faint.

  My hand goes to my pocket to retrieve my phone as I try to mask my sudden collapse from Josh and Alice. I’m simply sitting to look at my phone, I tell them in my head, but I can feel their eyes on me.

  “Dad, what’s wrong?” Josh asks concerned.

  “Nothing, I’m fine,” I tell him, my voice sounding distant to me.

  “No, you’re not, Dad. Your face has gone white,” Josh insists.

  “I’ll be okay, just give me a minute.”

  “It’s being back here and seeing the Tower of London, isn’t it? I felt it too,” Josh tells me.

  “Yes, I didn’t expect it to hit me so hard. It’s passing, don’t worry.”

  “Take your time, Dad,” Josh says, giving Alice a concerned look.

  Time isn’t afforded to me; my phone begins to vibrate in my hand. I take a deep breath and look at the screen, it displays the same number Karen and Jim have been using.

  “Hello,” I answer.

  “Andy, thank God. It’s Jim, are you here?”

  “We’ve just arrived on the river, what’s the latest situation there?”

  “Nothing’s changed Andy; I promise you that. We are ready as soon as you get here.” Jim’s voice is desperate.

  “Okay, hold tight. We are just finding somewhere to land and then I’ll be on my way. I’ll be as quick as I can.”

  “Thank you, Andy, thank you. We’ll be ready,” Jim confirms.

  “Good, see you soon,” I tell him and lower the phone. “We are a go,” I tell Josh and Alice, looking up to them.

  “Dad, are you sure you’re up for this? We can turn around now and go back, there’s no shame in that,” Josh insists.

  “I’m fine Josh, it’s passed. I’m good to go.”

  “You don’t look fine Andy. Don’t rush it, if you're still going,” Alice says, concerned.

  “Thanks, Alice. Honestly, I’ll be okay, I just went faint for a second there,” I tell her. “Have you any suggestions on where to drop me off?”

  Alice, who has stopped the boat, looks over to the riverbank as the boats motor ticks over in reverse, against the tide to keep us more or less stationary.

  “There is only one option on this side of the bridge, that I can see. Those steps up from the beach, there,” she says, pointing. “We could see if there is a better option on the other side of the bridge?”

  “No, let’s stay this side, those will have to do,” I tell her a bit too quickly.

  “But there aren’t any steps up onto the bridge this side? You’d have to go under the bridge and use the ones that side,” Josh points out.

  “There’s an adjacent road to the bridge there, it will take me around,” I say pointing to the left of the bridge.

  “How are we going to cover your retreat down that side road?” Josh asks.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to get off the boat, to be honest, Josh. We will come to you, it’s the only way.” I look at him and immediately see his face change.

  “That wasn’t the plan, you’re going to need cover,” Josh says, frustrated.

  “And you will cover us, from the boat. You won’t know when we’re coming and you hanging around up there is a recipe for disaster.”

  Josh looks to Alice for help, but none is forthcoming. “He’s right Josh,” Alice tells him, “us being up there is not a good idea.”

  “Josh.” I stand, putting my hand on his shoulder. “Those steps down are going to be the pinch point and you can cover us just as well from the boat as you can from up there.”

  “Fuck’s sake. Okay, okay,” Josh says, pulling away from my hand whilst raising his in surrender.

  “We’ve got company,” Alice says, looking up towards the embankmen
t.

  Near the top of the steps, a Rabid has appeared from out of nowhere. The creature’s long black hair tells us it is female as it stumbles forward, not stopping. It doesn’t seem to realise there is a drop of about three meters right in front of it, down from the embankment and onto the small beach below. All three of us watch as it steps out into fresh air and falls head over heels onto the beach. She would have been swept out to sea if the river were up, but now she slams into the sand, her body almost parallel to it, hitting face down.

  “Ouch, that’s gotta hurt,” Josh cringes.

  “Has it,” Alice questions, “It’s moving.”

  Alice is right, no sooner has the beast hit the ground, it is moving to get back to its feet. I take it as a small reminder of how formidable these creatures are, and I also see an opportunity.

  “Take me in Alice, drop me on the beach,” I tell her urgently.

  “Are you sure?” she replies.

  “Yes, there’s only one sure way to find out if these creatures are still going to ignore me,” I tell her as I quickly gather my gear. I am not taking much with me, just a small rucksack with a few provisions and my M4 of course.

  As Alice manoeuvres the boat to get it aimed at the beach, I reach into my combat vest. Stealth will be the name of the game from here on out and I twist my silencer onto the muzzle of my weapon.

  “Give me a new mag,” I ask Josh as we approach the beach, suddenly wanting to keep all the ammo I’ve got on me.

  “Dad,” Josh says, once the mag is in place and I look up to him. “Good luck and if it isn’t on, retreat. Remember, if the streets are packed with Rabids up there you’ve got no chance of getting Karen and Jim through.”