Day Zed: The Outbreak

by Smith, Charles

  As the thousands moved forward the mortars continued to drop until the crowd reached them, the men who had been firing at them were quickly taken care of and the crowd moved on surging forward to seek out both refuge and retribution from the men who had sanctioned firing upon them. These men had sworn to protect them, yet to save themselves had betrayed their fellow man, they would now pay for their betrayal with their own blood.

  The front line of the crowd continued to move ahead in the distance the sight of the town gave them added purpose, they didn’t slow down from exhaustion or lack of food and didn’t back off as the first of the landmines exploded. By shooting into the crowd the sergeant who now lay dead, beaten to a pulp had unwittingly created a mob that required no leader, every person just felt wronged and they now had one purpose to destroy the traitors that hid before them. The crowds fear had totally dissipated and now it had been replaced by sheer rage.

  2nd July, West Ham, East London, 11:00am

  The morning had dragged for Gerard and Shanice, since the zombies surrounding the outside of the shed yesterday Gerard had refused to use the generator again. The pair had been using the gasoline lamps for light in the dingy bunker, ever since waking early that morning. The novelty of the whole experience had started to bore Shanice who for the last hour had asked her father to turn the lights back on. Gerard had refused the little girls requests knowing that the noise of the generator would draw any zombies in the area back to the shed, and he wasn’t sure how long the wooden frame would be able to resist the dead from breaking it down. If one or two came to the area to beat upon the exterior he had no doubt that the shed would hold, and that they would be safe. Should a herd of the cadavers appear the tiny wooden frame would be put under serious levels of stress and eventually break. For Gerard it was a no win situation if he turned on the generator it would attract attention, and he didn’t he would soon alienate his daughter who hated the dim light that was offered by the lamps.

  “Princess, Daddy is going to check outside to see if it’s clear” Gerard told his daughter

  “Stay here, I don’t want you coming up you hear?” he added.

  Shanice nodded to her father as he walked to the stairs, he picked up the club hammer that lay on the bottom step in case he needed it. Gerard crept up the stairs and slowly, but silently eased the bolts back that locked the trapdoor to its frame. For minutes he stood in the shed and surveyed the interior of the walls, they all looked solid enough. He had been listening out for any signs of noise around the outside and after he was sure the area was clear he unlocked the shed and crept through the shed door.

  The allotment was deserted, and Gerard looked out at the rows of houses in the distance. From where he stood he could see several plumes of thick black smoke caused by fires, whether it was buildings or cars he couldn’t be sure. A strange noise resonated across the fields, it was a constant hum, every now and then it would be broken by a scream or shout off in the distance, but the noise didn’t change in its intensity, its low expressionless tone washed over the allotment. Gerard had never heard a noise such as this, and wondered what could possibly be making the sound, and it wasn’t until he thought what was new to the area that could possibly make the noise, that the chill of realisation engulfed his body. The realisation that it was not a hum, but the moans of millions of zombies shocked Gerard right through to his bones.

  Gerard locked the shed door from the inside, bolted the trapdoor behind him and made his way back to Shanice. Shanice looked at her father, he looked worried.

  “What’s wrong Daddy” she asked

  “Nothing Princess”

  “Sure don’t look like nothing”

  “Everything is fine Princess, Daddy is going to stick the generator on for a little while” Gerard lied and swiftly changed the subject to avoid his daughter questions.

  The generator sputtered into life and once again the bunker was filled with light, and as if nothing had happened Shanice’s mood changed back to the excited child on an adventure as she rushed off to collect some of her toys. Gerard headed for the kitchen area, and prepared them breakfast; every now and then he would cast a glance towards the trap door at the top of the stairs ever mindful of the threat outside. The pair sat down and ate their breakfast, once they had finished Shanice tore back off towards her room to continue the game she had been playing with her dolls, whilst Gerard washed up the breakfast dishes in a bucket of water. Again Gerard kept looking towards the trap door, why he kept looking he didn’t know as he wouldn’t be aware of any presence outside until he heard noises, rather than waste time looking Gerard decided it would be safe enough to look out of the shed window until a threat existed.

  Gerard watched for a long time, at first there was no sign of movement but slowly inquisitive zombies started to appear. The noise did seem to draw them to the previously deserted area, as if it alerted them to the presence of people alive. The nearest zombie was a good one hundred feet away, it shuffled towards the shed, but kept falling on the strips of the allotment that had been ploughed for planting. Wanting to test his theory out Gerard run down to the basement and handed Shanice a lamp, told her to remain in her room and then powered down the generator. He had got back to the window in no time at all and whilst standing there with the hammer in his hand ready, he watched the same zombie and what its actions would be like without the noise and vibrations emanating from the generator.

  Amazingly the zombie had just stopped. It had routed itself to the spot the minute the generator had been powered down, and now just stood in the same place with its head moving back and forth whilst it waited for something to draw its attention. Four other zombies that had been in the field displayed exactly the same traits. The humming that Gerard had heard earlier was much louder in intensity and it now engulfed the tiny shed, it seemed to be growing nearer as if the zombies were on the move. The noise didn’t seem to attract the zombies that now stood lost in the allotment, and they all still stood on the spot waiting.

  From way behind the shed what sounded like gunfire erupted, the five zombies all at once turned their head in the direction of the sound and begun to move forward again. Gerard knew he should go below and get into safety, but was transfixed watching the movement of the zombies before him, if he made no sound they would walk past and ignore the tiny shed as they sought the noises from off in the distance. As Gerard watched his mouth dropped, from the estate directly to their right hundreds of the monsters now made their way to the field, they moved on mass as one towards the gunfire. As the gunfire was coming from somewhere behind them it meant that this herd would pass directly past the shed and across the ground directly above the bunker. When Gerard had designed the area his calculations had allowed for maybe twenty people at time to be on that ground which was an over exaggeration to make sure the supports held, he knew it would never hold this many.

  Taking the steps two at a time he raced through the darkness to the dull light at the end of the bunker, Gerard knew he had just minutes to act. He collected Shanice and told her to follow him and not make a sound. Without argument she done as her father requested with a worried look in her eyes. The bunker would collapse with the tremendous weight that was about to be exerted on it, the ceilings would definitely give, and zombies would come tumbling down along with the ground they walked on. To be underneath would mean certain death from asphyxiation if they hadn’t been crushed to death. Even if they managed to survive they would be surrounded by plenty of the dead to finish them off.

  The only safe area was the shaft itself that was constructed from crossed sleeper rails. Gerard led Shanice up the stairs, and stood her by the side of him whilst he secured the trap door. The rolled up rubber mat was placed in front of them shielding them for view just as the first of the zombies began to pass the window of the shed. Both Father and daughter silently preyed that the shed would keep them hidden from view, as to be discovered meant death. As the herd travelled past the odd zombie fell onto the shed, it had no c
onsequence to the frame that was secured to the sleepers. The zombies continued to move towards the shots as they rang out, as Gerard crouched behind the mat the constant monotone drone of the zombies moan filled his head and tormented him. More and more of the zombies walked across the bunkers ceiling and slowly the strain placed against the joists started to take effect, both Gerard and Shanice could hear soil begin to push through the seams of the marine plywood covered ceilings, and eventually they gave way.

  A huge crash sounded around the area as the allotment around the shed collapsed taking all the zombies that were on top of it crashing down below. Thankfully the shaft held and the shed remained in place. The trapdoor was still bolted tight, as well as the moaning came sounds of digging as the zombies that were trapped in the soil filled bunker tried to escape, some even hissed as they scratched at the dirt. The reminder of the zombies moved on towards the gun shots, they didn’t care about their fallen brethren; they just continued forward, many walked straight into the large hole in front of them. It was if they couldn’t see the large hole, there wasn’t enough soil in the pit for them to climb back out and they just stood clawing upwards at thin air trying to escape.

  Gerard waited for a couple of hours before he checked outside, the zombies had all moved on except those that had been trapped in the collapsed bunker, of whom many looked at the man with hatred in those dark eyes as they clawed at the earth that held them in place desperate to get at him. Gerard ushered Shanice out of the shed and told her to keep her eyes closed whilst they moved away from some of the “bad men”. They edged towards the fence at the allotment and headed over to the station in the distance. Gerard remembered from his childhood how to get into the secure station from outside, and he and his friends had always been able to get in there and enjoyed looking down from the embankment wall across the entirety of their neighbourhood years ago.

  2nd July, Chatsworth Plaza, London, 3:00pm

  The entire group had just finished assembling in the command room for a meeting that Kathy had called earlier in the day. After speaking with Scott and then Daryl they had decided unanimously that they would join the other six and leave the bunker tomorrow morning. The other train survivors would now be given the opportunity to leave with everyone else, and if they chose to stay the three bunkers staff would show them the day to day workings of the bunker in order to give them a chance to survive before they left.

  The chat with Morgan earlier had installed new hope for the soldier, so far she had spent her life following orders to progress up the career ladder, but now she would finally be doing something for herself. With hope that they would come across other survivors around the country, and a possible chance of companionship with a man amongst these, she had even forgiven Jackson for spurning her advances and involving himself with the two young girls.

  Now as she stood before the group she felt more at ease, and didn’t need to feel superior to the people sitting in front of her. Even Penny had noticed a difference in the soldier as she greeted her with a smile. Kathy addressed the group and informed them that she, Scott and Darryl would now be joining the exodus, she also went on to inform them that the safe zone exterior border had fallen, and that the soldiers were now doing everything they could to ensure Berwick wasn’t over run. Kathy then moved directly in front of the train survivors, and addressed them as one.

  “You now have a choice of leaving with us tomorrow, or staying behind and taking your chances here on your own” Kathy offered.

  “Great, aren’t your orders to maintain the bunker?” the man from Jin Lees carriage asked

  “Everything has collapsed, are we to stay as we are, for the rest of our lives?” Kathy asked the man.

  “You’d rather go outside and risk being eaten?”

  “I’d rather die trying, than die sitting here.

  “Don’t let us stop you”

  “Look you have to decide what you want, one by one” Kathy finished.

  Without hesitation every one of them immediately voted to stay in the bunker, the scenes they had endured whilst trapped on the train had been burned into their minds and none of them wished to endure that mental torture again. When Kathy offered them some training they refused at first until common sense kicked in and they realised they knew nothing of the workings of the facility. Scott and Daryl led them off to teach them what they could, whilst Kathy finished up the meeting and then went to the loading bay with Morgan in tow to load a third Hummer. They chatted whilst they made their way to the vehicle compound.

  “You saw sense?” Morgan laughed as he asked her.

  After nudging him and chastising him for his sarcasm she thanked him for taking the time to talk to her earlier. She looked into his face, and to her surprise found that she quite liked his sense of humour.

  “Only tagging along to cover your bony backside!” she jested

  “You shouldn’t be looking at that” Morgan joked back.

  They both laughed and Kathy explained to him that she had spent enough of her time in the bunker and it was time to get a life, however short it may be. Morgan climbed into the vehicle and pulled it up next to the others, they now set about gathering the supplies to fill it.

  “Need a hand?” Jackson had made them jump as he asked the question from behind him.

  Jackson wasn’t alone his two shadows stood either side of him and Dave and Penny stood to the side.

  “Many hands make light work” Penny chipped in.

  Morgan watched Kathy’s face change at the sight of the group offering to help her and she seemed genuinely pleased they had arrived to help. Kathy was at first surprised by the show of support by the group, she was overjoyed that they had turned up unexpectedly and most importantly for the first time in a long time she remembered how it felt for others to offer their help rather than be commanded to. When Jackson approached Kathy on his own, she nervously played with her uniform as the young man apologised for spurning her advances

  “Look, I’m sorry for earlier Kathy”

  “Jackson don’t worry its forgotten”

  “It wasn’t done intentionally, it just happened”

  “It’s good to have you on board” Jackson added

  “Thanks that means a lot” she held out her hand and shook Jacksons this time it seemed more sincere than the handshake, they had shared when meeting the first time.

  One person who stayed back and chose not to chat with her was Dave and she couldn’t blame him as she had singled out Dave from the outset. Maybe if given a chance in time he would change his mind, but she wasn’t going to force the issue. With the extra hands to help load the vehicle it didn’t take long before all of the supplies had been loaded. Kathy excused herself and walked off to join Scott and Daryl to help them with the training for the people staying behind. The rest of the group raided the food stores, and set about preparing a lavish going away dinner, it could be some time before they got to enjoy a peaceful meal again.

  Dave couldn’t believe his luck when he came across the freezers that were marked for VIP use only, on looking inside he found a plentiful selection of steaks. He took one of the steaks out for each person; to him it was a no brainer as far as Dave was concerned. Noting that the same freezers also contained luxury ice creams Dave promised himself that he would be returning for desserts later. All of the vegetables that where available for selection were either tinned or frozen, Penny was given the task of selecting which vegetables would go best with their steaks. After some searching she found a freezer that contained chips, selecting three bags she also took a full bag of frozen green beans and a bag of frozen corn. The girls and Jackson had already disappeared to seek out a stash of alcohol for the evening. The VIP living quarters would be the first area to search for the three, after that they would scour the entire bunker if they had to.

  Shortly after seven that evening everyone sat down to their meals in lightened spirits. The steak went down with the group well, but Jackson instantly became the hero when he reve
aled his stash of spirits after they had finished the main course. Jackson served everyone with the drink of their choice from the trolley that he had borrowed from the service compound, Dave and Penny disappeared for a short while and brought back Ice creams for everyone. As the alcohol flowed, people who had been cagey since they arrived dropped their guards, and it seemed everyone for the first time was getting to know each other. The train survivors who were staying behind had slowly calmed down after much gentle persuasion from Scott and Daryl, by the time Kathy had got there to help out she was quite surprised that none of them showed any hostility towards her. She had been fearful that she would ultimately get the blame for deserting them.

  What she didn’t know was that Scott had pointed out to them that by her leaving the bunker, it meant that they didn’t have to put up with her ordering them around anymore. The drink flowed over the next few hours surprisingly the group who were staying behind were the first to leave. The incident on the train had bonded them as a group, and they were happy with each other’s company. Since arriving in the bunker the previous day Kathy had taken them to separate quarters away from Dave, Penny and Jackson. There was no reason for the split in where they slept at the time Kathy had hoped they would soon be joined by others that had been invited to join the facility. The decision to split the two groups had worked out in Kathy’s favour she thought, if she had of put everyone in the same dormitory she was certain that the other group choosing to stay behind would have reacted to her news in an entirely different manner and maybe refused to accept it at all, of that she was thankful. She wasn’t quite sure if she would have been able to leave if the group had refused to cooperate.

  Kathy apologised to the group as she stood from the table, she wanted to walk around the facility one more time before leaving it behind in the morning. She was happy when Morgan asked if she wanted some company, and she gratefully accepted his offer. She failed to react at the two girls who sniggered as he rose to join her. The rest of the group said they would see her in the morning, and continued with their recanting of their lives up until yesterday. Kathy walked into each area with Morgan and checked everything over it was after all, her duty to make sure the bunker was functioning properly even if she was leaving it behind in the morning. She intended to do her job until she left. As they walked into the first of the VIP living quarters, she had allowed Morgan to walk in front, when she closed and locked the door behind them Morgan turned and look surprised.