“How is she?” I asked.
“Not too bad. She’s started being sick in the mornings, but it is usually gone by lunchtime.”
“I heard ginger snaps are good for morning sickness.”
Chris turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow.
I actually blushed “Well it’s what I’ve been told.”
Tessa weaved in and out of people and chairs carrying two mugs. She sat down on the other side of the table and pushed the two mugs across toward us.
“Not drinking anything?” I asked.
She shook her head and said “No the morning sickness is fucking horrible. I can barely keep water down let alone anything else.”
“Marc was telling me ginger snaps were good for it,” Chris said grinning.
Tessa looked at me first before turning to look at Chris “That nurse that works with Doc said the same.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Chris asked.
“Because if I had told you. You would have been straight out there looking for some and I don’t want to lose you over something as stupid as biscuits.” She said laying a hand on Chris’.
I just sat there sipping at the tea with the pups head on my thigh. A sudden burst of laughter came from the counter and everyone looked that way. David and Jennie were both bright red and Philip was doubled over laughing. Amy stood off to one side with a large grin plastered on her face. She turned her head and looked at our table and the grin vanished from her face.
“What’s that all about?” I asked.
Tessa shrugged her shoulders and Chris said “Haven’t got a clue mate!”
We watched as David holding Jennie’s hand made their way over to our table. Amy followed behind them, but Philip headed back out the dining room door. David and Jennie sat down opposite me and Amy sat beside Chris.
“Ok, before you ask. Philip walked in on me and Jennie this morning.” David said with a blush.
“And? It’s not like you’re not old enough for that.” I said.
Amy started to giggle.
“Erm…well…” Jennie said going an even deeper shade of red.
I looked at them both and just shook my head saying “It’s ok I don’t really want know.”
David let out his the breath that he had been holding. Amy just burst out laughing. Not happy I cast an evil look down the table at her and she shut up quickly.
“Ok, what are we going to do about the message from Dr Creepy?” Chris asked.
Everyone around the table placed their drinks and food down and looked toward me.
“Don’t look at me I’ve wanted to deal with Benton’s for a while, but every time I tried I was either stopped or something else came up. So sorry to say but it’s going to be up to you lot.” I said taking another drink of tea.
Chris looked shocked, Amy looked even more pissed off than usual, David, Jennie and Tessa all looked worried.
“Really?” Chris asked.
I shook my head “Look I didn’t say I wouldn’t help but…” I said leaving it hanging.
Chris and the others went back to eating and drinking. Mike walked into the dining room and looked round. Spotting us he headed over and sat down at the empty table beside us. He had dark rings around his eyes. He sat there slumped in the chair before saying anything.
“We had some more infected at the fence during the night. Not the same amount as the other day, but enough to keep us busy.” He said sighing.
Looking at him I asked, “Why didn’t you come and get us?”
“There were coming in dribs and drabs, so I didn’t think it was worth it. They stopped coming at about four this morning so it wasn’t too bad.” He said rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands.
“Look why not head off to bed and we’ll look after things,” I said.
He smiled and said “Thanks.” Before standing and heading out of the dining room.
We all sat in silence for a while.
“So what were you doing when Philip walked in on you two?” I asked causing both David and Jennie to go bright red again. Everyone to burst into laughter at how uncomfortable they both were.
“Seriously though what are we going to do?” Chris asked after the laughter started to die out.
“I think Marc’s idea back at the lifeboat station might be our only solution to this problem,” David said as the redness on his face started to fade.
Tessa looked at me and asked “What plan?”
I didn’t answer.
“He thought of tying explosives to the support struts of the oil rig that Benton’s are using,” David said after I never answered Tessa.
I turned away from the table and watched the other members of the Bunker talking and eating.
“What’s up Marc? You were all up for this back at the lifeboat station.” I heard Amy say.
Looking at her I could tell that she was still pissed off at me saving her life. Yeah, I did hit her but she would have died if I hadn’t. Now she was goading me into an argument in front of the others.
“Look I’m not going to argue about what happened back at the lifeboat station. Do I think we should still go ahead with the plan to blow the struts? Yes, I do, but it is no longer my sole decision. You lot and the Doc are in charge now and I am just along for the ride.” I said standing. I took my mug and put it on the counter and walked out of the dining room.
Chapter Seven
I waited for the lift and saw Philip coming out of the dining room after me.
“Hey, Marc!” He said waving his hand “Hold the lift for me, please.”
“Sure!”
I stepped inside the lift and held the door back waiting for him to catch up. He ran inside and I let the doors go and we stood watching the close.
“I’m heading to the Armoury.” He said turning to face me.
“I’m thinking of heading back to bed.”
“Really?”
“Not like I have anything to do just yet,” I said shrugging my shoulders.
He turned to watch the doors.
“The range is free this morning. Chris doesn’t have any training sessions till later this afternoon.” Philip said.
I turned to look at the side of his face “Training sessions?”
The doors slowly opened and he stepped out into the hallway and I followed him out. I was interested as to what kind of training Chris was giving. Philip started walking down the hallway and I fell in beside him.
“Yeah, he’s giving the guards some training. Quite a few know how to use hunting rifles, but there aren’t that many that know how to use the rifles we have in the armoury.”
I suppose that it made sense given the increase in Infected we had lately. If we could take them down from further away then we would stand less chance of them pushing the fences over. Not that they should be able to push them over. David and Mike had placed the posts quite close together and it would take a hell of a lot of pressure to push them over.
“Yeah, I think I’ll fire a few rounds,” I said.
We walked down to the armoury and I followed him inside. I wasn’t surprised to see Tom at one of the tables stripping down an MP5SD. He looked up when we walked in and smiled.
“Hey, Marc!” He said raising a hand. He turned to Philip “Phil there are some MP5’s that need to be stripped and cleaned before Chris’ training session. Can you help me out?”
The young lad turned to him “Sure, I just want to give Marc his rifle and some magazines.”
“Sure,” Tom said looking back down at the stripped MP5SD.
Philip walked over to a rack of rifles and took one from the others. He pulled the charging handle to make sure it was clear before handing it to me. On another desk stood some cardboard boxes that had full magazines stacked inside he passed me four before sitting down next to Tom at the table.
“Thanks, guys,” I said walking out of the armoury and headed down the hallway to the indoor shooting range.
Pushing open the door I found that the
y had turned off the lights. Reaching out I flipped the switch and the bank of lights flickered on. Taking the lane furthest from the door I fastened a target to the line. I waited until the target was roughly twenty meters down range before letting go of the pull line.
Setting out the magazines in a line on the small desk in front of me. I checked the rifle for any obstructions and that it had been recently cleaned. The smell off gun oil drifted up from the rifle. I smiled at the thought of Tom and Philip stripping the rifles and making sure that they were operational. Lifting my first magazine I thumbed out the first round and placed it on the counter. Making the sure the next round was seated correctly I slid the magazine into the receiver and pulled back the charging handle. My first few shots were aimed and after that the rest of the first magazine was snap shots. I hadn’t done much shooting lately and you could tell. About a third of my shots never even hit the target and the rest were either on the outer edge or just inside the outer circles.
I sighed and ejected the magazine and picked up another again removing the first round. Taking my time with this magazine I took aimed shots and found that they were all slightly off to the left. The next magazine headed in the same direction. With the last magazine, I compensated for the shots going to the left and finally felt better with my shots as they were heading in the general direction that I wanted. I had four shots left standing on the desk in front of me and I thumbed them into one of the magazines. Smiling I thumbed the rifle to auto and just aimed from the hip and pulled the trigger. Within a second the rifle clicked and the echo of the shots started to fade.
“Nice shooting dipshit.”
I turned and saw Chris stood watching me from the open door.
“Fuck you!” I said and checked the rifle to make sure it was clear before ejecting the magazine and placing the rifle on the desk.
Chris stepped inside and I saw he was carrying the cardboard box full of magazines.
He grinned and said “Why the fuck did you run out on us earlier?”
Shrugging I replied “Tell you the truth I wasn’t interested in a fucking discussion on what we should do. I wanted to end this days ago, but things stopped us and we ended up being stuck here yet again.”
He actually looked shocked at what I had just said.
“So what did you all decide on when I left?” I asked him as I put my empty magazines in my pockets.
“Actually we decided on the plan we made back at the lifeboat station.” He said pulling magazines from the box and placing them on the desks.
“When?”
He looked up “It hasn’t been decided yet. I think people want to decide who goes. Amy has already said that she isn’t going. Tessa is not going that’s a given. David has to talk it over with Jennie. Mike and I have already said that we are going, so that just leaves you really.”
“Daft question that mate. Of course, I’m going, if only to make sure they all fucking die.”
I headed for the door and just as I was going to step through I turned round and looked at him. “Did Tessa not argue with you about it?”
Looking sad he said, “I think she would prefer it if I didn’t go and I think she is going to have a go at me tonight. But there is no way I am leaving you to do this with just Mike.”
I shook my head “I would prefer you stayed here mate. You’ve got a baby coming and they will need you for leadership.” I grinned “I always thought I would have died long before now. I’ve had quite a few close calls and I have this feeling that whoever goes won’t be coming back.”
I left the range before he could call me back. I walked to the armoury and saw a line of people waiting to get rifles. Phillip was at the door with a clipboard and was ticking off names and handing out rifles. I passed him my rifle and the empty magazines and then walked off to the lifts.
Chapter Eight
Closing my room door, I walked over and flopped onto my bed and closed my eyes. I was trying hard to sever ties with these people. I really did have the feeling that whoever helped to take down the oil rig wouldn’t be returning. A gentle knock on the door roused me and I walked to the door. Opening the door I saw Jennie standing in the hallway, her eyes were ringed with red and I knew she had been crying.
“Hey, Jennie!”
“Hi, Marc any chance I can have a word?”
“Of course, come on in,” I said standing to the side and letting her in. I closed the door and turned to see her lowering herself into one of the chairs. I walked over and sat in the other chair and waited for her to speak.
“Look I know it is important to take care of Benton’s, but I really don’t want David going with you.” She said barely stopping herself from crying.
I leaned forward and placed a hand on hers and said “Look, Jennie, I wanted to do this on my own the last time and they came after me. All I can do is tell him to stay behind. If he takes it on board, then it is up to him.”
“I don’t want to lose him and it would devastate the kids if he went and didn’t come back.”
“I agree. I also think that he would be better off here to help run things.”
“Can you talk to him?” She asked with a look of pleading in her eyes.
I nodded.
Jennie leaned forward and kissed my hand before standing. I stood as well and she came forward to give me a large hug. I walked her to the door and saw her out.
“I’ll try and have a word with him sometime today,” I said.
She nodded and headed off up the hallway toward the lifts. I closed the door and settled into one of the chairs and pinched the bridge of my nose. Grabbing the empty glass that was on the coffee table, I went to the cabinets in the small kitchenette and pulled the small bottle of whisky from one of the cupboards. Pouring a good measure, I downed it in one swallow and held onto the bench as it burned my throat. I poured another and went back to the chair and sat down to think and I slowly sipped at the glass of whiskey.
This was going to be a pain in the arse considering that at least two of our group who would insist they had to come, but the shitty thing was that their loved ones didn’t want them to go. I finished drinking and decided that I may as well get this over and done with. Placing the glass on the coffee table I stood up and went looking for David. To be honest, I thought that he would be the easier out of him and Chris to persuade. Closing the door, I headed to the first floor and the office that Mike and David had taken over to do planning for the Bunker. I knocked on the office door and waited.
“Come in!” A muffled voice shouted.
Pushing the door open I saw David sat at the desk with a large sheet of paper spread on the top. Good, he was by himself this might make things a little easier.
He looked up “Hey Marc, come on in.”
I walked in and sat down in the chair facing the desk.
“You are looking busy mate!”
David rubbed a hand through his hair “Yeah well we are trying to figure out how to provide power to the new buildings. Without draining any of the power from the Bunker.”
I looked at the sheet on the desktop and shook my head it looked like some kind of ancient writing to me.
“Sorry mate I can’t help you with that,” I said smiling slightly.
“It’s ok.” He said sitting back in his chair looking defeated.
“I’m sure you’ll get something sorted out.”
“We will. So what can I do you for?”
I thought I might as well just hit it head on “Jennie came to see me.”
“Don’t tell me she asked you to come and talk me out of helping you take down Benton’s oil rig. Right?”
“In a nutshell.”
“It’s been on my mind since that creepy message from Dr Jackson. To be honest mate I don’t want to go but there is no way in hell that I am letting you down by not going.” He said leaning forward.
“Hey I would love for you to come with me but they need you more here than if you came with me.”
“But…”
/>
I held my hand up “Look you’re one of my best friends, but it would kill me if you died out there and I made it back to tell Jennie and the kids their dad died. The Bunker needs good leadership and your one of the only two people that I feel will be able to handle it.”
“But Marc you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
“Don’t worry I’m not going by myself, but sorry mate you’re not coming with me.”
He looked shocked when I said that and, to be honest, my heart felt a little lighter for saying it.
“I have to go and convince someone else that they aren’t coming,” I said standing up.
“Who?” David asked in a small voice.
“Chris,” I answered standing at the doorway.
“Oh fuck!”
“Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel.” I walked out of the office letting the door close and headed for the lifts. Chris had been teaching on the indoor range this morning, so I figured that would be the best place to start. The level two hallway was quiet as I headed down to the range. As I passed the Communications Room Jake stuck his head out the door.
“Oi, Marc!”
I turned around and saw the old man stood at the open door.
“What’s up Jake?”
He nodded his head toward the open door “I think there is something you need to hear.”
I followed him inside and was hit with a horrible odour. “What the fuck smells in here?”
“Sorry, I’ve been sleeping in here the last few days.” He answered pointing to a sleeping bag under one of the long tables.
“Mate you need to wash something then!” I said holding the bridge of my nose.
“I would say fuck you, but I think this is a little more important.” He sat in his usual chair and flicked a switch.
A static hiss came from the speakers in the room “…..so it is with a heavy heart that we the New Nation put a bounty on the leaders of the Bunker. We have sent envoys only to have them killed and sent back minus body parts. Their leaders have rebuked all of our attempts to create a vaccine. Our leader Dr Jackson and his team have battled hard with these rebels to create a New Nation.”
The Infected (Book 6): Last Shot Page 3