Pet From Hell (Infected Series Book 1)

by Justin Gowland

  The second body was our old pal shit bag, it seemed that he must have had one hell of a need for self-preservation. From the green slime and loose flesh round his mouth, I had found out what had killed the infected woman. There wasn’t much left of his body though, it looked like there may have been more than just the one infected here last night. Because the flesh on his chest and stomach was gone and his ribs had been snapped and scattered around his body so that they could get to the juicier parts. It was then that I saw his mouth open and his eyes move to look at me. The little fucker had become an infected. I raised my rifle and aimed it at his head and was about to flick the safety off and put him down, when I thought of all he had said the night before. I lowered the rifle and looked him in his dead eyes and said “You deserve this.” With that I turned and walked back toward the A.P.C.

  Chris was stood leaning against the side near the backdoor watching me as I came back. I was about to climb inside when he said “What was that all about?”

  With my foot on the step I turned my head and just said “Retribution.” and climbed inside.

  Sitting down I pulled a bottle of water out of my pack and a M.R.E breakfast. I must have had a strange look on my face because Jay was watching me out the corner of his eye. I stopped eating and looked over at him.

  “You ok Marc? It’s just you seem a little, erm….pissed off for some reason.” He said.

  Chris appeared in the doorway when he heard this.

  “It’s just what that shit head said last night is all.” I replied.

  “I think that has gotten to us all.” Jay said.

  I wanted to tell him that they couldn’t feel anyway near to the way that I was feeling. I had my reasons and the came from the darkest part of my past.

  I had been engaged once to a fantastic woman called Rebeca, ‘Becky’ for short. We had been together for about eight years when we decided to get married. It was probably one of the happiest times in my life. She was five feet nothing, with blonde hair and the bluest eyes that you have ever seen, on a wonderful heart shaped face. We were trying to sort out wedding plans at the time and her mother, who lived three streets away had agreed to help find a venue. Anyway the night that I can never forget, Becky’s mam had asked her to come round because she had talked with a local vicar and he had agreed to let us have the wedding in his church on the date that Becky wanted. She gave me a kiss and said that she shouldn’t be long. As she went out the door she said that she loved me and I said the same back.

  Two hours stretched to four and I hadn’t heard anything from either Becky or her mam. I text her from my phone and waited for a reply, but after an hour I still hadn’t heard anything. I called Becky’s mam and she said that Becky hadn’t arrived at her house. I was now panicking about her and where she was. I rang the police and spoke to getting more and more worked up. They said that they couldn’t do anything until a member of her family filed a report. The reason they gave me was that she could have gotten cold feet about the wedding. I have to admit my swearing at them down the phone probably didn’t help. I rang Becky’s mam again and told her what the police had told me, she said as soon as I hung up she would be calling them. Even before she had finished talking I had hung up and sat waiting. She called back and said that they would have someone come round and take statements in the morning and that there was very little they could do before then.

  I must have sat all night on the couch looking at me mobile phone, wishing for Becky to call or text. The following morning the police arrived and I sat on the couch and told them everything. After they had left Becky’s mam turned up and we sat and talked until the evening came round and she left. After three days of the same routine, I got a phone call from work saying that if I didn’t go in I’d be fired by the end of the day, I just grunted and hung up. By the sixth day I was dirty, I didn’t smell very good and I hadn’t eaten much. Becky’s mam returned and told me that the police where still looking, but they thought there was a possibility that she didn’t want to be found as they hadn’t found any evidence of foul play. I lost my job and was close to getting kicked out of my flat when I got a visit from my uncle, who how can I put this kicked in the arse and helped pull myself back together.

  Nine weeks had passed since Becky went missing and I had just started a new job, when I got a call from Becky’s mam saying that they had found Becky. They had found her tied in a plastic sheet beside the road just outside of town. She had been beaten and repeatedly raped and sodomised by more than one person before having her throat cut. It looked like she had been killed in the last twenty four hours and had been mistreated for the full nine weeks that she had been missing. I broke down there and then on the phone and my uncle had to come help. The funeral was the following week and because of the damage she had received it had to be a closed casket. When the news had come, it nearly killed me. I had come to terms with the idea of her possibly being dead, but I had always hoped that she had just wanted her freedom and I was happy with that idea.

  The police had never caught or found the people that were responsible for her death. But like shit was I going to stand by and let these fuckers get away with it.

  “Guys can we get on making plans please.” I said.

  Chris and Jay shared a look, before Chris climbed inside and closed the door behind him.

  “Before we make any plans we’re going to have to go and have look at this place. Otherwise we will be going in blind and that’s not a good idea.” Chris said as he climbed in between the front seats and into the driving seat.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  We drove back the way we came for roughly half an hour, before reaching a small industrial estate. We pulled over beside a small clothing warehouse and sat in the back trying to figure out what was the best way to carry out our recce of the area. We had seen quite a few infected close by and as we had passed them they had turned to follow us. Chris was wanting us to just steam on in and use the A.P.Cs armour to our advantage. Jay wanted to go in at night and try to take them by surprise. To tell you the truth I liked both ideas but they also had huge drawbacks. I sat watching a lone infected walk past our hiding spot, when a light bulb went off behind my eyes. There was a plan forming in my head that should satisfy both Jay and Chris. But we still needed to see the building the bikers were using as a base for it to have any chance of it working.

  Chris and Jay were arguing about their plans when I cleared my throat and said “Look both of your ideas are good, but I think that I might have something that will satisfy you both.”

  They turned and looked at me, so I told them of my rough idea, which was to use the infected as a sort of distraction. They would hopefully distract the bikers whilst I and Jay snuck inside and got the women out. When they were away and safe we would return and kill any bikers that were left after the infected were through with them.

  Chris smiled “You know for a blanket stacker you can be a right vicious sod. I like the idea, but you missed something out.”

  Puzzled I said “What?”

  “There is not a fucking chance I am sitting this out and we haven’t seen the layout of their base yet.” Chris said his voice rumbling.

  “I wasn’t thinking about leaving you out. I just thought that Jay and I would be harder for the infected to catch. You could keep an eye on their compound and try to figure out where they are keeping the women.” I said.

  Chris smiled and patted me on the shoulder and said “That’s more like it. Let’s get this over with.”

  For the next hour we gathered everything that we think might be of use from the storage lockers in the rear of the A.P.C. Not that we had much gear in the first place, we should have raided the armoury at the Garrison when we left. Truth be told the bunker should have an armoury that we can use and get stock from. Jay and I stripped and cleaned the rifles we were going to be carrying and checked our magazines. We were only going to be carrying our webbing and the gear that went with it. Chris checked through the storage locker
s and managed to find a couple of flash bangs which he gave to Jay. We drank a bottle of water each and ate some food before leaving the A.P.C.

  Chris leaned out and looked at us “You two take it slow and easy. According to shit bag, their base is just four buildings over. Jay make sure Marc doesn’t get into too much trouble and keep an eye out for ambushes.”

  “Chris I know what I am doing, and I’ll keep Marc safe. Well at least I’ll try.” Jay said grinning.

  Smiling back I stick my middle finger up at him and walk to the edge of the building to take a look round the corner. Sticking my head round the edge I can see that a side road has been cut off with some wrecked cars. Counting the buildings before it and I can see that it’s the junction leading to the biker’s base. I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn to see Jay stood behind me with is rifle ready but pointing to the ground. I point down the street at the blockade and move out the way so he can get a proper look. He shakes his head and points across the road at another side street. We slip across and head further into the industrial park. Trying as much as we can, we stay in the shadows and when we can’t, we try to find cover behind cars and rubbish bins. After moving slowly round the bikers compound so that we could come at it from the rear.

  Jay pointed out a building taller than the others with windows that overlook the compound. Finding the entrance to be one of those roller shutters we take our time trying to open it without making too much noise. Using some steel pipe that we had managed to find, we worry the door up just enough to roll under and inside. Inside were several car lifts with old and new cars jacked up on them. The grease and oil smell hit us as soon as we rolled under the door. Up a height were other windows that let a dirty yellow light into the space. The windows we wanted were at the far end of the garage and from what I could see the only way of looking out of them would be to stand on top of some shelves of tyres that had been stored along that wall.

  “That’s going to be fucking dangerous Jay.” I said looking at the tires.

  “It’s not going to be that bad.” He said looking at the shelves.

  I hated to say it but if he took a nose dive from them, he would be either dead or badly injured form the fall.

  “Let’s clear in here first before I go climbing.” He said.

  Taking our time we checked every corner and under every car, the only time things got jumpy was when Jay opened a cupboard and was attacked by a mop. I nearly burst out laughing when he span round to look at me. We headed over the shelves with the tyres and Jay took off his webbing and stood his rifle beside it. His climbing to the top of the shelving was like watching a goat climb a cliff. When he reached the top I knelt down and covered the garage. The light coming from the opening in the garage door seemed to give the place an ominous feeling.

  “Ok, from what I can see they have two on guard wandering round the compound, but they don’t look like they’re that interested. On the right there is a small shed with an open door, I can see movement on the floor in the shadows. There is a guard on the door with what looks like a baseball bat. The two wandering round on guard are carrying small calibre rifles, they look like .22s, but I can’t be sure from here.” Jay said quietly from the top of the shelving.

  I tried to figure out how to get the infected to the compound and get the women out when Jay nearly shouts “Fuck, they have the women tied up in that shed. A big fat fucker came out of the main building and grabbed one from the shed. She has a fucking dog collar round her neck.”

  “Well at least we know where they are now. The only problem is figuring a way to get them out and kill the bikers” I said.

  “Yeah, I think we’ve seen enough let’s get back to Chris and fine tune your plan.” Jay said as he climbed back down.

  Picking up his gear we started toward the door when we heard a moan coming from the opening. We had our rifles raised and pointing before you could have taken a breath. The problem was if we shot the infected that would blow the idea of a surprise attack on the biker’s compound. I quickly looked round the garage and our salvation came in the form of a four feet long crowbar. Dropping my rifle on its sling I pick up the crowbar and for some unknown reason it felt good in my hands.

  Crouching down to look under the door I could see the legs of the infected shuffling past the opening. He had black trousers on and for some reason a single tied on black shoe. Rolling out behind him, I stood and raised the crowbar over my shoulder for an overhead strike. Bringing the crowbar down with all the force I could, it seemed to just fold into his skull with a crunch. I could feel the vibration of the strike run through my hands and arms, I nearly drop it. The infected seemed to fold at the knees and it looked from my perspective, like I had just forced him into the ground. A soft moan came as his body hit the floor and the blood, grey brains and green slime, sprayed out of the opening in a fan shape. I heard Jay roll out and was covering my back when I turned round.

  “All clear let’s get back.” He whispered.

  I cleaned the crowbar and pushed it through the belt on my webbing and we headed back the way we came. As we returned I noticed that there were more infected in the area than there was when we went to look at the biker compound. I filed that away because we were going to need every one of them for the plan to work.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  When we got back Jay filled Chris in with what we had seen and how I had taken out the single infected without thinking about it. I could tell by the look he threw me, that he was slightly impressed.

  “Okay, well the way I see it, we can alter your plan a little Marc. Jay I want you to play pied piper like you did before, Marc it might be an idea that you cut the fencing near the shed and when I give the signal take out that guard. I’ll just do what I do best and kill the guards and the rest if needs be.” Chris said.

  “No.” I said looking determined.

  Chris turned slowly and said “No? What the fuck do you mean no?”

  I returned his stare and spoke with a calm voice “What I mean is that I want all them fucker’s dead, not one survivor. The bikers I mean.”

  “Marc, I don’t think we can kill them all.” Chris said.

  “You get the women then and I’ll kill the guards and all the others.” I said.

  Chris turned to Jay and asked “Dude, can you give me and Marc a second?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Jay said looking at me and then climbing out the back door of the A.P.C.

  With Jay outside Chris stood up and crossed over to the other bench facing me and sat down.

  “Spill.” Was all that he said, so I told him all about Becky and that she had died, I especially told him how she had been abused before whoever had killed her. I had tears in my eyes and had to keep wiping them with my sleeve. Chris sat and listened to me rant on about how these bikers were treating women the same way as Becky was treated and I wanted pay back.

  “Ok.” Chris said and stood up gathered his gear and climbed out the back door. Feeling a little out of place I climbed out and stood as Chris spoke to Jay. After a while Jay looked over and gave me a slight nod of his head.

  “Ok slight change of plan again. Jay I want you to gather up the infected and lead them toward the front gates of the compound. When you get them nearby try to slip away from them. They should just home in on the bikers. Next part is when the bikers are busy with the infected at the front, Marc and I cut the fence slip inside kill the guard near the women. Marc will lead them back to the garage and hide them there, the head back to the hole in the fence. You should be back by then Jay, when we are all together we form a shooting line and start taking the bikers out and we don’t stop till they are all dead or infected food. Is that ok with you two?” Chris asked.

  “That’s fine with me.” I said.

  Jay just looked up, nodded and went over to the A.P.C and grabbed a bottle of water from our dwindling supply. When he returned we started to get sorted for the raid on the compound. We sat in silence as we checked the rifles and magazines. I
took off my webbing and made sure it was all on the belt securely, the last thing I wanted was to lose a magazine pouch whilst running. After that was done I made sure that they would all stay closed up. As the sun started to slowly edge toward the horizon, Jay headed out to do the infected wrangling. He ran up and down the adjacent side roads and pulled about a hundred of the shambling infected and had them slowly follow him towards what we hoped was going to be a biker buffet. He was about two maybe three buildings away from the compound when their lights turned on. That was his signal to give the infected the slip and head round to our staging point.

  Chris and I had hidden in the shadows watching Jay run up and down the side streets getting the infected to follow him. As the lights came on and we heard shouting come from the front of the compound, we slipped out of our hiding place and crept over to the fence. Taking a pair of pliers that he had found in the A.P.C, Chris snipped away at the fence until there was a hole in it big enough for us to slip inside. Jay returned just as the last link was cut.

  “Right Jay I want you to stay here and guard our way out. Marc you’re coming with me, but you have to be quiet and don’t fire unless you’re fired upon.” Chris whispered.

  “Ok.” I said nodding in the gloom.

  Chris pulled the fencing to one side and I slipped inside the compound. I heard a rustle of clothing and then Chris tapped me on my shoulder to let me know it was time to move. Heading across the space between the fence and the shed was nerve wracking and I had to keep adjusting my grip on the rifle. There were a few oil barrels just before the shed and I ducked down beside them. Looking over I could see the guard was looking toward the front of the compound and the shouting coming from there.

  Tapping me on my shoulder Chris pointed to his combat knife and then to the guard. He started to move, but I grabbed his hand and pointed at the knife and then myself. I wanted to kill this fucker and Chris was going to give me his knife to do the job. He looked at me sideways, then shrugged and gave me the knife. I passed him my rifle because I didn’t want it to get in the way and set off toward the guard, but made sure that the shed was between him and me. The last thing I needed was for him to turn and see me creeping up on him. Making it to the side of the shed, I could here whimpers and moans coming from inside. I knew that these weren’t the moans of the infected these were the moans of people who had been beaten and abused. I edged to the corner and chanced a quick peek, the guard had turned his back to me and was laughing at the sound of gun shots coming from the front of the compound.