Idris was escorted to a spare room at the back of the house where Mark dragged one of the sofas from the living room. Idris was becoming more and more sluggish from the medication and Liz suggested he get to sleep now while the anaesthetic was dulling the pain. He fell asleep soon after lying down, his arms crossed on his chest like a vampire in a coffin. As he gently began to snore, Mark and Liz returned to the rest of the group.
Mark was surprised to see Jack when he reentered the living room.
“I saw you guys come back inside and wanted to check you were okay. What happened?” He kept glaring at Gaz’s face, turning away whenever Gaz looked up.
“There was a new kind of special zombie, we thought it was dead but it wasn’t”
“Never assume something is dead.”
Mark allowed himself to chuckle as Jack quoted one of his own rules back to him. “Yeah, guess I should start taking my own advice, huh?”
Noticing that Jack still looked startled at Gaz’s injury, Mark tried to make him feel better, “You did well over the radio. We were all really impressed.”
Jack smiled widely, closing his body language slightly indicating he was embarrassed. “Thanks, I was worried I sounded a bit like a robot.”
“Not at all,” Helen interjected, “You came through very clearly, exactly what we need over the radio.”
Jack started to blush. “Well… I just wanted to do a good job for you guys. Help out, you know?”
“You did good, said what you needed to and kept things brief.” Gaz added.
“Jack, I’ve actually got a job for you, if you’re not too busy?”
Jack straightened up, “Sure, anything.”
“Have we got any groups out at the minute?”
“Yeah, Green team, led by Zack.”
Mark thought for a moment. “When they get back, can you ask Zack to call round here? Idris is injured and won’t be able to scavenge for a while.”
Jack suddenly looked distressed, “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s fine.” Mark lied. “I could just do with speaking to Zack about helping out for a while.”
“No problem, they went out a few hours ago so they shouldn’t be long. I’ll wait by the gate and send him straight over when he gets back.”
“Thanks. And well done again for today.”
Jack climbed the ladder in the living room and left through the upstairs.
Mark turned serious as soon as he’d left and addressed the rest of the group. “I was telling Luke my thoughts earlier. I’m worried that we could be being targeted and want to find out more about these other two groups.”
They room was silent as everyone considered the implications of what Mark was insinuating.
Luke watched the others as a couple of glances were thrown around. “I had an idea about finding out where that train goes.”
Everyone’s attention turned towards Luke and he felt himself burning up as he always did when he became the centre of attention.
“When me and Scott first looked at the electronic locks, we were looking at different kinds of cat flaps and electronic collars.” He wasn’t surprised by the confused looks he got. “Some of the collars offered GPS tracking so an owner could track where their cat was if they hadn’t seen it in a few days or simply to see where they went when they were out.”
“You still got any of these trackers?” Mark could see what Luke was getting getting at and when he used the word ‘trackers’, the others showed a sense of understanding.
“Yeah, we’ve got a few. I thought we could attach one to the train and see where it goes.”
“How would we attach without getting spotted?” Liz asked.
“We could attach it to a magnet. Wouldn’t have to be a big one and we could insulate the top of it so it didn’t interfere with the tracking signal. Surely we could throw it at the train and it would stick?”
Everyone looked at Mark for a response. He scratched the bottom of his chin, weighing up the possible risks involved. “I like it. We wouldn’t have to attach it at the landfill. We know the direction the train headed so we could throw it from further down the track, hidden in the bushes or something. Luke, can you start putting something like that together?”
“Scott’s got all the gear at The Outpost.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll message him now and let him know what we’re thinking.” Luke began typing while he was still talking.
“Okay, Blue team will go to The Outpost and work with the others to plant the tracker and find out where the train is going. Maybe we’ll be able to scout out their base and get more of an idea what they’re up to and what’s inside the trucks.” Mark saw Gaz about to protest and held a hand up before he could speak. “
“I know what you’re gonna say but it’s best if you stay here.”
Gaz knew better than to argue, partially because he knew deep down that Mark was right.
“You and Idris need to take it easy and heal up. You’re both just like Ishaq, he hated having to take it easy but look how busy he’s made himself without being on the frontline. Liz and Mo, you guys alright staying here as well? You’re two of the best people to look after them.”
“Of course.” Replied Mo.
Liz nodded and decided now would be the best time to address the group about the extent of Idris’s injuries. “I didn’t want to discuss this in front of Idris right away because he’s been through enough at the moment but we need to support Idris as best as we can through his recovery and face reality about how much recovery there’s actually going to be.” She sighed. “I couldn’t save the little finger on his right hand or the middle finger on his left hand. They were too badly severed and I’m no surgeon.”
Mo placed his hand on the back of her neck and stroked it with his thumb. “You did great. We can’t thank you enough.”
Liz looked like she might cry for a second before just as quickly gathering her composure. “Thank you. I did the best I could but there’s no guarantee he won’t lose any more fingers. Even if he keeps what he has, the trauma to the hands is so great that he will never have anywhere near the dexterity or strength that he once had. These injuries are going to significantly change his life.”
The room remained silent while the news sank in. Idris was a well loved member of the community and his physical strength was his defining feature, his life revolved around it. Having to concede that he would never be as strong as he had been would be hard to deal with but the further effects that could happen if his hands became useless would have a huge impact on him. The group knew that he was going to need as much help as possible, not just physical help but emotional help to keep his positivity going.
Mark had an idea. “He’s gonna want to be back on the front line as soon as possible and if there was something we could do to help him along when he’s ready, that would be great. Liz, I’m thinking about your weapons. Some form of weapon like that would allow him to defend himself without having to rely on his hands. Gaz, do you think you could rustle something like that up?”
“You giving me a job to make me feel wanted?”
“No… Maybe a little bit. You know it’s a good idea though, right?”
“Yeah, I know.” Gaz shook his head slowly and attempted to smile. “I know.”
It was sad to see because of the lack of movement on the side of his face that was still anaesthetised. Pain was also beginning to creep into Gaz’s expression. Mark hoped the wound looked worse than it was.
“I’ve had a reply from Scott.” Luke was looking at his phone. “He said he could knock something together pretty easily and Dennis says there’s a bridge over the train tracks not far from the land fill.”
Mark’s head jerked upwards.
“He’s got a plan.” Gaz muttered.
“I have a plan!” Mark exclaimed. “Luke, message Scott and see if he can put something together before it gets dark. Blue team, we’re gonna head out to The Outpost and pick up the tracker. A couple will go to the
landfill and I’ll head to the bridge. When the train sets off, the first group will let me know and I’ll hide on the bridge. As the train passes underneath, I’ll throw the tracker onto it. Then we wait and see where it ends up.”
“That’s assuming the train will be there again tonight.” Helen pointed out.
“Well… Yeah.”
“And the tracker sticks to the train.”
“And that.”
“And doesn’t fall off.”
“Helen?”
“Yes?”
“Please stop talking.”
Helen held her hands up as if she was surrendering.
“I’ll go and find Jack, see if Green team are back. I’ll speak to Zack about Green team taking on more of a raiding role. Gaz, can you act as their strategy lead?”
“You giving me another job to make me feel wanted?”
“No, it’s fine. Mo, will you direct the raid party?”
“No problem. I need some moisturiser, my skin is getting as dry as Helen’s.”
Helen scowled at Mo.
“Girl, don’t give me that stare, you know how you look.”
Helen’s scowl faltered as she struggled to stay angry. Mo always made Helen laugh, like Mark it was hard to stay angry at him. The both of them could get away with murder because their humour made them so forgivable. It was a quality that made them even more annoying at times.
“Alright.” Gaz conceded. “I’ll do it.”
Mark glanced at Mo out of the corner of his eyes, Mo smiled and winked in return.
“Great. Luke and Helen, grab an overnight bag. I wanna get things moving as quickly as we can, see if we can get some answers.”
Luke looked up from his phone. “I’ve had a reply from Scott, he says he could probably knock something together by the time we get there.”
“Cool. Everyone keep an eye on your message windows. Depending on how successfully this goes, we could be out for a couple of days. I don’t want the rest of the estate getting worked up over this incase these people aren’t hostile and we’re jumping to conclusions, so let’s stay vague about what we’re up to.”
“Where do we say you are?” Asked Mo.
“Tell people about this new special zombie, it’s important people are aware there’s a new threat but, for now, don’t say anything about another group of survivors. Just say we’ve gone to do a thorough recon of the area to see if we can find anymore.” Mark hated keeping people in the dark but knew that Idris and Gaz’s injuries were going to get people scared. The last thing he wanted was to make them fearful of another horde attack. “As soon as we know a bit more I’ll call a meeting and tell everyone what we’ve found out. Until then, I want Ridgetowner’s thoughts to be about looking for supplies and maintenance.”
The meeting wrapped up and Gaz and Mo assured the others they would be okay for the time being but would contact Liz straight away if they had any issues. Helen accompanied Liz to her house and Luke headed to his house to collect a few supplies. Mark made his way to the main gate where he found Jack welcoming Green team back from their latest raid.
There were five members of Green team although only four had been out on today’s raid. The fifth member was Eleanor who had been helping Jack with his role in Communications. Eleanor was one of two females on Green team, the other being Cassie who was a lot younger but Eleanor kept up with her when the situation required it.
Eleanor was the go-to lady for Archery in Ridgetown. She had originally come to Ridgetown with two of her neighbours who she introduced to her archery classes, a young couple called Lee and Megan, but they had been victims of the horde’s attack. Eleanor had been a tutor of archery in her spare time when the world was normal. When the world changed, archery became an invaluable skill and she began running her own classes at Ridgetown. A bow was a reliable, low maintenance weapon that could be devastating with some basic training. Her classes taught Ridgetowners how to become lethal without getting close to a zombie and Eleanor got to relive a part of her normal life again. It had started with one or two people asking for a few pointers on how to use a bow and arrow until, following a raid at her nearby archery club, there was enough equipment for most of Ridgetown to be armed with some kind of archery weapon. The fact that crude arrows could be made quite easily with little supplies meant they were an ideal, stealthy long range weapon against the undead.
Cassie wasn’t very confident with fighting zombies hand to hand but her skills as a survivor made her a valuable member of Green team. Cassie was a creative resident of Ridgetown and liked to create sculptures and works of art that kept everyone else feeling positive and brought a bit of beauty into what could easily be such a depressing place. Her creative side helped her see the world from a slightly different perspective and she was able to come up with escape plans and ideas for traps in an instant with minimal items or in seemingly hopeless situations.
Her resourcefulness was most famously apparent when, on an early raid, Green team got separated and she found herself, Eleanor and Rhys trapped behind a completely empty bar with only a flimsy shutter between themselves and eleven zombies. They had been waiting in what they thought was an abandoned, safe area for the other two members of Green team when a mob, that they weren’t even aware of, finally caught up with them. The bars of the shutter had gaps large enough for the zombies to reach through up to their shoulders but not reach the survivors as long as they kept their backs against the now empty drinks cabinet. The spacing of the gaps also meant that the arms came through at random heights and angles but didn’t allow very much rotation once the arm was inside. There was a single swinging door into the bar area that only had a simple bolt to lock it. Besides that and the bar itself, there was nothing keeping the zombies back apart from the shutters. The zombies followed their movements. Whenever Rhys began to slowly move towards the swinging door, the zombies would follow. He quickly moved back so that they didn’t try to gain access through the flimsy door. Cassie, Eleanor and Rhys were seemingly stuck unless the others came back heavily armed before the flimsy shutters gave way. Even then, they worried that the others would come running in, unaware of the threat and become victims themselves.
Looking at the arms reaching through the shutters, the zombies’ bodies pressed so tightly against it gave Cassie an idea. She told Rhys and Eleanor to take their shoelaces off, which they did. Rhys and Eleanor watched as Cassie held one of her shoelaces in both hands and poised herself with it, looking like a snake about to strike at its victim. She shot her hands out at two of the arms directly in front of her, belonging to two different zombies, and wrapped the shoelace around their forearms as many times as she could. The more she wrapped it, the tighter the arms were bound together and the sporadic movements began to cancel each other out allowing her to tie a couple of tight knots without too much risk of being grabbed.
“Make sure you use one shoelace on two different zombies.” She’d told Eleanor and Rhys who, seeing her plan, did exactly as she said.
With eleven zombies, Rhys was able to tether his last zombie, the closest zombie to the gate, to one of the pumps for pouring beer. The three of them exited the gate and simply walked away from the zombies who couldn’t free themselves from the shutter. Although looking enraged, their attacks were limited to grasping outwards from the bar with an arm stuck through the shutter. When Zack and Jez came back, Cassie, Rhys and Eleanor were waiting outside patiently. They took advantage of the zombie’s incapacitated state and killed them with blows to the heads without any issues. The story spread through Ridgetown quickly and Mark was keen for people to take inspiration from it, that there was always hope in seemingly impossible situations, he even incorporated the tactic into his survival tips that he was compiling, citing Cassie as a visionary.
Rhys, Zack and Jez had all met when they sought refuge at a community centre that was supposedly a safe place to stay while the army took control of the situation when the dead started to walk. That never happened and the communit
y centre was quickly overrun. Zack stood out, trying to take control of the situation as all the authority figures fled what was clearly a lost cause. Jez and Rhys had recently rented a flat together after they graduated from university and decided that Zack seemed as good a person as any to try and survive with. The three of them worked together to defend the main hall of the community centre, giving the other occupants a chance to escape out the back. When their turn finally came to leave, they escaped through the kitchen and, not knowing where anyone else had gone, headed to the outskirts of the town, away from any highly populated areas.
They came across a farm occupied by a stubborn elderly couple who were much too old to be living on a farm that had decreased in productivity as the years had gone by. Now both in their eighties, the elderly couple had been struggling to live on what money they had and only had a single cow and a couple of chickens to look after. When the apocalypse happened, they barely noticed for the first few days as their contact with the outside world had deteriorated to a single shopping encounter each week.
When Zack originally approached them, he asked if he, Jez and Rhys could stay in one of the barn houses for a couple of nights while they made a plan of where to go. The couple were reluctant at first but the elderly man convinced his wife to let them stay, just for two nights. He hobbled out with a pan of soup for them on the first night and offered them some blankets to keep them warm. Zack originally declined but Jez asked to use the toilet and Rhys asked if he could charge his phone. The elderly man apologised and said that he would see what he could do but his wife was very wary of them. After half an hour and a few raised voices, he returned and said they could come inside for an hour.
Zack chose to wait near the front door to indicate to the elderly woman that he had no intentions of overstepping his boundaries, he saw the old man struggling to drag a bag of feed for the chickens and offered to help carry it. Walking through the house, he saw boards near the windows and tins of nails. He asked the old man if he was going to barricade the windows but the old man simply mumbled, obviously hesitant to give a straight answer. Zack offered to do the work for him in exchange for the food and blankets he and his wife had provided. The old man thanked him but said that he and his wife could manage fine on their own.
Ridgetown (Book 2): Neighbours Page 8