“What is it?” Mark asked as he joined Ishaq on the balcony.
“I thought I heard something.”
“Maybe we should get back to The Outpost. We don’t want any more surprises while we’re in here.”
Mark sent Luke a message saying they were heading back. Ishaq kept his vigil on the staircase, staring into the darkness.
“Come on. I don’t like not knowing where these people are and I don’t want to stumble into them without a reason for being round here.”
They left as quietly as they arrived after dragging the corpses of the slain zombies into the shadows of the warehouse. Mark thought that the other group of survivors would have already killed the zombie workers if they had been in the building before but didn’t want them to find the zombies freshly slain if they did happen to wander inside.
They negotiated their way back through the forest successfully, returning to the main road nearly exactly where they had left their bikes and headed back to The Outpost.
"I don't like it." Mark said, frustrated.
"I know you don't like it but even I have to admit, it sounds like a reasonable plan." Dennis spoke up in favour of Ishaq's idea.
"One more time," Mark sighed, "start to finish."
"We head back down to the industrial estate, all quiet on our bikes. This time, I'll head down the main road on foot from the dual carriageway. You leave the bikes there and head to the building we were in. You'll be able to keep out of the way, monitor what's going on and keep in contact with The Outpost. I'll play up the idea that I've been split up from you and need a place to lay low for a couple of hours, non threatening, balls in their court type of situation."
"I don't like the idea of sending you in alone."
"I'll take my phone, it'll be a good conversation piece and I can use it to contact you in an emergency. We’ll do the same as me and you did, report in every thirty minutes so you know I’m okay.”
“Hmmm…” Mark didn’t try to hide his displeasure.
“I’ll come across as really chatty,”
“Do you think you’ll be able to do that okay?” Scott perched in sarcastically.
Ishaq gave a sideways glance to acknowledge Scott before continuing. “I’ll ask lots of questions but reveal as little as possible about us. If things seem like they could turn sour, I’ll make my excuses and leave. Even if I leave more or less straight away, at least we’ll get an idea of what they’re like. If they don’t even let me in, we’ll know they’re not the friendliest bunch.”
“I don’t like it.” Mark repeated.
Ishaq threw his arms up in frustration, Helen stood and patted him on the back.
“Mark, you know better than anyone how capable Ishaq is of looking after himself.” She stepped away from Ishaq and towards Mark. “If he didn’t think he could do this, he wouldn’t be so confident about going. It’s our best chance to get some solid answers about this other group.”
Mark’s frown intensified and Helen could tell that she was getting through to him. He rubbed his forehead and leant against the table.
“You said yourself that we’re speculating about who they are and what they’re up to. You’re driving yourself crazy with conspiracy theories, we need to find out some facts.”
There was a long silence and everyone looked to each other to speak. Finally, Mark stood up straight at look to the centre of the room. Everyone waited with baited breath.
“We don’t live in a dictatorship and it’s clear that all of you think this is a good idea so it looks like we’re going to go through with it.”
Ishaq grinned, looking round to see if the others shared his pleasure.
“Ishaq, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think it’s a bad plan, I just think it’s a dangerous one. I don’t like putting you into a situation that’s going to be out of our control, especially knowing so little about what you’re going to be walking into. But Helen’s got a point, you’re more than capable of looking after yourself. Let’s just make sure we’re doing everything we can to support you while you’re in there.”
Ishaq strode over to Mark and clasped his hands down on Mark’s shoulders.
“That’s what I’m talking about! I knew you believed in me, it’s a good idea ain’t it?”
Mark stared back emotionless at Ishaq’s grinning face.
“Come on…” He grinned even wider, “Admit it…”
Mark refused to change his stone faced expression.
Ishaq tickled his chin, “Come on… Tell Ishaq he had a good a idea.”
The inflection in Ishaq’s voice made him sound like he was telling a dog it had done a good job. Finally, Mark cracked and started laughing. He pushed Ishaq’s hand away and ducked away from his teasing.
“Ring and let me know a pickup time as soon as possible. They might feel more comfortable if they know you’re not planning on staying long. I’ll rock up in the armoured car as a show of strength, Helen, you come with me so they know it’s not just me and Ishaq on our own. Ishaq, try not to give an indication of how big our group is, just that it’s more than a couple of us. See what they think about the website, if they know about it. Don’t let on that it’s our site, just see what they think.”
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I’ll be friendly, I can make friends with anyone. Look at Scott, he was a brick wall when I met him, now he’s an emotional wreck thanks to me.”
Scott looked up, confused. “What?”
Ishaq patted him on the head. “See, he’s like a newborn puppy.”
“That’s what I’m worried about… Don’t let them think you’re an idiot.”
Ishaq pretended to be offended.
“Luke, is there any way you could set up a live feed from Ishaq’s phone while he’s inside?”
“It’d be possible but don’t you think it would be suspicious if he’s walking round everywhere with his phone out?”
“I agree.” Said Ishaq. “I don’t want to make it that obvious that I’m scoping the place out. I’ll try to get a few pictures if I can but I can’t promise anything.”
“Yeah, good point. Safety is priority, scrub the pictures idea. Take a lot of mental notes though. I think we should all rest up and put this plan into action tomorrow night. Similar time.”
“I agree.” Responded Ishaq. “Judging by the pattern of movement, they’re probably gonna be there around the same time tomorrow. There’s not exactly a lot we can do in the way of preparation. We can keep an eye on the tracker and wait for it to get back to the depot.”
“Don’t you want to practice what you’re going to say?” Asked Scott.
“We can’t guess exactly what they’re going to say. I’m best playing it by ear, but I’ll go through a couple of things with Mark before I go.” Ishaq tried his best to reassure Scott. “Don’t worry, I’m good at thinking on my feet. I think the pressure helps.”
The group discussed the kind of things they thought Ishaq should ask and decided that he would be most likely to get in if he said he only needed to stay for an hour. Hopefully the mystery group’s curiosity would be peaked enough for him to get inside while thinking that an hour is a short enough time for Ishaq not to be any trouble. It also gave Mark and everyone else a timeframe to work with if they didn’t hear from Ishaq.
Luke had pointed out the possibility that the building might have some kind of mobile phone jammer as a security feature of the depot. It might not do them any favours if Mark and Helen went in all guns blazing, thinking Ishaq was being held against his will if there was a reasonable explanation like he couldn’t get a signal.
Everyone had something to eat and settled down in the early hours, sleeping heavily until late the next afternoon. The sleep did everyone good, recharging their batteries ready for the evening’s escapades.
Later that evening, when the tracker returned to the depot, Mark and Ishaq headed back out on their bikes towards the industrial estate. The others waited in the living room of The Outpost, waiting fo
r Mark’s call for Helen to pick him and the bikes up before they went for Ishaq.
The ride seemed a lot quicker than last time and there were less zombies scattered around. When they reached the main road to the industrial estate, Ishaq dismounted and Mark watched him in silence.
“Don’t worry.” Said Ishaq, the scene reminiscent of a parent watching their child embarking on a gap years travelling.
Ishaq began to jog down the path, holding on to the straps of his bag with both hands. He turned and looked back at Mark as he ran, waving with one hand. “What could possibly go wrong?” He shouted and let out a loud, short cackle, knowing that it would infuriate Mark.
Mark didn’t believe in fate. He didn’t like the idea of not being in control of what happened to him. He liked to think that everything he did was by his own free will and that anything that happened could have been prevented if he had acted differently. That brought with it it’s own weight of responsibility but at the same time, a sense of caution to keep Mark grounded. He refused to acknowledge that someone’s death was beyond his control. As far as Mark was concerned, any death within his community was a failure on his part and he could have done something to prevent it. He made sure he learned from what had happened and would do his best to make sure it never happened again.
Despite his refusal to believe in fate, he didn’t like to tempt it. And tempting fate was exactly what Ishaq loved to do.
Mark left the bikes propped against a sign by the side of the road. He moved through the forest without paying much attention to his surroundings. He scolded himself for not noticing a zombie that he nearly walked in to, it was highly decomposed and collapsed to the floor when it saw him, reaching out and losing its centre of balance. It fell into the level 2 category in terms of threat and Mark was able to avoid it simply by giving it a wide birth.
Despite being mad with himself about letting his guard down, Mark’s thoughts instantly returned to Ishaq. As soon as he reached the break in the trees, Mark headed for the printing warehouse. He headed straight up the stairs to the room he and Ishaq had been to and looked outside, hoping to see something useful.
The stillness outside concerned Mark. He had hoped to see lights or movement, a change in the arrangement of vehicles, anything to signify something was different, that Ishaq had arrived. Instead, the scene looked exactly as it had before.
Mark fished his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the home screen and considered ringing or messaging Ishaq. He wasn’t sure how long it would have taken Ishaq to get to the compound but he thought he would have heard something by now. Mark checked his watch, it hadn’t quite been half an hour.
Mark began pacing forwards and backwards in the room, telling himself that the plan had already gone awry.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated. It was Ishaq.
“Hello?” Mark asked in a genuinely concerned voice. He instantly began reciting the lines they had agreed earlier. “Ishaq where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. All good, all retro.”
Retro was their code word meaning everything was genuinely okay. If Ishaq had said he was ‘okay’, or ‘fine’, or ‘good’ without following it up with retro, Mark would have known something was wrong.
“I’ve found a couple of survivors, they’ve said I can chill here until you pick me up. I’m not far from that dual carriageway we were heading down.” His voice became muffled as he spoke to someone else in the room, “What did you say the sign said?”
Mark couldn’t make out the other voice, it sounded female but he couldn’t be sure.
“There’s a sign on the main road that says Unity Park industrial estate, turn down the road and ring me. I’ll meet you outside a building down there.”
Mark concluded that the group of survivors didn’t want Ishaq to stay any longer than he had to. It was good news that they were friendly though, it sounded like they wouldn’t have to storm the building to get their friend back.
“Okay. I’ve just met back up with Helen so we’ll head back to you. Might be about an hour, is that okay?”
Mark heard Ishaq asking someone permission. There was a pause before the response.
“Yeah, they said that’s okay. See you soon.”
“See you in a bit pal.” Mark hung up and frowned.
They had agreed that if the group were friendly, Ishaq would talk as freely as he felt comfortable doing. The conversation had been pretty short and Ishaq had pretty much stuck to the script. They had also discussed that if Ishaq thought the group was friendly enough for them to strike up a relationship, Ishaq would ask Mark to bring supplies to say thank you for taking him in. Ishaq hadn’t hinted at anything like that so Mark presumed they were being quite guarded.
Overall, Mark felt that the situation could be a lot better but it could also be a lot worse. He had seen his team cope with all kinds of situations against the living dead but survivors were too unpredictable. He knew that Ishaq was safe for now and that was the most important thing. He messaged Helen to let her know he was heading back and she should be ready to leave straight away. He left the warehouse and headed back through the forest, more careful than before but just as hastily.
It took just over half an hour for Mark to get back to The Outpost. Inside, Helen was waiting with her backpack over her shoulder and an ice axe in her hand.
“He’s okay and ready to be picked up.” Mark said without having to mention Ishaq’s name. “Doesn’t sound like they’re super friendly but he doesn’t sound in any danger. I think we should head straight there though, I’m eager to hear what he’s found out.”
“That’s fine with me.” Replied Helen.
Mark turned to Luke before they left, “I’ll send a message when we’re leaving so you know we’re out and safe, until then I’ll stay dark.”
Luke nodded and went to sit with Scott who was working on the website in the background.
Dennis followed them to the entrance to the building. “What are your thoughts on them from what Ishaq was able to say? Truthfully?”
“Truthfully, I’m not closer to making a decision than I was before he went in.” He paused before he spoke again. “Truthfully… I’m just glad he’s not dead.”
Mark looked candidly at Helen and Dennis, wondering if he had overstepped the line. Their lack of surprise at what he said told Mark that they were thinking the same thing.
Mark drove and Helen sat in the passenger seat, neither of them spoke throughout the journey. It didn’t take long for them to reach the turning and for Mark’s stomach to turn as they did.
“Are you going to slow down a bit?” Helen asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Ishaq supposedly told you where this place was. You’re driving in like you know the layout. I know you do but this other group might find it a bit suspicious.”
In Mark’s haste, he hadn’t even considered what Helen was saying. In that moment, he was glad she had come with him. He continued more hesitantly, pausing when he reached the entrance to the industrial estate.
Helen stayed silent, eyes darting from building to building, looking for any potential threat whether it was human or zombie.
Mark crept forward to where the road opened wider and got out. Helen looked startled and Mark raised a hand to calm her.
“I’m just having a look round incase they’re watching, try ringing Ishaq.”
Mark found the calmness disturbing. When he’d been looking down on the area from the warehouse, it hadn’t seemed as creepy. He looked up at the warehouse, spotting the window he had been stood behind, the dying light reflected off it making it impossible to see inside. Although reassuring, knowing that he had been hidden from view himself, Mark felt unnerved that he was being watched at that moment.
“Hi.”
Helen’s voice broke his hypnotic stare.
“We think we’re here. Where abouts are you?” She asked.
Mark leant back into the car, trying to hear Ishaq’s respon
se on the other end.
“Okay. Well, we’re at the top of the road in front of a load of buildings. We’ll drive in slowly and meet you when you come out.”
Mark took Helen’s response as his cue to get back into the car.
Helen hung up the call. “He said he’s in a large building towards the back of the estate and he would be right out.”
“Good lad, knew not to give away we’d already scoped the place out.” Mark felt a pang of frustration that he had let that detail slip his attention.
He drove carefully forwards and saw Ishaq’s figure exit the large building in front of them. He was alone and headed straight to the toll booth structure, waving upwards towards what Mark assumed was a camera. Mark interpreted the wave as a friendly goodbye to the people in the building as well as a warning to Mark and Helen that they were being watched.
“We’re on camera then?” Helen muttered.
They waited for Ishaq to approach without getting any closer. Mark got out of the car to greet him and patted him on the shoulder, a greeting fit for someone who had gotten separated from the group.
“They’re pretty guarded, let’s get back.” Ishaq whispered.
Mark turned the car around in a calculated manner, not too quickly to suggest they were running away but not too slow to suggest they were making a scene, hanging round.
“I’m glad you’re okay.” Helen said from the front seat, looking at Ishaq in the mirror.
“I never had any doubts.” Said Mark unconvincingly.
The rest of the journey was spent in silence.
Chapter 8
Back at The Outpost, everyone met Ishaq with excitement and relief.
Mark stood back and watched as everyone greeted Ishaq as if he had been on a three day expedition. The relief everyone displayed showed just how risky they thought his mission had been.
“Have we got any teabags? I could really do with a brew.” Ishaq announced as the excitement began to die down.
Scott instantly headed into the kitchen, the others took a seat in the living room and waited for Ishaq to recount what had happened. The anticipation hung in the air.
Ridgetown (Book 2): Neighbours Page 12