He was in his early twenties and was wearing jeans and despite the heat, a leather jacket. I think he was taken aback by the intimidating sight of our vehicles, with men standing, some in uniform pointing not just assault rifles and shotguns at him, but a machine gun mounted on the Land Rover.
He turned and spoke to others hidden behind the barricade, more heads slowly appearing. I couldn’t see any more firearms, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have them just out of sight.
He seemed more confident now he had more support.
“Did you not see the sign? We own this piece of road now and in return for us keeping it clear of walkers, you must pay to pass. What do you have to pay us with? If you’re from the Army, then as we’re doing your job, you must give us some of your guns so we can keep helping people.”
I heard a few snorts of laughter from behind the barricade.
“I am not authorized to give weapons to non-military people, son, so that’s not going to happen.”
Dave waved his arm at the cars lying abandoned around us, with their contents haphazardly dumped all around them.
“And if you’re helping people as you say, what happened to the ones in these cars?”
“They, er… didn’t want our help and decided to walk from here,” he said, a smile spreading across his face.
Dave stared at him long and hard.
“Son, are you going to let us through? I haven’t got the time or patience to get into a pissing competition with you. You will not get any guns from us, full stop. But if you let us through, we can give you some other stuff that might be of use to you.”
The man, obviously feeling he had the upper hand, despite all the guns pointing at him, replied.
“No guns, no pass.”
Dave sat down next to me.
“He must be off his head on drugs or something if he can’t see the danger that he’s facing. But the problem is, we don’t know what we’re facing either, and I’m not going to risk getting into a needless fight with those idiots. I’m sure we’d win easily, but one of us might get injured or worse. They’re just not worth it. They’re up to no good and any other day I would say we deal with them, but we need to keep moving and not put any of us at risk. I say we turn around and find another route. Just let me check with Simon to see if he agrees.”
He picked up the radio and explained his feelings to Simon. He also agreed that even though he wanted to teach the young idiot a lesson in manners and humanity using his knuckles, caution would be the best policy.
Dave stood up on his seat again.
“Okay, you win. We’ll find another way. Before we go, though. You may think you’re big and hard hiding behind those cars, stealing off whatever poor sods you find. But haven’t you noticed the world has gone to shit and whatever game you think you’re playing will only end badly for you unless everyone starts helping each other.”
The man laughed at him.
“Piss off, old man. We can do what we want, and no one can stop us…”
I couldn’t hear the rest of his words as I reversed the car and turned it around.
Dave, who had heard the rest of what he’d said, was fuming. He wanted to jump from the car and beat the crap out of him.
I was trying to calm him down when Daniel, who was still standing on the seat behind me, facing towards the road block as we drove away from it, was thrown backwards, followed immediately by the loud BOOM of a gun being fired.
His limp body slumped down, and he came to a rest facing upwards at an angle between the front seats with his head resting on my lap. His face was a bloody mess. Blood poured from the back of his head, covering me.
I screamed in shock and panic. He had obviously been shot and was in a bad way. I slammed my foot on the brakes of the car, so I could tend to him.
Dave roared at me.
“Fucking drive!” And then to everyone else, “Fire! They’re shooting at us.”
With one hand on Daniel’s ruined head, I put my foot down hard on the accelerator. As the car shot forwards, I was deafened by Dave and Chet firing their weapons at the receding barricade. I could hear the machine gun firing controlled bursts from the Land Rover as it too sped along beside me.
Futilely stroking his head, I was shouting over and over, “Daniel, you’re going to be okay. Hang on in there,” as the car sped towards the rest of our convoy.
I was soaked in his blood. I glanced at him, knowing but not wanting to accept, than no one could survive the devasting wound he had received.
Ahead I could see the tractor, bus and van already turning around. They could see and hear we were in trouble and were heading back at breakneck speed, so they’d had the presence of mind to start moving.
I slowed down as I neared the convoy, staying behind them as we drove down the motorway, back the way we had come. Chet was still firing long bursts, but Dave stopped and leant down into the vehicle.
He took one look at Daniel and screamed.
“Fucking bastards.” He quickly sat back on the seat and reaching into a pouch, pulled out an aid kit. He raised his head, inspecting the wound and held a wound dressing against the back of his head. Placing his head gently back he said quietly,
“I think he’s gone, mate.”
Tears flowed down my cheeks and I kept stroking his head, not wanting to accept the truth.
Soon Simon’s voice came over the radio.
“We are out of sight of them. Let’s stop and regroup.”
Chet had also stopped firing when he looked down at Daniel as he lay sprawled across the car. Chet now sat in the rear seat, silently staring at Daniel, tears flowing down his cheeks.
In a dream-like state from the shock, I stopped when the others did.
Chet and I were out of it, unable to process what had happened in the last sixty seconds. Dave took control.
“Simon. We have a man down. Daniel’s been shot. You maintain the perimeter while I deal with it.”
I didn’t hear the rest of the exchange but was aware of Dave jumping out of the vehicle. Moments later, he jumped back up and standing on the bonnet of the car, he leant through the hole on the roof.
“Tom.”
I ignored him.
He gently tapped me on the shoulder.
“Come on, Tom. We need to get him out of there, so I can check him properly.”
That snapped me out of wherever I was.
“Of course. How shall we do this?”
“Lift him up and I’ll get his shoulders. Chet, support his head and hold that dressing on as we lift him.”
Chet leant forward, his hands quickly covering in blood as he held Daniel’s head in both hands. I reached under his arms, struggling to lift the dead weight as Dave reached down to help. Chet’s arms were fully extended and he couldn’t hold the bandage in place any longer and it fell back into the car. More blood poured over me as we struggled. It became easier when Chet lifted his legs, so he wasn’t tangled between the seats.
With one final unceremonious heave, Dave pulled him out through the roof and called for help. Within seconds, more helpers appeared, and he was quickly lifted from the car and he disappeared from my view as he was laid on the ground.
I sat staring at the blood on my hands and clothes.
Becky calling my name roused me once again and I stood on the seat and climbed out of the Volvo. As soon as she saw me, she screamed.
“Oh, my God, Tom! Are you hurt?”
I was coated in blood. My clothes, my hands and my face were all covered.
“No, no, Darling. It’s not mine. Its Daniel’s. They shot him as we were driving away.”
All eyes were on the few attending to Daniel. All crouching around his prone body. Two minutes of fervent activity later they all slowly stood as one and stared at his body. Dave walked away from the group, returning with a blanket which he laid over it.
The act, a clear signal to us all, that we had lost one of our own.
I stood staring at his corpse
, the anger welling up inside me. We had all witnessed people dying since this began, but they had been killed by the undead.
Screaming and fighting as they were overwhelmed, howling in pain as the first bites and gouges were taken from their living flesh.
Daniel had not died that way. He had been killed by a fellow survivor and that did not seem right. As a group, all we had done was help other survivors when we met them.
The harsh reality of the new world we lived in slammed home. It wasn’t just the walking dead we needed to protect ourselves from. Evil wasn’t just confined to them. Evil was still rife amongst the living. At a time when humanity needed to band together, to help each other to survive to see another dawn, there were some who did not see the world that way.
The group each showed their grief in their own way, we all had tears running down our faces, but some stood sobbing, baring their raw emotions to the world while others stood silently, grim faces betraying the rage and anger they felt.
Forty-two people and one dog stood in the sunshine on the M5 motorway. The blanket covered corpse of one of the group marked another day we would never forget.
Chapter ten
Needing to reorganise, and with no zombies in sight, we pulled the vehicles into a protective ring. Shawn backed the tractor to fill the final gap and the rear door of the trailer swung open, the ramp lowered to allow those inside to disembark.
Simon told a few to stay on guard while the rest of us gathered within the protection the vehicles provided.
Geoff, wearing his armour and his mace resting on his shoulders, walked up to Dave.
“What are we going to do about those bastards? We can’t let them get away with this.”
“Fifteen minutes ago,” Dave began. “I was suggesting we find another way round them. It wasn’t worth risking any of us to try and fight through them.
Now though, I personally want to go and kill every last one of them to make them pay for what they’ve done. They cannot continue doing to others what they’ve done to us. I feel we have a duty to anyone who is still surviving out there to deal with them.”
He paused and looked around.
“But this needs to be a group decision. We still have a mission to complete and any delays could have consequences for those family members and friends we’re going to try to find.”
All eyes turned to Louise and Steve. They were the ones whose families we had promised to get to, and therefore, could directly be affected by any delays caused in getting to them.
Louise spoke first. Shawn was standing beside her and she took his hand, and wiping away the tears from her face, she spoke confidently.
“I don’t know if any of my family are still alive. I hope to God they are, but in reality, I think we all know that the chances of finding them living are very remote. I do want to try, though, because not knowing would be worse. If they’re gone, then I can deal with that, but a part of me knows that they most probably are, and is already grieving for them.
Daniel was one of us. Part of our new family, if you want to put it that way. His death cannot go unanswered and as Dave quite rightly said, they cannot be allowed to continue. We owe it to everyone still living to eradicate anyone we come across who thinks they can use the new shitty world we’re living in to cause suffering and death to others.”
I think we were all impressed by the eloquence and passion of her speech and we all remained silent for a few moments, digesting her words.
Steve spoke next. He put it more simply.
“Daniel was a great bloke. Those bastards need to pay for what they’ve done. I say we go get ‘em.”
I looked around, catching the eye of each one of them as they all silently nodded their agreement. The game had changed. Not only were zombies our targets, but survivors. Albeit ones that that had lost their humanity.
The planning began.
Simon and Dave spread a map out. The nearest exit from the motorway was about five miles behind us. Tracing the route back from the bridge that crossed the motorway above where the gang had constructed their camp, we could see the road did lead to that junction.
A frontal assault was briefly discussed. We could lay down an overwhelming amount of fire, but we didn’t know how many guns we’d be facing, and they’d already proved that at least one of them was a good, or maybe just a lucky, shot. That was deemed too risky.
The map showed that the road leading to the bridge ran parallel to where we were, and it was only a few hundred yards away across the fields adjacent to our current position.
Dave sent a small patrol out to investigate if the road could be accessed from the motorway. They returned, reporting that apart from the wooden fence that kept livestock from wandering on to the carriageway, the gates in the fields enabled access to the road.
When questioned further, they reckoned that not only the Volvo and the Land Rover would easily make it, but the van should too. The fields, baked by the long hot spell we were experiencing, sloped gently enough so it shouldn’t lose traction or get bogged down.
Gathering everyone around, Dave explained the plan.
I would take the lead in the Volvo and the van would follow me, breaking through the fence and making our way across the fields until we joined the road.
All the Marines would be included in the mission, supported by half of the knights and five others. They would pack into my car and the van.
The Land Rover would approach to within effective range of the barricade and open fire. This would hopefully get their attention and keep their heads down. Shane, who had proved to be a crack shot, would either fire at any target that presented itself from the Land Rover or disembark from it if a better position could be found. A knight would accompany him for protection from zombies.
Once we got close enough to the bridge, we would approach on foot. The knights would provide the protection, killing any zombies silently with their weapons to enable us to get into position without drawing attention to ourselves.
Dave and Simon would then reconnoitre forward to plan the final attack. A radio call telling everyone to cease fire, once acknowledged, would signal the start of the assault.
Everyone else would remain behind, sealed up in the tractor, trailer and bus. There was enough of them to defend both and if need be, they could start up and use their ploughs to destroy the undead if they became too numerous.
A simple plan, but one that needed separate groups to coordinate. Dave and Simon both expressed a high confidence in our abilities and in a successful outcome.
Once again, time would tell.
Fifteen minutes later, the buzzing of this hive of activity had come to an end. All were in their allocated positions. Weapons and ammo had been checked and double checked. The ones chosen to man the machine guns, both in the Land Rover and trailer, had received a crash course in how to fire and reload them from Jim and Simon.
Following agreement from the parents, the children who had begun their training on using the .22 rimfire rifles the day before were issued with them. All of the trained Marines and a good portion of the more experienced ‘civilians’ were going on the mission. Therefore, the addition of another five armed people in the trailer would offer extra security, and peace of mind for those of us not going to be there.
After a final wave at loved ones and friends, we prepared to leave. The Land Rover drove slowly forward and disappeared from view over the crest of the road. Soon the harsh sound of the machine gun fire shattering the silence signalled it was our time to depart.
The van followed closely as I drove up the grassy bank that lined the motorway. Slowing as I approached the wooden fence, I aimed at the middle point between posts and kept going.
The rails cracked and broke, the simple act of destroying something making me smile as we bumped across the fields, heading towards a gate in the corner. Finding none of the gates locked, we were soon on the road heading for the bridge. Driving slowly to keep the noise down, we crept towards the spot we�
��d picked out on the map as the best place to leave the vehicles to approach the final distance on foot, and we disembarked, standing in a group around Dave and Simon, waiting for our final instructions. Dave spoke quietly.
“Right then, guys and gals. Simon and I will check the lie of the land ahead.”
He pointed at Jamie who was wearing his full armour and had his axe over his shoulder.
“Could you come with us, please, to watch our backs and to deal with any undead? The rest of you wait here. I don’t need to tell you to stay alert. The amount of noise we have been and still are making will surely be attracting them from miles around. To be fair, I’m surprised none have appeared yet.
Jim, you’re in charge while we’re gone, so the rest of you, just do whatever he bloody tells you. Okay?”
Without further ado, he turned and with Jamie following, his armour clinking at every step, and Simon bringing up the rear, they set off down the road and disappeared around a bend.
Following Jim’s instructions, the rest of us who remained crouched in an outward facing circle. The only sound was the not too distant rattle of the machine gun interspersed with spaced single cracks from what must have been Shane sniping at any targets of opportunity.
I crouched, holding my rifle in the ready position as I had been shown, my trigger finger lying flat against the weapon, just above the trigger, ready for anything that might come towards us. I felt tense and glancing around, I was sure the others felt the same. We’d fought zombies dozens of times already, mainly from the relative safety of the vehicles, or on foot only when it was completely unavoidable, or when the odds were in our favour. This was the largest operation we had mounted, and it was against the living.
I didn’t feel any moral objections to what we were about to do. They had needlessly killed one of us and had, no doubt, in their hopefully short reign of terror, killed others or condemned them to die by stealing whatever possessions they had and refusing to offer shelter. At no other time in human history had mankind needed to work together, to forget differences, be they political, race, gender or whatever, to survive.
Zombie Castle Series (Book 3): ZC Three Page 7