by Luke Duffy
“Stephanie, I really don’t care what you do.” He emphasised the word ‘you’ and rocked slightly on the heels of his feet as he said it. “You do very little around here anyway and the little that you do, is under duress. As for the thug, well, your husband placed everyone of us here in danger by sleeping on duty and if it takes a kicking for him to realise that and to stop it from happening again, then so be it. Next time, I won’t pull Lee off him like I did.
“Honestly, Stephanie, you're not a prisoner here.” He looked at every face in the room. “None of you are, and you can leave anytime you want. We will even help you. But if you are to stay here, then you help with the running of this place and you obey the rules, especially when it comes to the security of all.
“Nothing is being asked of any of you beyond your physical capabilities, and everyone can even choose what it is they want to help out with. We,” he glanced behind him, indicating Gary and Lee with a nod to each, “could use more help with security, but if no one else wants to go to the walls, to see the dead at the gates, then that's fine. No one will force you. But we all do our bit.”
Stephanie sat glowering at him. She huffed, “I just don’t think someone like you should be in charge.”
“I'm not in charge, Stephanie.” He said it with slight arrogance to annoy her. “No one is. Should we make you the boss? And what do you mean ‘someone like you’? Am I not enough of an egotistical self-absorbed bully like you? Is that what leadership is? Stephanie, don’t sit there making your statements and trying to upset people, try working with us for once, or fuck off!”
They discussed the options for escape should the worst case scenario happen and the main entrance be breached. They decided on the wooded path at the far end of the park to the rear. In that direction there was nothing but private farmland and footpaths through nature reserves for miles. Steve had argued that they were less likely to run into any infected in that area because of its isolation and inaccessibility.
A secluded track led down to a gate that was used by the previous security staff for access to and from the rear guard box and private access point for park vehicles. It was approximately three kilometres from the house and it would mean having to move there either by vehicle or on foot. Four cars were left to one side of the car park with the keys in the ignition at all times. They were the escape vehicles and they were checked and their engines turned over every day to ensure that they were reliable and ready to move at short notice.
Gary had insisted that the house be strengthened in case they find themselves trapped and surrounded and unable to escape to the cars. The windows within arm’s reach on the ground floor were boarded both inside and out, and the doors had boards and planks of wood placed close by for a quick and dirty defence. They would be crudely hammered into place to secure the entrances should the worst happen, and could be reinforced later once the house was locked down.
Karen declared that she would take on the majority of the cooking duties, and most people were happy to let her. Karen loved being in the kitchen and she seemed to get a real kick out of people’s reactions to the small miracles she was able to perform with the limited ingredients available to her. Regularly she would take adults and kids alike out around the woods of the park to hunt for mushrooms and natural herbs and plants that could be added to the food.
She was a magician in the kitchen and with few pleasures left in the new world, meal times were always looked forward to with glee and excitement and anticipation at what delights could be laid out for dinner.
“That wife of yours could make a gourmet meal from a scabby dog, Gary,” Helen had remarked one evening after another of Karen’s glorious meals.
Gary laughed. “Well, it looks like the secret is out my dear, cause it’s scabby dog stir fry for dinner tomorrow.”
Sarah had recovered within a week of falling ill and was soon back to full strength. As promised, Sophie and Gary took all the children and a few of the adults on a tour of the park as they checked on the animals and ensured they were healthy. Sophie was concerned about one of the Rhinos and the kids had even been able to approach and pet the animal as Sophie carried out her checks.
That night all that could be heard throughout the house were children talking and chatting excitedly about the animals in the park and which were their favourite.
The children developed a sense of duty also and even though it was fun to them, they took on the responsibility of helping with the animals and learning all they could about caring for them. The parents and adults also found it a great distraction for the children, to take their minds away from the horrors of the new world.
Even Lee took an interest and began spending time helping out, particularly with the monkeys, helping to feed them and clean out their paddocks. It surprised Steve; he had always thought that Lee was more likely to want to throw stones at them and taunt them. He shrugged off the thought and put it down to Lee having matured since his wild and unpredictable childhood.
The only person in the group who had even a remote idea of what he was doing when it came to the technical workings of the park was Jake, and he had managed to get the radio up and running. It took a lot of fiddling about and fine tuning with antenna types and lengths before he felt confident enough that it was ready to use.
The power grid had shut down and they filled and primed the generators in the basement for use. It was agreed that it would be the job of one person to regularly check around the house, turning off lights and appliances that were not necessary and to enforce the conservation of fuel. They had a supply of fuel expected to last for some time, but it was agreed that it wouldn't last forever and the more regulated they were with it, the better for the long run.
Stephanie had immediately volunteered for the job.
“Anyone but her,” Karen had remarked.
Gary mused, “Let’s give her a go at it. The moment she starts carrying a whip though, we set Lee on her.”
Phone communications had pretty much died off. Over the weeks it had become more and more difficult to get through or even get the usual calm recorded female voice saying that the signal was gone or that there was a network error. Now, all that happened was the phone would just beep then go dead. Text messages had become a thing of the past also as the networks began to crash. It surprised many at how reliant they had become on mobile communications and as the internet developed problems as servers crashed, more pressure was placed on Jake to get the radio up and running.
“Okay, Steve, I think we’re good to go.”
Steve looked apprehensive. “You think it'll work then?”
“We’ll soon find out I suppose. Marcus said he will be calling at ten tonight, his time. So that should be within the next half hour,” he said looking up at the clock. “Best we can do is leave it tuned in and ready.”
Steve looked over the radio, taking in the knobs and dials. “I wouldn't know where to start Jake.”
“It’s not easy, even for me, and I've been working with communications equipment for years. Marcus is working on the High Frequency decametre band with the Codan. That means he’s between three to thirty megahertz. What it does is it fires its signal up into the ionosphere where it reflects off charged particles in the atmosphere. It bounces around up there and is picked up by our transceiver which is tuned in to the same frequency.
“Marcus is gonna be on the forty one metre band which is seven thousand two hundred to seven thousand four hundred and fifty kilohertz. It’s the best one to be on at this time of night and less likely for us to have difficulty with.
“If we both have our sets right, at his end and ours, then we should be able to speak to one another.”
Jake turned to look at Steve and saw a vacant and dreamy look wash over his face.
“You've completely fucking lost me there, Jake. It’s all too complicated and nerdy for me. I think you need to get out more to be honest.”
The first night of the radio being set up, they had made contac
t with Marcus and his team. A dozen people had crowded into the small room at the rear of the house where Jake had the camera monitors and radio set up. They waited eagerly to see if it would work.
At first, there had been nothing but the hiss of static as Jake had turned the dials very slightly in order to fine tune the antenna as he watched the monitor read out that indicated the strength of the signal.
Then, very faintly, they heard a voice.
“Hello, Steve can you hear me?” The voice was distorted with the distance and the fluctuations in the signal strength, but it was unmistakable.
Instantly Jennifer squealed, clasping her hands to her mouth as she recognised the voice of her husband. The rest of the room erupted with a cheer as the survivors felt they had achieved a small victory as they managed to cling onto an element of civilisation that was still in their hands.
From then on, they were able to speak with Marcus every night and receive updates on where he was and their condition as he made his trek across the Middle East, headed for the southern tip of Europe.
The first thing that would happen was, Marcus would give Steve the exact position and location of where they were and where they planned to be the next night, and whenever possible, he would tell them the route. Steve and Jake could then plot it on the maps they had on the walls of the radio room. Afterward, Jennifer and the two boys were always given time alone in the room so they could have a private conversation.
People began to feel better about the situation as they settled into their new lives. As to be expected, there were a few hiccups. Some people still had difficulty adapting and coming to terms with what was happening and their losses. There were people in the house that had lost their entire family, some in front of their very eyes.
A few still remained withdrawn and glided around the house on auto-pilot, not completely unlike the dead roaming the streets outside. They would sit and stare at nothing, rarely interacting with anyone else and consumed in their own thoughts and emotions.
One such person was a woman named Lisa. She had seen her two young sons and husband torn to pieces in front of her, and in the brief moments that she did stumble onto the same plane as everyone else, she would say very little other than she should have died with them.
An elderly couple had decided that life wasn't worth living anymore since losing their daughter and grandchildren. Seeing no good left in the new world, they had taken their own lives. They both swallowed all the sleeping pills they had between them one night and went to bed with the intention of never waking up. They hadn't realised or considered the consequences of their actions and during the early hours, they had revived and crashed into the bedroom of another couple.
Screams of terror had echoed through the house and only through the quick reactions of Gary and Jennifer, were the two newly revived dead subdued. They rushed the room with clubs and bars; everyone had adopted the habit of keeping some form of weapon by their bed, and beat them to the floor and then restrained them by ripping the sheets and blankets from the bed and throwing them over the couple, pinning their flailing bodies down. The couple were disposed of with as much dignity as could be provided and buried alongside Roy in the garden.
As always, everybody gathered every evening to watch the news reports and learn anything they could on the situation. There was always the hope that somehow, the situation would stabilise or be completely reversed.
One night, they learned that it was to get worse first.
Steve recognised the reporter from the days before the virus. Then, he had always been smooth shaven, wearing a neatly pressed and finely cut suit with impeccable hair and skin as he smiled at the camera and flashed his whitened teeth. Even when he was announcing bad news, many people had swallowed it easier because it was being read to them by someone who looked like they belonged on the front of a Men’s Health magazine and they were dazzled by his persona.
Now, he sat in front of the camera wearing a faded blue t-shirt that looked stretched around the neck as though he had slept in it. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen and dark rims had developed around the lids. His unshaven cheeks looked sunken, his hair was unkempt and greasy, and his reporting was bare bones. There was no glitz and no bullshit with bulletins and fancy visuals. His voice was strained and he smoked as he read from the papers laid out in front of him.
“Jesus,” Gary commented, “the world really has gone to pot when reporters are sat puffing away on TV.”
The man went straight into his report. “Ladies and Gentlemen, reports from existing government and army officials have informed us that all remaining military and police units still operating on the mainland, are to be evacuated immediately into the so called ‘safe zones’ of the Channel Islands and the Outer Hebrides, where they will consolidate and regroup.
“A massive relief effort is currently underway to retrieve as much equipment and manpower of the depleted security forces as possible and I am informed that once they have undergone a period of refitting and planning, there will be a renewed effort to claim back the mainland from the infected. However, we have not yet been told of when this is likely to take place or given any indication of how they plan to do it.
“In the meantime, people are encouraged to seek whatever shelter they can. Remain indoors and await the outcome of the renewed attempt from the security forces.”
He glanced back down at his papers and shuffled to the next announcement as he cleared his throat.
“All major cities have been declared as overrun and no one is advised to try and enter them for whatever reason. There has been no news to come out of London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Nottingham and Manchester for the past few days and it is believed that they are now completely devoid of the living. Newcastle, Leeds Glasgow, Edinburgh and Cardiff are also believed to be dead, but no official confirmation has yet been received.
“It is advised for those that are able, to head away from the built-up areas and seek shelter in the country. However, small villages and towns still untouched by the virus and the infected have reported that they have been inundated with refugees as they flee the cities and Red Cross and local hospitals are overwhelmed with the influx of the sick and dying.
“We recommend that if you're in a secure and safe location and have adequate stocks of supplies, that you stay there and do not attempt to head further into the rural areas. It is speculated that many people could still be surviving in some of the urban areas just by keeping out of sight and avoiding all contact with the infected. We have been asked to inform any surviving people in the cities not make any unnecessary movement or noise and keep any light to a minimum.
“There is no further news on the plague itself or what is being done about the spread of it. Many have begun to suspect that scientists and governments have given up trying to find a cause or even a cure and are now looking at using tactical nuclear weapons to try and bring down the numbers of the dead before they attempt to retake the mainland. An interview with the Defence Secretary some weeks ago aroused suspicions when he stated that,
‘We haven't looked into using our larger weapon capability as yet, but maybe we should.’
“The statement sparked outrage from other remaining government officials and spokespeople alike. The Defence Secretary hasn’t been seen since and it is suspected that he could be the victim of an infected attack.
“Other countries around the world have released statements that their cities are now uninhabitable and consumed entirely by the thousands of reanimated bodies that now infest them. The United States have announced that their National Guard Units have been mostly overwhelmed and with the bulk of the regular army and air force still en-route from the various conflicts in the Middle East, it is believed that they won’t arrive in time to repel the infection and its spread.
“France, Spain, Belgium and Germany have all declared that their countries are overrun as well as the rest of Europe, with all military units fighting a retreating battle to the coasts in all direct
ions, in the hopes of joining forces with the remaining British military units in the ‘safe zones’ of the Channel Islands, Gibraltar and Malta.”
He shuffled through papers again, then looked up, an apologetic look on his face and a reluctance to look directly into the camera.
“We have also received word that we will be going off the air as of tonight and we will be evacuated to a new facility where all the news stations and information will be consolidated and will come under direct control of the government.”
He shook his head and glanced off camera. “There will be no more broadcasts from this station after tonight as we will be shutting down immediately after this."
The room around them was silent. No one had moved during the news broadcast and now everyone stood and stared as the television went blank.
Lee broke the silence. “Does that mean that they won’t be giving us the weather report now then?”
Though it was a stupid remark and completely out of place, it broke the ice and dragged a few people from their trance.
“Looks like they won’t be telling us anything anymore, Lee,” Gary answered, still staring at the dark TV. “And you can bet your last penny that when they do finally start broadcasting under the government’s gaze, we will only get bits of the bigger picture and rarely the truth.” He paused and looked around him at the people gathered in the lobby. “We really are on our own here now.”
The next morning, Steve, Gary and Lee walked to the main gate and began their checks. They stood back in the shade of the trees and out of sight from the gateway. The mass of bodies pushing against the entrance had more than doubled in the last week and Steve guessed there to be possibly fifty of them clawing and wrenching at the iron bars of the main gate.
Their emaciated and lifeless faces pushed and squeezed into the gaps between the bars. Claw-like hands reached into the empty space beyond and into the park grasping at thin air. A steady low hum radiated from the dead as they moaned and gurgled constantly, and the buzz from the clouds of insects that continually circled them added to the noise, creating an unremitting murmur.