by Lee Wade
BROOMHILL! My heart sank, Togston was adjoined to North Broomhill and South Broomhill was only a mile further down the road. This was the first time I’d heard of actual other survivors from home! I pressed them for more details, but all they knew was that someone passing through their village had mentioned that they’d seen another group at Broomhill around a year ago. We had told them of our plans to go to Togston. Lorna said that there were loads of rotters milling around the harbour area that they had seen through their binoculars from the light room at the top of the light house and that they had no weapons or experience at dealing with them, hence the reason they had been terrified of going there. She said that there were still a few boats moored in the river and harbour that had survived the winter before, but they had never seen any other people in all the time they’d been on the island. She had also said that there were still vehicles in the car parks and in the streets.
Rotters didn’t worry me anymore and especially this close to the outbreak, they’d be well decomposed in Amble and the surrounding areas. I’d rather have dealt with rotters than people, so I had been quite hopefully for the following day.
Simon and Lorna had invited us to spend the night in the light house rather than on the Hope, an opportunity that we’d all jumped at. A night on a sofa was better than a night under tarp on the back of the Hope any day.
Chapter Sixty Three
We had a comfortable night thanks to Simon and Lorna and we thanked them by preparing breakfast for everyone. We had plenty of supplies as we’d planned for a four day trip and not two. Simon had offered to come with us to Togston, but we didn’t know if we’d be returning to Coquet Island and we wanted as much room as possible in the hold for supplies and fuel. Besides, I wanted to speak to the other three guys alone.
We left later that morning, thanking the family for their hospitality. When we had been away from the island I had discussed with the guys about whether or not we should invite them back to May with us. After all, the low light house was unoccupied and I was sure they would be an asset to the group. The bigger we became, the better chance we had of protecting ourselves in the future against people and it was people that we feared most of all. We had agreed to wait until we’d been to Togston, if we found what we were hoping for, we may have ended up with a boat full anyway and no more room. It sounds harsh thinking about it now, but we had to do what was best for our group and families survival.
We had to be careful as we headed into port, there was a lot of sunken boats in the harbour, but it did give me an idea of how we could block one of the harbours back in May though, which would make it easier to protect our island if there was only one way in.
The rotters heard us coming and were soon lined up along the pier and harbour, like some sort of ghastly welcoming home party, God I hoped I didn’t recognise anyone, I hadn’t had that experience at that point of meeting a rotter that was once family or close friend, unless you count the nightmares!
I knew where I was going then and thought the best place to land at high tide was next to the boat club further up river where Billy used to pick me up from and drop me off at rather than having to row the two of us in his small skip. That way we’d missed the centre of Amble and hoped that there would be less Rotters.
We moored the Hope against the jetty and all went ashore. We’d need to be back within a few hours or we’d have risked being grounded and have to wait until the next high tide, something that didn’t really appeal to me.
Chapter Sixty Four
We had walked towards the boat house, CRUNCH, CRUNCH, we quietly dispatched a couple of rotters on our way. We had been out of luck, there were no cars parked outside as had normally been the case. I could see Billy’s boat, The Sea Warrior, up on its trailer, he must have been able to get it out in time. It looked in good shape, I checked inside just in case, but there was no one in there. I would have loved to have took it with us back to May as it was the one boat I’d ever driven myself, but if Billy was still alive and I was sure he would be, he may have been needing it himself one day.
I showed the guys to the diesel pump, it was still padlocked shut, but we soon got the lock off with the crowbar and started to fill as many empty barrels as we could lay our hands on before rolling them down to the jetty and onto the Hope. We’d though it was better to get as many supplies as we could first before going to Togston just in case we had to leave in a hurry, at least we wouldn’t be going home empty handed. We had broken into the clubs work room next and took as many tools as we could and random boat bits that we thought might be of use to Paul. There was nothing much worth taking in the club house itself, but we took what was there.
After clearing out the boat club we walked towards the main road, the next car park was empty too. When we reached the road there were vehicles abandoned everywhere which meant that even if we could start one up the road would be unpassable due to all the debris. It looks like were taking Shanks’ pony David had said. If that’s the case I’d said, we’ll take the back road to the bridleway and go in from the back via the fields. We still needed to skirt past Amble though, but this was the only way we were going to get any worthwhile supplies anyway, we couldn’t just rely on what we might be able to scavenge from people’s houses.
There were quite a few rotters wondering around on the road, we just walked quickly and took out any that got in our way, they had been in an advanced state of decomposition and so had been easy to evade, but I felt we were doing them a favour by ending their misery. Who would want to spend eternity walking around dead? Unless they eventually decomposed so far that they could no longer function, then that would be worse again I thought. What if the brain remained active after the body had seized to function? I guessed only time would tell. CRUNCH, Becky axed another one through the head.
We had eventually made our way to the top COOP. The shutters had been down at the front, but this was a good sign. We hoped that it meant that it was undisturbed inside. I could only assume that we were so close to the outbreak point that people hadn’t had time to panic and prepare, they’d probably had no idea what was happening in the early days and all just succumbed to the virus.
We had broken in through the fire exit at the top of the escape stairs in the car park at the rear. The place had been completely undisturbed by both people and rotters. We all grabbed a trolley each and started to load them up. Don’t forget what the guys had wanted I told the rest of the guys, anyone got a quid for the trolley, Becky had chipped in, before smashing the chain with her axe.
We all loaded up a trolley each before carrying them one at a time down the fire escape. We secured the door again, that place was going to be as good as a gold mine to survivors like us and I told the rest of the guys that whatever happened we needed to tell the family back on Coquet Island about how easy it had been to get to.
We hid the four trolleys in some over grown shrubbery at the side of the road, we’d had to return back that way again on the way back to the Hope, so we had planned on collecting them later that day.
Chapter Sixty Five
We had headed to the garage next, I knew that they sold motorbikes and if there were some there that we could use we’d have been able to save a lot of time. They’d make a hell of a racket, but you could have out crawled those rotters, it had been time that was our biggest enemy then.
Sure enough, there had been two bikes. Sandie and David knew how to ride them, so I got on the back of Sandie’s and Becky on the back of David’s. We must have looked like something from Mad Max, fleeing down Acklington road with boat hooks and axes in hand, dispatching rotters on our way. I instructed Sandie to turn off when we reached the farm house at Togston. The bridleway was fairly overgrown then, put we pushed our way through on the bikes. I’d spent many a happy hour with the kids down there, picking blackberries to make jam and pies and sloes for the gin!
We soon reached the wooded area which was at the rear of the field that backed onto Togston. The bridleway contin
ued along the side of the field and finally into the back lane that ran along the back of my street.
We cut the engines. If we went any closer with the bikes we’d have been heard, that’s assuming they hadn’t heard us already. We didn’t want to be mistaken for raiders and shot. A lot of people around where I lived owned shot guns for game hunting.
I had felt sick to my stomach when I dismounted the bike, I knew as soon as I looked out from those trees I’d see home again for the first time in about two years. I took a bit of time, but eventually I had built up enough courage to take a look, it had still been there! In fact Togston looked almost as if nothing had happened for the last two years and in fairness not a lot has happened in Togston for the last hundred years which is one of the reasons why we loved the place so much. You could see the water tower dominating the land scape as always. If there was anyone there then I imagined the water tower would be the safest place to be and you’d have a view for miles around, if there had been anyone up there when we’d approached, they definitely know about us.
The bridleway was still over grown, so no one had been back there recently, which had given us great cover right up to the back lane.
Chapter Sixty Six
When we had reached the back lane everything had looked as I’d remembered, just a little bit more over grown. Nature was starting to reclaim the road and had already reclaimed all the allotments that ran along the length of the lane.
We quickly moved along the lane to the point where it bends sharply and where there is a small access road that cuts through the two rows of houses to allow access to the garages and drive ways at the rear. All of the houses had looked abandoned and most had been cleared of anything of use.
Then when we had turned the bend, everything changed. All the windows and doors on the ground floor at the rear of the houses in my street had been bricked up. Yard walls had been knocked down, no doubt to get the bricks to block up the doorways and windows. The first floor windows were all boarded up too, there had been no way in through the back of the houses. There had been no signs of people or rotters and no remains either, nothing. We walked careful to the bottom of the street, weapons at the ready just in case. We walked past the back of my house and past my garage and garden. I noticed my green house, shed and poly tunnel had been taken which I had found very strange. It had felt as if I was in some kind of weird nightmare. I was home, but everything was different, you know the kind of nightmares I mean! I remember thinking, what has happened here, what the hell is going on?
We had walked around the corner and to the front of the houses. Clever Bastards! I’d thought. They’d blocked the end of the street with construction vehicles from the building site on the edge of our village. I guessed that they’d done the same with the other end and bricked up the back of the houses that faced ours too! Sure enough as I had run around, they had! They had created an almost impregnable street. My street! My house! They would have known we were there by then. Clearly someone had been out there taking care of rotters as we hadn’t seen any and something like that was sure to attract them.
They must have had a way in and out that had been hidden from us. Surely someone would recognise me, I’d lost a bit of weight and had a bit more facial hair, but I hadn’t changed that much. Maybe it wasn’t anyone I knew. Maybe everyone was dead. Maybe people had been coming through and seen it as a good place to build a fortress.
Fuck this I’d thought, it’s my house and I’m going in! I’d opened my garage door; yes I’d had the forethought to take my keys with me! I don’t know why I’d expected to see my car in there, habit I guess, although of course my car had still been back on the caravan site in Devon. My ladder had still been hanging from the rafters where I’d left it. I put it up against next doors window; well I wasn’t going to smash my window was I! I climbed the ladder and was about to smash the window when I had heard a voice from above. Is that really you?! It was Bab’s Dad! Yes it’s me I had shouted back, it’s me! I’m home! A rope ladder had appeared from our attic window, up here, put that ladder away before someone notices it and get yourselves up here now he had said. So that was how they got in and out. Clever bastards! I’d thought again.
Chapter Sixty Seven
We put the ladder away and scrambled up to the attic. It had been exactly how we’d left it. I hugged Bab’s dad, Derek, and introduced him to the other three guys from our group. I had so many questions for him.
We went down stairs to our living room. Bab’s mum Linda was there waiting for us. I hugged her too. You don’t mind us staying here she had asked, just our house is outside the blockade and not as safe as here. Not at all had I replied, not at all! At this point our ginger cat Jaffa had jumped down from his basket on top of the fridge and started nuzzling up to my legs and purring like he always had when he was pleased to see me or wanted fed. I had been so happy to see him and the feeling was clearly mutual.
Linda had went on to explain that they had barricaded the ends of the road about three months after the outbreak when it had become clear no one was coming to help them. They had chosen our street as it had the two rows of houses which blocked off most of the access anyway, so all they’d had to do was plug up the two ends which Phil had done with the heavy equipment from the building site. I went into what had been our front street with a road running through it. They had totally transformed it. Instead of where the road had once been there was sheds, green houses, poly tunnels and planters, all full of winter vegetables.
We moved some stuff out of your garden too, Linda had said. Not a problem I’d answered back, smirking. I’d asked her how many people were there now. Apparently they’d lost most of the people from the village in the early days of the outbreak. Phil and his family were still there, Lauren and her kids. They had lost Lauren’s partner Dave not that long ago. They used to man the water tower as a look out, but one day on his way back a rotter had come from nowhere and took him by surprise. He’s out there wandering himself now Linda had said. I gathered that they had named the walking dead wanderers. There was also Bill still living on the end, Carol and Stu opposite us and old Fred and the dogs had moved into one of the houses too. So they still had a lot of empty houses in the street.
I had asked her if she’d heard from my parents, but all she knew about was the group that had been at Walkworth that we already knew about. As far as they knew, no one else local had survived and they hadn’t seen any other people other than us for well over a year.
They had survived by growing their own food and raiding local houses. They’d also cleared out the Trap, our local pub, and the working men’s club.
They kept chickens and were generally doing fine. Dave had bricked up the back of the houses, but wanderers didn’t come by too often anyway as it was quite rural where we lived and there weren’t that many people around anyway.
I had told them all about Babs and their grandchildren and they had filled up with relief. They hugged me again and thanked me, we knew you’d look after her, Linda had said. People slowly started to emerge from their houses as they had realised who I was. There were so many questions. I told them all about our journey and the Royal Navy and how we were now settling on May.
Linda seemed a bit taken aback by this. I think that she was expecting me to return to May for Babs and the family and bring them back home. I could see that they were starting to rebuild here and the young ones had a safe, protected home, but for how long I’d thought. It frightened me that they’d chosen to build their fortress on the main road that ran through our village. It was ample protection from the odd rotter that they would encounter. But what if people like the kind we’d met came this way, they’d be able to take the place in the blink of an eye. They had a few shot guns and that was all. Yes we’d bring added protection with our strength, experience and numbers. But people frightened me and this wasn’t the best place to protect my family from them. It had been my home once, but not any longer.
I told them about my bro
ther and that I needed to leave a message for him, he obviously hadn’t been there at that point. We had no plans to stay there any longer than we needed to. I had just wanted to leave the note, gather a few personal items and get back to May and my family as quickly as possible.
I told them all about the island that we had found and about the low light house and how we could take them back with us if they wanted, but there was no persuading them and I could understand that, they had no experience of outsiders and what they were capable of. They had worked hard to make their homes safe, why would they leave other than the draw of family.
We opened up the offer to the rest of their group. But they were just that, a group, a team, like our group, working together to survive.
I told them of the ease of our journey from May to Togston and promised that I would return in the summer with Babs. I would give her the option of where she wanted to stay, who knew what a winter on May might bring, Togston might be the better option in the long run.
They all wanted to remain in Togston, which made me a little happy in a strange way. They would look after our home and I knew where they were should we ever need them.
Chapter Sixty Eight
I had asked the guys to come with me to the water tower, I knew we didn’t have time to get to Acklington and then back to the Hope before we lost the tide, but I knew I’d be able to see what I needed from the top of the tower.