by Lee Wade
We climbed back down the rope ladder and went through the over grown allotments that were on the way to the tower. We passed Dave on the way, CRUNCH, one less rotter for them to worry about Becky said as she pulled the axe from his head. We climbed the water tower and I looked through the binoculars towards Acklington. There hadn’t been much to see, the village had been completely ruined, burned to the ground at some point, I was able to see the prison too, that too had been on fire at some point, I dreaded to think what had happened in there at the outbreak, had the prisoners been set free?, had they turned?, had they just been left there to fend for themselves and hence the fire that had clearly engulfed the place and Acklington village. My heart had sunk, my parents clearly weren’t in Acklington anymore and they hadn’t been part of the groups at Togston or Walkworth. I just hoped they’d been away at the start of the outbreak or had got away and were some where safe.
I thought about Billy, the rabbit catcher, he’d be holed up in his house in Hauxley. He had always been a hoarder and would be quite content in front of his coal fire watching DVDs with his generator running flat out. He’d already have enough supplies to last the rest of his lifetime and if he did happen to run out, he’d catch his own food like he had in the old days, hence his nick name!
We returned home, Linda had put a parcel together for us to take back to May. She had packed us some seeds, bulbs, fertilized hen’s eggs and some fresh veg. I collected some things from the house, cloths, toys, a few photos and a special present for the kids. I had reiterated that I’d speak to Babs when I got back to May, but I knew in my heart of hearts that we wouldn’t be back before winter. We said our good byes to everyone and were soon on our way again. I just had one last look back as we headed back into the woods and promised myself that I’d be back one day.
Chapter Sixty Nine
We took the bikes back to Amble. Once at the COOP, we had stashed the bikes inside it for future use and then headed back to the Hope, collecting our supplies on the way. The Hope had thankfully still been afloat. We loaded the supplies and headed back to Coquet Island. Once there we had spoken to Simon and Lorna to see if they wanted to come with us back to May. They had jumped at the chance.
It was after midday by then and we needed to give them time to pack up what they needed and we wanted to secure the light house for future use. It would be another safe haven that we could use when we returned to get further supplies. So we had reluctantly decided to spend that night at Coquet Island, after all we were still on track to be home two days earlier than we had planned, I guessed I’d never make a navigator in the Royal Navy!
It had been good fishing at Coquet Island the night before, so we took the Hope out while the guys on the Island packed their stuff into one of their small boats that we were planning on towing back to May. We had drifted slowly south towards Duridge Bay fishing for mackerel like I had done with Billy only a few years before. I knew he’d be fine and I would certainly be looking him up next time we were back in Amble. We had been a bit late for the main mackerel season, but we still managed to bring in a few stragglers and it had helped pass the time. That was the thing that I had loved most about the hours I used to spend fishing out there. It took your mind off everything and who cared if you didn’t catch much; you were alone with your thoughts. We didn’t speak much that afternoon, we just fished and chilled and thought of our friends and family.
We had a pleasant evening that night. Eating fish and drinking wine and chatting about old times before the outbreak. Lorna had been an admin clerk at the RAF base at Boulmer and Simon had had his own building business. The two boys had been in their final year at the Duchess school in Alnwick not far from where my shop was. Lucy had been at school in Amble where Luke would have been by then had it not been for the outbreak.
Chapter Seventy
We had set off at first light the following morning. I remember there had been a few bad heads that day. We had all managed to squeeze aboard the Hope amongst the supplies and we’d tied the small boat to the back which had been loaded with the family’s possessions and more supplies the previous day. I’d found a nice little corner between bags of groceries to squeeze into. I don’t remember a lot of the journey back to May as I’d spent most of it sleeping. The sound of the radio crackling back into life as we neared May had woken me up. We had decided not to surprise them by just turning up early in case they’d mistaken us for someone else. So David had radioed ahead. It was great to hear their voices and to know that they were all okay and hadn’t had any issues in our absence. I couldn’t wait to get back to Babs and to the kids and tell them the news of home.
We had arrived back in May just after midday to a line of family and friends along the marina cheering and waving us home. We introduced them all to Lorna and her family and they had all welcomed them with open arms, particularly Maddison, who seemed surprised that we’d actually managed to bring her back what she’d asked for when she set eyes on the twins!
I couldn’t wait to get back to the light house and give the family their present. We all helped to start carrying the supplies up to the hill. Sandie showed Lorna and her family to the low light house and helped them move their things in before bringing them up to the main light house. It was great to have increased the size of our group and with the skills that Simon brought with him, we’d be able to expand our living space into the other buildings on the island and hopefully one day be able to bring more survivors to the island.
As soon as we had got back to the light house I took the cloth off the box I’d been carrying and opened it up. Out jumped their present. JAFFA! They all cried out in unison. You managed to get home Babs cried. Everyone kissed and hugged Jaffa. I felt a little guilty taking him from his home, but I was sure he’d be happier here with his family and more importantly to me, I knew it made my family happier and helped to make their lives that little bit more normal. I told Babs all about Togston and her mum and dad. She cried tears of joy and I promised her that we’d go there in the New Year to see them. Maybe Babs would have better luck at persuading them to return to May with us. I missed my nights out with Derek. I had asked Babs if she wanted to stay on May knowing that her parents were only a day away, but she agreed with me that this was the safest place for the kids at this point in time and she seemed confident that she’d be able to bring them back to May next time we visited them.
Chapter Seventy One
We soon settled into Island life. Paul and David carried on fishing when the weather would allow it. We had managed to hatch the eggs that Linda had given us and were looking forward to fresh eggs in the spring. Life on the island was comfortable. We had managed to block off the other entrance to the island by sinking boats that we’d acquired from ports at Anstruther and Pittenween. Something we’d learned from our trip to Amble. Paul and Simon had started work on the visitors centre in case we needed extra accommodation in the future. I’d like to say life on May was good, in fairness it was, but it was a hard life and we had to work for everything we needed to survive every day. But it was a hell of a lot better than life on the mainland. We had family and friends and most of all we had security and somewhere we could protect and build a future for the children. I did often wonder if I should have taken the family back to Togston, but I felt safer, stronger in our group. We’d gone through so much together and yes there was still family out there but this was now our family. I had no doubt that one day they’d want to venture out and find out what had happened to their own loved ones, but we would help them and support them and I knew in my heart that everyone would return and hopefully with some stories as happy as my own. But they would return as no family had gone through what we had in order to survive together.
Chapter Seventy Two
Babs and I sat in the light room at the top of the light house that evening, Jaffa curled up on the sofa beside us. We sat up there often, watching the sun go down. The kids were already sleeping and the North Sea seemed calm that night. Then I thou
ght I saw something out of the corner of my eye, I strained to see what it was. I grabbed the binoculars and searched the surface of the water, and then we saw it. It rose from the sea in front of our island. A submarine, The HMS Vigilant, the submarine my brother had been serving on before the outbreak. Someone had found us, was it the Royal Navy hunting us down as deserters? Or had my brother finally caught up with us? One thing was sure, life on our island was about to change again….
About The Author
Lee Wade is a retail manager working in the north east of England. He graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in mathematics. He enjoys spending time with family and friends. Mr. Wade is also a dad who has a son, Johnathon and a daughter, Cerys. He has been married to his wife Leighann for fourteen years. He is a brother too with an older sister Toni and a younger brother Mark. He enjoys gardening and helps to run the local horticultural show. When it comes to writing this is his first book and enjoys writing zombie and apocalypse stories. He finds the most challenging part of writing is finding the time and a quiet place to work. Mr Wade looks forward to reading many books, writing more often, and developing his own interest and skill at writing.
Facebook.com/LeeWade.zombielandia
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty one
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty One
Chapter Forty Two
Chapter Forty Three
Chapter Forty Four
Chapter Forty Five
Chapter Forty Six
Chapter Forty Seven
Chapter Forty Eight
Chapter Forty Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty One
Chapter Fifty Two
Chapter Fifty Three
Chapter Fifty Four
Chapter Fifty Five
Chapter Fifty Six
Chapter Fifty Seven
Chapter Fifty Eight
Chapter Fifty Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty One
Chapter Sixty Two
Chapter Sixty Three
Chapter Sixty Four
Chapter Sixty Five
Chapter Sixty Six
Chapter Sixty Seven
Chapter Sixty Eight
Chapter Sixty Nine
Chapter Seventy
Chapter Seventy One
Chapter Seventy Two