Dan asked Peter to drive so he could get used to the 4x4, he thought it made sense that everyone in their little group should be able to handle the weapons that they had acquired and should also be able to drive all the vehicles they had available to them. The campervan was straight forward to drive, the gears were just like a normal car, so no one should have a problem with that. However, to use the 4x4 correctly in four-wheel drive you had to know what you are doing. In normal driving the 4x4 only used the rear wheels, in order to put the gear box into four wheel drive a gear lever had to be pushed forward, this could be done when moving but only if the front wheels were straight. The vehicle could also use low ratio, but the car would have to be at a standstill before applying that. Having four-wheel drive had proved to be a crucial attribute, Dan would have never been able to clear the infected away from the front of the camper or push it out from the crowd during their escape with an ordinary drive. For this reason alone, Peter would have to be trained in the use of the gear box, for all their sakes.
They drove off the road and into a field so that Peter could practise using the four-wheel drive, by the time Dan was satisfied that Peter was proficient an hour had gone by and the car was covered in mud, but Dan considered it time well spent, as far as he was concerned there was no point in having a tool unless you knew how to use it. They left the now churned up field behind and carried on their search for more weapons. There were Infected walking along the road, but Peter managed to steer around them and he seemed very pleased with himself. As they approached another Infected Dan said, “Drive into it!” Peter drove straight past without hitting it, even though the Infected tried to grab hold of the car. Dan said “Look Peter you are going to have to take on and kill an Infected sooner or later and when you do you will not be able to hesitate, if you do, you will die or become infected yourself. Worse still you will get Pamela, Amanda or I killed. We all have to be able to rely on each other or we will not survive!” Peter replied quietly “I know.”
They came to a straight bit of road and they could see an Infected running towards them, “Okay, take it out!” said Dan. Peter drove towards the running Infected at around thirty miles an hour and he hit square on with the newly fitted Bull-bars, the Infected was thrown forward and to the side as the 4x4 flew past, Dan called out “Stop and reverse back!” Peter slammed on the brakes and reversed towards the crippled Infected assuming Dan was going to tell him to reverse over it, but then Dan said, “Okay stop here.” Dan took the rifle and sword then got out of the car and walked round to the Drivers side and signalled Peter to exit the vehicle. Peter got out and he had tears in his eyes and would not look at the Infected as it crawled towards them, Dan said “Look at me!” Peter faced him, and Dan demonstrated with the sword he said, “A slicing motion across the back of the neck will do it.” He then held out the sword to Peter and said, “Take it!” Peter wiped the tears from his eyes and took the sword and without any further encouragement from Dan walked toward the Infected. Dan stood by with the rifle at the ready, but it was not necessary, Peter walked around the crippled Infected as it reached out for him then swung the sword at the back of its neck so hard that he almost decapitated it. Peter pulled the sword free and with an expressionless face he walked back towards to car. Dan said, “It gets easier.” “I know it will, that’s what bothers me!” replied Peter as he returned the sword to Dan and got back in to the car.
They drove on in silence for a while and once Dan saw the rigidity leave Peter shoulders and arms he said “You are a good person Peter, a nice young man and that is a good thing. If I did not think you were a good bloke I would not trust you to be around Pamela. But Peter, there is a time to be nice and there is a time to be a warrior, the important thing is knowing when that time is. At the end of the day it is all about controlled aggression.” They drove on in silence, but Peter was processing what he had been told, he knew Dan was right. If he was to survive, and be able to look after Amanda and Pamela and be a useful member of the group, he would have to be able turn on aggression when required, what had Dan said? “Controlled aggression” Peter had made up his mind “Controlled aggression, so be it!” he thought.
Peter glanced across at Dan and said, “Okay I understand, you can rely on me.” Dan, who was not normally a tactile person, reached across and squeezed the young man’s shoulder, recognising that Peter had just evolved from a young and uncertain youth into a decisive young man.
As they drove Dan schooled Peter in basic military tactics, such as hand signals he thought would be useful once they were on foot. It was late afternoon before they approached the outskirts of the Welsh town of Brecon.
Peter slowed the car to avoid making too much noise, then pulled off the road and hid the 4x4 behind some trees, they climbed out and walked a short distance away from the car, then watched it to see if any if the Infected had been attracted by the sound of their arrival. Peter realised that a large part of staying alive was not rushing into things, you had to be patient, if you had time you should always use it to observe and assess the situation before committing. He was learning a lot from Dan.
As they waited Dan quietly told Peter how they would approach the Army training camp situated on the outskirts of town, “I’ll lead with the sword, you follow and cover me with the rifle, don’t shoot unless you absolutely must and if you do, aim at the head or heart, and, don’t bloody shoot me! Keep alert and look to your rear to make sure nobody is approaching, and, keep an eye on me for hand signals, let’s go!”
At first Peter was frustrated by how slow the pace was. Dan walked very slowly, watching where he placed his feet so that he did not make a sound as he went through the woods that ran alongside the road, listening and watching all the time. Every now and then he would stop and remain still or slowly crouch down, placing one knee on the ground, unmoving for what seemed to Peter like an age before moving on again in the direction of the training camp. It took an hour to get to the base then another to find a place where they could observe the camp, and once again they settled down to wait. Dan said, “Soldiering is ninety nine percent boredom and one percent terror!”
They observed for the rest of the day and throughout the night and most of the following day, Dan pointed out the armoury before withdrawing a safe distance, so they could discuss their plan. The camp was crawling with the infected, but they had not seen anyone alive through any of the windows in the buildings. Dan said “The armoury looks like it is still intact and locked, so we can assume that there are weapons still in there. We will have to figure out how we are going to get in, and once inside we will have to break in to the cages that hold the weapons and ammunition. We will need very good bolt cutters to do that, but something a lot more substantial to get into the armoury in the first place.” Peter said “There is an industrial estate a few miles from here, one of the units is a tool hire centre. Maybe we will find what we need there.” “Good, let’s get going.” said Dan.
With Dan at the wheel, they drove to the industrial estate where the tool centre was located, there were forty or so Infected walking around the site “Not good odds.” said Dan, “but I have an idea.” Dan drove back to the entrance of the estate taking out a few of the infected with the Bull-bars as he went, but then he stopped at the entrance and pressed down on the horn, the Infected went mad, and were running towards and throwing themselves at the vehicle. “If this is your plan, I don’t like it!” shouted Peter over the noise of the howling infected as they hammered and clawed at the car. Dan drove forward and accelerated away leaving the howling pack behind, then slowed and allowed them to catch up before driving away again. Over the next thirty minutes Dan led them away like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, leading rats away from the town. When Peter realised what Dan was doing, he smiled and said “Okay, I like your plan now!”
They drove back to the tool centre and rammed the 4x4 into the door, then while Peter stood guard, Dan went in to the shop to locate the biggest bolt cutters he could find. Emerging, and
feeling very proud of himself, he brandished a set of large bolt cutters, a sledgehammer and a grin. “That’s great,” said Peter, “but what about these?” as he dangled some keys in front of Dan’s face and pointed towards a bright yellow JCB Digger.
“Have you ever driven one of those?” said Dan “Nope, but I have always wanted to.” Said Peter. “Well now is your chance, you better have a practise.” said Dan. The JCB had anti-vandal steel shutters over the windows, they removed these, then using a small generator and an angle grinder cut viewing slits in them and replaced them, effectively armouring the digger against an incursion by the Infected.
The plan for the armoury was simple and did not take them long in its devising, and similarly, they wasted no time in its implementation. The “armoured” JCB with Peter at the controls crashed through the main gate of the Army barracks, Dan following in the 4x4, Peter then drove straight to the armoury and started to breach the wall while Dan ran in to as many of the Infected with the Bull-bars as he could. As soon as hole in the armoury wall was just big enough for Dan to get through, they both drove off, leading the Infected away to the far side of the camp. Dan then drove back at speed toward their objective, leaving Peter to drive around the camp at a slower pace, keeping as many of the Infected occupied and away from the armoury as possible.
Dan parked as close as he could to the hole in the armoury wall, then taking the bolt cutters, sledgehammer and a head torch he climbed through. Apart from the light coming through the hole the armoury was pitch dark but Dan’s eyes were adjusting rapidly and the head torch with its new batteries gave a very good illumination. Checking around and making sure that he was alone in the building, he then took stock of the weapons. “Jackpot!” thought Dan. There were rows of weapons still in their cages, in a separate area at the far end was the ammunition, the empty magazines were in rows on shelves with rifle cleaning kits alongside. Using the bolt cutters Dan quickly cut his way in to one of the cages containing the SA80-A2 assault rifles, he grabbed the nearest weapon and then cut his way in to the ammunition cage and broke open a box of 5.56mm. He quickly loaded thirty rounds into a magazine then press it into the weapon, “Feel safer already!” he thought out loud. He loaded five more magazines and put them in his pockets, then placed one box of ammunition in the passenger foot well of the 4x4 so that it would be handy. The rest ammo went in the rear of the 4x4, on the folded rear seats. After he covered the bed of the vehicle with all the boxes of 5.56mm he loaded twenty of the SA-80s on top of them, then threw in the rifle cleaning kits, all the remaining empty magazines and some ear defenders. All this took over an hour and every time went outside to load the car he could hear the engine of the JCB digger revving away as Peter kept the Infected busy.
Dan went in to the armoury for one last time and emerged with a sniper rifle, the “L115A3” and the only box of 8.59mm ammunition that he could find, he was not sure how useful it would prove to be, but it was there, so he took it.
The 4x4 felt heavy as he drove off, Dan knew that it was overloaded but it still seemed to handle reasonable well. He wanted to take as much from the armoury as he could, he had taken all the ammunition and twenty of the SA80s, but he was forced to leave perhaps thirty or more rifles behind because he simply could not fit any more in the car, but, he was pleased in that he had got all the ammo.
Dan called Peter on the Radio “Peter, I have got all I can so let’s get out of here, drive to the main gate.” Dan could hear the engine as Peter responded “Okay, on my way.”
Peter would be pleased to get out the diggers cab, with the steel shutters in place he could not open the windows. The heater seemed to be stuck on and the temperature within the cab was becoming unbearable, this combined with the noise of the engine was starting to give him a headache. The Infected were all around the digger and were in a frenzy, he could hear them howling with rage even over the sound of the engine. Even though Peter had done his best to stop them, some Infected had managed to climb on to the side of the cab and he could see their manic eyes staring at him through the slits in the steel shutters. Although he knew they could not get to him it was very disconcerting to have them so close and Peter started to wonder how the hell he was going to get out of the digger without the Infected tearing him limb from limb.
Peter only just heard Dan’s voice emitting from the radio over the sound of the engine and screaming from the Infected, he barely made out that he should head towards the main gate, “About time!” he thought and drove towards the exit. The Infected were now crawling all over the digger obscuring his view and Peter was having difficulty in seeing where he was going, he felt the vehicle lurch to the left then before he knew what was happening and with gut wrenching swiftness the digger tipped to the right, Peter tried to counter but it was too late, the digger went over and he became disorientated.
He tried to grip the steering wheel as the digger went over but it kicked out of his hands there was a massive bang and Peter was thrown against the side window. The vehicle rocked on its side before settling, the engine stalled and so for a few seconds there was total silence.
The peace was shattered by the Infected as they started to scream, some as they resumed their attack on the digger and others in outrage as they realised they were trapped under the body of the vehicle. Peter found himself lying in a heap in the cab, his rifle was lying on top of him and he had lost the radio. The muzzle of the rifle had hit him on the top of his head and blood was running in to his eyes and down the side of his face, he mentally checked himself over. No broken bones “Could have been worse!” he thought, then Dan’s voice came over the radio “Peter, are you okay?”
Dan saw the yellow JCB approach, Peter had done his job well and had kept the Infected away from the armoury, but they were now crawling all over the digger and they looked like monkeys trying to peel a giant banana as they tried to tear the steel shutters from the windows to get at Peter. Then the diggers left wheels mounted the curb and started up a steep grass bank, Dan watched helplessly as the JCB rolled over to the right and fell on its right side, trapping some Infected under it. Others were thrown clear from the vehicle, but they sprang up and rushed forward to renew their attack. He grabbed the radio, pushed the transmit button and said, “Peter, are you okay?” There was no reply, so he tried again, and this time Peter responded “Sorry, I dropped the radio.” he said. “That’s not all you dropped! Are you okay?” asked Dan again. “Bit of a bang on the head but no broken bones, so yes, I’m fine, but I am sorry I messed up!” replied Peter. “It’s okay, you did a great job and it is not your fault, sit tight and I’ll get you out.” said Dan, but he knew they were in trouble!
It seemed that all the Infected from the camp were at the crash site and more had been attracted from outside, having made their way through the smashed main gates, there were so many gathering around the capsized digger that Dan could not count them and more were joining the throng all the time! Dan drove as close as he could and sounded the horn to attract them and then drove slowly away. Some of the Infected followed but most stayed at the digger, they had been stalking this yellow monster for an hour and they were not about to be led away now when some animal instinct told them that they finally had the upper hand, the great beast had fallen, and they were moving in for the kill!
Dan led the few Infected that had followed away for a mile then drove back at speed to where Peter was still trapped, “How are you holding up?” he asked over the radio, “I have had better days.” joked Peter, but Dan could hear the fear in his voice “Okay keep calm and try to relax, I’m working on a plan!” said Dan but he really did not have one and more Infected were arriving all the time. There were too many for Dan to ram his way through and Dan did not think that one person with an assault rifle, even firing rapidly, would be able to clear enough of them to make a difference, beside the noise of the shooting would only attract more Infected to the party! Dan would have to think of something else.
Dan was getting too much attentio
n from the newly arrived Infected, he would have to leave, get somewhere quieter and coming up with a plan to rescue Peter. He spoke again “Pete, I am going to have to leave, but I will be back. Keep still and hopefully they will lose interest in you.” when Peter responded there was real fear in his voice “You will be back, wont’ you?” “Of course, yes, I’ll see you soon!” reassured Dan.
Dan drove away from the camp and parked the 4x4 out of sight. He should just drive away and leave Peter to his fate, but he knew Pamela would not want him to abandon the lad, besides he was a useful person to have around thought Dan, coming up with another reason to attempt a rescue. He had to admit that, despite himself, he liked the kid! Dan found that strange, he did not form friendships as it was just not in his nature, but he did like this kid, so he would get him out of there, but how?
Dan left the car hidden and armed with his sword and a rifle he made his way to the same point that he and Peter has observed the camp from earlier, he could see the stricken JCB from his vantage point, still crawling with the Infected. Whispering into the radio he called to see how he was getting on, Pete tried to sound upbeat, but Dan could hear the Infected’s screaming coming through the radio speaker along with the young man’s voice and Peter sounded desperate, “How much longer do you think it will be?” he asked, but Dan still did not have an answer!
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