It was the wooden shaft that connected with the Infected’s head, not the sharpened blade of the scythe itself, but the blow was still sufficient to stun it and causing it to drop to the ground. Janet sobbed with relief, she quickly looked around to make sure there were no other threats then looked down at the Infected laying on the ground and was horrified to see that it was Mel Parker.
Mel looked peaceful as she lay unconscious, her eyes were closed, and the only evidence of infection was a single bite mark on her left forearm. She was still naked, looking beautiful as she lay on the grass, like a model on a glamour photo shoot. Janet knew that she should kill her, but could not bring herself to do it, she just stood there and looked at the beautiful young woman, hoping that when she woke up she would be back to her normal self. Janet stood with scythe held high above her head ready to strike “Mel?” she said, but Mel did not stir “Mel?” Janet said again this time a little louder. Mel Parker’s eye flew open and the serene expression on her face was replaced by that of a snarling beast, pure evil emanated from her eyes and she started to rise. Janet did not even think, the scythe seemed to have a mind of its own as it flew in a downward trajectory and sliced into the top of the young woman’s head splitting it in half. Janet watched in horror as the contents of the skull oozed out to cover the grass in a crimson carpet of gore, while the limbs, deprived of any commands from the smashed brain kicked and twitched in independent movements which transfixed Janet as she stared at the macabre show. Only when the limbs were finally still could Janet tear her eyes away from the smashed head, sinking to her knees, she felt that she should react in some way, surely, she should vomit but there was no heaving in her stomach, she should feel guilty, but she felt only relief. Janet refused to feel responsible for Mel’s death, it was not her fault, that culpability lay firmly at the door of one Mister John Smith!
Janet looked again at the carnage she had wrought “I will make Smith pay, Mel, and he will pay dear!” she said. She picked up her bag and retrieved the scythe and walked away without looking back. To reduce the risk of meeting Smith, Janet walked through fields and the open countryside for another day and a half, but knew that she had little option, food was now the overriding consideration and that would mean heading towards what was left of civilisation.
It was dark as Janet neared a country road and a remote filling station emerged from the gloom, there were cars for sale and a tanker parked on its forecourt, “Perhaps there would be food within the building?” she thought to herself, but as hungry as she was she knew better that to rush straight in, she would wait and watch for a while. She lay down under a hedge and started to watch but within minutes she had fallen asleep…
Consolidation
There was oblivion, a blissful emptiness, but it was slowly drifting away like a boat that had been cut free from its mooring on a still lake, Janet tried to tie herself to the nothingness it but now it was ebbing away and she could not pull it back, the boat crashed on rocks and she awoke to the sound of engines and slamming vehicle doors. She watched through eyes that would barely open, but she could see little of the people that were moving in the darkness. She could hear voices and they were of both men and women and the women seemed happy and not under duress, perhaps these people would be friendly and would help her? She knew she would have to chance it, she could not go on without food and if she ran met an Infected now she would be too weak to do anything about it, she would have to take a chance on this group and hope that they would help. By the time, she had made the decision the people had moved inside the building and a noisy roller shutter had been closed, muting the voices.
Janet slowly stood on legs that were surprisingly weak and made her way across the road and forecourt, she practically fell against the metal of the doors and then using the palm of her hand and the last of her strength she hammered on the doors and shouted, “Please help me!” then she waited. The sound of voices from within the building were instantly muted but nothing else happened, Janet was finding hard to keep awake and she slowly sank to the ground, this was this end of the road she would get help here of die where she was, she was spent, she had done what she could for herself but now her fate was in the hands of the strangers within the building she was almost too tired to care.
Earlier, the Infected had been attracted by the noise and moved swiftly towards the garage but had slowed once the sound had ceased, they stopped and stood motionless, waiting for another guide to their prey. Then Janet’s desperate cry for help spurred them into a frenzy, noting the unmistakable sound of weakened quarry, they instinctively knew that this was going to be an easy kill. Sensing their advantage, they rushed as one toward the garage, driven by manic bloodlust, they had no other thought other than to attack the source of that sound.
Pamela looked through the garage window but could not see anything in the dark, so she picked up a torch and tried to shine it through the window. Dan stopped her, but Pamela was insistent “There is someone out there and they need our help!” she told him. Faced with her insistence, Dan relented “Okay, wait for us to get to the roof, then shine the torch out so we can see what is going on.” Then to the others “Peter, Salim with me, the rest of you stand by the door and be ready to open, but be just as ready to close again in a hurry!”, then made his way to the roof followed by Peter and Salim.
“Okay, shine a light out!” Dan called down to Pamela, the torch revealed a figure slumped against the roller shutter but then his attention was attracted by the sound of movement. Peering out into the gloom he saw nothing beyond the small puddle of light illuminating the person on the ground but knew without any doubt that the Infected were coming. He was once again distracted, this time by the sound of the roller shutter being opened. He shouted, “Close the shutter!” but it was too late, the Infected were on the forecourt and running towards the opening entrance. If they got into the building now it would be all over for everyone downstairs, none of them would stand a chance, Pamela included. Shouting again, “Cover me!” he jumped from the roof towards the forecourt below.
He landed on the roof of a car which buckled on impact, then stepped on to the bonnet, leaping from the car and drawing his sword, striking down the first of the Infected as his feet hit the ground. Two more ran at him, he took the first one out with the sword and as he was about to engage the second the head snapped back as a rifle shot from the roof found its’ mark. The rush came on, Dan could not see how many there were out there in the dark, but the sheer volume of their demented animal sounds made it obvious that there were too many to hold off. He struck out again and again as each new beast came at him, there was little warning as they just materialised out of the dark. He struck them down, but they were coming too fast and some had run past him and to the building. Dan glanced behind him, noticed that the body that had been slumped on the floor had gone, presumably someone had dragged it into the building “Close the shutters!” he bellowed then looked back towards the darkness. He heard the roller shutter closing but also heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire from within the building, they were inside!
Dan had the ability to compartmentalise his thoughts and totally concentrate on the task at hand, since jumping from the roof his mission was to keep the Infected away from the building and out of the open doors. Now that the doors were closed his new mission was to get into the building himself and deal with any Infected that were inside. The problem was that the building was now secure, and he could not get back in, to further compound the situation the Infected were still coming towards him and there were far too many to deal with. He would have to move, and move fast, or die where he stood!
Dan knew he could run and the darkness and his knowledge of his surroundings would work in his favour. He could lose the Infected in the dark, or at least thin them out to a more manageable number, but that would mean leaving the garage. His primary aim was to get in and deal with Infected within the building before Pamela became a victim, so he ran and vaulted on to the bonnet of the ca
r, then lunged up on to the vehicles roof and quickly realised that he could not reach the roof of the building.
Dan was surrounded, arms and hands were desperately reaching out for him, the sword rose and fell as one after another he dispatched the Infected, but he knew in could not take them out fast enough. For the first time since the start of the outbreak he knew that the situation was beyond his control, then his right ankle was grabbed. Dan swung the sword down and severed the forearm, lifeless fingers opened and the limb lay on the roof of the car by his feet, oozing blood over the roof, making the surface slippery. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he slipped and fell, or was dragged down, in either event it would all be over for him!
Peter and Salim were firing into the mass surrounding Dan, they fell, but as fast as they went down they were replaced by others. Worse still the new arrivals were standing on the bodies of the fallen, putting them in easier reach of their target. Peter shouted to Salim “Keep firing!”, then he put his own rifle down on the garage roof and picked up a bucket of water before tipping its contents over the side.
Most of the contents of the bucket hit Dan square on the top of his head, this was not the intention, but more by luck rather than design, the effect was dramatic as the bulk of the water splayed out almost evenly in all directions. The outraged Infected recoiled and backed away, Dan looked up to thank his saviour only to receive another bucket full in the face! Spitting out some water he shouted up at Peter “Help me up!” Peter said to Salim “Help him, I’m going downstairs” Salim nodded, then reached down and hauled Dan onto the roof, quickly and without ceremony, but to Dan’s immense relief nonetheless.
As Peter rushed down he had visions of carnage, so he prepared himself mentally, knowing he would have to kill the Infected without hesitation, even if they were friends. But he was not sure what he would do if Amanda were bitten, the thought of her being in danger spurred him on and he took the steps three at a time, bursting on to the ground floor and running headlong into Kevin, causing both men to fall and slide across the floor…
As Salim and Peter had followed Dan up the stairs, Pamela, with Amanda and Kevin, had stood by with the torch and waited for the command to turn it on, and getting the instruction, a woman was shown to be slumped against the outside wall. Pamela said quietly to Kevin “Standby to open the roller shutter.” But Kevin was no longer at her side. The sound of the door rattling open was unexpected and exceptionally loud, and Amanda swore out loud “What the fuck!?!” Pamela was about to shout “Stop, close the shutter!” but it was too late, Kevin was already outside and pulling the inert woman into the building so instead she shouted, “Somebody help him!”
Kevin had only intended to open the roller shutter up a foot or two and then stoop underneath, but in his enthusiasm to open the door he had pulled too hard on the chain. At first the shutter did not move, but then suddenly it had given, and the momentum had been unstoppable, and the shutter had fully opened. He ran out, grabbed the woman by the arm and started to pull her into the building, Frank appeared at his side and between them the two men dragged her in. Within seconds Amanda was pulling on the chain to close the shutters, but the first of the Infected were already running through the exposed entrance.
Amanda thought her head had exploded because there was an explosion that seemed to be emanate from the very core of her brain, but she kept pulling on the chain even as an Infected ran up to her. It was thrown backwards and Amanda realised that the explosion was in fact gunfire and the muzzle of the weapon was right by her left ear. The door was at last closed and locked, and the chain in place so she grabbed her rifle and stood side by side with Pamela. Both women firing at the four Infected that were in front of them, aiming at the head or heart as they had been trained to do and they fell where they stood, never to move again. The two women noticed more movement to their left and in unison swung their weapons toward the new threat, but both held their fire.
The large bulk of Kevin was stood before them, but unbeknown to him, stood behind him was the last of the Infected. “Move!” shouted the two women together, Amanda reinforcing her command with an expletive! Kevin just stood there with a bemused look on his face and was about ask what the problem was when he was hit by Peter. It was now the Infected’s turn to look bemused, he was just about to sink his teeth into the meaty bulk of his prey but then the quarry had been whipped away. He did not even see his own end coming because as his eyes followed Kevin, the two girls fired together.
Salim came running down the stair followed by a soaking wet Dan, both men had their weapons at the ready and stood side by side surveying the situation.
Amanda and Pamela were stood near to the front of the garage covering the fallen Infected, Frank had moved to the rear of the building to be with June and the kids and the rest of the new arrivals had joined them there. Peter was picking himself up from the floor. The only body that was still on the ground besides the dead Infected and the unconscious woman was Kevin, he was once again snoring his head off, having been knocked out when Peter collided with him.
“That was too close for comfort!” said Dan and he continued “We need to consolidate our position now that we have more people, we need everyone to know the rules of the house, rule number one being, don’t open the doors unless you are told to do so! Frank take Mark to the roof, keep out of sight, but keep a lookout. Pamela, Amanda look after Kevin and our new girl. Salim, Peter and I will get rid of the bodies.” Then looking at June and in more moderate tone he said “June would you mind preparing a meal for us all? I’m sure our new arrivals will help.” Pamela then said in a loud and maternal tone “And you get out of those wet clothes!” “Yes Mother!” replied Dan as he hefted the first body and carried it upstairs to throw it from the rear of the building.
Once the dead were removed, Dan changed in to dry clothes, he knew he would not hear the last of it from Pamela if he did not, then he went to see her. Pamela was still attending to the unconscious woman. “How is she?” he asked. Pamela reached over and felt his clothes, satisfied that he was dry she answered, “She has not woken up yet, by I have examined her the best I can, she has been through a hard time and she has been abused quite badly, but physically I think she will recover, she just needs food, fluid and rest, but I will know more when I can speak to her”. The woman stirred and started to wakeup, but before she was fully conscious, she uttered a name and that name was “John Smith!”
Pamela looked horrified as she looked as Dan “He could not have survived, could he?” Dan remembered how he had forced the rapist John Smith out in to the street at knife point and used him as a decoy to draw the Infected away, the ploy had worked well and had allowed Pamela and Dan to get away from their house unmolested. At the time, Dan did not think that John Smith could have survived but it was a possibility, if he was still alive then that meant there was one more thing roaming around out there that wanted Dan dead “As if the Infected weren’t enough!” thought Dan to himself.
The woman was now waking up, so Pamela said the Dan “You had better go, if this poor girl has had dealings with that bastard then I don’t think a man should be the first person she sees!” Dan replied “Okay, but it is important that you find out all you can about Smith!”
Kevin was awake and looking worried as Dan approached him, Kevin said “I am sorry. I should not have opened the shutter! Is everyone alright?” “Yes, we are all fine, but we were very lucky, I don’t suppose I have to tell you that under no circumstances are you to open any of the doors again without my express permission!” Dan did not wait for an answer he held out his arm and pulled Kevin to his feet and said, “Let’s get something to eat.”
The meal was a good time for everyone to get to know each other, Dan had planned to stay quiet, he wanted to listen and get a feel for what the others were thinking but most of the conversation was directed at him in the form of questions to which he did not have all the answers.
Kevin was again feeling vulnerable
after messing up by opening the shutter and letting in Infected and felt the need to prove his worth to the group, so he tried to make amends by volunteering to keep watch on the roof, the young lad Lee went with him and this allowed Frank and Mark to return to the ground floor to eat. After they had finished the meal Dan tasked Frank to allocate everyone a place to sleep and Peter to set up a guard Rota, then except for Dan, Peter and Salim the rest of the group settled down for the night.
The three men talked quietly, planning their next move, the Infected were still clamouring to get into the building so it was decided that the area around the garage would have to be cleared first thing in the morning, and then kept clear. If this was not done soon then more and more of the infected would be attracted and that would make the job of clearing that much harder and dangerous.
The problem was that they did not want to use the firearms to clear the Infected, the report from the weapons would only serve to attract more to the area, but there was far too many for Dan to takeout on his own with the sword. They came up with several plans, some quite elaborate, but as is often the case the simple plans and those that have been tried and tested are the best. Once they had agreed of a course of action the men got some rest ready to implement their plan at first light in the morning.
Dan was tired and just wanted to sleep, he went to the campervan looking forward to getting into his bed, however as he approached he could see his bedding have been deposited on the floor and the vehicles door was firmly closed. He looked through the window and saw that Pamela hadn’t wanted to leave her patient alone and now the new woman was sleeping on his side of the bed, he looked at his bedding lying on the floor, sighed out loud, and said under his breath “Some days you just can’t win!” then settled down on the floor next to the van and tried to get some sleep.
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