by Haywood, RR
He knew the route we were on and he knew where the horde would be the whole time, except he didn’t tell anyone because he’d knew they’d chicken out and he wanted Henry to see it in stages.
Genius!
But anyway. It worked and then Howie was reeling off orders and Marcy told Henry to shut up or she’d stab him. Then they were all running off. I was close to the van and hopped inside, and the next thing Paula and Marcy were bundling Reggie in and just about to slam the door closed when Henry ran over to join us.
We set off with Reginald getting the drone out of the door and up into the air while I glanced ahead to see everyone gearing up in the Saxon. Tapping magazines on the sides to rid grit. Checking pouches and bags, or lick and locking as Reggie calls it.
We did the same with me, Paula and Marcy checking rifles. I did Roy’s while he drove then a moment or two later Reginald had the drone over Crawley. It wasn’t that far from Horsham at all. Less than a few miles.
‘Okay, what have we got,’ Paula said, looking at the screen showing the drone feed. ‘Howie, it’s Paula. I’ve got eyes on the town.’
‘What’s it looking like?’ Howie asked.
‘Imagine Black Friday but swap shoppers for zombies.’
‘Too many?’ Howie asked, and there it was. The million-dollar question, because from all of them if Paula said it was a no go, then it really was a no go. She was the XO. She had that power. And she looked at that screen as Reginald took the drone in lower so they could see Crawley High Street packed from wall to wall with the infected looking like a crowd at a festival.
‘Paula?’ Howie asked. ‘We good to go?’
I could see Henry was waiting for Paula to stand them down now that she’d seen just how many there were. I even expected it myself, and I suspect Reginald might have been a bit worried too.
‘Nah, it’s fine. You’re good to go,’ Paula said as Marcy nodded at her side. I could feel the energy between them. It was like an electrical current. ‘Where’s the map,’ Paula asked, taking it from Reginald. ‘Where are we? Okay. Yep, got it. Howie. We’re not far off. Slow down and give me a minute to plot the best route in with Reggie and Marcy.’
‘I know Crawley a bit,’ Howie said. ‘Where are they?’
‘In the High Street. Town centre,’ Paula replied. ‘But we’re coming in on the Horsham Road which is off to the west.’
‘I know Crawley,’ Frank cut in. ‘Let me take point. I’ll lead in and get them on the Brighton Road.’
‘Brighton Road?’ Paula asked as Reginald found it on his smaller scale map.
‘It runs straight into the High Street,’ Reginald said, tracing his finger along.
‘Tappy can get a good run into them,’ Marcy said.
‘Good call. Frank, It’s Paula. Yes please. Lead us in. Tappy, Frank will get to the front. I’ll tell you where to start the run up from in a minute.’
‘Understood,’ Howie replied. ‘Listen. We need to take the control point out. Same as yesterday at Hinchley Point. We take that out and cull the rest. Paula, I want you, Marcy and Reggie on that drone looking for it. Get Roy and Joanie on overwatch ready to take it out. Joanie, it’s Howie. Are you working with us?’
‘Not if you call me Joanie I won’t be,’ Joan said into the radio.
‘Fucking love her,’ Marcy said as Paula nodded.
‘Count me in, Howie. You find me that CP and I’ll drop it,’ Joan added as Henry tutted.
‘You need to grow a pair,’ Marcy told him with a withering look. ‘A seventy year old woman just shamed you.’
‘Okay,’ Paula said as we felt the van veer and slow to come off the motorway behind the Saxon. ‘We need a high point for overwatch. Somewhere central. I’d say we use the Saxon to punch a hole. Then get the van in behind it and get Roy and Joanie into one of these buildings in the middle.’
‘You’ll need room clearance if we’re going inside any buildings in that area,’ Marcy said.
‘We’ll have to do it,’ Paula replied.
‘One of us needs to guard Reggie. Mads is in the Saxon and we can’t take Dave or Mo away from that. And are we taking all three vehicles in behind the Saxon or just the van. Or are we keeping the van out of it?’
‘Paula, we’re not far off,’ Roy called from the front.
‘Okay. Working on it,’ Paula called. ‘Right. We’ll stop and get Joanie in with us then we follow the Saxon and punch into the middle. I mean, it’ll be hard, but the lads can debuss and put some fire down to buy us some space. Roy can fire a rifle. So can Joan. They can clear as they go.’
‘They’re not trained for that,’ Henry said. ‘And you can’t expect Joan to carry an assault rifle in addition to her sniper rifle.’
‘None of us are trained,’ Paula snapped. ‘Howie, it’s Paula. We’ve got a rough plan. We’ll stop and grab Joan and let Henry get back in his car. Then we need you to punch into the High Street and we’ll get Roy and Joanie in for overwatch. Either me or Marcy will help with room clearance.’
‘No, hang on. I’ll do it,’ I said as Henry shot me a look.
‘I don’t want my team involved,’ Henry said.
‘Roy and Joan need a guard,’ I said. ‘Snipers have guards, Henry. That’s SOP. Do you want this CP or not?’
I saw him glance back to the monitor and the sheer numbers of infected all facing up the High Street and no doubt more infected pouring in from all sides. It was a suicide mission to go anywhere near that place. But then the same could be said for every town we’d been through and I knew Reginald’s speech was still ringing my ears.
‘The only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,’ Reginald said.
‘Shut up,’ Henry snapped at him as he leaned past to take control of the drone. Making it fly back towards the start of the High Street. Taking it lower and studying the building lines on one side. His eyes taking in the structures. The sizes of them. The windows and the way each building connected to the next. The construction materials. The rooftops.
‘What are you doing?’ Paula asked.
‘Looking for somewhere to hide probably,’ Marcy muttered. ‘Roy, we’ll need to stop and get Joanie in with us. Howie, pull over. We need to get Joan in here.’
‘Henry?’ Reginald enquired, but I could hear the prompt in his voice and figured Henry just got played again because there was a gleam in his eyes at the lure of it all. I could feel it. And if I felt it, Henry definitely could. But there was something else too, because Henry can’t be passive. It’s not in his nature. The man has to lead, and so I couldn’t help but smile when he spoke into the radio and told them all to pull over.
They did as he asked, but then they had to for the swap over, and the second we stopped, we all jumped out with Henry striding over to the SUV and popping the back open to heave his big black tac bag out.
‘You bailing then?’ Howie asked him and earnt a vicious look in response as Henry dumped his bag on the ground and bent down to yank the zip open.
I shared a look with Frank because we both knew what it meant, and without Henry needing to say a word Frank and Bash grabbed their bags from the SUV and I took mine out from the van.
‘Oh shit. Are you all bailing?’ Howie asked. ‘Carmen, I thought you’d be coming in.’
‘You said you’d guard Joan and Roy,’ Paula said as I dumped my bag and dropped to open the zipper.
‘Right. Well. Unexpected but whatever,’ Howie said. ‘Cheers for today though, guys. I mean, Frank and Carmen. I appreciate it.’
‘Twat,’ Henry muttered.
‘What the fuck? Did you just call me a twat?’ Howie asked as mouths dropped open not only at what Henry said but from him standing up to take his checked shirt off.
‘Hello! Mr Hot is back,’ Marcy said at the muscle definition on Henry’s lean frame.
Henry ignored her and pulled a tight black top on over his head before getting into his tac-vest. Frank and Bash were doing the same with Bash using spare kit w
e’d all donated
Henry then started shoving magazines into the pouches of his tac-vest and checked his combat knife, then his pistol. It was all fast and efficient too. All of us were, but then we’d kitted up at speed for hot missions hundreds of times. We pulled the rifle straps over our heads then fitted the suppressors to the ends of our M4 assault rifles. Then finally, we pulled the knee pads on and stood up straight to tug short-peaked black baseball caps on to soak the sweat and shield our eyes from the glare of the sun.
The transformation showed in everyone else as they stared to the four normal looking people that were suddenly dressed like the Special Forces trained operatives we were.
‘Right,’ Henry said. ‘Before I go any further, I want it noted that I oppose this mission and do not see any tactical or strategic advantage to a frontal charge. But, if it’s going to happen, then let’s do it properly. Listen in, this is the briefing…’
42
Diary of Reginald
It had been a day of days already. Gruelling and weird. Often tragic, and nearly always brutal.
Infected tigers. Incest. Safari parks. That poor wolf. The things Heather said. The manipulation by Lilly. The undermining by Henry. The battles. Executing survivors. Childbirth. Sustained action. Sustained arguments. Sustained conflict and, of course, that constant sustained heat.
The team were exhausted and filthy. They had no spare kit and in truth, it was a stupid idea to attack them.
But we still did it.
Those hot bodies in that hot tin can still did it, and why?
Because it was the right thing to do. That’s why.
I watched it from above. From the drone. The Saxon on the blacktop, speeding through the backdrop.
And before it arrived, Crawley High Street was a juxtaposition of near serene quietness contrasting starkly against the thousands of hosts packed in with only the shuffling of feet and bodies and the buzzing of flies to be heard. It was also incredibly hot. So hot that a great shimmer of heat hung over them.
Then I saw it. In the distance on the Brighton Road. That squat army vehicle holding the centre line. The engine roaring out as the power built with Tappy’s face etched with determination as she sat behind the wheel.
We had a plan, you see.
A plan briefed by Henry.
All we needed to do was make it happen, except of course, I still hadn’t been entirely truthful, but that was the game, and that was the hunt.
And the game was just beginning.
Maddox
Man. That heat. And it was only getting hotter, but it was weird cos we had energy and we were up for it. Even I was. Reggie’s speech did that, and then Henry giving us his plan.
And watching them kit up with all the proper gear got me hooked. I want to be on that team wearing a tac-vest and using an M4 with a sound suppressor and a red dot laser sight. Man. I will do anything to be on that team.
But yeah. A few minutes later and we were back to being hot bodies in a hot tin can.
Woohoo! The Saxon on the blacktop, speeding through the backdrop! Tappy shouted as she pushed her foot down and we felt the surge as the Saxon shot off like a rocket. Barriers ahead! Tappy called a few seconds later as I caught sight of the level crossing in front of us. We held on to what we could in the back. Breathing hot air and bracing as we hit the barriers. We all jolted and swayed. Cursing and muttering and pissing sweat over each other.
We passed Charlie holding position on Jess then I saw the crossroads ahead and the High Street beyond it. A central reservation between us. A small island filled with signs and bollards and traffic lights and railings.
Thousands of infected beyond it in the main street. Nearly all of them facing away and with more pouring in from the sides.
Tell them we’re here, Tappy! Howie shouted as Tappy jabbed at her music player and the outside speakers crackled to life with the music kicking in. Hypnotise by The White Stripes. A fast-grungy rock guitar opening filling the air.
BRACEBRACEBRACE! Tappy yelled and took the Saxon straight through that central reservation. Pinging the traffic lights from their stems and launching railings and bollards like they were missiles.
It seemed to a take a lifetime to cross that final road. A lifetime in which Tappy stared ahead while us in the back held on for dear life. Hearing the noises from the street furniture being slammed away and feeling the bounce and clangs on the outside.
Paula
It felt like a lifetime watching the Saxon as it shot across that central reservation snapping all the railings and traffic lights away. My heart quickened in my chest and every nerve seemed to come alive. The last millisecond before impact. The last millisecond before the all-out carnage and chaos truly began. The last millisecond of pure life.
Then it was done, and the battle started as the Saxon ploughed into the horde. Skulls exploded. Bones snapped, and bodies burst apart as Tappy stamped on the brake and turned the wheel to fishtail the Saxon. Using the weight and bulk and the juicy popped bodies to slide wide.
‘Fuck me she can drive that thing,’ Marcy said as Tappy made the Saxon seem like it was alive. The great beast killing anything in her path. The wheels crushing bodies. The solid metal front smashing infected away. The music blaring out. That balls-out aggression showing true from the very first second.
Maddox
Then we’re in it and swaying about in the back as Tappy fishtailed the Saxon to slam it side on into the horde. Cutting a whole big chunk of them down while we listened to the music and tried not to fall over.
We’re in! Tappy yelled.
Dave, up top, Howie ordered as Dave squeezed through the tight space to get up through the hole and onto the GPMG. The gun coming to life a bare second later. Strafing the hordes with that rat-a-tat-tat joining the noise of the engine while we all clung on as Tappy kept driving into the horde.
Shit! Howie shouted as a hot gimpy casing went down his back.
Move out of the bloody way then, Clarence told him.
Where to? Howie asked before he yelled from another one just as Cookey shouted from one going down his front.
Blowers called him a twat then started dancing when one hit his neck and slid inside his top. Fuck! That’s on my nipple! IT’S ON MY NIPPLE!
MOTHERFUCKER Nick said next, jiggling on the spot as the shells fell down in different trajectories from the Saxon veering and bashing into things. It’s in my pants, Nick shouted with sudden wide eyes. MY WILLY! IT’S BURNING MY WILLY!
I started laughing with Booker until one hit my cheek with a pain like a bee sting as I slapped it away and Booker snorted then got one on his neck until we were all dancing and jigging and crying out with Howie yelling at Tappy to stop the Saxon.
Paula
Then the Saxon just stopped. But it was too soon. Tappy was meant to get in deeper and cut more of them down, but it just suddenly stopped.
‘Why’s it stopped?’ I asked as the back doors flew open with the lads all pouring out. All of them tugging at clothing and jumping and twisting on the spot.
‘What the hell are they doing?’ Marcy asked.
‘Bloody idiots,’ Henry said, rubbing his nose. ‘Hot shells.’
‘Hot shells?’ Paula I asked.
Maddox
Hot shells! Howie yelled out as we all danced and tried to get the casings out from our kit. Ow ow ow!
My nips! Blowers said, rubbing at his chest.
My willy, Nick said, clutching his groin, and I swear I saw Dave smile while he carried on strafing the infected with the gimpy. Gently gliding it about in a long curve with minute adjustments to guide the rounds into skulls. Popping craniums like melons. Pop. Pop. Pop. One after the other in an almost synchronised motion. Pink mists simply blowing up to hang in the super-charged air as the bodies fell like dominoes.
Then, a few seconds later, the gimpy either ran out of ammo or got too hot and Dave pulled himself up through the hole to stand on the roof and stare out to the thousands of infect
ed who were only just then starting to react.
They started shifting and growling and moving out to encircle us while Dave held his ground. Standing motionless on the top with his hands at his sides.
Come on you fucking cunts, Howie said, but quietly, like to himself and I looked over to see him snarling with that look in his eyes. Come on… Fuck you… FUCK YOU!
You’s all fucked, Mo then shouted. Then, we’re all there, gesturing and calling them names and pumping ourselves up until this voice just sails out and silences us all.
I am Dave. I will kill you all.
I can’t describe what’s it like hearing Dave do that. Then I glanced back to Jess trotting towards us with Charlie up in the saddle spinning the axe over in her hand with this wild look on her face. She looked hot. (Cookey seriously needs to get his game on before someone else does because a woman like that is rare.)
But then I’m looking back to our lot and seeing the infected creeping around us and the tension is going up. Like it becomes this invisible force binding us to the battle that we know is coming and that detonation of violence.
Then it all happened at once as Dave turned and jumped from the back of the Saxon as Jess reared up and the infected screeched. Then Clarence stepped out to start spinning his chain and Dave is landing next to Howie and the horse is making her noises. Charlie was shouting out and the infected are bunching up and ready for it.
Then bang motherfucker!
It just went. You know. It just fucking went and they’re charging as Dave drew his knives and spun the blades while Howie ran out to take a head off as Clarence’s chain ripped three more of their feet and Jess slammed into them, which is all at the same time as the Saxon fired up with Tappy driving out to carve a whole big bunch more of them down.
Then it was game on and I lost all sight of the bigger picture cos it was just me and Booker side by side working in tandem to cut the fuckers down.