'Alright everyone, time to head back to base,' I replied feeling tired.
'You alright?' Jack worryingly.
'I'm fine, just tired.' He nodded as we continued walking through the fast approaching darkness, I had always loved the dark as a child but now that I knew what went bump in the night it became much less enticing to me. As the first stars of the night appeared, I let a single wondering thought about whether my sister at least was still alive float through my mind before shaking it away seconds later. It did me no good to think of her too often, I could not afford to be overcome with melancholy the lives of my troops depended on my survival.
It took about an hour to reach our base, it was a simple yet effective temporary home. Made entirely by us, using only basic tools and wood from the trees we'd cut down.
It resembled an overly large cabin, though we'd dug a trench that surrounded the cabin which was full of wooden spikes. The only way in was over the draw bridge we'd made, it was safe enough. We'd had no infected reach the cabin since it's completion.
'Major General's back!' Called Willow from the northern watchtower. Willow was one of the few women I had under my command, out of my thirty troops only ten were women. Willow unique for a soldier, she joined the army in 2008 when she was twenty-two. She had one older sister, two younger brothers and both her parents but like so many of my troops Willow had no idea if they were alive or not. What made her so unlike the rest of my people, was that even in the midst of the deadliest war the world had ever know was that she never lost her kind compassionate nature. She was one of resident medics, but the way she cared for us when we were injured or sick was with the same love and affection as a mother would have. Willow was tall for a woman, she stood at 5'9 with a slender build. Her russet coloured hair would glisten when the sun caught it, her sage eyes complimented her pearly white skin. If not for the dire state of things, I would gladly have asked her to be mine.
'Open the gates!' I heard Lance shout. Lance had joined up only a year before the outbreak, he was the newest out of my recruits. He was twenty-six years and was a small, petite lad at 5'4 with a muscular body. Lance had beige skin with canary yellow hair and cinnamon coloured eyes. He was a fast, smart lad who had saved our butts more than once.
Jack and I walked through, not knowing what to expect. Some days we were lucky and no one got hurt or injured but other times we would return to find our comrades bleeding and fearing for their lives. I was glad that today things were as I'd left them. Willow climbed down from her post to report in, her russet curls bouncing as she walked.
'Major General,' she saluted.
I nodded, releasing her from the salute. I know we were meant to stick formalities but these were unusual times and I felt there were far more important things.
'What news do you bring?' I asked politely.
'Nothing out of the ordinary today, a few rotters but nothing we couldn't handle,' she informed me.
'Any issues in base?'
'None sir.'
'Very well, I believe it's time for shift change is it not,' I said calmly.
'Yes sir, I'll have Tim relieve me right away.'
'Gather those who have been out on assignment and have them report to me immediately,' I told her. She nodded before heading off, I told Jack to get some food while I went to radio into my superiors. I sat down on the simple wooden chair that was in my office and took a deep breath as I prepared to give them bad news.
'This is Major General Roy Hannibal can anyone read me, over?'
'This is General Ronald Hawthorn, I read you loud and clear, over.' General Ronald Hawthorn, he scared most of the cadets shitless hell he even scared me. He was a man of great power and while he did inspire loyalty he also used fear as a way to discipline his recruits. He was a large, burly man in his late fifties. He had balding gingery white hair with eyes as dark as the midnight sky, his crooked teeth sat blackened in his thin pale mouth. When the virus struck he took his job way too seriously, he demanded nothing more than blind loyalty from his men. For those who did not obey- well even I did not know the punishment they received for those who survived were forbidden from speaking about it. While I feared him, I also knew that he was our country's only hope of survival. It was he who discovered that Morgan and her husband held the key to a cure, and that their children were still alive. It was also Ronald who led the only successful raid on the dead that plagued the Isle Of Wight, it was the only place that was infection free- that we knew of. While I might not have always agreed with is methods, I could not deny the positive results he brought.
'I have no good news I'm afraid sir, we're still unable to locate Morgan or her children, over,' I told him trying not to sound nervous. There was a silence that filled me dread, after what felt like a very long minute he finally said, 'That's very disappointing, should I send some of my men or do you think you can manage this mission without aid, over?'
The way he spoke was so often demeaning, I would avoid having 'his' men here. They were cold, calculating, almost robot-like in their demeanour. They would obey orders at all costs, no matter who got hurt. I took a deep breath before replying, every word had to be said with caution.
'No sir I don't feel that we need any assistance, over.'
'You have two weeks, then I'm sending my troops in, is that clear, over?' He replied sternly.
'Yes sir, over.'
I had fourteen days to find them, or I would face the wrath of the General. I could only hope that we struck lucky, for I would not wish his men upon anyone. I went back to my quarters and retired for the night, I felt much more tired than I did hungry. I knew my troops would inform me if there was an emergency. As I felt my eyelids grow heavy, I couldn't help but wonder, what would my sister look like now? She'd be twenty-two, my god she would be a woman. How is it possible that it had been twelve years since I'd last seen her?
I was eight when she was born, I sat in the waiting area of the hospital with my mum's friend Joanna feeling both nervous and excited.
'How much longer?' I asked Joanna. She looked down at me and smiled, Joanna was one of my mum's younger friends she was twentyfive. Joanna was a tiny woman, she was five foot two. She had short curly dark brown hair that fell to her chin, her eyes were a steel grey colour and her skin was pale with red tinge to it. I liked Joanna, she was kind and caring and often looked after me when my parents went on holiday alone.
'Your mum's giving birth, no one can tell how long it's going to be.'
'Why do babies take so long to come out?' I asked in my child-like voice. She laughed, 'I don't know.'
We sat for another hour before my dad came bouncing out of the room, a big bright smile on his face and sweat dripping down his forehead.
'It's a girl,' he announced proudly.
'I've got a little sister?' I asked excitedly.
My dad knelt down in front of me and kept on smiling.
'Would you like to meet her?'
'Yes!' I exclaimed. He took my hand and led me to the room where my mum lay, looking tired in the bed. A nurse was dabbing her head with a wet cloth, while the doctors placed my little sister in her arms. The baby let out a loud cry, that startled me. I slowly walked to my mum's bedside not knowing quite what to do.
'How's my little girl?' My dad asked.
'Hungry, by the sounds of it,' my mum laughed. Before I could say anything, my dad lifted me up and put me on the bed next to my mum. As I looked into my little sister's eyes, I felt such a rush of love for her. Her eyes were so bright and sparkly, and she already had a thick mop of blond hair that matched mine.
'Hi there, I'm your brother,' I said smiling at her. From that day forward until I left for the army, I was never far from my sisters side.
Chapter 11
Nikkita
Half an hour later we pulled into Portree, it was a quaint little town with lots of scenery. We got out the car to find a few roamers shuffling about, we quickly took care of them without any trouble. It seemed that this
place hadn't been touched by the burnings or bombings. I felt surprised by this place, it didn't feel as quaint or remote as everywhere else, yet it still had that country charm. It was much more built up and modern than anywhere else on the island, I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
'Seems quiet enough round here,' I mumbled.
'Appearances can be deceiving,' Frankie replied.
'Very true.' We walked along the road, our first stop was Skye wholesalers, we'd be able to get plenty of food from there. It was only a few minutes down the road, I kept a close eye for any walkers along the way. It felt too quiet here. We'd parked at what used to be the bus station, which consisted of four bus stops, the old police station sat across from it as well as six different places to eat.
'It's too quiet,' I told her nervously.
'I know what you mean, but lets just keep going. The sooner we get what we need, the better,' she replied. We walked pass a few shops, one of which was on old sweet shop. There was a small post office here as well as an old ice cream place, before the outbreak this would have been an amazing place to visit or even live. Down the road directly in front of me there was a chip shop with a wooden picnic bench outside, the old rusted umbrella still sat slightly lob sided in the middle. I smiled thinking that it was the kind of place Frankie and I had always dreamed of seeing.
'I know what your thinking, this place would have been amazing before,' Frankie smiled.
'If only the world hadn't have ended,' I replied a little sadly.
She stopped for a moment and took my hand.
'I know none of us can ever get back what we lost, but this world has opened up so many doors,' she said happily. 'I know what you mean, it's brought us back to our primal selves if you will. Maybe just maybe, in years to come when the world is rebuilt humanity might just get it right,' I answered smiling back at her.
'Here's hoping.' As we neared our first destination I could hear the low growls of the dead, but I couldn't see them yet. I held my knife firmly in my hand as we rounded the corner, just outside the wholesalers I saw them, two dozen dead trying to claw their way in. There was only one reason the corpses would be trying so hard to get into the building, food.
'There must be people inside,' Frankie said hopefully.
'How are we going to get in there though?' I asked concernedly.
She stood thinking for a moment looking round, there wasn't much in the way of cover and her crossbow wasn't fast enough to take them all out.
'I'll take out what I can with my crossbow, you keep them from getting too close. If we get swarmed, run back to the car,' she told me confidently. I wasn't sure I liked this plan, but I agreed. I didn't like the idea of inviting people to our home, but I knew Frankie needed to be around others. She had enough arrows to take out at least half of the dead, fortunately as they were so busy trying to get in the shop that they didn't notice Frankie until she'd dealt with half a dozen of them. I stabbed one as it lunged for me, its blood splattering all over me. Frankie took out her knife from her belt, she helped me deal with the three that were coming. Ten down, fourteen to go, I thought.
'Quick, in here!' I heard someone shout. I looked to see a side entrance to the shop, I grabbed Frankie and pulled her with me taking out another two walkers as we ran into the shop. It was lucky for us that the doors were both made of steel, it would take the biters some time to get in. As the guy closed the door behind us, we stopped for a minute to look around. There was twelve people in here, families, old people, little kids, and I thought I heard more voices coming from the other side of the shop. This place was a mess, all the food that had been here was gone, the windows had been boarded up, the shelves and cupboards that were once here were now in pieces. People were huddled together in the corners, with fearful looks on their faces. There was also a strong smell of piss coming from a small storage room.
'Randal, what are you thinking opening that door?' Shouted a large burly man.
'These women looked like they needed help,' he replied quietly.
'You know the rules god damn it!'
'We didn't mean to cause trouble,' Frankie said apologetically. The large man turned to her, he looked to be in his late sixties with a small tuft of grey hair, on an otherwise bald head. His brown eyes looked dark and sullen, his pale face tired and his clothes too tight for him.
'I'm sorry, my name's Colin. We don't take in strangers, as you can see we've enough to deal with here,' he said gesturing to all the half starved looking people. Before I could say anything Frankie piped up, 'We live in Dunvegan Castle, if you've got transportation you're more than welcome to come and live with us.'
All eyes turned to us, I could read the scepticism on the old peoples faces, the look of hope on the mothers faces and the looks of joy from the children. A tiny, thin woman with long blond hair approached us a smile forming on her skeletal face.
'Do have safety, strong walls?' She asked hopefully.
'We do, the castle has been fortified. Aside from a bit of trouble with a group of slavers a few weeks ago, we've had no trouble, and the dead can't get past our defences,' Frankie told them happily.
'And what would you want in return for giving us a home?' Asked Colin, almost angrily.
'Just help keep the place safe, that's all,' Frankie replied smiling. Colin gathered the others from the back room, in total there was twenty-five people. I had a bad feeling about this, but it was too late for me to say anything. Frankie told them all about our home, how big it was, how fortified it was and she even told them about Sanctuary in Thurso. By the time she had finished, everyone including Colin wanted to come with us. The only trouble was, they had no weapons or transportation.
'How on earth have you survived this long, without weapons?' I asked in disbelief.
'We've been in here, since the beginning. We only go out after dark, when it's quiet outside,' Colin told us.
'About a week ago, my wife and a few others went out to look for food. Only one person came back, but they brought the dead to our door,' a man in his late twenties said sadly.
I looked at Frankie, her eyes told me everything. She was determined to save them, though I wasn't sure how many we were going to be able to save.
'How many of your people are able to fight?' Frankie asked.
'About ten, most of us are either too old or are crippled in some way,' Colin replied.
'I want to help,' a young boy piped up.
The boy looked to be about twelve, he was tall for his age with long brown hair that he had tied back. His dark blue eyes showed courage and bravery, unusual for someone of his age.
'Emmet no, I promised your parents I'd take care of you,' Colin told him.
'If we don't have enough people to fight, we'll die in here and you know it,' Emmet stared at Colin, with a look of fierce determination.
'I'll keep an eye on him,' Frankie promised.
'Alright fine, but you do exactly as you're told,' he warned Emmet. The boy nodded, Frankie got to work gathering up those who could fight. I simply sat and let her get on with it.
'We'll split into two groups, I'll take charge of one, Nikkita will take charge of the other,' Frankie said.
'Babe, your group can look for food mine will find transportation,' I told her.
I noticed a few raised eyebrows as they realised we were a couple, I stood for a moment waiting for someone to say something but thankfully no one did.
'I was the school bus driver before all of this, I know where we can find transport,' the man whose wife that had died informed us.
'Good, your with me then,' I replied smiling.
'Right, first things first we need to get rid of the corpses outside,' Frankie piped up.
'How many entrances are there?' I asked.
'Three, the front, side and back, but I don't think there's any walkers round the back,' the bus driver told us.
'I'll go and check,' I said. I let them talk as I went to back door, Emmet followed me, I didn't bother tellin
g him to go away even though I wanted to. I tried not to stand on anyone as I went, I carefully looked out the windows to find that there wasn't any corpses out back. I opened the door just a little, I saw the dead had the other two entrances covered. I went back to the others, Emmet silently following me.
'The back entrance is clear,' I told them.
'Good, now we just need to get these people some weapons,' Frankie replied.
'Anything will do, a broken mop or broom handle, a large piece of glass, anything,' I said.
A few of the men searched the place and after a few minutes came with exactly what I'd said, we handed them out to as many people as possible.
'I assume you all know how to kill them?' I asked.
'Get them in the head right?' Emmet piped up. 'Yes, that's right, okay now I want us to split into groups. My group will go out back and distract them, Frankie I want you to listen out and when another entrance is clear, come out after me,' I told her smiling.
'Got it.' I took ten of the people out with me, Emmet kept close to my side with the broken broom handle at the ready. I ran round to the front entrance, calling out to the walkers. All eight pairs of dead eyes turned to me, I told the others to be careful and not to get bit. I slashed through two of them before they got too close, Emmet who was still by my side took out one without any trouble. The others weren't doing so well.
Damn it they really didn't have a clue, I thought angrily. I stepped in to save one woman who had gotten pinned down, I pulled the female corpse off her and swiftly stabbed it in the head. Emmet saved another of his people when she'd fallen over and somehow managed to really hurt her ankle. Between ten of their people, they'd taken out two biters not including the one Emmet had killed, there was only one left on this side. Emmet beat me to it and stabbed it, I banged on the door and called into Frankie. She and her five people came out, I told her there was only six corpses on the other side, assuming no others had come by.
'I think I need to sit this one out,' said the small red haired girl who hurt her ankle.
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