Thrust & Parry: Z Day

by Luke Ashton

  “Zombies? Are you saying Fifi wasn’t the only one like this?!” She was nearly shouting now.

  “Calm down ok, it’s all in hand. Here.” He passed her the thermos and she took it and sat down. Dan sat on the other sofa and Jim made for the stairs door.

  He pulled his weapon up into his shoulder and started to climb. The stairs turned 180 degrees at the top and Jim had to lean round to check the landing was clear. On the landing he had a door to his left and in front of him and another set of stairs to his right. He stopped and listened. Nothing. Both doors were open and he moved left into a bathroom, sweeping right to left as he stepped in. It was set out the same as his there was a sink and a mirror on the right with a toilet in the corner. A frosted window on the back wall and a bath and shower cubical on the left. The difference with this bathroom was the 12 inch glass dildo that was rested on the side of the bath. Either way, it was clear.

  Jim stepped out of the bathroom and turned left into the bedroom, repeating the process. It was clear. There was a cheap flat pack wardrobe along the left wall, in the corner, and a chest of draws with a small TV on it. Stacked next to the draws were around 30 DVD’s. Jim saw that most of the DVD’s on the top of each stack was porn.

  “Wow, this girl has a serious problem.” Thought Jim as he looked around. The bed was unmade and sat under the window. There was a bedside table on each side of it. One had a book and reading glasses on and the other had a large vibrator the size and shape of a microphone. Jim had seen these on some videos. They were supposed to give a girl really intense orgasms.

  Down the left of the bed was a pile of clothes and a small dog’s bed. Down the right was a Sybian. A small saddle shaped machine with a dildo attached that can be sat on. It had a controller on a wire that you could change the vibration and the movement of the dildo.

  He stepped out of the bedroom or “sex dungeon” as Jim thought and turned his attention to the stairs leading to the top floor. At the top was a banister to stop people falling down them so Jim took a few steps so he was level with the next floor and then stepped up slowly. Sweeping round the room. It was an attic room that was used to store more crap. There was boxes of clothes and an old TV up here along with another piece of flat pack furniture she obviously had never got round to erecting. He moved to the top of the stairs and checked the room, all the way to the back, to make sure there was nothing hidden. Again, it was clear. He lowered his weapon and started back down the stairs. Dan was on his feet in front of the sofa when he came down. Weapon at the ready above his head. He saw Jim and lowered it.

  “Shit sorry mate I didn’t know if it was you or not.” He was on edge. We all were.

  “Don’t fret mate. Better safe than sorry.” Paula was sat staring into space sipping at the coffee. He took it from her, took a gulp and gave it her back before pulling out his cigs and lighting one. He offered the pack round but both Paula and Dan shook their head.

  “So, do you believe me now?” Jim asked looking at Dan.

  “Y...Yeah I reckon you’re onto something with this zombie thing.” Dan stuttered out. He was in shock. Jim unslung his weapon and leant it against the sofa as he sat down next to Paula.

  “So what do we do now?” Asked Paula, still staring into space.

  “Jim? Any ideas?” Dan asked looking to meet Jim’s gaze.

  He could see the panic and longing for answers in Dan’s eyes. Knowing he had to keep them as calm as physically possible he told them exactly what they wanted to hear.

  “Right, we have 2 cars. We each take a bag full of essentials. Clothes and the like. And the rest of the room is used for food and weapons. I want each person to have 3 weapons. Preferably at least one ranged.”

  “Ranged?” Enquired Paula.

  “Yeah, something you can kill with from a distance.” Answered Jim. Paula nodded and continued. “We take it in turns when it comes to driving, doing hour stints at a time. If we go anywhere and we’re on foot I will go first followed by Paula and Dan will cover the rear. If you see anything you don’t like just say ‘stop’ and stand still. This baby can stop most things.” He patted his weapon. The barrel was still warm. They both nodded.

  “But where are we going?” Asked Dan.

  “First step is to get supplies. We will drive down to Tesco on the end and see what we can salvage. Then we need to get you two some weapons and ammo so firstly we’re going check the police station and then we’ll drive over to my TA centre and grab a few weapons. Once we get to the barracks we’ll see where we go from there. Happy?” They both nodded. At that moment there was a noise from the doorway. One of the zombies must have heard us and come to investigate as there was now an old man stood in the doorway staring at Dan. He had blood round his mouth and his grey hair had a red tint to it.

  “Oh fuck!” Shouted Dan as he jumped up and tried to flatten himself against the back wall. Jim pulled his Sig from its leg holster and lined the old guys head up in the iron sights. It wasn’t cocked so Jim squeezed hard and the gun kicked in his hand. The old guys head snapped back and he fell backwards into the front garden. Jim stood and walked over to him, putting another round into his head. He turned and stepped inside. Closing the door behind him and locking it.

  “Switch on mate yeah?” He said looking at Dan who was now panting heavily.

  “Sorry bud. I didn’t think.” He blurted out in a panic. Jim dropped the Sig back in its holster, wandered over and put his hand on Dan’s shoulder.

  “Everyone fucks up mate, don’t worry ok? No harm done and I get to add one to my zombie kill list.” Jim said with a smile. Dan returned it and visibly relaxed. He turned to Paula.

  “We will leave you to get dressed while we go pack. Lock the door behind us and when we come back I’ll knock 4 times so you know it’s us. Wear something you can run in comfortably, preferably with pockets. Ok?”

  “Right ok.” Replied Paula as she stood. They all walked to the door and Jim unlocked it and pulled it open. He stepped out and checked the street before stepping out into the warm day. Dan was close behind as Paula watched from the doorstep. As Jim left the garden she stepped inside and closed the door.

  Chapter 5

  Jim walked up his front garden and stopped at the door. The kitchen door was still intact and his front door was still locked. Nothing had tried getting in…. yet.

  “Stop.” Squeaked Dan behind him and Jim span round. Dan was staring at a house over the road about 3 doors down. Jim moved next to Dan looking over his shoulder to see where he was looking. There was someone stood in the front window. He brought his weapon up and looked down the sight. With the magnification of his sight he could clearly see the white eyes and blood spatters over an old woman’s face. She was scratching at the glass in an attempt to escape.

  “Zombie, could be problematic if she gets free.” Said Jim as he pulled his bipod out and rested it on the gate post. Dan stepped back to give him room and he shouldered his weapon. He lined up the sight on the old woman’s weathered forehead. Jim took several deep breaths and then held it. He squeezed the trigger slowly and the gun kicked. There was a smashing of glass and he lined his sight back up to check. The zombie had disappeared and there was now a neat hole in the glass.

  “Thanks buddy, well spotted.” Smiled Jim as he pushed the bipod back and flicked the safety back on. Jim knelt down and pulled the brick out to retrieve his key when Dan chirped up.

  “How are you so calm about all this?” 0

  “It’s easy mate.” Jim replied. “I spent all my life playing games were killing people is the main aim and many of those people have been some form of demonic apocalyptic freak. Then I joined the army and was trained to properly kill these people and now it’s happening it’s like my life has been leading to this point.”

  “Your fucking nuts mate.” Chuckled Dan. “But I can’t think of anyone better to get through this shit storm with.”

  “Thanks Dan. Means a lot. Now that you have finished that speech can we get packed
before the zombies make this place more of a shit hole?” Jim smiled and winked as he turned and unlocked the door.

  He braced himself to get attacked by an excited little pooch needing a piss before realising and mentally slapping himself. He told Dan he could take whatever clothes he wanted and get changed. As Dan was changing he packed and then threw a bag at Dan so that he could do the same. Next, he pulled a stainless steel baseball bat from under his bed and passed it to Dan.

  “Weapon number 2” He said and wandered over to the wardrobe he stored his kit in and pulled out his retractable baton and riot shield. The baton came in a little holster that clipped onto his webbing and he fitted it on his left hand side. The shield he passed to Dan.

  “Nice.” Smirked Dan admiring his new weapons. He then wandered over to his entertainment unit and took down a bowling pin he’d nicked on annual camp in Germany. Bowling pins were an unlikely weapon of choice but they were solid wood and about 5kg. He wrapped the top of it with sniper tape, camouflage fabric tape that’s commonly used to hide anything shiny, to create a handle and slid it into his daysack. Finally, he unclipped his pistol from his leg and handed it over.

  “Fucking hell are you sure mate?” Dan answered as he gingerly took the holster.

  “Yes, the more weapons we have the better.” He replied. “Don’t worry it doesn’t bite.” Dan clipped it onto his leg and Jim took him through how to use it. He kept hold of the spare mags and told Dan were they were in case he had to get one and Jim was busy or dead.

  He told Dan to reverse the car up to the gate so that they could pack it easier while he went and grabbed his box of spare rations from the attic room. He had accumulated them over the last 5 years from different weekend and camps and he reckoned he had about a month’s supply of food.

  As Jim waddled down the stairs, trying not to drop the box, he heard Dan pull the handbrake on the car. He took the box over and packed it into the car, as far back as he could. They would need all the room they could get. Dan jumped and squeezed through the gap between his Mini and the gate post.

  “What’s all that then?” He asked pointing to the box.

  “Rations. Courtesy of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces.” Jim replied with a smile. Next they threw the bags in, getting them as far back as possible. They then routed through Jim’s cupboards, fridge and freezer for anything non-perishable. Anything tinned, dried or powdered was piled on the kitchen floor. They then decided how much of the perishable stuff they would be taking. Any chocolate was taken as it lasted ages and was a good source of energy. They took enough meat, fruit and vegetables for 3 of them for a few days. Any more than that and it would go off.

  They finished packing and Jim threw his daysack on the front passenger seat. Dan locked up the car and they wandered over to Paula’s door. Jim knocked 4 times and he heard the sound of keys rattling in the lock before the door swung open and Paula stepped aside. She was wearing a plain white t-shirt with a wool cardigan over the top. She had a set of cargo pants on with more pockets than she had sex toys and a set of worn looking running trainers. Paula saw him looking her up and down.

  “Will I do?” She asked giving them a twirl.

  “You’re not naked that’s a start.” Replied Jim with a laugh. Dan was looking between the two of them. Obviously missing something. Jim realised he’d not seen the sexual deviant side of Paula as he was stood outside for the whole thing. He thought it best it stayed that way.

  “It’s comfortable, I can run in it and I have pockets.” She pulled one of the zips to show him.

  “It’s good. Have you found any weapons yet?” She pointed to the sofa where the towel rail was. Next to it was the 12” glass dildo from the bath and a large bottle of vodka. Jim smirked at the dildo. It was a good idea.

  “What’s the vodka for?” He asked.

  “I thought we could make one of those firebomb thingies.” She said looking a bit embarrassed.

  “Good idea but it’s no good. It would take too long to take one down as you have to either destroy the brain or chop off its head to stop It. Using Molotov cocktails would just mean you then had a pissed off flaming zombie coming at you.”

  “Oh…Right. Sorry.” She looked at the floor. She obviously thought she’d done really well with the vodka.

  “We can take it with us anyway though. It will be good to sterilize any wounds.” He was trying to make her feel better about it. It worked. She perked up instantly and beamed at him like a kid earning a gold star. “Dan, do the same with the car would you buddy?” Dan disappeared back outside to move the car and Jim heard another “Stop” from outside. Jim bounded to the door and looked over at Dan. He was just outside the gate staring down the street. There was someone limping down the street. He checked them out in the scope. They were human. They had what looked like a sniper rifle in one hand and were holding their leg with the other. They spotted Dan and sped up.

  “Help. Please!” he called down the street. Jim ran out and stood in front of Dan, weapon up.

  “No wait. I’m not one of those things. Please don’t shoot.” He kept moving forward he had just passed Dan’s Mini now.

  “Stop there.” Jim called. His voice full of authority. The figure stopped. “Put the weapon down and step forward.” He continued. The figure complied and began to limp over to them. Now they were closer Jim could see it was a boy of maybe 17, 18. He was wearing a black tracksuit and a red cap that he’d bent in to look cool. He had blood seeping between his fingers as he walked.

  “Oh shit man. I woke up and Dad was like banging on my door like he was on summit. When I opened it he went schizo on me, trying to bite me and shit. I kicked him out and like slammed the door. Grabbed my air rifle and jumped out my window. Mum was in the garden and she like jumped on me when I fell, I managed to like beat her off and shit but she took a chunk out of my leg.”

  “You’ve been bitten?” asked Jim taking a step back.

  “Yeah but I ain’t too bad man. I got worse cuts fighting with the nigga’s init.” Jim raised his weapon again.

  “Wow bruv. I ain’t racist or nothing. Honest I’m not.”

  “If you’ve been bitten you will turn. Once you turn you will come at us. You need to die.” Jim explained calmly. He aimed for the boys head. The boy turned and ran for his own weapon but Jim had already squeezed the trigger. The boy hit the floor hard and Jim stepped forward. His weapon still raised. He had hit the boy in the neck and could hear small gurgling noises coming from the body as he tried to breath. He put another round into the head and the gurgling stopped. He walked over to the air rifle and picked it up, he checked the boys pocket and found another 30 metal pellets for it.

  “Well that solves the problem of Paula’s ranged weapon doesn’t it?” He said to Dan, trying to lighten the mood. They walked back to the house in silence. Paula was stood at the door looking horrified.

  “What was that all about? He wasn’t one of them?” Paula exclaimed looking close to tears.

  “Ok, both of you, come, sit.” Jim motioned to the 2 couches and they both obeyed. “In this situation you have to be brutal, emotionless. The boy had been bitten. He would have turned any minute. If I shot him now it meant I didn’t have to shoot him when he’s sprinting at me.” They seemed to understand a bit more. “I would expect the same from any one of you. Even if it was me that was bitten. I wouldn’t think twice about killing one of you if it meant my safety ok?” They both nodded. He handed Paula the rifle and the pellets and showed her how to use it. Jim had used an air rifle several times and they’re fairly simple. He had gone rabbit shooting once and even won a plaque at a game fair for knocking down metal targets with one. Paula absorbed it all and he decided to let her fire it a few times to check it was zeroed correctly.

  He got her to lay down just inside her door and aim for the security alarm over the road. The first shot hit the wall to the right and she reloaded and tried again. The second hit the same spot so Jim adjusted the sight. This time it hit the very
top of the alarm.

  “Right show me exactly where you’re aiming.” He wanted to get it as accurate as possible.

  “Right in the middle of the alarm.” She pointed at it as if it would make it any clearer.

  “OK try aiming for the bottom of it in the middle.” If it was firing high he wanted to be able to bring it down easier. She lined it up and fired again. It hit the same spot again.

  “OK no worries. You’re snatching the trigger.” Snatching was were you pull the trigger too fast and in doing so pull the rifle up slightly. “Try taking a few deep breaths and then breathe in and hold it. Pull the trigger slowly so that when it goes off it should almost be a shock.” Jim had taught this lesson to his recruits. She tried again and put into play everything Jim had mentioned. This time it landed about 2/3rds up. Jim adjusted slightly and she reshot. It just caught the bottom of the alarm.

  “OK, now try the middle again.” She did and it landed perfectly. “Good looks like your set to go.”

  Behind them Dan had been moving all the food out of the kitchen. They didn’t want Paula having to step around her dead mutt. They stood up and Paula pulled the attached sling over her head and moved the weapon behind her back. Dan slipped out to move the car again as Paula grabbed her keys and pulled hers forward to let him in. She drove an old Fiat Punto 3 door. As Jim heard the car door slam he picked up an armful of ready meals and tins and took them out. They half-filled the mini with food from their houses so they had another half a car for more food at Tesco. He wanted half of each car for ammo.

  “Right, how are we going to do this then?” asked Dan.

  “Well I’ll ride with you down to Tesco and Paula can follow.”

  “I don’t want to be alone.” Paula chirped up looking somewhat embarrassed.

  “OK no worries.” Jim replied putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “Well I want to be up front to deal with anything that happens so I’ll take Dan’s Mini and he can ride in with you ok?” Paula nodded. Reluctantly Dan handed over his keys and they all stepped outside. Paula locked the front door and headed over to her car with Dan following. Jim jumped in Dan’s Mini and buckled himself in, adjusting the seat so he wasn’t trying to drive with his knees up his nose and checked the mirrors. Jim didn’t have his licence but he didn’t really think that mattered anymore. If there were any police left he would just flash the deployment papers he now had in a traveller’s wallet with his passport and birth certificate under his shirt.