Thrust & Parry: Z Day

by Luke Ashton

  “OK mate. Get yourself sorted. How’s the boot look?” Jim asked. Whethers held up his boot. The top was scratched but fine. The sole had a nice set of deep teeth marks in it.

  “Poor guy bit into the wrong bit.” Whethers said as he pulled his sock back on.

  “Only you could feel compassion for an undead freak.” Jim replied with a sly grin. Whethers dressed as Jim puffed away on his cigarette, planning their next move.

  “Boss!” Called Rim from the back of the truck. Jim turned, dropped the rest of his cig and jogged over to the back of the truck. “The pile of bodies is getting a tad high. It’s becoming a bit of a ramp.” Rim explained as Jim got there.

  “Right how many rounds on that belt Paddy?”

  “About 75 Twitch.” Paddy replied.

  “Finish off the rest of them and pour the rest of that belt into the bodies. I want nothing moving in that pile Rim.” Jim ordered and stepped back to watch the show. Rim was accurate he would give him that. As he let off single rounds with the Gimpy with quick succession there was zombies dropping left right and centre. He didn’t see him miss once. As the last zombie fell Rim switched to sending burst of fire up the gaps in the gate.

  “He might be an utter gob shite” thought Jim “but he’s a fucking good soldier.”

  As Rim finished the belt Paddy had the next 200 ready to load on. Whethers had moved up next to Jim now and they all watched in silence for a minute, looking for movement in the pile. There was nothing. No movement. No noise. It seemed odd after the absolute shit storm of the last half hour.

  “Right, Paddy, take the Gimpy, everyone else on me in the truck.” Jim and Whethers climbed into the back of the truck. There was about 6 foot of space between the tailgate and the first seat so the lads took a perch on the edge of the truck sides. “Lads, normally I would make any decision but seeing as were all trying to survive this hell hole together I think it prudent we decide our next actions together. Way I see it we have 3 choices. Number one, Hole up somewhere safe and try to ride this out. Number two, Try kill everything that moves. Or number three, salvage anything we can and try to find more survivors. What do we think guys?”

  Rim chirped up first. No surprises there. “I think we should find a few slags to keep us company.” He let out a sickening giggle.

  “Rim what have I told you? Flies spread diseases so keep yours zipped.” Jim replied. The lads cackled for a short while. As it began to die down Paddy let of a single shot and a small gurgle followed by a crunch was heard. Everyone glanced out the back to see what it was. A lone zombie had got cocky and wandered up to the gate. Paddy dropped him just before he climbed over and he fell over instead.

  “I think we should head to Leeds barracks next. See if there are any survivors there, or Keighley. Just to get a full section.” Paddy chirped.

  “I like it, any more suggestions?” Replied Jim. The lads shook their heads. “That settles it then. We head to Leeds, then Keighley. See who we find. If we find any survivors on the way we offer them safe refuge but they need to be clear we are in charge and they follow our orders without question. I refuse to lose my life over some dumb civvie who can’t do as he is told.” There was a murmur of agreement between the lads. “Same as before until we get to Leeds. Any questions?”

  “What if we run into any difficulties?” Whethers asked.

  “We bomb burst from the truck and form a line of defence towards the threat. If the treat is from the rear the Gimpy and support stays mounted. I will give orders from there. Happy?” He looked round. “Good, prepare to move.” Jim and Paddy jumped down and Jim jumped into the cockpit. Paddy ran to the gate. The engine was still running and Jim accelerated forward and circled round the car park. The gate was nearly open when he arrived and there was bodies falling into the car park. Jim stopped in front of the bodies to let paddy back in.

  “Hold on lads!” Jim called. And Paddy called back. Jim gunned the engine hard and the truck lurched forward. There was a shudder as he hit the pile. It now came up to the bottom of the doors. The truck struggled for traction as it began to climb and the sound of breaking bones and squelching organs was just visible over the roar of the truck. The truck reached the top of the pile and skidded slightly as the front wheels left the top of the pile and span in mid-air. The back wheels struggled to compensate and finally found grip. The truck slid forward slowly and eventually the front end dipped down and the front wheels tapped the floor and squealed. The truck lurched forward and Jim ragged the wheel right. The truck bounced round and came to a halt on the road again.

  “Everyone ok back there?” Jim called. Paddy passed it back and there was a shout.

  “Rim needs a piss.” Paddy translated.

  “Fucking bane of my life. Tell him to piss out the back while we move.” Jim replied. Paddy passed it back.

  “Can I nick a cig Twitch?” Paddy asked as they pulled off again.

  “You don’t smoke Paddy.” Exclaimed Jim, somewhat confused.

  “I figure no better time to start Jim.” Paddy replied.

  “Fair one mate. I’m not your mum. Here. Light me one will you?” Jim offered the pack and his lighter.

  “Here.” Paddy lit 2 cigarettes and passed one over to Jim. They puffed away in silence for a few minutes. Just as they reached the on ramp for the M62 a smell hit their noses. It smelt like burning tires mixed with roast pork. Jim spotted a stack of thick black smoke a few hundred meters ahead. He slowed to a halt and turned to Paddy.

  “Take Whethers and recce that smoke. No noise, stay invisible I just want the info. Usual routine, how many, how well armed, morale…”

  “Inside leg measurements, favourite skittles flavour.” Jim smirked. He sometimes forgot how far his recruits had come since he met them. Without another word Paddy jumped down and jogged to the back. He heard him explaining the details to the other two. Jim hopped down and flicked his fag on the floor. He sauntered to the back of the truck and stood watching while Paddy finished up.

  “Any questions?” Paddy asked.

  “Yeah, what are we doing while these too play pick-up sticks in the bushes?” Rim asked as he swapped weapons with Whethers.

  “Set up an OP with eyes on the truck and wait. When Paddy gets back, if it’s clear to go meet back up he will light a fag and stand at the back of the truck.” Paddy still had Jim’s cigarettes. “If there are any dramas we will be in a better position to react that way. See what you can find Rim and report back in 5.” Rim nodded and jumped down, lugging the heavy weapon with him. He disappeared into the high woodland to the right.

  “Paddy you have comms?” Jim asked and Paddy took a knee while he rummaged in his daysack and pulled out a PRR (Personal Role Radio.) “Good, channel 1 and comms check every 15 with me. Keep it informal.” Jim pulled his own radio out and switched it to channel 1. They did a quick comms check and got the radio comfortable before throwing their kit back on. Paddy nodded at Jim and stepped off. Whethers took point and disappeared down to the left. Jim grabbed his daysack and a fresh pack of L & B’s and checked his kit off. He had 48 hours’ worth of rations with him so it would do him and Rim for a day. He hopped over the tailgate and rifled through the supplies. He grabbed a full box of Snickers and a few Oasis and tipped them in. He hopped back out in time to see Rim appearing back out the woodland.

  “Found a sweet spot mate.” Rim said as he reached him. “You ready boss?” Jim nodded and they stepped off. Normally a Gimpy gunner would not take point as it takes them longer than others to be able to react but as he knew the way he didn’t really have much choice. As they reached the edge of the treeline there was a shout that made them both freeze. Jim took a knee and listened. He opened his mouth to cut all internal noises out and turned his ear to the motorway. Another shout and then a breaking of glass followed by a whoosh. Jim hoped it wasn’t his lads that were the target. Either way the smoke was being made by a living breathing person. Jim recognised the noise the instantly. It was the distinct sound of a Molot
ov cocktail being thrown; the whoosh was the flammable liquid setting alight. They crouched in silence for another minute but heard nothing more. Jim tapped Rim and they set off again.

  Rim wasn’t kidding about a sweet spot. The bank flattened out in an area to create a ledge, just big enough to fit two people on. Previous rainwater had created a dip, shielding them from being seen from below and above was thick woodland. There was a gap in the trees that revealed the truck and the rest of the on-ramp perfectly. Rim started setting up his Gimpy as Jim slipped his daysack off and made himself comfortable. He passed Rim the radio and pulled out a few snickers, handing them to Rim. Once they were both set up Jim arranged a rota, two hours on, two off. Rim took first watch while Jim gave his weapon a quick battle clean. The sharpshooter had nowhere near as much cleaning required as the SA80 but it still needed keeping on top of to keep it from stopping.

  “Movement boss.” Rim murmured as he gave Jim a nudge. Jim had dozed off and checked his watch. It had been around 30 minutes since his recce had set off. They should now be in position and watching. Jim moved onto his stomach and crawled up to Rim. There was a few zombies passing the truck and heading up the ramp towards the smoke. They seemed to be wandering aimlessly.

  “Let them pass. We only interfere if they head towards our boys on the left.” Jim didn’t want to give their position away. “Any news from Paddy?” Rim handed Jim his notepad as he kept constant watch over the zombies. He had jotted down everything said over the radio. There had been 3 comms checks, all clear except for the last one which was starting to break up a little. Understandable really, the PRR was designed for use within a patrol. The most distance you would usually use one was around 200m. Paddy could be anything up to 400m away now and he was still getting reports. The next message was to say there were in position next to a wall in a field to the left of the smoke. After that it got interesting. Around 13 vehicles blocked the road with around 25 men and 3 women moving about. The men were in very high moral but the women didn’t seem to be. From what the recce could see they weren’t there by choice. All males wore some form of Burberry with tracksuit or jeans and several had rags covering their face.

  “Great,” though Jim sarcastically, “chavs.” They were armed with bats and Molotov cocktails that they were using to set cars on fire at random. They were all drunk and several seemed to be on drugs. There were no patrolling or additional securities. Paddy had done a good job. Jim handed the notepad back and they laid in silence for several minutes watching the Zombies wander up the M62. The radio sparked up and Rim pressed his pressle in.

  “Rim, send over.” The radio sparked up again.

  “Roger Paddy, confirm ETA 10 minutes over?” A crackle gave Rim is reply.

  “Roger Rim out.” Rim jotted into his notepad before turning to Jim.

  “He’s on his way back now, should be back in 10.” Rim said as he rested his notepad on the dirt.

  “Let him know he has 2 tangos moving down the M62 towards them. Don’t want them getting munched.”

  “Can do boss.” Rim pressed his pressle. “Hello Paddy this is Rim, message over.” The radio crackled. “Be aware there are 2 tangos shuffling down the motorway towards you over.” A second later he added “Ok out.” Once again he jotted down before turning to Jim.

  “They’re going to stay put until they have eyes on the tangos.”

  “No worries mate, how you feeling?” Jim knew how tedious stag was.

  "Bit peckish to be honest with you mate. But otherwise I’m fine.” Jim nodded and rummaged in his daysack and pulled out a pack of hexe (hexamine.) Hexe was a solid fuel block wrapped in wax paper with a metal stand. It was issued with any twenty four hour ration pack and was a clear fuel, meaning it did not give off smoke. Jim dug a hole in the soil just big enough for the stand to fit in and slid it in place. He unwrapped the wax paper and broke off a pebble sized block, lit it and dropped it on the stand. Next, he pulled out his mess tin from his webbing and stood it on the stand then folded the boil in the bag pouches and slid them into the mess tin, covering them with water. He left them to heat up while he crawled back to Rim to check on progress. The zombies were now out of site and still wandering towards the chavs. Paddy hadn’t been back on yet to confirm the sighting.

  Suddenly, there was a shout, it sounded panicked. Jim heard several Molotov cocktails smashing followed by the guttural roar of a zombie. The radio sparked up and Rim answered. A quick to and fro between the operators and then Rim replied with “Roger, wait out.” He turned to Jim first this time.

  “Zombies attacked the group. They set them both on fire but one of them got bitten. Both zombies now dead and burning thanks to the bats but the bitten one doesn’t look to have long left before it turns hostile. Paddy wants to know whether to fire or not?”

  “Negative mate. Tell him to double back here, we’re going in.” Rim nodded and relayed the message before catching up with his notes and getting ready to move out. Jim turned back to his now boiling rations and dug them out. He poured the water into his thermal flask and packed his mess tin away. By the time the lads were back they were both ready to move. Paddy jogged to the back of the truck and lit a fag. Jim jogged down the hill to meet them with Rim hot on his tail.

  “Ready to move lads?” Jim asked as he took the cigarette off of Paddy. “Cheers Paddy I’ve needed a fag for a while.” Jim smirked as he jogged to the driver’s side door and jumped in.

  “All in?” Jim called as he revved the engine. There was a succession of grunts and Jim floored it. The truck lurched forward. “I’m going to spin the truck round before making contact. Tell the lads to be ready. We bomb burst to the nearest cover when we stop.” Paddy passed it back as Jim saw the burning chaos in front of him. As the roadblock came into view Jim threw the truck round and reversed the last few feet. He brought it to a halt between two cars and came flying out the truck. As he reached the car and set up he glanced right to see Paddy doing the same. The chavs had noticed the truck and were cautiously edging forward to check it out. One of them stepped forward.

  “Ere mate, this is our territory. You wanna fuck off yeah?”

  “Spoken from the lips of an angel.” Jim muttered as he stood up. He moved forward past the car and left, ensuring he did not obstruct any of his lads. “You will surrender your weapons. We do not want any violence but we must do our duty.” He shouted, his weapon still aiming at the chavs Burberry cap.

  “I said fuck off yeah? We don’t need you action men spoiling our fun.” He replied raising his bat out to one side.

  “This is now your final warning. Drop your weapons or we will be forced to fire upon you. We have a job to do and you are obstructing it.” Jim had the authority of Adolf Hitler at this point.

  “Fuck you! Do him Danny!” The chav screamed. At that moment another chav stepped out with a Molotov cocktail in his hand. He was a fatter chav and was sweating profusely. He looked scared. His eyes dated between the ring leader and the truck. He brought his arm back to throw and the bottle exploded above his head, covering him in petrol. Paddy had taken the shot and smashed the bottle. Danny dropped the neck of the bottle with the shock of it and the flaming rag lit the spilt petrol. The flame spread quickly and engulfed Danny in flames. He thrashed about wildly, throwing himself on the ground and rolling about in an effort to put the flames out. The ringleader simply stood there, wide-eyed and gormless. For another 30 seconds Danny thrashed wildly at the ground but it was no use and eventually he went limp. Jim turned his attention back to the ringleader.

  “Now, you will let us do our job, yes?” Jim asked in a calm tone. The ringleader took a step back and nodded slowly at the floor. He suddenly wasn’t so cocky having seen his mate burn to death. “Good, you have one among you that has been bitten. We need to see him.” The chav nodded and turned to the crowd.

  “John, fucking come here will you.” A tall scrawny chav with a rag round his hand timidly stepped forward.

  “Show me the wound.” Jim s
aid simply and the chav removed the rag to reveal a massive chunk of his hand missing including his little finger. “Thank you.” Jim said and raised his weapon. He saw the colour drain from the chav’s face as he squeezed the trigger. The gun kicked and John fell limply to the ground. The ringleader took another step back as if another couple of steps would secure his safety.

  “What the fuck did you do that for you dickhead?” The ringleader had a strange cockiness to his voice again. He must have found his balls.

  “Your friend had been bitten. In a few minutes he would have turned and tried to kill every one of you.” Jim explained calmly.

  “Fuck you man that’s murder.” The ringleader spat at Jim.

  “I need you and your friends over in that corner. No weapons.” Jim said and the ringleader simply glared at him. “Now!” Jim ordered but still no one moved. Jim aimed just above the ringleaders head and fired. It was a warning shot but it worked. The ringleader dropped his bat and sprinted to the corner. He curled up in a ball and cowered. The rest followed suit and when Jim was happy they were all safe he turned to Whethers.

  “Cover them. Anyone farts out of turn, kill them all.” Whethers nodded. He knew the protocol but Jim knew he had to put the fear of god into these people if he wanted them to do what he needed. He motioned at Paddy and then at a fresh piece of cover past the huddle of chavs. Paddy jogged first round the front of the truck, so as not to get in the Gimpy’s way, and then to the new cover. He could now cover Jim in case anything happened. The females were sat in one of the cars and stopped talking as Jim approached. At least one of them didn’t look to belong with this gang. She was around 25 and wore business attire. The other two were in short dressed and looked like they were on a night out when they got picked up.

  “Are you ladies ok?” Jim asked bowing his head to make eye contact.

  “They kidnapped us. They have been threatening to rape us since then. A couple forced themselves on me and made me suck ‘em off.” The younger of the 2 party girls blurted out. She was wearing a neon orange dress that had cut outs at the side. The other one had the same but in neon yellow.