by Smith, I. J.
“You’re joining us?” Bray asked.
Raven smiled. “Yeah. I think we all belong together.”
Over the next few days the vehicles headed south, the main roads were blocked; so they decided to head towards the coast and follow the ocean. It was a quiet journey. There was the odd zombie that needed killing, but nothing much. During their time, Jack was treated by Raven. She had bandaged his hand and tended to his cuts. For the most part, Jack had slept with Paige always staying with him.
As they approached the coast, laughter began to return.
Raven walked to the back of the bus to give Jack some water, she handed him a bottle and noticed him shaking.
“You OK?”
“Yeah, just my hands are a little shaky, guess I am just tired.”
Raven sat with him. Sarah kept glancing over to see the pair talking and laughing.
The bus pulled over, a lot of people were in need of a toilet break. Jack and Raven remained on the bus talking. Ryan as usual took guard, walking around making sure there was nothing dangerous headed their way. Zoe appeared and joined him.
“Anything?” She asked firmly.
“Very quiet.”
Zoe looked uncomfortable.
“Look, we need to talk. That kiss…” She was speaking when Ryan stopped her.
“Was a mistake, I know!”
Zoe frowned as she stared at him.
“Yeah, a mistake....”
They both agreed. She turned to walk away, but suddenly turned back, grabbing Ryan and kissing him passionately once again.
“Now it’s two mistakes!” She said as she walked away.
Ryan stood looking stunned.
“OK! EVERYONE BACK ON THE BUS!” Bray shouted.
Finally they reached the beach and they followed the water. Jack smiled as he watched the waves crashing against the shore line.
For hours they drove, when suddenly Jack shouted out. “STOP!”
The bus came to a sudden stop, and Jack rushed to get off the bus. He looked out over the ocean.
Bray joined him, followed by the others. “What is it?”
Jack pointed to a tilted Navy Ship grounded on the shore.
“It’s the Albion!” Jack said.
Everyone looked out at the ship that rested on its side.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
GROVES
Jack stood alone on the beach, looking out towards the ship where all this started - the H.M.S ALBION. Everyone else stood by the vehicles, confused at what they were seeing, even more confused by Jack’s reaction to it.
Jack began to walk back to the others.
“NO MORE SECRETS JACK!” Bray claimed, remarking to the speech he once gave.
“What is it?”
Jack glanced at the ship. “When I spoke with Jenkins, she said the infection had spread worldwide. The Albion must have run out of supplies and fuel, so they grounded it.”
Adam stood silent.
“Then why do you look like you have seen a ghost?” Bray asked.
Adam spoke out. “Because it makes no sense, no way they would beach the ship. There are off-shore supply stations. There are forts where they could have landed; it makes no sense for them to beach her here, not this close to ground zero.”
Jack looked at Adam; both men were in total agreement.
“Jenkins told me about Oasis, she sent me here for a reason!” Jack was speaking when the sound of loud engines roared up around them.
Military vehicles surrounded them. Bray threw Jack a sidearm, soldiers dressed in green rushed from the vehicles with machine guns pointed at them. The children on the bus began to scream in fear.
Jack, Bray, Adam, Zoe, Ryan, Sarah, Jacob, and Raven all held their weapons pointed at the soldiers. A large, green military jeep drove up and stopped ahead of them, a man climbed out in armor. He was tall with short dark hair and a smile on his face.
“Hello Jack!”
Jack looked shocked. “Groves!”
Groves replied with a smile. “Been a long time my friend.”
Bray laughed aloud. “Put your weapons down guys, these are friends of ours!”
As everyone lowered their weapons, Jack stared at Groves.
“What are you doing here?” Jack asked.
Groves stepped forward. “Just following orders.”
Jack was not convinced. Bray rushed passed Jack and shook Grove’s hand.
“Damn good to see the good guys for a change!”
Groves smiled, Adam glanced at Jack, but they both knew something was wrong.
As the group started to move around, Jack stood his ground, deep in thought.
Groves looked at his friend. “You have something on your mind Jack?”
“Where is Jenkins?”
Groves laughed, he raised his hand in the air and the soldiers all raised their weapons again, everyone moved back in fear. A soldier grabbed Raven and dragged her towards Groves.
“I knew I couldn’t fool you Jack. You know, they let me read your file. Damn, you have done some dark shit. I can only guess the things you have done here, things nightmares are made of, I bet.”
Raven swung round and scratched the soldier across the face, drawing blood. Groves grabbed his sidearm and smashed her in the face with it. Everyone else was pinned against the bus with guns pointed at their heads.
“Why?” Jack asked.
“Survival Jack, they gave me an option and I chose life!”
Bray suddenly spoke out. “The kids. What happened to Joe and Claire, what happened to the people we sent you?”
“Don’t worry Bray, I gave Jack my word I protected them. Well, at least for a while,” Groves smirked.
Jack started to move forward, Groves pointed his gun at him.
“Now, now! I can see you have been through a war, but I am not stupid enough not to know that you are still a threat!”
Jack growled in anger. “YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!”
“Traitor? Fuck you, Jack. There is no right or wrong left in the world. It is all about survival, and when this world is reborn, I am gonna be here!”
Raven was on her knees, her face bleeding.
“Why are you here?” Jack asked.
“Well that stupid, stuck-up bitch Jenkins, told you something you should not know. The powers are worried about you, and they want you!”
“Jenkins?” Jack asked.
“Last time I heard she was dead, talking to you was the last thing she did!”
Jack looked around at his friends.
“OK! They want me dead, fine then do it! They don’t know anything, so kill me and let them go!”
“NO!” Kat screamed out; Jacob grabbed her, stopping her from running towards Jack.
Groves smiled. “You misunderstand; they don’t want you dead, well not yet anyway!”
“I’ll go with you, just let them go and I won’t give you any problems,” Jack offered.
“I can live with that!” Groves replied.
The soldiers took their weapons and pushed them back onto the bus.
“RAVEN, GO!” Jack told her.
Groves grabbed her. “Not her! She is my insurance that you behave!”
Jack shook his head. Raven looked at him and then to the others and said, “GO!”
Jack threw his gun on the ground and threw his machetes towards Bray. He picked them up. Looking at Jack, he nodded. Jack dropped to his knees and held his arms in the air.
The guns remained aimed until the bus drove away. Jack locked eyes with Raven, he watched as they placed a black hood over her head. Jack stared at Groves.
“It may take me while, but I am gonna kill you!” Jack said as a hood covered his head and everything went black.
H.M.S ALBION
FOR THE BEST READERS A WRITER COULD ASK FOR HERE IS THE FOLLOW-UP SHORT
COPYRIGHT
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherw
ise, without prior permission of the publisher.
All work is Copyright © I.J. Smith May 2016
I.J. Smith has asserted his moral rights
Cover illustrations by I.J. Smith, Copyright © May 2016
Dead & Alive H.M.S Albion, names, characters and all related work is Copyright of I.J. Smith
PROLOGUE
Based after Dead & Alive Survive, find out what happened to the survivors that escaped on the Helicopter.
Find the truth, as this is where is begins.
CHAPTER ONE
Albion
Clare looked out from the helicopter window down at the roof. She watched as Jack and the others disappeared from sight. Joe held her hand tightly; an older man, Henry, also placed his hand on hers.
“It’s going to be OK!” Henry told Claire, trying to calm her.
The pilot turned his head and yelled at Henry, “OLD MAN! YOU SHOULD HAND THAT GUN OVER BEFORE WE LAND!”
The grey-haired Henry gripped the gun tighter.
“Just do what Jack said!” he replied to the pilot.
The pilot shook his head, he feared what was happening and was even more afraid about what would happen when he landed back on the Albion.
As the helicopter flew over London, Henry thought about what he had been through over the past few months. The emotion was easily visible in his face. It did not take long before they cleared London and headed along the coast and out into the ocean. In the distance the bright lights of a ship could be seen from miles away.
“OK! WE’RE NEARLY THERE. MAKE SURE YOU ARE ALL BUCKLED UP!” The pilot told them.
The windows of the helicopter suddenly became swamped with fierce rain.
“SHIT!” The pilot grumbled.
The night sky was suddenly illuminated by a red flare, it helped the pilot find the ship’s location and then the landing lights started to appear. The pilot slowly lowered the helicopter into position and landed.
Within seconds the helicopter was surrounded by personnel in hazard suits. Soldiers with guns stood farther back, surrounding the helicopter.
“Your friend, Jack, just killed us all!” The pilot remarked.
The side door slid open, a large man in a Hazard suit spoke to everyone. “My name’s Groves, my friend Jack sent you to me for safety and I promise that you will be taken care of. I have to be careful and place you in isolation while we run blood tests for any sign of the virus.”
Groves looked over at Henry, who was still holding the gun.
“You can give that to me!” Groves told him.
Henry backed off and raised the gun.
Groves nodded. “OK! IF IT KEEPS YOU HAPPY, KEEP IT!”
Henry agreed and helped the kids out of the helicopter. Clare and Joe refused to let go of each other; Henry held Clare’s other hand.
“We stay together,” Henry told Groves.
Groves led everyone through the abandoned compartments of the ship, leading them down to the cargo hold where Jack and the team once lived. A large plastic medial tent had been erected and several doctors stood waiting for them.
Groves stopped to speak to Henry.
“You have to go inside. There is food, water, and beds; anything else you need, just ask.”
Henry looked around the cargo hold.
“Jack said I can trust you!” Henry stated to Groves.
Groves gave Henry a smile.
“You can. I don’t know what’s going on, but I would like to find out. I promise, you all are under my protection now and away from danger.”
Henry smiled and led the kids into the tent. Several figures appeared spraying the area around the tent, a woman approached Groves.
“We need to get you into decontamination now!”
Groves walked away towards a large shower, surrounded by people with long brushes waiting to scrub him down.
As Henry and the others settled inside the tent, doctors rushed to take their blood for testing.
Groves removed his helmet and was standing beneath the running shower when the alarm for incoming aircraft sounded. He wasted no time in rushing out of his suit and raced for the landing deck.
A second helicopter had landed and two familiar faces appeared along with two armed guards.
“Captain Jenkins, nice to see you again!”
She stared at him.
“Oh fuck off! Tell me, what the hell is going on?” Jenkins demanded.
Groves took a deep breath. “Roughly an hour ago, I received communication from Jack Mason, telling me about survivors.”
“STOP!” The fat balding man with Jenkins yelled.
“Clear the deck?” Groves asked.
Groves stood only with Jenkins, the balding man and their two guards. Suddenly the pilot of the helicopter appeared.
Jenkins approached the pilot and started lecturing him. “You were under orders, only the team and Doctor Grant!”
The pilot began to stutter, but before he could speak, one of the guards pulled his sidearm and shot the pilot in the head.
“Throw his body overboard!” Jenkins ordered the guards.
Groves looked at her in fear knowing he was next.
“What did Jack tell you?” Jenkins asked.
“Only that there were survivors and I needed to protect them!”
“Anything else?” she asked.
Groves shook his head, as he watched as the pilot was being dragged and thrown overboard.
The balding man stepped forward.
“It seems we underestimated Jack!” He commented to Jenkins.
Jenkins smiled. “Take me to the survivors!”
Groves feared turning his back on her, every step he took he expected a bullet in the back of his head. Finally they reached the cargo deck.
“I see you have placed them in isolation!” Jenkins stated.
“Yes, I needed to protect the ship!” Groves replied calmly.
The balding man walked toward the tent, he looked, inside at the survivors and gave a grunt.
“Commander Groves, no one is to leave this cargo deck! The personnel already here will stay here. Is that understood?” Jenkins ordered.
“We have followed procedure, there is no chance of the infection spreading!” Groves replied.
The balding man turned to Groves.
“My name is Turner, trust me when I say that I can have this ship destroyed with one little call. So, do you understand?”
Groves nodded in fear.
Turner grabbed Jenkins by the arm. “We need to talk now!”
Groves watched as Turner practically dragged Jenkins away.
“What the fuck have you got me into Jack?” he muttered to himself.
CHAPTER TWO
SECRETS OF JACK
Turner threw the door open, three sailors sat at a table going over maps.
“OUT NOW!” Turner ordered them.
“But?” One questioned.
Jenkins appeared from behind him and yelled. “GO!”
The three sailors quickly disappeared from sight, Jenkins closed the door and turned back to Turner. She was met with his fist punching her in the face. He grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the door.
“You told us Jack and the team would all die!” Turner demanded.
Jenkins struggled for breath.
“How was I supposed to know Jack and the others would survive?” she asked.
Turner tightened his grip around her throat.
” Doctor Grant! They must have found him. That leaves us with a problem!”
Pushing her away, Turner walked over to the table and took a seat. Jenkins gagged for a moment.
“Take a seat Captain, we need to talk. Because, now we are doings things my way!”
Jenkins sat down. Turned grabbed the receiver of a red telephone, pressing the red button.
“FIND GROVES AND SEND HIM TO THE WARD ROOM!” Turner demanded.
For several minutes the room remained silent, a sudden knock on the door made Jen
kins jump.
“COME IN!” Turner shouted.
Groves appeared. “The cargo deck is secure.”
“Good, take a seat!” Turner ordered him.
Groves noticed the pale look on Jenkins face, he looked around the room looking for a guard with a gun, he feared for his life.
Turner pulled a file from his bag, and dropped it on the table.
“Do you know what this is?”
Groves shook his head.
“This is Jack’s file.” He opened it up to show most of the wording was blacked out.
“Not a lot in here, some of his early stuff. But almost all of it redacted.”
Turner stared at Jenkins.
“I think Groves would make a good addition to our little project. Don’t you?”
Jenkin’s fear turned to anger.
“He doesn’t have clearance!” Jenkins remined Turner.
Turner smiled. “He does now.” Turning to Groves, Turner looked sternly at him.
“Now it is your choice, you can be involved and be part of history or you have an accident.” Turner informed Groves.
Groves looked confused. “If you’re threatening me, it’s not working.”
“No threat! You can leave this room now and your Naval Commission will be over and your life and that of everyone you care about or you can stay and join the new world.” Turner said calmly.
Jenkins remained silent.
“You allowed the infected on this ship. With one word from me, I can have the Albion destroyed!” Turner told Groves.
Groves reached out to Jack’s file, looking at the blacked-out pages.
“Tell me!” Groves replied to Turner.
Turner smiled, Jenkins closed her eyes and shook her head.
“Go on Captain Jenkins, this is your party!” Turner urged Jenkins.
Jenkins rubbed her face and remained silent for a moment. She licked her lips and began to talk.
“Jack Mason…” she chuckled.
“Jack is beyond anyone you know. He was Special Forces, before most soldiers can even wipe their own asses. The file in front of you is full of special operations. He was a part of what the British Government would never want to be revealed.”