The Blood of the Infected (Book 1): Once Bitten, Twice Die

by Antony Stanton

  Denny now turned to the other three soldiers with a frown. “So does one of you want to talk us through your experience, from when you left the other vehicle behind?” He could still not keep the tone of disapproval from his voice. As Bannister started to relay his version of events, Collins held her head in her hands and started to sob.

  “We arrived at the petrol station. Everything seemed to be okay so we started preparing to get the fuel. Collins and Cujo were on guard and Samuels was unloading the drums. I was preparing the pump when Samuels let a drum slip out of his hands.” He scowled accusingly at the man who looked crestfallen. “It made an almighty racket, then Cujo started going loco and the diseased appeared nearby and attacked us. We got back into the Landy at first but there was some confusion. Cujo managed to get out and attacked the crazies that had already gathered around us. I tell you, they came out of nowhere and they were fast; really fast.

  “Then it all happened so quickly. Collins went after Cujo and got into a spot of bother so I dragged her into the petrol station. Samuels followed but managed to knock himself out in the process.”

  Lewis noticed another contemptuous glare at the young soldier. For some reason Bannister seemed overly irritable and was giving the man a hard time which was quite unnecessary in the circumstances. They had all been through enough already. Lewis made a mental note to close a keen eye on Bannister.

  “We managed to barricade the door,” Bannister continued, “but the lurchers had gathered outside and there were loads of them. I mean, I don’t know exactly how many but maybe fifteen, maybe more. They started to break into the shop and we really thought we were goners. We shot a couple but if they had got in that would have been it - game over. We just didn’t have enough ammunition.”

  “And then?” Lewis tried to keep him focussed on the facts and move the story along.

  “Then these two people just plunged right into the middle of the crowd. I guess they must have been on the forecourt’s awning above, watching it all happen. They just swooped right down into the middle of it all and started ripping them up.”

  “With what?” Lewis asked. “Guns? Knives?”

  “No sir - with their bare hands. They just punched, kicked, whatever. They smashed the infected’s heads into the ground; they snapped their necks, whatever it took. And they were fast too, they moved like no one I have ever seen before. Just like Flight Lieutenant Walkden said, they moved like ninjas or something. I’ve never seen anything like it sir, it was pure poetry in motion.”

  In the confines of that room Lewis could detect a real rift starting to form between those who had witnessed the incredible events and those who were struggling to comprehend and believe what they were being told. Tempers were rising.

  “Hang on there a moment,” Straddling was incredulous and it was his turn to interrupt. “Are you saying these two people just appeared right in the middle of a load of festering mutants and killed the lot of them, ten, twenty, however many, with nothing more than their bare hands? No guns, no knives, no initial stun grenade, just their hands?” He stared hard at Bannister without trying to hide his disbelief.

  Bannister glared back at him with some measure of hostility, leant forwards in his chair and spoke more slowly and deliberately now. “Yes Sergeant. That’s exactly what I’m saying. They tore them apart with nothing more than their bare hands.”

  Collins’s eyes were blotchy and her face was red but she spoke now sounding coherent and calm despite everything. “That was exactly it. They really did move with a kind of grace that you normally only see in a dance or a ballet. There really was a poetry to their motion. And yes,” she turned to Straddling, “they killed the lot of them with nothing more than their bare hands. It was phenomenal.”

  Nobody spoke and Bannister scowled defiantly at Straddling and anyone else who would meet his gaze.

  Lewis’s feeling of unease had multiplied. He had the strange feeling of someone who has been told by a respected friend that he has seen a ghost or that aliens have been sighted and he has to try to believe it. He could not help but notice the almost dream-like way that both Bannister and Collins spoke when referring to these two strangers. He discreetly surveyed the others around the table, feeling very isolated at that moment. Handley was leaning over and whispering something to Singleton who looked ashen and shaken herself. Denny’s face was bright red and he was vigourously rubbing his hair, while Straddling just sat grimly shaking his head, with his arms folded angrily on his chest.

  “You’re all crazy or lying, or both,” Straddling grumbled moodily to himself.

  The mood in the room was stifling and once again Lewis tried to calm things down. “Okay, let’s leave that and move on. So after these two people had somehow killed the lot of them, then what?”

  “I… I’m not sure exactly.” Bannister now lost his angry demeanour and became more sullen and sheepish. “Like I said earlier I think I must have been in a state of shock or something. The two people just smashed aside our barricade and I guess the woman kind of bit my neck.”

  “Bit your neck? Like a vampire?” It was Handley’s turn to sound scornful. He gave a muffled snort of disbelief and Straddling stood up suddenly pushing his chair back, and started to pace around the room, mumbling to himself.

  “I don’t know, I guess so. I didn’t really notice her biting me so maybe I just cut myself, I dunno.”

  For the first time Samuels spoke up. He had been sat meekly in one corner, trying to avoid attention, but now cleared his throat. “I may have been unconscious for much of the fight but I came round at the end. I can tell you what happened…” His voice was shaky and uncertain but all eyes fixed decisively on him and Straddling stopped pacing as he continued. “I was lying near the entrance to the shop where I knocked myself out I guess, so I could see it all. These two characters did just push the barricade aside. I mean it had been keeping the entire lot of infected at bay but they just shoved it out of the way as though it was nothing. The man came into the shop and was talking to Collins. He was speaking really quietly and I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but I was distracted by Bannister anyway. He walked out to the woman as though she had summoned him, and she seemed to say something to him. Then she kind of slowly put her arm around the back of his neck, pulled him into her as though she was going to embrace him or something and she bit him. It must have lasted a few seconds. She seemed to be kissing or sucking at his neck where she had bit him, I couldn’t really see. Then the other Landy arrived and they scarpered.”

  This time the hush lasted more than a few seconds. Singleton flashed a glance at Lewis that could have been suspicion or could possibly have been fear, and he felt a chill pass over himself. He shuddered.

  “So let me just get this all straight,” he said, breaking the silence, “these two ninja-like characters jumped into the middle of the infected, killed the lot of them with no weapons, drank your blood like a vampire and then scaled a wall without ropes?”

  Bannister, Samuels and Collins all nodded, all of them looking uncomfortable.

  “This is about as weird as the mystery of Sinna and Rohith’s disappearing bodies. Great - so not content with zombies, we now have vampires too. All we need is Frankenstein for a full house.” Lewis scoffed and gave a laugh although he did not feel remotely amused.

  “Well actually Frankenstein was just a normal man,” Singleton said acerbically. “He was the doctor. It was the monster that he created that you’re probably referring to - Frankenstein’s Monster.” She would normally have relished the opportunity to correct Lewis but this time it sounded hollow and childish.

  “Touché,” he replied and smiled at her in spite of himself, appreciating that he would have made exactly the same type of comment himself. Time to build some bridges, he thought. A release of tension rippled around the room as Lewis also stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. “This is all too weird.”

  Singleton was still more concerned with their appearance. “Can any of
you tell us what these two strangers looked like?”

  Collins looked puzzled, as though trying to recall a pleasant but elusive dream. “It does all feel a little hazy, as Bannister says. I can remember what they were wearing but not really their features, except the eyes. He had these amazingly piercing, hazel-coloured eyes. Really quite extraordinary.”

  Samuels again filled in the gaps. “I got a clear look, at least of the male. He was tall, probably 6’5” or 6’6,” or something like that. He looked sort of Eastern European, with pronounced cheekbones and distinctively shaped eyes, if you know what I mean?” Singleton was nodding enthusiastically, encouraging him to go on. “He looked really kind of sinister and eerie as he was so tall and unusual, but friendly and calming at the same time, if that makes sense? And yes, his eyes were really piercing, a really clear hazel colour, they kind of drilled right through you.” Samuels blushed and became quiet and brooding.

  Denny still felt totally out of his depth which was now manifesting itself as anger. “I just don’t believe this. I can’t believe that you all think they killed a load of infected without weapons. They must have had some that you didn’t see. And then one of them bit you? No, I’m sorry, I don’t buy it.” He carried on mumbling to himself under his breath.

  “Well did they say what they wanted, whom they were, anything at all?” Lewis asked.

  “He said to me that I have nothing to fear from him and that I shouldn’t be afraid,” Collins said somewhat wistfully. “Then the second Landy arrived and they ran away”

  “Look, we call the contaminated ‘zombies’,” Straddling said as he returned to his seat, “but we all know that there is logical explanation for their illness, an explanation that is based on medical fact. There was a cause and there is probably a cure. In reality there is nothing supernatural or fantastical about them, and I am sure the same can be said for the two people whom you saw today. I mean let’s face it - we’re all under a hell of a lot of stress. Collins had just lost her dog, Samuels had just knocked himself unconscious and it’s very possible that you were all experiencing a stress-induced hallucination or something.” He tailed off, seemingly satisfied with his explanation and defiantly waited for comment.

  “Well yes, there are indeed stress-induced hallucinations,” Handley said thoughtfully, “but not hallucinations that are shared by three or even six people, totally independently. That’s just not possible.”

  “So you think it’s more likely that they were saved by vampires?” Straddling sneered.

  “At the moment I don’t know what I think,” Handley answered, “but a shared, group hallucination, induced by stress or anything else for that matter, is totally out of the question. Right now though I’d like to try and deal with the ‘zombie’ situation before we have to face anything else.”

  Singleton latched on to the argument and interrupted. “But as Sergeant Straddling has just said, the illness that these people are suffering from did indeed have a cause and so surely it must have a remedy too.” She left the sentiment hanging. Everyone knew how strongly she believed in finding a cure.

  Denny had been quietly trying to compose himself and now he spoke again with more control. “Yes, I know what you are getting at Anna. You still want us to capture one of the diseased for medical studies, but after the day we’ve just had I think we’ll leave it for the time being. We need to try to stay alive a little longer before we go and expose ourselves and everybody on the base to even greater threat.

  “Look, let’s call it a day. Whoever these people were, it’s without doubt a blessing that they arrived when they did and saved you all. However I don’t think we’re any closer to actually understanding what happened and I don’t think we have quite got to the bottom of this yet. I just can’t quite believe what you have told us, but we should take a break. We will come back to this though, I assure you.” He looked sternly at the six soldiers and then turned to Lewis. “We still need to get more provisions which does unfortunately mean we have to go off base again, but I think we can sort that out later, after dinner tonight or tomorrow.”

  Lewis nodded. He was well aware that when Denny said ‘we have to go off base again’, he was not actually volunteering himself. After his first unnerving experience of leaving the safety of Headley Court he had remained firmly behind locked gates. Lewis said nothing however. In truth he would rather his commanding officer did stay on the station, as he would be too much of a liability to take with them. In reality Lewis had come closer than any of them to the truth when he mentioned the vanishing corpses, but alas nobody had stopped to think about it further.

  They all filed quietly out of the conference room. Singleton put an arm around Collins’s shoulders and spoke to her comfortingly as they walked away. Lewis hovered at the exit, waiting for everyone to leave. Denny still sat in his chair, rocking back and staring out of the window while he tugged at his lower lip, lost in his thoughts. Lewis watched him for a few seconds before speaking.

  “You okay boss?”

  Denny did not hear so Lewis repeated himself. “Boss, are you okay?”

  Denny heard this time and looked up with a frown that turned into a forced smile. “Hi, yes, fine. Why?”

  “Nothing, just…” he searched for the right word, feeling a little uncomfortable, “…just you seem a little strung out, that’s all. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes of course it is.” Denny was visibly irritated.

  “Boss, I don’t mean to pry. We’re all going through the works right now. We’ve got to look out for each other, that’s all.”

  Denny relaxed and smiled again, a little more genuinely this time. “Yes, you’re right. I guess I am pretty tired. It’s been particularly hard of late. Let’s face it, every day is hard right now.”

  “Yes, I know. We’re all suffering. You don’t have to carry the burden for us all by yourself though - we’re in this together. If you want to offload at any time, you can talk to me. Or, I’m sure, to Singleton,” he added reluctantly.

  “Thanks.”

  Lewis turned to go and Denny called out to him. “I mean it Thomas, I appreciate it. Thanks.”

  As Straddling had left the room he cast a furtive glance over his shoulder and then collared Hutchison, drawing him aside and pausing briefly. The two had served together a long time and were close friends.

  “I don’t like it,” he said when they were out of earshot of the others.

  “Huh?” Hutchison turned to face him.

  “It’s all very sloppy. Procedures are not being followed off base and there’s always a good reason for that.” He did not give Hutchison time to reply before continuing. “It comes from the top. If a football team is failing you sack the manager, it’s always top down. Mark my words, this is a sinking ship and personally, I am not going down with it.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying the time may be coming when we make a stand…”

  Collins went back to her room and sat on the bed, immersed in her own grief. After all that had happened she could not bear to be alone in her cell, so she aimlessly wandered out with no real plan or purpose. The corridors of the mess were quiet and sombre, and she soon found herself outside the rooms where Pethard, Wood, and now Bannister were being held. Corporal Bell sat outside looking bored with his sleeves rolled up. A book lay on the floor under his chair and he was slouching back against the wall flicking his cheek to mimic the sound of a dripping tap. When he saw Collins approach he brightened up and flashed her a brief smile that was quickly extinguished when he noticed her demeanour.

  “Really sorry to hear about Cujo,” he mumbled and started to get up out of the chair.

  “Thank you,” she tried to smile in return but it was not forthcoming. News travels fast, she thought, especially bad news. “How are the patients?”

  “Good as gold. Pethard’s been asleep a lot of the time and Wood’s bored and hungry, just like me.”

  “Can I go in?” She gestured towards Wo
od’s room. His immediate reaction was to protest that nobody was allowed in. However, the look on her face and the fact that she seemed to be about to burst into tears quickly persuaded him otherwise. Better to let someone else have to deal with a blubbing girl, he thought.

  “Of course.” He quickly fumbled for the keys and opened the door for her.

  Wood lay on his back on the bed. His shoes were off and his hands were folded behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. As the door opened he leapt up expectantly. He smiled at her but there was sympathy in his eyes. Clearly the update of the day’s events had reached him too. “Hi. I really am so very sorry to hear about Cujo.”

  “Yeah, well at least none of us were killed, it could easily have been so much worse,” she said, trying to put a brave face on it but the tears were already starting up again.

  He was standing on the other side of the room and took half a step towards her. The distance between them seemed an awfully long way and in his reserved manner he did not know how to cross the divide, but somehow he got there and they ended up in front of each other. Gently and timidly he put his hands on her and pulled her in to him in a comforting hug as her shoulders shook, the first proper physical contact they had ever had together. She felt the warmth of his chest and the strength of his arms as he stroked her hair, and she relaxed a little as the tears flowed. There was nothing to say, nothing that would make any of the pain and fear and frustration of the past couple of weeks go away, just the knowledge that they were all in this together, there for each other for better or for worse until death do they part, as it almost certainly would. Gradually her shaking subsided. Gradually she looked up at him into his steady, brown eyes and gradually the comforting hug became a different kind of embrace.

  Bannister was in the room on the other side of Wood. He heard Collins’s voice in the corridor and heard Wood’s door being unlocked. Ordinarily this would have filled him with jealousy as he had developed a soft spot for her, as had several of the soldiers on the base. However on this evening his dark, brooding thoughts were fixed on another. He could not shake the image of that strange woman approaching him, the captivating stare of her beautiful, timeless eyes, the flowery scent of her perfume and the touch of her cool breath on his neck. It really did all feel quite dreamlike but to be honest most of the last couple of weeks had felt surreal. It was as though he had been drunk and could not quite recall with clarity the episode, but at the moment he could think of nothing else. His mind was rumbling away with what felt like the thoughts of someone else, as though another was constantly chatting away in the background, but he could not quite hear what they were saying and it made him both anxious and relaxed. It disturbed him yet he found himself slowly but relentlessly relinquishing control to this unseen other. It was a precipitous slope that he did not even realise he was starting to descend.