Immediate Survivors

by Cenz Barone

  Roy however had no qualms about elaborating so he said “Death squads are what I call them. Well I imagine most people would call them death squads after seeing what those sick bastards are doing to helpless people looking for rescue or help. They are all over the fucking place and at first I thought it was the government culling the population of infected survivors, you know, the quickest vaccine for the virus is a shot to the head. At least it appears to work sometimes. Other times you have to destroy the head and brain entirely. So I figured they are trying to erase the infected but it’s not, it is really not. Those death squads are just regular ordinary folk like you and me. Only difference is those people have gone nuts, free to do whatever they want without any fear about the consequences. So they have no moral compass guiding them because the social judgement and punishment has gone the same way the rest of society has, it has all gone tits up. I suppose it is like in a war, where atrocities are overlooked as part of the situation”.

  “What sort of things do they do?” Baxter naively asked him. As Roy glared at Baxter, finding his tone too innocent for his own good, Baxter felt uncomfortable by the way Roy looked at him, as Roy replied “It’s mainly gangs of young people but that’s just discriminating against the youth and ignoring all the other age groups. It’s a range of people, armed with weapons and convoys of vehicles. To put it bluntly, they are travelling around and not just killing those dead things but targeting those not infected. They are torturing people and killing people who are infected and not infected, in equal measure with no discrimination between each. I have seen teens doing it with them, kids as young as 13 being led by older men who have finally been given supreme power and not tenuous power they would have had in the old world”.

  Roy was speaking like this thing had been going on for years instead of about 1 week which it had been going on for. Roy was amazed by their ignorance as he laughed at their sorrowful facial expressions, eschewed with fear. Roy said “Come on, you have not got that much faith in human nature have you, what do you expect. The leash has been cut and the rabid monsters amongst us are roaming free if you want to use that metaphor”. He then muttered in despair as he picked up the tray once more and took a spoonful of beans as Roy said “Real end of the world shit”.

  There was an extremely long silence, almost disbelief at what they were all hearing. “You are winding us up” said Baxter hopefully but Roy shook his head and with a steely face expression he honestly told him “Nope, I wish I was pal. I have not got enough of an imagination to invent a story like this”. Roy stood up looking at the group as he with concern told them, wiping his mouth of the sauce from eating “You should all know this, it’s not just those things you have to worry about, out here and all over there are other people, not everyone is who they seem”.

  His was tone suspect, but what was he alluding to, it was serious and he then told them some further hardcore truths by adding “Those squads work in teams. They are organised. I have seen those people raping women and murdering people. Even killing kids and robbing people of everything they have and then burning the bodies like they are trash. Those infected dead people, the dead things are slow and in number dangerous but the death squads move fast and like us seem to have some kind of idea about what they are doing”.

  Laura stood up feeling sick as she said “You’re scaring us”. Raising his voice for the first time Roy replied “Because what they are doing is fucking scary little girl. You don’t believe me do you?” he surveyed their face’s, they did believe him but were too shocked to come to terms with considering this possibility. How naive he thought.

  Roy eagerly told them “I will show you where those squads have been, it’s close to here, a small little rural farm house, a nice little place. I'd imagine some wealthy family lived there before this, and thought it would be a grand idea to migrate to the country and live a peaceful pretty existence. Irony huh, they probably would have been safer in the cities, at least at the beginning of this thing, the security forces were more focused there won’t they, big towns and cities. But no worries I don’t think they will be back, at least not to that house. But if you want to see, just say you are curious. I will show you, no wait, better still I have pictures on my phone” he went into his pocket and was giddy almost, when everyone else was horrified, he went into his picture file and handed the phone to Nancy, as he remarked “The signal might be non-existent but thankfully the phone still works huh”. Nancy was quietly surveying the pictures and she did not notice his phone was charged up to 80%. Melissa asked him “Why are you telling us this?”

  Roy looked at Melissa as he confessed “If I just came to an area thinking I was secure, I would like to know what else is happening around me, you know beyond the fact people are infected and the dead are rising, wouldn’t you” relying to them all he was doing them a favour. As Roy added “Besides, you people have a right to know what is out here, You did say you wanted to know what is going on around here didn’t you” nobody had said this in his presence, most caught on he was watching them for some time. As Roy disclosed “I am sorry if you do not like it but it is what it is”.

  As Roy stared around at the camp they made, he continued speaking “Yeah, when I saw you setting up your camp I figured you were...” Kenny interrupted him and asked “You have been spying on us for some time then?” this contradicted what he earlier said about smelling the food, and being attracted to the location. As Roy smirked and said “I was observing you all and trying to figure you out. How do you think I have survived this long alone” the holes in his story they were not really focused on, due to what Roy was sharing with them about the murders.

  Roy stated “I know you’re not one of them, the death squads that is. There is too many girls here, the squads I am talking about tend to be men, occasionally there are girls and women, but it’s very rare. They like to rape you see. You all, especially you females have to be careful, the chances are they will approach you just like I am, try to figure you out and then they will ambush you and before you know it, your tied up, naked and have many of those men naked all around…” Laura raised her voice, her body shaking as she shouted “Shut up, enough, just stop”.

  Roy went quiet as he stared at the rest of the group, the fear mainly on the female’s faces, but Kenny and Baxter were deeply troubled to. Roy looking at Laura told her crudely “You better get use to this kind of thing sweetheart. Just because you close your eyes does not mean the bad people will go away. Me telling you this will make you far more alert, so you should be thanking me” again his tone bizarre and so was his rationale but Nancy was still skimming through the horrific pictures, she was troubled by the scene and said “Roy Why..” her voice breaking as she went on “Why did you take these pictures, for what purpose?”. Roy shrugged his shoulders and answered “For the police, I was hoping to give them the evidence of the crimes committed by those sick fucks. To tell you the truth I just wanted to do something because I could not stop it. I don’t think that’s going to happen now. I thought I would take the pictures, of the victims and the perpetrators in the act, then at least there is evidence, just there is no police, no army units, no government and no authority. Not like there was in the beginning, I mean in the first few days I saw helicopters and planes flying overhead, now nothing, not so much. It is like everyone disappeared”

  Roy reflecting on his experiences, he was speaking dazed, showcasing he had been through some tough situations, as he said “I realised the reason those people are doing these things is because there is no authority, and likely to never be anyone for me to give these pictures to, let alone a witness statement”. All seemed to feel a little more understanding of Roy and his rationale, a scared frightened man living alone out in the woods and trying his best to survive alone, whilst being conscious of the dead things but also the non-infected carrying out such atrocities.

  With their attention heightened, albeit it being speechless before Roy’s words Nancy said, worrying about the group she was
with losing heart, and descending into panic, she knew the key to her survival as it was for everyone with her, was to work together and so she shared “Listen, all of you I am still a policewoman, and I can tell you all soon the authorities will take control of the streets, it is not lost and people like these murderers will be punished”. Her words were so unbelievable, that everyone thought it was patronising for her to say but she was trying to reassert some kind of control as she added assertively, repeating herself and making her tone laced with far more conviction “The authorities will take back control of the country, and sick fuckers like this will be behind bars where they belong”.

  Roy just asked her flippantly “Is that why you are sitting here away from your police station and police mates” his facial expression showing his doubt in all she said. Elise put out her hand to Nancy “I want to see” Nancy shook her head and answered “You don’t want to see”. Elise annoyed approached her and repeated “I want to see”. Nancy did not want to expose anyone else to the horrific pictures so falling back on what would have worked before she added “It is police evidence” Elise frustrated snatched the phone and stated “Bullshit”. Nancy did not bother saying anything else, as Roy walked a few paces studying all the materials the group had brought out from their camper van and the 4x4.

  Roy then stared out to the lake and casually spoke “It is smart you took fishing rods. There is plenty of fish in the lakes, the downs are full of them, rivers and lakes and all sorts of natural ways to get food. I have been living off the land mainly by picking berries and vegetables. Most of the meat I get comes from fishing. Sadly I have not captured any land animals yet, good thing I got peaches and meat in tins right. It’s safer than going into the village too often, but what I would not give for a good few pints in a pub” he jokingly said “All drinks are on the house” he added and turned to look at them, again nobody laughed or found him funny. Cherie asked calmly, trying to contain her nerves “Those squads, when did you last see them”.

  He paused, thinking things over in his head and replied “Oh, I do not know, 4 or 5 days. I know it is silly to not know but truthfully I have lost track of the days and time you know. The death squads, they are different groups all the time, for instance, the village of Jellicoe, did you pass it by any chance?” nobody responded as nobody knew the area well enough to be sure. Roy knew this and expertly went on “Well that’s where I first saw them. The death squads that is, they are attracted very much like those things are to where there is people, but they are attracted to booty and robbing also. And I have seen them passing along the roads, sometimes I see fleeing people with genuine reasons like you eager to get to some place safe. Not wanting trouble or confrontation. Other times there is the odd car with drunks or people high no doubt, once I stumbled across a recent car accident, inside were four people, looked like choirboys, but all around them were empty beer cans and all kinds of wacky drugs, what could you say huh, even Mary Sunshine goes all kooky in this kind of climate. By far the best thing I have seen is a cyclist one afternoon, just randomly cycling down the B640 and he looked at me like I was the weirdo, don’t worry though about them coming up here, those people would be scared of the woods at least I think. Most of them strike me as city folk you know, bushes to them are trees in the middle of the concrete jungle of the city, but you yourselves are city folk and look where you ended up so who knows, ah do not worry about it”.

  Everything Roy just said did not answer Cherie’s question but was so full of contradictions and was incoherent to a point nobody could understand his attitude. Melissa focusing still on the worry, because Roy had put fear into them all, Melissa remarked “How can we not worry after what you are telling us” Melissa then decried “I don’t want to get raped or murdered. I just want to go home and see my family”. Heartlessly but realistically Roy replied “It’s better me telling you this than you finding out some other way like encountering them. As for those people out here, they are never out here I already told you. You picked a perfect spot in the downs. We are located in the valley floor and have plenty of escape routes, those dead things and death squads stay out of the sticks, at least not coming in this far, I mean it is a huge area after all”. Probingly he asked them all “So are you planning on staying put for a while huh”.

  “We have that in mind” Kenny replied defensively, he was finding Roy a complicated character, and found his manner strange, it moved from helpful to gleeful. Roy happily proclaimed “Well it’s great to have company down here, there are a few other groups of people in the surrounding areas quite far from here though and I have introduced myself to them to. They have been here longer than you. So many people have been lasting here with no issue” this was another red flag as Roy had said originally the group was the first he had seen in these parts of the woods since it began but now there was more. As Baxter said “I thought you said we were the first in this part” Roy went quiet, his eyes moving around as he laughed and answered “Yeah in this part, like I said the downs are vast”. None of it made sense but they had pressing issues at hand, so Nancy wanting to know for sure said “And there has been no bother for those other survivors”.

  Roy remarked with indifference “Nothing, not a hoot, no psycho people, living or dead. Like I said to you before, those types of people tend to be attracted to cities, towns and villages for different reasons. The squads will only stay in villages, the road you used to get here is off road and it leads nowhere on a map, which is why you chose it right”. Nancy affirmed this with a nod. Roy stroked his thick facial hair and laughed at them all as he said “Cheer up kids. I am sure you have seen and heard worse things wherever the hell you people have come from”. Roy then said “Hey you” he addressed Kenny “Come with me, I will show you the best spot to catch fish”. Kenny was hesitant at first and then he nodded and went to the fishing rods, Cherie stepped forward “I will come to” this took Kenny back but Laura looked at him and in her eyes she made it clear she would take no for an answer, Cherie who had been mostly quiet did not trust Roy and did not want Kenny to go alone with him, she picked up her machine gun and made sure Roy knew she had it, as Roy laughed “Great, anyone else want to go?” nobody volunteered. Cherie felt still thankful for Kenny for saving her back at the rescue station and so they went.

  Nancy now looked around at the rest of the group, all were quiet as Elise was still flicking through the images, but then Roy before he left realised he didn’t have his phone, he approached her “Excuse me, can I have my phone”. Elise with tears in her eyes handed it back to him. Nancy now watched Cherie, Kenny and Roy head to the lake. It was sobering to hear what had just been exposed to them by Roy, so Nancy decided to get on the front foot as she told the group “We have to secure the area” she looked around the area and said to them “We will need to cover up any access to this place, any footpaths we must cover it up with foliage, if need be cut up the trees” Baxter complained “With what?” Nancy gritted her teeth and was frustrated but not at Baxter just the situation as she said “We will improvise. Come on, this is the most important job today”. Elise with worry said “But we will still stay here after learning what he told us?” Nancy turned to her and with dismay responded wearily “Elise, no matter where we go it is going to be the same, at least here we are hidden and out of the way, nothing has changed. We just need to be extra vigilant. Now let’s go to work”.

  Stubbornly Laura said with her arms folded “I don’t trust him” referring to Roy as Nancy could understand Laura’s perspective because Nancy had doubts but again realistically she confessed “Neither do I, but Roy is like us, he is caught up in this and scared and trying to keep safe. But right now he knows this area and is offering to help us. He has not asked for anything in return, he did not have to approach us and warn us about what is happening around these parts. His information Laura is invaluable because I don’t know this terrain at all. We are all tense and tired I get it, so please just adjust to the situation. There is nothing more I can do
or say” Nancy could not exactly threaten Roy to leave even though they had better weapons than he did, especially when she considered Roy knew where they were and she was going by her instincts and any distrust she had to do with Roy and his story, if it did not make sense or was mixed up at points she put down to how tired and hungry he was. This entire situation she blamed it on, and the way the outbreak had progressed. And thus Nancy organised the group as they set up securing the perimeter as best as they could with natural barricades and defences by pushing outwards from the camps centre.

  Chapter 31 - Campfire Tales

  Throughout the day Roy, Cherie and Kenny had been fishing and caught quite a lot, Roy was slowly ingratiating himself into the group. The fish brought back to the rest of the group, impressed the others. Yet work went on and everyone pitched in, with Kenny and Cherie rejoining the others in securing the further perimeter. Roy was truly like Nancy had said, he was invaluable with the advice offered and his skills with his hands assisted in where to cover up paths and how far out to go. They worked into the afternoon and into the evening, with everyone exhausted by the end, it came to such a point that Roy’s presence instilled some degree of confidence in how he was telling them how remote this was and how inhabitable the area was in the respect it could only be found by those looking for it, that they picked a perfect spot, he dropped that line a lot of the time. And he kept reiterating the point. At the present time though, everyone was once more around a fresh fire in the night, evening had once more come, and all had ate, Roy over the moon with the food the group had and he was determined he was going to repay it with the fish he had helped them catch. Roy explained more about what to eat in the woodlands, what was safe and good or toxic and dangerous.