Aftermath: The complete collection

by John Wilkinson

  ‘Matthew, is that you?’

  ‘Who’s that? I cannot see you.’

  ‘It’s Nathan, Tony Driver’s son.’

  ‘Nathan, what’s going on?’

  ‘Put your weapon down Matthew, we are friendly.’

  ‘Lower your rifles’ Sergeant Davis said to his men, as the they dropped them to their sides. I walked up to Matthew and we hugged, before he invited us into his house. Only Sergeant Davis and myself went in, as the others continued to burn the bodies in the fields. Matthew told us there would be more corpses on this approach to the farm, coming from the south, as it’s the direction he believed the disease was spreading. Many of the locals had been containing it, and protecting their own properties.

  ‘I’m so happy you are OK Nathan’ said Matthew, putting his shotgun by the side of his front door as he walked through.

  ‘It’s OK Kate, it’s Nathan, Tony’s boy. Do you know how your mother and father are? We’ve been worried about them, there’s something odd going on at your place.’

  ‘No I haven’t seen them since the morning of the attack.’

  ‘Oh I’m sorry Nathan, I didn’t realise. What about your daughter-er-’

  ‘Emma.’

  ‘Yeah sorry Emma. Tell me she is safe.’

  ‘I’ve got her, she’s at the camp.’

  ‘Oh thank the Lord.’

  At that moment, Kate climbed out of the cellar, and came straight over to give me a hug. I don’t think I had ever had a hug from either of them before, it’s strange what brings people together.

  ‘It’s so good to see you Nathan, we were so worried about you and your family.’

  ‘I’m fine thanks Kate, it’s good to see you’re OK.’

  ‘So you have no news on Tony and Patricia? We were ever so worried about them, I saw Tony leaving in his car on the morning of the attack, shortly before we descended into the cellar. But we never saw him again.’

  The rest of Blue and White Company came in through the front door, much to the surprise of Kate. I introduced them all to Matthew and Kate, who offered us a home cooked meal and the barn for the night, so long as the men took their dirty boots off at the door. Murphy and Sergeant Davis went back to the Viking, and brought it onto the farm, putting it in the unused barn we would sleep in. While Kate made us all some hot dinner, Matthew told us how they’d avoided Torriero’s men, using the farms underground tunnels, a maze when you don’t know where you are going. His men had only visited the farm once, and Kate had escaped into the countryside, using the very tunnels I would play in when I was a child. My dad would’ve killed me if he knew I’d been in them, he always said they were dangerous, and could collapse at any moment. It was lovely to see some familiar faces, and they made us feel welcome. We all ate well, and headed to the barn for some shut eye. As I wrote my diary, Sergeant Davis called me up to the higher floor of the barn, where he was studying the map and making notes. He told me to go over to the window, and have a look out over the countryside at the fires lighting up the darkness. For as far as I could see, the horizon was covered with little fires burning, the kuru operation was well underway.

  4/12/27 time 19:30

  Nothing better first thing in the morning, than a fresh home cooked farm breakfast, particularly when you’ve a strenuous day ahead. That’s precisely what was waiting for us when we woke up, and made our way over to the farmhouse. We had a laugh to ourselves, at how the other companies would be waking up in their Viking, with aches and pains, tucking into their cardboard breakfast, as we enjoyed fresh sausage, bacon and toast, the beauty of a working farm. The mood was high, ready for whatever the day brought. Over breakfast, Sergeant Davis showed us the plan for today’s objectives, it looked like a busy day ahead. We thanked Matthew and Kate for their hospitality, and promised we would be back tonight. Murphy had brought the vehicle around to the front, we all climbed aboard as Sergeant Davis opened the gate at the edge of the drive. It was easier to paint a picture of The Buchanan Family Farm in the early morning gloom, than when we arrived last night. It was much the same as my farm, but for a thatched roof, and darker brown stone walls. We left the property, and drove a few miles towards Easter Howgate, where we pulled over in a parking layby. I had a rough idea where I had seen the camp, and we would start our search at the most northerly point of the forest, and work our way towards it. We got our kit on, and headed into the forest via a public footpath, trying to remain as silent as possible. The weather was cold but dry, and remained like that for a few hours. We spotted our first suspects after around twenty minutes in the woods, three men stumbling through the undergrowth towards us. Sergeant Davis ordered us to stop, and we waited until they were yards away. He then identified them as kuru, and we took them out. Rhino burned them, and we continued towards the camp. This pattern continued for the first hour, as we mopped up any strays we discovered, burning all traces of them and moving forward. The trees and woodland restricted any light, making visibility difficult, but fortunately kuru sufferers were clumsy and noisy. It became apparent we were approaching the camp, as the noise levels started to increase, and it loomed out of the fog, its size surprising everyone. Sergeant Davis took his binoculars out of his rucksack, and moved a little closer. ‘There’s a lot of them’ he said, when he got back. ‘Too many for us to confirm as infected.’

  ‘If they are all eating human flesh’ said Little D, ‘Then they deserve the same fate.’

  ‘It’s not that simple little bro, there’s an area towards the centre that looks restricted, the men around there do not bare the hallmarks of kuru. We have protocols to follow, and we need to make sure we are not putting ourselves in danger. We don’t know what’s going on inside the camp, or to what level they’re a danger. I could see definite sufferers of kuru, I’m confident of that, but there were others I’m not sure about.’

  ‘I agree with Little D’ said Murphy, ‘We need to move in quickly and take them out. They are all doing it, the disgusting fuckers.’

  ‘I need eyes in the camp’ said Sergeant Davis. ‘Before I make any decisions.’

  Sergeant Davis walked over to Murphy, and turned him around to get to the two way radio, that was on his rucksack. He put a call out for any other companies, who might be close. After half an hour of waiting, we had three. Sergeant Davis organised how to move forward, with the other sergeants, and then came back.

  ‘This is the plan’ he said, unfolding the map and laying on the floor. ‘I have organised for Clarets, Tangerines, and Latics Company to provide support from here, here and here’ he said, pointing at each position as he talked. ‘I need confirmation from within the camp that they’re all legitimate targets before we take them out, so I’m going to walk into the camp, and play it as it comes.’

  ‘I’m the best person to go in’ I interrupted. ‘I have the most knowledge about this disease up close, you need to be organising the offensive.’

  ‘This is it’ laughed Keane. ‘You’re going to get yourself killed, just as I’m starting to like you a bit.’

  I smiled at him, as Sergeant Davis walked away from the group, and I followed him, to keep up the pressure.

  ‘You know I’m right’ I said, looking him in the eye.

  ‘I don’t know you’re right’ he replied, clearly struggling for a way forward. He was silent, in thought for a few seconds before continuing.‘Ok Driver, but you do what I say, when I say it.’

  As we waited for the other companies to position themselves, it started to rain. Gentle at first, just the odd droplet finding its way through the leafless trees, but it soon picked up to a shower. It seemed to rain for an age, causing further movement in the camp, and making the conditions that little bit more difficult. The radio crackled with the news positions had been taken, I nervously checked my weapon, as I waited for my orders. I wanted to do this though, I needed to look
these people in the eye, see what kind of men they were, check for any sign of humanity still remaining.

  ‘Are you ready for this?’ Sergeant Davis asked, noticing my hands shaking.

  ‘Yeah I think so.’

  ‘Everyone is now in place, if this should go wrong, we’ll be in there within seconds to get you out. We have encircled the whole camp, and will enter on your signal. I want clarification of what is going on in the camp, are they all involved? Do not take any risks, if you feel you are in danger, get yourself out of there.’

  He showed me the sign, which was to be used if I was in trouble, a sign for all companies to go in. I should hold my hand above my head, in a fist, and pump it up and down. ‘This is the signal for attack, if I see it, I will send everyone in.’

  ‘Ok.’

  ‘You ready for this?’

  ‘Let’s do it.’

  We walked back to the group, who were focused and ready, it was time to see if I really was army material.

  ‘Go in without your rifle’ said Sergeant Davis, taking it off me. ‘You don’t want to set alarm bells ringing with any who are compos mentis. Just take your Welrod, and this Glock’ he added, as he handed me his handgun. I put the safety on and hid them in my pockets, one in the left and one in the right. As I walked past him, he grabbed my shoulders with his hands in a firm grip, and then let go. I turned to face him, and with a look and nod, told him I was ready.

  ‘Move out,’ said Sergeant Davis, as Blue and White Company spread out like a fan behind me, silently caressing the ground. I looked straight ahead at the camp, still seventy yards away, and slowly made my way towards it. I concentrated on my breathing, and told myself to stay calm. It was still raining, but I couldn’t feel it anymore, I concentrated on the camp, all the time searching, identifying targets, making a mental picture in my head of where everything was. The camp was completely open, no entrance, or restrictions, no guards or security. I walked straight in, and made a bee line for the area in the centre, that was highly populated. It was muddy, with dead bodies lying in the walk ways. I had to step over some, avoiding the rubbish and mess everywhere. One man started climbing to his feet, blocking my passage, so I had to wait as he stumbled and fumbled around on the floor. ‘Oh sorry man, I didn’t see you there’ he spluttered, as I past him. I noticed I was getting a few inquisitive looks from people further in the camp, so I headed straight for them. I made sure to take my time, looking around for any signs of cannibalism, but the amount of shit everywhere was making it hard to identify anything. There was an area of the camp that had been closed off, with large sheets of tarpaulin hanging from the trees, hiding something. A large group of men were surrounding the entrance, a few broke away and started walking towards me. I put my hands in my pockets, and clasped my handguns, making sure they were ready. There was the odd piece of furniture in the camp, mainly settees and sofas, wet and muddy. Many were covered with the half naked bodies. I couldn’t tell if they were dead or not, so I approached one to investigate. I lifted his arm, that was touching the muddy floor. To my surprise, he moved his head and tried to speak to me. ‘Are you OK?’ I asked, kneeling down by his side to get a better look at him. His breath stunk of alcohol, and he couldn’t communicate properly. He just put his head back down, making noises I couldn’t make sense of. Looking around the camp, there must have been hundreds of bodies in this state, all looking ill or something more sinister. I stood up as I was approached by a group of men, who surrounded me, blocking my path. They weren’t threatening, but I wasn’t comfortable. One man spoke as the others stayed in the background. He was a dirty looking man, with multiple watches on his left arm, which struck me as odd. I could see what looked like blood stains on his cuffs, and other dirt and filth covering his clothes.

  ‘Can I help you?’ He asked, smiling with a collection of blackened teeth.

  ‘Yeah, I’m just a bit lost and looking for some help.’

  ‘What kind of help?’

  ‘Some food maybe, I haven’t eaten for a few days.’

  ‘You look well fed to me, what uniform is that you’re wearing?’

  ‘It’s just a combat uniform, the army gave it me when they cleared my town. What’s wrong with all these people, lying around your camp?’

  ‘Nothing really, they’re all ill, we are trying to help them.’

  ‘Help them how?’

  ‘We cannot help you, I think I’m going to have to ask you to leave.’

  ‘Why? I only wanted some help.’

  I started to walk towards the restricted area, but they stood in my way.

  ‘I’m going to have to ask you to go back the way you came.’

  ‘Can I not go this way? I’m heading towards Penicuik’ I said, pointing past the area that was blocked off. Their mood suddenly changed, they became hostile, pushing me around and trying to get hold of me.

  ‘Hey, get your fucking hands off me’ I said, trying to remain on my feet.

  ‘You are not welcome in this camp’ he shouted, trying to put his hand around my neck. I forced him off me and removed both guns from my pockets, pointing them at him. A man to my right moved a step closer to me, and I redirected one gun at him. ‘Don’t be fucking stupid’ I said, glancing at him. ‘I want to know what’s going on behind that cover’ I said, nodding in its direction. The men backed away, and I followed, keeping my guns trained on them, but moving targets sporadically. The situation drew interest from more of their men, who started to gather around me, penning me in. I didn’t like it, I was losing control of the situation, and I didn’t know if Sergeant Davis had a view of what was happening. As we got to the tarpaulin, I told the man in front of me to open it, he turned and grabbed it with his left hand. I sensed movement behind me, and turned to find a man running at me with a hammer. I moved my gun towards him, but before I could get a shot off, a bullet tore through his neck, sending him crashing to the muddy floor, and a spray of blood across my face. Then all hell broke loose, someone picked up the hammer, so I shot him through the chest as more shots rang out, and bodies fell to the floor around me. I shot the man nearest to me through the head as he ran towards me, and he fell to the floor dead. Another grabbed me from behind, with his arm across my neck. I struggled with him as another approached from the front. I lifted my gun and shot him though the face and his left shoulder, he fell to the floor screaming. I elbowed the man behind me in the stomach three times, causing him to reel backwards, giving me just enough time to shoot him through the head. I got hit around the head with something and fell to my knees, still reeling from the blow as my senses tried to recover. I looked around and could see the army, moving through the camp, as more bodies fell. A muddy foot came hurtling towards my face, I managed to block it with my arm as the top of his head exploded. I got back to my feet and took aim at someone running, hitting him in the chest, as he stumbled to the floor screaming. ‘You OK?’ Shouted Sergeant Davis, as he grabbed hold of me and shook me.

  ‘Yeah I’m fine.’

  He left me to recover, as he secured the area.

  Keane, the company medic, started work on one of the men still alive, as I wiped the blood off my face with my sleeve.

  ‘You did well’ said Little D, clearly still pumped with adrenaline. ‘They went for you. Keane took out the guy with the hammer with one bullet, straight through his neck, beautiful shot.’

  I nodded at Keane, who reciprocated.

  ‘Some of the men were unarmed’ I said. ‘We don’t know what they were doing and they’re all dead now.’

  ‘They were going to kill you Nathan, make no mistake’ said Sergeant Davis, rejoining his team after securing the area. ‘Let’s see what they were doing.’ He walked over to the tarpaulin, moved it to the side and looked inside. He put his hand over his mouth and nose, but never said a word. I walked beside him, the smell emanating from the room was ho
rrific, I had to stop myself from vomiting, and turned away. I went into my rucksack, removing a spare shirt, and wrapped it around my nose and mouth and continued into the restricted area. There were three large tables with walkways between them, three large buckets by each table, and other rubbish littering the floor. The middle table housed a multitude of instruments, knives, cleavers, a hammer and a couple of heavy duty saws. The other two tables had bodies strapped down, the first was naked, but untouched. I checked the pulse, but they were dead. The second body was a different story, or what was left of it. The torso had been stripped of any skin, with just the ribs remaining. Any internal organs had been thrown in the buckets by the side of the table, along with any other parts deemed waste including the head, feet, and hands. The smell was coming from the buckets, where maggots had found a home and flies were feeding. We came out of the tent, and took a moment to recover our composure, the company could tell from our faces, what we’d discovered was not good. We moved to the next area, restricted by another tarpaulin cover, and opened to look inside. There was a large square hole, dug out of the wet ground. It was about five metres squared, but I couldn’t see the bottom, it was full of blood, guts and bones.