The Northern Slayer

by A. L Crawford

  “Shush, can you hear that?” Barks David.

  “Hear what?” Asks the frustrated Jill.

  “The pair of you just shut up and open your ears!”

  I forwarded my ears towards the sky, in suit of an inquisitive David, “Is that an engine sound?”

  “It sure is, quick to the roof!”

  “OMG it could be them!” Jill cried as she sprinted up the lander alongside the others.

  “It’s a fucking chopper!” I Blared.

  “It’s them, it’s got to be!” Jill screamed.

  “Wait, that’s no civilian chopper that’s an RAF transport chopper! Is that smoke coming from it?”

  “Your right, is it possible they could have gotten a hold of an army chopper?” I said.

  “I highly doubt it, only army personnel have access to such machines. I hate to say it, but that’s not them but whoever it is, look as if they’re in trouble.”

  “My god, what was that!” Jill wailed upon the deafening bang, the choppers deifying propeller shot off, the chopper now well beyond our heads seems to be coming down fast in the direction of the hills!

  “Shit, they’re going down in the same bloody place as us to the looks of it!”

  “Peter, that’s a transport chopper. There’s going to be people on board, troops and equipment. We can’t leave them, if they somehow survive the impact we’ve got to go to their aid!”

  “Your right!”

  The falling chopper, now out of sight seemed to have crashed head first into the distant hills; black smoke appears from a far!”

  “What about Martin?”

  David shouts, “That chopper may have survivors but not for long, soon enough they’ll have a swarm of flesh eaters on them sharpish, we can’t leave them. When we get back we’ll head out to the airfield but in the mean time we need to go and you need to stay here Jill!”

  “But..” Jill is cut off before able to string a sentence together.

  “This isn’t a debate, David let’s take the car as close to the crash site as we can. Then we’ll have to make the remaining of the way via foot!”

  “Okay, I’m just going to rush in for the walkie talkies beforehand, they may come in use!

  “Sounds like a plan, right let’s do this, Jill you go down first and get the gate, be ready to open it on our command!”

  Chapter: 30

  The burnt out pilot, thirty one years of age with black short hair, regular build, lays arched forward towards the caved in nose, belt keeping him upright. He hangs their hands shaking, ribs broken, dazed eyes creak open as the nose inhales the surrounding thick blackened cloud. He coughs upon the clog, clearing the airways. Eyes now open, pain strikes across his upper chest, lungs on fire and head pounding. He clenches his chest, voice quakes, “Is everybody okay back there...?”

  “Alex you’re alive! Are you hurt?”

  Alex recognised the voice on the offset, it was of Janice Brown. Janice is over five foot nine in height, twenty eight years of age, slim build, red hair, pale complexion with tattooed filled sleeves on each arm leading onto her collarbone.

  Alex Banks and she met on tour, Janice was one of the camp medic’s and they became friends almost instantly after he went in to get his leg checked out a few years back in 2020. After experiencing a bout of muscle spasms, his wit and positive personality combined with her fiery humour made the perfect recipe of friendship.

  They hit it off and always kept in touch after their tour, via the odd check in text every so often. But then their paths collided once more due to the unforeseen outbreak, they were stationed together once again after all of those years.

  A badly broken Alex splutters, “You could say that, I think I’ve broken my ribs! It’s hard to tell but every time I breathe inwards, my chest turns to flames! The pain is something else.”

  “I’ll be right with you Alex; you’re going to be okay!”

  “What’s happening back there, how’s everyone else?”

  “Not good!”

  “Janice, are you okay?”

  “Unless from the odd bruise and cut I’m okay, Claire, Spencer, Josh and Paul didn’t make it!”

  “Fuck!” Pours Alex.

  “You can’t blame yourself, if it had been a different pilot flying we’d all be dead I’m sure!”

  “So much for Fort Hill hey! If only those bastards a few miles back didn’t start firing on us we would have made it!”

  “Whoever it was, I hope karma hits them right in the bloody face!”

  “You’ve got that right! How are the others?”

  “Lanky Bill is outside on guard even though his suffering from a broken arm, he’s got Liz keeping him company as I tend to Derricks Broken Leg. Once I’m done ill come to you!”

  “Have the others been taken care of?”

  Private Derrick Lant, blond hair, strong build and thirty five years of age. Speaks aloud on the enquiry despite the agonising leg, “ Bill and I tuck care of them, no way would they ever want to come back as one of those things, I swear Alex once I’m better ill hunt those responsible down and butcher them for what they’ve did!”

  “Hold still Derrick! I’m almost done fitting the support!”

  He bursts to tears, emotion leaks from his deep hazel nut windows, “Spence was my boy! Now he’s dead they all are, we just made it out of one shit hole, just to bloody crash land thanks to those arseholes miles back in the middle of nowhere. What are the bloody chances?”

  Alex blurts, “I know you’re pissed, we all are! Spencer was a good man, one of the best. We all know how close you guys were! But we need to keep our cool if we want to make it out of this.”

  “Alex without numbers we’re buggered mate.”

  Janice responds, “No we’re not, we’ll make it out of here you’ll see; besides we’ve got enough supplies to last us weeks, including enough ammo to take out a small army! We just need to make our way down from these hills, find somewhere to hold out till everyone’s healed up then we’ll find some vehicle’s and make our way to Fort Hill!”

  “Who put you in charge? Aw bugger, now that Spence is gone that leaves bloody lanky Bill next in line…We’re fucked!”

  “Lay off Derrick, look around! The world has gone to shit it isn’t all about ranks anymore, it’s about survival. I think the Doc has the best solution, you and I both are well and truly battered my friend and we wouldn’t get far with these wounds you know it!”

  Janice answers, “Derrick you aren’t walking anywhere far with this leg no matter how well the support is, you may need a stretcher!”

  “FUCK!”

  “Derrick calm down, we aren’t your enemy here, apologise to Janice.”

  “Alex please stop…”

  “What?”

  Derrick responds, “No he’s right, I shouldn’t have snapped at you, I’m just upset about spencer and the others that’s all.”

  “It’s okay the main thing is we still have each other, now let’s now fall apart okay, we’re still a team no matter what!”

  “You’re right!” Barks Derrick.

  “Right that’s it, your all done, are you going to be able to crawl out of this thing okay or would you like me to give Bill a shout and have him attempt to drag you out via your underarms?”

  “I can handle it; just see to Alex up there.”

  “Derrick, I’m sorry!” Says Alex.

  “It’s okay Alex, Janice just leave me honestly I’ll be okay just help him!”

  “Okay but if you need me just shout!”

  Chapter: 31

  “Yeah, you were right they’re broken alright, I’m counting at least three. You may also have multiple fractures, but in honesty you’re lucky to be alive, we all are after that semi nose dive!”

  “It was the only way I could get us to stop otherwise we would have just glided into that river ahead, things would have been a lot worse!”

  “I agree, right Alex not to scare you but you’ve got three lacerations on your right thigh and
one more across the lower part. Can you feel that?”

  Janice pressed hard against the lower wound, Alex blared a deafening roar, “Why did you do that for?”

  “Just to make sure you still have feelings there, it’s a good sign. Once I’ve made quick work of the open wounds ill see about releasing that seatbelt!”

  A few moments passed, Janice says, “That’s it, the bleedings has stopped. That bandaged I’ve placed around your chest will help ease the pain slightly combined with the shot of morphine I just jabbed you with!”

  “I knew I felt something sharp!”

  “Right, when I release the belt you’re obviously going to ping forward, so I’m going to lay in front and cushion your fall from the broken glass okay. This is not ideal but considering the circumstances I think we’re out of options. Next step is to get you the hell out of this chopper and away from the emitting heat and smoke, I don’t think she’s got much left in her before she goes boom!”

  “I agree, we better hurry and get as far away from this thing as possible before it goes up!”

  Janice lies across the broken glass taking the blunt end of it all, like a true medic she puts her patients first well before her own well-being.

  “Are you sure about this Janice?”

  “Just unclick the damn belt already!”

  ‘Click’ the disgruntled Alex comes tumbling forward smashing hard against the pillow.

  “Argh!”

  “Dammit are you okay?”

  Janice responded, “I will when you get the hell off me!”

  “Sorry!”

  The patched up Alex, painfully lifts himself away placing himself into a seated position. Just giving her enough space to unspun herself from the pointy glass, shards now live amongst her flesh.

  “That hurt a lot more than what I thought it would!”

  “I hope I’ve not left any prolonged damage?”

  “No, don’t be silly, I may need you to pluck out the shards in my back later though!”

  “Shit, I’m so sorry Janice!”

  “Don’t worry, what’s your pain level at out of ten?”

  “I’d put it at a 5!”

  That’s good; the morphine will be kicking in, do you think you’ll be able to walk?”

  “Maybe just, but I wouldn’t like to say for certain!”

  “I hope so just I don’t think we’ve got much time left!”

  “Will you help me crawl out?”

  “I’ll do my best!”

  Chapter: 32

  “Bill! You grab Derrick and that bloody pile of ammunition and weaponry on that stretcher of his!”

  “Are you sure?”

  Responded lanky Bill, who’s over 6 foot 4 in height, slightly bald, thirty six years of age, corporal in rank, not the brightest but he had the kindest of hearts.

  “Of course she’s sure, do you honestly think us two can carry all of that and Derrick? Besides, she’s helping Alex!”

  “I’ve got a bloody broken arm if you haven’t noticed!”

  “Then tie rope around your end and place it around your chest, you go in front and drag whilst I follow up on your rear!”

  Reply’s private Liz Parks, who’s five foot eight in height and of strong build with short black hair that’s shoulder length.

  “You’re right, that’ll work!”

  Janice barks, “We seriously need to get out of here and fast, that thing is emitting flames.”

  The group stumble a mile down from their previous location, the background smoke increases in thickness.

  Derrick asks, “Now what Bill?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean where to? Now that Spencer’s gone you’re officially in charge!”

  “I don’t know, I guess we just keep heading this way till we find shelter I suppose.”

  Derrick mutters, “Bloody hell.”

  Janice says, “Let’s just keep heading downwards as Bill suggested!”

  Liz asks, “What if we run into whoever fired at us way back there?”

  “We kill them!” Snaps Derrick.

  Alex answers, “Agreed! But the likely hood of us running into them is slim, the attack happened a while back. No way would they get here on time, we’ll be long gone before they got here!”

  Janice says, “I agree to an extent, but we’re in no fit state to put up any form of fight unless of course we’re left with zero choice, we’ve got bill bloody carrying Derrick using a rope wrapped around his chest, with one broken arm, Alex is injured and so is Derrick obviously.”

  Liz responds, “She’s got a point guys!”

  “Of course I’ve got a point!”

  “Fuck!” Blurts Alex.

  “What is it?” Shouts Liz.

  Janice now looking straight ahead shouts, “We’ve got a wave of flesh eaters heading this way guys!”

  “Let’s head back!” Shouts Bill.

  “No way will we manage to get back up that hill; they’ll be on us in no time.” Answers Alex.

  “Then we fight!” Barks Derrick.

  Janice has her say, “I don’t think we have much choice, Bill Face Derrick towards the horde, you keep that rope on just in case, use Derricks shoulder as a stabilizer. Liz, you take the left whilst I and Alex take the right.”

  “You heard her!” Says Bill.

  “Everyone make sure your rifle is fully loaded, same goes for the backup clips, let’s treat this as another drill and use their heads as our targets!” Shouts Alex.

  Liz says, “There’s a lot more of them than I expected, do you think we can take them?”

  Bill blurts, “We’ve got no choice but to take them, now fire your bloody weapons instead of gasping already!”

  Chapter: 33

  ‘Bang…Bang…Bang’ echoes from behind the nearest hill, Peter shouts, “That’s gunfire, which means there must be survivors!”

  “There won’t be if we don’t hurry the heck up!” Gasps an exhausted David.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I will be when I get to that bloody squad, come on you take point, I’m still recovering from my wounds!”

  “You got it!”

  I rushed ahead, using my last.

  Just as I reach the uphill miniature mountain of a bump I see them, a squad of five soldiers shooting into this mammoth horde. That’s now almost on top of them, the majority are injured, that must be why they aren’t running. If I don’t do something fast they’re buggered.

  “What’s happening?”

  I turn to face David who’s approximately ten feet behind me, “There are five of them, some injured and the horde is almost upon them!”

  “Then fire at the flesh eaters already!”

  I swung my gun towards the horde, followed by a squeeze of the trigger!

  ‘Bang…Bang…Bang’ I fired at will, the group noticed me and so did the flesh eaters, half of them at least broke off and headed my way.

  The tall one of the group notices me trying to help and shouts out, “You there, aim for the head!”

  David now at my side catches his breath before jumping into his tactical stance.

  “We need them! We’ve got to keep them alive!”

  David points his automatic rifle and lays down a wall of 9mm bullets upon the eaters; I reload and sharply join him on the onslaught. The horde quickly disintegrates, within minutes there’s nothing left of them thanks to a great expenditure of ammunition from both parties.

  Chapter: 34

  “That was too close!” Spawns Bill.

  Derick replies, “They could be the guys who shot us down!”

  “If that was true, they would have fired upon us whilst they had the uphill advantage not to mention the mammoth horde!” Answers Alex.

  Janice agrees, “If they wanted us dead, we would have been!”

  Liz shouts out, “Thank you, you guys saved our arses!”

  “Wait a second; I think I recognise that face!” Bill sparks.

  Peter and David make their way
down towards the pack.

  “The names Captain David Cole, this is Peter he’s a civilian well was. We are held up in a nearby school which has been partly fortified, there are other survivors in our group, one in the fort whereas the other two I mean one is currently absent. You guys look as if you need some help, but firstly who’s in charge here and what happened?”

  Bill bellows, “I thought I recognised the face, we must have met in passing. I am, well was until you showed up. We were led by a Captain Spencer; he was killed in the crash alongside four others.”

  I butted in, “We saw your helicopter fly overhead and it had heavy damage, what happened?”

  Janice responds, “We came under fire a few miles back, by an unknown source. As a result our helicopter restrained heavy damage but thanks to Alex our pilot, we manged to pull through but only just!”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, I’m also sorry for the loss of your friends, where were you guys heading?”

  “Fort Hill and thank you!” Followed by a twinkle.

  David responds, “So were we until our bird crashed in this area also due to a lack of fuel, we had to leave the last place fast hence the pilot’s mistake. We had civilians on board, me and Peter was the only ones to make it out. We ran into another named Martin, he led us to the safe place. If you’ll join us, I promise you refuge, in trade we work together making it a safe haven.”

  “You mentioned its part fortified, what’s the place looking like?” Asks Bill.

  I jumped in, pushing David’s voice to the curb, “We have high fences around the inner perimeter of a spiked fence, later we plan on building an additional outer wall for protection. With one main gate, internally we have managed to create a water tank to collect rain water; it’s linked to a number of buckets on the roof which go down a long tube and through a filter, purifying the water more so. We’ve also built an outdoor shower; we have water, food and line of sight from the rooftop. We are situated in a small village. It’s the ideal spot away from the big cities; no one would know we are even there.”

  “Sounds ideal.” Roars Derick.

  “You secured and built on it all by yourselves? You mentioned there were others but two or should I say one is absent?”