That was good enough for me. The shotguns didn’t have the same range as the rifles, giving us an even better advantage. I raised my rifle as they closed on the shore and fired one shot.
It whistled over the head of the leader and he ducked down with the others. Before they could react I was clear of my cover and on the jetty. The others followed suit and broke from their cover onto the shoreline. We must have looked quite impressive.
‘That’s far enough,’ I called. ‘We’ve changed our minds. We don’t want you on our island.’
‘We had a deal,’ said the leader.
‘Deal’s changed,’ I replied. ‘Send Mike across and we’ll let the rest of you go.’
There was a discussion on the boats now. I couldn’t hear it properly but there was definitely an argument about what they should do. The female, the one with the mouth who had been threatening earlier, suddenly stood up and raised a shotgun. She fired and we all ducked. Someone fired back from our side and before I knew what was happening there were bullets flying everywhere.
I could hear the leader shouting to the rest of his boats to get ashore. I watched as Mike threw himself at the woman and the two of them fell into the water. I fired and hit one of the rowers on the boat. I saw another man hit and fall into the loch.
‘Concentrate on the lead boat,’ I shouted.
Tom and Laura were the first to respond. They fired several shots, hitting a woman and another oarsman. Then the others joined in and soon our rate of fire was too much for them. The boat was riddled with holes and started to take on water. We carried on firing until we had stopped the boat dead. Everyone on it was either killed or injured.
Another boat made a desperate dash for the shore. We concentrated our fire on it and within seconds it too was reduced to a floating wreck full of bodies.
That was enough for most of the others, but as they turned to flee our bait boys joined in. Their accurate fire must have hit another ten or twelve and finally I saw a show of hands as the remainder of the group gave up.
I waded into the water and helped Mike ashore. The mouthy female was coughing up water that she had swallowed and she was quickly guarded by Dave, who pointed his rifle at her head.
‘Thanks,’ he said as he fell to the ground. ‘They were coming here to kill you all.’
‘We guessed as much,’ I replied. ‘I just hoped that you were ready for when the shooting started.’
I walked down to the beach as the lead boat came to rest on the shore. There were several people on board. Most were dead, but the leader and one woman had survived, although they were badly wounded.
We collected all the weapons and stacked them on the beach, then six of us went out to the little cluster of boats and ordered them to give up their weapons too.
Everything was handed over. It wasn’t much. They didn’t have many guns, but they all had other weapons and it was pretty obvious that this had been a planned hostile invasion.
Once we had completely disarmed them we transferred the leader, the injured woman and the mouthy one over to one of their boats.
‘You have ten minutes to get to the mainland and leave those boats on that beach.’ I pointed to the closest point of land. ‘We will come and collect the boats and if anyone of you makes any attempt to stop us, you’ll be shot.’
‘What about our weapons?’ said one man. ‘You can’t send us across there without anything to defend ourselves with. The whole place is crawling with infected and they’ll have been attracted by the shooting.’
‘You should have thought about that before you decided you were going to kill us,’ said Tom.
He raised his rifle and pointed it at the man.
‘I’ll have no hesitation in killing you right now,’ he said.
I was shocked at how brutal we had become. In just a couple of weeks we had gone from regular members of society, to killers.
We followed them in to the shore and they disembarked. Then I dropped off five of our group and each one took a rowing boat and rowed back towards the island while Tom and I covered them.
When they were well clear I laid the rifle down and Tom lowered his. The mouthy female walked to the edge of the loch.
‘At least throw us something to fight with,’ she pleaded. ‘We won’t stand a chance over here.’
‘You better get moving,’ I called. ‘The dead will be here soon.’
I could already see one or two of the infected in the distance, walking along the beach. She spat and cursed at us as she turned and ran from the shoreline. Most of the others were already gone, scattered by fear. Before long I could hear screams. It started with one, then two. In minutes there were many. The dead had found them.
I turned the boat away from the beach and headed back to our island, bathed in glorious sunshine. I could see my friends lining the shore. They were applauding us. Pancho was barking excitedly and all I remember thinking, as the screams of the living being devoured by the dead carried across the water on the breeze, was that it was such a perfect day.
Callum MacPherson
13:05 hours, Thursday 28th May, Northern Operating Base
It’s not easy being the only ones left. That day, as we headed back to our base and saw that gigantic swarm, I knew we were in trouble.
The chopper landed amid a scene of absolute chaos. There were thousands of people trying to flee, soldiers and civilians alike. The word from the front line was that contact had been made and that the army were taking a heavy toll of the dead and were holding their own. That didn’t last.
Within half an hour the situation had changed. What armour we had was struggling to break out of the area and our forces had been depleted by about a half already. It was a hopeless situation and we knew it.
I found Kim as she and Ellie were packing their things.
‘You need to get out of here,’ I said. ‘This place is going to be overrun in the next hour at most.’
‘There aren’t any vehicles,’ said Kim. ‘Most that can be moved are already gone and what’s left is for military personnel only. So we’ve been told.’
I ran back to the chopper. The pilots were loading their own things onto it.
‘Can I get a lift for two girls?’ I asked.
‘No can do,’ said one. ‘We’ve been ordered to head north, to a smaller base. We’ve got to evacuate military personal only.’
Suddenly there was an enormous explosion at the far end of the base. It was followed by the sound of automatic gunfire. The infected were already here and breaking through, into the compound.
‘There won’t be any military personnel to evacuate,’ I said. ‘They’re all dying.’
‘We have our orders,’ said the other. ‘No civilians.’
I cursed and ran back to the tent where the two girls were finished packing and were standing expectantly.
‘The chopper won’t take you,’ I said. ‘You’ll have to go out on foot.’
‘We’ll never make it,’ said Kim.
They were both frightened. It reminded me of that first day I had seen them, through the gates at Buckingham Palace. It seemed like that was years ago.
‘You have to try,’ I said.
I took Kim by the arm and led her towards a gate at the rear of the compound. What I saw there almost curdled my blood. There were a few soldiers trying desperately to hold off several hundred infected, who had worked their way around and cut us off.
The front gates were no better and were giving way even as I looked. This was going to be Buckingham Palace all over again, only this time we didn’t have the roof to defend and buy us time.
‘Back to the chopper,’ I said.
‘But you said they wouldn’t take us,’ said Kim.
I didn’t answer. We didn’t have time for small talk and what I was about to do could see me shot.
We made it to the chopper as the pilot was starting the engines. I waved to him and pointed at the girls but he shook his head. There was nothing else to do. The front
gates suddenly gave way under the immense pressure and the soldiers there were suddenly engulfed in a torrent of the dead as they crashed through and onto them. It was carnage.
I sprinted forward and leapt through the side door of the helicopter, swinging my rifle round to point it at the head of the pilot.
‘Those girls are coming with us,’ I said.
‘If you shoot me we are all dead,’ said the pilot.
‘If I don’t I’m dead anyway,’ I replied.
They looked at one another. They knew I was serious.
‘Okay, okay,’ he said.
He gave the thumbs up to Kim and Ellie and they ran and jumped aboard. It wasn’t a moment too soon. Already the dead were surrounding us. I fired at a couple of them as we lifted off and above the dying camp.
It was a horrifying scene. Just a few hours before, this had been our largest base. From there we had worked out a successful plan to fight the dead. And it had been working, until this mammoth swarm had appeared. It was almost as if the dead had realised they were going to have to change their tactics and planned the attack. In small numbers they were vulnerable, but in a swarm approaching a million they were unstoppable.
We lifted high into the sky and could see the camp becoming slowly infested with thousands of the dead. There was nothing we could have done to stop it.
We headed north, catching up with a small column of vehicles as it retreated from the scene. But with our eyes we could see, to the north but heading the direction of the column, another vast swarm. They had caught us in a trap. There was no escape for those on the ground as the dead closed in and I no longer wanted to watch.
‘Head for Windsor,’ I said to the pilot. ‘There’s nothing more we can do here.’
The pilot turned the machine around and we headed for the headquarters at Windsor Castle. On our way we passed over the Northern Operating Base once again. It was now completely overrun. Nothing living remained inside the compound.
About half an hour later we were over Windsor castle. I gasped when I saw the numbers surrounding it. The defenders were completely cut off. Only the walls of the great fortress kept out the damned, but they were sturdy. This was no flimsy chain link or barbed wire fence. It wasn’t even the main gates to Buckingham Palace. These were stone walls. They weren’t going to be knocked down by a million dead. Not even by a hundred million. Those walls were impregnable.
As we hovered and then slowly descended to land on one of the grassy lawns, I suddenly felt a surge of hope. For the first time I really felt that we had a place where we could be secure and from where we could somehow launch our great counter attack on the dead. It would take us time, years perhaps, maybe even decades, but I felt sure we would do it eventually.
Xiaofan Li
13:35 hours, Thursday 28th May, Central London
That afternoon was the most frightening one I can remember. Claire, I’m sure, would tell you the same thing. Up until then we either imagined that there were other survivors out there, or had been lucky enough to make contact with them.
The day we had spent with Callum and his group, was a good one. They had told us how they were fighting back and how they expected to defeat the dead. It had been inspiring.
So, you can imagine how distraught we became when we heard that the Northern Operating base had been destroyed and the garrison wiped out.
It was Callum who had given us the information. He had radioed the news once he had arrived at Windsor. I was relieved that he was safe, but I couldn’t help but think that it was all over now. The largest armed force we had, was destroyed. With it we had lost a lot of material as well. It was a massive blow.
‘What now,’ Claire asked, as I ended the radio conversation.
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I don’t have any answers any more.’
We switched on the television, but all we got was a white screen. The news broadcasters had shut down. Claire hadn’t been able to speak to Rupert for days now. We had no idea if he was dead or alive, or if his power had simply gone off and he wasn’t able to make contact.
I suddenly felt like we were alone again. It was just the two of us against the dead.
‘We could ask to be taken to Windsor, I suppose,’ said Claire.
I had already thought about that and had already made my decision.
‘I’m staying here,’ I announced. ‘There’s nothing for me at Windsor. I would rather remain here and do what I like, than be ordered around and have to do what they want.’
‘You wouldn’t even consider it?’ she asked.
‘I already have,’ I said. ‘I’ve given it some serious thought. I have everything that I need right here. I’m not moving, but I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to go.’
She got up and walked through to the kitchen. I wondered if this was the end for us. If Claire had simply had enough of being out on a limb. I was used to it. I had been on my own for long enough, but she was different. She had a job and friends and maybe she wanted to have that again.
She appeared in the door way a moment later, a bottle of wine and two glasses in her hand.
‘If you stay, I stay,’ she said.
She poured two glasses of the wine and handed me one.
‘Here’s to Samson-Li,’ she said.
We clinked the glasses together and I took a long sip of the chilled wine. God, it felt good.
Dr Richard Bryson
09:30 hours, Friday 29th May, Windsor Castle HQ, Windsor
‘So what you are saying is that there is definitely no cure?’ Anthony asked.
We were in his office, along with General Breck. I shook my head.
‘There is no chance at all,’ I said. ‘We have exhausted all probabilities. It is a physical impossibility.’
‘So is a dead person walking around,’ said the General.
I had spent the past few days working on a living corpse which had been brought into the castle by Taff and the rest of his team. We had locked the man in the secure detention room, strapped and bound to two metal stanchions. Then, I had carried out every experiment that I could think of. I felt like a ghoul. My assistants hated every minute of it and I had to constantly argue my corner with Anthony Ballanger to be allowed to keep the infected man in the castle.
At the end of it we had finished him with a knife to the brain, but this time I had opened his skull first so that I could see his brain while he was still active. It looked normal. There was some discolouration at the front, but apart from that it was fine. But as soon as the knife went in, the colour disappeared and his body shut down at once.
It was a strange sight and we were still no further forward. In fact about the only thing I had done was to confirm what we already believed to be true. That the infected were all dead. There was no cure and never would be.
I turned to the General.
‘There’s nothing more I can say on the matter,’ I responded. ‘The dead are walking among us. They can only be killed by a massive trauma to the brain, otherwise they will be around for a long time to come. It sounds crazy, but there you go.’
‘What about them decaying?’ asked Anthony.
‘They do seem to rot,’ I said. ‘But the process is slowed down considerably. It will take years, perhaps decades for them to fade away completely.’
‘And what about them eating?’ he asked. ‘If they are dead, why do they need to eat?’
I shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I can only assume that whatever is running the brain needs some sustenance. It’s a complete guess.’
‘A lot of your work seems to be guessing,’ said Breck.
‘That’s because we’ve never come across anything like this before,’ I said. ‘This is a one off and we don’t have the facilities to do any more than we already have.’
‘So what have you called this new disease?’ Anthony asked.
‘We are calling just calling it the ‘Z’ infection for the time being,’ I replied.
I thought I detected a slight
shiver from the Prime Minister.
‘What about the army?’ asked Anthony, switching tack.
General Breck looked uncomfortable.
‘We are down to about ten percent of our capabilities,’ he said. ‘The RAF is less than that, due mainly to the loss of pilots when Brize Norton was overrun. They are also low on aviation fuel and are reduced to flying recon missions.’
‘And the navy?’
‘They fared much better,’ he said. ‘They have completed four evacuations so far and have managed to save thousands. They have set up their headquarters on Guernsey and things are looking okay there, although it is somewhat crowded on all the Channel Islands now.’
Anthony considered the options now. We were safe in the castle and so were the royal family, but we couldn’t move. Islands seemed to be the way forward.
‘The infected don’t like the water,’ he said, almost to himself. ‘Why is that?’
Again I didn’t have the answer.
‘It might be something to do with what’s in the brain,’ I said. ‘It might find water repellent.’
‘Then we must use that to our advantage,’ he said. ‘We need a new tactic. We have plenty islands off the coast. We must clear those of the infected and then use them. These will be the new safe havens.’
He turned to the General.
‘I want a new broadcast sent out at once. All survivors are to make for islands and set up on them,’ he said. ‘Once we have done that we can then look at ways in which to strike back. See to it at once.’
The General wrote something in his notebook and then left the room. When he had gone, Anthony rose and poured two large glasses of whisky. He took a long sip from his glass before he spoke to me once more. His voice was little more than a whisper.
‘This is our last chance,’ he said. ‘After that, I’m out of ideas.’
Kareef Hadad
16:00 hours, Friday 29th May, Windsor Castle HQ, Windsor
In the afternoon, when I was ready and had assembled all my belongings outside the tunnel, Sophie appeared and unlocked the door again.
‘We must be quick,’ she said. ‘Before someone discovers what you are up to.’
The Z Infection Page 36