Zed Days [Book 1]

by Nick Harland

  Eve said, ‘We still need a hostage. Why don’t we take Mary out to finish them off. There’s bound to be one or two that get knocked over without getting too injured and with three of four of us I’m sure we can safely capture one of them.’

  Bill and Esme both chimed in, ‘We’re ready.’

  Eve reversed the truck up then fired up Mary. I waited by the gate. Eve drove through and I shut the gate behind us. The Zeds could see me on foot but still didn’t move. I indicted for Eve to open the passenger window and when she did I said, ‘I’m going to walk forwards to see how close they will let me get before charging at me. Stay beside me and stop the moment they start to move so I can jump in.’ Eve nodded and shut the window.

  I got uncomfortably close, perhaps twenty feet, before one ran at me and the others followed. I jumped into Mary and Eve accelerated backwards. When she had a little run up room she floored it. It only took one pass with the knee-cappers down before we had flatted the majority of them. Two had backed away to avoid us so when the ones that could stand back up did so, Eve finished them.

  Esme said, ‘Let’s all get out and finish the fallen ones. If the two over there come for us leave the farthest one for me and someone finish the other one.’

  Eve stopped the car and we all got out. The two Zeds that had backed away watched as we finished any on the ground that were still moving. I tried not to think about it as the ones on the ground lifted their hands up to try and defend themselves before I caved their skulls in. Then we walked towards the two that were left, Esme leading the way. We got within ten feet before they both charged at Esme.

  I panicked as I saw them both reach Esme at the same time, arms reaching, mouths ready to bite, but I needn’t have worried. Esme ducked and lithely squeezed into the space between them and Eve and I were ready. We both kicked for the chest and as they were already confused from their initial prey seeming to have disappeared, they both staggered. Then Esme appeared behind them and did her signature move, bringing one to its knees. Then she nodded at Eve to finish the last one.

  Esme pushed the one on its knees over and we all jumped it. Bill sat on it as we tied its hands and then lashed its arms to its body. It made every attempt to bite us as we picked it up, then something strange happened as we lifted it to its feet. Bill dodged a bite and swearing uncharacteristically under his breath he punched the Zed full in the face, hard. Bill was not a small man and the punch dazed and staggered the Zed, Eve and I had to stop it from falling over. Then Bill shouted, ‘Now stop it!’ What was strange was that it did. It let us lead it back to the base while Eve drove ahead and parked Mary. Even when we untied it and shoved it into the cage it didn’t struggle or attempt to bite us.

  We were all tired from the stress of the encounter and flopped onto the couches. Esme said, ‘No more presents for a while thank you.’

  We all laughed and when it died down Eve said, ‘That was good work all round and we have a walking specimen to observe. Shit for brains and his friend will be back at some point but I think we avoided a war at least. He’s no more an engineer than I am a nun so it must be his friend who has the skills. We can survive for a good while with what we have but I wonder if we should talk about more than just surviving day to day.’

  Esme said, ‘What do you mean?’

  Eve said, ‘We’ve learnt a lot and we know the kind of circumstances that have to be present for people to have survived the initial outbreak. Imagine a big high tech factory with one of those massive clean rooms full of people assembling electronic components with full lab suits and breathing masks on. There could be groups of twenty, fifty, even a hundred people who made it through the first event. If there are groups like that, some must have survived, perhaps even a lot. There could be people in labs like Andrea and Esme were, people who were diving, or using breathing equipment for other reasons. The filter to the panic room I was in wasn’t massively high tech so it obviously didn’t take much to keep the first wave out. There could be soldiers in underground facilities, or hundreds of people who were in planes that landed after most of it was over.’

  The plane thing made me react, ‘Planes, now that’s brilliant. Everything you’ve said is true but the only thing we can easily act on is the planes thing, unless someone knows where a high tech electronics factory is. You’re right, there must be loads of planes that landed after the event, even though control towers and things must have descended into chaos. They might have known there was some kind of problem from the radio so they might have had some warning to be careful. We can’t be sure the attack didn’t reach ten thousand feet but it seems unlikely. Lots of airports are out of populated areas and the one closest to us is really small and probably has bugger all ground staff. I wish we’d thought of it sooner. Two and a half weeks is a long time.’

  Bill was next to speak, his tone far from matched my excitement, ‘Let’s say there are some other groups of survivors, maybe even some big groups, do we actually want to find them? I know the knee jerk reaction would be to look, but think about the reality. They are likely to be in bad shape and in need of food and water. You guys had the best start possible with Lulu and all the gear you had. Groups of passengers won’t have had any decent weapons and although they might have found keys to some cars, they will have struggled to scavenge without getting into trouble. If there are survivors they will probably have seen lots of people get eaten, possibly friends and family. They could be so traumatised they couldn’t function in a fight.’

  ‘Let’s say we find fifteen or fifty survivors at the airport. Some could be kids or older people and they might be in desperate need of our help, and because we’re not monsters we’d do our best to help them. We could ferry them back here and some of them might be useful, but our supplies would be gone in days and we’d be the ones going out again. There could be bad people among them. They always tend to survive because they would take the bottle from a baby. They could challenge our control of this place and take it over and we could end up being ordered around. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t look, I’m just saying that it isn’t as simple as it seems.’

  Andrea spoke next, ‘You’re both right and that’s why Eve said we should talk about it. There could be doctors and gardeners, or murderers and thieves. For me it comes down to looking at the medium to long term. One of us will get sick eventually and none of us have the faintest clue about medicine. If we last years as we might, depending on how these things develop, I’ll be the first to go I’m sure. I know it seems dramatic, but do we have to consider our responsibility to the human race.’

  ‘We’ve had a really lucky start but none of us will live forever and even you guys will get too old to fight and scavenge at some point; whose going to look after you then? If we find kids, we might have to look after them now, but they will be the ones looking after you later; I’ll be long gone. My guess is that this thing is worldwide or some other country would have flown over and set up by now; there would be radio messages and things. Unless people continue to have kids, you and Esme could be the last generation of the human race.’

  Esme said, ‘That’s a lot to think about, especially the kids part, imagine having a baby without doctors or hospitals. I know there could be bad people out there or people that need food and water and can’t contribute very much, but I think we should try. Something could happen to us one day and we might need help, and some other group not that far away could have this conversation and decide not to look for others. It’s horrid but I think Bill’s right, it’s been over two weeks and if there is a group at the airport or close by, food and water could be a serious issue by now. If there were older people or people that couldn’t fight they might well be dead already. When supplies run out it will be the strong ones that survive for a little while, and the ones smart enough to find a way.’

  ‘We have a lot to offer here. There must be well over 50 vans that can sleep four people each and we have a secure perimeter and space to grow stuff. I know we’ve had prob
lems gathering food but we’ve only hit the shopping centres so far because we needed other things we couldn’t necessarily find in houses. If it’s mainly food and water from now on, house to house scavenging should be easier. There will still be water in the pipes of every house and cans and other food that will be good for a year or two. Even if we did find twenty people alive this place could support them and at least some of them will have useful skills or can learn them. Now we’ve had this conversation I can’t sit on my arse knowing survivors might be out there. I think we have to look.’

  Eve was the only one not to have spoken on the subject and everyone looked at her. In characteristic style she just smiled and said, ‘Fuck it, as long as my ex isn’t one of them, I’m in.’

  Chapter Twenty Seven – “Hi”

  I don’t think I was the only one to feel a sense of hope after the decision to search for more survivors. For the rest of the day we discussed our plan and made our preparations. Everyone was eager to contribute. Although it was noisy and slow, and had crap fuel economy, we decided to take the truck to be sure we could clear any blocked roads. Although not ideal transport, it could also fit at least twenty people in the back. They would be relatively safe, if not very comfortable.

  We ate and went to bed early. We knew it could be a long day, or maybe more than a day. We packed Mary with supplies before bed so we could leave the moment we were ready. We wanted to be back at base before the end of the day if we could.

  Eve and I had been chatting in bed for a while and she had just started to stroke my chest. She was lying topless close beside me with my arm under her and her head on my shoulder. I was idly stroking the very top of her bum cleavage with my middle finger, it was so soft. Eve had just started to stroke lower and lower when there was a quiet knock at the door. Despite only having sexy pants on Eve jumped out of bed and holding a towel loosely over herself she answered the door. She opened the door and stepped back to let Esme in.

  Esme was wearing a short chemise top that showed her flat tummy and hung off her pert breasts, the material glistening in the single light that was on in the van. She also wore a matching pair of silky shorts that hugged the top of her bottom and were cut high to show some of her toned cheeks. She looked really sexy and there were so few reasons she would come to our van dressed as she was that I was instantly aroused. She looked down at the floor and played with her hands before looking up at Eve, ‘It’s a big day tomorrow, it could change a lot of things around here, or possibly kill us all.’

  Eve subtly lowered the towel covering her chest, holding it more loosely, and said, ‘Yes.’

  Esme continued, ‘You guys have a lot of sex, sometimes for hours. I’ve never had sex like that and I wanted to. I know every day there is a risk we’re going to die.’ Looking hesitantly up at Eve again she added, ‘I know I’m not sexy like you but…’

  Eve gently put her finger on Esme’s mouth and said, ‘Esme, you’re gorgeous. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable and you can take this as slowly as you like, but I’ve been lusting after you since you arrived. I snuck a peek when you had a quick clean down at that village shop and i’ve wanted you ever since. You must have noticed?’

  Esme replied, ‘I guess so, but I didn’t know if you were just having fun and teasing Brad.’

  Eve replied, ‘I was, but I was also serious. We’ve even discussed it just in case this happened, and I can say without hesitation that we’re both really glad you’re here. Now, why don’t you shut the door behind you and come in properly.’

  Esme turned around to shut the door and Eve discarded the towel, shot me a quick glance, and mouthed the word ‘Yes.’

  Eve offered Esme her hand when she turned around and she took it. She led her to the edge of the bed and said, ‘I know this is difficult and I’m so impressed with how brave you are. We can do as much or as little as you want, or you could just watch and join in if you wanted to. The secret to hours of really good sex is letting yourself go and remembering it’s ok to be selfish, in fact it’s essential. There is nothing you want that one or both of us won’t really want to do for you. The other secret is teasing, prolonging every moment so that when it happens every moment is special.’

  Esme nodded and Eve ran her fingers down Esme’s neck to place her hands on her shoulders, ‘So, in the spirit of teasing, Brad that is, have you ever kissed another woman’s breasts?’

  Esme shook her head and looked at Eve’s breasts in front of her, I could see her raise her hand slightly to reach for them but then hold herself back, ‘No.’

  Eve said, ‘I have, and it’s lovely and soft and warm. Feeling a womans’ soft breast in your mouth then feeling her nipple go hard as you flip your tongue over it always a thrill, I can see why men like it so much. Why don’t you kiss mine and we’ll make Brad watch. It will drive him wild and make anything that happens after just that little bit better.’

  Eve slid her right hand down Esme’s arm making her shiver and lifted her hand up to place it gently on her breast. Then, as Esme was still hesitant, she moved it slowly up and down so her fingers flipped gently over her nipple until it went hard. I watched and thought all my dreams had come true. I could see Esme tense her flat tummy and tilt her pelvis in response to the thrill she was feeling; I was feeling it too.

  Esme couldn’t resist Eve any more than I could, holding her breast by herself now she kissed it, slowly at first, then more urgently while drawing Eve into her with her other arm. Eve tilted her head back so her blonde hair fell back over her shoulders and ran her hands down Esme’s waist to the top of her bum. Then, while Esme swapped from one breast to another Eve said, ‘That’s nice, you can do that as much as you like, I never get bored of it. I’d like to feel you and perhaps return the favour, can I take your top off? I’m sure Brad would absolutely love to see what I know are some very pert and beautiful breasts.’

  Esme stopped sucking for a moment to take a hot gasp of air and said, ‘Please.’

  Eve turned to me, smiled and said, ‘Don’t worry baby, we won’t keep you waiting for too long. In fact, perhaps you should come over here, stand close behind Esme, and slide her top off for me. I’d like it if you held her breasts for me while I kiss them, that way you can watch over her shoulder while I lick and suck them and my hands are still free to feel her spectacular bottom. You might even be tempted to kiss her lovely neck.’

  ‘I might have kissed a woman’s breasts before, but I’ve never had my breasts and neck kissed at the same time. As Esme’s been so brave in coming here I think she should be first to experience two people kissing her at once. Maybe after that you could kiss one of her breasts while I kiss the other. Mine are big enough so you can push them together and suck both my nipples at the same time, which you know I love, but I bet it’s even better having two people suck your nipples at once. I think Esme might like that.’

  Running her hand up the back of Esme’s neck into her hair and pushing her head more firmly into her breast for a moment she whispered to Esme, ‘Is that ok?’

  Eve relaxed her grip and Esme came up for air and repeated the word I’d been longing to hear, ‘Please.’

  As I’ve said before this isn’t that kind of book, so I won’t describe what happened after that. It’s enough to say that all three of us had the night of our lives, that it lasted for hours, and that’s Esme’s superhero training went very well indeed.

  The next morning Esme left our van early to avoid embarrassment, but showed no embarrassment at all in how she said goodbye to Eve and I. Even though she had just done both of us Eve and I were so wound up after she left we had to do it again half an hour later before we got up and showered. We left the van when we heard Bill and Andrea making breakfast, and Esme joined us all shortly afterwards. She couldn’t repress her smile and Eve couldn’t avoid either touching herself or touching Esme whenever she though Bill and Andrea weren’t watching.

  After breakfast everyone was quiet as we went about the final preparations to lea
ve. Andrea had to stay at the base as she really wasn’t very useful with the wound on her leg. She was going to start observing our captives and she had designed a few experiments that she could performed from outside the cage. Before we left, Esme went outside with Andrea to check everything was safe but two minutes later she rushed back, her face pale, and said, ‘Come, hurry.’

  We dropped our bags and ran outside. Andrea was sat on a chair outside the cage and turned to look at us. She said, ‘Things have moved on a step.’

  Then she turned back to the Zeds in the cage and said in a clear voice, ‘Hi.’

  Eve and I looked at the Zeds and the one who could stand walked forwards a step, looked at Andrea, and mixing what sounded like gravel and thick phlegm in its mouth it replied, ‘Hi.’

  Then it turned to look at the rest of us before crouching in front of the Zed that was sat on the ground. Placing its hands on either side of its head it proceeded to push it to the ground and smash its head repeatedly against the concrete floor. The sound made my stomach turn over and Esme turned away and wretched. Then it slipped its hands into the top of what was left of the dead Zeds skull and wrenched it open before burying its face into the mushy mess that was left. We could hear gurgling and slurping and we all looked away until it had finished.

  When it was done it stood back up and came close to the door of the cage, grey matter, bone fragments, and the greyish green blood dribbling from the sides of its smiling mouth. Eve took out one of her guns and pushed the end of the barrel into one of the square holes of the cage so it was pointed right at the Zeds face and said, ‘You’ve had your last meal, any final words fuck-head?’