by John McCuaig
Page did not even bother to reply, he finished talking to his men and brushed past the Professor and headed back in to the carriage that had doubled up as their laboratory. As everyone waited, and some even watched in morbid silence, just a single bullet was used.
As the Colonel placed his smoking gun back into his holster, he cursed under his breath. He was getting more than a little pissed off that it was he and his men doing all of the dirty work and dying at the hands of the beasts. All this death while the Professor and her scientists stayed inside, all safe and sound. He decided that things were going to have to change.
***
15:05 P.M
Getting ever close to the docks
The long, silent lines of survivors stretched down the full length of three of the carriages. Standing at the front of each of them were a few nervous acting soldiers, each one of them checking and then double-checking their guns and ammo. They were only too aware that once they got to their destination, they would be first out of the door and their mission, and their duty, was to protect their own group of these scared looking scientists.
Each and every one of the civilians was already holding tightly onto an unmarked cardboard box with all sorts of their high tech equipment tightly packed away inside. Pauline, Margot, and Gordon were also huddled together in one of the lines. Each of them had also been given one of those heavy boxes.
“We’ll need to keep close together,” Pauline said to her little sister. “No matter what happens out there, no matter what you see you must keep right by my side.” Margot nodded as once more they heard a loud chorus of that deep zombie song starting up in the distance. Gordon gave them both a nod and a forced little smile. He edged himself a little closer to Pauline on hearing that sound.
“One minute, people,” Page’s voice boomed out over the trains public address system, his message was certainly short and to the point. “This is it. Everyone get ready, we go in one minute.”
The two sisters and Gordon just waited in the silence.
10- A Race to the Dock
15:10 P.M
Approaching the piers, Dover Harbor
It did not take long for everyone to realize that Page and his soldiers were not exaggerating about what they were about to face. The track before them filled with what looked like a charging army of the undead. Beasts of all ages, shapes and sizes headed towards them from out of the dead city. Their hunger driving them on from hearing and seeing their approach. The sound of their desperate calls for a taste of fresh food almost drowned out the noise of the mighty train as it raced at high speed along the track.
“Don’t you frigging stop for anything,” Page said to the driver as they both watched them approach through the gently sloping front window. He then quite deliberately chambered a round in his pistol in the driver’s full view. “Don’t you even dare to think about slowing us down, just keep running the fuckers over.”
Bam!
Bone and dead flesh became mangled and torn as a couple of hundred tons of metal pummeled straight into the wild sea of the undead. The train rocked and buffeted under the force of what it hit but managed to keep itself hugging tightly to the tracks. Both the driver and the Colonel could only imagine the bloody mess that they were leaving behind in their wake.
As the masses of the undead started to slightly thin out, Page took the time to pat the terrified driver on the shoulder. “Well done,” he said. “Just keep on going until we get to that sharp bend I was telling you about. Once we’re there and stopped, get yourself the hell out of here and join up with one of the groups.”
The drivers eyes never once wavered from looking out ahead at the beasts, he just mumbled that he understood. Page left him alone to his task and returned through the carriages to join up with the others.
Once back in the luggage car, he stood at the front of the first group by the doorway, standing directly behind him and his men was Mary, the only person who was not carrying either a box or a gun. She gave him one of her little smiles as he joined in on the line. He did not return the gesture.
“We’re almost there, the bend is just ahead,” this time it was the driver’s voice that boomed out over the PA system. “I’m just about to put the brakes on, you’d all better hold onto something tight.”
He was sure true to his word, with a loud screeching the train rapidly slowed down, probably even faster than it had done back at that unexpected red light. Anyone that had not taken his advice to grab a hold was soon thrown up against the nearest wall. By the time they had scrambled back into formation, the train had come to a grinding full stop.
Page threw open the door and jumped out onto the line side. “Move it!” he screamed as he waved his men out. “Secure the area.”
They were quickly followed out through the gap by the long line of scientists with Pauline, Margot, and Gordon right at the back. Just as they were about to leave through the thin doorway, they heard a scream coming at them from directly behind.
The last of the soldiers, who was due to bring up the rear, had one of the zombies clamped tight around his neck. The teenage monster must have been alongside the track when the train stopped and had clambered up and grabbed a hold of the soldier from right through the smashed out window. As he struggled, bright sprays of his blood shot up to the light tube that was swaying high above the soldiers head. This sent the low glow into a light pink tinge; the beast was feeding well on his jugular vein.
“Shit,” Gordon screamed as he looked around for another soldier to help him, none of them were anywhere to be seen, they were all already on the outside and heading away to the workshops. He went over to help the struggling young soldier but was quickly stopped by Pauline’s fierce grip on his arm.
“We need to get out of here now,” she whispered. “There’s nothing you can do, he’s dead already.”
Gordon could only watch as the vicious zombie sucked in the twitching soldier’s warm blood until without warning it stopped its attack. Slowly its grey eyes lifted just ever so slightly and it stared over at the others. It now had a new slice of prey firmly set in its sights.
“Frigging hell,” Pauline started to pull Gordon towards the door. “Come on, we’ve got to move it,” she screamed as the zombie dropped the now limp soldier to the floor and crawled in through the gaping hole and moved itself towards some more of the living. A groan of joy escaped from its blood-drenched mouth as it staggered past the rows of chairs.
It however, did not get far. Colonel Page had stayed near the door, waiting for everyone to get out before he would move off. On hearing the shouts and screams for help, he came back inside and saw the blood soaked beast for himself as it slowly approached.
“Get the fuck down,” he hollered as he fired his gun without bothering to wait and see if any of them moved. For once, it took him two shots to bring the stumbling undead man down, the first glancing off its temple before the second one hit it plum in the middle of its forehead. Falling backwards, the now motionless zombie fell and lay down side by side with the young soldier it had just devoured.
Without hesitation, Page went over and fired another single shot, but this one was not for the zombie, this time it was for his fallen man. It was the last thing this commanding officer could do for him; he would not let him be turned into one of them.
“Would you mind if we get moving now?” he snarled towards Gordon and the two sisters. “Before any more of those fuckers turn up.” He stormed right past them and jumped down onto the grassy little verge again. Gordon and the sisters were right behind him this time.
Looking around, the Colonel saw that his men had already made a good, tight circle around each of the three lines as they walked at a fast pace towards the small collection of offices and workshops. And echoing all around them were the groans and screams of the distant but without a doubt the now rapidly approaching hordes.
Ahead of them, a couple of soldiers soon made light work of the tall chain link boundary fence that ran the lengt
h of the railway lines. In less than a minute, they were all far away from the now deserted train and entering the small and grim looking industrial estate.
“Keep your eyes open boys,” Page shouted out to all his teams, he knew there was no use in keeping quiet anymore. “And watch your backs.” All the lines converged on the open side of the fence and massed behind the Colonel until he waved his hand for them to follow.
Walking around the first little corner, they soon found out what had happened to all of the people who used to work on the estate. Dozens of the undead were sitting quietly on the roadway, feeding on the piled up remains of their work colleagues and neighbors. The zombies sat crossed legged in a near perfect circle as they worked their way merrily through their magnificent feast. Page signaled everyone to stop but as they started to back up, one of the beasts slowly turned its torn up head and spotted these new survivors.
With a long, low growl, it signaled to its friends they had company and one by one, they all stood up and walked right towards them.
“Fuck this. We ain’t got the time to find another way around,” the Colonel said as he strode towards them and fired. His soldiers did not need to be asked or even ordered to join him. Within a second or two, all of them followed their leader as they sent volleys of hot lead deep into the coming pack. The soldiers were at last starting to learn, no longer were the bullets harmlessly flying into the chests of their enemies. Now they aimed for a smaller target- the brain, and during the firefight, head after head snapped back as the zombies were quickly felled by the expert soldiers.
This attack eventually brought down all of these beasts but it also sent out a signal. It told the masses of others that were spread out around them exactly where they were. And they would only be too welcome for any help they could get in finding where their next meal would be.
“Sir,” one of his men called out to the Colonel. “You’d better have a look over there.” His hand was pointing down to the main road which came from the heart of the city. Hundreds, if not thousands of the zombies were now coming right towards them. Like a huge tidal wave of dead flesh, it filled the whole roadway as they surged forwards with just one thought on their minds.
To feed.
Page immediately knew there would be no chance of survival if they tried to fight their way through such a huge and mighty force. They would not even have enough bullets to bring all of them down. He had never liked running away, but he was wise enough to know that was exactly what he had to do.
“Move it!” he screamed to his men as he waved them towards the other side of the estate. “Full speed lads, there’s no more time to be fucking about.”
Running at such pace, they were certainly going to get through there quicker but it was also going to be far more dangerous, just as one of the soldiers soon found out. Racing around corners without checking for dangers was by now necessary, but it was also foolhardy.
The corporal did not even get a chance to get his gun up as the heavyset female jumped on him as soon as he appeared. Its putrid arms and legs wrapped around him as it jumped on his side sending both of them flying down to the hard ground. Even before they hit the tarmac, it was biting fiercely into his face, ripping a huge flap of skin away from his cheek. The next soldier did not go to his friend’s aid; he just emptied a whole magazine into the pair of writhing bodies. His actions practically blowing both of their heads away inside a fountain of blood and brains.
“Single shots,” Page shouted towards his man. “We ain’t got the bullets to waste, soldier.” Gordon looked into the Colonel’s eyes and thought he seemed to be far more interested in conserving their ammo than another of his poor men being savaged.
Pauline’s hand started to hurt like hell. Margot’s grip was getting stronger and stronger as the madness unfolded around them.
“We’ll soon be okay,” Pauline muttered to her little sister. “Just a little bit further and we’ll be safe on the ship.”
“I’m alright,” Margot snapped back as she suddenly ripped her hand away from hers. “And can you please stop fussing over me. I’m not a little baby anymore.” Pauline could only sigh, nothing she ever did seem to be good enough for her.
“There it is,” Gordon shouted out, unable to control his joy. “Look, it’s just over there.” He was pointing over to a ship that was appearing at the horizon. It was a large grey monstrosity that had blazed across its hull the words, ‘HMS CLYDE’. This however was not what he was expecting, this was no great and powerful warship, it just looked like a simple, and pretty old supply ship.
A couple of soldiers were already at the other chain link fence that separated the estate from the docks. This was heavier duty than the first one but their pliers were still quickly cutting away a section that was big enough for them all to fit through.
“Hurry up!” A soldier to the left shouted out just before he started firing again. “Come on guys, you need to frigging hurry!”
Looking around they could all clearly see just what had startled him. Coming along the length of the fence was another large pack of the undead, and they were getting to them fast. Panic quickly set in, a couple of the scientists ran along the fence in the opposite direction, they seemed to think they would have a better chance of survival by keeping away from the main body of survivors. Page watched them as they ran; he did not shout any orders for them to stop for he did not care about them anymore. They alone had chosen to leave his protection.
“Once the fence is open,” Page was back to shouting at the rest as they waited for the fence to come down. “All you civilians head straight for the ship, get up inside it, all the soldiers will be with me bringing up the rear. We shall supply you with the cover that you’ll need.”
Just as he finished speaking, the soldiers ripped down the large section of fence and the pack of rabid scientists flooded right through, and not just because of the Colonels orders.
Gordon saw Mary struggling to get through, her colleagues had showed not a single ounce of respect for their leader. No doubt, the sight of thousands of bloodthirsty zombies approaching them had that effect. Some even pushed her out of the way, as they raced through the hole towards the safety of the ship.
“Give me your hand,” Gordon said to her as soon as he got close enough. “I’ll help you get to the ship.” With a little nod and a smile, she did as he asked and he led her through the still swarming crowds. Due to her frailty and old age, Gordon soon lost sight of Pauline and Margot as they, and the others, powered away ahead of them. He was just thankful that the heavy gunfire was still right behind them and keeping the beasts back, for now.
Once down a gently sloping grassy bank, they got onto the long concrete pier that would lead them all the way to their target, the old grey ship that was berthed right at the end. In just a couple of hundred more yards, they would be safe at last.
“You going to need to get a whole fucking lot faster,” Page was now right alongside them, walking backwards as he fired away at the approaching beasts. “We’re moving far too slow people. At this rate they’ll be on us before we can get you onto the ship.”
Mary was huffing and puffing, she was struggling big time. She could not even speak a single word due to the lack of breath left inside her old and well-worn lungs. All that she could do was shake her wrinkled head.
Page glanced at her and then at Gordon, and then quickly holstered his gun. “Fuck this,” he muttered as he grabbed hold of Mary. “You’d better hold on tight Professor,” he said as he threw her up on his shoulder and burst into a run. Even with the extra weight, he was still so fast that Gordon had trouble to keeping with them.
The super fit soldier even over took a few of the scientists as he headed for the thin and shaky gang plank, and sped up to the deck of the dull grey ship. It was only when they were at last up on the very top that Page let her gently down onto the cold steel.
“Thank you Colonel,” she said as she had caught her breath and tried to fight off a smile. “I hav
e to admit that was one hell of a ride.”
Page gave her a halfhearted nod and went back to see how his men were fairing in holding back the deluge of beasts. His gun was again pulled out of its holster as he walked back towards the thin gangplank.
“And thank you too Gordon,” Mary then said as she took a hold of the doctors hand as he joined her. “You were the only one to look out for me back there; all the others would have just left me to be taken by those monsters.” She glanced over to the large contingent of her fellow scientists who were all packed together tightly on the deck and looking back down to the pier. “Well, well, there you go. So much for them caring about me.”
“Don’t you go thanking me too soon, Professor,” he said as he looked around the crowds for Pauline and Margot. “As you told us so eloquently earlier, you’re the best chance we have of beating this virus. I was only looking after myself and the girl’s future.” On seeing them, he released her grip and without another word, he left her standing alone.
Mary watched him as he disappeared into the crowd. She did not believe him, he was not cold hearted. She had seen enough of this man already to know him a bit better than that.
11- A fight for control
15:20 P.M
Aboard the survey vessel, HMS Clyde
“Get that bloody gangplank up and away now,” Colonel Page screamed out to his men as he kept on firing his pistol at the handful of undead that were already attempting to get on the boat. However, he could also all too clearly see the rest of them coming, a vast army of the beasts was flooding in from the street onto the wide concrete pier and heading right towards them, it seemed that the whole damned city would soon be upon them.
“Come on guys, I don’t give a shit how you do it,” he kept on shouting, “just get it frigging away from the bloody ship now.”