by Ricky Fleet
“In case you hadn’t noticed, the TVs don’t work anymore because everyone’s dead.”
“Of course, but I meant for films, maybe even computer games. I’ve seen the consoles sitting idle in a lot of the rooms.”
“Do you have a secret stash of diesel fuel tucked away somewhere that I don’t know about?”
“No,” Rechtman replied, “I would need some of your men to go and retrieve everything.”
Craig jumped to his feet. “Oh, so now they’re my men who need to risk their lives? It seems a bit unfair, don’t you think?”
Rechtman’s head fell, he knew it was hopeless. Their numbers would continue to dwindle and eventually the place would starve. Perhaps it was for the best. “I’m sorry to have bothered you. I’ll get back to work.”
Craig had been thinking during the exchange and it all seemed to fall into place. The old generator which kept their food fresh was dying, and they had to secure fuel for the construction project which would see them safely over the river to the bounty of Wick Town anyway. It might be possible to secure both a diesel and petrol tanker
“Wait!” Craig ordered and Rechtman turned wearily.
“Sir?”
“How much fuel would it use?”
“It depends on the load. If we stick to limited appliances and key lighting at night time only, maybe one or two hundred litres a day. I’d need to do some calculations.”
“Do them. I’ll make arrangements to get the construction site address and find the fuel you’ll need. We’re going to need every hand for the next tunnel I need you to build.”
“Really?” Rechtman was dumbfounded. “What about the gauntlet, though?”
“I’ll close it for now. The inmates will have to get their jollies from horror films for a while.”
“And you mentioned another tunnel?”
“Forget that for now. Work out whatever you need to get the juice flowing and then we can talk in a few days.”
“Ok,” replied the engineer before walking away in a daze.
“Next!”
Wozniak was shown in and approached the platform. His smell reached the ruler long before his body did, but Craig ignored it as best he could. Filth and dried patches of God only knew what covered the man and the other guards grimaced at the spectacle.
“Wozniak, my friend. How can I help you today?”
“It’s more what I can do to help you, boss.”
Craig raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. “Well, now. You have my interest. Go on.”
The disgusting inmate looked around the room for a moment, seeing the number of eyes and ears that watched over their leader. Frowning, he took a step closer and whispered, “I think this needs some privacy.”
“You want to get me alone?” Craig asked warily. “I trust these men, so anything you have to say feel free to say it in front of them.”
“Sorry, boss, but I don’t trust them,” he muttered and turned to walk away.
Craig’s mood was souring at the ungrateful prisoner and the grin disappeared. “Ok,” he growled, “But this better be fucking good. Everyone out!”
As the men with their guns and blades exited the hall, Wozniak paced back and forth. He was obviously agitated about something.
“So, what’s the big deal?” Craig demanded.
“I’m not a grass!” Wozniak spat in anger.
“I never said you were,” Craig replied, shaking his head in confusion. A grotesque, filthy creature, yes, but his prison honour had never been in question.
“I hate even being here, but you’ve been good to me and this place since everyone died.”
Craig could see the conflicting emotions on the man’s face and waited patiently for him to get to the point.
“Fuck!” Wozniak blurted, glancing around the empty room. “The Fowler brothers are going to make a move on you soon.” His shoulders slumped in self-disgust. This went against every code he had ever lived by.
Craig mulled for a few seconds. “How are they planning to do that? They don’t have enough people.”
“All I know is that one of the other wings is involved.”
“Who?” Craig’s face was going scarlet as the rage took over.
“I don’t know. As soon as I do, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Why are you telling me this? Not that I don’t appreciate it, but didn’t you and those scouse bastards do a couple of jobs once?”
“We did,” he agreed, reluctantly. “They’re just too unstable and don’t have the brains that you do. I trust you to keep us secure more than they will.”
“Thanks. See Ziggy on the way out and tell him I owe you a carton of cigarettes.”
“You won’t discuss this with anyone, will you?” Wozniak asked.
“Only Hombre and Matt, you have my word.”
Satisfied with the reply, the grimy inmate started to leave.
“Keep me updated as soon as you hear more, I think there’ll be a position coming up for a new wing boss soon.”
Guilt at his betrayal prevented him from being happy at the prospect, so Wozniak simply nodded and pushed through the door.
“Fucking wankers,” Craig growled to himself. Their deaths would be legendary, and very slow.
As the hall refilled with guards, no one dared to approach him. The look on his face was enough to tell them someone was getting murdered soon and the last thing they wanted was to annoy him and take an early place on the list. Several minutes passed in hushed expectation until the sound of an explosion rocked the building, dust streaming from the roof as it shook.
“What the fuck was that?” Craig roared. “Get to the walls!”
CHAPTER 17
Standing in shocked silence, Craig and his men stared down at the torn figure of Wozniak. He was slumped in a heap after bleeding out against the opposite wall where he had been thrown by the blast. Shards of broken crockery were embedded into his body and face between the scorch marks of the explosion. Carefully stepping over the spreading pool of crimson, the men waved their hands around to clear the air. The fire had quickly died out from the lack of fuel in the sparse cell and only a cloying cloud of dust and remnants of smoke curled around their passing.
“What the hell happened here?” Craig muttered at the devastation.
The heavy cell door had been ripped off and lay halfway up the corridor, twisted and buckled. The rear wall of the cell had been blown out into the yard by the contained detonation and daylight peeked in, highlighting the swirling dust. A faint cough caught their attention and they stepped into the ruins of Wozniak’s lair. In one corner was the mattress, soaking wet and torn in places. From beneath the bed, something stirred again, groaning in pain.
“Debbie?” Hombre whispered, stepping over the rubble.
Pulling it back, she was drifting in and out of consciousness. Her hair was mostly burnt off and blood was trickling from her ruptured ears. With her one undamaged eye, she looked up at him in a moment of clarity and smiled. Her broken front teeth and gums were a ghastly sight and he winced inwardly. Leaning down, he gently picked her up and could see what had caused the damage. The bedframe still had the remains of the bindings, covered with blood and fragments of tooth.
“She chewed through the ropes,” Hombre said, filled with awe at the girl’s moxie.
“And she rigged the cell to blow with the gas in his stove. She must’ve taken cover behind the mattress and waited for him to get back before igniting it. Clever bitch,” Craig added, kicking the shredded vessel. It was an annoyance that his source of information was dead, but at least he was forewarned of the coming insurrection. They would just need to be more vigilant in the coming weeks.
“What do we do with her?” Matt asked.
“Take her to medical. There’s more to this little lady than meets the eye,” Craig replied.
Hombre nodded and proceeded down the hall. Mike came rushing around the corner, nearly colliding with them and reeled back in shock at the sight of his
ex-partner.
Stepping around the pair, he approached his brother. “What the fuck happened here?”
“It seems your girlfriend had other ideas about our choice of accommodation.”
“No shit,” Mike blurted.
“I wouldn’t worry too much. She probably won’t survive anyway,” Craig informed him.
“And if she does?”
Craig clapped him on the back, “I’d keep her away from naked flames if I were you.”
CHAPTER 18
“Can I get you a coffee, sweetie? I’ve just brewed a pot.”
Denise turned to her friend and smiled. “No thanks, I’m fine. Where’s your pet?”
“Mr Vincent is currently helping Kurt with something,” Patricia replied, taking a seat.
“He’s helping? You’re shitting me.”
“Honest to God,” Patricia replied. “It’s why Kurt sent me away. Apparently, I was crowding the poor dear.”
“I’d have locked him in the coldest, darkest room and let him rot.”
“I think most of us would after the way he behaved towards us,” Patricia agreed. “But at least we have new management now.”
“Absolutely. I like Kurt and the others, they’ve got balls.”
“You can say that again. I can still remember the crack of the first shot. Everybody damn near fainted.”
“Did you see the look on Stephen’s face when he thought bandits had come to kill us all? Fucking pussy,” Denise grumbled.
“I hate to admit it, but I had a moment of worry too. They were heavily armed and looked fierce as hell.”
“And what did I say?”
“You said they were just people trying to survive, like us. I’m still in awe of your ability to make judgement calls so quickly. And be right!”
“It comes from years of walking the beat. The second I looked through the binoculars I could see they weren’t like that. They worked as a unit, the women and children as much a part of the fighting as the men.”
“There can be bad women and children too…”
“Of course. But the way they fought…” Denise tried to find the words. “It was with love. I could see the apprehension written on their faces for one another. If it was just a ragtag band of miscreants trying to take our shelter, it would’ve been different.”
“I’ll take your word for it, honey. You were spot on with your analysis. I still feel guilty that I waited behind while you and the others charged out to help.”
“I needed you to stay and keep the others safe, just in case. If any of those things had got past you and inside the castle, I hate to imagine how it may have turned out. You know how fast the infection takes people.”
“I understand.”
“And besides,” Denise continued, patting her friend on the thigh. “I needed you to make doubly sure that weasel didn’t shut the door on us.”
“I wouldn’t have put it past him. He was whining the whole time about ‘those ruffians’ and how they were tearing up the place. As if the zombies hadn’t been doing a bloody good job of that anyway.”
“He should be grateful. Those ruffians are the only thing standing between us and starvation.”
“Exactly!”
“Has Kurt spoke to you about how he intends to get the food back yet?”
“No. I think Stephen’s explaining some of the secret routes in and out of the castle,” Patricia replied. “Once every possible avenue is explored, then I’m sure we’ll start planning a raid.”
“Thank all that is holy. I can’t wait to eat something other than the leftover crap no one else wants.”
“I’d kill for a pepperoni pizza and some popcorn.”
“Mine would be a grilled cheeseburger with tomato, lettuce, mayo, and ketchup,” Denise replied, salivating at the memory.
“Now you put it like that I’ve changed my mind. I want a Five Guys burger. Do you think any of the meat will be usable?” Patricia wondered.
“Not after all this time, but I’ll settle for a pack of beef crisps,” Denise said with a chuckle.
“We’ll need to go with them when the time comes. They’ll need as many people as possible with firearms expertise.”
“I think guns will be for emergency use only. If I know Kurt, he’ll want to try and get in and out with as little noise as possible. Plus, he’ll probably prefer to keep some of us back at the walls in case the prison tries to make a move.”
“Do you think it’s likely?” Patricia asked.
Denise shrugged. “I had to deal with the scum of the earth for years. The one thing I’ve learned is they’ll always surprise you, and not in a ‘I’m turning over a new leaf and behaving myself’ kind of way.”
“You’d think with the zombies nearly wiping us out that people would be more concerned with cooperating. Fucking douchebags.”
“Human nature lets us down every time. There will always be those who want power over everyone else and are prepared to do anything to achieve it. By the sounds of it, Craig and Mike are two shining examples of psychotic fucktards who should’ve been smothered at birth. The only problem is that there are bound to be two more psychotic fucktards waiting in the wings to take their place.”
“Or in the case of the prison, hundreds.”
“There’ll be a high number, certainly. Some will be low level felons who are just trying to do their time in peace. My worry is that if we ever manage to take the prison, identifying who’ll be valuable and who’ll be eager to cut your throat at the first opportunity will prove impossible.”
“Do you think we have a chance of saving the innocents inside?”
Denise considered the question for a few seconds. “I’ve been analysing it from every angle, and no, I don’t.”
“Have you told Kurt?”
“Not yet. It would be different if it was just a few prisoners holding the people, but we’re talking hundreds of inmates. Even if we managed to get inside, they’d think nothing of using them as human shields. Best case scenario is that we add ourselves to the hostage tally, worst case is that everyone dies; us, the prisoners and the hostages themselves.”
“What about infiltrating the prison?” Patricia suggested with a glint in her eye.
“How do you mean?”
“Who’s in charge there?”
“Craig Arater, Mike’s brother.”
“And who’s just turned up here after fighting at Mike’s side?”
“Winston, but he abandoned them because he was scared of the prisoners. Are you suggesting we send him back? I’m sure he’d love that.”
“No. I’m suggesting that if the time ever comes, we can ask him how he feels about the possibility. I was chatting to him in the kitchen and it turns out he’d developed a close bond with Mike. That could be his way in.”
“I thought he hated Mike and Debbie?” asked Denise.
“He fears them, but Mike stood up for him. I think he took the lad under his wing a little.”
“Kurt needs to hear this,” Denise said, brow furrowing. “If he’s concealing this kind of thing it could be dangerous for us all.”
“It’s not like that, sweetie. He told me because he felt so guilty about lying in the first place. Winston won’t betray us, I can assure you of that.”
“And what makes you think he’d betray Mike?”
“I don’t. It was just a silly idea, anyway. Forget it.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I think it has merit. The only problem is that he knows exactly what Kurt and the others will do if they ever got hold of them. I don’t think it’s fair to put that on the poor lad’s shoulders.”
Patricia nodded, sipping her coffee. “They’re already in prison, though,” she suggested.
“Huh?”
“What if we could guarantee their safety and just lock them away as punishment?”
“I think the feud’s gone beyond simple incarceration, but it wouldn’t hurt to raise it as an option.”
“In all honesty, I’ve no ide
a what he could do even if he did get himself inside,” admitted Patricia.
“I think that young man could be quite inventive if he set his mind to it.”
“You may be right. Who’d have thought to steal a crane and trundle across country?”
Denise winked. “Indeed.”
CHAPTER 19
Entering the dark stairwell, Dougal was nervous about being directly in front of the erratic defenders and stood to the side as they passed. Joan smiled and waited with him, understanding his hesitation.
“When we get into the hall, you’ll understand why they’re a little protective,” she said mysteriously.
Green smears lined the bare concrete walls of the rooftop access and it was obvious what had left them. Handprints, some incomplete from lack of fingers, were visible along its length and she could see his confusion.
“I’ll tell you all about it later. Let’s get you that cup of coffee.”
Reaching the main complex, the door was held open by Christopher who still regarded him with wariness. When the world ends at the teeth of monsters, trust of strangers is the first casualty Dougal surmised. In hindsight, he could not blame them for their reaction. In the brave new world, people trying to gain access to your shelter by climbing across thousands of undead would seem unhinged to say the least. Factor in guns and it was even more understandable.
The drab utility stairs gave way to the corridor and true holiday spirit. Bright colours and smiling bears were painted across the walls, promising fun and frivolity for the children. Posters with the latest night time entertainment and prices of discounted alcohol were taped between the innocent, cuddly animals, promising the same for the adults.
“Joan, would you mind showing him around a bit first? I’d like to calm the others down and explain everything’s ok before he sees them,” asked Christopher.
“Good idea,” she agreed. “Let me give you the grand tour!”
“I don’t fancy a swim if I’m being honest. I think your pool monitor needs to be fired.”