by Chris Harris
‘Well that’s about fifty five more than I wanted to see,’ I remarked, wryly. ‘Shawn, what should we do?’
‘I think we should wait and see what happens, said Shawn thoughtfully. ‘They may just pass us by, although if they know we’re in here I doubt it. As long as they can’t get over the walls, we’ll be safe, but then again the walls aren’t high enough to hide us from view completely. If they stay at the walls, we’ll have to kill them. I haven’t figured out the best way yet but now we’ve got a variety of weapons, I’m sure we’ll find out by good old trial and error. The one thing we can’t do is wait them out. We’ll probably starve before they do and we don’t yet know if their presence here will somehow attract more. They may have a sort of zombie telepathy.’
I just looked at him. ‘Telepathy?’
He shrugged and grinned. ‘Hey, everything was a theory until it was proved right or wrong.’
The zombies were very close now. They’d followed the path of least resistance to us and that had led them directly to our weakest point: the gate.
I turned to Stanley, Daisy and Eddie who were standing beside Becky and a still dazed looking Maud. Stanley was gripping his cricket bat and Eddie was holding his zombie spear while Daisy stood with her hand on the handle of the knife Shawn had given her.
‘Kids,’ I said, ‘I want you to stay here and protect Maud, but I also need you to be our eyes. We may be concentrating too much on one area and miss something going on somewhere else. The three of you need to keep a good lookout and tell us if we miss anything.’
They all nodded, the determined expressions on their small faces showed courage far beyond their years.
The main gate started to rattle as the first zombies reached it and began to push up against it. More arrived. The gate began to groan alarmingly and some of the wooden supports fell down.
Shawn, Chet and Andy ran forward to try to reinforce it. It now had the combined weight of all the zombies pushing against it. I felt anxiety creeping up on me. We needed to get them away from the gate.
I picked up a spade, ran over to the wall just to the left of the gate and began shouting and banging it against the stone wall. Some of them turned, cocked their heads like dogs, and looked in my direction. I yelled at the top of my lungs and swung the spade even harder against the wall. It made a satisfying ringing sound.
Yes! They were beginning to move towards the noise I was making. I moved further away from the gate drawing even more of them in my direction. The rattling of the gate ceased, as they stopped pushing against it and made for me. Holding my position now that the gate was clear, I kept up the din until they were all gathered at the wall right in front of me, a mass of outstretched arms and contorted faces, reaching out, desperate to feed on me.
I risked a glance at the gate and was relieved to see the three men working furiously to strengthen it. My moment of inattention almost got me killed, as a zombie reached out and snatched the spade I was holding and yanked me towards him. My first reaction was to try to fight it but I was pulled dangerously close to the other outstretched arms. I screamed in fear and let go of the spade.
I staggering back panting. The other side of the wall was now lined five deep with zombies. The wall was nowhere near high enough and they were beginning to bend their torsos over the top of it. In desperation, I raised my shotgun, aimed it at the closest one and pulled the trigger. The gun kicked and the zombie’s head transformed into a mess of blood, bone and brain. The hideous creature remained upright, held fast by the pressure of the ones behind it. I took aim at another and it was flung backwards by the force of the shot.
I noticed that the recoil was more than I was used to, so when I broke the gun to eject the cartridges and reload, I checked the new cartridges quickly before shoving them into the barrels. They were thirty six gram fours which meant a good heavy load with a lot of stopping power. Ideal for pulverising zombie brains!
The problem was, now that one zombie was dead on the floor, the others had something to step on, which raised them up a bit more. And the more they leant over the wall, the more the weight of the others pushing from behind was virtually propelling them over it.
I heard Stanley, Daisy and Eddie shouting at the others to let them know.
As I shot and killed the two that were furthest over the wall, the others hurried over to join me. Shawn raised his bow and released a bolt that stuck in the head of another zombie.
Louise’s first shot hit one of them in the shoulder. Oblivious to the fact that its arm was hanging in tatters, it resumed its efforts to get over the wall. Learning quickly, she readjusted her aim and killed it with a shot to the head. The more bodies there were on the ground the more difficult our situation became, as it made it easier for the others to climb on to the growing pile. We’d only managed to take out six of them and they were almost over the wall.
‘Chet, Andy go to the sides and try and get some,’ I shouted frantically, as I fired both barrels again. Louise’s gun firing by my right ear felled two more. She hadn’t been lying when she’d said she could shoot.
Chet and Andy ran forward, bravely trusting us not to hit them, and wielding their axe and machete, hacked at the heads of the zombies closest to them.
The first one managed to scale the wall and fell clumsily over it. Shawn killed it instantly with a bolt.
I called Andy and Chet back. We stood in a line and paused for a second as four more flopped on to the ground just a few metres away from us.
Andy shouted, ‘Don’t shoot!’ and darted forward, using his heavy bladed machete to smash their heads apart before they even managed to get up. As he turned to run back to us another zombie fell over the wall and its momentum made it roll towards him. It seized him by the ankle and tripped him up. As if in slow motion, we all ran forward to help him but just as I was about to stab the creature, it bit deeply into his outstretched calf muscle. I drove the knife home and dragged its carcass away. Then Chet and I dragged Andy clear.
He was screaming in pain and anger. Stricken, we all looked at each other. There was nothing we could do; he’d been bitten and to all intents and purposes, he was already dead.
Andy knew this only too well.
More zombies were managing to clamber over the wall now, so we were forced to ignore Andy for the moment. There were now about ten of the things, all rising to their feet and lurching towards us, and more were coming over all the time. As they clumsily pulled themselves over, they dislodged stones from the top of the wall, making it even easier for the ones that were following.
We were in serious trouble. I wasn’t sure we’d be able to re-load quickly enough to get them all in time.
Behind us I heard a hoarse shout. ‘Look after yourselves everyone; it’s been a hell of an adventure! Chet, you’ve been a good mate. I love you like a brother. You’ll get through this.’
I was almost knocked flying as Andy barged past me. Swinging his machete with a yell, he launched himself at the nearest zombie, almost decapitating it with his first blow. His wounded leg forgotten, he pushed, kicked and slashed his way into the middle of them. Their attention was now fully focused on Andy and they all began to converge on him.
‘Fuckers!’ yelled Chet, tears streaming down his cheeks. Stepping forward, he swung his axe into the back of the nearest zombie’s head while its attention was focused on his friend.
We couldn’t see Andy now, but we could hear him swearing and shouting as the zombies formed a tight circle around him. Then his shouting turned to roars of pain, and the last glimpse I caught was of him swinging his machete into the head of one of them while another tore into his neck.
The sudden silence, apart from the sound of the zombies snarling and clothing tearing, made us realise that it was all over. But he’d given us a fighting chance. The zombies had eyes only for the place where he had fallen. Rage and a thirst for vengeance seemed to take over and screaming and swearing, Shawn and I hurled ourselves into the battle with Chet.
/> I looked round at a sudden scream from Becky and realised that the three of us were in danger of being surrounded. Without stopping to think, I launched myself at the nearest one and kicked at it viciously until it fell over. Then I grabbed Chet and Shawn by their shirts and dragged them through the gap I’d created. The shotgun was still lying where I’d dropped it. I snatched it up and assessed the damage.
Over half of them were dead. The last few were still stupidly struggling over the wall, which was now in poor shape as half of it had crumbled. A group of them was still feeding greedily on Andy’s corpse but the rest had now turned their attention back to us.
It must all have happened in a space of about ten minutes, but I was absolutely exhausted. Sweat was pouring down my face and my arms felt like lead. Wearily, I re-loaded and shot two more. We weren’t going to make it. Louise fired her weapon and Shawn and I looked at each other. He looked just like I felt. He just gave a shrug and fired his crossbow at another target.
Without looking back, I shouted, ‘Becky, get the kids into the car. Remember, I love you. Don’t try to help, just get them somewhere safe.’
The sound of my children screaming in anguish ripped at my heart, but I couldn’t look back. I had to buy them enough time to get away.
‘Kids, be brave for mommy,’ I called, tears pouring down my face. I prepared to take out as many as I could.
Now we were nine, but for how much longer?
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Our backs touched my car. I heard Becky start it and registered the sound of the kids crying inside.
Louise, Chet, Shawn and I formed a semi-circle. I shot my last two cartridges. There wasn’t enough room to swing the gun effectively, so I threw it down and pulled my knife back out of its sheath, holding it ready.
‘I’m really sorry guys, I thought we’d get through this,’ was all I could say before the words stuck in my throat.
I heard a crack and watched stupidly as the head of the zombie closest to Louise exploded. I recovered enough to kill the one nearest to me with my knife, then watched in astonishment as the one next to it collapsed with a hole in the front of its head and the brains sprayed out of a gaping hole in the back of it.
I didn’t dare look behind me. There were too many zombies closing in on us. We were still fighting for our lives, but I could see more dropping in my peripheral vision. Someone out there was helping us and it couldn’t have come at a better time. We’d been seconds away from being overrun and slaughtered.
The wall of dead zombies we’d created kept the others away from us and the ones attempting to grab us from behind were steadily being thinned out by our unknown saviours, making it much easier for us to kill them. I looked for another one to kill, but all at once there were none. Every zombie was dead and the ground was littered with their bodies, all lying in heaps at grotesque angles.
The only sound to be heard was our laboured breathing and the engine of my car.
The engine stopped and I heard the window wind down. I turned to see Becky and Maud sitting in the front of the car and the three children looking at me from the rear seats. They sat there silently, still looking petrified.
The quiet sound of a sheep baaing on the moor sounded positively unnatural after what we’d just experienced.
Who had just helped us?
‘We’re coming out from behind the wall. Lower your weapons,’ came a shout.
I lowered my knife and Shawn and Louise followed suit.
Two soldiers in full kit with rifles aimed at us stood up from behind the wall to our left. One of them kept his weapon trained on us while the other climbed over the wall. The other followed, and they walked slowly towards us. At a command from one of them, they both lowered their weapons.
They stood in silence for a moment, then the older one of the two broke into a smile and said, ‘That was a bit intense wasn’t it? I’m glad most of you made it.’
We were speechless.
Chet finally spoke first. ‘How long have you been there? Could you have saved my mate?’
The man shook his head. ‘No pal. I’m sorry but we couldn’t. In fact, if it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t have got involved. I’d made the decision, rightly or wrongly, not to intervene when we first came across you. Your situation looked so hopeless I didn’t want to put us at risk for no reason. It was only when we saw what he did – sacrificing himself to help you even though he’d been bitten – that I decided you must be OK and worth helping. That man was a fucking hero the way he piled in there. If anything like that happens to me, I hope I go down as well as he did. And then the way you all piled in after him! I just had to help after that.’
He grinned and then put out his hand. ‘Sorry, I’m forgetting myself. I’m Sergeant Simon Wood and this scrawny individual by my side is Marine Brown.’
Still stunned by their appearance, I stammered, ‘Hi.. er sorry but where the hell have you just come from? I mean, thanks for helping us out and everything. I really thought we’d had it then. But, well, you just rise up from behind a wall and say, ‘sorry I wasn’t going to get involved, but then I decided I would! I’m a bit confused!’
He laughed. ‘Yes it sounds like it. Let me explain where we came from.’ He looked beyond us towards the car. ‘Do you want to let the women and children out of the car first?’
Becky, who’d been listening through the car window, leant out and said, ‘Don’t worry we’re getting out, but can you make sure none of those things are still alive first?’
‘Good point!’ said Shawn.
The soldiers agreed, so we spent the next few minutes kicking each zombie to check for signs of life and if in doubt, throwing in an extra stab to the brain for good measure. Chet made his way over to what was left of Andy. We could only tell it was him by the scraps of clothing that remained.
We let him have a moment to grieve for his friend. I did a quick count up. He’d gone down fighting and taken six of the bastards with him. Shawn walked round retrieving as many of his crossbow bolts as he could. He was careful to wipe them before packing them away.
We gathered together over by the house, away from the piles of bodies.
Becky ushered Maud and the children into the house. We waited for Chet to join us, then went into the kitchen. The children retired to the lounge and carried on watching the DVD that was still playing. Becky grabbed a carton of juice from the fridge and rummaged through the cupboards for some glasses. She found a tray, picked up a biscuit tin she’d found on the worktop and carried it all through to the children.
Maud seemed to come to all of a sudden. ‘Shall I put the kettle on then?’
We looked at each other and everyone burst out laughing. So typically British. There we were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, struggling to survive and fighting off hordes of flesh eating monsters, one of our fledgling group already eaten alive, and at the first opportunity someone was offering to make a nice cup of tea.
Maud left us all giggling hysterically, and looking slightly mystified, proceeded to make a large pot of tea. Eventually we could laugh no more, but it had served its purpose: we’d managed to release a lot of pent up emotion. I walked over to Maud, wiping the tears from my eyes and hugged her. ‘Thank you. We needed that,’ I told her.
We helped ourselves to steaming mugs of tea and Sergeant Wood told Marine Brown to go outside and keep watch while he told us their story.
They were Royal Marines, based out at Bickleigh Barracks, just outside Plymouth. They’d been out there on a routine training exercise the previous morning when the whole base had suddenly been placed on alert. Amid great confusion, everyone had been issued with live ammunition and squads had been hurriedly formed and dispatched in whatever vehicle was available to guard road junctions.
The only orders they’d received had been to protect citizens against outbreaks of ‘civil unrest’. Their lorry had contained a hastily cobbled together mix of marines from different units under the command of a young lieutenant
who’d been told to go to a road junction outside Bodmin.
Shortly afterwards a panic-stricken crowd of people, escaping from Bodmin, had rounded the corner and converged on the soldiers in the hope of being protected. The bemused marines had had no time to react when the snarling mass of zombies surged up against the screaming crowd and tore into them savagely.
Not understanding what they were dealing with, some of the soldiers had ventured forward to try to intervene and had been quickly and brutally overrun themselves.
Sergeant Wood, a veteran of many campaigns, had quickly realised that their only chance of survival was to fight back. He’d ordered the remaining marines to raise their weapons and they’d fired into the growing crowd of undead, who were heading straight for them. By the time the bewildered men had worked out that headshots were the only way to kill them, the zombies were almost on top of them. As they retreated they could only watch helplessly as one by one their comrades were attacked and ripped apart. When there were just the two of them left, Wood and Brown had just managed to scramble into the lorry. Hastily filling their Bergens with as much ammunition as they could carry, they’d jumped down from the lorry and sprinted away from their pursuers. Being marines, they were both superbly fit and had had no trouble losing them. Once they were clear of them they’d instinctively headed for the moors, an area they knew well which they knew they could disappear into.
They’d been working their way across the moors, in the hope of returning to their barracks and regrouping with whoever was left, when they’d come across the farmhouse and witnessed the drama that was unfolding.
He apologised again for not immediately coming to our aid, but we waved it off. He had saved our lives and that was all that mattered.
‘Do you think anyone will still be alive at your barracks?’ asked Becky.
‘Well ma’am. If there isn’t, then the whole country is fucked as far as I’m concerned. Because if those undead bastards have managed to get through the best trained and toughest soldiers in the world then there really is no hope. And I guess my carefully planned career will be over and I’ll have to look at my early retirement options! But my main objective is just to get back to see if any of my mates got through.’