Finally thick black bubbling blood began to come out of their eyes and ears, and they started to collapse. Those ones were dead forever. Daddy said they died because the electric had enough time to cook their brains. Still more and more walked into Daddy’s and Daryl’s electric trap, and they died too. Not one of the zombies reached the end of the electric trap, and Daddy said we would be safe until the petrol run out in the generators. We didn’t wait for that to happen, Kathy told us to get into the boats, and we left the docks behind us.
As we travelled along the water it felt like one big adventure. We had to try and find somewhere safe to stop the boats, especially as some of my friends would have to carry Daryl. We have been past many sights, far too many to count. We just passed The London Eye, and there seems to be less zombies about, so we are finally going to stop near Tower Bridge. We are going to wait whilst Kathy and Morgan check the area first, to make sure it’s safe for us all to get out. I hope they can find us somewhere safe to stay tonight, I don’t want to spend another night on the river.
Princess Shanice, Eleven and fed up of boats.
X
Tower Hill, London, 20th July, 17:07 GMT
With the safety of the rest of the group Kathy’s main priority, she had insisted that they make their way out to the first submerged bridge support, and moor the boat to the column, until she and Morgan returned back safely. She had made it quite clear that under no circumstances, were any of them to return to shore, to either help the pair or look for them if they didn’t return. Was it madness to stop in the capital and look for somewhere safe? Kathy just didn’t know. She had hoped, that they would be able to come ashore well before they reached London, but the outer radius of the city was overrun. It was only when they had reached the centre of the city itself that the zombies began to thin out in numbers, and to her that didn’t make sense.
The two soldiers now stood on the small Jetty waving the two boats off. Only when they were both happy with the distance the boats were now away from the shore, did they move off. Kathy took the time to study her lovers face, he seemed a million miles away, deep in thought. “So where to? Any ideas?” She asked him. “It can’t be too far away, as we still have to be able to carry Daryl.” Morgan replied, still gazing out across the river. “We could go back to Chatsworth, and stay there?” Morgan look confused by her answer. “You said there was no way back in there, once we left?” Kathy didn’t attempt to answer him, and she chose to pull out a black key card from her jacket. “I’m guessing that is some sort of override card?” She semi-smiled and nodded at his question, and then told him, “Each administrator has one that will grant a onetime access to any bunker.” “Well let’s at least try that option first then. At least, until Daryl has recovered.” He said and then placed his hand on her back, guiding her up the slope.
As they reached the top of the steep concrete incline, they were immediately met with remnants of the devastation the area had been witness to. The roads all around the area were clogged with vehicles, most of them were empty. Of the ones that still had passengers; they were no longer alive. The poor souls must have been bitten, before climbing into their cars, unaware that they themselves would soon die, and succumb to the virus. Morgan couldn’t believe his eyes, as they locked onto a horse drawn carriage sitting in amongst the debris. Just who in their right mind had tried to flee in that? Now the wooden carriage sat in the middle of the road, surrounded by abandoned cars. He eyed the eaten skeletal remains of the horse, hanging limply in the harness that had at one time attached it to the carriage. “Poor bastard.” He muttered, under his breath.
Kathy hoped that all the empty cars meant that many had escaped. She didn’t wish to come face to face with a horde the size of the motorway one again. What nagged at her was where would people run to though? How would they have survived? It was obvious that many hadn’t, as the roads were strewn with carcasses, and discarded half eaten limbs. It was lucky for them that the majority of infected had moved on, but to where? Now there were only a few to be seen. Scanning up the street and across the road, Kathy felt sick that the once clean capital was now stained with blood, it was everywhere. Many had fallen here and been fed upon, or been badly injured and lost lots of blood, judging by the long dried out puddles of blood.
To Kathy it felt like Hell had opened up and sent all of its horrors into the one area, devouring everything in its path, but deep down she knew that Hell was now nearly everywhere, and that this time God might not be able to force it back, where it belonged into the shadows. They had to creep stealthily along to avoid the attentions of the meandering zombies that still hung around the Tower Hill underground entrance. There weren’t that many, but should even one spot them, they knew it would alert the others. After sneaking past the first three Morgan questioned their plan. “I don’t think the others will be too happy that we are going back to where we started from.” “We might not yet Jay.” “What do you mean by that Kath?” “The master override cards need to be authorised by top ranking military officials.” Morgan looked puzzled, “What if they all died at Berwick, and didn’t activate the cards?” Kathy looked at him whilst she considered his question, “Then we won’t be going back in.” She finally answered.
The road and streets ahead of them were unfortunately not as empty. On rounding the corner they could instantly see that there were bigger groups of the undead; some groups numbered in their dozens. There would be no chance of creeping around numbers this large, and as they looked up the road, they both feared what was up ahead of them. “We could try finding a route to bypass them?” Morgan suggested. “I don’t like our odds of successfully managing that.” Kathy said as she shook her head. “We will have to go back, and think of something else.” “Yeah, but where Jay?” Morgan half smiled, making Kathy think she wasn’t going to like what he suggested next. “How about a place that in the past no one would have wanted to break into?” “Come on Jay, spit it out. I know I’m not going to like it already.” Morgan laughed and then pointed to the Tower of London. His lover looked shocked, “You’ve got to be joking?” “Let’s just see if we can get in there. It’s not like we are going to be arrested or anything.” A resigned expression spread across Kathy’s face, where else could they go? She thought to herself. “We can look, but I’m not agreeing to go in there, just yet okay?” Morgan nodded to her to confirm he agreed with her decision, as they started to move off he told her, “I can live with that, but first we have to take care of these strays. I’m not going to keep creeping around them.” He said as he pointed to one of the dead that they had only just snuck past. Kathy looked at the shuffling zombie; this one used to be a woman, her long hair was matted with blood and dirt and one side of face had been eaten away. “I can live with that.” Kathy said with a determined look upon her face, as she pulled her knife from its sheath.
They crept up to the nearest zombie and waited for the right opportunity to arise. Once it passed the car they were hidden behind, Kathy calmly stepped out, surprising Morgan, and drove the serrated blade of her knife straight through the back of its head. Up until now Morgan had been the only member of the group to kill one of them, and Kathy’s first effortless kill impressed him no end. When she sprung out from another hiding place, dispatching three more cadavers in the same way, without seeking his help, he tapped her on her shoulder. “Don’t forget that there are two of us here. Any chance you can let me have some practice too?” He asked and they both laughed. “Oh yeah of course, sorry I guess I got carried away.” She replied, whilst holding out her hand towards the next zombie, as if she was offering it up for sacrifice. Morgan smiled at her, “Don’t worry I’ve been there, done that, worn the T-shirt.” Over the next four hundred metres they killed a further nine undead between them. Each one was targeted and dealt with after a series of hand signals were exchanged between the two.
Standing at the top of the stone steps that led down to the underground entrance, Kathy caught sight of a quick movement, just i
nside the drawn, concertina gate. Signalling to Morgan that something was on the other side of the locked entrance, she instinctively sheathed he blade, swapping it for the more satisfying assault rifle. As she brought the weapon up to her shoulder, Morgan done the same. “Lower your weapons.” A voice ordered them from the safety of the shadows. They were both shocked, and had both mistakenly presumed that the movement had come from a zombie. “If you step in front of the gate, with your guns drawn, we will be forced to open fire.” The voice informed them. Kathy turned and looked at Morgan for guidance, what if it was a trap? Morgan chose to shoulder his weapon, and then stepped in front of the locked gate. Kathy had no choice, but to copy her partner, and followed him down the four steps.
As they stood in front of the gate they quickly scanned the entrance hall. In between each of the turnstiles, metal road signs had been wedged into the narrow gaps. Behind this ramshackle wall of metal, crouched four armed men, with each brandishing a firearm. Above their position hung a bedsheet, which had a crudely scrawled message, written in paint across the front of it. “Safe passage. Pay the toll.” The pair seemed to be hypnotised by the message, and continued to stare at it, trying to work out its meaning. “Keep the guns down.” The nearest of the gunmen, brought them back to reality with a harsh bump. “We will you won’t get any trouble from us.” Kathy replied back to the man. Morgan pointed towards the sign and asked, “What truth is there in that?” Again the man in the shadows spoke out, “Depends on what you’ve got to trade.” The man started to giggle, and strangely the other three men still in hiding found his remark just as funny. Kathy felt a wave of unease spread over her, she didn’t like the way the four men were looking at her. “There are ten of us altogether. What is that going to cost us?” She asked, whilst secretly dreading what their response would be. One of the hidden men rose from his crouched position, behind the makeshift guard post, and then walked over to the gate carrying a large green, plastic tray. As he reached the soldiers, he held out the tray, and informed them, “Guns in the box, and then I can let you in to discuss terms.” He then placed the tray at the foot of the gate, before backing off back into the welcoming shadows. Both assault rifles were reluctantly passed through the narrow gap, and placed softly into the green box. The grubby man that had just passed them the box, didn’t emerge from his cover, choosing to tell them, “Come on side arms as well, I’m not stupid.” Kathy and Morgan slowly un-holstered the guns and did as they were told, if it wasn’t for Daryl needing urgent medical attention, Kathy doubted either of them would have complied so easily.
After unlocking the three padlocks that were looped through the heavyset link chain, and then unlocking the concertina door the Grubby One slid the gate back, just enough to let them through one at a time. He didn’t immediately introduce himself, instead he went back to re-securing the gate, behind them. “If you follow me, I will show you what you are paying for.” The Grubby One said, as he strode past them, towards the stairs that led down to the platforms. The lack of any introduction didn’t offend Kathy, but as she walked past the other three guards a wave of revulsion washed over her, when she noticed the way the men were watching her; the same as she had felt minutes before, yet even more repulsive now that she was closer to them.
Walking down the short set of steps that were dimly lit by one lantern, Kathy found the silence of the deserted station eerie. As she thought about it, she had never been inside a quiet underground station before; every time she had visited the city and used the underground system, it had always been jam packed with passengers. Once they had descended the staircase the soldiers looked along the lengths of the three platforms, both tunnels on the westbound side were boarded up, barring entry or exit via those routes. Kathy’s eyes lingered on the central poster on the westbound platform; the advert for cheap holidays, stood out amongst the others advertising books and the latest blockbuster films.
Morgan’s question snapped her from her trance, “Where is the safe passage then?” The Grubby One smirked, as he pointed down one of the open tunnel in front of them. “The tunnels are blocked by trains, meaning the undead can’t come this way. From here it’s a straight walk to Monument.” He told the pair. “What’s at Monument?” Kathy asked. “There you get to make a choice.” “Which Is?” The disdain for the Grubby One’s games was wearing thin on Kathy, she was having problems restraining her anger. “You can either continue to Victoria, or make your way to Bank. Both have accommodation, and trading posts.” “You’re not worried about zombies finding a way in?” Morgan interrupted. The grubby one began giggling again, “No my friend, we are securing each station and then moving onto the next one. It is quite safe.”
Kathy turned to Morgan, “What do you think?” Judging by the seriousness on Morgan’s face, he had been in deep thought about that question himself. “If the tunnels are clear, we can go anywhere we want after Daryl has recovered.” He told her, and was quickly interrupted by the Grubby One, “Hey, hang on one minute. What do you mean by recovered?” “One of our group has been shot.” Kathy snapped back without any hesitation. She then added, “Why? Is that a problem?” The Grubby One studied her for some seconds before answering, “If it’s a gunshot then no. We have to check each of you anyway.” Morgan bowed his head, knowing what would come next. “You think I’m going to let you run your filthy hands all over me?” Kathy vehemently spat her question out. It didn’t seem to bother the Grubby One who was now in a fit of giggles, it seemed as if he was enjoying tormenting Kathy. It took a few minutes for him to regain enough composure to answer her, “Oh I don’t think Dear, I know. I’m afraid they are the rules, absolutely no one infected is allowed into the tunnel system.” Kathy turned to her lover, she found herself in a situation that she wasn’t in control of and she didn’t like it one little bit. “Maybe we should try the bunker Jay.” She suggested to him in the slim hope that he would agree. A look of disappointment spread across her face when Morgan began to shake his head, “You know as well as me that we will never make it back inside there.” Morgan replied.
The soldiers pondered their options, when they were finally given some space by the Grubby One. They could go back, outside and find an alternative solution, but it would just be a stopgap, for a few days and then they would be back to square one. If they chose the tunnels they would have safe passage, shelter and more importantly rest, before having to move on. “How much is this going to cost?” Kathy asked the Grubby One when they returned to the upper floor. For some reason the question caused him to smile, exposing his grime covered teeth. “Two guns and five cans of food for each person, or thirty cans of food for each, or our special deal of the day is we take you for the whole group’s passage.” Kathy’s hand swung across the air towards the annoying man’s face as he finished his sentence, only for it to be caught in mid-air by Morgan. The Grubby One scowled at her, “You’re lucky if you had hit me I would have doubled the prices.”
They left the station behind them and were glad that they only had to dispatch three more of the undead on their way back to the jetty. “Do you trust them Jay?” “I don’t trust any outsiders Kath, but we have no choice.” She came to a halt so that she could look Morgan in the face, “But the trade will leave us short on food and weapons. I don’t think we will have anything left by the time we have paid up in full.” He squeezed her hand to reassure her, “We will get by Kath. The guns are useless around the infected. It just draws more to us. As for the food, I’m sure we can go without for a few hours, if we need to.” They walked the rest of the way in silence, both deep in thought. They were so side tracked by the questions bouncing around in their heads that neither of them reacted to Jackson, who now waited on the edge of the river for them in a third boat. He didn’t question either of them as they climbed into the boat, and neither of them seemed to appear to notice the additional vessel, so he started to row the boat pack the rest of the group, waiting under the bridge.
Tower Hill, London, 20th July, 19:15 GMT
After a long discussion the group had finally agreed to take the chance and travel through the underground system to Victoria. Unfortunately Daryl’s condition had worsened during that time; none of the group believed that he would survive the night, not even Shanice. For the past twenty minutes Daryl had become delirious, every so often he would suddenly speak out loudly and shout incoherent words.
It was a concern to Kathy that her injured friend could be attracting more of the undead into the area, she couldn’t voice her opinions, as she didn’t want to upset Scott any further. The boats were still moored to the bridges support, and despite sitting in the shadows, they were definitely drawing unwanted attention; even now the jetty had the undead standing on it, trying to work out where the new noise was coming from. Penny had only just started conversing with other members of the group again, after losing another person she had cared about, in little more than a fortnight. “So when do we go?” She asked whilst looking back at where they needed to get to shore. Kathy didn’t answer, she just shook her head.
As the boats sat bobbing gently in the summer evening breeze the group sat in silence, not knowing what to say to one another. Scott eventually broke the silence, “You need a decoy to lure them away Kath.” Her head snapped back, towards him, “I hope you’re not thinking of doing something stupid Scott?” “Stupid would be endangering the rest of the group, trying to save Daryl.” Kath couldn’t answer at that moment, she hung her head in an attempt to hide the tears that coursed down her cheeks. “You know I can’t let you do that Scott.” She literally sobbed. Scott shook his head, “He is nearly dead Kath. He isn’t going to make it.” “That’s not enough of an excuse to sacrifice yourself Scott.” Scott looked intensely into her face, “Who said anything about sacrifice? When he has gone, I’ll come and find the rest of you.” He tried to reassure her. Kathy blinked back at the tears, “Really?” “I promise Kath.” Scott told her.
Day Zed - Box Set: Volumes I and II Page 20