The Undead Day Fifteen

by RR Haywood

  The visitor centre is gone, destroyed in the storm and with it the toilets and washing facilities. Anyone needing the toilet now has to go out the front under the watchful eye of the crew tasked to remain there. Some ply board sheets are all that give privacy until a better solution can be made.

  ‘Hey,’ a voice breaks her concentration. She turns around to see Lani walking back from the front gates with a blanket wrapped round her body.

  ‘You are awake yes?’

  ‘We are,’ Lani replies, ‘you’ve been busy…have you seen outside? It’s so foggy.’

  ‘Yes, I see this,’ Lenski glances up again, ‘you will come for coffee yes? In the offices?’

  ‘Okay, I’ll get the others,’ Lani nods as she walks back towards their rooms.

  ‘Lenski?’

  The Polish woman turns to see Lilly approaching with yet another clipboard held in one hand, ‘the food has been checked, clothing too…we’re waiting on the rest now.’

  ‘This is good,’ Lenski nods, ‘you not sleep yet?’

  ‘No,’ Lilly shakes her head, ‘I tried but…’ her voice trails off as she glances to the ramp where her brother sleeps deeply under the watchful eye of the guards, already firm friends with the little girl Milly and the two of them sleep side by side, ‘I’d rather be busy,’ Lilly adds firmly.

  ‘Okay, you will sleep when your body needs it,’ Lenski shrugs, with so much to do, Lenski can observe the welfare of others but not invest the time in checking everyone. It’s up to them what they do and when they want to sleep and just in the last few hours Lilly has worked non-stop. Relentlessly rushing back and forth, almost as though trying to show how hard she can work, ‘we go for coffee now yes?’

  ‘Coffee?’ Lilly asks.

  ‘The others, they wake now. We have the coffee and the meeting to discuss what we do now, you come for this.’

  ‘Really? You want me to come? I can stay here and get…’

  ‘No, you need the coffee and you have the information on the food and clothes yes? So you come and we talk.’

  ‘Okay,’ Lilly nods quickly, willing to show she can do as told.

  ‘Maybe Nick he will be there too,’ Lenski offers a rare smile and softens her tone, smiling broader at the obvious flush in Lilly’s cheeks. ‘He is nice boy,’ Lenski adds as they walk side by side.

  ‘He is,’ Lilly replies matter of fact.

  ‘You like him?’

  ‘Of course, I like everyone here.’

  ‘No. You like him? The way a woman likes a man, the way I like Maddox.’

  ‘Oh…well we only just met and I’m sure Nicholas is very busy with his group now.’

  ‘These days they are new yes?’ Lenski nods, ‘maybe we don’t wait like we did before. Maybe we should take the happy when we can, yes?’

  ‘Maybe he doesn't like me,’ Lilly says, glancing across at the older woman that seems so confident.

  ‘You are beautiful girl and I see many men here look at you,’ Lenski replies, ‘and I see how Nick look at you. He likes you, this is for sure.’

  Reaching the former police offices once used by Sergeant Debbie Hopewell and Ted, the two women set about switching the gas burner on to boil water. Using a battered old saucepan with an ill-fitting lid to heat the water. Chipped mugs, all mismatching and of varying sizes litter the top of the old work unit. A stained teaspoon pokes out of a bag of sugar next to a torn open box of teabags and commercial catering size tub of instant coffee. Individual portions of long life milk in a cardboard box complete the adhoc kitchen area.

  Maddox files in next. Silent and brooding as ever. He nods once at Lilly and offers Lenski a kiss on the cheek before opening a fresh bottle of water, forsaking the polluting beverages of tea or coffee. Darius is next, having seen his lifelong best friend walk in, he too joins the group but heads for the chipped mugs, rummaging about to get himself a mug ready for some strong black coffee.

  Sierra strides in, offering a quick smile to Darius and Maddox before launching into a conversation with Lenski. Lilly waits by the stove and she can’t help but notice the familiar way these four interact with each other. An easy, casual conversation passes between Darius and Maddox, whilst Sierra and Lenski discuss ideas and the progress of the people working outside.

  Voices approach the door and the tones of Blowers and Cookey precede their physical form. ‘Fog,’ Blowers says, entering first with Cookey right behind him.

  ‘Mist,’ Cookey replies instantly.

  ‘Fog you twat,’ Blowers snaps.

  ‘Mist you twat,’ Cookey imitates his best friend, ‘mist is on the coast, fog is like, inland or something.’

  ‘Yeah or something,’ Blowers mocks, ‘you don’t even know. Its fog…mist is like…like a thin fog isn’t it. Morning,’ Blowers calls out, shifting his attention to the occupants of the room.

  ‘Aye up chuckies,’ Cookey nods, heading straight for the stove, ‘Hey Lilly, you alright?’

  ‘Yes, fine thank you,’ Lilly smiles at the beaming lad.

  ‘You’re educated, is it mist or fog?’ Cookey asks in his easy way, ‘me and cockchops are having a disagreement.’

  ‘Er well, actually they are the same but Simon is more correct as fog is defined when visibility is reduced to less than one kilometre, so yes…we have fog.’

  ‘Ha! In your fat face,’ Blowers exclaims in triumph, ‘one nil to me thank you very much.’

  ‘Bollocks,’ Cookey mutters with a fallen face that immediately brightens back up, ‘you brewing up?’

  ‘Er, well yes I was going to.’

  ‘I’ll give you a hand,’ he starts shuffling the mugs about and spooning heaped teaspoons of coffee granules into them, ‘everyone having coffee?’ Cookey calls out. ‘Good,’ he adds before anyone can reply, ‘coffee is easier than dunking teabags in and out,’ he advises Lilly, ‘then you get the awkward knobs like Blowers who like weak tea or builders tea or uber fucking strong tea served in a china mug on a porcelain saucer with a digestive. How’s your brother?’

  Smiling as she starts to relax, Lilly nods quickly, ‘fast asleep with the others.’

  ‘Milly with him?’ Cookey asks pausing as he tries to remember who has sugar then giving up and moving the packet of sugar onto the main table.

  ‘Side by side. They look so sweet and that dog has been with them the whole time too.’

  ‘What dog?’ Clarence’s huge form looms over Cookey, staring down suspiciously at the mugs before eyeing Cookey, ‘did you wash the mugs?’

  ‘Scrubbed ‘em,’ Cookey lies with a grin.

  ‘No you didn’t,’ Clarence tuts, ‘Meredith?’ He turns to look down at Lilly, ‘thought I hadn’t seen her.’

  ‘Morning,’ Nick is next, strolling in casually he spots Lilly and offers her a huge grin. ‘Hello,’ he beams, ‘you okay? How’s Billy?’

  ‘Oh time to go,’ Cookey makes a swift exit toward the table.

  ‘He’s fine, been asleep for ages. And you?’

  ‘Me? I’m fine,’ Nick nods and grins awkwardly again, his own face blushing slightly at the sight of the beautiful blond girl he kissed yesterday, ‘er…so…you okay then?’

  ‘I’m fine, thanks.’

  ‘You slept much?’

  ‘No,’ Lilly replies, ‘I, er, well I wanted to keep busy and help.’

  ‘You must be fucked…shit, er….I mean knackered…I mean…is knackered swearing?’ He asks quickly, pushing a hand through his thick hair.

  ‘I’m ok and no, knackered isn’t swearing. You can swear if you want to, I honestly don’t mind. You having coffee?’ She asks as a way of putting him at ease.

  ‘I’d love one…’

  ‘Are Paula and Roy joining us?’ Clarence’s deep voice fills the room, ‘Cookey, go and let them know we’re meeting.’

  ‘Why me? Nick’s already standing up…’

  ‘Nick is talking to Lilly. Don’t bloody argue.’

  ‘Yeah Cookey, don’t bloody argue,’ Blowers adds.


  ‘And you can go with him,’ Clarence cuts in, ‘for being a cheeky sod.’

  ‘Ha,’ Cookey laughs as the two lads head back outside.

  ‘So, er…you been busy then?’ Nick asks once the lads have walked past.

  ‘I’ve been helping Lenski get things organised, checking the food and supplies,’ Lilly lifts the lid on the rattling saucepan and pauses for a second as she thinks of a way to lift the heavy pot.

  ‘Here,’ Nick steps forward, grasping the saucepan he gently moves it to start pouring the water into the mugs. Very aware of the closeness of Lilly he keeps his eyes fixed firmly on the pan but longs to glance up and look into her blue eyes.

  ‘I’ll stir while you pour,’ she reaches past him, brushing her arm against his, both of them pausing to smile awkwardly.

  ‘They’re coming,’ Cookey walks back in with Blowers, ‘they were already up and about.’

  ‘Bloody hell,’ everyone turns to see Howie standing in the doorway, Dave and Lani right behind him, ‘Is that Nick brewing up?’

  ‘Yeah I wonder why,’ Blowers laughs.

  ‘First time for everything,’ Howie remarks with a grin, ‘morning Lilly, morning all.’

  ‘Ignore them,’ Lani says to Lilly, ‘you okay? Did you sleep much?’ Lilly replies then sets about getting the mugs filled with Nick, stirring the contents before handing them out round the table. Everyone says thank you, everyone smiles and grins. Paula and Roy are the last to arrive, heading straight for the table and gratefully accepting mugs of coffee from Nick and Lilly. More chairs are pulled in and everyone shuffles and scrapes to make room as the group get seated. Nick nods to Lilly to sit next to him, knowing she must be feeling awkward at being here.

  Lilly watches and listens. This group, apart from Nick, are all so unfamiliar to her but the way they interact with each other is so easy and casual. Banter and jokes, comments and quiet laughter. The energy in the room is magnetic, pulsing with enthusiasm. These people have seen and dealt with utter horror, yet are still here, working together to get things done. She feels a sudden and overwhelming sense of being witness to something very special, of being a part of something unique and profound. These odd men and women have come together from all walks of life, fighting non-stop to give safety to those around them. She saw the after-effects of the battle last night. The ruined bodies stacked up and floating at the shore line. She saw the dead being laid out ready for disposal and she heard account after account of what Howie and his group have done. Tales that get wilder with each telling but each one based on the truth.

  Guilt swarms through her body, that she is able to recognise and be a part of this group when so many have lost their lives. Conflicting emotions burn her heart, gratitude at still being alive, but profound sadness that she lost her father along the way. She wishes she could have done more, maybe if she’d reacted differently her father, Samantha and Todd would be with them now. She feels a warm hand close over hers and looks up to see Nick looking at her with concern. The gesture, mostly hidden under the edge of the table is one of care and she smiles at him, closing the tips of her fingers over his as he offers her a gentle squeeze.

  ‘Don’t feel guilty,’ he whispers, correctly guessing the emotions she is feeling, ‘you’re here and that’s all that matters. Billy is safe too.’

  ‘Okay…thanks Nick,’ she offers a sad smile and gives thanks that this brave lad that has done so much is here yet again when it matters.

  Four

  I watch Nick and Lilly, seeing the emotions cross her face. She looks overwhelmed by all of this, at this room so suddenly full of the people who all know each other. She’s so young but seems much older than her years. I give them a few minutes, getting a discrete nudge from Lani who also notices as they hold hands under the table.

  But eventually business must proceed so I clear my throat. ‘Right then,’ I call out and the conversations die out quickly, faces turning to look at me. I can see that despite the bags under all of our eyes, despite the worn, haggard looks some of us have, we’re all also keen eyed and ready. The energy is strong and positive, apart from Dave who looks exactly the same as he always does. I wonder what he thinks during these times, probably about knives and new ways of severing heads or something. He offers me a quick glance which again makes me think he’s a mind-reading cyborg.

  ‘Bit bloody misty today,’ I observe, once again feeling slightly awkward at having everyone’s attention fully on me.

  ‘It’s fog actually, Mr Howie,’ Cookey leans forward, ‘essentially, mist and fog are the same but fog is defined when visibility is reduced to less than one kilometre…’

  ‘You are such a twat,’ Blowers groans, ‘Lilly told him that about five minutes ago.’

  Shaking my head at Cookey I continue, ‘well it’s foggy then but we’ve still got loads to do…Lenski, how’s the fort looking?’ I nod at the Polish woman sitting with the clipboard in front of her on the table.

  ‘Is not so good,’ she replies in a flat tone with a shrug, ‘the toilets, they are gone now, the backwards gate is blocked and we try to open it, the land is all gone so we are an Island yes? This is good thing I think. We clear the broken things away and keep what we can use again but…it is not good, we have many of the things we need yes? We have the food and clothing, this is checked by Lilly, you say now what we have?’ She nods at Lilly to continue.

  Lilly looks confidently round the room, ‘we’ve worked out that with the numbers we have now, in this fort I mean…we have enough food to eat comfortably for about two weeks. However, we are desperate for many other things…er…shall I say what they are now?’ She looks to Lenski who nods, ‘clothes for a start and especially children’s clothes. Bedding and tents too, pants and socks, toothbrushes, toothpaste…essentially we need everything that children need to live comfortably, and that includes things like books, toys, drawing equipment…same for the adults too. We have enough food but not enough clothing, bedding, sleeping bags, covers, the storm pretty much destroyed everything that was outdoors.’

  Paula leans forward, showing her intent to speak, ‘they’ll need milk too, children need milk don’t they?’ She looks round for confirmation.

  ‘For calcium and bone growth,’ Lilly replies, ‘otherwise they can develop things like Rickets, they need vitamins, fruit juice, vegetables, proteins and decent carbohydrates. We have tons of pasta and rice so the carbs are not urgent, but meat, fresh meat or fish.’

  ‘Milk,’ I nod at Lilly, trying to think where the hell we’re going to get milk from. I get a sudden image of trying to get a cow in a boat to bring back to the fort, before remembering when Dave told me about how he blew a cow up one time. I snort with laughter which just earns me some strange looks. ‘Er…we’ll get a cow then,’ I switch back to being serious, ‘but um…can you drink milk straight from a cow? Doesn’t it have to be pasteurised?’

  ‘It does,’ Lilly answers in her clear educated tones, she seems so much older than a fifteen year old. Silence descends with the room of adults all waiting to see who knows how pasteurisation is done. Lilly clears her throat and drops her gaze to the sheets of paper in front of her, ‘it’s quite simple,’ she says casually, ‘the milk is heated and cooled, not boiled…I think it’s something like sixty degrees Celsius, it can be done on a pan or a saucepan,’ she purses her mouth as she finishes, as though worried that everyone will think she is talking shit or showing off.

  ‘Easy then,’ I say quickly, ‘apart from getting a cow here that is.’

  ‘We could get a goat,’ Cookey offers, ‘my aunty used to drink goats milk, she loved it.’

  ‘Yeah, we’ll get some sheep and a few pigs at the same time,’ Blowers adds, ‘some chickens, a few…’

  ‘Chickens are a good idea,’ Maddox interrupts, ‘eggs are healthy and full of protein.’

  ‘How many cows will we need?’ Cookey asks, ‘one won’t be enough, we’ll need a whole herd…and think of the shit and what we gonna feed ‘em? There’s no gr
ass here.’

  ‘Hay…or straw,’ Maddox nods, ‘get some of that and throw it about.’

  ‘What if they’re zombie cows?’ Cookey squints his eyes, ‘can cows catch zombie?’

  ‘They’re vegetarian you dick,’ Blowers tuts.

  ‘Yeah but the thing that bites ‘em won’t be vegetarian will it,’ Cookey retorts, ‘we’ll have to check their eyes and see if Meredith attacks them.’

  ‘Hang on,’ Lani shakes her head, ‘so our test for infection is to see whether our dog attacks a cow or not? What if she just doesn’t like cows?’

  ‘Good point,’ Cookey wags his finger, ‘I don’t know the answer to that…but I will think about it.’

  ‘Yeah you do that,’ Blowers joins in with the head shaking, ‘how we gonna get a cow over here anyway.’

  ‘Clarence can carry it,’ Cookey grins, ‘on his shoulders…they can swim can’t they? I’ve seen them on those documentaries when they cross the big rivers and stampede about and shit.’

  ‘We should get trifle,’ Dave announces, which just about kills the conversation entirely as every face turns to look at him, ‘children like trifle,’ he adds as deadpan as ever.

  ‘Trifle,’ I nod slowly, ‘yeah we can get some trifle…but er…I think it’ll all be spoiled by now.’

  Dave nods and thinks for a second, ‘we can get the parts that make the trifle then,’ he nods again, problem solved.

  ‘I don’t like trifle,’ Roy offers his opinion, ‘can’t stand it,’ he adds and earns a look from Dave in the process.

  ‘Um, maybe we should focus on weapons and things,’ I suggest, ‘we’re down to shotguns and axes again…’

  ‘And knives,’ Dave adds casting another suspicious look at Roy.

  ‘And knives,’ I repeat quickly, ‘we need weapons and ammunition first, then we go for supplies. Those are the top priorities.’

  ‘Doctors,’ Paula leans forward, ‘we’re going to need medically trained people here, some of you are immune…that needs following up.’

  ‘Good point,’ I nod, ‘how do we find a doctor though?’