The Undead Day Fifteen

by RR Haywood

  Shit. I have to get a grip of myself. Headaches, snappy, moody, irritable and sullen and now I’m starting to think that seeing Marcy might be a good thing. Not a good thing, never a good thing. As Lani said, she is a rancid dirty infected whore that helped Darren kill our people. But she saved us, she saved us from our own families and friends that came out of the fort to kill us. She gave us food and drink, a hot meal and…then tried to infect us.

  No. She is a resource for information and nothing more. I love Lani. I truly do and the emotions I feel are so extremely different. Lani is warmth, safety, light and protection. She is the glimmer of hope within this desolate world. But Marcy holds the key to finding out where we go from here. I have to find her and I have to ignore anything that pops into my head when I do. The thoughts whirl and form while we leave the area and start navigating the final stretch into the area where the estate was.

  ‘Mr Howie!’ Dave barks when I fail to notice the van in front braking to a stop. I’m quick enough to slam my foot on the brake, but not quick enough to prevent another low speed shunt. Which makes it our third of the day so far.

  Wincing with shame I reverse back and give silent thanks that there is no one in the back. We alight from the Saxon, heading forward to spot a grinning Blowers and Cookey already out and staring at me.

  ‘Sorry,’ I mutter sheepishly.

  ‘I’m adding all these injuries to my claim,’ Cookey grips his own neck with mock injury, ‘just need a lawyer now.’

  ‘Good luck with that mate, why have we stopped?’ I shout ahead to Roy.

  ‘We’re here,’ he holds his hands out to the sides in a gesture of assuming I would know that. Getting past the vans I can see we are at the waters edge and to go any further is impossible with so many obstructions poking up.

  ‘Shit,’ muttering to myself again I realise that in our haste to leave we took the boats with no way of Maddox or Lenski getting them back but scanning the view around us I cannot see them anywhere.

  ‘They’re coming,’ Paula shields her eyes to stare out of the water towards the looming fort in the distance. It looks amazing now with the fog lifted and standing solitary surrounded by the calm blue waters of the sea. Majestic and proud and far bigger than before too.

  ‘How’d they get the boats back?’ I ask.

  ‘Is that it?’ Heathcliff booms from behind us, the three other doctors close on his heels as they make their way forward.

  ‘It is,’ I reply.

  ‘Bit different from the last time I was here,’ Heathcliff remarks, ‘and the sea took all this land back last night did it?’ He asks the question with a hint of suspicion, that maybe we did something naughty to make the land all sink away.

  ‘Big storm,’ Clarence says, ‘very big storm…you saw the boats on the land on the way here, the power was immense.’

  ‘And Portsmouth harbour too you say?’ Heathcliff asks making me realise they must have had a conversation on the way back.

  Clarence nods, ‘cruise liner and a battleship, shorn the back of the battleship right off.’

  ‘Good god,’ the bearded doctor shakes his head, ‘utter devastation.’

  Boats in the distance coming over from the fort, the same boats we used earlier all in a row and I’m guessing they’re roped together.

  ‘We’ll have to move somewhere else,’ I say to the group, ‘they can’t land here.’

  ‘There was a clear spot further back,’ Roy offers.

  ‘Why didn’t you stop there then?’ I ask him quickly and wince inwardly at the sharp tone coming out of me.

  He takes it well, nodding in apology, ‘sorry, should have thought of it.’

  ‘No…er…sorry mate, that was a bit sharp, ‘I’ll back up…how far back was it?’

  ‘Oh not far…about a minute back, on the middle bit of the bay area,’ he adds helpfully.

  We back up, sticking with a slow speed reverse instead of bothering to try and turn round. From the estate we head on the narrow coast road until we reach the bay, the other side of which are the houses and area where I thought Marcy will be.

  By the time we get back out and organise ourselves, the boats are into the bay and heading towards the small beach. We head down, armed up and fanning out to secure the area while keeping the doctors safely in the middle. Meredith, as normal, runs free and is straight into the cooling water to splash about and bark excitedly at the boats getting closer and the distinctive form of Maddox standing in the bow of the first one.

  An order is given and one by one the boats cut engines to coast gently in before the wooden hulls scrape on the soft sand underneath. Maddox jumps down into the shallows with a few of his youths all armed with shotguns.

  ‘Howie,’ he nods seriously, ‘You good?’

  ‘Fine mate, you?’

  ‘All good,’ he nods, striding out of the water to clasp hands with me, ‘you got back quick, they doctors yeah?’

  ‘Yes mate, four of them.’

  ‘Nice work,’ he nods, a man of few words.

  ‘Fort okay?’

  ‘Getting there…Lenski is getting there anyway,’ he grins ruefully, ‘they’re using one of the boats to take the bodies out further into the sea and dump them.’

  ‘Are they weighted down?’ Heathcliff interjects.

  ‘Maddox, this is Doctor Heathcliff Stone…’ I quickly introduce the other doctors and notice the ever so slight puzzled look flicker across Maddox’s face at the two doctors having the same name. I think about explaining but the moment passes and to do so now would be awkward.

  ‘Are they weighted down?’ Heathcliff repeats impatiently, ‘they’ll come back up with the next tide otherwise, young man.’

  ‘Yeah, they’re weighted,’ Maddox says.

  ‘What with? Rocks? Are they tied on securely? How many bodies are you taking out and are they being spread over an area? The further the better you know as…’

  ‘Doctor,’ Maddox switches to his intelligent voice with a seamless transition, ‘your concerns are noted and I am grateful for your questions but we have noted the tidal movements of this area and the depth of the water as it shelves out towards the main shipping lane and yes, we are using whatever heavy material we can find but also know that we can only do the best we can under the circumstances.’

  Heathcliff stares in shock at the voice coming from the hard faced youth, Andrew smirks in pleasure while the two female doctors lift eyebrows and suddenly pay more attention to Maddox.

  ‘Yes, well of course I wasn’t suggesting that you were not,’ Heathcliff backtracks quickly, ‘my concerns were simply…ah but here we are and are they the boats taking us to the fort?’

  ‘They are,’ Maddox nods politely, ‘and because of the shallows we are unable to bring them closer so your shoes may get wet, but,’ he grins, ‘it is a warm day and you will dry quickly.’

  ‘Oh of course,’ Heathcliff beams, already won over by the hard faced but now charming Maddox.

  ‘My two been good?’ He directs the question at me with a glance towards Jagger and Mo Mo edging forward to be noticed by their leader.

  ‘Perfectly mate,’ I nod with sincerity, ‘had a little scrap, went for a run…very good, both of them.’

  ‘You alright staying with Mr Howie?’ He asks them.

  ‘Yeah Mads,’ Mo Mo replies, ‘s’cool, innit.’

  ‘Get loaded then, you lot…get the stuff from the vans and load it up,’ he barks the order to his waiting youths who have waded out the shallows onto the beach. ‘Ammo?’ He asks.

  ‘Not yet, which reminds me, Clarence…where do the army get their ammunition from?’

  ‘Filling factories,’ he replies.

  ‘Um, right but…er…do you know where they are?’

  ‘Er, shit…some firm took over…er…a private company but well known…can’t remember the name but they did some of the helicopters and other military stuff too.’

  ‘BAE,’ Maddox interjects, ‘they got the contract for British milita
ry munitions. Only one factory in the south and that’s about a hundred miles north.’

  ‘Bloody hell mate,’ I give him an impressed look, ‘been on Wiki then?’

  He laughs with a sudden change to his manner, ‘nah,’ he chuckles, ‘the bossman knew someone who was gonna try knock it off.’

  ‘Seriously?’ Clarence asks in surprise, ‘a weapons factory? They wouldn’t stand a chance.’

  ‘Nah, not a robbery like that,’ he grins, ‘they knew someone who worked there, figured they’d try and bribe him for a way in…he asked the bossman for the money for the bribe.’

  ‘He said no then?’

  ‘Did he fuck,’ Maddox laughs again, ‘he was getting the cash together when this happened, he leant cash out for stuff like that all the time, got a good return on it. You thinking of trying it?’

  ‘Might as well. They’re gonna have tons of what we need and maybe it’s not as obvious as going for police stations and army places.’

  ‘True,’ he nods thoughtfully, ‘we’ll have a chat when we get inside.’

  ‘We’re going straight back out,’ I snap his attention back as he goes to walk off.

  ‘Do what?’ He asks.

  ‘We’re going straight back out,’ I repeat knowing everyone is now staring at me, ‘you can get the doctors back.’

  ‘Why the rush?’ He asks, ‘get some food and rest, go tomorrow.’

  ‘We’ve got shotguns,’ I shrug, ‘what if they attack again?’

  ‘We’re an Island now,’ he retorts, ‘they can’t climb up or get in…and yeah we got shotguns but we got loads of them and enough ammo too.’

  ‘No mate, we’re going straight back.’

  ‘Howie, listen I know we…’

  ‘Maddox,’ I interrupt him, ‘we’re going straight out again. We need ammunitions and weapons.’

  He breathes out, heavy and deep. Silent while he thinks quietly. His dark, intelligent eyes staying fixed on mine, ‘up to you,’ he finally shrugs, ‘you got enough people?’

  ‘Yeah, we’re fine. Lads,’ I turn to Jagger and Mo Mo, ‘you can stay if you want, been a long day already and…’

  ‘We’s goin’ wiv you yeah,’ Jagger replies.

  ‘Sure?’ I’m puzzled why after the shitty day we’ve had, fighting and running for miles then me being moody and shouting at everyone then sulking in my own private world.

  ‘Yeah, sure,’ he nods.

  Maddox goes to walk off then stops and looks over the group one by one before settling back on me, ‘get some food with us,’ he speaks like a natural leader, ‘take an hour most and…’ he pauses, ‘you look like twats dressed like that.’

  Twenty-Eight

  Day Fifteen

  I have stopped again to let Jess get some rest for a few minutes. I tell myself that she needs rest but the truth is my backside hurts from riding her. I thought I would be okay but we only really pottered about our little field for exercise and I was on and off every few minutes. Hours of being jolted up and down really makes my insides feel all jumbled up and my goolies are starting to protest too. Poor things. I did get a rather disdainful look from Jess when I slid off the saddle and spent a good few minutes rubbing my privates to get some feeling back in them.

  We are in a meadow, a very pleasant meadow if I may be so bold and the rainfall yesterday has brought out a certain vibrancy to all the colours. Wild flowers are everywhere and the hedgerows are thick with juicy blackberries that have gone unpicked and unspoilt and so tasty too. Real fruit grown by nature and not from a tin. I’ve eaten far too many and I’m sure I will pay the price later when I need to open my bowels, especially after bouncing about on Jess for a few more hours.

  She seems happy. No, correction – she seems ecstatic to be out of the den and into the open air and I was very worried that the isolation I imposed on us would have a negative psychological effect on her, or her fitness would start to abate. But, she is as big, as broad and as muscular as ever and despite not being a horsey person, I can’t help but stare at her in wonder sometimes and marvel at her smooth lines and the way the muscles ripples under her soft hide. Such a gentle animal most of the time too, she bends round to check I’m ready to go again when I get back on her. But that gentle nature hides a stubborn and very vicious streak that is only ever a few seconds away.

  I’ve missed the world, being cooped the way we have been. Oh I had great views and was surrounded by some cracking scenery but even that lost the lustre after a few weeks of seeing it day in and day out. It’s so peaceful here, so calm and serene. Now we’re away from the awful sights of the town and back into the open country, I know I should be focussed on the list and starting work, but being out into the open air has distracted me too much. It’s like I’m seeing the world through new eyes, re-born or something like that. Buddha was meant to have said “each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” I say he was meant to have said it as I think I read it was a famous fake Buddha quote, or something wasn’t translated properly. Either way the words and the sentiment are lovely and I often thought that if I ever got a tattoo it would be those words. Bit late now, unless I can find a tattooist of course, or even a tattoo gun and maybe have go myself, it’s not like there’s lots of people left to laugh at me if I get it wrong.

  But my point was that today I do feel re-born and despite the god awful sights I have seen, I can’t help but keep smiling when I see the world is doing just fine without mankind crawling about on the surface.

  The list. I have to focus on the mission. Saying it like that makes me feel somewhat contrived and fake. I’m not a warrior or a soldier for god’s sake, I’m a bloody scientist and I know I’m out of my blooming depth with this but, but what choice do I have? What choice did I have? We are all dictated by the choices and decisions we make for they lead us down the pathways of life. So I must do what I have set out to do. Find the people on the list and make them realise they hold the key to the survival of our race.

  How many have perished? Granted, those on the list cannot be infected but with so much disaster befallen mankind there is every chance some other fatal mishap could have taken them. I know the names and I know their addresses of six months ago when I first went into isolation but my thoughts turn to actually tracing and tracking them. The town I just passed through was bereft of life, no one there, well – I say no one but there could have been hundreds of people hiding in the houses from the strange armed man riding a horse through the streets.

  Of course I’ve already plotted my route to check on those closes to me first but that didn’t stop me from checking the map again and running my finger along the proposed routes for the millionth time. I keep thinking of what to say to them. Do I tell them outright or build up to it? What if they don’t believe me? I wouldn’t believe me if I popped up holding a ruddy great machine gun while sat on a horse claiming I was part of the team that made this bloody thing happen in the first place but don’t worry, I’m going to make it all better. A brilliant plan there Neal. Oh god, I’m so out of my depth.

  Right. Time to firm up, take the horse by the bridle and continue the battering of my dangly man bits. Damned dangly man bits, they should have been built inside where they are protected. Who bloody invented horse riding anyway? Who looked at a horse and thought it would be a good idea to jump on one and see what happens? Must have been a woman.

  I’m waffling again. It’s so damned nice here.

  NB

  Twenty-Nine

  Marcy. Ammunition. Marcy. Ammunition. Weapons. Marcy. Survival. Marcy. We need ammunition for our weapons so we can stay alive but we need Marcy to know what we’re supposed to do while we’re alive.

  Shit. The boats reach the fort, shelving gently onto the small beach area graciously left to us by the storm. Maddox’s crews help pull the boats further up as more people come out of the fort to help the four doctors.

  Four doctors. We have four doctors and I’m stood back on the edge of the bay watchi
ng the boats and people in the distance. We should have gone back with them. Had some food, rested and spent time sorting our lives out. We should have done that.

  Shit. Every choice we make defines our lives. Every decision ripples out to open new doors while others slam shut with finality.

  Shit. Marcy or weapons. Stay alive for the now or work out why we’re alive?

  ‘Paula,’ I turn suddenly and catch her in a low conversation with Lani, ‘can I talk to you please.’

  ‘Of course,’ a look of intense worry crosses her face. She looks the part, hair scraped back into a ponytail with a serious face and she reminds me of Lara Croft from the video games when I was younger.

  I move away, motioning for her to follow. She jogs to catch up with me as I lead her well away from the others.

  ‘You alright?’ She asks quietly, staring at me intensely, ‘what’s wrong?’

  ‘I need some advice,’ I say bluntly.

  ‘Okay,’ she nods, ‘but er…’ she casts a glance back to the team and, specifically, Lani standing with her arms folded and a dark look on her face, ‘why me?’

  ‘You know about Marcy, right?’

  ‘Christ, yeah mostly I think…er…Lani has been filling me in with er…’

  ‘Good, now I want you to be honest.’

  She snorts and tilts her head back defiantly, ‘I will.’

  ‘Marcy is important, I don’t know why but I feel it…like I feel other things and I just know they’re right…shit, that doesn't make any sense but…’

  ‘It’s okay, I understand.’

  ‘Right well, we need to know why we’re here. Why we’re alive and surviving…not like the people in that fort as we’re different from them.’

  ‘Say that again,’ she sighs.

  ‘Not different like better, just…shit, this is the problem. I can feel a sense of what I should be doing but when I try to give it voice it just gets all…like weird.’

  ‘The infection is changing,’ she says slowly. ‘It’s targeting us, well, you,’ she shrugs, ‘and who knows how many of the team are immune but…that’s important, being immune is the singularly most important thing right now, Howie. Above all else that is the priority. But, what you do with it is your decision.’