Dead Winter

by Aline Riva

  The chopper was the first in, touching down on the rooftop of the facility, then the small convoy made their way towards high, locked gates. There was a sign on the mesh warning the fence was electrified. Joy leaned out of her window as River did the same.

  “It's electrified,” she called back, “I can hear the hum of power running through it.”

  Joy gave a heavy sigh. This was the last thing they needed, with Mickey badly hurt and Poppy with a bullet in her arm... It would have been easier if she had her colleagues with her, they could have called for more back up and – What was the point in thinking like a copper? Those days were gone...

  River got out of the van as Joy walked up to meet her. By now, Sage had joined them. They stood together, talking about the fence as they tried to think of a way around it.

  “Hey guys!” called Lina from the other side of the fence, “I shut the power off, there's a control booth up near the main building.”

  “Are you sure it's off?” Joy asked.

  Lina grabbed at the mesh and gave it a rattle, then she stepped back and smiled.

  “I'll open it up from the inside, give me a few minutes, it's all old fashioned bolts and padlocks here... Or you could drive straight through it - but that would destroy the only best means of keeping the zombies out.”

  “Can we get into the building?” Joy asked.

  Lina was unlocking the gates.

  “I don't know,” she said honestly “I can't open this and use my gun at the same time, so I guess we'll have to wait and find out.”

  Joy cast a glance towards the old, red brick building close by, surrounded by hedges and pathways and trees that stood to frame the place. There were so many places the undead could be hiding....

  “I think we are clear,” Lina added, “Or I would have been corpse food long before I reached these gates.”

  The gates parted, Joy grabbed one as Lina pushed the other, and they opened wide.

  “Thanks,” she said, then Joy hurried back to the lorry as Sage returned to the car and River to the van as Lina stood back, waiting for the vehicles to roll in.

  A few minutes later, they were in and parked in a small open space outside the building, there were a few cars dotted about the place but it was mostly deserted. The cars had been abandoned, they guessed, same as at the parking area near the fast food place where Curtis had died. It was a common sight, cars simply left, with no apparent damage. The drivers had either abandoned them in their haste, or were no longer alive to claim them... Poppy was walking now, she was out of the back of the van and Sage kept a protective arm around her as they headed down the path that led to the closed main door.

  “Can you get in?” Chris called from inside the van. The back doors were open and he had a gun within reach as he sat there with a hand still on Mickey's shoulder to be sure he didn't turn on his back and choke.

  “We don't know yet,” River called back.

  They were standing on the steps that led up to the doors, those doors were made of solid metal with windows covered by a grille and there was a hatch behind that grille and it was shut tight. The windows were barred, the glass behind it was toughened.

  “There's no way in,” said Sage.

  “There was a door on the roof,” added Lina, “It is locked but I may be able to shoot the lock, then see where it leads.”

  Just then a voice came through on the intercom.

  “Thanks for closing the gates after you. Don't touch them again, I've turned the power back on to keep the monsters out. How many of you are out there, and if anyone's been bitten, they are not coming in!”

  As they stood there, they exchanged a glance: Someone was here?

  Joy spoke into the intercom.

  “My name is Joy, I have a small group of people with me – we wanted to find supplies for our village, but we've since found out it was over run.”

  “What?” said River as her voice choked and tears filled her eyes.

  There had been no time to explain before. Joy glanced at her.

  “When would be a good time to stand around and cry about, it, River? Mickey's bleeding to death!”

  Then she turned back to the intercom.

  “We have two wounded and need shelter, and access to your medical facility. We have supplies, we'll share with you, just let us in, please!”

  The door buzzed and Joy gave it a push. Inside was brightly lit and a man was walking towards them. He wore the uniform of a prison guard, and he was tall with light brown hair and as he smiled, his dark eyes filled with warmth.

  “Please come in,” he said, “I volunteered to stay here to make sure the corpses kept out – I'm all alone here, they moved the prisoners out a while back. I'm Jack Oliver, you can call me Jack....” concern filled his gaze as Poppy clutched at her bloodied arm.

  “She's been bitten?”

  “No,” said Poppy, and uncovered the gunshot wound.

  He glanced to the others.

  “Take her to the infirmary, I'll show you the way...” he grabbed a set of keys from a loop on his belt and began to walk off.

  Sage turned to River.

  “You and Lina fetch Mickey from the van, I'll go with Poppy and then come back for you in case you need help.” Then Sage put her arm around her injured sister and followed Jack down the corridor.

  A short while later, River was in the infirmary, with Mickey in one treatment room and Poppy in another. Jack was helping Lina unload the vehicles as Sage sat with Poppy and Joy waited, worrying, outside the room where River was treating Mickey. Chris waited with her, saying nothing as he heard new footsteps approaching, he had to get used to the sounds everyone made and these footfalls were not familiar, so he knew it had to be Jack.

  “I've made some tea,” he said, “if you want to cross the corridor and go into the room opposite, there's a staff area where there's comfortable chairs and tables. Do you need any help, Chris?”

  Jack had been quick to learn their names. He had been helpful too, and as Lina joined them after loading out the last of the supplies, she smiled at the security guard. He glanced back at her.

  “Tea and coffee that way,” he said, indicating to a doorway that was open.

  “Thank you, Jack, you are most kind,” said Lina, returning his smile, then she went inside and Chris got up, tensing as he felt a hand on his arm.

  “It's only me,” said Jack, “Let me guide you, at least the first time. It must be tough being blind, more so at a time like this.”

  “At least I don't have to see the horrors out there, I just hear it all,” Chris replied. Jack helped him as far as the door, then he reached inside, felt the back of a soft armchair and shifted around it and sat down.

  “Allow me,” said Jack, and he poured the tea, passed a cup to Chris, and then looked across the table and smiled at Lina.

  “So, you're a pilot...” he said, and as she and Jack began to talk, Chris sipped hot tea, his thoughts with Mickey and Poppy. While Poppy's injury was minor, he still wished a kid hadn't caught a bullet. Then another thought hit him, a disturbing thought that he kept to himself:

  Those bullets had punched through the van because some had missed the creatures and others had passed right through them... What if Poppy had been hit by a bullet tainted with zombie blood? No, he couldn't voice that aloud. He couldn't even think about that prospect. He stayed silent, hoping he was wrong...

  As Sage sat with Poppy in the next room while River treated Mickey, Poppy was quiet as she glanced at her arm, then looked away.

  “It really hurts,” she said.

  “I know it does, and you're being so brave about it,” Sage told her, “And I'm so glad you understand why River has to treat Mickey first.”

  “Because he might die,” replied Poppy, her eyes shaded with sadness, “I don't want Mickey to die.”

  “None of us do,” she reminded her, “But River's a good doctor. She can help him.” As she said that, Sage hoped she was right about River being able to help. She ha
d all the drugs and equipment available, but she was on her own with this, none of the others had adequate medical knowledge to treat Mickey's injuries...

  Joy had been waiting outside the treatment room for a long while. Time had started to crawl painfully and she didn't want to go in because she didn't want to see him lying there dead or growing weaker. It was a tough call for River to handle this on her own. Then the door opened and Joy turned anxiously to see River standing there.

  “He's on meds to stop the bleed and he seems to be responding well,” she told her, “He's got a couple of broken ribs and a couple more that are cracked but there's pain relief available here, and he's comfortable. He's going to need a lot of rest – it's the internal damage that I'm concerned about. The ribs will heal, but he needs to rest for a long while to get over this. It's a good thing we don't have to leave in a hurry!”

  Joy breathed a relieved sigh.

  “Can I see him?”

  “You can sit with him, he's waking up now.”

  “Thanks, River.”

  She smiled.

  “It's good to know in times like these I can still do my job,” she replied, “Now I'd better go and clean up Poppy's arm.”

  As she walked away, Joy went into the room. Mickey was in a bed in the corner of the room, resting comfortably with a line in his arm. He opened his eyes and looked up at her and Joy smiled.

  “I see you made it.”

  He smiled too.

  “Of course I did,” he said weakly as he gripped her hand, “I'm not easy to kill!”

  Joy sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “I'm glad to hear it,” she told him as she kept a grip on his hand, he was warm now and looked so much better already. She was so glad he was still alive. Suddenly she felt sure she wouldn't have found the strength to get through this without him. It was surprising how he had found his way into her heart when she had not expected it, but she was glad it had happened. Now, they would get through this together, and she was sure they both felt stronger for that.

  As Jack left the staff room, he heard Chris say, You two get along well, and Lina replied, He is a nice man. I like him. Jack had a sly smile on his face as he headed for the kitchen to heat up some soup for his guests... They thought he was a nice man, especially Lina, she liked him a lot.

  He wondered:

  Would she still like him if she knew he wasn't a guard, and that he was wearing a dead man's uniform? Would she still look at him with come to bed eyes if she realised her handsome, helpful Jack was actually a murderer and multiple rapist? People had such short memories. He had once been all over the news for his crimes, but that had been ten years ago and that world was gone. Kudos to the apocalypse for making everyone forget his face so easily...

  He was laughing as he entered the kitchen.

  These people were planning to stay a while? They certainly wouldn't be leaving – he was the only one who knew how to unlock this fortress.

  Winter was almost over.

  It was going to be an interesting Spring...

  End of Book One.

  The story will continue in Seasons of Z Book 2 : Dead Spring, coming Spring 2020.