Capital Falling Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3]

by Winkless, Lance

“Look, I don’t understand it and didn’t believe it myself until it happened, but it’s as if they think I’m one of them.”

  “What do you suggest then, Captain?” Winters asks.

  “I go in and kill them, that’s it.”

  “No way, your little girl would never speak to me again if I let that happen and you didn’t survive.”

  “It’s the best plan we can’t afford to delay,” I tell them.

  “Okay, a compromise, you go in, set them up and as soon as the shooting starts, we come in,” Dixon suggests.

  “Agreed,” I say. “Just don’t shoot me in the crossfire!”

  “Funny fucker.” Dixon smiles.

  “That’s the entry door on the right,” Winters points out.

  “Okay, get ready, I’ll speak to Josh and Catherine to stay back with the girls,” I tell them.

  Dixon and Winter move to brief Alice and Collins, while I go back towards the others.

  Emily is still in Josh’s arms when I get back to them, her head is up though, and she is looking at me. Heaven knows what is going on in her mind, but there is no time to spend with her now.

  “Can you two move back with the girls?” I ask Josh and Catherine. “There is going to be shooting, so be ready for it, okay?”

  Josh and Catherine nod and start to move back. Emily looks at me and I think she is about to say something, but her head turns away and she buries it into Josh’s shoulder. I try to give them a reassuring smile before I turn back towards the loading bay door.

  “Is everybody ready?” I ask. They all nod and I look at Winters. “Open it up,” I tell him.

  Winters punches a code into the keypad on the wall, next to the door. My hand takes hold of the handle as the keypad beeps, showing a green light. Winters nods and my hand pushes the handle down.

  Slowly, the door pushes open. Winters moves back, his rifle coming up to aim at the opening gap. Nothing springs out at me as I open the door ready to slip through into the loading bay. I scan the bay and sure enough, Rabids are inside, milling about as they do when they are waiting for something to happen. One close to the door, in a green General’s military uniform, looks at me through the gap. The former General bares its teeth at me before turning its head away. That is all the invitation I need, and I slip through the open gap and into the loading bay.

  There are indeed about twenty Rabids shuffling about inside the large loading bay. On my left is a roller shutter that has two black cars and Colonel Reed’s Defender lined up behind it, our transport out of here. On my right is an open space that has wheeled storage cages and a few pallet trucks scattered around. Then in front on the opposite side are a couple of offices with a forklift parked up beside them.

  The Rabids are spread out across the loading bay. I wish I had the silencer reattached to the front of the M4, I could take them out a few at a time if it were. I need to get them together into one bunch so that we can deal with them easily, in one place. How to do it without getting attacked again—I’m not sure I have the strength for another fight?

  The solution presents itself on the wall on my right; a bonded storage cage is attached to the wall there. I presume it is used to store valuables in when they arrive, and it will be perfect. I slowly go over to it, not wanting to re-energise the Rabids with any sudden movements until I am ready. As I move, I look at each of the Rabids, looking for Colonel Reed. I definitely owe him one, but I’m just not sure I wanted it to be like this. He appears, shuffling out from the back of his Defender as if he is waiting by it to be driven somewhere. He is unmistakable, with his tall stature and short-cut grey hair, I could spot him from a mile off.

  Reaching the bonded cage that has boxes of various sizes stored inside, I see it is padlocked shut. I release my hand from the M4 and go to reach for my Sig, but I stop before I take hold of it. If I shoot the lock off, the others will bowl in too soon. Instead, I unclip the M4, take aim and swipe it down, handle first, smashing it into the body of the padlock.

  The loud crack is followed by the body of the lock hitting the floor with a thud. A screech sounds out behind me. I don’t look around, but unhook the remainder of the lock from the doors clasp and quickly pull the door open and move inside.

  Pulling the door closed, I don’t delay and start banging my fist against the steel mesh; at the same time, I shout “Come and get it!”

  In no time, the Rabids are heading towards the new noise and coming back to life. I hope that the others don’t mistake the banging for shooting as I carry on hitting my fist on the mesh. Glistening yellow teeth and angered black eyes are quickly piling up on the other side of the mesh, their throats belching out high-pitched noise and foul smells.

  Waiting for them all to crowd around, I move back a few paces from the mesh, still shouting. Colonel Reed is one of the last ones to join the fracas, his head bobbing around above the others.

  Finally satisfied, I take aim. I have Reed’s head in my sights, his face looks angry and tormented. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, I think to myself as I pull the trigger.

  The Rabids are quickly despatched; it’s like shooting fish in a barrel, especially when Dixon, Winters, Alice and Collins join in on the action. It takes a minute to shift some bodies away from the door of the cage so that I can get out, but I am soon leaving the loading bay to go and get the others.

  Emily is standing next to Josh as I emerge, and she runs down to me as soon as she sees me, and I sweep her up in my arms gratefully.

  Quickly, we all get into the cars, without delay. Winters is behind the wheel of the Defender, Dixon next to him with Alice and Collins in the back. Josh is behind the wheel of one of the other cars that is nearest to me, with Stacey next to him. Emily and Catherine are in the back of Josh’s car with the back door open, waiting for me to press the roller shutter’s button and run over.

  Winters and Josh start their engines, and both give me a thumbs up. I press the roller shutter green button and run for the open door behind Josh.

  As soon as the roller shutter is half a meter up, Rabids are coming in under it. The shutter rises quickly and before the Rabids have a chance to attack, Winters is gunning the Defender out of the loading bay, leading the way. Josh hits the accelerator and we fly forward, tyres squealing. Two Rabids hit the bonnet as we exit but both spill off quickly.

  Outside, many more Rabids are scattered around the concrete expanse. Winters and Josh speed between them, swerving when they need to, to avoid hitting any. Even the fastest creature is no match for the speeding cars and Winters is soon leading us out of a gate and onto the roads beyond the terminal building.

  Before we know it, we are exiting the airport grounds completely and heading for the M25 motorway that will take us out of London completely.

  “Where are we going?” I ask.

  “Devon,” Catherine says, taking my hand.

  “I love Devon,” I say as Emily climbs over Catherine and me, to sit on the other side of me and she takes my other hand in hers.

  Exhaustion starts to take hold of me; I’m completely drained and my eyes won’t be open for much longer. As my eyes flicker, a bright white flash ignites the whole sky. I don’t even have the energy to look behind to see the mushroom cloud rising over Heathrow.

  “What was that?” I hear them all ask as I drop off to sleep.

  Epilogue

  Out of the darkness, a creature’s hand curls its fingers around my arm. I can barely see the beast in the low orange light, but its low Rabid snarls are unmistakable. The strong hand grips my arm tighter as it pulls me into its clutches. I don’t resist; my limbs are paralysed with fear as it brings its teeth closer to my wide eyes.

  I tremble as its drooling mouth gapes open, ready to sink its teeth into me. At the last moment, the creature’s head goes back ready to strike and I see Dan’s face staring back at me.

  “NO DAN, NO!” I scream.

  I am suddenly awake as the bright light streaming into the room blinds me. A dark figure beside me, looks o
ver me, her soothing voice trying to calm me.

  “It’s okay Andy, it is only a dream.” Catherine’s voice settles me, and I remember where I am.

  My wits return quickly and my eyes focus on the beautiful vision above, looking down at me.

  “I’m sorry, did I wake you again? I ask Catherine.

  “No, I was awake and please stop apologising, there is no need to. It is completely understandable,” she insists. “It’s nearly ten, we had better get up.”

  “Five more minutes, or maybe ten?” I ask, as my hand smooths down Catherine’s naked side.

  “Stop it, Captain. I need the loo,” she scolds.

  Catherine rises out of bed and goes over to the door to get her robe and my eyes feast on her curves as she goes and then reaches up for her robe.

  “Don’t be long,” I plead as she ties the robe and opens the bedroom door.

  “There is no time for that now, Mr Richards, Emily is already up.” She smiles as she leaves.

  My arms go behind my head to prop it up and I look out of the window, where lush green grass meets the blue sea in the distance. Five days have passed since we arrived on Catherine’s friend's farm in Devon. Her friends have been very accommodating and are happy to have us. I think it makes them feel more secure in their house, which is a short walk away.

  Catherine, Josh, Emily, Stacey, Alice and I are sharing this holiday cottage at the moment. The cottage is plenty big enough for us, although it was a squeeze when Winters, Dixon and Collins were here too.

  Winters was going to leave first, the day after we arrived. He had been called back to duty by the new military command and was going to leave immediately. Dixon tried to convince him to make his excuses and stay another night when he and Collins would accompany him back, and eventually, he agreed. It did all three of them good to have another night of R & R before getting back into the fight. We had a great night, a massive barbeque and plenty of beers were enjoyed by all. I told my story of events after I was infected, and they told their stories. There were some sore heads in the morning and Winters did not look like he should be driving.

  The fight continues, the infection still hasn’t been eradicated from London and there are reports of cases outside the city. I am not sure where it will end if it ever does. Some plans have started to form in my head to make sure we all stay safe but none of them is fully formed yet.

  I have an appointment at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital in a couple of days with some military doctors who are experts in viral infections. Winters arranged it before he left, to see if we can get to the bottom of what happened to me. I still haven’t decided if I will keep that appointment, however.

  Emily seems to have recovered as well as can be expected from her ordeal, as Josh has. They both have nightmares and I can only hope that they calm over time, as I do with mine. If not, we will look into maybe getting them some help. Stacey is grieving for the loss of her parents; we are all here for her and she seems to take strength from that. Alice, on the other hand, seems to be unaffected, she may be putting on a brave face, though, and I plan to keep an eye on her.

  The bedroom door opens as Catherine returns. She sits on the side of the bed, looking at me.

  “Are you okay?” she asks.

  “I will be when you get in here with me,” I tell her.

  She stands smiling, then undoes her robe teasingly before dropping it from her shoulders. I pull the covers back and she slides in, on top of me.

  The End….…

  For more information on Lance Winkless

  and future writing see his website

  www.LanceWinkless.com

  By Lance Winkless

  CAPITAL FALLING

  CAPITAL FALLING 2 – DENIAL

  CAPITAL FALLING 3 – RESURGENCE

  THE Z SEASON – KILL TONE

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  ALSO BY LANCE WINKLESS

  THE Z SEASON - KILL TONE

  — THE Z SEASON —

  KILL TONE

  ———

  The music has a pulse…

  The hungry revellers do-not.

  Jack Foster’s life has fallen to pieces, and now it’s time to pick them up. Sex, drugs and alcohol have long blinded him to the one person that matters to him; his daughter. Now, however, he has a chance at radical redemption.

  Jack is nothing but bold, he will take the gamble… and the risk. While one profitable weekend of business at the upcoming music festival could set him up to be a proper father once again, more than financial ruin awaits if it doesn’t go to plan.

  A sickness is spreading, and crazy crowds spell catastrophic danger. . .

  A festival of feverish, exhilarating tension with a rock ‘n roll

  crescendo that unleashes hell itself, this is not for the faint hearted.

  KILL TONE proves the perfect blend of decadence and undead carnage, whilst never losing sight of its predominant humanity.

  READ - KILL TONE

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