The young Captain could hear, amongst his own desperate calls for support on the radio, many other units pleading for orders and help. As they fell silent, one by one, he realised help was never going to arrive and his only priority was to lead his remaining men to safety.
Using their scant knowledge of the town, they fought their way through the streets and back alleys of Cheltenham, all the time heading in the general direction of their base near Gloucester.
Exhausted and running low on ammunition, they found themselves surrounded by a huge crowd of zombies. They had no choice but to seek shelter in a house and barricade themselves in. Their location soon became surrounded by the undead and their sanctuary became their prison. From his unit of forty men, only fifteen, including himself, had made it.
Unable to contact anybody on their radios, they were stuck. For days they could do little else but watch as the undead claimed the town from the living. Fortunately for them, the fires that burnt fiercely in other parts of the town were fanned away from them by the wind.
Out of food and with the water supply stopped, they were running out of options until today when they looked out of the window and saw that the mob that had been surrounding them had moved on during the night.
Seizing the opportunity, they immediately left their prison of the last few days and force marched back to their barracks, using all of their training to avoid the wandering crowds of zombies, and hoping to find some sort of authority left for them to report to.
The base was guarded only by the undead. From his description, it sounded very similar to Bickley. Most of the zombies had moved on in search of their next meal, as there was no one living, so nothing was left to keep them there.
During their enforced incarceration, they’d already planned and discussed many different scenarios, should they ever be able to escape. They were soldiers in a rifle regiment normally based in barracks near Exeter, so the only aim for most of them was to try and get back home to find their families. The young Captain decided that as there was no command structure he could contact, his loyalty and duty was to his men.
Imjin Barracks was the Headquarters for the Allied Rapid Reaction force, so it was well equipped with a wide variety of military equipment and ordnance suitable for a whole range of military campaigns.
Scavenging more ammunition from soldiers who had turned, and from bodies of their former comrades littering the base, they cleared the base of any threats. Then selecting vehicles from the motor pool, they broke into the Armoury, loaded the vehicles to capacity and headed south.
The soldiers all looked at the end of their endurance, their exhausted faces, drawn and haggard. Only training, discipline and the need to reach their families was keeping them going.
Captain Hammond then listened as we gave him a quick résumé of our last few days and why we were heading north.
He asked questions about the route south. The relief showed on his face, when he and his sergeant looked at the map Shawn produced to show him the routes we had taken to avoid the crashes, and he knew they could make it to Exeter.
The news that the route north as far as Gloucester was passable filled us with new hope that we would make Bristol before night fell. As we had, they had cleared a route through blocked parts using the power of the lead armoured vehicle, only having to leave the motorway at one point, which they showed us on the map.
Studying our vehicles and the adaptations we’d made, he was full of praise for our ingenuity and the steps we’d taken to survive. There was a tense moment when he looked serious and said,
“As the ranking officer, I could order you and your men to come with me.”
Pausing as he looked at our shocked faces, he then smiled wearily, “But I guess you would refuse and that could place us in a tricky situation, so for what difference it makes, I order you to continue helping these civilians and help them to reach their destination.” Both Sergeants saluted the officer and accepted his orders. Dave then asked him a question with a slight grin on his face.
“Sir, as we are now following orders, can I request a resupply of ammunition? You’ve told us you’re fully loaded. We could do with more, so we can complete our orders.”
“Don’t push it, Sergeant!” Simon intervened.
“We can always trade, sir. I’m sure we have items you need.”
“As an Officer, I cannot engage in trade of Government owned property.” He turned to his Sergeant. “But the sneaky man by my side, I assume knows how these things work when his officer’s back is turned.” He then stepped six inches to the side and looked innocently around. With a grin, the Sergeant looked at Dave and Simon.
“Right mates, as my commanding officer is currently indisposed, what have you got and what do you need?”
“We have food,” Dave replied, “hunting rifles chambered for .556, which we’ve found make great sniper rifles, so you can reach out and touch things from a nice safe distance. And if you want them, plenty of shotgun cartridges. I can even throw in a few shotguns to sweeten the deal if you want.
What we need is as much .556 as you can spare, and if you have anything heavier that would be useful.” The Sergeant glanced at Captain Hammond, who nodded slightly.
It was not really a negotiation and both sides knew that, but for some reason, probably drilled into the soldiers from the years of surreptitious deals that kept the British Army better supplied and fed than regular channels did, they haggled briefly until striking a deal.
We gave them half of the food in the rear of my Volvo, five rifles, five shotguns and a few thousand cartridges in exchange for a pallet of .556 ammunition, a few boxes of grenades, and two light machine guns.
It was fantastic, from a chance meeting with the only other group we’d met so far, we’d gained enough ammunition to fight a small war, along with some extra weaponry that would provide a lot of extra firepower.
While the ammunition was being handed up to the trailer from one of the lorries that had backed up to it, Dave told the Captain about Willie and gave them the location of his farm as a good place to head to when they found their families alive. It was left unsaid that it would also be a good place to go if they were not.
Both parties were eager to continue their separate journeys as soon as the last exchange items were loaded.
It did seem wrong, leaving the first survivors we had come across, but we had separate but similar goals. They needed to find their families as did we, but they did know where we were heading to, and the Captain said that if they couldn’t find a safe place to shelter once they’d rescued their families, then they would most likely try for Warwick castle.
As we parted, I genuinely hoped we would see them again.
The cleared route enabled Shawn to maintain his maximum speed. The momentum made it easy for the plough to carve through and destroy any zombies in our path. Bodies were sent flying, cartwheeling through the air or just disintegrating when hit by the solid sides of the blade.
The tractor slowed as we left the motorway at the exit Shawn had told me we were going to take. My anticipation and nervousness built, knowing his house was only a few minutes away.
Spears were used again as we drove down streets empty except for zombies. Shawn was driving as fast as he could. He’d been waiting days to see if his mates had survived, and now he was only minutes from finding out.
Louise’s voice spoke through the radio. “Shawn’s road is the next on the left.” I craned my neck forward, eager to see anything at all. He started to turn in to the road and stopped. His voice came over the radio. He sounded excited.
“There’s a crowd of them outside my house. They have to be in there.”
I could see a bus and a van a hundred yards away outside a house. Hundreds of zombies were filling the street, pressing against the sides of them.
Dave beside me, lifted up the machine gun we’d obtained earlier. He pulled back the charging handle and lifted it to his shoulder, testing the weight.
H
e shouted so everyone in both the car and the trailer could hear.
“Everyone, we’ve done this before. Keep your fire away from the house and pick your targets.” He picked up the radio.
“Shawn. Stop as close to those vehicles as you can. We’ll be right behind you.”
Not needing to be told twice, the tractor lurched forwards, accelerating down the street, bodies cascading as the plough burst through the mass of undead.
The second he stopped, rifles appeared over the side and began firing. Dave used controlled, aimed bursts from his machine gun to pour a massive amount of lead at zombies’ heads, which disappeared in showers of blood and bone every time he pulled the trigger. At every boom of a shotgun or crack from a rifle, another zombie fell until eventually the road was carpeted with mutilated, smoking corpses. Some inevitably still twitched and thrashed, but they lay so deep, even the ones that had not been hit were trapped under ones that been killed.
The firing slowed as the number or targets decreased, until eventually Dave shouted.
“Cease fire!”
The road had turned into a sea of carnage. The damage we’d caused in a short time was horrific. The nearest bodies, hit many times, were unrecognisable lumps of smoking meat.
But we had done it.
Against all the odds, a group of strangers had joined forces and journeyed more than a hundred miles, fighting together to overcome terrifying, bowel-loosening moments. But we’d also formed strong bonds and still had the ability to laugh together, despite the world around us falling apart.
The door opened on the house. Shawn, standing on the wheel arch of the tractor, called out.
“Ian, Dave. It’s Shawn, are you okay?”
At the sound of his voice, the door fully opened, and we gawped as seven knights wearing full armour and holding a variety of swords, axes and a mace, stormed out.
“Shawn?” said one of them. He was huge.
“Ian. Yes, mate, it’s me.” He rested his axe on his shoulder and looked at him.
“Well you took your bloody time, didn’t you? And why the hell did you turn up now? I was just about to win Scotland from Dave and become the undisputed Poker champion of the world. And you just turn up and ruin it. Cheers, mate.”
Shawn crossed his arms. “Are you drunk?” Ian looked at all the faces staring at him and looked sheepish.
“No. I’m a lot more sober than I was an hour ago. That was when we ran out of whisky.” Maud stopped any more talking. Her angry voice stopped them in their tracks.
“Can you two fools stop it? I have a baby who needs feeding and four children who need the toilet. Now stop your tomfoolery and find a way for us to get down from this infernal trailer.” We used our ladder to climb up into the trailer and then helped each other climb over to the roof of the bus and down a ladder we put on the other side.
One by one, everyone trooped into the house. The living room was large, but it was full to bursting when the last one squeezed in. Shawn was overjoyed at finding his friends all alive and in one piece. We watched, smiling as the friends hugged, laughed with sheer joy and clapped each other on the back.
When the reunion had calmed enough, Shawn introduced us to his friends.
We were now thirty, and a dog.
Epilogue
Tom and his family and friends, successfully united with Shawn and his friends, were at last one group. The celebrations gave way eventually to the reality of their continued struggle to survive, and the wider concerns and hopes of finding other survivors. They still had family of their own to search out, and friends whose fate they knew nothing of. The fear that the virus had turned most of the world’s population into zombies was very real.
They knew that so far, luck had been on their side, but there was no knowing how long that would continue. Another very real concern for them was that they might lose members of their group to the horrifying hordes of undead that plagued their every move.
As they began to plan the next stage in their journey, the most uppermost thought in their minds was of who else might still be surviving in the desolation the plague had created. The one hope that had kept them together was to reach the sanctuary and safety that Warwick Castle might provide.
ZC THREE
Chris Harris
Chapter One
Maud whistled loudly. The noise in the room subsided from the roar of laughter and conversation that had risen in volume as voices rose to be heard over the ever-growing racket.
We all smiled at the shocked look on Shawn’s friends’ faces as they stared in amazement that such a small and dainty looking old woman could whistle so loudly.
“This is all well and good, but I have children to feed and if you think I am cooking in that pigsty of a kitchen, you have another think coming.”
She pointed to Ian.
“Shawn has told me about you. Apparently, you pride yourself in being the chief troublemaker, so I blame you for it. You have ten minutes to sober up and tidy the kitchen, or you will not be getting any food.”
Silence descended as the big man looked around for help from his friends, who were staring at anywhere but in his direction. He looked at Maud. Seeing the determination in her face as she stood staring at him, hands on hips, he knew he had no other option and muttered.
“Yes, Ma’am. Can I take my armour off first, though?”
“Yes, but get on with it, we haven’t got all day.”
As soon as he and the others had helped each other remove their cumbersome attire, he dejectedly shuffled off to the kitchen. Soon the rattle of pots and pans being cleared away could be heard, along with quiet muttering and curses.
Laughing, I spoke up.
“Right. Now you’ve met the true boss of our little group, we need to plan what our next move is. But first, we should catch up on what’s happened to each other over the past few days.”
“Too bloody right,” said Dave “Shawn, you bugger off on your own, leaving us to fight our way back here through thousands of zombies. Now you turn up with an armoured tractor, a Volvo that wouldn’t look out of place in a Mad Max movie and everyone’s got assault weapons and pistols. Also, if I am not mistaken, I’m sure I saw a bloody great machine gun being fired earlier. I think that our story isn’t going to be anywhere near as interesting as yours.”
Maud, once she had approved Ian’s attempt at tidying, bustled around the kitchen making food for everyone from a bag she’d brought with her, as the two groups exchanged their experiences since the outbreak had started.
Simon and Dave were very interested in the weapons the knights used and the techniques for fighting that they’d adopted and adapted. Both agreed after handling the various axes, maces and swords leaning up against the wall, that with what both groups had learned from their experiences so far, their combined forces would present a formidable power: a combination of the peak of military weaponry design from different millennia, being used collectively to defend themselves from, and destroy enemies they were never designed to fight.
Shawn’s friends examined and admired the firearms, but as none of them had any real experience in using them, Dave advised that until he could train them in their safe use, something he promised to do at the earliest opportunity, it would be best if they stuck to their medieval weapons.
They reluctantly agreed to this, but still cast envious glances over them and kept handling them until Dave pointed out that they were loaded and even though they were all ‘safe’, careless handling could result in a negligent discharge, which could result in tragic consequences. The guns got left alone after that.
Horace took a real shine to Sarah, who giggled as only a small child could as he nuzzled and licked her as she lay in the basket that had become her cot.
When everyone was hungrily tucking into the stew that Maud had made, I looked at my watch and said we needed to decide soon what we were going to do next. The idea of staying in a city teeming with the undead didn’t seem the sensible thing to do, and as t
here were still a few hours of daylight left, I was keen for us to get moving again.
“This church you told us you were planning to head to. How long will it take us to get there?” Simon asked.
Jamie thought for a moment.
“Less than half an hour under normal circumstances. We know the way we came is clear of obstructions, and if we come across anything else, such as a pack of zombies, that tractor of yours, as you’ve already told us, will be able to break through. I reckon it should take an hour.” His friends agreed with this estimate.
We began planning.
There was no doubt that it was best to use all the vehicles we now had at our disposal. The bus and the van both had different, but essential uses. The obvious ones being that the bus would enable us to accommodate more survivors when we found them, and both could carry a large amount of supplies.
Not being armoured, they’d also be the most vulnerable, so they’d need to travel in the middle of the convoy, with the tractor leading the way and the Volvo bringing up the rear.
Dave and Simon worked on a list for a few minutes and then got our attention.
Dave looked at Shawn’s friends.
“I’ll need one of you in the trailer to show Shawn the route, so if you can agree who that will be, I’d appreciate it. I’ll put one or two shooters in your vehicles so if we get into trouble, even though I’m sure up close and personal you’ll have no problems defending yourself, having a few guns on board won’t do any harm. If some of you want to travel on the trailer, that would be great because a few extra strong arms on the zombie spears might be a great help. If you can sort that out between yourselves now, I think we should get moving as soon as we can.”
To their credit, everyone wanted to travel in the trailer, as they realised it was where most of the fighting would probably take place.
Steve and Jim, as the trained Marines, were allocated to the bus and van respectively. Daniel volunteered to replace Steve in the Volvo while Jamie, Ian and Jon won the argument about who was going in the trailer.
Zombie Castle Box Set [Books 1-3] Page 35
