Zed Days (Book 3): Zed Days III

by Harland, Nick

  Esme said, ‘Just get to the brilliant punch line will you. I think I’ve worked it out though.’

  I replied, ‘Ok, we collect all the oxygen tanks we can and pile some up at the doors. Then we run like hell to behind a barrier of some sort and Chris shoots one. That should probably blow the doors to hell and injure a decent amount of Zeds. The explosion should buy us a few seconds at least. Then we all throw more tanks at the foot of the advancing horde and Chris shoots again. I’m not sure how many it will kill or disable, but it should be pretty good. We don’t know how many there are but I think we’ll need one more big boom. We can pile some more tanks up on a barrier down the hall a little ways and we can run behind the barrier, retreat to a safe distance, and shoot again. After that it’s cross your fingers and hack and slash.’

  There was a momentary silence which Gary filled with a slurred, ‘Boom’, while making an explosive action with his hands like an opening flower. Track said, ‘Sounds good to me. I assume the structure of building will be fine but we’ll have some cleaning up to do before we can wheel equipment and the doc out of here. I guess I’d rather handle dead Zeds than live ones though.’

  Chris said, ‘I like it, but I have a suggestion. We don’t really know what an exploding tank is like and our lives depend on this working. There are quite a few here, but we also don’t know if we need them all, or just a few. Let’s do a controlled explosion by a set of doors to one of the rooms and see what happens. I also think we need to direct the blast to the doors as much as possible. Although it might not make a big difference, I think we should make a barrier with tables and stuff on our side of the tanks so more of the blast goes to the doors.’

  Esme smiled and said, ‘Great idea on both counts, a few filing cabinets should do it, but we need to leave space for you to shoot.’

  We spent five minutes setting up one large tank by a set of double doors to a theatre. We dragged two large filing cabinets and pushed them against the tank, which we laid like a draft excluder across the bottom of the doors. We left a small gap Chris could shoot through and hid behind a very sturdy table about twenty feet away. We used another filing cabinet next to the table so Chris would only have a small gap to shoot between, and wouldn’t be too exposed. We assumed it would be enough. It was the moment of truth and Esme looked at me sternly and said, ‘I know you want to look but we don’t have much space. If this goes well, there could be shrapnel from the tank that could take your head off. It’s bad enough Chris has to look to shoot. Don’t be a lout. Stay low or I’ll tell Eve what an idiot you were.’

  I smiled and whispered, ‘Yes mistress’, into her ear. Because I’d caught her by surprise she blushed.

  I hunkered down behind the table and Chris took the shot. The first one missed which was a let-down, but he fired again quickly and the effect was instant. The boom was louder than I had expected and the filing cabinets, which were pretty heavy, were both a bit mangled. The doors were really sturdy, like the ones into the department, and they opened inwards into the theatre. One was hanging loosely off one hinge and although the other was better off, it was still warped and stuck wide open. We investigated the wreckage more closely but we were aware of the time pressure on the guys at the doors. There was shrapnel here and there but the tank had mainly blown out from where the bullet had hit it. It wasn’t designed to be a grenade so it was understandable, but it was still a little disappointing. We would temporarily clear the doors with the first one at least, but it wouldn’t maim too many Zeds.

  We got back to the others and I said, ‘It was good, but not brilliant, and I think we need three or four for each explosion, that should be better. Gary’s idea about a nail jacket was a good one and we might need it.’ I looked at the guys, ‘How are you and doors holding, I know time isn’t on our side.’

  Track said, ‘We’re ok and so are the doors, but the more tired we get the harder it will be to fight afterwards. Do what you need to, but make sure the time is worth it.’

  Chris spoke up, ‘American’s love explosions and I had an interest when I was learning to shoot. Shrapnel would be good for the barrier explosions. There were loads of metal instruments in the storage cupboards and I think just wrapping them in tape around the ones we throw after the first boom, and doing the same with the last one, would be worth it. I think we need two filing cabinets on their sides across the hall for the last explosion. A bullet should go through the metal and penetrate the tanks if we take a draw out and we can pile up anything sharp we can find in front of the tanks. If we use several tanks for the last one and find a decent amount of things that will act as shrapnel, it should be the one that does the most damage.’

  Esme nodded, ‘He’s right, we should also find any glass and cups and plates we can and put them all around them as well. Even a decent shard of glass or crockery could injure or kill them.’

  It took a while to get everything ready and I can admit now that a small part of me hoped they would get bored without the Talker there and that the pressure on the doors would ease, but it didn’t. We moved Gary to a safe place after he’d shown us what we couldn’t use for shrapnel. In case we didn’t make it he insisted we leave him with a scalpel, which was understandable, but never easy.

  With most of the oxygen in the department pipped from somewhere else, there weren’t as many tanks as we might have liked. We use two big ones for the first blast at the doors and we all had a small one wrapped in tape and cutlery and stuff to throw when they surged through after the first bang. We saved three big and four small tanks for the barricade boom. One of the main problems was getting the guys from the doors to safety before Chris shot a tank. With what we had piled up against the doors, we thought they would just about have enough time before Chris shot.

  Physics isn’t my thing, but I had made some weird assumption that the blast from two tanks wouldn’t be that much more destructive than the blast from one, especially with a tiny gap between them going off. We assumed the one Chris shot would set the second one off. We had also set up the filing cabinets better which helped. The bang was massive and I think we all felt the slight shock wave. When we pepped our heads around the corner of the room we were in to check it out, both doors were off their hinges and the horde was stunned for a few seconds. Some had been knocked over and they held up the rest when they started to charge.

  We rushed to stage two. We all threw our small tanks towards the horde and ducked back into the room so Chris could shoot them. Chris took the shot and we could just about hear the time gap between some of the explosions as they set each other off. We heard some of the shrapnel hit the wall and fly passed the door to the room we were hiding in.

  I stepped out of the room first and the horde was stunned and lots more were on the floor, if only temporarily. When they saw me they didn’t charge immediately, and I ushered the others to get to the final positon by the corridor barricade. Esme stopped to say something but I interrupted her, ‘No, it’s my turn, I’ll do just fine, now go.’

  The horde remained frozen in place, many doing their version of bleeding. I thought there must be quite a few burst eardrums as well. I approached cautiously. Lots of the fallen ones started to get up but quite a few struggled. I could see various bits and pieces sticking out of them. I picked up a knife that lay in the corridor and when I was a little closer I said, ‘We have one more surprise for you bastards and we haven’t got all day, so come and get it.’

  I ran forwards and threw the knife ineffectually shouting, ‘Come one.’

  It was enough to make them charge and in my haste to get over the barrier I slipped on some broken glass. I saw Esme start to run towards me but I got to my feet and shouted ‘No’, before scrabbling towards them. There were only a few feet between me and the horde when I got traction and I had to vault over the barrier and roll over my shoulder when I landed before scrabbling to the others. I must have looked like an idiot and I knew Esme would have words later.

  There was no time when I reac
hed the others around a corner at the end of the corridor and Esme and Track grabbed me and pulled me towards them. A second later there was a shot followed by a huge boom. After the shockwave of the explosion passed and our ears re-adjusted, we knew that was our last trick. We knew whatever was left would have to be dealt with hand to hand. The guys didn’t hesitate to rush around the corner even though they were tired, and the rest of us followed behind. As we moved I said to Chris, ‘Save your bullets for emergencies.’

  The devastation that greeted us when we ran towards the remaining Zeds was significant. Part of the ceiling had fallen down and the filing cabinets were mangled and bent on the floor. There was stuff all over the floor and there were fallen Zeds everywhere. The most important thing was that what was left of the horde seemed manageable, and lots appeared to be injured and dazed. The Zeds also had to traverse what was left of the barrier, which slowed them down. The guys screamed and charged, and with the Zeds in rough shape, their first body blows sent the ones they hit sprawling. Encouraged by the damage we had done, we spurned ourselves on and joined the guys in the melee.

  Esme was a force unto herself and with the first few lines of Zeds still in shock, she and the guys only took a second to floor each Zed they targeted. I had left Mutt with the Doc so his paws wouldn’t get cut up. I barely got a look in as the space was quite confined, and by the time I found a space to help out, we were obviously winning. I think Chris only took a few shots because he felt left out, as it was quickly clear we weren’t in mortal danger.

  We were all bent double and puffing, except for Chris, by the time we’d finished, and the place was an utter mess. It felt wrong that after everything we’d gone through we would have to clear the mess up enough to get Gary in a wheelchair and the anaesthetics trolley out. Tidying up wasn’t usually part of post-apocalyptic scavenging, and it was a downer when it was. It felt like asking someone who had been stabbed to go back and scrub the bloodstains from the street when they were better.

  By the time we had cleared a path out of the department and humoured Gary enough to get him to tell us what we needed to take with us, it was well after lunch and we were all hungry. Esme looked at me when Tracks tummy rumbled loudly and said, ‘Well, we’re here now…’

  Unfortunately, I knew what she meant. I have said before that one of the rules of Zombie apocalypse survival is to make the most of the resources where you are, as you never know if or when you’ll be back. We were at a hospital that would have to have a large kitchen somewhere, and decent amounts of industrial sized supplies like cooking oil and cans. Track looked at us and raised his eyebrows, ‘Something we’re missing?’

  I sighed and said, ‘I know we’re all exhausted and a bit beat up, but it’s best to make the most of scavenging after clearing out any horde. With the horde we killed and the one drawn outside by the Talker, it means other area’s close by should be much less busy. This place should have a well-stocked kitchen, or if they contract out all the food, at least a well-stocked shop. We should make the most of it while we’re here. We should get the gear and Gary back to the vehicles then come back and have a look. If we come across another horde I’m happy to just run, but we must have severely dented the local population.’

  Track sighed and said, ‘We understand, let’s get this done so we can go home.’

  We got Gary and the scavenged gear back to A&E and put most of it in the back of the ambulance. We left Gary lying on Mary’s back seat and he was asleep by the time we’d finished loading everything up. We’d found a couple of sturdy metal trolleys and took them back with us in case there were drums of oil or other heavy items. Most of the fire doors had small thick reinforced glass windows in that you couldn’t see any detail through, but you could see enough to know if there was a horde on the other side. I knew the hospital a little, as did Esme, and although there was a quite high-class mini supermarket, it was on a main corridor and didn’t really stock tins. We made our way to the main canteen with little resistance, but one peek into the large canteen area was enough to make us beat a hasty retreat.

  We did manage to get to a small coffee and bacon bun kind of shop on a different corridor not far from theatres though. Although the shop was small, it looked like it prepared its own food and it had a good sized store room. We found several barrel sized cooking oil containers, some massive cans of beans, peas and sweetcorn, and several very large tubs of butter and margarine. There were some cans of drink, tea, coffer, mini butters, and other spread packets, and a lot of gravy granules. It was a good haul considering, but I looked at the rotting sausages and bread rolls with longing and noticed the guys were practically drooling. I really missed meat but I imagined they were suffering more than I was.

  Max said, more plainly than I would have, what we were all thinking, ‘I could eat the arse out of a dead cow right now. Is there a plan for hunting at any point? Rabbits or deer, or sheep from the moors or something. I’d do today all over again right now for a decent burger.’

  Everyone signed except for Esme, ‘Moors sheep, that’s brilliant, they’re pretty self-sustaining up there and although they don’t necessarily run from humans, the Moors are huge and there won’t have been many Zeds up there. We don’t have a butcher that I know of, but that laptop with all the survival information on is bound to have basic instructions for slaughtering sheep and stuff.’

  Then she slapped me hard on the arm so I yelped, ‘Why didn’t you think of that, we could have been having lamb burgers for weeks already. I don’t care what anyone says, that’s what I’m doing tomorrow and we can bring some back in a trailer or something too.’

  The guys said in unison, ‘Fuck yea’, and it was decided.

  It was supper time by the time we got back and we proudly drove the GT and ambulance into the base. Eve waddled out to meet us holding her side and when I looked at her she said, ‘It’s fine, I’ve been up and about a bit and I’m due painkillers soon. How was it?’

  Esme butted in, ‘It was a shit storm from start to finish and Gary saved the day by pointing out that oxygen tanks explode. As it turns out, they really do. Although we didn’t quite destroy the building we had pretty good go and my ears are still ringing. We brought some tanks back to add to defences and although it would be nice to have more, most of the hospital is a bloody death trap and I’m in no hurry to go back.’

  I was about to speak when she added, ‘Tomorrow we’re going to the moors and we’re having Lamb burgers for supper.’

  Eve looked at me and I said, ‘Pretty much what she said. Gary is in a state and I don’t think it will be long before you two should have a conversation, perhaps after some roast lamb though.’

  Eve looked at us both and said, ‘So this is what it’s like to be one the others seeing us come back with only partial stories that sound insane, and seeing us all riled up, exhausted, and acting weird. I don’t recommend it. You can tell me the full story later and I think Esme needs some deep relaxation without having to work for it.’

  Esme walked into Eve’s out stretched arms and I came in behind so she was squeezed between us. She mumbled from Eve’s cleavage, ‘That would be nice.’

  While we were walking back to the van Eve said that the Factory trip had gone well and although there had been some trouble getting to the bed shop, they managed it with the vehicles and it went ok. With a few trips back and forth they had beds, or at least very expensive mattresses, for everyone.’

  Chapter Six – Goodbye Doc

  Although it had only been a few days since her injury, Eve insisted on coming on the Moors trip. She promised not to stray far from the vehicles and not to even attempt to fight. She showed us the wound when it was time to change her dressings and it didn’t look too bad; she had been really lucky. We could tell she was already going a little stir crazy, so eventually we agreed.

  It wasn’t an easy drive to the Moors but it was always useful to clear the roads to places we would come back to. We didn’t expect any hordes, but Track and Ma
x came as the other two were injured and needed the rest. Chris came to back Eve up. We thought Mutt might scare the sheep so we left him behind. We took Lulu and the van to transport the sheep in. We planned to bring back four if we could. We had rope and a makeshift wooden ramp into the back of the van, but none of us knew how difficult it would be to find or corral the sheep.

  As it turned out the plan went well and within minutes of entering the moors we found sheep basking on the road. Getting rope around them took a few attempts, and we had some runners, but when we managed to get rope around them they went into the back of the van without only moderate pushing and shoving. There wasn’t a Zed in sight and we only saw one car in the distance that had rolled onto the moor. As we were so quick, and we had two of the guys with us, we decided to hit the nearest smallholding, farm, or pub we came across driving further into the moors.

  It ended up being a pub as there weren’t any farms directly off the main road. The carpark had about ten cars so there would definitely be some Zeds, but Eve said she’d been to the place once and it was cramped inside like a cottage with low ceilings. She said there was probably only space for one person to fight at a time.

  Track led the way and it was just as well we used the normal door protocol of opening and standing to the sides. Three Zeds charged out immediately and were easy to finish. Track stepped into the door way and said, ‘I can see more and it’s a hard space to work in, be ready and I’ll draw them out.’

  Track went in and engaged the first Zed but rather than kill it he reversed up and out of the door drawing the ones behind the one he was fighting out. With a steady stream we managed easily, but Eve shot one, though as much out of boredom and convenience as anything else.

  The couple left inside we easy to manage and the place was ours. There wasn’t much food as they mainly used fresh produce. Although there was a decent amount of alcohol, we already had loads. The main find was a small generator and an old fashioned double barrelled shot gun and a box of cartridges.