Zed Days (Book 3): Zed Days III

by Harland, Nick

  I started my argument immediately, ‘If it were me back there you wouldn’t leave me and….’

  Eve cut me off, ‘I love you but you’re an utter idiot sometimes, of course we’re going back for him. If he managed to get out of the supermarket that means that even when it’s covered in Zeds the cab must be keeping him safe, and I don’t think a football field packed with Zeds could stop that thing. We have two vehicles with ploughs, the GT, and three other vehicles. We just need some space to re-group. There is also a small chance that if we go back we could kill that bitch. She’s going to be nothing but trouble if we don’t.’

  I don’t know what had happened to me earlier, but I finally felt I was with the curve, if not ahead of it. I said, ‘Ok, we have no time for any clever plans, it’s going to be our brute force against theirs. I don’t think she could do anything too clever either, but we know that she’ll get the horde to try and tip over any vehicles that get surrounded. Everyone needs to be more careful than usual about ramming the horde so they don’t get stuck. If us and the other car with a plough go first, and the other vehicles follow close to our sides and scrape off any we collect as we reverse, then we can go forwards as they reverse and do the same for them. It will take some decent driving but it should minimise the risk. No one needs to be going in too heavily, it’s too risky when there are so many. Hopefully Imran will see what we’re doing and help out when he can.’

  Eve replied, ‘There are still a few Beefcakes and of course there’s her, we need at least one car to stay back and at least one sniper on the roof, preferably two.’ She looked over at Esme.

  Esme groaned, ‘I suppose so, the taller the vehicle the better.’ Then she looked down at Eve’s scratched up hand that had started bleeding again, ‘You’re bandaging that up when we stop by the way, everyone has seen what a hero you are and it’s time to manage it.’

  Eve went to protest but Esme quickly raised her hand, ‘Ah, no arguments.’

  We stopped a mile up the dual carriage way and quickly got out and relayed the plan, Esme moved to a Q3. Everyone nodded in agreement but the fear on everyone’s faces was unhidden. I finished off the speeches, ‘If it all looks too much we just get the hell out of there and find an alternate route back home. I think under the circumstances we should all go back to our base, we need to divvy up the food anyway, and it’s further away from her. We need to be smart from now on. We have to assume all the Zeds are getting smarter and that she can communicate with them.’

  Then a scary possibility occurred to me, ‘For all we know she can see into other Zeds minds and maybe even access information they can’t at their level of development. If she can, then all she has to do is find a Zed that has seen us at either of our bases and she’ll be able to find us.’

  I didn’t need to say anything about the consequences of her finding us and everyone was suddenly still, and a tone paler than they had been. Eve broke the tense atmosphere by patting me on the bum and saying, ‘There’s my smart boy again. Shame you have to get back up to speed with something so scary, but you’re right. We need to have a serious conversation about what you’ve said when we get back, the implications are… far reaching.’

  Chapter Eleven – Weaponised

  We had only really glimpsed the horde as we fled. Having developed a quickly cobbled together plan it was immediately obvious when we saw the horde again that it was inadequate. It was also obvious the purpose of the plan, to rescue Imran and the plough, no longer applied. The horde wasn’t unmanageably large, but it has been weaponised.

  I stood up on my seat with the sky-roof open and looked through the binoculars. The horde bristled with long knives, hammers, axes, and a multitude of other makeshift weapons that could penetrate the mesh covering our windows, break the glass, and injure us. The plough sat motionless behind the approaching army and I could just about make out the blood splattered cab obscuring Imran’s form. I’ve never called a horde an army before, but they were organised and had weapons, so it seems an appropriate word. We were no longer just fighting for survival, we were in a war for the future of mankind, and we were outnumbered to an extent that made the charge of the light brigade look like a walk over.

  I heard Esme on the radio, ‘I don’t see her. All I can see is…’

  I answered her, ‘I know Esme, I see it too. There is no way of winning this and we have to run. Turn around and we’ll talk back at base.’

  We had time to turn around before the horde hit us and I had about as much of an idea about how to get back to base as anyone, so we led in Lulu. We hadn’t been on almost any of the roads that led back to base from where we were and we had no idea what we might meet on the way. For all we knew there were Hybrids everywhere and we wouldn’t even survive the day. For all we knew a Hybrid had found the base and everyone there was dead already.

  Eve guessed the contents of my introspection as I gave her the first direction in a monotone. She put her bloody bandaged hand on my thigh and said, ‘It’s not ok, none of it is, but we can’t give up. Considering what we’ve been through today we only lost one person, and he probably saved several of us. We know what’s out there now and had it gone differently we might never have known. We might have just woken up one morning to find the base surrounded by a well-organised army of Zeds holding weapons and whatever else they needed to kill us all. At least now we know, at least now we can plan.’

  I let my fear get the better of me and I took it out on the only person around. I barked at Eve, ‘I can’t plan for this, we can’t fight Zombies that have weapons and will mindlessly follow the orders of their leader, including killing themselves if they have to. All we can do is run and die, starve or be eaten. For all we know, next time we come across them they’ll be driving their own cars and have found their own guns. For all we know…’

  Eve shouted and it was so loud it echoed inside the car for a moment, ‘STOP!’ Then she took a breath, ‘Just stop. That might all be true, we might not even live through the day, but we have to try. I need you by me, by Esme and your baby, but we can’t do this without you. No one expects you to solve this and no one’s going to blame you if we get overrun. You’re still one of the best thinkers amongst us and, like it or not, you’re still our leader. None of us would be here without you and even if I die today, I’ll do so without a single regret that I met you, and with some of the happiest memories of my life to flash before my eyes as I go.’

  Only Eve could make death throws sexy. She added, ‘If our memories do flash before our eyes when we go, and we can feel them, I’ll probably be wet as I get eaten and I won’t feel anything except that.’

  I glanced over to her, ‘You’re fucked up beyond all recognition, you know that?’

  Eve glanced back at me, a smile on her face as she gently put her hand on my cheek. Pouting her full red lips she replied, ‘Yes baby I know, and it’s all thanks to you. Like I said earlier, we’re not going to die today… Just one more night.’

  Then more seriously she said, ‘So what’s the plan? I know we need to get home but I know your head. I know that whether you like it or not it’s full of options right now and I know you just need to trust your instincts and go with them. So don’t think and question yourself, just tell me, what’s the plan?’

  She was right of course, my head was spinning and I let it speak for me, ‘It’s all changed, obviously, but we can’t plan for what we don’t know and assuming the worst will only make us chase our tails. Beefcakes and Sprinters aren’t common, and Talkers are even less common. They might be becoming more common as the Zeds continue to develop, but right now let’s go with the probability that the Hybrids are rare and that the one we encountered today is the only one in this area. If they’ve been planning this thing for hundreds of years we have to assume it takes something special to make a Hybrid, or they would all be like that. Let’s also assume they only planned to have one per area or at least that their plan isn’t working out as well as they’d hoped.’

  �
��Our goal is still the same, survive. To survive we still need food and water. Although it’s not ideal, we can get water from rivers and streams and boil it for safety while we have the fuel to do so. That leaves us with food and we did well today. From now on, scavenging missions have to be better planned and we have to assume that for every day that passes it will get more dangerous. We have to assume that every time we go out we increase the chance of her finding us.’

  ‘We also have to assume that every Zed that sees us in or close to our base could report back to her, so we need to clear out every single Zed within at least a half mile radius of the base and have roving patrols that deal with any that wander inside that boarder.’

  I looked over at Eve and she nodded, ‘Yes, keep going.’

  ‘Right now we’re driving through an area we haven’t been in before and we have the luxury of knowing where the Hybrid is. Today, right now, is the only time we might have that luxury for a long time. Even if it takes the rest of the day, and we can barely swing a weapon by the end of it, we need to hit every shop we pass that has food or other essentials. No luxuries, that life is over, only essentials. With some of the Zed’s carrying weapons now, we’re going to have to re-think our armour, both for us, and our cars. Sheet metal, protective clothing, and welding gear are even more essential now. Hand to hand combat is going to be harder now and ammo is our most precious commodity. We need to find or develop bows and spears, arrows can be re-used some of the time and we can make them. We can’t make bullets.’

  ‘Fire is our friend but so are chemicals. Anything we can throw at a horde that will damage, kill, or blind them is good. The second base is on the edge of a heavy industry and chemical factory estate. There must be barrels of really nasty stuff all over the place, every barrel increases our chances of surviving an encounter with a horde and we need to get creative with ways of using it.’

  Eve revved the engine unnecessarily and I could see her grip on the steering wheel tighten. She pushed herself back and forth in her seat, ‘Fuck yea. You have no idea how much I want to fuck you right now. I’d ask you to get it out but there’s a corner shop up there.’

  Eve pulled up a block before the corner shop and squirmed in her seat. She grabbed the radio from me and said, ‘Everyone listen up and don’t ask questions. Things are different now and Brad’s laid out a plan. Today is the only day where we have the luxury of knowing where that bitch is, so we need to hit every food shop we pass between here and home that isn’t a death trap. Ambushes are still dangerous so we have to be careful, and we probably won’t get back until dark, but we’re doing this today and we need everyone on board and ready to swing a weapon.’

  Esme came back, ‘Good plan, what’s our approach. It’s in a line of other small shops so no houses full of surprises, but the shops probably have more Zed’s in than a house would.’

  I grabbed the radio back, ‘Eve and I will go have a quick look, be ready to back us up.’

  Eve drove slowly forwards and we scanned the inside of the shops as we rolled by. Three were small, non-chain, fast food places that were closed. There was a charity shop, a small bank, a hardware store, and the small supermarket. The parade was behind pedestrian barriers and the road was a dual carriageway, so there was a barrier between it and the other lane. There weren’t any wandering Zeds but they were becoming less and less common. That was a little disconcerting as we had to assume they were gathering into hordes. The hardware store had a large window and there only seemed to be a few customers. The supermarket was difficult to see into, but it was small.

  We stopped outside and I radioed back, ‘Seems pretty low risk. Everyone pull up with engines running and drivers at the ready, the rest of us will head in, kill any occupants, and clear the place.’

  Track came back on the radio this time, ‘Whatever you say boss, we’re in.’

  We cleared the mini-supermarket and hardware store without too much incident. Although we had plenty of hammers and screwdrivers, I figured for every one we had she and her army of Zed’s had one less, so we took them. I also figured a hammer isn’t exactly the worst throwing weapon. Having to second guess what she would do next was exhausting. It took all afternoon to get home and we hit two other shops, one petrol station, one DIY store, and one small garage to look for metal and welding gear. Apart from one nasty scratched face and one badly sprained wrist, we were unscathed and we had a butt load of food and gear to take back to the base.

  Ben radioed the factory base to update them and being barely a mile away from where we’d come across the Hybrid they decided to meet us back at the caravan base, just in case. They were careful not to be seen exiting the base and they were waiting for us when we eventually got back at suppertime.

  We were all tired by the time we got back so everyone else got busy with unloading and organising before we all convened to talk. Eve, Esme and I sloped back to our van but I could tell by the way she walked that rest was the last thing Eve was thinking of. Her hips swayed and her bum clenched like all her attention was between her legs. Esme noticed too and as we stepped into the van I saw her shudder for a moment at the thought. Needless to say I was ready for whatever she wanted.

  As Esme closed the door Eve pulled her top off and said, ‘Esme dear, do you mind if I just fuck his brains out, you’ll get no sense out of me until I do?’

  Esme came up behind me and started to undo my trousers while Eve took her bra and jeans off, ‘Of course not baby, I’ve barely seen you so desperate. I’m sure I’ll find something nice to do while you go for it, but do be careful of your wound, the quicker you let it heal properly the quicker you’ll be at full fucking strength again.’

  Feeling a little left out of the equation I said, ‘Don’t I get a say in the matter?’

  Eve was naked by then and walked up to me, her eye’s sparkling. Grabbing me firmly but not uncomfortable between my legs as she came close she said, ‘Really not, now come and lie on top of me and hold on for as long as you can. I can ignore my pain, but it’s slowing me down so I’ll leave most of the work to you.’

  Turning to Esme she added, ‘As for you my pert gorgeousness, I’d love to have you close by and to lick anything you offer me.’

  Esme was naked behind me by and I could feel her press against me. She said, ‘Of course baby, I’m sure I’ll find you something to keep that talented tongue of yours occupied. I know you really love to lick my bum, but that would put me in rather close proximity to Brad and I’d hate to be responsible for getting in his way or him not hanging on in there for you.’

  Eve pushed me onto the bed. Then her eye’s closed for a moment and she shuddered. She said, ‘Decisions, decisions. I can’t stop thinking about it now you’ve said it, but perhaps we can both save that for desert. Right now I’ve waited long enough.’

  Taking Eve when she was so obviously desperate was quite something. Esme ended up straddling her in front of me and kissing me between breaths turned into gasps by what Eve was doing to her. We barely had time to make sure Esme was equally relaxed before we heard people moving around outside and a call to meet in the communal area. Eve groaned in pain to get off the bed and we had to re-bandage her, but the smile didn’t leave her face, ‘Fuck that was good. This apocalypse nonsense is such a drag, I could do that all over again right now.’

  Suddenly the world was full of Zombies again and I knew everyone was expecting to hear my plan, and that it would have to be more detailed than the version I had given Eve. I thought back to what Eve had said, “Just one more night”, and I even thought of Hacksaw Ridge, which was a true story, and of what one man could do if he believed. I walked into the communal area with my new mantra on my still warm lips, “just one more night.”

  I repeated what I had said to Eve in the car to nods of approval, but when I looked around the room there was still fear in the eyes of anyone that wasn’t an experienced fighter. Fighting death everyday made it easier to cope with the prospect that in all likelihood it was closer
than it had been the previous day.

  I said what was in my head, ‘Lots of you look scared and you should be, but look at what we’ve achieved so far and how stacked against us the odd were of even getting this far. We need to be even smarted and more ruthless than we have been, and we need everyone who isn’t a fighter to work as hard as we do when we’re out there face to face with the Zed’s. If it helps, think of it this way; we might die tomorrow, but if we’re going to, don’t you want to be able to think you did everything you could to survive. Now, I’ve laid out the basis of a new plan but I need help fleshing it out. We need to kill more Zombies, faster, and from further away than ever before.’ Smiling I added, ‘We need weapons of mass destruction.’

  Jim put his hand up and I was glad, I hadn’t really admitted it to myself until he did, but I was relying on him, ‘There are some pretty nasty chemicals out there but I don’t know how their…physiology will react to them. Strong chlorine shouldn’t be too hard to find and if a human breaths it in it’s really nasty and it will make their eyes and nose burn and run uncontrollably. Depending on the level of exposure, it could make them throw up and have difficulty breathing. I don’t know if the stuff we can find is concentrated enough to cause skin to blister and burn, the safety protocols indicate it might be, but they’re always over the top.’

  ‘I’m pretty sure if any amount hit you directly in the face it could blind you, certainly temporarily, probably permanently without an eye wash. The problem is we’re going to be much more sensitive to the fumes throwing it around the place than they will be. If we throw bombs of it like petrol bombs, they’ll smash on the ground and won’t be as effective. There will also be some barrels of hydrochloric acid in some of the factories, but handing that so it doesn’t affect us more than them will be even harder.’

  I nodded at Jim, ‘Thanks Jim, I was kind of relying on you having some insider knowledge. What we need now is a way of safely spraying the stuff around from far enough away that it blinds them and not us. Any ideas?’