Z: UK (A Zombie Novel)

by David Whaley

  Suddenly, there was gunfire and everyone’s attention turned in its direction. Natalie used this to her advantage and was able to take out the two guards at the entrance as they ventured out of their huts, her gunfire consisting of two shots with her Glock going unnoticed. She noticed that she had developed a habit of aiming for the head as a well aimed body shot would have sufficed.

  Natalie continued forward as the mercenaries shouted commands, more of them appearing from the buildings and the other side of the aeroplane previously unseen. Then came the Bravos.

  The Bravos had exited a small building that Natalie assumed they were using as an office inside which Marcus was likely to be taking cover and no doubt selecting a weapon. Just give me a reason to kill you, thought Natalie. Yet, he didn’t appear.

  The Bravos stood, assessing the situation first familiarising themselves with the direction of fire and then the gunmen’s intended target. They realised it was the aircraft and instructed the mercenaries to move in as bullet holes ripped across the wing.

  Just as the mercenaries did as they were told, Leon’s team began to fire, this time at them whilst John’s team continued their focus.

  Meanwhile, Natalie’s team continued to press forward utilising the new wave of confusion as they ran across a large clearing where they would have otherwise been completely vulnerable.

  They concealed themselves behind one of the medium hangars, the entrance on the other side of the metal sheeted building.

  “Heather, you look around the corner and let us know if anybody tries to sneak by. Devlin and I will take this side and fire at the enemy.”

  She obeyed ensuring nobody approached from behind whilst Devlin and Natalie let rip.

  There were a few cries from the fake army suggesting that they thought they were completely surrounded. But, when no additional firepower came they seemed to realise that they had fallen fowl of the intended distraction tactic, twice.

  Surveying the scene, Leon and co had done a good job and taken many of the mercenaries out whereby John’s team had brought the aircraft to a smoking wreck. However, they continued to shoot at it to ensure complete disablement. Only when it caught alight did they focus their energy on the people returning gunfire.

  “You concentrate on the mercenaries,” Natalie said to Devlin. “I’ll take the Bravos.”

  Natalie had a clear line of sight at the three Bravos and, whilst trying to avoid Bravo two, she opened fire.

  Each round missed its target but not due to her inaccuracy. Instead, the reasoning was the speed of the Bravos. They immediately saw where Natalie was firing from and successfully dodged the bullets as they ran at her.

  Their speed was as impressive as it had been previously reinforcing the fact that they cannot be allowed to continue. Despite the impending attack, Natalie felt pleased that a huge chunk of their plan had been written off by the aircraft being destroyed.

  Devlin, late to see the approaching Bravos, turned away from the mercenaries and fired at them with only one round hitting home. The problem was it hit Bravo two, Sarah.

  They both continued to shoot at Marcus’ henchmen and woman as mercenaries fell to the floor with shouts of pain in the background.

  Suddenly, Natalie felt a boot connect with her chin which knocked her clean off her feet. She landed ten metres away soon followed by Devlin with a bloody nose.

  All three Bravos stood above Devlin and Natalie, apparently oblivious to Heather’s presence at the other corner of the hangar.

  “We warned you,” said Bravo one.

  “The boss himself warned you,” said Bravo three.

  “You are as stubborn as he said you were,” said Bravo two.

  Natalie struggled to get to her feet surprised that her jaw wasn’t broken but it was bruised enough to hurt when she spoke, the taste of blood filling her mouth.

  “You’ll never get away with this,” she said spitting at the feet of Bravo one.

  “You think we don’t have contingency plans in place, another aircraft for instance. Maybe inside this hangar you’ve been hiding behind,” said Bravo two as a hint for her benefit.

  Natalie refused her instincts of looking at Heather to prevent giving away her position and instead glanced around looking for the MP5 that flew from her hands. It was another five metres away and she knew there was no time to make a mad dash for it.

  Devlin had regained consciousness having seen only black for a brief moment, also stumbling to his feet as he tried to remember what was going on. A quick look at the Bravos put things immediately into perspective and he recalled what had happened.

  Natalie grabbed her Glock pistol glad that she had opted for the thigh holster this time around and pointed it at Bravo one when he slapped it out of her hand narrowly missing Heather. The Bravos were still seemingly oblivious to Heather who was now pointing her Glock at the Bravos taking silent steps closer.

  “There are more of us. You three won’t get out of here alive and neither will Marcus,” said Natalie, an attempt at a threat.

  “Police officers threatening to murder us,” laughed Bravo two protecting her cover.

  Bravo one and three also laughed as Heather placed the metal barrel against the side of Bravo threes head and fired a round. Unfortunately, the touch of cold metal was enough to give him warning of what was to come and he successfully avoided the fatal shot disarming her with his right hand and grabbing her by the throat with his left lifting her a foot off the floor.

  “Cease fire!” shouted a voice from beyond the flames of the burning aircraft, only a silhouette visible as he walked in their direction.

  The mercenaries stopped firing, as did Leon and all the Hertfordshire officers. Bravo three released Heather and they all took a step back.

  Natalie knew who the owner of the voice was and to whom the silhouette belonged. Then Marcus emerged through the flames and smoke.

  Marcus paused to examine his dead mercenaries and the injured living ones landing a bullet in the skull of one that was writhing in pain nearby.

  “You can’t get the staff nowadays,” he smiled. “I warned you and you have betrayed me. Final chance, Natalie. Join me.”

  Natalie flung herself backwards and picked up her MP5 but Bravo three was already upon her forcing it out of her hand and lifting her back to her feet.

  “Not a chance in hell,” she said. “You are going to destroy the world.”

  “No, you’ve got it all wrong. It may be too late for you but you can at least witness first hand the magnitude of my plan, for the new species of mankind. I will rule the world and no one can stop me.”

  “We will,” said Devlin.

  “Oh, shut up will you. This is between me and Natalie.”

  John and Leon’s team had now approached closer whilst everyone had been paying attention to Marcus’ speech and were successfully able to take out the few remaining mercenaries with a noisy flurry of rounds killing them instantly and they aimed their weapons at Marcus and his Bravos.

  “Surrender now or die,” said John.

  Marcus laughed and pulled a small vile out of his inside jacket pocket.

  “I am more powerful than my Bravos and will be even stronger soon enough. I will implement my plan with or without you. Natalie, I promise that you can see your friends die. I planned to do this in the oval office but I suppose there’s no time like the present.”

  With those final words he drank the entire contents of the vile of liquid, immediately beginning to change.

  At first it looked painful but after a short while Marcus started laughing.

  Marcus shed his brown jacket and dark blue shirt as his body outgrew it and his skin became brown and leathery, the onlookers recalling the situation with James Bullen at Lakeford police station. Marcus was going through a similar transformation that seemed to be more severe.

  His entire body grew muscular tripling the size of his limbs whilst his hair fell out and his ears got bigger, his height rising to well over ten feet. His t
eeth also grew like something from a vampire film, although this was much worse, and even his Bravos had to gasp at the transfiguration.

  Natalie remembered Marcus’ general good looks but now looked on in horror. Not only had Marcus become ugly, he had a look in his grey eyes of relentlessness and murder, eager to inflict pain and suffering upon everyone not welcome in his lair.

  Marcus had developed a deep and demonic voice that unsettled the nerves of everyone listening.

  “You will pay for interfering, Natalie. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Chapter 42

  Everyone stared on at Marcus’ new form assuming that it would be as futile as their battle was with James Bullen but, nevertheless, they had to try.

  The Bravos watched on whilst everyone fired at Marcus, Natalie and her team having reacquired their own weaponry, but the bullets bounced off and Marcus laughed in the same demonic voice.

  The gunfire was aimed at every limb of his body but the bullets continued to provide more danger than anything as they ricocheted in all directions.

  There was a sense of hopelessness that filled the air, the rain now in downpour not helping the situation. The darkness had fully engulfed the military site and the moonlight did little to brighten it up. The lamps that were connected to the various generators had mostly been blown out from the stray bullets.

  The Bravos stood by with grins on their faces, all except Bravo two who was only able to muster a nervous smirk as she wondered if there was an avenue that could be taken to end his reign.

  Leon rushed over to Heather whilst still shooting.

  “Heather, have you got that cure of yours handy?”

  “Yes, here.”

  Heather handed Leon a syringe with a thick needle protruding from the end hoping that the Monosodium Glutamate would react successfully with the virus coursing through Marcus’ veins.

  Leon waited for Marcus to turn around as he raised his arms to embrace the pointless attack surrounding him and Leon seized the opportunity.

  He ran up behind the devil, fast approaching, and leapt up attempting to inject him in the wrist. Marcus didn’t even notice as the needle snapped off against the strong impenetrable skin.

  “Fuck!” he shouted. “We need to think of another way to introduce it.”

  Bravo two saw what Leon had attempted but was unsure why, unaware of the chemical reaction it would cause. Regardless, she devised a plan trusting the worlds saviours.

  “We will rule the world and the new race will kneel before our awesome power,” said Sarah.

  Marcus heard this and stopped laughing, staring at his enforcer.

  “The Bravos will be wealthy and powerful. Nobody can stop us.”

  Marcus seemed to be reacting to Sarah’s words, his eyes narrowing and his mouth growing to a snarl.

  “We will rule by the side of our leader, equal in every way.”

  “We are not equal,” shouted Marcus’ transfigured form. “I am stronger than you all. You were used merely to implement my plan for my benefit.”

  “But we will rule with you, won’t we?” said Bravo two, the other Bravos taken aback by Marcus’ last comment.

  Everyone stopped firing to watch the argument ensue.

  “What’s going on?” asked Natalie.

  “Remember Sarah said that she would use his selfishness against him? Well, here it is. Apparently, they never discussed the roles the Bravos would play in the new world,” replied Leon.

  Marcus roared and the ground shook in response, almost animalistic.

  “What role did we play in your plan then?” asked Bravo one.

  “What happened to your loyalty?” said Marcus. “My plan can still proceed without you.”

  “After all we’ve done for you! How dare you,” said Bravo three.

  “Don’t talk to me like that you worthless imp.”

  “You are not going to get away with this,” said Bravo two playing on the others anger.

  “Now you sound like them,” said Marcus with an evil sounding laugh indicating at the police officers.

  “You need us,” said Sarah.

  This comment angered Marcus.

  “I don’t need anyone for what I’ve planned. You were just pawns to speed things up and you have served your purpose.”

  “Well, it seems we have made a mistake,” said Bravo one. “You won’t be alive long enough to see it through.”

  Bravo one lunged at his leader, although at average height his speed paid off and he was able to dodge a number of attacks before punching him in the stomach, his jumped assisted by his agility. The punch wasn’t effective and Marcus pulled him off throwing him at the other Bravos who dived out of the way.

  Bravo three then jumped at Bravo two who pushed him into the air from his feet enabling him to reach a higher altitude where he kicked Marcus to the face. He staggered backwards, though, largely a pointless effort.

  “You see? You are nothing compared to me,” roared Marcus shaking the ground once more.

  “You promised us safe passage out of this island,” said Bravo two.

  “You have ruined those chances. Instead, you will die.”

  Bravo two then lunged forward and slid between Marcus’ legs. She then jumped and kicked the back of his knees simultaneously with each foot causing him to fall to the ground in a buckle.

  Marcus rose to his knees when Sarah delivered a round house kick to his abdomen as Bravo one took hold of an arm and forced him backwards not quite hitting the floor.

  Seeing the opportunity present itself, Bravo three threw himself onto the reanimated Marcus and successfully managed to put him on his back where Sarah delivered an elbow strike to his eye blinding him, albeit temporarily.

  Marcus began struggling to get up and Bravo two assisted in restraining him by holding his legs together but it was only a matter of time before he would be able to break free. Despite their speed and strength, they were no match for their prior leader.

  Leon had a brainwave as to how he could introduce Heather’s concoction of chemicals into the enemy and ran at him, jumping onto his stomach and running up his body towards his head.

  Marcus roared once more and Leon poured the contents of the cure into Marcus’ mouth causing him to struggle violently.

  One of his arms broke free and he grabbed hold of Leon with a single hand that wrapped almost completely around his waist and squeezed before throwing him through the hangar allegedly containing the second aeroplane.

  He then shook off all three Bravos and was back onto his feet clutching his head with both hands, wailing in pain, staggering in all directions like a drunk approaching his front door armed with a key.

  The Bravos stood by appreciating the feat they had assisted in achieving when Marcus took hold of Sarah and slammed her into the floor. He then kicked her into Bravo three.

  With Bravo one, Marcus threw him out over the perimeter of the military base and out of sight as he began to mutate further.

  Marcus’ body got bigger and his skin began to stretch until it could hold no more. It began to tear revealing his organs within, withered as a side effect to the virus he had ingested and no doubt ‘the cure’ had something to do with it.

  “Fire!” shouted Natalie noticing the vulnerability.

  The bullets now penetrated Marcus’ body but still he wouldn’t die. They had to wait for the skin to tear on his face as his head continued to grow, ‘the cure’ causing him a substantial amount of displeasure.

  Eventually, his facial skin ripped and all eight officers aimed high as it tore some more. They fired from all directions with bullets disappearing into the new openings

  Marcus let out a final roar, shaking the ground the most by far, and his head disintegrated as the bullets passed through, his body falling to the floor. Marcus, the devil, was dead.

  Natalie rushed into the hangar where there was indeed a second aeroplane. Leon was on the floor propped up against the smaller light aircraft.

  “Leon,
are you alright?” she shouted.

  “No. I have broken my… hip and my arm. My stomach… is extremely painful and… I think I have… ruptured something inside,” he whimpered.

  “You’ll be fine,” said Natalie extremely concerned for the person that had saved her life on their first encounter. “We’ll get you some help.”

  “Nat… Natalie… Get Devlin.”

  Natalie thought this was a bit of a strange request but did it anyway.

  “Devlin… you need to look after her. Make sure… she gets off this god… forsaken island….”

  “I will but, Leon, you’re coming with us.”

  “No… I’m not… I haven’t….” Leon coughed up a large amount of blood during an extended coughing fit and it became obvious that he wouldn’t be able to move, be transported or live much longer.

  “Leon?” enquired Natalie as he became silent, head bowed.

  “Leon?” asked Devlin placing a hand on his shoulder.

  Natalie lowered her head to listen to him breathing but was unable to hear anything. She then checked for a pulse on his neck, wrist and ankle to make sure she was certain before telling Devlin.

  “He’s gone,” she eventually managed to say through a suddenly formed scratchy throat.

  Devlin sensed the tears soon to follow and invited her in for a hug which was gratefully accepted. She cried into his chest at the loss of a friend and a great team leader.

  Neither could come to terms with the fact that Leon was dead.

  Chapter 43

  All of the officers remained on the military base for some time. Devlin, Heather and Natalie were left to silently mourn in Leon’s lifeless presence. The remainder cleared the rest of the site confirming that all of the mercenaries had been killed as was Marcus with no head, but there was another sad tragedy to consider.

  Bravo one couldn’t be found and Bravo three suffered severe injuries from the impact of Bravo two and had died. Sadly, Sarah had met the same fate; the force of the kick and subsequent impact too great.

  Devlin, Heather and Natalie carried Leon out of the hangar allowing the Hertfordshire officers undisturbed access to the Cessna Crusader, an aircraft capable of carrying six people including the pilot, where they set to work sabotaging it.