by Nick Harland
I looked at Bill who said, ‘Mike, that’s a great idea and something we can do on the base right now. It’s something everyone can help with that will make an immediate difference, thanks.’
I added, ‘You should all know that the Zeds are attracted by the smell of bodily functions because it means there is something alive they can eat. It does sound like a good idea but we need to ensure the smell is contained or diffused as much as we can. On the issue of personal hygiene, the vans can give us hot showers and we have the gas to power that for a while if it’s rationed, but water is an issue.’
We can scavenge clean drinking water and we already have quite a lot, but we’re going to have to take trips to the nearby river for washing and use its water to bring back when we want hot showers. We can either use river water or recycled water from showers if people are just a bit sweaty rather than covered in Zed goo for washing clothes. An old twin tub washer would be good if we can find one. We need to recycle shower water without soap in it for watering plants.’
The older woman who had said she was a cook spoke next, ‘I’m Emily and I’m 62, I have high blood pressure but it’s not too bad, and I suppose the diet and activity will sort that out. I’ll be the groups cook and I do like to count things, so unless anyone else is desperate I can do the food and water inventory and make up regular reports about what we have and what we need.’
Another woman spoke next, she was small and thin and it was hard to estimate her age, ‘I’m Marion, I’m 43 and healthy as far as I know. I was friends with a woman who was married to a farmer that also raised game for shooting. I visited them a couple of times. Her husband ran shoots and did lessons and stuff so he has at least a few shotguns and I assume some ammunition. If it takes a headshot to kill these things then a sawn off shotgun would probably be useful up close when most of us can’t shoot. I’m afraid I don’t have many skills. I worked in an office and I was a marathon runner for a hobby.’
No one else spoke so I ended the meeting, ‘Well, we have plenty of work to do and the tools to do it. We have hours of sunlight left so I suggest some light activity. I think Eve and I should check out the route to the river and fill some containers to bring back for showers. We know the warehouse over the road was empty a couple of days ago so if anyone who feels up to it wants to go over with Esme and Bill to open any boxes they can get to that would be good too. Who said they wanted to learn forklift?’
The woman stuck her hand up, ‘Me. I’m Fern, I’m 50 and I was in telesales. I’ll go over and give it a go.’
We were walking off when the man who had been angry about Helen intercepted Eve and I and said, ‘I’d like to come to the river if you don’t mind. There aren’t many fighters except you guys and I know I have some anger issues. I think it would be good if I could learn to kill the Zeds hand to hand. I’m not scared of dying or getting bitten. I’m Mark by the way and I’m 32.’
Mark was well built and plainly had more muscle than fat under the ill-fitting long-sleeved top he was wearing. I said, ‘Ok, but if you run in and lose control you’ll be dead in no time. You’re right though, we could really use another fighter.’
Mark replied, ‘I can control myself, I’ve never been in trouble. I used to work out to vent and I used a punch bag at home most nights. I would hope I can handle myself. All I could do yesterday was knock a couple over so you guys could finish them as I felt dizzy from hunger. I feel much better already though with a few decent meals inside me.’
We put six caravan aqua-rolls in the back of Mary and Mark chose a long heavy pry bar from the tools to use as a weapon. Eve and I exchanged a few glances as we got ready but we couldn’t deny that another effective hand to hand fighter would be useful.
The river was only a couple of miles away across the estate. Half way to the river there were two Zeds on the road and we stopped and got out of Mary. Eve pulled a gun to cover us and we waited for a minute, but there didn’t seem to be any others. Mark and I slowly approached the Zeds and from the corner of my eye I could see Mark wringing his hands around the pry bar. When we got about twenty feet away the Zeds charged us. I prepared to deflect mine like Esme had shown us. Mark waited until his was about six feet away then stepped forwards with a brief shout and swung the pry bar in a long horizontal arc at the Zeds head.
I dodged mine and saw Mark’s pry bar make contact before I killed mine with Seven. The Zed defended but its arm splintered like a dry twig and the bar hit the side of the Zeds head with enough power to make it splinter and spray goo everywhere. Although it only lasted a minute, I saw the rage on Mark’s face as he fought, it was scary.
I walked over to Mark, ‘Well, that worked well with one, but you might need to think more about energy conservation when things get busy.’
Mark nodded but his eyes were still flicking around like a cornered animal. He said, ‘I know, I just wanted to make sure I could do it.’
We made it to the river and had to push Mary through a fence to get onto some rough ground and close to the river itself. We filled the aqua-rolls and Mark put them back in Mary, making them look comparatively light. When we got back into Mary Mark said, ‘Can we stop at one of the buildings that looks like it might have some useful stuff in on the way. You said we’re going to use this route regularly so clearing out nearby buildings so we don’t have any surprises when we’re bathing could be useful.’
I looked at Eve who smiled, ‘You can’t fault the logic. I’m ok with it, as long as your Zombie sense isn’t tingling.’
We stopped outside the building closest to the river. It was hard to tell which buildings might be useful as they all looked similar and there weren’t many signs. It was smaller than most and had a small colourful sign above the door that said, “Mayhew Designs”.
We got out of Mary but left the doors open. I said, ‘If there are any more than three we can see inside we come back out and take them from the safely of Mary’s roof, if there are more than six we get back into Mary and consider our options.’
Mark said, ‘Ok, If there is just the odd one or two let me take them, I need the practice if I’m going to catch up with you guys.’
Eve opened the door and Mark stepped inside with me close behind him. There was a dirty low counter with a bell on and an open plan floor space beyond with what I assumed were printing machines or something similar, because two had huge rolls of paper feeding into them. There was a Zed behind the counter but Mark stabbed the long end of the pry bar at it immediately and managed to get it in the face before it could react. I could see about eight other Zeds stood around the machines and they charged immediately Mark hit the Zed behind the counter.
Although Mark stepped back he stood in the doorway and before I could complain he said, ‘It’s a narrow doorway and only one can fight at a time. I’m staying here.’
His tone wasn’t inviting of conversation so Eve and I stood a few feet back outside the building, either side of the door. At least some of the Zeds must have jumped or climbed over the counter and then fallen, because his first two strikes were towards the floor. Then he dodged backwards and held the pry bar at either end and we could see him jabbing it forwards to stagger the Zed in front of him before twisting and jabbing with the straight end. He dodged completely out of the way of the next one as it staggered over the bodies piling up and even had the breath to say, ‘after you’, before piling forwards into the doorway again. We both hit the one that ended up between us and a few moves later it was all over.
Eve looked at me before Mark stepped back out into the open but she wasn’t smiling. I didn’t know what to think, let alone what to say. He’d been reckless but had obviously handled it. Although Eve, Bill and Esme looked to me to lead, to some degree at least, I had no idea what the others thought of listening to a 22 year old.
Mark staggered a little as he stepped back and he was breathing heavily. He said, ‘I’m still weak from being half starved but I’ll be fine after a few more days with regular food.’
I saw Eve nod approvingly behind Mark who stood staring at me. He listened and took a moment to think about his reply, ‘That makes sense, but I figure life out here is unpredictable and dangerous and sometimes you have to roll with the punches and make quick decisions. I knew I could handle this lot one at a time and it was clear outside so you weren’t in danger. This is our first time out together and so far your plans have only included your fighting styles. I think maybe as things develop and we can plan things that take my style into account too.’
I couldn’t fault his reasoning and he was right about things being unpredictable. I smiled and said, ‘I’m sure you’re right, but right now you look pale and we have what we came for, so let’s get back shall we.’ In my head I was thinking he probably wasn’t that dangerous to the rest of us, even if he didn’t follow the plan, but I didn’t think he’d last very long unless he learned to control himself better and think more strategically.
We had a quick check of the building Mark had cleared and although we found a water cooler with a half-full bottle we took, there was nothing else useful. We drove back slowly checking out the buildings along the way. With eight Zeds in the building next to the river we were going to have to check and clear more buildings to make the route safe.
Chapter Seven – Down by the Riverside
We got back and unloaded the water. Mike and a few others took the aqua-rolls so people could shower and we thought all of the survivors could probably get clean. It hadn’t taken long to get back from the river, even with the fighting, and there was still a couple of hours of light left. It was a reasonably hot day for late May and I had an idea. I said to Eve, ‘Let’s go over and find Esme. It’s only fair the survivors get the hot showers but I could do with a freshen up myself. Why don’t we take her back to the river and we can get dirty and clean all at the same time. I kinda like being naked outside.’
Eve stepped forwards to kiss me and put her hand over my crotch, ‘That’s a fantastic idea. It crossed my mind earlier but Mark was with us. Let’s grab some soap and shampoo from the van.’
We let someone know where we were going and drove over to the warehouse. Bill and Esme had taken two of the SUV’s over to help bring anything useful back. Bill was lurking in the door keeping watch and smiled as we approached, ‘Hi guys, everything ok? It’s all good here and Fern seems to be getting the hang of it. Although there are two forklifts, they’re both electric and only have a half charge, or about 3-4 hours left each. While the others have been busy opening anything they can reach, Esme’s been climbing up the shelves to find the pallets worth bringing down. We’ve found clothes, plastic greenhouses, some baseball bats with gloves, balls and helmets, and a box of medium sized axes. Not bad for a few hours, many hands makes light work. How did it go at the river?’
Eve said, ‘We took Mark who turns out to be a very good fighter but a bit of a nut-job with it. We brought back water so everyone should be able to have a shower. As we’ve had hot showers not that long ago we figured the rest should use the water. Mark got a bit dizzy with the activity so I think maybe it’s time these guys loaded up and went back. As it’s fairly hot out we were going to go to the river to wash, we came to see if you or Esme wanted to come?’
Bill said, ‘No thanks I’ll pass, but Esme must be pouring by now as it’s hot as hell in here. I’ll go round everyone up and get Esme for you.’
Bill sauntered off and I said, ‘Nice risk taking, though I suppose public nakedness isn’t his thing so it wasn’t too much of a risk. You know he knows what we’re up to anyway.’
Eve grinned, ‘Of course I know, and he knows I know, but its polite to ask and I’m sure he appreciated it. He’s one of us.’
A few minutes later people started carrying boxes out of the warehouse and loading the SUV’s. Esme appeared and was indeed soaked in sweat, ‘Bill says you guys are going for a swim, awesome idea. I’d suggest opening the sunroof and rolling down the windows if the route is safe, even I think I stink.’
The route was clear and we parked close to the water with the doors open. We had been leaving Mutt behind since getting back from the airport as he was a good warning system and seemed to be enjoying the company of the kids. Playing with a dog seemed to be a vaguely normal thing for kids to do in an otherwise fucked up world. We hadn’t seen any Zeds in water anywhere but we didn’t want to rely on it keeping us safe. Eve was fearless as always and rapidly stripped off and waded into the water. It was relatively clear but I didn’t want to think about what could be draining into it from the estate. Eve shivered as she got deeper in and it didn’t take me long to get uncomfortable watching the water level rise slowly up her beautiful bum. Then she turned around, smiled, and let her legs go until she was neck deep, making a shivering noise as she did.
Esme started stripping off beside me and it was a tough choice whether to join her or watch her. Watching her strip would be good but then both of them would be watching me strip, so I joined her. We waded into the water together shivering as we went. Esme made it to Eve first who embraced and kissed her. I cuddled up behind feeling her hips and pushing myself against her. She arched back against me in appreciation. In a pause between the kissing Eve said, ’This is nice and I want to do it, but I don’t fancy doing it in the river. I can imagine cleaner places. Anyone got any ideas?’
Esme said, ‘I do.’ and released herself from Eve’s hold.
Eve smiled and floated towards me, coming to rest on my lap with her legs around me. I held her beautiful round bum pushed her up until her breasts were free of the water so I cold kiss them. Her nipples were hard with the cold and she made appreciative ‘Mmmm’ sounds as I warmed them up. Then I heard her whisper in my ear, ‘Esme’s got the boot liner from Mary and laid it over the grass, well weeds. I think she deserves a treat. I seem to remember promising you both a treat yesterday. I want her on top of you on all fours so you can suck her lovely pert breasts.’
Then she held my hardness tightly and added, ‘Then I can pay close attention to my favourite parts of both of you at the same time. When she’s nice and wet from me licking her and you’re as hard as you can be from sucking her breasts and me touching you, I can bring her to the edge and then you can fuck her until she cums, and not stop until you do. How does that sound?’
There was only one answer, ‘Fantastic.’
We fucked on the boot liner and it was as good as Eve had described. For a few minutes I forgot we were out in the open and Zeds could be nearby, but I knew Eve would be keeping an eye out, and I did the same when we returned the favour. When we’d taken care of her as well we washed ourselves properly in the river, dried off, and got dressed. It was tempting to stop for a quick Zed hunt on the way back but we were clean and relaxed so we skipped it for a change. It was dusk when we got back.
For the next couple of days we organised ourselves in the base and dug the long-drop toilet. It wasn’t a very long drop because after about six feet the ground was just too rocky, but we made it wide and it did the trick. The rocky ground underneath meant it would drain well at least. Bill made a good job of placing a van over the hole, stripping out most of the contents, and putting a toilet in the middle. As bathrooms went I’d been in much worse. Between us all we did more at the warehouse, dug over most of the grassy ground for planting and Bill, with help from Jim and a couple of others, used some of the building site fencing to make the front perimeter four feet higher.
Food and water disappeared from the shelves with alarming speed despite the rationi
ng, but it was nice to have two days without fighting and for the survivors to get some of their strength back. Esme started martial arts lesson for an hour every evening and I think we all felt good about what we were achieving. Inevitably, on the second evening, we had to talk about going out again.
It was the captain who started the conversation, but none of us expected what he had to say, ‘I want to thank you guys again for saving us. I can’t imagine what state we’d be in by now if you hadn’t showed up, we’d probably be dead. That makes me think of other survivors who might have done better than us, but might be starting to struggle. I’d like to go looking for them. The next closest airport is Newcastle and it’s not that far north. It’s obviously much bigger than Durham. There are a couple of small planes at Durham airport I know will be fuelled up and ready to fly as the flying club was on a Saturday and they’re prepared the day before. I used to teach at the club sometimes.’
‘I could take a couple of radio’s and fly over the area and hope if there are survivors they signal me. I might be able to drop a radio to talk to them if we wrapped it up securely enough, or someone could come with me to talk to them. We still have plenty of space and vans and although I know more numbers means we would need more supplies, we’d have more people. People who have survived this long so must have fought and scavenged to do so, so we could double up our scavenging. The plane will have enough fuel to get there and back and give us at least an hour or two’s searching time. Depending on what happens, if any survivors are still at the airport, I could even land.’
The captains’ idea sounded like it might work and that was what scared me. I was stuck between wanting to save others and knowing that more people meant more protection, and not wanting to lose control of the situation at the base. I didn’t know what to say and I wasn’t the only one. Silence filled the room. Eventually Bill spoke up, ‘When we had this conversation before coming to find you lot and I admit had mixed feelings, more mouths to feed, the possibility of trouble makers, but I think the captains idea is good. Numbers only makes us stronger and builds our possible skill set.’
