Infected

by Rolfe, Michael I

  “Go firm, COVERING FIRE!” shouted Walters, the four men with the stretcher continued to run as Walters and three men stopped, turned around and fired rapidly into the approaching mass. Some of the infected went down and others fell over them, but the rest kept on coming, jumping over the bodies of the fallen. “MOVE!” shouted Walters and they made off after the stretcher, reloading as they ran, as soon as they caught up he shouted for covering fire, again they stopped, turned and fired, this time on fully automatic, firing a short burst into each of their targets. This had more of an effect and several of the Infected went down, but still the rest came on! “MOVE!” shouted Walters, they turned and ran again. The fire from the hill was becoming more intense as the range decreased and more of the Infected were dropping. “How many?” shouted Walters into his radio as the stretcher reached the transport. “Thirty, 15 metres” came the reply. “Drop the stretcher, line up on me, section, rapid FIRE!” now that the four men were no longer encumbered by the stretcher all seven of the Paratroopers stood their ground in a row, shoulder to shoulder, firing relentlessly into the remaining Infected, the rate of fire combined with the two men shooting from the hill at last stemmed the relentless onslaught, the last of the Infected fell at Private Thomas’s feet and he put a round in its head to make sure it was no longer a threat.

  “Watch and shoot, watch and shoot!” shouted Lieutenant Walters. All the Paras were still breathing heavily but they observed the mass of bodies and waited for something to move, one Infected sprang to its feet and all seven men fired simultaneously, it was thrown backwards as if hit by a train, and disintegrated landing in more than one bloody heap. The seven men were still standing shoulder to shoulder, smoke drifting out from their rifle barrels, the ground around them littered with empty cartridge cases and dropped magazines and before them lay a bloody heap of bodies.

  Lieutenant Walter’s hands were starting to shake, since the first time he had stopped running to turn to face the Infected and saw their numbers rapidly approaching, he had given himself little hope of surviving. Each time he had turned to fire and seen the wave of infected just keep coming, his spirits had plummeted. The tension and stress that he felt was just about to overwhelm him, his hands were really shaking now and for the first time since joining the Army he felt out of his depth. He thought “That was just too close!” He knew he should give an order, he even knew what the order should be, but his mouth was dry, he was so nervous that he did not trust his voice not to crack and he could not allow that to happen in front of his men.

  “Fuck me!” said Private Thomas “Now I know what it must have been like to be at Rorke’s Drift!” said the Welshman. “Zulu is a great film!” said another private. “Stop chucking those bloody spears at me!” said another mimicking Michael Caine “Michael Caine, never said that” said a third. Then a Lance Corporal contributed to the banter by saying “No, but it’s a great fucking line!” Then someone else said in a Michael Caine voice “Stop gnashing those bloody teeth at me!” and the whole group start laughing including Walters!

  The banter and the laughter were just what the Lieutenant needed, it broke the spell of the panic that had gripped him, and the relief he felt was palpable. He said “Gentlemen. As much as I am enjoying this witty repartee, I really do think that we should move on before more infected turn up to gnash their teeth at us.” He then shouted “Reorg!” This was the order to reorganise, each man quickly took stock of the amount of ammunition they had left and then shouted out that they were okay and how many rounds of ammo they had left. The ammunition was redistributed so that each man had the same. The lookout then reported “Enemy fifty plus, 500 hundred metres, heading your location.” “Time to move Gentlemen.” said Walters. “Good Idea Boss!” said Private Thomas. This was the first time any of his men had ever called him “Boss”, before now they had always called him “Sir”, although Boss was not recognised by the Army as an official form of address it was what all the young officers secretly yearned for. Being called “Boss” by their men was a like a badge of honour, a sure sign that you had earned their respect, he vowed there and then that he would not let them down.

  The Infected on the stretcher was still “bye byes”, so the Paras loaded it on to the transport without any problems, then selected two of the fallen and put them into body bags and hoisting them on the vehicle. Weapons at the ready they then drove to pick up the lookouts who had made their way from their position on the hill. Once everyone was accounted for, Lieutenant John Walters, the “Boss” of 3 Platoon ordered a return to base.

  Day Five Dan and Pamela

  It had been quiet now for some time, the constant screaming and shouting of the previous days had abated, and now there was just the odd disturbance to the peace when some poor unfortunate person was caught by the Infected. The water had now stopped running from the taps and most of the food from the fridge and freezer had been eaten or was now rapidly going off, signalling that it would soon be time for them to move.

  Dan wanted them to take both the campervan and the 4x4, knowing that Pam would not last long on foot in a built-up area with all the infected creeping around, but he also knew that they could not just drive off because the roads would be blocked by abandoned vehicles. Dan would have to walk the route and find a way through the gridlocked roads to open countryside, he would probably have to be creative in the selection of his route to avoid the logjam of cars that he was sure he would find.

  He told Pam his plan to find a route through, and she was understandably not happy about being left on her own, even more so when Dan informed her that he could well be gone for a few days! After discussing the plan, she reluctantly agreed that there was little other option, so they set about planning and preparing as best as they could to make his foray a success. He would travel light, taking only the dead soldiers twenty-hour hour ration pack, the water bottles and a light jacket, he would take his sword and would leave the rifle with Pam. He had a large meal and drank as much as he could before kissing Pam and slipping out of the door. At first the road was clear, but he soon came across the first of the abandoned cars, it looked like one car had reversed out of its drive way and hit by another passing by. The cars were across the road, but there was still room for other vehicles to pass if they made use of the path. There were still bodies in the cars, but he could see that not everyone had died because of the crash. One of the victims moved, an infected woman of around twenty years of age, she would have been pretty, but her face was now disfigured and contorted with rage, she hissed and reached out toward Dan to grab him, trying to move but was held in place by her seatbelt and lacked the intellect to unbuckle it. Dan looked at her and she returned his gaze, looking straight in to his eyes, she stopped struggling against the seat belt and her arms dropped to her lap, he stepped closer and without hesitation drove the blade of his sword through her open mouth, the blade dislodging her upper incisors and emerging though the back of her head, continuing into the head rest of the seat. Retracting the sword, the young woman’s head slumped forward, blood pouring from her mouth onto her chest. Dan walked away without a second glance.

  Dan made it to the same traffic lights where five days or so ago he had first encountered the infected. The BMW that had been behind him at the lights had been rammed and pushed across the road and was now embedded in a wall, the driver who had been so verbally abusive to Dan was still at the wheel. Sword at the ready, Dan walked over to the driver’s side and looked in. The driver had no more to say, his carotid artery had been ripped open, and the inside of the windscreen was coated in his dried blood.

  The road to his right led to the town but also towards the motorway and it was clear that most people, in their panic, had tried for the motorway. The road was blocked with vehicles of every description for as far as Dan could see. Some cars had been driven along the pavement, but they too became trapped, other vehicles had followed them, so no one could reverse out of their predicament, causing total grid lock. The whole scene looked
like an amalgamation of a war zone and an elongated scrapyard, open car doors had been ripped from their hinges by other vehicles as they tried to barge past. There were bodies everywhere, some still in the vehicles but most were lying on the ground amongst abandoned belongings that were scattered throughout the area.

  Dan found it strange that he had not encountered more of the Infected. He wondered where they all were, and after giving it some thought, he concluded that, as most of the people were headed towards the motorway, then it made sense that the Infected would follow in that direction. If that was the case then there would have been mayhem three miles further on where this road joined the motorway, at the point this stalled convoy would have ran headlong into traffic coming in the other direction from the town. Dan guessed that the Infected, like lions, would have followed their prey along this highway and he imagined that the scene of carnage would only get worse the further along the road he went. He turned left and walked along the way he would normally take to work, and this road was mainly clear, he came across a cycle lying on the road and a short distance later the body of the rider. He caught a movement in his peripheral vision and turned to see the Lycra clad jogger, the same as he had seen days before, charging straight at him. Dan took one step forward with his left foot, held the sword high up to his right and let the jogger come on, then at the last second, Dan sprang forward and stepped to the left, at the same time brought the sword down and forward in a slicing action. The Katana cut through the jogger’s leg, felling him to the floor, instantly tried to stand and to resume its attack, but Dan, who was still on his feet and having the use of both legs was somewhat quicker. He simply turned around, took two steps toward the downed Infected and brought the blade down hard, cutting through the forehead. The Jogger fell forward, hard on to his face, and Dan could hear the nose breaking. Dan walked away without a second glance.

  Dan approached an ambulance abandoned in a layby, he remembered Pamela saying than she wished she had more medical supplies, so he thought he would see if there was anything worth salvaging. The doors were locked, so after looking around to make sure there were no Infected within earshot, he used the butt of the Katana to break the passenger side window…

  Amanda had been in the ambulance for five days now with no food and very little water, by this time she had given up hope of anyone coming for her she was too weak to move, and she knew that she would not survive if one of the wild people found her. So, she just stayed put and hoped, against hope, that someone “normal” would find her, if they did surely, they would help! She was sleeping as much as she could to save energy and was half asleep when the window was smashed and showering glass over the passenger seat and the floor of the cab. She had seen quite a few of the infected walking past but so far, they had not seen her, and so had ignored that ambulance, but now they were smashing their way in she knew that this was the end for her. She stifled her sobs, remaining as still as she could under a pile of blankets and waited to be attacked, but to her surprise nothing happened…

  The noise of the breaking window seemed very loud to Dan, so he stepped away and hid in the bushes to wait and see if any of the Infected would be attracted by the sound. He shuffled his feet and trod on something, glancing down he saw a smart phone on the floor. He crouched down and reached out to pick it up but then arrested the movement as he realised that this latest “must have device” was of no use in this new world! Five minutes had now gone by and no Infected had turned up to investigate, so he stepped out from his hiding place and walked towards the ambulance. He reached in through the window, unlocked the door and stepped into the ambulance. No Infected attacked and it looked like the supplies had not been ransacked, so he made his way toward the rear to see what he could salvage, planning to remove and hide the stock, then collect it when he and Pamela drove by.

  He unlocked and pushed open the rear doors and stepped outside, checking again for any Infected, all being clear he once again turned his attention to the ambulance. With the doors open it was lighter in the vehicle and he could tell that there was a body under the blanket, raising the sword and with a sharp pull he snatched the covers away. Amanda tried to protect herself even though she knew it was hopeless, moving as fast as she could, shouting every obscenity that she could think of at her attacker. To her surprise her assailant was laughing and backing away. The last thing the Amanda thought before she passed out was that the Infected were truly and completely mad!

  The woman in the Paramedics uniform sprang from the bed and was swearing like a trooper, she was not much more than five-foot tall, and Dan was so bemused by the torrent of abuse flowing for this diminutive figure, that his face broke into a smile and he laughed out loud. Then as quick as she had sprung up she dropped to the floor and remained still, and thankfully, quiet.

  For the first time since the whole “End of the world thing” started, Dan was not decisive, the first Infected he had killed had awoken something within him and with each kill since, life made more sense. It was as if he was born to kill, he did not enjoy it, but it did fulfil him, it satiated a need that had been long suppressed. He looked down at the body of this young woman at his feet and he knew that he could kill her without compunction, this thought did not bother him, the restraint that he felt in the old world long gone, along with the many other social norms, rules, laws and the authorities to enforce them. He was now free to kill without fear of reprisal, he felt he was created for this new world! But then he thought of Pamela. She was born to a world with all those laws and social norms and she would need that kind of society again if she were to survive in the long-term, he knew that they would have to work towards reviving that so called “civilised society” that she would need, and if she needed that then Dan would just have to tolerate it again. Step one on the road to resurrecting the old world would be to not kill this woman, and step two would be to do what Pamela would want him to do, and that would be to save this woman. Besides she could be useful, she was a paramedic, and you can never have too many medics he thought!

  Amanda woke up and found herself back on the bed in the ambulance. The doors were closed and sat opposite her, looking out of the window, was the man that she had seen just before she passed out. “What happened?” she asked. Dan looked from the window and towards her “You swore at me so much that you depleted your oxygen supply and asphyxiated yourself” replied Dan with a wry smile on his face. “Funny man, I feel awful.” she said. “How long have you been here?” asked Dan “Since the start, and not eaten since, that’s why I passed out” she replied. Dan gave her his food and water, then as he kept a lookout he told her what had happened and explained what he was doing. “I will have to leave you here while I carry on checking out the roads.” he said, then continued “Eat that food and get your strength back, pack all the medical supplies ready for a quick getaway when we pick you up, I don’t know how long we will be but keep out of sight and be ready to move when I return”.

  Amanda did not want to be left alone again but she was too weak to travel on foot and Dan was not giving her much of a choice, so she would do as he said, eat, drink, recover her strength and wait.

  Dan walked the roads for another day getting further away from the built-up areas, seeing Infected as he went, individually and in small groups, avoiding them when he could and despatching them if he had to, the whole time he knew that if ran in to a large group he would be in trouble.

  He cleared some obstructions in the road by pushing cars out of the way, with bodies in them still strapped into their seats in many cases, he paid little attention to them other than to make sure they were dead and not a threat. In some vehicles, he noticed smartphones of the same type that he had found in the bushes near to Amanda’s ambulance, “not much use now” he thought.

  This trip was also starting to bear fruit. He found a set of hand held radios, one was on the dashboard of a car that was in a ditch, the driver still in his seat and mangled beyond recognition. The other was by the body of a man
lying nearby in the road. The batteries in both sets were flat but they were of a common type and Dan knew that he had plenty of the same type in the kitchen drawer at home, he took both radios and moved on.