With the kids sat in the back seats of the car and the doors locked, Pamela kept watch while Frank poured the fuel in to the tank and replaced the filler cap. Frank tried to start the engine and each time the engine was turned over Pamela winced, gripped the shotgun harder and looked around for the Infected that would surely be attracted by the noise. Frank said I think we should give it a minute then try again.” Pamela replied, “We don’t have a minute, we need to move now!” as she gestured with the shotgun toward a pack of Infected that were running towards them. Frank said, “Polly, we are going to play a game of hide and seek and you are the first seeker, so you have to hide on the floor in the car behind my seat close your eyes and count slowly to one hundred.” “Okay, but I will find you, I am the best at hide and seek!” claimed Polly as she covered her eyes and started to count. Frank kept trying to start the car while Pamela took up a stance ready to fire at the first of the Infected who was now less than twenty metres away. Pamela said to herself under her breath “Fire at the head or heart!” repeating Dan’s instructions to her and she pulled the trigger, the Infected was a large male and was running at full tilt towards her, the shot from the gun hit him in the left shoulder and his whole body twisted violently to the left, he staggered but then kept on running towards his prey. Pamela pumped the shotgun, aimed and fired again, the Infected was almost on her when she pulled the trigger.
The Infected was brought to a sudden halt and was thrown back a metre as if he had bounced of a glass wall, to make sure it would not get back up Pam pumped another round in to the chamber of the shotgun and fired into the beast’s face, the head disintegrated and exploded outwards in a red splatter across the road. Pamela forced herself to look away from the bloody pulp that was glistening on the surface of the road and looked towards the other Infected, sure enough they were coming towards her at speed, “Frank! We really need to go!” she shouted as she pumped another round into the chamber.
The engine finally started, and Frank hollered “Get in!” Pamela fired one more time at the nearest Infected then jumped into the passenger seat, slammed the door and shouted “Drive!” Frank accelerated away but not quite quick enough, one of the Infected had managed to get to the car and was hammering on the windows as it ran alongside, after a few seconds the Infected could no longer keep up. Mark had turned around in his seat, and looking out of the rear window, saw the Infected staring back at him with savage intent. Mark was terrified by the snarling beast that was running in the wake of the car and shouted, “Drive faster Granddad!” then watched as the front of the caravan collided with the back of the monster’s legs. The Infected went down and the caravan bounced half a metre in the air as its wheel ran over the body. Frank let out a long breath, and was about to say, “That was close!”, but before he could say anything Polly called out “Nighty nine, one hundred, coming ready or not!”
Pamela sat in silence deep in thought. She had spent her whole adult life trying to cure the sick and save the dying, but now she found herself killing people. Yes, she had hit and killed the Infected with the campervan, but she felt insulated from that as she was sat in a steel box and, as fast as she had hit them, they were removed from her sight as the van sped past. Using the shotgun was different, it was more personal, and the body was right there laid out in front of her. Unlike the bodies she had seen in the clinical environment of the mortuary, she was responsible for the gruesome mess on the road and did not know if she could reconcile her action. Frank looked across at her, read her expression and knew what she was thinking, so he said “Thank you, if you had not been there I don’t think we would have made it, you saved my grandchildren. I owe you one, we all do!”
The caravan only just fitted but beneath the open shutter, but they pushed it under and as far back into the garage they could, leaving room for the 4x4 when Dan and Peter returned. Frank parked his car amongst the other vehicles that were for sale on the forecourt, then they closed and locked the shutters.
While Amanda, Frank and Mark kept watch, Pamela and June set about preparing a meal, observed by Polly who was casting a critical eye on proceedings and was offering them the benefit of her “years” of “helping Mummy cook!” Pamela noticed how June reacted upon hearing the reference to her daughter and said to Polly “Why don’t you go and keep an eye on the others make sure they are keeping a good lookout.” Polly, who was easily distracted, said “Yes Auntie Pam.” And skipped off to supervise her new minions, keen to make sure they were carrying out their duties correctly. Pamela watched her go then turned to June and said, “Do you know the fate of the children’s parents?” June had tears in her eyes as she replied “No, our daughter and son-in-law were meant to join us on the morning of the outbreak, but they never arrived. We stayed as long as we could in the campsite, Frank had the caravan hitched to the car ready to go and insisted that we all stay together in the car while we waited. We sat in the car for hours, but then something happened and the people at the campsite started to turn into those monsters and Frank drove us out of there and found a very remote spot to wait out the infection. If Frank had not been so quick witted I hate to think what would have happened to the kids! Frank and I have discussed the fate of our daughter and son-in-law we know that they are probably gone, but we have not told the children, how could we?” Pam reached across to June and squeezed her hand and said, “Polly and Mark are very lucky to have such great and caring grandparents!”
With Polly supervising and five people including Mark now taking turns on guard life got easier, there was more time to sleep or just relax and get to know each other. Pamela and Amanda decided to tell the new arrivals about Dan and Peter, which prompted Frank to comment that he hoped that Dan would not mind the intrusion, but Pamela reassured him that as a group they had already decided that they need to expand. “Anyway,” said Pamela smiling “don’t you worry about Dan, you leave him to me!”
Porton Down research facility
One month had gone by since the start of the outbreak and Porton Down now resembled a military base, for good reason, because that is exactly what it had become. The mission to find the scientists on the Professors list was over, and unhappily, many of them were dead or missing, the few that had been found were safe in the facility. Having secured the base, Lt Colonel Curtis had ordered his air mobile and ground troops to actively seek out any remnants of the armed forces and bring them, and any equipment, back to Porton Down. The Colonel now commanded a ragtag force of in more than eight hundred military personal, so he ordered his men to find civilian survivors and offer them sanctuary.
A secure compound had been created to house civilians taking up the offer of asylum, many were in a bad way, suffering mostly from malnutrition and dehydration. Psychological disorders were commonplace, and all were grieving. The soldiers protecting the civilian compound had probably lost their entire families, so finding, rescuing and then being able to offer hope to the small but slowly expanding group of survivors was a real morale boost to them. However, the fact was not lost on Colonel Curtis, or his men, that of a nation numbering 63 million people their civilian compound housed just thirty-five individuals, this only strengthened the troops resolve to increase that number and to ensure their continued safety.
Since the incident of Private M. Rose becoming infected, there had not been a single case of infection taking place within the perimeter of the camp. Nevertheless, the Colonel was not a man to become complacent and ordered that the entire base be subdivided by high security fences and gates that were only opened when required and then closed immediately afterwards. Drills were practised to simulate an outbreak in the camp and all personnel, military and civilian, took part in these rehearsals. There were no exceptions! These rehearsals started during the daytime, and as the procedure was refined they practised at night as well. The Colonel kept them at it until he was satisfied that the methodology was sound, and all personnel were proficient at implementing it, but even then, snap drills were called to keep everyone prepar
ed.
Lt Colonel Curtis had called his officers and staff to a meeting, calling it to order by saying “Gentlemen, I have called you together so that I can update you all on our disposition, the latest events, and Professor Thompson will also update us on what his team of scientists have discovered. However, before we start I would like to welcome Major Patrick Jensen to 2 Para. For those of you who don’t know Major Jensen came in with the last convoy along with twenty of his men who are now to be amalgamated in to our ragtag battalion, a very welcome addition to our numbers. Major Jensen himself will now act as my “Two IC” (Second in Charge). Before I begin I will hand your over to Professor Thompson.”
The Professor began by saying “For those of you who don’t know me my name is Oliver Thompson, Oliver for short. My team have been researching all aspects of this infection, unfortunately it is had been slow going, but this is what we a have learnt so far: -
We know that the infection is manmade.
We all now know that the initial infection was disseminated deliberately by “booby-trapped” electronic devices programmed to inject the holder at two preprogramed times, also to infect anyone subsequently picking up those devices.
We established very early into our research, that once infected there is no cure. I am sorry to say that there is just too much damage to the brain for a meaningful recovery, even if we found a way of purging the body of the infection, so I repeat, there is no chance of recovery!” The Professor paused to let that sink in, then continued “Given the fact that a cure is impossible, we have been spending our time looking for a vaccine to prevent infection taking hold in the first place. However, I should tell you, at this time and despite some early hopeful signs, we are not confident of finding the solution in the foreseeable future.” The only solution we have at the moment is to eradicate the source, in other words a cull of all infected, but the logistics and ramifications of this are daunting to say the least. So, for the time being the Colonel and I have agreed that we will refrain from initiating an operation on that scale, however it may well be something will have to consider on a local, expanding to regional basis, creating “safe zones” for civilisation to re-establish itself.”
The Professor then turned to Captain Brown, the Patrols Platoon commander tasked with finding the man that appeared to be able walk amongst the infected without being attacked, asking him “Alan, while I am on this subject, have you any leads on the whereabouts of the man we are looking for?”
The Captain stood to address the meeting, “We have been combing the area where he was last seen, and to start with we thought it would be easy to find him, we just followed the trail of bodies that he left in his wake.” This brought a ripple of laughter from the assembled men, most of whom were warriors. He continued, “Unfortunately the trail, like the bodies went cold. Incidentally after the door gunner commented about this guy being a “stone cold killer” the men are calling our target “Stone Cold,” high praise coming from a bunch of Paratroopers! Without knowing the man’s real name Stone Cold is as good as moniker as any, anyway, the situation is that we are still looking for him.”
The Professor then turned to the Lt Colonel and said, “Given the fact that we are not making great strides forward in the search for a vaccine, I think we should perhaps prioritise finding this man, would it be possible to allocate more resources to this search for… Stone Cold?”
The Colonel tried to suppress a smile as he heard the Professor refer to the target as Stone Cold and said “Well, we now have the resources, so if you think this is an avenue worth pursuing then I think we should initiate “Operation Stone Cold” and make a determined effort to find him.” he turned to Captain Brown and said “Alan, will your full platoon and two helicopters be sufficient for the task at hand?” “Yes sir, more than adequate!” answered Captain Brown. The Colonel said “Good. Make the most of this time with your precious Patrols Platoon because when you return you are going to lose them, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Major. I have another mission for you as soon as you return.”
Captain, now Major Alan Brown, had been the Patrol Platoon commander for two years and was very happy in that role. Of course, he knew that he could not remain in his current position forever, but he had not given any thought to moving. For him, being a member of Patrols was the ultimate in soldiering, there was none of the usual military “Bullshit” and the atmosphere in the platoon was relaxed. But the men were the best of the best, when off duty they did not even act like soldiers, but when they were working there were none who were more professional. He would miss them but decided not to tell them he was moving on until after they had found Stone Cold and the mission was over. His elevation in rank meant little to him but he did wonder what he would be tasked with next, but he knew better than to ask. If the CO had wanted him to know now he would have told him, as he had not, then he would have a good reason for not doing so. However Major Brown did have one question, so he said, “Thank you Sir, but may I ask who will be taking over Patrols Platoon?” Lt Colonel Curtis knew that Alan Brown cared deeply about his platoon and so he smiled as he replied, “I would like your input on who should be your successor when you return.” Alan Brown nodded and said, “Thank you Sir!”
The Colonel then addressed the meeting “While Captain… sorry, Major Brown is off gallivanting looking for this… okay I’ll join in and call him Stone Cold, I think we should redouble our efforts to bring to safety any civilian that would like to take up the offer of our protection. Your platoons will be given a specific area of operation to search for survivors. With that in mind I’ll will leave you with Major Jensen who will give you your orders to that effect. Major Brown, would you please join me in my office?”
The two men left the room and walked in silence along the corridor and into the Colonels office. Once in, the Colonel said “Alan, please close the door.” He waited until the door was closed then continued “Once you are back from your mission to find this Stone Cold your next task will be to locate a suitable base, then clear it of the Infected, you will then take one third of our strength and secure this new site. I don’t like splitting my force like this, but I am also very conscious that we really do “have all of our eggs in one basket”, also having a second base, and later a third site, will give us the advantage of mutual support and somewhere to fall back to should the need arise.” “Sounds sensible to me Sir.” commented Major Brown “But might I ask, why not assign Major Patrick Jensen to command the second site, he would be the senior officer?” The Colonel responded “We don’t know who was responsible for the outbreak, so I will not trust anyone that I am not familiar with. I do however trust you, and that is why you will be the Commander of the second site. Once Major Jensen has earned my trust I may place him in charge of a third site if one is established, but until such time that I feel I can fully trust him, I will keep him close where I can keep an eye on him. The Colonel directed the newly promoted Major’s attention to a large safe, told him the combination, then said “That safe contains a letter to be opened in the event of my death. It names you as my preferred successor, Oliver Thompson also has a copy of this letter and he knows the content. One more thing, you have one month to find this so-called Stone Cold, after that I want you to find and move into your new base, so you may as well keep a lookout for suitable site while you are hunting. Also, if you do find any civilians you should offer them our protection.” Major Brown said, “Right sir, I had better get started!” and as he walked to the door the Colonel called after him and said “Stone Cold is a fairly cool name. If he is half the warrior you say he is I would like to meet him, but more importantly the Professor wants to see him, so good luck!”
Dan and Peter Return to the Garage
Dan was leading the way in the 4x4, Peter following in the road sweeper, the return journey was taking longer than they thought it would because there was more Infected roaming around than on the outbound trip, in some places so thickly grouped on the road that the vehicles woul
d stand no chance of getting through. On those occasions they retreated, then kept out of sight until the herd of ex-humanity passed by. While they waited, each man hid in his respective vehicle and chatted quietly over the radios. Dan could tell that Peter was tired and also impatient to get back to the Amanda, and whilst he sympathised and had his own concerns, he knew that to rush would spell disaster. He restrained the younger man and ensured that they continue in a safe and methodical manner, saying “You will have to be patient young Grasshopper!” “What, or whom is “Grasshopper?” asked Peter, somewhat confused by the reference. Dan answered “You are. You know, it’s from the TV show “Kung Fu”, you must have seen it?” “No, is it like the “A-Team?” asked Peter “No, it is about a Kung Fu monk kicking arse as he travels through the Wild West, if you have not seen it then you have not lived much in your young life.” said Dan. “Then my life has been meaningless to this point.” Peter agreed drily. Further discussion was postponed as it appeared that the way was clear once more, so they set off in the direction of the garage, and after another two hours of dodging and driving they were finally nearing their destination.
Frank and his grandson Mark, were on watch, peering out of the blinds toward the road in front of the garage where they had witnessed increased activity over the last day or two, there were larger and more frequent groups of Infected than before, terrifying the occupants of the garage. All they could do was hunker down, keep quiet, and hope that the Infected would not take an interest in their building. There was a group of twenty or so outside the garage when Mark, with his younger ears heard engines approaching and alerted his grandfather. Frank whispered, “Go and get the others, quietly!”, and while Mark scampered off to fetch them Frank peered out between a small gap in the blinds. A 4x4 vehicle appeared and although Frank could not be sure, he thought he recognised it as Dan’s from the description given by Pamela. But the 4x4 did not stop, it drove straight past followed by, of all things, a road sweeper.
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