Darkness was drifting in and I decided to go downstairs to sit with Maria and Jesse. We all sat in silence, with no plan and no vehicle we knew the situation we found ourselves in was pretty dire.
DIARY ENTRY 14
The night was a mixture of explosions, gunfire, helicopters and loud announcements from the military ordering the evacuation of North London. Duncan made the decision that we were staying put. He felt that we would be safer holed up where we were rather than get involved with the military or run into a pack of the infected.
Griff came up with the idea of getting some dark plastic sheeting he found and stretching it across part of the building to block off the back. There was a fireplace which was then used to construct a fire. The sheeting hid the light of the fire so as not to attract any unwanted attention from outside. Duncan was impressed with this idea.
Jackson took first watch in the small room upstairs. Lana guarded the door which was the only entry and exit point to the building. There was a rear access, but this was iron gated. Duncan had checked it out but found it to be padlocked, which came as good news. It meant we only had one access point to cover, the front.
Jackson reported down when groups of the infected were coming down the road, these were either stragglers from earlier who had only just managed to work their way through the barricade or a new bunch who were just slower than the ones from earlier. Anytime we heard Jackson announce a new group of the infected it was all quiet inside the building. It was a system we implemented quickly.
Griff was also responsible for constructing the fire whilst Duncan conducted supply checks on what we had rescued from the abandoned truck. Maria and Jesse took good care of Bruno who was enjoying all the fuss the little girl was giving him and Brendan, well Brendan did what he did best, which was nothing. He just sat around the fire staring into the flames.
The announcements ordering the evacuation started just after two in the morning. Lana was on watch at the time with the rest of us trying to get some sleep. I’m not sure where the announcements were coming from, but my guess was it would be from one of the many speakers situated around the city. These had been put up as soon as the curfew had been introduced, a bit like CCTV surveillance. Jackson and Lana had not reported any military movement in the road, just groups of infected. We all assumed that the military had got the hell out at the earliest opportunity, either that or there was carnage back at the bridge.
I woke first to the sound of an announcement, I looked across at Duncan who wearily got up and walked upstairs to see Lana. After a few moments he returned and told us all there was nothing to worry about.
The next intrusion was the helicopter. At first it seemed as if it was far away, but the sound got closer until eventually it was directly above us. Lana did not have to warn us about it, we could all hear the noise. It hovered for a while. Outside I could see the spotlight which flashed across the road and after a few minutes the helicopter moved off. It sounded as if the pilot was doing a road by road sweep of the area. After about an hour the helicopter moved off into the distance and peace came once more.
The sound of gunfire and a huge explosion woke us. It wasn’t in our road, but close enough for all of us to be a little concerned. I ran upstairs. Duncan had taken over the watch from Lana and over the top of the tall buildings I could see the sky glowing.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Not sure, maybe a fuel dump.” Duncan shrugged his shoulders.
The rest of the night went without disturbance. Wel,l I say the rest of the night, the gunfire and loud explosion occurred around four in the morning.
With the light breaking through the grilled front window came the sound of vehicles in the distance rumbling along. Duncan decided to take Jackson with him to scout what was going on, they left just after seven in the morning. Duncan was first out of the door. He paused to take a look up and down and sprinted across the road to the building opposite. Jackson waited for a moment and on Duncan’s signal he too ran across the street. They made their way up the street away from the barricade, their backs against the buildings. I had made my way upstairs to where Lana was positioned at the window. I peered out just as they turned left at the junction and out of sight.
It was about an hour or so later when the sound of machine gunfire preceded Duncan and Jackson sprinting into the road. Duncan stopped and crouched down. He waited and then a small posse of the infected appeared from around the corner. He let loose with the machine gun and cut the first few down. Jumping to his feet he sprinted after Jackson who by now was crouched down further back ready to give covering fire. As soon as Duncan passed him, he too let loose with his machine gun. More of the infected fell to the ground. I craned my neck out of the top window and saw the posse were now down and out of the game.
Both Duncan and Jackson crashed inside the building locking the door behind them. Duncan ordered everybody to stay quiet. A few minutes later more infected came around the corner, the first posse consisted of about twenty or so, this new horde numbered into the hundreds. Filtering down the street they passed our building not even giving it any attention and then filed off down towards the barricade.
As with the first group of infected who initially chased us into the road yesterday, this group collided with the concrete, bumped around and looked confused about how to negotiate this obstacle. It took another hour for the whole group to move from the maze of barricades. Nobody dared speak until the coast was completely clear.
“What happened?” I asked Duncan.
He sat the group down altogether and explained that he and Jackson had negotiated a few side streets where they encountered some infected. They had managed to reach the main junction up near Kings Cross station. There were hundreds of military trucks full to the brim with civilians who all looked in a rather bad state. Every side street leading to Kings Cross had been barricaded. Duncan believed this was an attempt by the military to stop any infected getting through.
“They’re evacuating London,” said Duncan.
We all looked at each other. There was an uneasy silence. Had we made the right decision to stay where we were instead of searching out help from the military?
“Fuck ‘em,” said Brendan breaking the silence.
“They could have helped us get out of here,” said Maria.
“What and bundle us in a truck to take us to god knows where?” Griff replied.
“How do you know where they are taking the civilians?” Maria retorted.
“They will be taking them to camps,” said Jackson quietly.
“What camps?” Griff asked.
“Yes, what camps?” I asked curiously.
“On the edge of the city there are camps built, evacuation centres.” Jackson stared down at the floor.
“So they knew something like this was going to happen?” Griff asked.
“I’m not sure, but they built them in preparation.” Jackson got up and walked towards the stairs.
“In preparation for what, soldier boy?” Brendan asked through gritted teeth.
“I don’t know, but trust me we are better off here.” Jackson disappeared up the stairs to take his turn on watch.
“So what do we do now?” I asked.
“We’ll be alright,” replied Duncan.
“This is bullshit,” said Brendan angrily. He stood up and moved behind the plastic sheeting.
I stared over at Jesse. She smiled at me as her mother held her close. I smiled back trying to reassure her as best I could that everything was going to be alright.
Duncan had stood up and moved over to the door, I followed him.
“So what are we going to?” I asked quietly.
“I’m not sure, but we can’t stay here forever.” Duncan shot me a glance. “We need to get back to the truck and find a way out of this area without hitting road blocks.
“Explosives!” I announced without warning.
“What?” Duncan frowned.
“The depot where I wor
ked, in the store cupboard, they keep explosives.”
“How do you know that?” Duncan asked.
“I didn’t walk around with my eyes shut.” I pointed up the street as I spoke. “The depot is about fifteen minutes on foot from here. I can show you where it is.”
Duncan placed his hand on my shoulder and smiled. I think it was a thank you smile. Walking away he made his way towards the stairs.
“Jackson we’re going back out. Kaleb is coming with us,” shouted Duncan.
I stared over Maria. She gave me a concerned look, but I just smiled back trying to indicate that everything was going to be alright.
It appeared I was about to venture outside with Duncan and Jackson. What the hell was I thinking?
DIARY ENTRY 15
We waited for dark to fall, we noticed the infected were less active at night, now I’m not sure if that was just our wishful thinking or whether there was some reasonable explanation behind that, but that was the decision we came to.
I was unarmed, that wasn’t through choice. We only had three weapons. Duncan and Jackson carried two and the other weapon was allocated to Lana and she needed this as she was staying behind with the rest.
So I was slightly disadvantaged but I knew I could count on Duncan and Jackson to protect me if need be. We picked up a backpack each and loaded them with one bottle of water and some dry biscuits. I also equipped my rucksack with a small first aid box and the other two filled there’s with two extra magazines. It was whilst we packed that Jackson informed Duncan the ammo was running a little low. Duncan just nodded as though he would just pop down the shops and pick up a few, as if ammo was a pint of milk.
Just before we departed Maria pulled me to one side, she took me behind the black plastic sheeting and there fast asleep under a blanket were Jesse and Bruno.
“She’s all I have,” said Maria.
“I know, I understand,” I replied.
Maria gently took hold of my arm and as I looked at her, she rested her head against me, her other arm wrapped around my stomach.
“Be careful out there,” whispered Maria.
I looked down and Maria gazed up into my eyes and smiled softly. She lifted her face up and slowly moved towards me, I felt a tingle inside my belly as my face moved towards hers and then just as we were about the kiss something jerked inside my mind and Rebecca’s face came flooding into my vision. I pulled away quickly. Maria looked at me puzzled. I just raised my hand apologetically and looked at the floor. I pulled the sheet back and joined Duncan and Jackson at the door without a word of goodbye.
Within seconds we were out on the street, Duncan doing his usual checks. I followed in the middle with Jackson bringing up the rear.
We moved on up the street, it was eerie and quiet with very little lighting. Some of the street lamps were working fine. Others, probably every one or two, were not working. This was due to lack of maintenance and the fact that after curfew the military or IGS did not need them as they had night vision goggles and spotlights which worked to their advantage.
Reaching the end of the narrow road Duncan slammed his back against the wall, puffing after the short run. I was next, followed by Jackson, who was a bit too close for comfort and banged into my shoulder. I turned expecting some kind of apology but he just glared at me as though it was my fault.
Duncan moved off quickly before I had a chance to ask him if this was a good idea. Watching him weave his way across the road I was jolted from my thoughts by Jackson nudging me, quickly I moved off. Duncan continued to slip into shadows, dive behind cover and move in and out of buildings as we made our way towards the depot.
It did not take long before we reached the main road. I could see the entrance to the depot up ahead, the gate was hanging on its hinge, something wasn’t right.
Carefully we made our way along the road, Duncan still leading. We reached the gate. Duncan peered inside first and nodded to give the all clear. Entering the main yard I could see the mayhem that had ensued, probably moments before everybody evacuated. Equipment and supplies were strewn across the floor. In the distance I saw a figure crawling along the floor moaning. Duncan was checking out a few storage sheds, Jackson had gone over to some metal containers. I approached the figure groaning with agony on the floor, it was my boss.
I slowly walked over and as the figure looked up I saw his eyes full of blood, his hands clawing out to me but not for help, but in a desperate attempt to grab me. I froze on the spot, unable to move. Just as the hand was about to grab hold of my leg a single shot rang out. I saw the head of my boss rock back and the blood splatter from the back of his head before he slumped to the ground.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Jackson asked.
“That’s my boss,” I replied shakily.
“Was,” replied Jackson smiling.
“Over here!” Duncan shouted pointing to a container.
I walked over still staring back at my boss whose body was lying on the floor. Duncan nudged me and shook me from my sad thoughts.
“What!” I asked grouchily.
“Is this what you mean?” said Duncan smiling.
I gazed down at the open container. There in the shade were the explosives I had told Duncan about. It appeared from the broken lock that somebody had tried to remove them but were very unsuccessful.
“Yes,” I replied.
Duncan called Jackson over and between the three of us we started to fill the empty spaces in our rucksacks with the explosives and detonators. It took around fifteen minutes to fill our rucksacks and we were retreating from the depot. I gave one last look around, nothing like the usual hustle and bustle I witnessed when working there. I gazed down at my boss lying dead on the floor. I had no time to feel sadness, we had to move off.
The journey back was pretty quiet, just the lone infected that Jackson took out with a single shot. I had to admit for his lack of personal skills he was a deadly shot.
We reached our narrow road where we had made base. I heard the shouting before we turned in and as we made our way down I could see the door of the building opposite our make-shift base hanging off the hinge. Lana was in the top window shouting at the top of her voice.
“What the hell is going on?” Duncan asked, I think to himself rather than to me or Jackson.
As we approached I could hear the deep laughter inside the building. Brendan emerged carrying a handful of money. The building opposite our make-shift base appeared to be a bank.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Fuck you, it’s all mine,” replied Brendan.
“Oh Jesus!” Jackson exclaimed.
Looking ahead I could see the horde bumping into the concrete barricades, a mixture of Brendan’s movements and Lana screaming must have attracted them.
“Get everyone out, now!” Duncan screamed.
Lana was the first to appear as Griff, Maria, Jesse and Bruno filed out of the base towards us. Back-tracking we made our way from the direction we came. Duncan, Jackson and Lana covered us as we reached the junction. I heard Duncan ordering Brendan to move on just as Lana and Jackson reached us, within a moment Duncan appeared from out of the dark.
I heard the muffled sounds of the infected and the screams of Brendan, then he appeared, one of the infected on his back, teeth biting down into his neck. Brendan was still carrying the bag full of cash, I could see the pain in his face as he fell to the floor. The infected figure was gnawing away at his flesh. Brendan’s screams filled the air, a blood curdling scream.
Jackson took aim and fired one shot straight into Brendan’s head. This did not stop the horde piling on top. Those who could not reach Brendan’s body turned their attention to us and hastily they started to head in our direction.
“Move! Move!” Duncan shouted.
Scampering off with Jackson and Duncan giving covering fire we made our way back round the junction.
Eventually we were such a safe distance away we could afford to stop to catch our
breath. Maria held Jesse close, she had tears in her eyes.
“What the hell happened?” I asked.
“Brendan, he sneaked out and broke into the bank.” Lana was panting.
Duncan lifted her head up and for the first time I saw anger in his eyes.
“And your screaming obviously helped everybody. Now what the hell are we going to do?” Duncan shouted.
“I’m sorry,” whimpered Lana, the first time I had seen her weak and upset.
“Give her a break,” said Jackson defending her.
Duncan spun round and pushed Jackson up against a wall.
“Really? Really? You think this is a perfect situation?” Duncan’s eyes were full of rage, his Scottish accent stronger than ever.
Jackson raised his machine gun up and pushed it into the side of Duncan’s head. Duncan tightened his grip.
“Let me go,” ordered Jackson through gritted teeth.
“Go on, shoot me. Go on!” Duncan shouted.
“Will you all stop it?” Maria’s scream filled the air.
We all turned to face Maria. Lana was crying on the floor, Duncan slowly released his grip on Jackson who in turn lowered his weapon.
I stood in the middle looking around and I could hear the moans and groans of the infected coming closer. Looking over the road I saw a small shop with an open door. I nudged Griff who was staring at Duncan. He followed my stare and looked at the shop.
“In there,” I said.
Griff shepherded everybody across the road. As Duncan came by I stopped him and stared him in the eye, his demeanour and look was different to what I had noticed before. Shrugging me off he followed the rest across the road into the shop. When I was happy everybody was safe I waited and as Jackson, the last person with me, disappeared inside I followed, just as the horde appeared around the corner.
It did not take them long to pass us by as we lay low in the shop. Silence followed as they moved off into the distance.
I looked around at the solemn and almost embarrassed faces in the shop. Duncan was slumped alone in one corner staring at the floor.
Rogue Evacuation Page 5
