I reached the glass doors at the front of the warehouse. I pushed one side open and stepped out onto the crisp, untouched snow. It was very cold outside and I was grateful for the combat jacket Jackson had given me, I had warned him that he was letting his tough guy image drop and he swore at me and told me to get the hell out of his face.
Keeping to the side of the warehouse I moved along keeping an eye out for any infected that could just pop out from anywhere. I reached the corner and peered round to look out to the main road. There was one infected staggering away from me. I looked around and could see the coast was clear so I continued on keeping close to the exterior wall of the warehouse.
I was now underneath the window which we were able to look out of. Jackson was looking down and I gave him the thumbs up to let him know I was in position.
Whilst upstairs in the office I had noticed a car which was sideways across the middle of the road, this was going to be my cover point and as I previously explained to Jackson and Lance, once they heard me firing my weapon then they should move the group down to the fire exit door.
Keeping low I sprinted across to the car, my feet slipping on the icy surface and dived behind it, face first into the cold snow. I sat for a while waiting to see if I had been noticed. Once satisfied I was in the clear I raised my head to look over the bonnet of the car.
The face stared back at me, flesh dripping off the bone causing me to jump and take a few steps back. I raised my weapon and just as the creature snarled I let off a shot into its head causing the body to slump over the bonnet.
My heart was pumping. That had scared the shit out of me. Where the hell did it come from?
It was not the way I had intended to give off the signal for the rest of the group to start moving, but it had the desired effect as I could see up into the window Jackson ushering everybody out of the office.
I moved back to the car and with the muzzle of my gun I pushed the infected body off the bonnet. I leant forward and gazed out to the corner of the warehouse, a small turning and an arrow with the sign “Goods Entrance” indicated where the delivery bay was. I waited for what seemed like an age and then I heard the shuffling, lots of shuffling.
They appeared one by one at first, staggering out onto the main road, the numbers grew until the horde spilled out groaning and shuffling. Some moved quicker than others, I can only guess these were fresher infected.
I took aim and waited for them to come directly onto the road and I began to open fire. Single shots at first taking out some of the quicker ones, this would give me a better chance of angling my escape once the truck had made it out.
The gunfire alerted them and the horde turned and began to head in my direction. One by one infected bodies fell to the floor as the bullets ripped through their heads, some misjudgement on my part caused a few bullets to miss. Other rounds took out shoulders or legs, they just kept coming towards me.
It did not take long to get to the end of my magazine and I frantically tried to get inside the rucksack for the spare one I had packed. I could see them getting closer.
“Where the hell is the truck?” I asked through gritted teeth.
Finally, I was able to retrieve the magazine and slot it into the weapon. I looked up and saw two infected closing pretty quick on my position. I had just enough time to fire a shot into one of them just as the other rounded the bonnet of the car coming for me. I switched my aim and fired, missing it. The figure was snarling and came menacingly towards me, it was a few inches away from my leg and as it bore down with its bloodied mouth gaping wide I managed to fire a round into its skull.
The body slumped down right next to me in the snow, the stench was appalling and I had to cover my mouth to stop me being sick. The snow quickly turned red and brown. My thoughts were jolted as I heard the sound of the truck in the distance.
Raising myself up I looked over the bonnet of the car and all I could see in front of me were infected bodies looming down. The truck span out of the slip road from the delivery bay. I could see Lance in the driving seat, he stopped the truck and I noticed a few infected turn their attention in that direction.
Moving to my right I ran over to the railings which were fixed in the centre of the road. The wire mesh fencing was about ten foot high. Slinging the gun strap over my shoulder I jumped onto the meshing as the horde began staggering towards me. I climbed up and hoisted myself over just as they reached the fencing.
I was on the other side of the road and began to run in the same direction as where the truck was, except that now they were also on the other side of the fencing.
Running down the road I could see the creatures clawing at the fencing, the noise was terrifying as they gurgled and groaned. I saw the truck move out of the slip road, Jackson was taking out a few of the creatures who had turned their attention towards the truck.
Then my worst nightmare. As I was running on the parallel road I saw another group of infected round a corner directly in front of me, although the group of the other side were thinning out, there was no way of me getting over the fence in time as this group in front of me were much too close.
The explosion catapulted dirt, debris and fencing up in the air. I fell to the ground with ringing in my ears. For a moment everything was blurry and then just as my sight improved and hearing came back I saw the gap where the mesh fencing used to be.
Groggily, I got to my feet and staggered through the destroyed gap towards the truck. The infected group were closing in on me and I could see in my dazed state that Jackson was doing his best to cover me.
Beth and Rebecca placed their hands out the back of the truck and after a few efforts were able to help me in. I heard Jackson scream for Lance to get us out of here and in no time we were off.
“What the hell happened?” I asked in a dazed state.
“Grenade,” Jackson said.
“You could of fucking killed me!” I said to Jackson, very upset.
“Don’t look at me, I didn’t throw it,” he replied nodding to Beth.
“Worked didn’t it?” She asked with a smile.
I smiled nervously back.
Now we had to get out of Bristol before it was bombed. No place was safe, this was a race against time.
DIARY ENTRY 72
28th December – Evening
Aching, I crawled along the floor of the truck until I reached Amelia who was looking sorrowfully at me. My face was covered in dirt and blood, not all my own, but she did not care and placed her small arms around my neck.
“Are you ok, daddy?”
“Yes, princess,” I said softly.
The pain I was feeling just crept away as I held onto my precious daughter. Rebecca sat next to me and I could see the worry in her eyes. I switched my gaze over to Jesse who was sitting opposite staring at me cuddling Amelia. I waved for her to come over, which she did and I embraced both little girls. It had really slipped my mind how Jesse was parentless and that she was kind of my responsibility now.
Not once had Jesse mentioned Duncan and Maria to anybody in the group. It was as though she refused to talk about it, but I wondered what went on in her little mind.
The truck bumped and slid its way down the main road, Jackson was directing Lance on what he thought was the best way to get out of Bristol. We still had just over an hour before the planes would arrive and the city would be devastated.
My body still ached from the grenade exploding near to me. Rebecca checked me over in the back of the truck to make sure I had no shrapnel wounds. Jackson found it very funny that I was that close to the explosion. Beth just raised her eyebrows as though I was milking the situation.
Lizzie had assured me she was fine after her close shave in the delivery bay. She was now taking care of Joyce, who had showed signs of getting better. Selina was still a bit of an enigma, she hardly spoke to anybody in the group.
Rebecca told me that Matilda was driving her mad, I just laughed which hurt my ribs. I was informed by my loving wi
fe that it was just bruising. Bruno was pleased to see me, he was licking me and wagging his tail ever since I got into the truck.
“Anything on the radio, Beth?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she replied.
I could see Selina looking over at me as I asked the question. The fact that she had told me her husband had been an IGS officer sort of made me feel uncomfortable, but then so was Lance so I tended to let that thought drift out of my mind.
The journey out of Bristol gave me a little time to think. We were on the last leg of our journey, the last people on the list and it would be a case of deciding what to do next. If the coastal ports were heavily guarded and the X Camps, as Beth had told us, were true then it was going to be a problem and if I was being honest I didn’t have a full proof plan in place.
I gazed around at all these people who were probably relying on me to get them to safety. They had no idea. I thought back to when I was in London and the conversation with the The Commander. The thoughts rebounded around my mind.
Although Matilda probably didn’t know what day it was or what was happening, she sat there and smiled at me. I just nodded back and she drifted off into her own little world again. I did catch her asking Rebecca “where David was” which made me laugh when I saw the frustrated look on Rebecca’s face.
Beth had picked up some radio messages that there had been technical difficulties with the planes heading for Bristol so the bombing raid was delayed, which was a pretty lucky escape for us. Due to the route we had to take and the obstacles we came across like barricades and lines of abandoned vehicles we would have been caught in the blast.
We headed out the north of the city onto the M32 motorway. This would link us up with the M4 motorway which we could take us all the way to the London orbital before the last leg of the journey on the M23 motorway to the south coast.
We had reached some services a few miles from Chippenham. We were able to stock up on some food and toiletry items. I heard the explosions, even at this distance. Bristol was being destroyed.
“Extermination,” Jackson said.
We had checked the area prior to stocking up on any supplies. We had to be sure that we were not going to be hijacked whilst filling up. A petrol station was attached to the services, Lance was able to fill the tank of the truck up to the maximum. This would enable us to complete the last leg of our journey.
A small café set off from the main entrance acted as our refuge. The dark sky was drifting in once more. With the actions of this past day and the unknown ahead of us, we decided as a group to settle down for the night to get some rest.
These motorway services were surrounded by fields, if any infected wanted to head this way we would be able to see them a mile off, until night set in.
Lance and Jackson set up a barricade to the entrance of the services to stop any infected or other unwanted guests including the IGS, to creep up on us. A stairwell from the café went up onto the roof, this would make a great vantage point.
The temperature outside was slightly warmer now, the snow was starting to melt away and this was a good sign as we had a lot of motorway to cover before reaching Brighton.
I thought about the IGS squad that appeared to have been following us. We had not seen any sign of them since leaving Leeds. I wondered whether they had been caught up in one of the explosions.
My body was beginning to feel better, although my ribs were still pretty tender. Joyce appeared to be recovering, she was now speaking to us, even though she sounded croaky and short of breath.
In the café I found an old newspaper on one of the tables, a government controlled newspaper, so the information inside it was not only biased, but completely useless to us. I read the main headline which the former owner of the newspaper must have read and believed.
EVACUATION! HELP IS HERE
In these desperate times, the government is taking the unusual, but necessary steps to evacuate every major town and city in England to try and control the spread of this horrific disease that is causing so much havoc in our communities. This deadly infection, the cause of Scottish forces in a desperate attempt to topple the English government, must be wiped out. A call from the government for every citizen to present themselves to Internal Government Security forces has been sent out. Those who have not been infected by the disease will be taken to safe camps set up in the south of England where they will receive the full support of our medical, welfare and rehabilitation teams. It is imperative that you present yourself to one of these camps so that we can stop the spread of this Scottish made disease. At present government forces are trying to control the situation and plans are in place to put a permanent stop to the spread of the infection. Any citizen found by our security forces will be helped to one of these safe camps where you will receive everything you need. The government is here to help those in need at this dire time.
A veil of lies stood out from the pages of the newspaper as I read it. Jackson had been peering over my shoulder and shook his head.
“Safe camps?” He asked sarcastically.
“I can’t believe people were sold on this crap,” I replied.
I threw the paper into a waste bin and walked back over to the rest of the group. Rebecca was making Joyce comfortable in one corner of the café, Lizzie and Selina were making sure that Matilda would not wander off. Selina, as always sat on her own staring at the floor. Bruno just stared at me with his sad eyes, sitting next to Beth who had set the radio up on a table so she could comfortably monitor any radio broadcasts. At least out in the countryside we were safe from bombing raids.
Lance was taking first watch on the rooftop and I looked around to make sure the children were settled down nicely.
We were about to set off on the last leg of the journey, rescuing the last people on the list. Sat with my own thoughts I just wondered if I was really rescuing them. The image of the IGS Commander popped into my head.
DIARY ENTRY 73
29th December – Morning
I had taken the last guard watch of the night, which meant that by seven o’clock in the morning everybody was stirring. I gazed around at this rag-tag group of survivors and the emotions rushed through my body of what we had been through and what was about to come. I felt the tears trickle down my face.
These people were trusting in me to get to them safety, to get them away from the infection and the dangers which existed in this new world we lived in. I bowed my head and stared at the floor, ashamed at what I knew was going to happen. I had just managed to wipe the tears from my cheeks when I felt the hand stroking my hair. I gazed up and saw Rebecca standing there with a hot cup of tea in her hand.
“You okay?” Rebecca asked.
“I’m tired.”
“We’re not moving out for an hour or so, maybe you should get some rest.”
I nodded and walked over to the cluster of sleeping bags. I remember resting my head on the make-shift pillows and closing my eyes. The next thing I remember was Jackson kicking me.
“Come on, sleepy-head. We’re moving out.”
The truck was packed with everybody on board. I gazed up at the desperate faces gazing back at me, as though I was the saviour of the moment and would have all the answers. I didn’t have the answers and I certainly wasn’t the saviour. I averted my eyes and looked down at the floor as I walked to the front of the truck.
“You ok?” Jackson asked.
I just nodded and opened the passenger door. I climbed inside and glanced across at Lance who did not look at me.
“Next stop Brighton,” said Lance.
“Just get us there,” I replied.
“You okay.” Lance still did not look at me.
“Fine.”
Lance did not respond. He started the engine and the truck pulled out and we set off to Brighton. I had no idea what I was doing, but the others trusted me and my mind began to race between my conscience and my priorities. The words of The Commander came flooding back to my mind.
> “I trust you will know what to do.”
It was at that moment it dawned on me. Those were the very similar words Lance had said to me back at the farmhouse. His voice echoed inside my head as the truck rumbled by abandoned houses, derelict buildings and desolate housing estates. I looked across at Lance, he eyed me suspiciously and smiled.
“Everything alright?” Lance asked.
“Yeah, just tired,” I replied and looked away.
Halfway through the journey I had switched places with Jackson. He jumped in the front whilst I got my head down in the back of the truck. There hadn’t been much conversation between Lance and I throughout the journey and I was feeling tired and tetchy. Rebecca had asked me if I was alright and I had just nodded before closing my eyes.
I was jolted from dark dreams of bombs and infected by the truck braking sharply. Everybody in the back lurched forward and piled into one another.
“What’s going on?” I shouted.
“Best we don’t go any further,” replied Jackson.
I pulled my tired body up and peered over the seats through the front window. We were on top of a hill overlooking Brighton. What should have been a bustling seaside town was now a devastated, bombed ramshackle of an evacuation.
Lines of people were being herded onto trucks by men dressed in black IGS uniforms. Buildings crumbled, possibly the result of bombing or resistance and smoke filled the air above the town.
I quickly pulled the piece of paper from my pocket and studied the address. Our next destination was Southover Street, right in the middle of the mayhem below. I looked at Lance and he gauged what I was going to say.
Rogue Evacuation Page 26
