Snow! The Series [Books 1-4]

by Clifford, Ryan

  There was nothing to do but wait it out, so he pulled out a steak from the fridge and prepared himself a meal.

  After all, two days off, even in enforced luxury, was a pretty good deal.

  His flying colleague and the SAS endured the same decontamination process and within one hour occupied similar spaces in the accommodation block.

  Meanwhile, a medical observation team was watching all eight occupants very carefully for any signs of contamination or distress.

  The plastic sheeting was dismantled and burned in the decontam incinerator especially constructed for the purpose. All of the clothing and towels met the same fate. Professor Forbes was certain that burning would destroy any spores.

  The water used to decontaminate the men and aircraft was tested and found to be negative for infection. At least that was a positive point.

  The final task was to decontam the guard’s kit, and to allow them through an airlock into a safe area. They had no idea what was really going on, but merely followed orders.

  Professor Forbes arrived later in the day and addressed himself to the job of post mortems. He had selected, and brought with him from the US, a specialised team of four experienced agents, who assisted the professor with the removal of the body parts from the crate on the aircraft and the direct transfer into the special mortuary constructed in the accommodation block. They wore similar clothing to the military guards, but with specialised adaptations developed by NASA and the CIA for such operations.

  Over the next two days, each body part was moved carefully and separately to the examination room and Professor Forbes and his team dissected them fastidiously in their search for clues.

  What they discovered was both heartening - and devastating!

  Day 175 / Z-Day 140

  Friday 7th June

  Brussels, Belgium

  Since Lord Irvine had disclosed the plan to create - in effect - a new nation state – Breton – to the world’s press, speculation had been rife, criticism unbridled and scurrilous rumour widespread.

  As usual, the newspapers carried scaremongering stories in an attempt to boost sales, and the social media was awash with tweets, posts, comments and condemnation.

  The British First Minister had held twice-daily press briefings with his ally in Breton, M. Zadou, in an attempt to quell fears about the amalgamation. He was supported and endorsed by all of the major world powers, including the UN, the IMF and NATO. The only silent body was the French President, who felt that he had been bushwhacked and presented with a ‘fait accompli’ and had been forced, by the use of moral arguments, into agreeing to the union - and was publicly sulking. He imagined, probably quite correctly, that he would be ever remembered as the Frenchman who ‘lost’ Brittany to the English – to the old enemy. However, despite his overt pouting, he secretly realised that it was a brave and expedient project, which in due course would greatly profit both sides.

  Lord Irvine was slowly winning the arguments for the merger and plans to move into Breton were becoming well advanced.

  The UK Armed Forces and their successful deployment was the key priority, as they would be used to secure the borders of the new Breton. It was strongly suspected that some of the more radical anti-British French would stage protests at the secession. Consequently, if the plan was to succeed and sabotage avoided, a strong military presence should be in position as soon as practicable. As the French Armed Forces returned home, their places would be quickly filled by the British military.

  The British navy was essentially intact and continued to patrol the waters around the UK, protecting it from potential looters and maintaining the search for survivors. However, it was a homeless force and needed a base and deep water ports from which to support its operations. Consequently, the French navy was in the process of vacating Brest in North West Brittany and relocating to Cherbourg. The RN headquarters would be in Lorient in the south. Clearly, many French naval dependents would need to be transferred to suitable housing in France before the British could move in wholesale. However, accommodation for RN families was not a primary issue, as sadly, the vast majority had been lost in the snow!

  Nevertheless, Royal Navy ships were progressively sailing to, and concentrating in, Brest and Lorient in the south of Brittany, which housed the new Breton area naval HQ. A timetable was drawn up for the completion of the transfer of personnel and materiel, and a date set for the first of September. Generous compensation packages were offered to the departing French – but many had already elected to stay put and join the new Breton community. Their children were happily in school and an enforced move was unwelcome. The Breton community was also content to integrate these ‘French’ into their new country.

  There were no significant army bases in Brittany, but once again, the British Army was not the size of pre-snow Britain. Troops from Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Germany needed a new base and a working party was formed to decide on locations in Breton to rehouse this group of soldiers and their families (of which also there were pitifully few).

  The RAF was the largest group of military personnel. Most aircraft had been saved as it had been deployed in Germany, Cyprus and the Middle East. There were old French military bases in Brittany at Landivisiau, Lanveoc, Lann Bihoue and Coetquidon. The French military were being redeployed into France and as they did so, British Air Force aircraft moved in to take their place. Families took up French Air Force housing on the bases and administrators used the on-site facilities. It was a staggered process, but was planned to be complete by the end of the year – if not before.

  The other main groups to move in included those remaining in the German transit camps; holidaymakers marooned abroad when the snow started; ex-pats over-wintering in Spain, France and Portugal; personnel forcibly relocated by Ann Fletcher’s administration, and members of the UKRA government staff in Brussels.

  Taking the UKRA first, it had been agreed that the UK parliamentary contingent should be housed in Quimper in the south of Brittany. The French government had recently built a huge regional administration complex on the outskirts of the city. This was allocated to the British on an interim basis whilst a timetable for elections was drawn up. In the short term, the Bretons under Marcel Zadou would govern Breton with a nominal British involvement to protect UK interests.

  All other UK Passport Holders would be invited to return to Breton in due course. A system of application procedures was to be introduced, and if anybody wanted to return, then they could travel when room could be found.

  A huge house-building programme was planned to add to the thousands of vacant British-owned villas and apartments in Breton. Many lay empty and unclaimed as their previous owners lay under the snow in the UK.

  There were a dozen large civil airports in Breton, including Lorient, Brest, Quiberon, Dinard, Vannes, Quimper and Rennes. A programme of repatriating the thousands of British passenger aircraft scattered around the world with their crews was drawn up. They would be flown back into Brittany and a new single airline – Air Breton – would be formed. Already senior pilots and airline administrators were in Rennes coordinating the rebirth of British civil aviation.

  Of course, more schools, more hospitals, more commercial outlets, more leisure facilities and more government buildings would need to be constructed. The influx of ex-British workers would help with this, but of course, the entire process could take a generation before some modicum of normality might return.

  Consequently, it was all of these projects and ideas that Lord Irvine was trying to sell simultaneously to the press and via them to the world. It was a gargantuan task, yet he was investing all of his vast energies and intellect into the project.

  However, his attention was being somewhat diverted by the threat building on mainland Britain that threatened to destroy everything that he was planning and working towards.

  If he didn’t defeat this horrific enemy, then all of his foresight and planning would be for nought!

  ***
<
br />   Meanwhile, in Wales 'The Rook' was picking up a message from 'The Starling'.

  ‘A group of our caste have encountered a large cluster of humans hiding in a block of flats in central London. Their scent was discovered en route to Docklands. Request instructions…..shall we let them go?’

  'The Rook' was uncompromising.

  ‘No. Let our warriors feed.’

  Day 179 / Z-Day 144

  Tuesday 11th June

  UKRA – Brussels

  Professor John Forbes had completed the extensive and extremely dangerous autopsies on the body parts brought back by the SAS team from the British mainland on the previous Monday, the third of June.

  Forbes had been waiting impatiently since Friday night to speak with the First Minister, Lord Irvine, but the meeting had been delayed until this morning, awaiting his return from Quimper in Breton, where he had been overseeing the setting up of a new HQ for his administrative and parliamentary staffs.

  Forbes had only bad news to impart, and was expecting Lord Irvine to take it very badly. The plans for the move to Breton could be severely disrupted, and it was vital that the entire continent of Europe concentrated its attention on the threat rising across the English Channel.

  The professor was shown into the First Minister’s office and they shook hands warmly. Lord Irvine looked drawn and tired – as did Forbes, but they greeted each other cheerfully enough before getting down to the serious business of the day:

  ‘Well, professor, what have you got for me? Good news I hope?’ ventured Lord Irvine.

  Forbes paused and drew breath before replying.

  ‘Well sir, I have completed the investigative work on the bodies we recovered from the mainland, and I believe that we were extremely wise to have ordered the operation. We were extremely careful with decontamination procedures and all but one of the snatch squad has been returned to duty – but I will come to that in due course.

  The dissected zombie body parts have been burned, and the ashes dropped back over the Channel onto land where any residue can do no harm.’

  Lord Irvine was a busy man and wanted Forbes to get to the point. He still didn’t fully go along with the CIA scientist’s view regarding the ‘zombie’ scenario. He believed it all to be a bit too far-fetched for his liking:

  ‘Yes, yes Forbes – but what have you discovered from the bodies and how will it affect the project to move to Breton? You know that my major priority is to get our people set up in their new homeland as soon as possible. I don’t really want to become embroiled in some fantasy world of ‘zombies’ or ‘ghoulies and ghosties.’

  Forbes, although sympathetic to Irvine’s view was becoming just a little irritated by his constant sniping and reluctance to accept what was staring him in the face. It was time to talk ‘hardball!’

  ‘Lord Irvine, sir, I would be obliged if you could put aside all of your preconceived prejudices, opinions and attitudes. The situation caused by the snow is unprecedented and must be faced. Adopting an ‘ostrich-type’ arrogance and refusing to face the facts will only cause untold death and disaster. The threat is real, indisputable and is facing you – and the rest of Europe NOW!’

  Lord Irvine was taken aback. He wasn’t used to anybody adopting this tone with him, or questioning his judgement:

  ‘Now look here Forbes, I'm not going to sit here and be spoken to in this manner….’

  Forbes had had enough:

  ‘Sir, please be quiet. I have information to impart and if you don’t want to listen and act upon the information, then so be it. The blood of untold millions will be on your hands. I have already briefed the President of the United States and he is expected here, in Brussels, tomorrow to chair a meeting with the leaders of France, Germany, Russia, Belgium, Holland and China to address the issue. If you continue to ignore the issues, then do so at your own risk!’

  Lord Irvine was flabbergasted. He sat back in his red leather Admiral’s chair and stared hard at Professor Forbes, contemplating the next move. He decided to give Forbes the benefit of the doubt and acquiesce to his demands. Clearly, if the President was flying in tomorrow for a major summit, something serious was clearly afoot – even if it was beyond his current understanding or conception.

  ‘Alright, professor. I will concede, for the time being at least, that you have something coherent and important to impart, which threatens – potentially - our future security. I was unaware of the impending conference and will address that issue when our talk is concluded. Now, accept my apologies, and pray continue.’

  Forbes resumed his seat and handed over a file to Lord Irvine.

  ‘This document, of which there are only three copies, is for your eyes only and amplifies my findings. Please take the time to read it. You will be required to convey its contents to your political colleagues at the meeting tomorrow.

  It describes my findings at the mortuary and details my conclusions and recommendations. I will summarise as succinctly and briefly as possible. Believe me, I do appreciate that you are a man with much on his mind.’

  Forbes opened his copy of the file, and used it to jog his memory and ensure that he omitted nothing.

  ‘When the victim’s bodies arrived back at the decontamination centre outside Brussels, the heads had been decapitated. This was an essential action to assure ourselves that the bodies were properly ‘dead’ and were unable to attack the SAS soldiers or the Chinook crew. A zombie is relentless in its drive to feed on living flesh. It is its only purpose and it will continue ruthlessly to fulfill this aim. The only way to permanently cease this diabolical quest is to separate the head from the body or destroy the brain. This is why the soldiers took off their heads.

  It was brutal but essential.

  The personnel and equipment, including the aircraft were comprehensively decontaminated and the men put into solitary confinement for forty-eight hours. We are confident that if no symptoms appear within twenty-four hours, then the living humans who may have had contact with a zombie will be safe. The two day separation was as a double safeguard.’

  Forbes consulted his file as Lord Irvine listened with growing interest.

  ‘My assistants and I carried out detailed post mortems on the bodies. The remains were bloodless – as ever – but were covered in sores and pus-filled lacerations. Much of the hair had fallen away and the clothing was greasy and putrid. However, the most interesting feature was within the face.

  Without exception, each body was sightless.

  Every single eyeball had been removed or eaten away, and the sockets were enveloped with suppurating abscesses and scabs.

  We investigated this aspect most carefully and I confirmed my earlier findings. Each of these people were eaten by their feline pets. After they died from exposure, dehydration, starvation or whatever caused by the snow, the animals fed on their owners and naturally, the exposed facial features – including the eyes - provided tasty tid-bits to aid survival.

  However, the DNA from the cat saliva mixed with the human blood system, and then with disease-ridden water containing cryptosporidiosis bacteria contained in animal manure. In this case, it was cat faeces.

  The outcome was that a weird and unprecedented metamorphosis took place and these plague ridden victims ‘rose from the dead’. Now, I'm not sure that they were really ever dead at all – and you might want to adopt that view for public consumption. They could well have been in a form of stasis. Many others may well agree with you on this issue. However, it's a moot point as these creatures are certainly mobile now and roaming the British – and Irish – countrysides unchecked. They attack and eat any live, non-infected human they encounter. Unremittingly. However, I don’t know whether the virus can be transmitted from infected zombie to living human, thus potentially creating a ‘new’ zombie. If this is possible, then the spread of the virus will become logarithmic if they invade Europe! It's truly terrifying.

  As for the cats. Nobody has reported a single sighting of a living feline since the
thaw began. We can only assume that the same mutated virus that regenerated the humans, has killed the cats. As a matter of interest, animal life is unaffected by the virus and zombies are not remotely interested in this particular type of living flesh.’

  Forbes paused and took a sip of water.

  ‘The other notable discovery was extraordinary. On the surface of the brain, just above the left ear, and under the skin, was a growth. A cyst if you like, about the size of a child’s marble, which was unnoticeable until we raised the rotting skin. It resembled nothing I've ever seen before, and the worrying aspect was that in three of the cysts we detected a residual electrical impulse. It was very faint – but there nonetheless.’

  Lord Irvine intervened:

  ‘What is the significance of these ‘cysts’?’

  ‘It's very difficult to say, sir. However, the SAS indicated that, during their debriefings, the zombies separated into groups just before they were killed. This indicates that they were communicating with each other, and more worryingly that they might be under the control of a third party. One theory we are investigating concerns the possibility that the cysts are mini-communication devices. However, we have no proof of this yet.’