by Haywood, RR
He paused to roll his eyes.
‘This is the point where Mr Howie would ask Charlie to translate,’ he said, making me smile. ‘To which, she would say, it happened, move on. Don’t beat yourself up. And, if she were being particularly astute, she might add there are bigger things at play here. The old world is gone, Carmen. Don’t carry that baggage around with you. The new world doesn’t care what happened. It doesn’t care if Howie worked in a supermarket, or if Marcy was a waitress. The rules have been reset.’ He offered a smile that reached his soft brown eyes.
‘Good gosh! That was a monologue, wasn’t it. I do apologise, but one more nugget of advice. If you nudge over a few inches, you’ll get the down blast from that vent.’
I glanced up while feeling like I was outside of my own body looking down at a point in my life that was marked and different. Like something just happened without me knowing entirely what it was.
Only that his words sank deep and were already taking root as our small fleet left Billingshurst and took the road east into the rolling fields and meadows with another transition from hell to paradise.
Charlotte
With Billingshurst complete, we once more became hot bodies in a hot tin and set off on more of our adventures.
‘Woohoo! The Saxon on the blacktop speeding through the backdrop,’ Tappy called from the front as we got going.
‘Why does she keep saying that?’ Cookey asked.
‘Why do you keep breathing?’ Blowers asked him, earning a middle finger in response as Nick frowned.
‘Paula?’ he asked.
‘Yes, Nick?’ she said. Glancing over to him on the bench seat opposite.
‘I’m hungry.’
‘We’ll grab something soon,’ she said and turned back to her conversation with Marcy, Clarence and Howie.
‘Paula?’ Nick said
‘Yes, Nick?’ she asked, trying to look irritated but smiling at his tone.
‘I’m still hungry.’
‘I promise we’ll get something. Okay?’
‘Okay,’ Nick said and waited for her to turn back to her conversation. ‘Paula?’
‘Yes, Nick!’ she asked, still trying to be cross but unable to stop the laugh coming out as Marcy and the others smiled.
‘I’m really hungry.’
‘What do you want me to do?’ she asked as he pulled a face with big sad doe eyes. ‘Nick! Pack it in,’ she said, turning away.
‘Is he doing the face?’ Tappy asked from the front.
‘Yes!’ Marcy said with a laugh at Nick’s pining hungry face.
‘Paula?’ he said. ‘Please, Paula… I’m ever so hungry, Paula.’
‘Jesus Christ,’ she said, grabbing her bag for a snack bar to throw at him.
‘Yes!’ he said, squishing against the others to lean across and hug her.
‘Get off! You’re all sweaty,’ she said, patting his back before pushing him off.
‘You jammy shit,’ Blowers said, looking from Nick to Paula’s bag. ‘Do you have any more?’
‘No!’
‘But, Paula?’ Cookey asked.
‘Paula?’ Blowers said.
‘Please, Paula?’ Booker said.
‘We’re ever so hungry,’ Blowers said, trying to pull a sad face with one eye, which just looked weird.
‘Dude. You just look weird,’ Cookey told him.
‘I’m trying to look cute. Don’t I look cute?’ he asked, pulling a more exaggerated cute face.
‘Fuck no! You look messed up,’ Cookey said as Blowers leant into him. ‘Get off you fucking weirdo. Seriously!’ Cookey said, leaning away into Booker who squashed up into Maddox with all of them laughing. ‘Charlie, quick,’ Cookey called and grabbed my wrists to pull me onto his lap to block Blowers.
‘That’s cheating,’ Blowers says as Cookey reached his arms in-between mine to give him a double middle finger. It was funny, and especially when I tucked my arms in and he carried on pretending his arms were mine and started miming actions. Putting one hand to my chin while pressing a finger to my cheek as I struck a thoughtful expression, and it was nice to see Howie and Clarence even breaking off from deep and serious discussions to chuckle along. Then I said, Hark yonder, what is that in the distance, and Cookey immediately shielded my eyes from the sun while I pretended to look at something far away.
It was a lovely moment to see everyone laughing. Even Dave had a glint in his eye, then a second later Meredith erupted. Going from passive and panting to full on hackles up and exploding at the windscreen with her paws planted on the front. Good lord. It certainly sent a jolt through everybody. Especially when Tappy yelled ‘CONTACT!’
The jokes cut off instantly and Howie was over the seats into the front. ‘Two of them ran through that hedge on the left,’ Tappy said urgently.
‘Mate, they’re all around this area,’ Howie said.
‘No! They were running. Like chasing something.’
‘Okay. Go through. Roy, Frank. We’ve got two infected chasing something through a hedge. We’re going in.’
Reginald
At that point, and while we were just starting to enjoy a fractional reduction in air temperature, Howie began shouting through the radio that they were going after two infected chasing someone through a hedge.
‘Quickly!’ I said and unplugged the drone to thrust it at Carmen. ‘Open the door and launch it.’
She responded instantly as I grabbed the controller and got the blades going while she yanked the door open and leant out to hold it aloft, then a second or two later she’s at my desk staring at the live feed on the monitor watching as the Saxon swan necked out then turned sharply towards the hedge to batter through the brambles.
It was fast too, and I was still giving lift to the drone as we saw a very steep grassed bank on the other side, and both heard and saw the Saxon’s engine as Tappy powered up the side of it. But at that stage we could not see any infected, nor indeed anything beyond that hillside.
‘Reggie? Are we going in?’ Roy called.
‘Hang fire,’ I said as we felt the van slow and heard Henry asking for an update – at which point the drone gained sufficient height for us to see the land beyond the hillside, and what a shock that was.
There was a very large oval shaped lake at the base of the hill with wooden buildings off to one side. One of which had a striped café awning canopy outside and signs advertising food and drink. Tables and chairs were outside on decking bordering the edge of the lake, all of which was overlooking a tree lined island in the middle of the waters.
It was a beautiful view, complimented by willow trees and tasteful bushes and reeds growing here and there, and no doubt, when the world was still functioning, the café would have been a very welcome spot for a pot of tea with some clotted cream scones.
However, the world was not still functioning and what we saw was a horde of infected racing down the bank towards the lake with more of them running in through the gaps in the buildings chasing people that had obviously been hiding out in the café, all of whom were now running for their lives.
It was sight to see. Let me tell you that, and within a split second we saw the people were running for the lake as though they had a pre-arranged escape plan to make for the island in the event of a breach. Indeed. Some were already splashing into the shallows and diving out to swim for it, while others were holding babies aloft while small children clung to backs. But those were the ones in the lead, and there were plenty still on the bank and running out from the café.
One of them was a big old chap with silver hair swinging a bloody great sword at the rotters. He got a couple of them down too and bought time for his kin to get away before the infected swarmed him.
‘Roy! Get in,’ Carmen said as we felt the thrust of the van driving in behind the Saxon to power up the bank with the SUV hot on our heels.
It was fast too. I mean in the sense of the it wasn’t a planned battle we were going into. We were responding to an event in
progress so to speak with a massive adrenalin dump, and of course, Carmen and I gained an earlier view through the drone, earlier even than Howie in the Saxon who only then breached the top and saw what we could see.
‘SHIT!’ Howie yelled out with his hand still pushing the radio button down, which was at the same time as the passenger door flew open (while the bloody Saxon was still moving) and he was leaping out with Meredith. Both of them running hard with Meredith going from static to full on sprinting in an instant.
Tappy must have then connected that for once, this was not a job for the Saxon. It was too big and there was no way she could run the infected down for fear of hitting survivors. She then slewed the brakes on and was out and running a second after Howie with everyone else piling out the back doors with Danny easily outstripping the lot of them just as our van and the SUV reached the crest.
‘Bugger,’ Roy said, and he grabbed his bag of arrows and bow and was out of his door, dumping the bag and nocking an arrow as fast as anything while Carmen leapt out and started running. Joan was fast too. She was out of her door like a shot and dropping into the prone position to sight down her scope while Bash ran off behind Carmen and everyone else ran hell for leather down that steep bank.
‘Right side, Roy.’ I called through the radio. ‘Woman in a red top.’
‘Got her,’ Roy shouted from outside as he turned and loosed and I watched the infected running the woman down then fly off his feet from the arrow hitting his spine.
‘Left side. Yellow hat!’ I called. Seeing a woman with a child in her arms wearing a yellow sun hat mere inches in front of an infected woman readying for the lunge. A loud crack from Joan’s rifle and she went down with a pink mist hanging in the air.
Good grief it was tense with the screams of the survivors so clear in the air. Crying out as they ran into the waters, and with such panic and haste they were tripping over and falling with bodies splashing all over the show and adults grabbing kids to try and get them to safety. Plus there were still more on land being chased down.
‘Very front!’ I called out on seeing a big meaty adult male infected running at a woman carrying a little boy. The child screaming in fear as he looked over his mummy’s shoulder to the beast with wild red eyes gaining with every step. The bloodied saliva drooling from his mouth. The hands clawed into talons. The face twisted with hate and hunger. The small boy screamed louder. His little heart filled with terror. A sound heard by Meredith and by god that dog streaked through the lot of them. Low and sleek and fast as the wind, and we all felt it too. That pulse of pure energy. A rush as it were. A voice unheard but felt. Just an instinct pushing into all of us.
Little ones.
The whole team gave a surge of speed as the infected male gained and the little boy screamed as the mum ran too fast into the shallows and went down as the big male made his lunge. Diving through the air only to be ripped off his feet with an angry German Shepherd attached to his throat.
‘GET THAT ONE!’ I yelled out, slamming my battle swatter on my battle desk and watching as an infected female ran in to replace the big male taken down by Meredith. The dog ragging him through the shallows with water spraying high and that woman still trying to get to her feet with the boy in her arms.
I could see Howie sprinting with everything he had with his eyes fixed on the rangy female infected and I swear the arrow must have touched his ear as it went past and took her off her feet. And so close was Howie that he caught that female infected in the air and took her down hard no more than a foot away from the woman and child.
But it wasn’t over there. Good god no. A third infected took her place. Then a fourth and a fifth and more of them all flowing like the beasts they were. Never tiring. Never slowing, and they hit the water as one with plumes of water splashing into the air.
The boy was still screaming. That poor mite was simply terrified. His mum was too. Coughing and retching water that had got into her mouth and lungs, but she was still trying to get away with the kid held aloft.
A surge of water then erupted as both Howie and the dog surfaced from their kills with both of them diving out into the horde going for the woman and child, and I doubt either were aware of the streak of motion going past as Danny sprinted by and ripped the child from the woman’s hand then grabbed her wrist and dragged her through the water. Taking them both away as yet more infected slammed into the shallows.
Howie had taken several down with his arms outstretched. The dog had one down and was going for another, but there were still plenty up and moving as Tappy ran into the fray and snagged another couple off their feet. Taking them down into the water.
‘BLOWERS! TO YOUR RIGHT!’ I called and watched as Simon veered off to take two out chasing a woman into the water. Slamming them down with vicious punches as they all became lost within the waves and splashes.
And, as he took his quarry out, so Cookey and Charlie went past his back into another group. The two of them working tandem and going into another small horde running into the shallows. Diving into them to rip them off their feet.
It wasn’t just them either. The whole team were running in. Nick, Paula, Marcy, Clarence, and Carmen all of them sprinting into the shallows. Ripping infected from their feet. Bashir too. Splashing into the lake with a knife in his hand as he leapt onto the back of a huge male aiming for two children. Stabbing down into the neck again and again as he wrenched back to take him down into the waters.
Arrows were flying in and the sniper rifle was booming, while Henry and Frank strode down the bank taking what shots they could with their assault rifles.
However, I did see Dave during that melee, and what I saw was him at the edge of the lake with a very rare look of worry. Howie was in the water you see, and Dave hates the water. In fact, I’d go so far as to say is clearly phobic of open water, and so he couldn’t get to Howie. Instead, his pistol was out, and he was taking what shots he could. But it wasn’t enough and twice I saw him start to go in then quickly back up with a fresh look of terror, and he still didn’t go in when Frank strode in past him to grab bodies in knee depth water and drag them up to shoot through the head.
By which time the water in the shallows was positively red with blood, and the first lot of survivors, the strongest swimmers, were reaching the island and dragging themselves onto the bank while yet more were still trying to get across.
A moment later and the mad thrashing waters started to ease as the fighting subsided, and as those waters grew calmer, so I could see a great many corpses floating face down.
Then the shots were ringing out as the team drew pistols to shoot through heads to ensure death was given. All of them drenched and heaving for air. Wading and tripping and gasping as they tried to get balance.
‘Bashir!’ Henry called, wading into the lake. ‘BASHIR!’ he yelled again as everyone started looking around.
‘BASH!’ Frank shouted as the call was taken up with the team grabbing at bodies to turn them while shouting his name as another great surge of water shot up from Bashir breaking the surface with his knife in one hand and the decapitated head of his foe in the other.
‘SOULJA!’ he yelled out, holding the head aloft. ‘SOULJA!’
Charlotte
It was all so fast. One moment we were in the Saxon with Cookey pretending to be my arms, the next we were racing down a steep bank and running into a lake to kill infected. What a bizarre day it was, and it wasn’t over by a long shot. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it just got weirder as it went on.
But right at that point Cookey and I were still trying to get to our feet in the shallows, and it may sound refreshing that we were able to get into the water on such a hot day, but trust me, it was disgusting. That water was filthy, and by then it was covered in bodies with gore and entrails floating about – and we were still heaving for air when Bashir popped up with a human head.
‘What’s he saying?’ Cookey asked as we used each other to get upright.
‘I thin
k he’s saying soldier,’ I said with the two of us using each other as leverage to stay on our feet.
Both of us were drenched, and we were both breathing heavily, and the moment just caught me out. The way his blonde hair was slicked down and the way the water was pouring over his jaw, and how his shirt was clinging to his frame. Mine was the same and with our chests heaving and touching. I don’t know. There was just a moment between us, and everyone else was watching Bashir. Plus, our bodies were flooded with adrenalin and our hormones were running wild. Life and death situations do that to you.
But yes. There was a closeness that had been forming throughout the day with our secret touches and right then there was a chance to take. Everyone else was distracted, and I felt this very great surge of courage while figuring that we could die at any time, and Mr Howie said we had to be fast to exploit the chances we were given and this new world rewarded the brave and the bold.
And so, with all of those things in my head, and while Cookey turned to fix those blue eyes on me and we became still and silent and the world existed only for us, I did it. I moved in to kiss his mouth - then immediately blinked when he turned away and felt the instant harsh sting of rejection. Then a second later I was questioning if Cookey had even noticed anything.
‘We need to get these bodies out,’ Clarence said as my mind came back to the present and I saw him grabbing a corpse in each hand to drag towards the bank.
Cookey ducked down to snag a body by the ankle while I searched his face and waited for him to look at me. But he didn’t. He heaved back instead and stumbled, and only then, did he glance at me, that thing in his eyes again. That fleeting look of discomfort.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked and I swear it looked like he was about to say something before we all turned to Howie yelling over at Dave at the edge of the lake.
