Thrust & Parry: Z Day

by Luke Ashton

  “You girls are welcome to join us but you must follow our orders without hesitation. Understand?” Jim said, the authority returning to his voice. The business woman and orange nodded and stepped out the car but Yellow stayed put.

  “Sam, come on.” Orange said as she noticed her friend wasn’t joining her.

  “How do we know these guys aren’t just as bad?” Sam replied as she started to get up.

  “I’m willing to take the risk. Are you?” Sam nodded and moved round the car to be with the other girls.

  “Good. We will look after you. Paddy, help these ladies to the truck will you. Make sure they get strapped in ok.” Paddy nodded led the girls over to the truck. Jim pulled out his bayonet and dug it into each tyre of each of the vehicles in the roadblock. Not only did it pay them back but it also stopped them following. Jim slid the bayonet back in and picked up two of the Molotov’s lying on the floor. He passed them up to Rim and grabbed another 6. By the time he’d finished the ladies were strapped into the roller coaster style seats in the back.

  “Rim, you take the wheel. Whethers, linkman in the front. Paddy, Gimpy gunner.” Jim ordered and everyone switched places. The tailgate had been dropped down to help the ladies get in and Jim raised it before pouncing over it into the back of the truck.

  “Where to boss?” Whethers called from the front.

  “Straight through that roadblock and on to Leeds.” Jim replied.

  The engine revved up and Rim was soon spinning the bulky machine round. Jim Wedged himself into a seat and braced for impact. It came a second later as a sickening crunch of metal on metal followed by the screech of it running down the side of the truck. Seconds later they were through and Jim was already on his feet with a cocktail in one hand and a lighter in the other. Jim ordered the truck to be stopped and it came to rest 10 feet from the former roadblock. Jim launched the Molotov high and it landed in the gap. He lit another and tried again, this time he caught one of the cars on the bonnet and it was engulfed in flames. He turned to the girls.

  “Anyone want to do one?” He asked holding the Molotov in his hands. Orange stepped forward. Jim lit it and passed it to her. She launched it way high and it landed the other side of the roadblock. There was a screech of fear but Jim reckoned she didn’t actually hit anyone. He lit another and handed it to business woman. She landed it through the window of one of the remaining cars and it instantly went up.

  “Nice shot.” Jim was impressed. “Sam? You want one?” He lit it and held it out. She stepped forward cautiously and took it. She launched it short and it filled the road behind them. “Don’t fret. Here try again.” He lit another and this time she hit one of the burning cars and the flames grew higher. “Paddy?” He handed one to his 2ic who threw it high and landed it in a flame free area, blocking off the motorway with flame. The final one Jim took. He aimed way high and left. It landed but Jim couldn’t see the damage. He wanted to scare the chavs to stop them trying to follow him.

  “Right ladies. If you would take a seat.” Jim asked the girls politely and turned to the window at the front. “Off we go lads.” The truck lurched forwards seconds later and Jim took a seat against the tarpaulin cover opposite the girls.

  “So ladies, we have Sam.” He pointed at Yellow. “But I didn’t catch your names.” He motioned to orange and business woman.

  “I’m Monica.” Business woman chirped up with a smile. Jim held out a hand and she shook it.

  “And I’m Laura.” Said Orange holding out her hand. Jim took it and smiled.

  “Pleasure to meet you all. Well I’m Jim but most of the lads call me Twitch. The guy at the back is Paddy, the driver is Rim and the other guy is Whethers.” Jim explained and they all nodded.

  “What’s the names mate?” Rim chirped up from the front.

  “Laura, Sam and Monica.” Jim replied.

  “I know a song about that.” Rim shouted and started singing loudly. “A little bit of Monica in my life, a little bit of Laura by my side, a little bit of Sam is all I need.”

  “Rim mate?” Jim called cutting him off.

  “What boss?” Rim replied.

  “Shut the fuck up and drive will you.” Jim replied and the girls giggled.

  Jim watched the sun set along the horizon as he thought about today’s events. It had been a fucking long day.

  Chapter 9

  As they pulled off the M621 the truck hit a bump and jolted Jim awake. He must have been snoring because when he glanced over at the girls they giggled. He leant over to Paddy.

  “Anything good happen while I was out mate?”

  “Not really, a zombie on the M62 decided he could catch us for about 400m, ran into an abandoned car at full speed and face planted.” Jim chuckled and stretched. He moved over to the window.

  “How are we doing guys?” He asked as he leant into the window. Rim was now snoring against the passenger window as Whethers drove. They must have swapped mid drive on the motorway.

  “Oh hey boss, not bad. Hit a zombie a few miles back, made a hell of a mess. Look.” He pointed at the remainder of the blood spatter on the windscreen.

  “One less for us to deal with.” Jim remarked as he pulled out two cigarettes and lit them. He moved back to the back of the truck and passed one to Paddy. He thanked him and took a deep drag. He offered the pack to the girls. They all took one and he passed them a lighter. They all lit up and thanked him.

  “So, you’re like the leader then?” Laura asked as she twiddled the cigarette in her fingers.

  “I’m the section commander yes.” Jim corrected a sense of pride in his voice.

  “That’s hot” Sam giggled.

  “Sam!” Laura exclaimed at her with a playful slap.

  “What? It is.” Sam replied, still smiling. Jim couldn’t help but smile at them. The truck pulled onto the Leeds loop and he saw the centre of Leeds was in a worse state that Beeston was. There were zombies everywhere.

  “Paddy, any get too close, open up ok?” Jim shouted from the other side of the truck.

  “Can do boss.”

  “Rim! Wakey fucking wakey buddy, time to go to work.” Jim yelled through the window and Jim heard a snort from the other side to tell him Rim was rousing.

  “What’s happening boss?” Rim shouted.

  “Just entering Leeds now. There’s zombies, fucking lots of ‘em” Jim shouted back and then moved back to Paddy. As he passed the girls they all gave him a nervous glance. He settled next to Paddy just in time to see two zombies collide at full speed in an attempt to get to the truck. It was then that Jim remembered the rations he’d heated earlier. He had stuffed them in his leg pocket with the idea of giving them out when they got moving again. He made a mental note to reheat them and pass them out at Leeds. They trundled along in silence for a few minutes and Jim realised how tired he was. He checked his watch, it was past midnight. As they passed the train station Paddy nudged Jim and pointed over towards the entrance. There was a young businessman with blood spurting from his neck running, trying to escape a horde of zombies.

  “Leave him. If they’re chasing him they’re not chasing us.” Jim said as he watched the man running. He noticed the truck and started sprinting toward it. “Fuck, drop him.” Jim didn’t want the zombies focusing on the truck. Paddy let off a burst that caught the businessman in the legs. He dropped hard and bounced off the road before being engulfed in zombies.

  “Boss. What if he wasn’t bitten?” Paddy sounded concerned. He always followed orders first and questioned them later.

  “Were you willing to take the risk? It’s every man for himself out here now. No remorse mate.” Jim seemed to set his mind at rest because he visibly relaxed. As they moved through Leeds they all seemed to notice a pattern. Most of the zombies were in suits. It was as if the infection hit as they were on their way to work. The truck neared the TA centre and there were a few zombies still chasing them from a distance.

  “Right when we get there I want you to drop that lot.�
� Jim motioned to the small group chasing them. He moved over to the window. “Rim, the gate code is 15724. The gate is an older one and needs opening and closing manually. Once we pull up you need to get it open sharpish and closed as soon as we’re through. Once we’re in I need you to move to your side of the truck sharpish and set up all round defence. Paddy’s going to stay in the truck and cover the rear. You take left, I have right and Whethers, you take front. Standby.” Jim moved back to Paddy and told him the plan.

  “Sounds good to me boss.” He focused on the zombies as the truck began to slow. He let off a few short bursts and several of them dropped. One or two started to get back up. He continued letting off short. Controlled bursts as the truck pulled up. Jim heard Rim’s door open and seconds later, the gate moving. By the time the truck pulled off again there was only one zombie still moving. He had several holes across his chest, each one about the size of an orange. He was just getting back to his feet when Paddy fired another burst at him and the top of his head disappeared in a cloud of claret. Jim didn’t see him drop as the truck swerved left into the car park he could now see the drill hall door and Rim jogged behind, his weapon up and ready. The door had several zombies clawing at it which gave Jim hope. They would only do that if there was a living being inside.

  The truck skidded to a halt near the garages at the other side of the car park and Jim bounded over the tailgate. Landing a little unsteadily he dropped to a crouch to save himself falling. He regained his composure and saw instantly he didn’t have much to do his side. The right side of the vehicle was about 12 inches from a solid brick wall. He assessed his options. He needed to know which of the men needed him most.

  “Whethers, SITREP, now!” Jim barked over the truck.

  “Around 5 zeds staring at me from the drill hall entrance boss.” Whethers reply came.

  “Zed,” thought Jim for a second, “I like that.”

  “Rim likewise!” Jim barked again.

  “I’ve got around 30 wandering towards me.” Rim replied nonchalantly. Jim looked out at Paddy’s arks. There were only 2 for Paddy to play with. One was a heavily overweight soldier with an arm missing and the other was a tall thin business woman in broken heels who was munching on the soldiers missing arm as she stared at them quizzically.

  “Fuck it. Rim wins. Watch and shoot! Watch and shoot.” And with that Rim let off his first shot. He had been waiting for the word. As Jim took aim he watched a topless brunette hit the deck with a small hole were her eye used to be.

  “Cracking tits! Next!” Rim called over the sudden rattle of the Gimpy letting of a few rounds. Jim lined up a construction worker who had heard the shots and started launching himself towards Rim. As he squeezed the trigger the construction worker dropped out of his sight. He released the trigger and lowered his weapon. Rim had obviously seen it too and had got there before him. He lined up his next target just as Whethers let off his first shot. Jim didn’t see how accurate it was. He had just found his own target. An overly short Asian man who Jim recognised as running the Chinese mini-mart had joined the stampede and was around 10 feet from them and closing the gap fast. Jim didn’t have time to line it up properly he just aimed roughly at the mini-mart workers head and squeezed the trigger hard. He flipped backwards and hit the tarmac. Instantly his head snapped back up, only a little wobbly. A massive chunk of his neck was missing and the only thing holding it on seemed to be his windpipe and spine. Jim didn’t let his strange guttural croak continue as he took the windpipe out with another shot. The head rolled off and lolled around for a few seconds until it was punted towards them as another zed took a pop at his brains. He didn’t even get chance to draw on this one before Rim dropped it with an easy shot to the head.

  “You’re welcome boss!” Rim called over the din. Jim didn’t look over but he could feel the inane grin on Rim’s face. The firing from Paddy and Whethers had died down a few seconds earlier and Rim and Jim banged away for another minute or so.

  “Well I think that’s all of them Twitch.” Rim called as they looked round.

  “All but one.” Jim replied as he pulled his rifle up once more. A thin blonde in a bra and jeans with a badly broken leg was limping towards them slowly. Her ample bosom was jiggling with each step.

  “Can I have this one boss?” Rim asked and Jim lowered his rifle. He turned and nodded at Rim before turning back to the blonde. Rim let off a shot and an explosion of red covered her left breast. “Awwwh.” Rim moaned. “I wanted to see if it would pop. I can see form here those aren’t real.” Jim couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. Typical rim. The blonde had lost balance with the shot and landed on her back. She was attempting to stand back up when Rim’s rifle kicked again and her head snapped back.

  “Right mount up, fresh mags. Whethers, back us up to the drill hall doors.”

  “Wait one boss.” Rim motioned as Jim turned back to the rear of the truck. “I’ve just had a thought.”

  “First time for everything, what’s up Rim?” Jim sighed.

  “How do we know these ladies haven’t been bitten?” Rim’s sex pest grin could have been seen from space. Jim was about to tell him to fuck off when he realised he was right. They could have been bitten. In his haste to be their knight in shining armour he hadn’t checked them the same. He had always had a soft spot for the opposite sex.

  “I hate to admit it but your right. Get in the truck, you too Whethers. Let’s give them at least a shred of dignity.” Rim groaned but obeyed, as did Whethers. “Paddy, lower the tailgate and help the ladies out and then round the front with the others.” Paddy nodded and jumped down. They both lowered and took the nervous hands of the girls as they slowly stepped down. Paddy nodded to Jim and disappeared. “Ladies, I apologise for the intrusion but I am going to have to check you for bite marks.”

  “What? But I haven’t been bitten, I promise.” Monica chirped up. She looked worried as Jim slowly brought his weapon up to the ready position.

  “I don’t doubt that but I have to be sure. I’m sorry to have to ask but I am going to have to ask you to strip down to your underwear so I can see.” Monica and Sam looked horrified but strangely Laura seemed slightly pleased by the prospect. She raised a shaking hand slowly. “Yes hun?” Jim asked as he spotted it.

  “W..What if you’re not.” She seemed to be struggling to say it. “You know. Wearing any underwear?” She gave him a sly smile but still kept nervously glancing at the weapon.

  “Nevertheless, I must ask you to remove the dress.” Jim looked slightly ashamed. Monica started and quickly removed her shoes and suit jacket. She then took her time unbuttoning her shirt with shaking hands as Sam followed suit and unzipped her dress. As it dropped to the floor Jim realised although she had a tiny thong that looked straight out of an Ann Summers catalogue, she wasn’t wearing a bra. She had quite small but perky breasts. Her small pink nipples were erect and Jim briefly wondered whether this was due to the cold or the fear. Laura was taking her time with her dress and only seemed to be moving the zipper when Jim glanced over. Monica was now shirtless down to a floral bra that gave her a cracking cleavage and stood covering her stomach, her head down in shame. Sam simply stood with her hands one her hips and a glare on her face. Jim didn’t blame her. She wasn’t happy about joining him in the first place, never mind getting naked for him.

  “Monica I am really sorry but I need the skirt as well.” Jim motioned at her. She sighed and fumbled with the zip on the side. The skirt slid off to reveal a white silk thong that barely covered her groin.

  “Jesus,” thought Jim. “It must have been ‘wear slutty underwear’ day today.” Jim glanced over at Laura and she started unzipping again. Her eyes fixed on his with a twinkle in them. She reached the bottom and let the dress fall off. The dress she was wearing clearly didn’t do her breasts any favours as she must have been an E cup. They were big yet perky and Jim was sure it was more the movement in her pants making her nipples erect. Jim couldn’t help but walk his eyes dow
n her body. She was thin but not toned and several years of on and off dieting had given her a small pot belly. Her pubes were shaved into a small square that reminded Jim of a Charlie Chaplin, or Hitler ‘tash as they were more commonly known, and her legs were slightly open so Jim could see her lips glistening in the taillights. She was biting her lip as she stared at him and Jim had to force himself to focus, now well aware of the erection pressing against his trouser leg.

  “One final thing ladies…” Jim asked as he checked them all methodically. “Can you turn around for me. I have to be sure.” They all turned round relatively quickly, sensing the end was near and they might soon be able to get dressed again. Jim tried to ignore the cheeky looked Laura was giving him over her shoulder and checked the girls again. Monica had something on her upper back and Jim stepped forward to check it.

  “Monica, right shoulder blade, what is that?” Jim asked as he got closer.

  “Oh it’s an old scar. It’s not a bite! I promise!” Monica blurted, thinking Jim was ready to shoot.

  “Mind if I check ma’am?” Jim asked. She nodded and Jim slowly ran his hands over the mark. She was telling the truth and he stepped back. He caught Laura throwing her daggers as he stepped back.

  “Thank you ladies. Once again I am deeply sorry but I have to be safe.” Surprisingly it was Monica that chirped up.

  “It’s ok I understand. It kind of puts me at ease to know your being thorough.”

  “Ok, thank you.” Jim was taken aback as she daintily crouched down and picked up her shirt. She and Sam dressed in silence but Laura hadn’t moved. She was watching Jim over her shoulder, seemingly waiting for Jim to look at her. He did and she bent down to expose her lips fully. It seemed to take an ice age for her to pick up her dress but Jim didn’t mind. His erection throbbed as she finally stood up and dressed normally. When they were all dressed they stood looking at Jim, obviously looking for guidance.