Thrust & Parry: Z Day

by Luke Ashton

  “It’s all stiff.” She replied with a wink in his direction. Paddy ignored it but Jim raised an eyebrow and turned to see the girls reaction. Laura was giggling but Monica looked most confused.

  “The little button by your thumb is the safety catch remember.” Sam nodded and looked back down the sight looking sheepish. She fired off 5 shots fairly rapidly before turning back to Paddy.

  “Stop!” He called. And there was a small click as Sam applied the safety catch. Jim brought his rifle up and checked her shots. They were a little spread out but her shots were landing high and left. Paddy stepped back to talk to Jim about it.

  “I’m thinking down 2 and right 1.” Paddy said as he reached Jim.

  “I’d make it right 2 mate. Your call.” Paddy nodded and made the adjustments to the rifle before chirping up again.

  “You will now keep the same point of aim and fire a further 5 round check group. In your own time carry on.” Paddy called. Another small click and Sam was ready to fire. This time there was more of a gap between rounds.

  “Stop!” Paddy yelled once more as the fifth round was fired. Sam applied the safety catch and turned to Paddy as he and Jim checked the shots. She was firing slightly high still so Paddy adjusted once more. He went through the shoot again and stepped back to let her fire another five rounds. The first round hit the alarm square in the middle and it set off. A loud warble rang from the building and an echo bounced off the surrounding buildings. The din was unbearable and it didn’t take long to attract the zeds. They came from all directions, charging and squealing at the alarm. They surrounded the gated compound over the road in an attempt to attack the noise. Jim pulled everyone together into a huddle before talking.

  “Well I think Sam is zeroed. As long as that alarm keeps going we are safe from zeds. This may be the best chance we have to get things done. I say we move down and get the truck inside, from there we can try find where these zeds are getting in. After that it’s just a case of zeroing the rest of you ladies and checking mine and Paddy’s weapons before dropping as many of these fuckers as we can. Monica, Laura, can any of you drive the truck?”

  “I moved house once and drove a Luton truck, I can’t see it being much bigger.” Monica said. It wasn’t the experience Jim needed but it was the best he was going to get.

  “Good, Monica can drive. Laura, I need you by the garage door to the drill hall to open and close. I’ll be here. Sam, I want you over by the gate, stay low and keep an eye on the zeds. Anything changes you let me know. Paddy, grab the Gimpy and move over opposite the gate.” He pointed to the rooftop overlooking the car park opposite the gate. “Only engage targets that are a threat to Monica, if they are the other side of the gate they can stay there, headshots where possible guys. Everyone grab their PRR’s. I want a comms check in 5 minutes time. Any questions?” No one said anything so Jim nodded. Paddy jogged off to the hatch while Sam waited at the top for him to return. Laura was close behind Paddy and disappeared with him. Monica stood for a moment looking a bit dazed.

  “What’s up darling?” Asked Jim as he noticed her.

  “Nothing I guess I’m just a little nervous.” Replied Monica looking him straight in the eye.

  “We have you covered, between us we will do what we can to keep you safe. You just need to block out any sound and concentrate on getting that truck into the drill hall in one piece. ” Jim replied putting his hand softly on her shoulder. She smiled at him and began to wander towards the hatch just as the barrel of the Gimpy appeared out of it. Monica and Sam hauled it up before Monica disappeared from view. Paddy took her place a second later and shouldered the heavy weapon. He moved over to their over watch position and Paddy threw himself behind the weapon. Sam had moved behind Jim and over to the firing point and was now crouched by the edge watching the horde of zeds that had amassed round the pounding alarm. Everyone, including Jim, now had a head mic so Jim threw a quick comms check about, moving across his section to make sure everyone could talk. Everyone passed and Jim was starting to feel la little better about their situation. He may seen some fucking good soldiers go to waste but he still had his 2ic and he had a fighting troop that was shaping up to be pretty good.

  The whine had managed to cover the noise of the truck and Jim only noticed it when it pulled forward. Monica seemed to be doing fairly well at this. She began to reverse it and Jim could now hear the whine of the engine over the top of the alarm. He glanced over to Sam and she was motioning for him. He sprinted over to her, staying low and out of site.

  “Jim, a couple of them have started moving over to the gate, I think they can hear the truck.” Jim nodded and glanced back at the truck just as Monica released the brake. The truck shot backward and hit the garage door causing an almighty crash. Jim winced, he knew what was coming. “Here they come.” Jim mimicked Sam’s shout over the PRR net and he knew everyone had braced up. Jim didn’t see where the zeds came in but they were suddenly swarming the truck. There must have been 30 of them clawing at the truck trying to get at Monica. From his position he could see her mouth open in what would have been a blood curdling scream but the noise from the truck, zeds and alarm drowned it out. She was curled up in the middle seat of the front cab in the foetal position, her head dropped to her knees as she began to give up. The zeds were not getting close though, they just clawed at the metal work of the door and the tires in a vain attempt to break through. Jim got on the PRR as Paddy opened up with short, controlled bursts. He wasn’t going to follow radio etiquette with this as he needed to calm Monica down.

  “Monica, it’s Jim. You can do this. They aren’t getting in. I don’t think they can. I just need you to keep driving. Get the truck in the drill hall. We can take the zeds out we just need you to do your part.” Jim waited for a minute and only got a small squeak in response. “Remember, your safe. Once you’re in we just…” a thought hit Jim at that moment that cut him short. He turned and sprinted round to the hatch before throwing himself down. He could still hear the rounds going down from Paddy and now Sam as in-between the thunder of the Gimpy he could hear the SA80 popping. He threw his rifle into his shoulder as he barged through the store room door. He found Laura sat against the double door, her rifle was wedged in the handles and there were several unfriendly faces smearing partially dried blood over the reinforced glass in the doors. Jim breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Did you get the door open?” He asked as Laura looked up, her face a mask of fear.

  “Yeah it’s fully open but I couldn’t stay in there to close it. I’m sorry.” She spluttered as tears rolled freely down her face.

  “It’s ok. No-one expected you to.” Jim cooed as he tried to calm her down. “You did good. Now, do you think you can hold them off until we can kill them?” He asked sounding unintentionally patronising. She nodded and shot him a small smile.

  “Paddy to Jim, message over.” Jim’s radio sparked into life.

  “Jim, send over.” Jim replied.

  “I can see the zeds entrance point. A side gate next to the unloading pit to my 11 o’clock, over.”

  “Roger mate.” Jim thought for a moment before continuing. If the gate was at Paddy’s 11 o’clock that would mean that it was right next to Sam. She might be able to get it closed and stop the flow of zeds. “Leave it with me, out to you. Jim to Sam, message over.”

  “Hello, yes go ahead Jim.” Sam chirped up and he could hear the firing returning over the distorted line. “Over.” She added as an afterthought.

  “Jim to Sam, if you look down to your right as you look at the alarm you should see a small side gate that is open. That’s where the zeds are coming from. If you can lean down and get it closed we will have a secure car park to work from, over.” Jim tried to make it sound really important to urge her to try harder. In reality it was quite important, with that gate closed they could expand out to the car park and set up a wider defensive position.

  “Hold on, I’ll see if I can reach it.” Sam said and then went quiet
. There was several minutes of silence disturbed only by the thunder of the short bursts from the Gimpy. Jim moved up the hatch to watch her progress. As he moved over to the edge he saw the cause of the delay. Sam had leant over the edge and used her rifle to reach the top of the gate. A zed had seen her as she struggled with it and grabbed the rifle it now lay uselessly on the floor next to what was left of a zed blocking the gate. Jim made a snap decision. He opened comms chat.

  “All call signs. Rapid fire. Cover me!” Jim yelled into the mic as he moved to the edge. Paddy’s fire turned to a near constant stream and as Jim watched most of the zeds hit the floor. Most began to rise again but were cut down once again as wave after wave of rounds slapped into them. Jim pounced down and sprinted to the gate. Without slowing he slammed his boot into the zeds and watched his body leave the floor and land near the middle of the road. The impact of the hit left an almost unbearable throb in Jim’s ankle and he had to stop himself shouting out in pain. He slowed and scooped up the rifle in his arms before slamming the gate shut. He realised his mistake as soon as he did it and several zeds began to charge at the gate. He held it, waiting for the locking mechanism to kick in, and moved away just in time as they bounced off the gate, several thrusting their arms through the bars in an attempt to grab him.

  He span round to face the truck just as two or three zeds with holes that would have fit an orange in them began to charge. He flicked the SA80 in his arms to automatic and squeezed the trigger. He hadn’t pulled the rife into his shoulder and the recoil hit him in the gut, winding him slightly. Rounds ripped through the left hand zeds face and the remainder caught the middle one on the top of his head, it was sliced off as if it had been hit with a machete. Jim dug the rifle into his hip and pulled the trigger again only to hear the ‘dead man’s click.’ This was the name given to the click that you hear when your rifle either has a stoppage or runs out of ammo as you move into a dangerous situation. He instinctively dropped the rifle with a clatter and drew his pistol. It was a fraction too late as the zeds arm caught him in the chin. He flew backwards and landed on his back, hard. His head bounced off the tarmac and suddenly everything felt very distant. He could hear sounds but it sounded like there was a layer of water between them. He was brought back to his senses as he was hit in the face by something.

  “What was that? Water? No it’s warm and sticky like BBQ sauce. Blood? Is it mine?” Jim thought to himself. He looked himself over slowly. Every time he moved his head it felt like his stomach was trying to escape through his nostrils. He gipped and vomited all over himself. He could now hear shouting over the thunder of the Gimpy as sounds began to come back to sharp focus. He could now see the cause of the blood. The zed that had hit him was now laid next to him. Its head was pretty much gone and most of its left side had disappeared. Paddy must have clocked it with a Gimpy burst just after it had hit him.

  “Come on Jim get the fuck up! Why are you laid there? Get up!” Paddy yelled in between bursts of fire. Jim shook himself out of it and got to his feet. His jaw felt like he’d spent the last week chewing rocks and every movement sent a wave of nausea over him. He still had his pistol in his hands and his sharpshooter over his back. There were still around five zeds clawing at the truck door closest to Jim. It was the other side of the truck to Paddy so they were the only safe ones during this fire fight. “Jim get the fuck to safety this is my last ten!” Paddy shouted and Jim realised he had only ten rounds to get to safety before Paddy had to reload. He weighed up his options and decided that the truck was the only safe area near. He sprinted forward as he raised his pistol and fired of seven or eight rounds into the crowd. Three dropped and the remaining two turned towards the noise just as Jim reached them. He rammed the pistol into the left hand zed’s right ear and fired. Out of sheer luck the right hand zed’s ear exploded in a mess of brain matter and they both dropped. Jim stood for a second in shock before ripping the door open and throwing himself in. He pulled the door shut behind him and turned to find he was looking down the barrel of Monica’s SA80. She noticed it was him and dropped the rifle before pulling him into an embrace.

  “Thank god I thought I was a goner!” She exclaimed as she released him. He got on the net as he slid past her without a word and into the driver’s seat.

  “Jim to Paddy, I need you in a position to cover me so I can get the door closed once the trucks in. How copy? Over.”

  “Paddy to Jim, I can see the back end of the car park is clear if I can move down to the light pedestal in the centre it would put me in line with the door.”

  “Jim to Paddy, We can’t risk damage to the truck. Bring the Gimpy down with Sam and move down to the drill hall door. The zeds have moved away from it and are now with the truck. Set the Gimpy up at the far end, get Sam to release the door and move down the corridor. It should give you a nice long corridor to drop them in together. Over.”

  “Paddy, roger, Out.” Jim sat in silence for a minute before jumping on the net once more.

  “Jim to Laura, move down with Paddy so you’re in a safe position, close the store room door as you go.”

  “This is Laura I will do.” She replied. Time seemed to tick by and after what seemed by a lifetime he heard the Gimpy kick into life. He hoped to god Paddy had enough time to take the zeds down. He sat in the relative comfort of the truck listening to Paddy’s bursts of fire, indisposed with Sam’s rifle firing off the odd shot. He felt so helpless but he had to get this truck to safety. Eventually Paddy sparked back up on the net.

  “Paddy to Jim, clear to proceed. Be aware I have 75 rounds remaining. After that I will be combat ineffective.”

  “Roger that Paddy, out.” Jim replied and crunched the truck into gear. He pulled it forward as far as he dared and lined it up best he could. “Paddy, see me back will you.” Jim pitched over the net, realising he had a mucker that was experienced in backing trucks up.

  “Can do boss, wait one.” Replied Paddy as he moved into position. They chatted over the net as Paddy directed Jim into the tight gap and into the drill hall. After several agonisingly slow minutes were everyone expected to get pounced on every second the truck finally slid home. Jim shut the engine off and jumped down in time to see Paddy yanking on the chain like a man possessed to get the metal door to slide back down. It hit the floor with a clunk and Jim collapsed against the driver’s side tire. The last thing he remembered was Paddy shouting for one of the girls to help him before the world went black.

  Chapter 16

  David was pacing the living room carpet in his parents’ 3 bed house in Illingworth. It seemed to be the only room that didn’t risk reminding him of the nightmare that had just occurred. He was around 6’3” and didn’t look like the type of guy you would pick a fight with lightly. He wasn’t particularly buff as far as muscles and toning goes but he was a broad guy, emphasised by the beer belly he sported. His short, mousey brown hair and baby faced features gave him a sort of boyish charm that he covered under a weeks’ worth of stubble.

  Gary was in his and David’s bedroom, He was packing things he thought would be useful in an old gym bag that had seen better days. The bulk of it was clothes but he was finding weapons with the most unlikely of items. He was shorter than David by around 3 inches and a lot thinner. He didn’t carry the same broadness of David and so many people underestimated him. He was usually the preferred target of the duo for some pisshead in a pub when they went out. Gary would nearly always show him the error of his ways leaving the pisshead reeling back into whatever corner he’d crawled out from. That was to say as long as David hadn’t stepped in first if not to see the colour drain from the pissheads face as he looked up on the man.

  Gary was David’s younger brother but only by a year. They might as well have been twins as they were as close as they come. They had speculated many a time about the zombie apocalypse while slaving over a hot Xbox controller in an attempt to prove who was the best virtual athlete or while making dinner for the family together, photographing ea
ch step as if to say ‘Yes, we cooked this, aren’t we awesome.’ It was the family’s style; they all had the same dry sense of humour that they called upon on cue when there was ever any form of social gathering. Although each was funny in their own way it was clear that David was the joker of the family.

  Usually it would be the step-father Patrick who would take charge of the situation but as David glanced up at the ceiling under his parents’ room he knew he had to take charge. He was now the man of the family. As if to emphasise the point to himself he began pulling serious and macho poses in the large mirror over the fireplace. It was that moment that Victoria, who had finished packing and was stood at the door watching, decided to chirp up.

  “Yes, yes such a rugged man. Now, can we sort out this plan or do you need another minute flexing in the mirror before you can think straight?” David jumped as he span round and even began to reach for the aluminium baseball bat on the couch before realising it was his younger sister. Victoria was several years younger than both David and Gary and was very much cocooned by them as much as possible. It wasn’t that they didn’t want her seeing the bad, bad world for what it was. They were just very protective brothers. Understandable really as she was the only female sibling. They would count their step sister on their dad’s side but after the call Vicky got last night there didn’t seem much use in counting it any more. David pushed the thought from his mind as he quipped back.

  “What’s the problem Vic? Jealously?” he went on to throw out several macho poses, emphasising each one with a “Ka-pow” or “Bam.”

  “Yeah, yeah I think all women should look like you. There would be much less in the way of teen pregnancies. No fucker would want to come near them.” Vicky giggled back to him.

  “Anyway serious times now Victoria. It’s serious.” David made a grave face and put on an overly posh accent before returning to his normal voice and continuing. “Are you all packed and ready?” Vicky nodded and pointed to a large purple suitcase with a cricket bat lent up against it that was now sat by the door. “Good, now we just need to wait for her majesty himself to get his hairy arse downstairs and we can sort this out.” David moved to the bottom of the stairs.