by Barone, Cenz
Outbreak of the Deceased
Book 1 – Immediate Survivors
Also by author
Chaos to Order
Book 1 - Origins of the Lost
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 Cenz Barone. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
Cover photograph and design © 2018 Cenz Barone.
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organisations, places, events and incidents are either products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Contents
Book 1 - Immediate Survivors
Chapter 1 - Lost In Oxford
Chapter 2 - Before The Petrol Runs Out
Chapter 3 - Nightmarish Daydream
Chapter 4 - Getting Off The Streets
Chapter 5 - Behind Terrace Houses
Chapter 6 - The House
Chapter 7 - Boarded Up
Chapter 8 - Remembering Hotel Hell
Chapter 9 - Settling In
Chapter 10 - The Madness Heard Outside
Chapter 11 - A Waiting Game
Chapter 12 - An Unexpected Phone Call
Chapter 13 - A Fuller House
Chapter 14 - Bitten Consequences
Chapter 15 - Bedroom Trauma
Chapter 16 - Pre-emptive Friendships
Chapter 17 - Signals From Outside
Chapter 18 - University Rescue Station
Chapter 19 - Into Custody
Chapter 20 - Overwrought & Overrun
Chapter 21 - First Floor Clearance Attempt
Chapter 22 - Rash Actions
Chapter 23 - The Walking Wounded
Chapter 24 - Towards The Underground Car Park
Chapter 25 - Rural Relief
Chapter 26 - Brandenberry Hospital
Chapter 27 - Minor Surgery & Scavenging
Chapter 28 - Heading Towards The Downs
Chapter 29 - The Downs
Chapter 30 - Deep Into The Woods
Chapter 31 - Campfire Tales
Chapter 32 - Exploring Other Costs
Chapter 33 - Trailing The Death Squads
Chapter 34 - Lakeside Fallout
Chapter 35 - Hiding & Living Amongst The Dead
Chapter 36 - Complacency Is Mythical
Chapter 37 - Woodland Surprise
Book 1
Immediate Survivors
Chapter 1 - Lost In Oxford
Kenny patiently awaited the answer to his question as he held his weapon in the pitch blackness on this winter evening. Sitting was he in the back of an enclosed dark van that was creeping along a random suburban street in Oxford, England. All conversation had been reduced to whispering. The boldest of noise being the trickles of rain that tempered upon the aluminium roof, to send echoes within the van. Kenny cradled in his imagination what was an AK47 for a weapon but in reality, he held a hunter’s rifle he had found lying in the street next to a severed hand, before he was picked up by the driver of this van, the driver being a stranger to him but was now a fellow survivor in the chaos happening all around them.
Kenny tried to contain his shaking finger tips as he watched the gun shake in his hands, until finally the question was answered by the driver of the van who replied “I still have no idea where I am going and yes we are almost out of petrol. Are you happy Kenny with wanting me to say the obvious? This is like the 10th time you have asked me in such a short period of time". The drivers tone was one of despair and fear. He had no time to be annoyed by the kid in the back of the van who pestered him with repetitive questions.
All the driver could do was focus on the darkened street, and the sidewalk which hosted houses on each side and had parked cars outside, but the evidence of bloodshed and violence was all over. The eeriness itself was reflected by the crippling silence of the street, a silence threatening to erupt into chaos at any moment, such was the impression it had on those in the van. Both men, who were the only ones in the van at this time awake, were pensively and silently staring outside. Kenny leaning on the rear of the driver’s front seat was dazed in a daydream, he was struggling to stay awake and found his thoughts implicitly focusing on the recent events he experienced outside on those streets.
The driver felt his eyes twitch a few times, because every shadow outside the van made him wince and become alert. Each movement in his peripheral vision induced silent panic in him to a point he felt like he had developed a tic, a tic that probably developed from having hardly any sleep and surviving on old coffee and unappetising garage food. Factors which just added to his stress, especially considering everything around them began to fall apart yesterday, at least by the driver’s estimations, but it just happened extremely fast that it was hard to tell when it truly did begin. All he was sure of it was less than two days ago maybe.
Only in this moment as the driver drove along, his attention was centralised onto the unseen factors that brought him added worry, like when the wind would blew into some of the trees in the concrete jungle along the sidewalk, because he lost track concerning the amount of times behind those trees and bushes he would often catch a glimpse of the shuffling bodies of those people. Those psychotic people who appeared to be everywhere without reason all of a sudden, it was that unmistakable look they had that was the most disconcerting. These people having glazed over dead eyes, the unhealthy skin tone on a colour spectrum between green and grey, and the groans they would sometimes emit shook all rational sensibilities.
Kenny in the back was just watching the scene unfold through the front window of the van, and he felt comforted he was not driving, because between Kenny and what he saw outside was the back head of the driver, Kenny did not have the nerves to drive these dark unfamiliar streets of Oxford, he could barely stomach being a passenger. So it went to this random guy who picked him up, and saved him from trying to get by on the streets which Kenny had been doing since he left the hotel he was in when this whole thing happened. The odd comfort to him to be in the back of the van was it perversely felt like he was rescued, but when he glanced between the front seats to check upon the road ahead then the reality was obvious, he was far from rescued.
All around the streets the van was delicately rolling along had so many crashed cars with little fires visible along the pavements near bins and within gardens of the numerous houses they were passing, indicating violence had recently taken place. The street they were on was so urbanised that they had not so long ago passed a small park in the middle of a group of houses, no doubt a park for the local kids who lived in this particular neighbourhood. But it was the same sight they had been exposed to since it all began and it had not even been 48 hours yet but they were still stuck in and around Oxford, travelling along such a normal scene on the surface if they considered what it was likely like last week, but now nothing was normal anymore.
Through the silence the driver asked "It is odd you have nothing more to say Kenny. Usually you have spoken by this point". Kenny leaning between the driver and the passenger seat spoke with a whisper "I am just taking in the view mate. Don't get annoyed I sometimes keep talking I only do so when I am nervous. I just want to know where I stand. You can understand not wanting to be kept in the dark cant you Grant?" Grant being the driver’s name, Grant did not reply instead he drove on. Kenny noticed the petrol gauge, it was troubling to him it was so low and Grant was d
riving in the highest gear possible and at the lowest possible speed to conserve as much petrol as possible.
Kenny added "Sure you can understand not wanting to be kept in the dark. Look at us just driving along aimlessly throughout the same streets. I am repetitive in what I ask Grant because the entire scene is fucking repetitive. I feel like I have been seeing the same street since you picked me up. I thought you would be helping me when I climbed into the van, not giving me a tour of Oxford".
Grant was growing irate but he had bitten his tongue so many times to the young guy in the back of the van, and Grant by nature was not a hot head even though it was wearing thin on him. He was himself just trying to cope with the chaos that had come out of nowhere when everyone seemed to have lost their minds. Grant just learned to deal with the stranger in the back and he had no choice but to put up with the nonsensical ramblings and said “Kenny sometimes I wonder why you ever tagged along with us Kenny”. The us that Grant referred to was the other people in the van who roamed in darkened places in this metallic vehicle, who were either asleep or resting their eyes. Kenny grunted in retort wondering the same thing but he would not dare venture outside again, Kenny would rather be within this tank of a van than being naked outside, moving along the streets with those things to keep him company and nothing between himself and them.
This was Grants subtle way to remind Kenny he chose to pick him up and Kenny took this as a threat, so Kenny asked "Are you going to ask me to leave your van?" Grant shook his head, neither man made eye contact during their entire conversation because both were still wide-eyed staring outside. Grant answered sympathetically "No mate. I am just wondering why you bother to stick around. Just ask me pal and I will pull over and you can open the van door and you take your chances but of course I won’t kick you out".
Kenny felt he was aggravating Grant so he tried to be reasonable and replied "Look mate. I really do appreciate you picking me up. But I have been in this van for what feels like forever. We are driving around aimlessly, holding up in alleyways or multi-storey car parks, all the fucking roads out of the city seem to be blocked, none of us know our way around here. And we are so low on food and water". Kenny then looked at the almost empty petrol gauge on the dashboard of the van and remarked "And look at how much petrol we have left, how long can we last. Mate we need to make a decision soon, and find somewhere fast to hold up".
Grant replied sternly "It is not what I asked you Kenny. I asked why you are still sticking around, if it is so hopeless. Do you think I am not aware we are running out of petrol? How hopeless it is to be holding up in remote spots in this fucking rust bucket. Do you think I do not worry about the same things? After all, I am the one driving so I am far more aware of it than you are. I have been driving since I found this van. By taking on more people in this van it has cost us food and the extra weight is no doubt causing us to use more petrol. Not that I thought I would still be driving around in this thing when I picked you up by the way, but I am so there you go".
Grant was slightly losing his cool, but not at Kenny. He was losing his cool at the stressful situation they were in. Kenny was truly grateful to Grant for picking him up so Kenny tried to provide some humour, and calmness to their conversation. Even though it was forced he realised he had to stay on side with this guy at least until they were off the road and somewhere safe. So Kenny thought about the relief when Grant pulled up beside him on the road and the van door opened and he was then taken off the streets. What irritated Grant most about Kenny even though they had only been in each other's company for a short period of time was his tendency to endlessly talk about diverse subjects, form their current predicament to something completely unrelated.
So taking a while before replying, Kenny said with a smirk “Why do you think I tag along with you. You picked me when I needed a ride and nobody else did, it means something to me Grant. And if I am honest I do not fancy spending my time outside on the streets amongst those things alone. Fuck that". Kenny sighed lowering his head as he added desperately "Where the fuck is there to go anyway, except nowhere in this rust bucket". The frustration was palpable in Kenny's voice as he disclosed downbeat by adding "Look at it out there mate. Most houses do not look secure do they? The road is full of burnt out or abandoned cars, there is hardly any sign of human life with corpses strewn everywhere. Why do you think I tag along with you mate?"
Kenny rested up against the van side and placed the hunting rifle onto his lap and added with a lowered tone to his voice "The idea of being in solitude plays havoc with my mind, and besides I like you man" Grant dubiously glanced back at Kenny who was making a feeble attempt at humour, and was slightly sarcastic. Kenny then came between the seats once more and said. His voice trembling "All kidding aside though, we have to get somewhere we can hold up and get someone to come rescue us. You have to get us to a secure location before you run out of petrol or at the very least find somewhere we can hide out until we can get proper help".
In the distance Kenny saw one of those slow moving people, he gulped at the sight as Grant clocked the same person straight ahead, standing out formidable in the darkened street. There he was about 30 meters ahead on the side of the pavement near a smashed telephone box underneath a street light "Look at that, what the fuck are those things really" Kenny muttered as he added "They walk around like drones. Eating people, people eating people Grant. I have seen it with my own eyes. I will be damned if one of those fuckers are going to get me. Look at their skin and those eyes, it is so weird".
Grant upon seeing this figure noticed a turning up ahead that would lead down to another road, which would take them away from the straggler. Grant headed to this spot and not only was Grant lost but he was spontaneous in his reaction at seeing the strange person with the greyish skin and dead eyes, moving along the pavement in a psychotic trance. This action annoyed Kenny who asked Grant "I hope you turned this way for a reason. Well did you?"
In reply to Kenny, Grant whispered "I am lost. I have told you already". Kenny angrily said "You cannot just turn streets when you see one of those fucking things. What makes you think turning down here will be any different. Are you basing where we go on when you see these fucking things? No wonder it feels like we have been going around in circles, because we probably fucking have been. Need I remind you we are in a van and those things cannot get at us" Grant now raised his voice to Kenny as he added "A van low on petrol".
To which Kenny quickly answered "All the more reason to be wiser in where you take us in this van that is low on petrol. Don't you think?" Grant yammered in reply "I told you I am lost". Kenny was growing frustrated in his efforts at being cool and calm. So with disgust Kenny said sarcastically "No need to repeat yourself!" it was a slick jibe by Kenny to Grant's issue with Kenny repeating himself.
Out of anger Grant muttered so Kenny could hear "I really wish I did not pick you up" to which Kenny replied "Changed your tune pretty quick mate. Hey, the way you are driving I may as well be still out there". Grant raised his voice but kept it within a range of a whisper as he said "There are plenty of other people I am sure who will let you join them, go and try your luck with other strangers Kenny if you can find them. Hell, if you think you are so clever, why don’t you try going solo?”
Kenny lost his heart to argue on as he took a far more conciliatory tone and said “All I see around me are strangers Grant, don’t worry though, when something better comes along I will tag with them. Just you wait". Kenny thought to himself so much for trying to keep the peace with this guy. Grant took another sharp turn driving at around 20mph keeping his eyes on the side of the road as he saw various strange people appearing in his side mirror, it was clear they were trying to reach the van but they were extremely slow.
Grant shook this thought off as he kept driving, his eyes habitually drifting towards the petrol gauge. It was on less than a quarter and he knew the yellow light would soon be flashing to indicate they were close to empty. But he also knew Kenny for all his
talkativeness was right, they had to find somewhere to hold up and had been looking for decent spots for a while, after hiding out in set locations and trying to navigate to rescue stations by using the radio in the van, which they had put off due to how hopeless the broadcasting was, and also how they had been let down constantly at where certain supposed safe places were, the scene when they got there indicated it had been overrun or did not exist.
Kenny was resting his arms on the side of the seat, the passenger and the driver seat that is. Both Grant and Kenny's faces still nothing but shadows with occasional light seen by the streetlights they passed under.
In the passenger side of the van next to Grant was a woman. Kenny glanced at her, she had taken to resting her eyes and sleeping which Kenny found odd, but everyone was tired, upset, scared and wanted this to be over. The woman was a blonde haired lady in a business suit who was dozing in and out of sleep. She had been sleeping for some time. Grant was sweating, wiping his brow at this point. Kenny could hear Grant breathing heavily, so Kenny said encouragingly "We just have to try and keep a steady head right. This situation will only be survived if we keep cool" he said it so anxiously it was laughable to hear him calling for cooler heads in such a way. But nobody was laughing within the van.
Grant strenuously asked "Remind me about the situation we are in again. Just run it back, the situation of dead people coming back to life and attacking us, the situation like society collapsing within a couple of days, or however long it has been. What you really mean though is situations like people eating people. If I am going to speak frankly to you and admit it to myself, and by admitting it to myself then I am questioning everything I thought was real and rational about the world and life and everything in it. Kenny listen to us, look at what is happening and just spit it out this is a fucking zombie situation. That is what you are saying".
