“It’s not a doctor she needs,” Straddling muttered, “it’s a ruddy priest. That girl’s possessed.”
“You’re starting to sound like Denny,” Lewis tried to joke but it was not funny and not even he laughed. “So what do we do with her?”
“We’ll keep on checking on her and hope that she comes around of her own volition,” Singleton said.
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Then I think we’ll have to start preparing for the worst. Lord only knows what we’re dealing with here.”
“And on the subject of medical matters, what about that ambulance?” Straddling asked.
Singleton looked puzzled but Lewis immediately understood. He nodded, looking dubious. “Yeah, that’s been bothering me too.” He turned to Singleton. “You remember the ambulance that we had to move out of the way of the Bedford? We had to move it the other day on our first visit to the gun shop too.”
The look of dawning horror that flooded her face indicated that she immediately understood the implications of what he was saying.
“Any thoughts?” he asked Straddling.
“Well, it certainly wasn’t no damn diseased mutants that shifted it. And it’s not on a slope so it won’t have just rolled. Which leaves just two possibilities, as far as I can see.”
Lewis was nodding again. “Either survivors, or…”
“… or vampires.”
“But why?” Singleton asked. “Why would either want to move the ambulance back?”
“Maybe they wanted to stop us from getting through,” said Lewis, “but didn’t have time to finish the job before we got there.”
“Well, whatever the reason, fortunately nothing came of it,” Straddling said.
“Hmmm,” Lewis pondered with a frown that suggested he was not entirely convinced. That nagging doubt was still lingering, but none of them had any further suggestions as to what might have happened and none of them were even close to realising the ominous significance of it.
Corporal Charlotte Collins and Sergeant Wood had not spent much time together over the previous couple of days and were now able to reacquaint themselves. After all the intense drama it almost felt odd to share any tender moments. Even to think of anything other than survival and the greater good of the unit was tinged with impropriety, and consequently she had been a little cold and distant. At the end of their day of recovery the two retired to a small office that Collins had made cosy. Everyone had fashioned some basic sleeping arrangements from whatever could be improvised. There were comfortable chairs and sofas in a few of the rooms that proved adequate. Other rooms even had sleeping facilities for patients who had previously been undergoing drug tests at the facility. Wood and Collins closed the door to their makeshift dorm behind them and sat for a while without talking.
“It’s been a crazy few days,” Collins said eventually.
Wood sank back on some cushions. “Yeah, nice to have a little breather, but it’s going to get nasty again.”
“Do you still think it was the right thing to leave Headley Court?”
“Absolutely,” he nodded vehemently. “You saw those vampires move. They could easily have wiped us all out if we’d stayed.”
There was a wistful look in his eyes which puzzled her. “Despite everything, you admire them don’t you,” she said.
He looked guarded for a moment, that old, familiar expression once again flashing across his mask. “I guess so. Watching them fight in the church was just incredible, the way they moved, the ruthless efficiency and energy. Incredible.”
“You haven’t really spoken about it. How did it… end?” She felt guilty for even asking and did not know why it mattered. But, for whatever reason, there had been some kind of connection between herself and Sebastian, and it was important for her to know.
He allowed her a few moments to collect herself before he looked at her again, ever perceptive, ever thoughtful. When he turned to face her she had composed her expression.
“The female vampire, she died. The male, your… friend, Sebastian, he lived. The others all fled when that twisted creature arrived with his army of the infected.”
“Look, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about it all, about me and Sebastian and everything, but there has just never been the right moment…” she felt flustered and started to gabble but he cut her short.
“You don’t owe me an explanation. You don’t owe me anything. As you said, it’s been a crazy few days. Just like we discussed with Bannister the night in the gun shop, even I, the ‘Ice Man’ – yeah, I know that’s what they call me – but even I felt the influence of the female vampire. It’s all pretty surreal and I don’t know how I’d have reacted if I’d been in your position.”
“Thanks for saying that, and for everything,” she said. He smiled and she felt a little part of herself melt. For someone so outwardly aloof, he really was emotionally intuitive. “You’ve been amazing these past few days, more than you realise. And not just to me but to us all. People have mentioned. You’re one of the main reasons we’re still alive. Your support and strength has really meant a lot to everyone, and helping to keep us all safe off base…”
“Ahhh,” he blushed a little in the erratic light of the candle but she was not finished.
“No I mean it. You’ve been fantastic, and I’m sorry things with Sebastian got a little odd. I, err…” she stammered, “I’m really fond of you, you know.” She was struggling.
“Hey, don’t go overboard or anything,” he laughed. “And they call me cold and unemotional? Sheesh!”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she breathed. Now the blush had become contagious.
“Well I’ve told you before, I’m indestructible. I’m not going anywhere. It’d take more than some damned diseased to keep me away from you. Crazy days indeed. I wonder what’s in store for us all next.”
An unerring instinct for evil had led Farzin to the right place at the right time. He did not believe in luck or coincidence. He preferred to think of destiny as something unavoidable, implying the correct outcome and hence his inherent right to revenge. The entire sequence of events that had befallen humanity, he assumed, were just that. Destiny had laid civilisation low and had put him in the right place to take advantage of it. He was absolutely certain that it was his undeniable right to restore the pride of his kind, to lead them into the light as the new Clan Leader of the new ruling class.
When the Bedford had stopped, its passageway blocked by the ambulance that he had moved - no easy task - he knew that he had assessed correctly. This only helped to confirm his belief of his preordained legitimacy to rule. Secreting himself on top of the vehicle had been straightforward. The soldiers were all so twitchy that he hardly needed to exercise caution. He had remained hidden overnight and when they arrived at the laboratories, the shooting of the impure and the death of the human survivor had made it disappointingly simple to slip away unnoticed. He could so very easily have stayed with the soldiers and dealt with them alone, one at a time. But he always liked to prolong and enjoy the anticipation, run the possibilities around in his mind and savour the thrill of the pre-kill. Besides, he had a new clan to consider now; others to share the spoils with, to whom he must prove his worth as their Clan Leader. He had to return to them. He had to bring them back to enjoy the sport, and he also wanted to devise the best way to exact the utmost gratification.
First though there was another task that had just recently become apparent, a diversion that would delay his revenge somewhat but an immensely pleasurable one, and one that would provide unexpected rewards. He looked forward to giving the news of his endeavours to his new clan members. He was sure they would be impressed and share his enthusiasm. He salivated at the thought of his plans and made his way swiftly. His desire for human suppression had become intensified by the events of the past week. Mere subjugation was now no longer enough. He wanted retribution, a settling of scores. There was a journey to undertake, but then… then the
fun would really begin.
Farzin was not the only one who would have news to share. His clan members had a surprise in store for him also.
About a week earlier, the day that Sergeant Sinna was killed was the day that Farzin had had his confrontation with Darius. Farzin had stormed out into the gathering twilight alone, consumed with rage and yearning for vengeance. His wrath had carried him away from the presbytery and towards the nearby town. He had passed some abandoned houses, a supermarket and an apartment block. It was there that he had caught the faintest of scents of his favourite quarry - humans. These humans were not however, the two soldiers from the Gurkha Regiment, Sergeant Sinna and Private Rohith. Instead Farzin had detected the man hiding in his third floor apartment with his son. He had remained on the ground by the block of flats, looking up for a long while. He could smell them and saw the faintest of shadows brush by the window. His desire for human blood was overwhelming but he so enjoyed the anticipation that he was in no rush. He stood quivering as he imagined the warm flow of liquid gush down his throat and the swell of energy that would engulf his body. He knew that the person in the flats above had probably been hiding there for some time and was extremely unlikely to leave. He made a calculated decision that it would be more enjoyable to delay the ecstasy of the kill and to bring Flavia back with him to enjoy it together, and he had left.
When they did return a day later Flavia had been surprised that Farzin detected the humans before she did. Normally she was the more sensitive of the two of them. He had pretended that he had just come across the scent that very moment. What she was not aware of however, was that he already knew the man was hiding there. He had enjoyed deliberating about the kill and brought her back as a surprise for her, just as the bonus of the child had been a surprise for him.
It was a couple of days later that Ricardo and Simeon presented themselves to Farzin outside RAF Headley Court, but they were already in the area. Masters of concealment, they had sensed the presence of both humans and vampires somewhere in the vicinity, and had skulked around warily for some time. They killed and fed from the humans in Harlow’s Princess Margaret Alexandra hospital and got out just as they heard Luca approach. And it was them, not Farzin, who had ‘encountered’ Sinna on the night that he was slaughtered.
They saw the four soldiers enter the supermarket and approached cautiously. The men were trying to be quiet and careful but Ricardo was amused by exactly how much noise they created nevertheless.
“It is amazing that the newly contaminated have not heard them and come to feast with all this commotion,” he had observed to his giant friend who merely nodded.
They had closed in on the shop and were preparing to enter when two of the soldiers left in a vehicle.
“Go, follow my friend,” Ricardo directed and Simeon slipped away.
He tailed them but was not quite fast enough. He arrived at the house of Private Giuseppe Campos’s parents just as Sergeant Matteo Abbott got into his Land Rover. He watched from the shadows with a great hunger deep in his core as Abbott drove away. He entered the house and it did not take him long to find Campos’s corpse, and he drank his fill. The blood was warm and intensely satisfying. Fortunately for Simeon, Campos had not actually been bitten by the infected; he had merely been attacked and fell, breaking his neck.
Ricardo had remained at the supermarket. As the Land Rover departed he slowly stood. The soldiers were oblivious to his approach. Private Rohith never even realised he was in danger, and Sinna caught the most fleeting of glimpses of the creature before he was killed. That had indeed been a good night for the two vampires.
He had not yet told Farzin exactly what they had done but he too was sure the news would be welcomed.
CHAPTER 12
“So, who do you think he was?” Squadron Leader Anna Singleton had asked.
After their day of recuperation and mentally steeling themselves for the task ahead, they were eating a dry breakfast before setting forth. Lewis shrugged and turned to Bennett. He was the one who knew most about GVF, about the buildings and drug production, and had become the unofficial expert on all connected matters.
“He was obviously a security guard but I didn’t know him personally,” Bennett said. “He could have been coming from a rear door of this main building but I’d have to say he probably came from the labs at the back.”
“Maybe he heard the vehicles, realised salvation was at hand and decided to try and make a break for it,” Lewis pondered. “But if there was one survivor then there could well be more. It’s obviously a lot easier and safer just to remain in here, but I think it’s time now to go and see if we can save anyone.”
A couple of hours later Lewis found himself standing outside the main entrance to GVF. A light breeze in his face caused his eyes to water, making him blink. He ignored the dull aches that throbbed around his body from the smorgasbord of injuries he had picked up so far. They were all suffering and there was no point in dwelling on it. The painkillers he was taking could only do so much. He knew that adrenalin would kick in and he would barely even notice the remainder of the injuries whilst they were out; hopefully. He gripped his rifle tightly in his fists and looked towards the east, towards the corner of their main building. They had yet to clear the rest of it. However, as it seemed more likely that there would be survivors in this other laboratory, that was the more pressing task. On this occasion they had the advantage of recent, previous experience. Lewis hoped that would prevent any incidents, because in this war zone an incident invariably meant a fatality.
Nine soldiers stood behind him. Apart from the children, patients and medical staff, they were leaving a skeleton force of four soldiers headed by Sergeant Harper Hutchison to patrol their new home. Lewis had thought carefully about whom to take. Whilst he did not want to leave their new home without effective defence, he needed the best force he could muster with him right now. Nobody spoke. Despite the new plan they had concocted that was supposed to shield them all from direct danger, it was still a daunting endeavour and they were all fearful, to a greater or lesser extent.
“Okay, let’s get this done,” he said in a voice that he hoped did not waver. “People in there might be in peril and need our assistance this very moment. Maybe people that can help us in our quest, like Bennett. We must not fail them. Stay calm and follow my orders and hopefully we’ll all be alive and well, come tonight. Let’s do this.”
He strode towards the Bedford, all the while scanning around for any threats. It started first time. Corporal Kevin Berthon gave him a quick glance and dropped it into gear. It was a short journey, just thirty seconds to the edge of the carpark where a side road took them to the secondary laboratory. The building was smaller but much of it had the same glass and steel and dark blue aluminium as the main building. At the rear of the construction there were some large, white chimneys that looked industrial.
Bennett had drawn a detailed map of the building indicating the entrances, two of which the soldiers quickly propped open, before retreating to the safety of the lorry. Straddling sat with Berthon keeping a watch to the front. The rest of the soldiers were in the back with the tailgate raised to waist height, protecting them from any passing marauders. Rather than risking themselves in a hostile, closed environment they would extend an invite to the infected to come to them, out in the open. Wood stood leaning against the tailgate with his rifle poised. He was relaxed and he controlled his breathing in anticipation.
“Do you think it’ll work boss?” Private Bruce Matthews asked nervously. Clearly it would be better for them all if their strategy did work, but like everyone he was afraid. More than a large part of him almost hoped that the plan failed. The thought of having diseased coming charging at them was not overly alluring.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Lewis replied solemnly, and they started.
He raised the megaphone to his lips and, accompanied by Berthon beeping the truck’s horn, began to shout out to the building. “This is Ca
ptain Lewis, from Royal Air Force Headley Court. Is anybody in there? Please try to make yourself known to us and we will come and rescue you.” The horn blasted out a few more times and then fell quiet. They all strained to hear anything, be it the sound of a survivor screaming for help or the angry yells of the insane. Everything remained still. Lewis again shouted out the same message. Berthon again accompanied him. Again, the silence afterwards was almost as eerie as any of the deranged cries from the diseased.
Lewis was about to cry out once more but Corporal Gray put a hand on his arm. “Did you hear that sir?
Before he could answer there was a faint sound. It was like the cheers of a distant crowd of football fans, carried on the wind. It was intermittently rising and falling as the breeze covered it then revealed it once more.
And it was getting closer.
And so, slowly, they came.
“Stand fast,” Lewis said in a low voice. “Nobody panic, we’re quite safe here. You ready Wood?”
Wood said nothing but gave a quick nod. He was looking outside the vehicle. While the rest of his being exuded calm and stillness, his eyes darted around furiously, searching for the front-runner.
Suddenly there was a squawk from Bruce Matthews. “Over there,” he bleated.
“Clock code,” Lewis retorted sharply but Wood had already seen her.
“Two o’clock, fifty yards,” he muttered.
A woman dressed all in black emerged from the entrance further up the building. She paused and looked to the sky for a second, like a prisoner released from confinement, taking a deep breath of clean air for the first time. Then she glared at the lorry and screamed, a bestial wailing that seemed to Lewis as though it must surely have ruptured her vocal chords. She filled her lungs in incandescent rage, her fingers clenching and unclenching, then started to run.
Everything about her seemed inhuman. From the way she had gulped down the air to the way she moved. Her arms did not pump by her sides in unison with her legs as a sprinter might do. Rather they flailed and seemed to be independent of any other movements of her body. One moment they were rigid by her sides and the next they shot forwards, grasping towards her prey. Her head lolled about as if her neck was broken but regardless of its orbit her focus never left the Bedford. Her eyeballs seemed enlarged, her eyelids were strained wide open revealing the outer edges of her cornea which might once have been white but were now riddled with blood-red streaks. Her mouth gaped with a gloopy line of saliva trailing to her shoulder. This was the first time any of them had actually had a chance to observe one of the diseased charging, without danger to themselves. Even so, almost everybody jumped back from the truck’s tailgate. She got to within twenty paces before the shot rang out.
Twice Bitten, Twice Die (The Blood of the Infected Book 3) Page 20
