Zed Days [Book 1]

by Nick Harland

  Andrea replied slowly, her voice still cracking from time to time, ‘The spectral analysis showed nothing, it was completely blank apart from what we knew would be there. We isolated a cell and it didn’t recognise a single element, not one, not even carbon or hydrogen. Wherever they’re from it’s not from within our known universe, or at least any part of it we’ve examined.’

  ‘You’ve probably noticed they use the bloodstream to keep their hosts up and about. It’s like they use it as a river to deliver goods from. The blood doesn’t flow but they flow through it. How they interact with our cells I have no idea and although they seem able to maintain some body functions using whatever energy source they brought with them, they seem quite keen on snacking whenever they can. We saw them eat our friends over there but even though there was still plenty left and they must have processed the food over a few hours, they didn’t go back for seconds. They seem to need their meat completely fresh, the blood still running. I assume you’ve observed the same thing?’

  ‘As far as what they look like, they look like lots of crown bacteria look. The difference is they seem to move with some kind of purpose. We observed some of them change directions and head for the edge of the sample shortly after we put it under the microscope. It was as if they knew something had happened and were trying to escape, or at least find the source of the problem.’

  I was still in shock but I could see Eve’s eye’s flick from side to side and she even cocked her head as she thought. She said, ‘That’s amazing, fucked up obviously, but amazing.’ Realising she had sworn in front of Andrea she put her hand over her mouth for a moment and said, ‘Sorry.’

  Andrea smiled and said, ‘Really dear, after the last two weeks you’re going to have to do better than say fuck to shock me.’

  Eve giggled, ‘Ok. I was going to say we’ve also observed some messed up stuff. A few days ago they seemed to have either learned or remembered how to open doors and now they can climb a little. Today they seem to have developed some self-awareness and are running away and flailing around trying to protect themselves. We haven’t used fire before but from what I’ve observed I don’t think they would have done that a few days ago.’

  I suddenly and embarrassingly caught up with the conversation, ‘Aliens, well fuck me!’

  Andrea raised an eyebrow and looked at Eve who put her hand on my thigh and said, ‘You’ll come to love him like I do. I’m sure I’d be dead if he hadn’t found me and as far as survival stuff and the big picture is concerned, he’s brilliant.’

  Before anyone could say anything else Esme who had been keeping quiet said, ‘They must be adapting, mutating or something, and they must be doing it really quickly. We need to take another look at them. You guys must have got their blood all over you and won’t have had the chance to make sure you never itched your nose or wiped your mouth. The question is, are you immune, or were you like us and in an environment they didn’t penetrate when they….arrived? We stayed in the room for a day but had to get food and water after that and didn’t become infected, or is it more correct to say colonised. If you two are the only ones left around here it seems very unlikely both Andrea and I are also immune and happened to be in the same place at the same time, and that that place happened to be a clean room.’

  ‘It makes more sense that they adapted really quickly after the first assault and that the assault was an all-in kind of thing and over quite quickly. I wonder, are they the actual aliens, or are they just an organic weapon of some kind and whatever created them is on its way?’

  Then Esme looked at us and asked, ‘Where were you when it happened?’

  I said, ‘I was in my flat, door shut, curtains closed, head-phones on, playing a computer game if you must know.’

  Eve said, ‘I was in a panic room with the door shut. The door is airtight and the vent to the outside has loads of filters which must have been enough to protect me.’

  Esme looked back at me, ‘Then of all of us you are the only one who was immune.’

  I looked at Eve, ‘Am I allowed to say, ‘fuck me’ again?’

  Eve kissed me and replied without any apparent hesitation or shame, ‘Only if you really mean it.’

  Andrea laughed, a croaky laugh but a laugh none the less, ‘It’s been almost fifteen years but in so many ways you haven’t changed a bit. You’re still stupid and smart at the same time and you’re still a slave to your vagina.’

  Eve looked genuinely shocked and put her hand over her mouth, ‘Andrea!’

  Andrea said, ‘It’s ok dear, I loved you despite your proclivities. It was a nice change to the usual dry personalities that ended up here. Such a shame you fell for that rich control freak’s act and we didn’t stay closer.’

  Then something occurred to me and I said, ‘Bill. Bill must also be immune, he wasn’t protected when it happened so I’m not the only one.’

  Andrea and Esme looked confused. I added, ‘Bill is another survivor. He’s back at base and is going to be really worried. He’s an ultra-geek car mechanic guy and really useful to have around. He’s modifying Lulu our main vehicle as we speak.’

  Andrea said, ‘Anyone else you haven’t told us about, or is it just the five of us and the pooch.’

  Eve said, ‘That’s it but I think we’re going to be a good team. We have a decent supply stash but we’re going to need more now.’ Realising what she had said she quickly added, ‘It’s not a problem, it’s a good thing, it’s just the way it is.’

  Andrea reached up and put her hand on the side of Eve’s face, ‘Stupid and smart all at the same time.’

  It was an uncomfortable night and we all slept fitfully. Eve and I took turns taking watch in case we had any visitors but we both ended up awake most of the night anyway. The smell was less with the windows open but Andrea and Esme desperately needed a shower and some clean clothes. Despite the crap night the food and water had helped them a lot and they were able to stand a walk. They both decided to strip off and change into clean lab suits before we left and we turned our backs while they changed.

  Even though Esme was slightly on the thin side for me, and must have lost some weight during her ordeal, she was young and taught and obviously wasn’t a complete science geek. People that shape don’t get that good a bum without exercise. Her breasts were obviously smaller than I would usually go for, and my recent experience had only consolidated that opinion, but they still looked more than a handful and I could imagine some fun with them.

  As we turned our backs so they could change I couldn’t help but think of Esme naked under the thin white lab suit and Eve knew it. She reached across to feel my crotch briefly and whispered, ‘It’s alright, you probably haven’t got as far as I have already. I’d love to get up close and personal with that bum, it’s a real peach.’ Then she paused and added, ‘With you watching of course, no actually, with you fucking me while I do.’

  I was immediately even more uncomfortable than I had been and I whispered back, ‘Andrea was right, you’re a slave to that libido of yours.’

  Eve replied, ‘You complaining?’

  I sniggered, ‘Fuck no, I’m a slave to it too.’

  We still wanted the electron microscope but it weighed in at 60kg without the monitor. We decided to get Andrea and Esme to the car first and leave Mutt with them, then come back for the microscope. With all the Zeds we had killed to get in, and the ones we’d burnt, there were only four fresh Zeds in the carpark. We weren’t in the mood to fight so Eve shot them when they were close enough. They didn’t seem to behave any differently to normal and I wondered if fire was just one of those things you didn’t need any brain function not to like.

  We got them safely into the back of the car and left Mutt with them. Eve gave Andrea one of her guns and filled the clip on the one she kept. She said, ‘It’s not hard. It doesn’t kick much as it’s silenced so just point for the head and keep pulling the trigger until it falls over. We should only be a few minutes so I’m sure you’ll be fine. Lock
the car behind us anyway and even if a few arrive they really can’t get in and Brad and I will deal with them when we get back.’ We were just about to go when she paused and added, ‘In the dramatically unlikely event we don’t come back our base is the big caravan shop on the other side of town.’

  Andrea nodded.

  We walked back to the lab and all was quiet. I sized up the microscope that looked more like a really fancy pc tower. It wasn’t that hard to get a decent hand hold of but it was really heavy, 60kg is a lot. I got half way across the lab before having to rest it on the side of a table. I don’t know what image you’ve conjured of me but I’m 5’ 10’’ and I’m a small to medium build for my height. Although I used to run, I never did any serious weight training beyond the odd push up and the hand holds on the thing were ok but not good enough to secure 60kg over a distance. In the next try I made it to a table close to the door and looked at Eve, ’If you want this down the stairs in one piece it’s going to take both us of us, sorry.’

  Eve rolled her eye’s comically and although I knew it was a joke the man part of me was still hurt. We tipped it on its side and walked down the hall with it. With two of us it really wasn’t too bad at all. The stairs took time. It wasn’t big so we were bunched together trying to get down them. Eventually we made it to the car and Andrea opened the back. One more heave and we were there, all scienced up. I ran back and got the monitor, enthusiastically accompanied by Mutt.

  Chapter Nineteen – Peeping Tom

  Eve drove but within a minute of setting off Esme said, ‘We need clothes. I assume from what you guys have said you don’t have many clean clothes yourself and using water to clean them isn’t a priority.’

  Eve looked at me and smiled, ‘Good thinking, I’m dying for a clean pair of decent undies. Any idea’s where the nearest place that isn’t a huge shopping centre is? We’ve done the shopping centre thing and it really wasn’t fun. Although we’ll inevitably have to do it again, I’d want to be much better prepared, and in Lulu.’

  Andrea spoke up, ‘I know it’s a few miles out of the way but we need as many clothes as we can get and we don’t want a shopping centre, so I don’t see many choices. There is one of those cheap, fabric, clothes, toys, and DIY village shops at the start of Lowly village high street. It’s not got much range but has more clothes than anywhere else I can think out outside town or one of the big shopping centres. I know a few boutique places but I’m not sure that’s what we’re looking for.’

  Eve turned off the main road and there were a few miles of country roads between us and Lowly Village. It was slow going as the roads were often narrow with high verges and there were cars stopped all over the place, many of which we had to shove to get past. As the country roads were quiet, several of the vehicles had Zeds in and now they could open doors they did so. They were trapped on the narrow road so squishing them was easy and having keys made it easier to move some of the cars.

  Just outside the village we hit what we thought would be a major problem but turned out to be a jackpot. There was a big dump truck built like a tank stopped in the middle of the road. It had four axels with double wheels on the back two and was way too heavy for us to push and too wide to get passed. When we saw a Zed get out Eve and I looked at each other and Eve said, ‘Fuck yea.’

  We both got out but as usual Mutt got to the Zed first. I had seen them try and hold or grab him before, they had been doing that from the start, but this time was different. It tried to punch him and pull his head from its throat, there was more purpose to it somehow. It didn’t work but Eve and I looked at each other and neither of us were smiling. Eve searched the Zed but there were no keys. I jumped up into the cab and saw the keys were in the ignition. Only one more hurdle and we were there. I turned the key half way and the dash lit up and the fuel gauge said three quarters full. Eve was standing on the steps up to the cab and looked at me, ‘Go on…’

  I turned the key and the cab shook as the engine rumbled loudly into life. Eve said, ‘Can you drive one?’

  I said, ‘No, but let me guess, you can?’

  Eve rolled her eyes, ‘Jealous much. I…..might be able to. I haven’t driven a proper HGV but I did have to read all about how to once and my ex tested me on it for weeks afterwards, smug bastard. He wouldn’t let me go on a course as it was all male instructors and he couldn’t bare it. It wasn’t a good few weeks with the testing so I ended up remembering it all. You go back to the car and follow me. Give me some room and be patient, theory and practice are very different things.’

  I kissed her and went back to the car. Andrea had moved to the front passenger seat, she said, ‘A new edition to the garage I suppose, should be useful.’ Without taking breath, changing expression, or even looking at me she added, ‘You seem nice and obviously I owe you my life, but hurt Sheryl, I mean Eve, and it won’t be the Aliens you’ll have to worry about.’

  I was a little taken aback but I knew she cared about Eve and that Eve cared about her. I gathered some bravery and looked over at her until she looked back, ‘Don’t worry, there are no circumstances under which Eve will be hurt and I’m not, either physically or emotionally. We have an understanding. We’re together in this and that’s that. I know you might think that I’m just some youngster playing around and before all this, and Eve, perhaps I was. It’s different now though. She might end up hurting me but, well… you don’t have to worry.’

  Andrea looked back at me and held my eye’s, ‘I can see what she sees in you and I’m glad. She always deserved better and now she has it. I’ll do everything I can to help you both.’

  After some crunching and grinding Eve found a gear and the truck tried to move off. There was revving and the truck rocked forwards over its heavy suspension but then rocked backwards again as Eve eased off the revs. It appeared its brakes were seized. I was about to get out to discuss the situation when fresh smoke poured from the exhaust and Eve floored the accelerator before dropping the clutch. There was a really loud bang only partially drowned out by the volcanic noise of the engine being thrashed, but then the truck lurched forwards and Eve almost drove straight into a hedge before managing to steer. There was still a disturbing grinding noise like at least one brake was still partially bound on which, apart from being noisy, would wreck the fuel consumption.

  Eve crunched and ground her way towards Lowly but after a few miles seemed to get the hang of it. We were a few hundred feet outside Lowly and could see the buildings at the end of the high street when Eve stopped on the verge and turned off the engine. I pulled up alongside as she got out and got into the back seat, ‘The truck is way too noisy. Let’s go in the car, grab what we can, then come back to pick up the truck.’

  I nodded and picked up some speed as we approached the village before turning the engine off, allowing us to cruise the last hundred feet or so. The bit of everything, clothes and fabric shop was on the edge of the village and we rolled up right outside. The place was eerily quiet and there wasn’t a Zed in sight. Not questioning our luck we got out and looked inside the shop, leaving Andrea and Esme where they were.

  The shop also appeared to be empty and when I cautiously tried the door it was open. We walked in and an old fashioned doorbell range above us and we froze. A second later a Zed who must have been quite an elderly man limped towards us doing the whole routine; groaning with arms outstretched. Eve drew a pistol and shot him before I could even say anything. Without looking at me she walked towards the nearest isle that held racks of clothes and said, ‘Go get the others, let’s shop. If there were more I think the bell would have attracted them.’

  I got Andrea and Esme and Eve said, ‘Andrea, you stay close to me and Esme you stay with Brad. Brad, let’s not make a mess so use the Werlod if you need to.’

  Eve was acting strange and I felt uncomfortable and unsure as I recalled my recent words to Andrea, ‘She might hurt me’. I tried to bury the feelings before following Esme to another isle of clothes. Mutt followed us and I crouche
d down to look at him and patted him on the head, ‘Scout Mutt, go find Zeds.’ Mutt loped off towards the back of the shop I wondered if he was either very smart and searching the place for Zeds, or if he was actually a dumbass and just followed hand signals, which in this instance made him run off towards the back of the shop. In my head I went with smart.

  I scanned around as we moved but we seemed to be in the clear and to some degree the bell was useful in alerting us of any company that might come from outside. I joined Esme in searching the shelves for anything that might fit. The clothes were uninspiring but there were lots of them rammed onto thin rails and piled high on inadequately sized shelves. I found jeans, t-shirts, and hoodies that would probably fit and collected them over my arm. Esme seemed to be collecting an arm full too. Eve appeared similarly adorned and said, ‘Let’s dump everything on the counter by the door and collect it on the way out. Don’t split up, no one wanders off alone.’

  Esme also found jeans and tops that would fit her and we found a couple of shelves with pants and socks. Then she walked over to the next line of isles and found some bottles of water. She said, ‘I have to clean up a bit and get some proper clothes on, I can’t bare this anymore. Please turn around and keep watch.’

  Even before I could fully turn around she was undoing the long Zip on the front of her lab suit and I saw a flash of cleavage. Eve’s sexy alarm must have tingled or something because her head poked around the end of the isle a moment later and she had no compunction in standing there and watching Esme undress. After a second she started swishing her hand and pointing to indicate I should move over a bit so she could see better. I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me and a shiver as Esme poured some water over herself. Eve smiled, nodded her head sideways a couple of times, then raised her eyebrows to indicate I take a peek. I shook my head at which point Eve moved her hands in the shape of the curves of some hips and licked her lips. Knowing I would regret it if I didn’t, and that we could fantasise about it later, I turned for a quick peek.