Zed Days [Book 1]

by Nick Harland

  We both carried on backing up but we were too slow and only Mary made any ground on the group. I shouted through the walkie-talkie, ‘Now forwards.’

  Eve ground the truck into first and accelerated, as much as you can in a truck, to give them space. I saw Mary drive into the group and the plough did its job well, flinging several Zeds aside. Because she didn’t have much speed though, she got bogged down as some bodies went under the wheels. Bill put her into reverse and managed to rumble backwards again. I was relieved to see they weren’t stuck. I said to Eve, ‘keep going, give them some space.’

  There wasn’t much room behind Mary but Bill made the most of it and we widened the gap. I saw the knee-cappers go down on Mary and heard Bill rev the engine. I watched and saw tyre smoke as Bill took advantage of the 500 horse power and hurtled towards the group. The acceleration of the thing was impressive and even though they didn’t have much space until they hit the group they must have been going at least thirty when they did.

  Bill’s plan worked. At greater speed the Zeds went flying to the sides rather than go under the wheels. The knee-cappers did their job well and the remaining part of the horde was decimated. I put my hand on Eve’s arm and said, ‘Mop up time.’

  We got out of the truck but there were only two standing and a few more struggling to their feet. Esme appeared out of the sunroof again and shot the ones trying to get up. Eve and I went hand to hand with the two that came for us as soon as we got out of the truck. I sensed something different about how Eve moved towards her Zed, she looked angry. As I slipped around mine I saw her stab forwards with Seven rather than swing down. Although the Zed put its hands up the force she put behind the strike went straight through its block and caved in its face.

  After one more shot there was silence and we all froze in place, waiting. It was a couple of seconds before I realised I was holding my breath. Eve snapped out of wherever zone she’d gone into and I followed her as she walked over to Mary. Bill wound down the windows and Eve said, ‘Nice work. It looks like speed is the key to ploughing Zombies.’

  I restrained a laugh but Eve heard me snort and turned and said innocently, ‘What’s so funny?’

  I smiled and said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s just me, it’s a 22 year old gamer thing.’

  Eve put her hands on her hips, pulled her shoulders back and said, ‘No no, you laughed, why don’t you tell the class what’s so funny.’

  I smirked at the teacher impression and replied, ‘Yes miss, sorry miss. In some computer games they use the word ploughing instead of the work fucking miss. You said ‘Speed is the key to ploughing Zombies’ miss. It was funny.’

  Esme lost it and started to laugh and I was close behind her. Eve managed to stay in character and said, ‘Well really, what an unruly class, you’re all asking for a good spanking.’

  After we composed ourselves we drove back to the pet shop and went inside. It was at least as bad as I had thought it would be and Eve said to Esme, ‘You don’t have to.’

  Esme replied, ‘It’s ok, I’ll be ok.’

  There were bent and mangled animal cages scattered across the floor. There was dried blood and bits of fur stuck to the wire walls. The Zeds knew there was food inside but didn’t know how to get to it. I Imagined most of the animals died before they actually got eaten, but I wasn’t sure if that was any better. We quickly and quietly hauled the heavy bags of dog food and crates of canned food out to the truck. I also filled a couple of baskets with bones and treats. It was nice to know Mutt would be sorted for ages.

  As we finished Bill put his hand over his stomach and we all heard it grumble. I said, ‘My thoughts exactly. Lunch is long overdue and I’m knackered.’

  Bill said, ‘Andrea’s wound isn’t seeping much anymore but the sooner we get her back the better. I know we planned to do the car accessories store as well, but I think we can do without it. The only thing we really need are decent walkie-talkies.’

  The electronics shop was two doors further down and I had been there before. It was small and open plan with wide isles. I suspected when we got in there we would want to pick up more than just walkie-talkies. I remembered they stocked a spy drone that was over a grand; I fancied it even if we never found much use for it. I said, ‘Ok, there can’t be many in the shop, they’ve never been busy when I’ve been in before. I know everyone will be at least as tired and hungry as I am but I vote to get it done then get the hell out of here.’

  Changing my mind I added, ‘In fact, I’m so confident it will be a five minute job I’m going to do it right now.’

  I walked up the road towards the shop and soon found Eve by my side, ‘Are you sure?’

  I replied, ‘Yes, its geek town in there, there will be one or two at most.’

  As we approached the store we could see there were indeed only two Zeds in it, but it became immediately apparent that one was a Beefcake. It charged at us and I held out my hand in front of Eve and said, ‘Mine.’

  I pulled out my M9 but watched in amazement as the Beefcake didn’t bother with the door and headed straight for us despite the presence of the large plate glass window between us. It tripped over some boxes of disco lights stacked on the floor by the window and put its head straight through the glass. As the plate glass fell, a large piece virtually decapitated it. Despite the gore and a flashback to an old Omen movie I couldn’t help but giggle, ‘I guess the Beefcakes might be a step or two behind in the development stakes. That was truly fucked up.’

  Eve giggled next to me and said, ‘I guess so’, before shooting the remaining Zed in face.

  I called back to the car, ‘It’s all clear, if anyone wants some really expensive toys it’s now or never.’

  I knew where the drone was and grabbed it quickly hugging it to my chest. Eve walked passed me and said, ‘Lout’, as she went to investigate the rest of the shop.

  Bill found three sets of long range walkie-talkies and also grabbed a serious looking remote control 4x4 vehicle. Eve grabbed a small video camera and tripod and winked at me as she walked back to the car. Esme found a couple of night vision sights and a remote control helicopter saying, ‘I always wanted one of these.’

  I would have thought Bill might have grabbed much more but electronics didn’t seem to figure in his geekiness. He also looked really tired and I reminded myself to remember that he was older, fatter, and probably much less fit than me, and that I shouldn’t judge his capabilities as the same as my own.

  None of us needed convincing to skip the car shop and there were relived smiles all round as we mounted up to head home. Eve and I shared a very nice box of chocolate biscuits and a big bottle of pure orange juice as we drove back and we were all grateful the trip was uneventful. After locking the gates behind us we helped Andrea out of Mary and laid her on the couch. Eve and I changed the dressings and bandage, both of which were soaked with blood. Although it started to bleed again when we changed the dressing, it took longer for it to come through the bandages this time and Andrea seemed to be managing the pain better. We batted away all her attempts to apologise and eventually she stopped trying.

  We had tea and lunch before unloading everything and I had to climb into the back of the truck again. There had been a breakage or two which made it messy but we had done well under the circumstances. It was getting late by the time we unloaded everything and I could see a trip to the warehouse to find some wardrobes in our future.

  We reconvened in the communal area and collapsed into our chosen chairs. I felt some obligation of leadership and spoke first, ‘Well that was a hard but really good day. We need to organise it all and ration ourselves but we should be set for weeks. Just to be clear, I certainly have no plans to go anywhere for at least a couple of days.’

  Eve put her hand on my thigh to soften the blow of her imminent piss taking, ‘I think we all appreciate those encouraging words from our illustrious leader, but annoyingly he’s right. It was a hard, but good day. I know we had promised ourselves a cheese and
wine party, but personally I’m bloody knackered and would rather have it tomorrow night when we can all enjoy it more. We have nice clothes to wear but it would be a shame to put them on sweaty, gooey, bodies.’

  Esme interrupted Eve before she could say anything else and everyone turned their heads at her uncharacteristic use of language, ‘Thank fuck for that, I’m bloody knackered.’

  Bill laughed, ‘I second the motion, party yes, tonight no.’

  We helped Andrea to her van and got her comfortable. Esme said she would sleep on one of the bunks in her van in case she needed anything. Andrea looked at us all as we were going to leave and said, ‘Aren’t you all forgetting something?’

  We all looked back at her blankly so she put her arms up in front of her, hands hanging loosely from her wrists and groaned, ‘We don’t know if I could turn overnight, if the bite has put them inside me.’

  I looked at Eve who said, ‘From what we’ve all seen and the stories we’ve all told about what happened when it started, the turning was pretty quick. If you were going to Zombify you would have done so already. Also, not to hurt your feeling or anything, but you’d make a crap Zombie.’ Then she paused and holding her chin between her finger and thumb she added, ‘Or maybe you’d be their queen. Your mothering and organisational skills could be just what they need to destroy earths last vestiges of resistance.’

  Andrea smiled, ‘Ok, sod off the lot of you, except Esme, at least she seems to have some respect for her elders.’

  Esme closed the van door behind us and we trudged gratefully to our own. When we were in bed Eve said, ‘You didn’t mind what I said earlier, you know, when I took the piss.’

  I smiled back, ‘No, you were right. I didn’t need to say anything and it felt false. I feel a weird pressure to be the one in charge. It’s like I’m the one who found and rescued everyone, with your help after I’d recued you, and everyone seems to look to me as a result.’

  Eve nuzzled closer and I squeezed her in reply, ‘I can see that. I know I’m old, though not as old as Andrea or Bill, but I still look to you for direction when we’re out there. I know we work as a team and we all have idea’s to add, but I still feel better knowing you’re there and I think the others do too. I guess if we have a leader it’s you, but you don’t need to try and fulfil some imagined role and congratulate the troops when they come home. You just need to keep being yourself. Keep seeing the big picture, having good idea’s, and impressing Esme until she feels obliged to jump into bed with us.’

  I laughed, ‘You and your one track mind, if there is a driving force here, it’s your libido.’

  Chapter Twenty Four – Party

  The next day was the most chilled we’d had since the beginning. We were busy organising our supplies but the fact we had so many, and enough to have a party, put smiles on everyone’s faces. Andrea stayed on the couch and gave instructions and it was quickly clear she would be in charge of supplies and rationing. Bill cleaned out the gutters with some caravan cleaning chemicals and washed them out using old shower water. Then he placed the four water barrels under some down pipes so that after any rain we would have an emergency supply for showering and cleaning and could save all the bottled water for drinking.

  Eve and Esme went to the warehouse to try and find wardrobes and any more plastic greenhouse things. They insisted I stay and help Bill set up for the party. When I begged to come Eve did her slightly lop sided open mouthed smile that reminded me of Scarlett Johansson and said, ‘You wouldn’t deny me some girl on girl time with Esme would you?’

  I squirmed uncomfortably and said, ‘You know I wouldn’t.’

  Esme smiled when she heard what Eve said but I had no idea how much of the nuance she picked up on. She couldn’t have fully understood our shared meaning or she wouldn’t have smiled like she did, but I didn’t think she could be that naïve either. Then I wondered if she might have understood it and was joining in the tease, though perhaps not knowing just how serious Eve was being. Either way I was stuck doing party prep while at the same time imagining what might be happening at the warehouse. I was so distracted Andrea eventually dismissed me saying, ‘I’m glad you’re more on the ball out there than you are in here or we’d all be dead, now go and have a nap or something.’

  A couple of hours later Eve radioed in and said, ‘Bring Mary, I’ll be buggered if I’m carrying this lot over by hand. We’ve found the furniture section as well as a couple more plastic greenhouses. We’ve got clothes rails and various flat-packs and there’s even a couple of small leather sofa’s. We only found one wandering Zed when we did a perimeter search so the path should be clear.’

  I answered, ‘Roger-wilko, message received and understood, over and out’, to which there was a brief giggle before the line went silent.

  I fired up Mary and drove over to the warehouse. It took four trips as each couch filled the back. We attracted one more wandering Zed and Esme demonstrated a slightly different move to avoid its initial, but very predictable, grab and bite attack.

  By the time we had unloaded the new gear and swapped around the couches it was party time. Andrea and Bill had done and awesome job making the most of the food and Bill, under Andrea’s instruction, had even made a couple of loaves of bread. It was probably as good for using as a blunt weapon as it was to eat, but cut into fingers and dipped into some baked Camembert it wasn’t too bad. It was nice to think they would get better at it and that we could have toast again. I had accepted the loss of tea with fresh milk and was glad I didn’t have to go through the process with toast.

  It was strangely normal to see everyone dressed up as if they were attending a party under normal, non-apocalyptic, circumstances. I didn’t feel at all normal though. I had worn a suit to my parents’ funerals but it was cheap and ill-fitting and I never wore it again. Eve insisted I wore the suit she picked from the department store and although I had to admit it was nice, and I looked good in it, it felt weird. Eve wore a classic black cocktail dress that hugged every curve and was as high up her legs as it could be while remaining tasteful. Her legs were staggering, flawlessly enveloped in some sheer black stockings that felt unbelievably smooth, almost frictionless. The top of the dress wasn’t cut particularly low at the front but still revealed a couple of inches of lovely cleavage that wobbled slightly when she moved. She was as beautiful as she had been on the first day.

  Esme wore a similar cocktail number but it was an emerald green and sparkly. It wasn’t as short as Eve’s, but had a low cut back that that ended in a ‘V’ close enough to the top of her firm bottom to be tantalising and really sexy. She looked a little uncomfortable in it and I knew Eve had made her wear it, but it didn’t take her long to loosen up and forget how good she looked. Bill and Andrea were more conservative but Bill pulled off the linen sports jacket he wore well. I even saw Andrea glance at him once or twice even though she must have been over ten years older than him.

  We started the party with Champaign but quickly moved onto to wine. I wasn’t exactly a wine connoisseur but as I usually drank sub £5 bottles I could tell this was the good stuff. There was a whole table of other drinks including some beer, but I stayed with the theme. I knew from bitter experience what a grape and grain hangover was like. I made sure I stayed tipsy rather than getting blind drunk and making an inevitable arse of myself. I also didn’t want to ruin my chances, or indeed performance, with Eve later. I knew her time alone with Esme could only have left her wanting, and I was only too happy to give.

  Bill over did it and retired early and Andrea underestimated the effect of the two large glasses of wine when mixed with the painkillers she had taken. They were both out for the count by around ten. I noticed Eve was also moderating her intake but that Esme let go a little. I watched as they sat on one of the new couches and Eve regaled Esme with overblown stories of our first meeting and our first serious Zed encounters.

  She didn’t hide our more personal exploits and delighted in making me blush and Esme giggl
e and cover her mouth when she describe them. I knew it was part of a seduction and tried to resist the occasional pang of jealously. On one occasion she even got as far as resting her hand on Esme’s inner thigh for a few minutes before she got up to get more wine. Her technique was subtle yet obvious all at the same time.

  At just after midnight, earlier than I expected, Eve said, ‘Well it’s been a lovely evening but I know if I drink any more I’ll regret it, and I’m already regretting the amount of cheese I’ve eaten.’ Running her hands down her waist and slowly over her bum as she got up she added, ‘These curves are just where I want them. Although we’ve been busy, without the proper workouts they’re already heading south and that’s not acceptable.’

  Grabbing me by the hand and pulling me from the other couch she added, ‘We’re off to bed but you know where we are if you want us.’

  Then she pulled me behind her towards our van and whispered, ‘Well you can’t say I didn’t try.’

  Catching up to walk beside her I said, ‘And it was a pleasure to watch the master at work, but not everyone is able to give themselves the freedom you do, and most people never even try.’

  Turning to me as we stepped inside the van she said, ‘Perhaps it’s the wine but I’ not sure how to take that, even though I know you meant it as a compliment.’

  I smirked and replied, ‘Don’t worry, it was definitely a compliment. I guess what I meant is that life restrains and restricts us. We often end up stuck in what my mother used to call a fur-lined rut, but we don’t have to end up like that. I think it’s very rare that people live the life they want, or even know what that life is. You’re smart enough to know what you want and confident enough to go after it without doubt or hesitation. It’s one of the things I absolutely love about you.’