The Undead Day Sixteen Part Two

by RR Haywood

  ‘What do you suggest?’ I ask him.

  ‘Throw the grenades in the fort.’

  ‘Dave, are you being serious?’

  ‘Yes, Mr Howie. A distraction has to be both visual and…’

  ‘Audible, yeah got it. Lilly, don’t throw the grenades in the fort.’

  ‘But Dave is right, Mr Howie,’ she says with a purposeful look at me, ‘if I heard a big bang outside the walls I would just hide. I wouldn’t try and see it.’

  ‘Back gate,’ Cookey offers, ‘if we get that open we stand a better chance of getting out.’

  ‘The risk of injury is too great,’ I say while thinking.

  ‘What’s the er…’ Lilly stops to think for a second, ‘I mean, when the grenade goes off…how far can it cause damage?’

  ‘The blast radius?’ I ask and we all look at Dave.

  ‘I was in the army too,’ Clarence points out.

  ‘How far is it then?’ I ask him.

  ‘I don’t know,’ he shrugs, ‘Dave?’

  ‘Five metres to cause fatality, fifteen metres to cause casualties but if the fragments are unhindered they will go much further.’

  ‘What would happen if I threw one into the ammunition store?’ Lilly asks to a stunned silence.

  ‘Yeah don’t do that,’ Clarence says softly.

  ‘Good distraction,’ Dave nods.

  ‘And everyone is dead and we can just stroll out,’ Clarence beams, ‘do not throw the grenade in the ammunition room.’

  ‘If I can get on top of the walls I can drop them up there,’ she says thoughtfully, ‘there’s dips and little areas of concrete…would that be okay?’

  ‘Very good,’ Dave says, ‘get near the front, drop them into the vehicles as Simon suggested and wherever they will be both seen and heard as a distraction works when it is both…’

  ‘Visual and audible, got it,’ Lilly beams at Dave which makes us all hold our breath for a second as I’m normally the only person that would dare to cut Dave off mid-sentence. Her smile seems to win him over and he nods almost happily, which for Dave means he doesn't try and kill her.

  ‘When do I do it?’ She asks with enthusiasm, ‘do we synchronise watches?’

  ‘Er, I wouldn’t know how to,’ I admit, ‘actually, how do they do that on the movies? They do it in like two seconds. Why don’t they all have to take them off and press the buttons to select the time change and…’

  ‘Countdown timer,’ Clarence says, ‘but I’ve never actually done it. Have you?’ He asks Dave.

  ‘Never,’ Dave says.

  ‘It gets dark about ten,’ I say, ‘we’ll need to leave it a few hours…let the crews get relaxed…we can make some noise in here so they think we’re pissing about…’

  ‘Lilly,’ Maddox calls from just outside the door, ‘everything okay?’

  ‘Coming,’ she calls back quickly.

  ‘Everyone sod off,’ I whisper urgently, ‘leave Nick and Lilly in here.’

  We all depart the room as I whisper, ‘aim for two in the morning and tell Lani to get out.’

  We get into the side rooms and I peer through the crack in the door as Lilly suddenly flings herself into Nick’s arms.

  ‘Oh,’ Maddox’s voice is closer, he must be at the door.

  She plants her lips to his and he freezes for a second before visibly softening into the kiss and I can’t help the warm smile on my face as I look away.

  ‘I’d better go,’ she says to Nick, ‘say thanks to the others for giving us some space.’

  ‘Will do,’ he beams and rocks back on his feet.

  ‘Nick, you alright,’ Maddox says.

  ‘Eh?’ Nick turns slowly to the door, ‘er…eh?’

  The door closes and we give it a few seconds before heading back into the main room and I watch as Paula rushes to Nick with a bed blanket which she quickly wraps round his waist, ‘go and sit down for a minute,’ she urges gently.

  ‘Eh?’ He asks again.

  ‘Nick, go and sit down in a quiet room for a minute,’ she leads him by the elbow towards one of the rooms as Cookey and Blowers start pissing themselves with laughter.

  ‘Why?’ Nick asks slowly.

  ‘Cos you got a stiffy in your underpants, mate,’ Cookey lets rip with an evil cackle.

  ‘Leave him alone,’ Paula says with a stare of daggers at the two lads.

  ‘She kissed me,’ Nick says dreamily.

  ‘We saw,’ Paula replies softly.

  ‘I think everyone saw,’ Cookey laughs.

  Ten

  She looks round the table in the old police offices and takes in the faces of Maddox, Lenski, Darius and three of the four doctors, noticing that once again Doctor Carlton has chosen not to take part in the group discussion.

  ‘How were they?’ Andrew asks leaning forward in his seat and the worry lines on his face appear that little bit deeper.

  ‘Completely normal,’ Lilly replies, ‘the lads were messing about. Dave was as quiet as normal…Mr Howie and the rest,’ she shrugs, ‘just like before.’

  ‘Did they say anything?’ Andrew leans forward again.

  ‘They said lots of things,’ Lilly smiles with a snap decision to dumb down her intelligence, ‘they wanted to know if I’d seen Lani, if she was okay…if everyone else was okay…if the fort was okay, if Lenski was okay,’ a gentle tilt of the head side to side as she reels the list off, ‘Mo Mo and Jagger…if they were okay…like I said, they were the same as before. Except they were all in underpants.’

  ‘Lilly,’ Maddox watches her with just the faintest hint of amusement behind his eyes, ‘they asked you to pass a message to Lani.’

  ‘Is that a question or a fact?’ She asks flatly, completely forgetting to dumb the intelligence down.

  ‘Did they ask you to pass a message to Lani?’

  ‘They did,’ she says fighting an urge to stare at him knowing that would appear confrontational.

  ‘What was it?’ He asks softly as the atmosphere in the room charges.

  ‘They want me to tell her not to worry, that they are all okay and everything will be alright and to do as you say.’

  She senses the shift and knows she delivered the line with perfect execution. Everyone was ready to hear a plot or a plan to escape or fight back, but the words strike a chord and she notices a fleeting look of guilt on Andrew Stone’s face as he sinks back into his chair.

  ‘Is that it?’ Maddox asks.

  ‘Am I a spy?’ She asks, ‘is this why you told me to go in there? Am I an agent working for you? I watched my father get beaten to death and my friend raped while she got beaten to death and I watched my brother get kidnapped. Nick saved my life and risked himself to find my brother. Howie and the rest then risked their own lives getting Nick and my brother and all of the children out there…’

  ‘You are not a spy,’ Maddox says.

  She pushes on, mindful of the looks being cast between the doctors and the uncomfortable shift in position from Lenski, ‘are you a tyrant?’

  ‘What is this word?’ Lenski asks.

  ‘A tyrant is someone who rules from fear and force,’ Lilly looks round the room, ‘and you’re scaring me with this interrogation.’

  ‘You are not being interrogated,’ Maddox says simply, ‘but we need to know what they are planning or doing. We have the welfare of…’

  ‘I am being interrogated,’ Lilly looks round and holds Lisa Franklins gaze for a long second, ‘I was told to come in here. I was told to deliver the cleaning supplies and coffee to them. What choice do I have? I rely on this fort for the safety of my brother. I have to do as you bid.’

  ‘It’s really not like that,’ Maddox says.

  ‘Can I go then? Leave the fort?’

  ‘Pardon?’ Andrew asks.

  ‘This is no longer a safe place for my brother. You have teenagers armed with machine guns and a girl tied up in a hospital bed after being tazered. This is the first step towards a tyrannical rule and I do not want to stay here.
If those children out there start firing then anyone could get caught with a stray bullet. I want to leave.’

  ‘Lilly,’ Maddox sighs with the first show of stress, ‘you are perfectly safe and everything is under control.’

  ‘Control is exactly what it is,’ she says, ‘control of the people who have given us this place to live…and those people kept saying it was a free place where people could come and go as they saw fit. I believe that you have tazered a person who opposed your view and then injected her with sedatives against her will. Not just you,’ she looks at Maddox, ‘but the ordinary and decent people in this room have chosen a course of conduct that by any standards would be abhorrent. I am a fifteen year old girl with the care of a young child and right now I would rather take my chances out there than risk being in here being controlled by this round table of despots.’

  A stunned silence by the eloquent words given by an earnest young lady. Her chair scrapes the ground as she stands up, ‘you’ve told the people that one of Mr Howie’s team might be infected.’

  Maddox looks up sharply, realising the error of judgement he made.

  ‘That is not true. You have purposefully left out important facts to gain support for your actions. Is that not the work of a tyrant? I’ll be leaving first thing in the morning and I will be telling the other survivors the truth of what is happening.’

  ‘Stop,’ Maddox gets to his feet in a fluid motion.

  ‘Maddox,’ Andrew says quickly, alarmed at the expression on the young man’s face.

  ‘Will you tazer me too?’ Lilly asks as she locks eyes across the table, ‘and then tell everyone I might be infected?’

  She steps into the open air and walks steadily across the fort without thought to her direction or purpose but just to walk and ease the trouble within her soul. A gentle hum of noise from the survivors easing down into quietness as the day draws to an end.

  Two crews remain watching the door of the old armoury. Weapons held ready, eyes alert and she notices the lack of banter between them. They look mean now, young and feral but now guided and armed and under the supervision of a crew chief who stands as easy and relaxed as Maddox would. The sight sends a chill running through and she looks to see the other crews are all nearby. Sitting and talking quietly with more weapons within reach.

  A sudden vision of the future dark and bleak as the power is held by those who take up the guns. The older survivors cling to the values they held dear of a society fallen and gone. They see the youths as the rightful authority now.

  They even look different, something has changed. She notices the clothing they wear is dark, like a uniform of sorts. Black tops, vests and t shirts. Like a paramilitary force. Something done amongst them as they seek to look the same and be a part of the gang.

  The words she spoke in the meeting spilled from her mouth as fast as they entered her head but the truth in them sinks low within her gut. This is the way of things now. Tyranny doesn't start with a maniac doing bad things. It starts with someone doing an action they believe in and having the ability to convince others of their vision.

  Maddox is charming. He has a presence that makes you want to listen to him, to watch the way he speaks and the so subtle inflections of his tone and manner. He is inspiring and very capable and all the more dangerous because of it.

  What he is doing now he is doing for the right reasons. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. He thinks clearly and maps his own actions and the reactions it will garner. A game of chess in his mind where all the pieces are laid out.

  That he feels the sense of wrongness is palpable. He is not an evil man, Lilly knows this. She senses the kindness within him and the desire to do right. But the life he comes from is not the same as hers. The values he holds dear are not the same and these youths worship the words that fall from his mouth the way the team worship Howie.

  A tight ball of fear knots in her stomach and suddenly she sees things very differently to just a few hours ago.

  The survivors clustering at the back in a self-imposed suppression of views, opinions and thoughts simply for the fear of being cast out or killed.

  The journey Lilly took to get here is scarred in her memory and the mere thought brings the emotions flooding back but what she endured has been endured by every man, woman and child here.

  That’s not our way.

  Those were the words Nick kept saying. Like a code of ethics born between them. A way of doing the right things for the right reasons. Not the wrong thing for the right reasons. Howie’s way is clear. The right thing at the right time. You do good because that is expected. You help those that cannot help themselves. You take the fight to the bad guys and never give in. You never leave a man or woman behind. You always fight for them. You do the right thing for the right reasons.

  You carve a path through the misery and abject terror and you bring a ray of sunshine and hope. You show others that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. They sacrificed everything to gain this place and never gave up and she knows with an instinct stronger than anything she has ever felt that every member of Mr Howie’s team would have run into death in that house to save Nick and the children.

  That’s our way.

  Choose a side. Pick a team. Gain that commitment and strive to be the best you can.

  That’s our way.

  She threads through the fort with a knowledge that the decision she has just made will end her life but it will free those that gave her that life back and those people will ensure everyone else remains free.

  ‘Billy,’ she spots her brother near the vehicle ramp.

  ‘Lilly!’ On his feet and he rushes forward to fling his arms around her neck.

  ‘What are you doing?’ She asks gently as the tears start to prick the back of her eyes.

  ‘We’re gonna have a story.’

  ‘Going to have a story, not gonna,’ she rebukes mildly.

  ‘Going to then,’ he smiles a toothy grin, ‘will you stay for the story?’

  ‘I’d love to,’ she pulls him back in for another cuddle, ‘but I’ve got work to do.’

  ‘Please,’ he says muffled with his head pressed tight against her shoulder.

  ‘You know I love you, Billy.’

  ‘Love you too,’ he stays pressed against her, feeling the maternal love given by his big sister.

  ‘I always will,’ she whispers into his ear, ‘I will always love you.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘Be good. Grow strong and be good, always be good.’

  ‘I will Lilly.’

  ‘I have to go now.’

  ‘Will you come back for the story?’

  ‘I’ll try,’ she bites the sob down, gritting her teeth and forcing a smile. She kisses his head tenderly and smooths his hair down, ‘I will try.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Everyone ready?’ A woman walks past holding a big picture book.

  ‘Enjoy your story,’ Lilly lets him go as his attention switches instantly to the gathering group of children.

  She stands with a heart fracturing into a thousand pieces as she watches the last surviving member of her family take his seat in the half circle of children and for a second she falters, hesitant, unwilling to move away. She could sit down and listen. Be here with the children and listen to the story then tuck Billy in and help with the others.

  She turns to see the dark figures of the youths across the open ground of the fort, the long barrels of the weapons they hold and the vision floods back as her top lip threatens to curl up with the coldness of the decision made.

  Lilly heads away from the children and scoops to pick up a clipboard left at the bottom of the ramp. She plucks the pen free from the metal clasp and while walking she taps the end against the hard edge of the board. Her face is set, determined and she feels calm now safe in the knowledge that Nick will always be there for her brother and that’s what Billy needs. He needs Nick and people like him. He needs Mr Howie to be here and watchin
g. Clarence and Paula. All of these people need them.

  ‘Lilly,’ the youth nods in greeting as she walks steadily up to the three sentries. She stops and rolls her eyes, blows air out through her cheeks as she makes a senseless note on the clipboard.

  ‘I’m so tired,’ she grins and shakes her head, ‘can’t wait to just sit down.’

  ‘Yeah right,’ the youth grins, a pale boy with bags under his eyes and wearing a black t shirt at least four size too big for him and it accentuates his thin frame which in turn makes the shotgun look that much bigger.

  ‘Right, one last duty and that’s me,’ she sighs again, ‘Maddox wants me to take a box of grenades down to the crew watching the armoury, but,’ she casts a quick look round and steps closer to the three kids, ‘I don’t actually know what a grenade is and I didn’t want to ask and look stupid…you won’t tell Maddox will you?’

  ‘Nah course not,’ the boy giggles, ‘they gonna use ‘em?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ Lilly states, ‘and I do not care…I want to take the box over, hand them over, smile sweetly then I am off duty and will sleep forever.’

  ‘Here’ya,’ a boy steps out holding a green wooden crate by two rope handles at the ends.’

  ‘Is that it?’ She asks hopefully.

  ‘Yeah,’ the lad nods.

  ‘What do they look like? Can I see one?’

  ‘They’re fuckin’ awesome,’ he puts the crate down and lifts the already unlocked lid to reveal rows of small round metal objects each with the metal hoop as described by Blowers.

  ‘Oh wow,’ she says, ‘I think I’ve seen them on that game…er…Call of Duty is it?’

  ‘COD? Yeah,’ the lads stare in wonder at the beautiful girl, ‘you play do ya?’

  ‘Me?’ Lilly laughs, ‘no but it looks good. Right, I’d better get this over to Maddox.’

  ‘It’s heavy,’ one of the lads says quickly, ‘want me to carry it?’

  ‘I’d love that,’ Lilly beams, ‘and thank you for being a gentleman but Maddox said you had to remain here.’

  ‘Ah yeah, course…’ the lad nods quickly with a blush spreading up his pale cheeks.