by Lee Wade
Well one thing for sure was that there was no way we were staying around here. I guessed I’d set foot in Togston for the last time in my life. I also thought that with the almost destruction of the cresent, that even if my brother ever did show up there now, there was no indication as to where we’d gone, unless Derek and Linda had left a new note. Who knew, I definitely wasn’t going back there now, I’d leave something here at Coquet Island. Anyone coming through here would have little choice but to stay at the light house as there was nothing left in Amble now.
Chapter Forty Eight
We spent the evening discussing our options, eating pub snacks and drinking whisky.
We unanimously agreed to head back up river and contact the guys from the cresent. We’d be stronger together and have a better chance of finding the community at Rothbury and if that didn’t work out we’d still be in a better place to find somewhere of our own. I was surprised that Amy, John and Anthony were still coming with us, I expected them to head off back to Devon, but they’d agreed that we were stronger together and the experience at the cresent had made us closer than ever. True friends that you knew you could depend on in an apocalypse were pretty hard to find!
What about Billy I thought? Hauxley looked fine from the light room, so I’ve no doubt he’d be sitting in front of his fire watching DVDs and there was no way on earth we’d ever get him to leave his home, but it would have been nice to let him know we were fine and apologise for leaving his jars back at the club! Maybe one day we’d call in on him again.
Chapter Forty Nine
We had to wait until high tide before setting off the following morning. The river Coquet is quite shallow at low tide and we’d never get the Hope over the small weir. I had my doubts as to how far we’d actually be able to take it up river. It was designed for the sea and as such had a much larger hull than the Gamebird which was specifically designed for rivers. We’d be better off with the two boats, but if we had to leave the Hope behind at some point then so be it. It would be cosy, but I’m sure the ten of us would manage on the Gamebird.
Amble was still burning as we left that morning, the rotters could still be seen burning as they fell into the sea below them. It not only felt like the end of the world, it looked like it now too.
We piled as many people and all our supplies onto the Gamebird to try and keep the Hope as light as possible, in fact there was only David and Margret on it. As we passed the boat yard we stopped and untied the skiff that we’d used the previous day from its mooring and tied it to the back of the Gamebird. There may be times when we would need it to get to shore if the river was too low. Luckily for us it had continued to rain steadily for the past few days, so the river was quite high. Simon had travelled down to Coquet Island from Walkworth with Lorna and their family when they’d fled the church, but they had just used small boats, nothing like the Hope and Gamebird, so I prayed that we’d be okay and I didn’t fancy having to travel by land. There seemed to be a lot more rotters around since the missiles had been fired the previous day.
Chapter Fifty
We could soon see Walkworth with its ruined castle dominating the small village and landscape. Now that might be an idea I said to Amy. There are dozens of castles throughout Northumberland and if they’d managed to keep the Scots out, they’d keep a horde of rotters out no problem.
Maybe there were people living in the castle, after all from what I remembered about the place the keep was still intact. But we wanted to put some miles between ourselves and the coast and the one thing we all agreed on was that our boats were the safest way to go. But we needed to get inland and away from the coast and more importantly away from the Navy.
Living on land, not surrounded by water scared me a bit, I liked the idea that we didn’t need to worry too much about rotters, but experience had now taught us that rotters were the least of our worries and it was other people we had to primarily protect ourselves from.
We carried on upstream where we came to the small weir. As it was high tide we were able to get the Gamebird over it, but the Hope hit it hard, it hadn’t been visible under the water and with no maps to go off all we had was mine and Simon’s memories to go off.
The Hope was luckily not damaged too much, but couldn’t go any further, not wanting to risk taking the Gamebird back over the weir. David said he and Margaret would moor the Hope back up at the boat yard and then follow the small path that ran alongside the Coquet until they were back with us again. It was only a few hundred yards away and we hadn’t seen anything of concern to us along the way, so we all agreed, this way we would still have the Hope should we need it again.
It wasn’t long before David and Margaret were safely squashed aboard the Gamebird. We carried on up the river passing some old rowing boats that had been used by families before the outbreak; you used to pay a small fee to hire a boat for half an hour. Most of them were now submerged. We came to a wooded area and on our right were some steps carved out of the sand stone rock which led up to the old Hermitage.
The Hermitage is an old relic that can only be accessed by boat. From what I remember being told about it, it consists of an outer area built of stone and an inner area hewn from the rock above the river. The inner part comprises of a chapel and small chamber. Apparently it was occupied by a series of clergy back in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It was a place I’d never visited myself but learned a little about in school.
Chapter Fifty One
We travelled a little further upstream where we could see a high weir in front of us. Shit, that was the end of our journey up the Coquet, in the Gamebird anyway. If only we’d gone and seen Billy, he’d have had maps; he’d have known the river. I was sure I’d seen larger boats up by Alwinton and Rothbury; maybe you could only access certain points of the river.
We decided to try to radio the guys from the cresent. Sure enough, Phil answered. Where are you guys he asked. I explained our situation to him, which he found highly amusing. And you call yourself local he laughed.
They had fought their way through increasing numbers of rotters before breaking into the abandoned Walkworth House Hotel where they’d spent the night and where they were still holed up. Christ we could be with you in five minutes I said, or us to you he replied.
A few of us will come over to you and decide what we are going to do I said. There’s a place to moor up by the Hermitage, the rest of our guys will be safe there for now.
We moored the Gamebird next to the steps. David and Tony went up and checked over the place. Its all clear they shouted back down after a few minutes. You guys need to come and have a look around; it’s pretty cool up here.
It wasn’t a bad little place to stay a while for a small group like ours I thought. We had the amenities on the Gamebird and space in the chapels that we could make use of. There was plenty of good fishing up by the weir or back in Amble. There was easy access to Walkworth and no access to us by foot or by large boats. Certainly it was not a long term place to set up, you would just be surviving and not building a future, but it was an idea for now and it wasn’t like we had a great deal of options at the moment.
Chapter Fifty Two
Amy, David and I headed off in the small skiff across river towards where we’d seen the rowing boats. From there we were able to moor the boat and make our way to shore.
Phil had warned us that they’d encountered quite a few rotters in various states of decomposition, of little threat to us individually, but they were moving together towards the fires that were burning on the coast.
Sure enough it wasn’t long until we came across them. It was like a slow moving horde heading down the main street towards the castle and beyond. Luckily I’d swapped my boat hook for a more useful weapon. Basically it was a long sharp pointy metal spike thing.
We were hiding in an alley way watching the hordes of rotters go by, the Hotel was unfortunately on the opposite side of the road to us, so we were going to have to get through the rotters som
ehow.
Maybe we can hold them back for a while somehow David suggested, there’s plenty of abandoned vehicles around here. A couple of cars blocking the road will at least slow them down to a trickle that we could handle a lot easier he said.
It didn’t take us long to find a couple of suitable vehicles near to the bridge which is just on the outskirts of the village. David smashed the window of a small van and climbed in behind the wheel. He released the hand brake and Amy and I got behind it and pushed. We’d obviously choose vehicles pointing downhill. As soon as we had it moving in the correct direction, David opened the door and jumped out to help us push, we soon let it go and it continued on under its own inertia. The van smashed its way through the rotters at the bottom of the slope before coming to a rest against the ancient bridge wall. It partially blocked off the road. Quick another, David shouted, so we repeated the process, this time smashing the vehicle into the first one.
Some of the rotters had turned and headed towards the noise, but most were still heading towards the fire and smoke at the coast. It wasn’t long before the rotters started to pile up against the two vehicles blocking their path. Our plan had worked, but wouldn’t hold forever, so we had to move quickly.
We radioed Phil, you guys ready for us I said, we’re coming through now!
The main doors to the hotel opened slightly to indicate to us that they were ready for us. We waited until there were just a few rotters left and then ran towards the door. CRUNCH, Amy took one out that came too close with her knife. CRUNCH, I got one straight into the brain through its eye, I loved my new weapon, it came straight back out, no fuss. We bundled our way through the open door and some of their guys blocked and locked it straight behind us.
Chapter Fifty Three
The hotel was in pretty good shape, there’d been the odd leak in the roof, but nothing you wouldn’t have expected from an old building that had been left unmaintained for a few years. I did wonder how come it was in such great shape. Phil said that it was fairly well stocked with goods and the fridges and stuff had been cleared out, so people had been using it at some point since the outbreak.
I radioed Simon back at the Hermitage. Hey, Simon, where did you guys stay before you were all over run by rotters I asked him?
They had just stayed in the church with other survivors; Walkworth had been the same as it was now, a main gateway for rotters, drawn through Walkworth and towards the coast for some reason. I wondered what it was with the coast and rotters; I had just assumed it had been the fire, smoke and noise that had been attracting them to Amble and the coast. I had also assumed that this was the main reason why there was so many on the move now.
I guess that’s why the place was in good order, it was too big a risk for most people to get to and even if you did manage to take the place, they would just keep coming as Lorna and Simon had found out back in the church.
Chapter Fifty Four
We met with the rest of their group in the main bar. Derek and Linda were there and were eager to find out how Emily was doing. She’s fine I told them, we’ll all be together soon, I just wanted to make sure we could get here safe before we bring everyone over.
Phil shouted everyone to order and then stared to speak. I know we all had a horrifying day yesterday, we lost our homes, but we’ve gained our freedom again. Everyone cheered. Adele and the sisterhood are all but gone; we took out their leaders so hopefully the rest of them have returned to their families from which they were no doubt taken from too. We could go back to Togston and rebuild after hearing what David and the guys have had to say today. It doesn’t look like the Navy are coming ashore, but they are still attacking targets along the coastline and we would still be in range should they decide to fire on Togston again.
Amy chipped in, it was definitely the Navy, the guys saw them from Coquet Island, they’ve moved off up North now, but they could return.
Suddenly something dawned on me so I spoke up. I don’t think it was the sisterhood or us that the Navy were attacking. They’ve worked it out too, the rotters, they’re attracted to the coast, they know that and they’re systematically clearing them out. We need to keep away from the coast, head inland, away from the Navy and away from the rotters.
Wait, Amy said, why move on, we keep saying its people and not rotters that are the danger. But other people can’t handle these rotters like us; surely we can use this to our advantage. We say we like the safety of the sea, of an island, why though? To protect us from rotters, not people. Why can’t we stay here, surround ourselves with a constant flow of rotters, we’re probably out of range of the Navy ships here or they’d have blown this place up too. Why can’t we do as you guys did at the cresent, block off each end of the main street. I know there’s the odd side street and archway, but we can easily block them off too. Then we divert the horde permanently, away and around us. There will be no way in for them and for anyone looking in from the outside; there would be no way in for them either. Everyone that’s already been this way clearly knows to avoid the place.
Clever girl I thought, create our own island, but not surrounded by water, surrounded by rotters. It would have sounded crazy a year ago, but now it made sense.
There was an uneasy silence in the bar, then people began talking, chatting amongst themselves, discussing what had been said. I liked the idea, and after all, there was still the Heritage, with its only access by boat. I was claiming that along with the others from our group, we could have the best of both worlds then. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.
But what about the community at Rothbury someone shouted out. I thought we were heading there?
Nothing has been decided Phil said, that’s what we are here to discuss. However, I think Amy and I knew what was best for our group.
I spoke up again. Rothbury covers a large area, if we ever find this group, will they welcome us? When was the last time anyone had contact with them? If they don’t want to be found, the same as ourselves, then they’re going to be hard to find. They’ll be wary of outsiders as we are and what’s to say they don’t attack us before we even get close to them. There are thirty or so of us now, but only a few of us are armed with anything more than a knife. The police spent a week with Ray, bloody, Mears trying to find Raul Moat out there and couldn’t bloody find him, what chance have we got?
Okay, said Phil, say we decide to go with your plan, what’s involved?
Chapter Fifty Five
We spent the rest of the morning discussing Amy’s plan, there were tourist guides in the hotel lobby which contained maps of the castle and surrounding area, so we had a good idea of the lay of the land.
Finally after much debate it was decided that we would give it a go. Everyone would stay to help secure part of Walkworth and divert the horde of rotters, and then once done a small group of volunteers would head out on a scouting mission to see if they could find the community at Rothbury. This way we would be able to keep both options open.
Amy and I made it pretty clear that we were staying at the Hermitage with our families for now, which none had an issue with. They probably thought we were crazy not to stay at the hotel and apparently the place was haunted anyway. Like we believed in ghosts, but then we had zombies now, so who knew?
BANG, BANG, we heard shots coming from outside, then the radio came to life, it was Maddison. We’ve got rotters in the water here, dozens of them floating by, we don’t know where they’ve suddenly come from but some are getting snagged on the Gamebird, so we have to take them out.
Shit, we looked out of one of the windows and towards the bridge. We’d caused a massive build-up of rotters behind the vehicles, so much so that the horde of rotters was now pouring into the water below the bridge instead of breaking through the blockade.
Leave it with us, I radioed back, they’re coming over the bridge, we’ll try and release them from this end, just let them float by if you can, save your ammo and use the barge poles if you need to shove them along a
bit.
Chapter Fifty Six
From the maps we worked out that the road we had crossed at the back of the buildings on the far side of the river was called the Butts, we could have accessed the hotel much easier from the back if we hadn’t rowed so far around the river. All we needed to do was block off the top end of the main road just in front of the junction with the Butts, then release the horde at the bridge, this way they would be diverted down the Butts and away from the main street. The Butts re-joined the main road out of Walkworth via Wellfield road.
Everyone that could help headed out into the main street. The blockade was working too well, nothing at all was coming through, and hence the reason for all the rotters in the river, they were falling off either side of the bridge now.
It didn’t take us long to build a new blockade closer in near the junction, we made sure this one was extra secure, then David and Phil worked on getting a vehicle running with the help of a push start. The plan was for them to head down the main road, up the Butts and to the first blockade. Then they would tie a rope to one of the vehicles and drag it out of the way. They would then cut the rope and make as much noise as possible so that the horde followed them.
We blocked off the couple of alleyways and arches that led into the main street too, leaving just enough room for the van David and Phil were using. When they came back, we’d use the van to plug the gap and we would have a readymade way in and out should we need it.
Chapter Fifty Seven
David, Phil and Amy set off in the van, I stayed back with the rest of the guys to guard the blockades and make sure they held.
Everything seemed to be going to plan; the three guys pulled up next to the first blockade and tied the tow rope to the first vehicle. David had left the hand brake on, so it was going to take some moving and there was no way anyone was going to climb in and release it.
