by Ricky Fleet
More of the crowd doubled over and Sarah stepped forward, “Kurt, enough,” she cautioned.
“No, not enough!” he replied forcefully. “These people need to toughen up and quickly. If the sight of a few dead zombies is enough to render them useless, what chance do you think we stand in a fight?”
“He’s right,” Denise spoke up, “This isn’t a situation that people can hide from. The only way to survive is to fight back with everything we have, we’ve already talked about this.”
“That was talking,” said Jasmine with a shudder. “I tried to move one with my foot and the arm fell off! How the hell do you expect us to be ok with this?”
“Because you don’t have any choice, none of us do. This is our life now,” Denise replied.
Kurt smiled, grateful for the support. “I hate to be a hard ass, but if you aren’t part of our group then you can’t expect to eat our food and sleep in the warmth of the castle.”
“You can’t starve us, you sound like a bloody dictator!” yelled one man from the crowd, emboldened by the growing dissatisfaction.
“Actually, I can.” Kurt met his venomous gaze. “I simply leave with my group, raid the supermarket for the food and find somewhere else to ride out the winter. In the meantime, you will all starve to death and I can simply retake this place in the spring.”
“You fucking monster!”
“Be careful what you wish for,” Kurt growled, face darkening, “I will do anything, and I mean anything, to keep my group safe. At the moment, I’m thinking a lot of you are dead weight, and what happens to dead weight? It gets cut loose.”
Gloria could see the increasing animosity and interjected, “I was a teacher due to retire when this awful mess begun. Kurt’s children saved my life when we were attacked in the school and they have been fighting for me ever since. You may think Kurt is being unreasonable, even heartless, but until you have crossed miles of that abominable land you can’t begin to understand what it’s like out there. We were attacked by a horde in Chichester one hundred thousand strong, can you even imagine that?”
The castle survivors looked down at the bodies strewn across the ground and tried to conjure the sheer horror of facing a hundred times that number.
Gloria could see she was having the desired effect and continued, “You couldn’t see the ground through the sea of bodies and the massed groans of the swarm still haunt my dreams. Each and every one had fared no better than these poor souls.” She pointed to the fallen dead, “They were rotten, and… incomplete too. But the difference was the ones chasing us were mobile, and utterly ravenous.”
“She’s right.” Clive joined Kurt’s group and faced them.
“Why don’t you just fuck off, you coward?” Louise shouted in disgust.
He ignored the jibe and continued, “I thought I’d be ready to fight after losing my wife and children to those things, but when they all turned and stared at me with their dead eyes, I panicked.”
“You’ve never mentioned them before,” Denise whispered.
Clive shrugged. “What good would it have done? We were visiting Arundel on the day it happened and I tried to get them inside the castle to safety.”
“What happened?” Kurt asked, sensing the mans need to finally share his grief.
“We’d made it through the gatehouse and were almost at the entrance courtyard. I’m sorry to say I didn’t stop to try and help anyone along the way, I just wanted to protect my family.”
Kurt could see the striking parallels between their two stories, except he had been fortunate enough to secure his loved ones.
“In the main courtyard where you show your tickets there were running battles and people being torn apart. We started to climb the wide stone staircase which leads up to the castle itself and I thought we might just make it. At the top, someone toppled and everyone fell in a tangled heap to the bottom. I was holding their hands, but they were ripped from my grip. When I finally got free and stood up, they had already been partly eaten. I don’t remember how I made it inside or why I even bothered.”
Louise’s scowl had softened at the revelation and some of her simmering anger abated. Kurt hugged him tightly and was quickly followed by the rest of his family who wanted to offer support. The onlookers shifted awkwardly at the abrupt change from threats of violence to outpourings of grief. In silence, the others walked away and pulled on their gloves. Kneeling at the freshest bodies, one person took the arms and the other took the legs and lifted. Jasmine swallowed hard and resigned herself to the task, picking up the severed arm with a grimace of disgust.
“Thank you,” Clive whispered, breaking the embrace, “I really am sorry for what I did.”
Kurt clapped him on the back, “Take that grief and use it, mate. Prove yourself to us and honour your family at the same time by helping to kill as many of those creatures as possible.”
“I will,” Clive declared with a fire in his eyes.
“Good man,” Kurt said and Clive walked away.
“Shall I get the vehicle and trailer so we can load up the furthest corpses?” Peter offered.
“That would make life a lot easier,” Kurt agreed, “We can get at least twenty bodies on the back of it at a time.”
“I’m on it,” Peter replied and ran off, keys jangling.
“Will these do?” asked the groundskeeper, offering three steel buckets.
“Fantastic, thank you,” Kurt replied.
The man nodded and hurried off to help the others.
“Is there anything else for them to do? I worry someone will get injured.” Gloria indicated after the family had moved off. She was pointing to the more elderly among the survivors who were wincing in pain with each lift. From a stronger generation, they toiled without complaint in the cold until Kurt called them over.
“What’s up, son?” asked the gunner who had fought with them.
“Leave the heavy lifting to us,” Kurt replied, “We can handle it if you wouldn’t mind doing me a favour?”
“Name it,” he answered.
“When we set those things on fire I want to ensure they burn completely. We’re going to need as much firewood from the storeroom as you can collect. We will layer it among the bodies before I douse them in oil.”
“Consider it done,” he confirmed and headed back inside.
“Where are they going?” Jasmine called out, narrowing her eyes.
“Where I’ve told them to go,” Kurt answered the challenge and stared at her until she looked away.
Over the next two hours, Sam kept watch from the walls and picked off any latecomers with a twang of thick rubber banding. The bodies had been stacked by the gate and it was quite a spectacle. Thinly spread over the grounds it hadn’t looked like that many, but now they were all piled in one place it showed the true scale of what Kurt and his family had achieved. Firewood was stacked high and the older members arrived with two more wheelbarrows overflowing with split logs.
“Sam, how is it looking?” Kurt called out.
“We’re clear,” he replied, “As long as we’re quiet you should be fine.”
“Let’s get this done. I’ll keep my rifle close, just in case,” DB said and Jonesy pulled the gates wide open.
“Steady on, show off,” Braiden teased as the massive soldier picked up two bodies by the back of their trousers as if they weighed nothing.
“Be careful you don’t get their blood on you,” Christina urged.
“Don’t worry about me.” DB grinned, tossing the bodies in a heap thirty feet from the walls.
After another hour, the huge funeral pyre was complete and the sun had largely disappeared below the horizon. Kurt had soaked the bodies with dozens of buckets of the kerosene and ushered everyone back inside the safety of the walls. Sealing the gates again, most of the survivors climbed the walls to pay their respects. The others had excused themselves with the promise of getting dinner started, though it was suspected they just wanted to get out of the gore encruste
d clothing. No one could blame them.
“I wanted to thank you all for your hard work,” Kurt addressed the group, “I completely understand this was an awful thing to have to do, but it was necessary. Gloria, would you mind?”
“Of course,” she replied and recited a beautiful prayer which brought repressed emotions to the fore.
As Kurt tossed the blazing torch, everyone pressed closer for mutual support. The flame hit the glistening liquid and the fire raced across the heaped undead, delving into the voids which had been created with carefully placed wood. A wave of heat washed over them which was a welcome change from the biting cold. Within seconds, the smell of burning, rotten flesh followed and forced everyone to retreat. Only Kurt remained, staring at the leaping flames for a while longer.
“You’re next!” Kurt snarled at the zombies who had come to investigate the glow.
CHAPTER 9
“So, what are we going to do with her?” Craig asked now they were alone.
“Fuck knows,” Mike huffed, “She’s totally nuts. Did you see her when you were cutting that guy up?”
“Everyone did,” replied Craig, “It’s been the only thing people have been talking about all afternoon.”
“That’s bloody marvellous,” Mike sighed, running a hand over his face with embarrassment.
“Do you love her?”
“Don’t be daft,” Mike laughed at the absurdity, “No one could love that thing. She was just a convenient distraction on the road and I’d have fed her to the zombies if I’d needed to.”
Craig thought for a few moments before continuing, “I think she could be trouble, and I mean big trouble. If there is one thing guaranteed to get people hurt in here, it’s women. She is already trying to set you against Hombre and, no offense little brother, he could murder you without breaking a sweat.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Mike scowled.
“Now isn’t the time to play who’s the hardest,” Craig warned, pulling Mike close, “You don’t need to have an ego in here as we are already feared by everyone. Now listen, you and I are natural leaders. Hombre’s a born fighter and actually enjoys being hurt, not that it happens very often. In all the fights I’ve arranged, I’ve never seen anyone knock him down, much less knock him out cold.”
“Great! It’s like she is trying to work her way up the food chain until she’s in charge.”
“We’d all be dead within a week,” Craig chuckled at the prospect.
“You think we’d last that long?” Mike replied.
“Probably not, which brings me back to my previous point. Just say the word and she’ll never be seen again.” Craig was deadly serious.
Mike thought about it. “Is there anything else we can do? Maybe put her to work somewhere?”
Although not in love with her, he begrudgingly admitted he probably wouldn’t have made it without her.
“She’ll be poison to any area I put her in,” Craig explained, “A person like that doesn’t get along with anyone and will take joy in causing them misery. This place is a shithole, but people are mostly content with their lot now.”
“She’s like a fart in an elevator,” Mike agreed.
“But she is very pretty with a great figure,” Craig added.
“That she is. So, what do we do?”
“We put her on the Rape Night roster. There’s one guy in particular who loves a fighter, and I think she will fight him every step of the way.”
“Do it,” Mike replied, “That’ll teach the bitch for attacking me.”
“I’ll speak to the doctor and have something slipped into her drink later. This time tomorrow she will be warming the bed of someone else and you can take your pick from the best we have to offer.”
“I like the sound of that.” Mike grinned and they left the room.
****
“I’ll be right back,” Craig said, winking, “JR will show you around.”
As his brother left to see the doctor, the entertainment coordinator shook Mike’s hand.
“It’s great to finally meet you properly. Craig always said you would show up, but I never imagined anyone could make it through those things.”
“I’m not just anyone,” Mike declared, but JR just shrugged. Craig had already warned him about his ego and here he was trying to act tough to a man who was not in the least bit intimidated.
“Obviously not or we wouldn’t be talking.”
“Sorry, it’s been a long day,” Mike sighed.
“We can always postpone the evening’s show if you want?”
“No, that’s not necessary. I must admit I want to see what you’ve put together.”
JR beckoned him to follow and led him from the administration block down a short corridor. Unknown faces nodded in respect as the men passed and a heavily tattooed guard opened the locked gate which barred their way.
“That was the observation room, with cameras covering every part of the cell blocks and prison itself,” JR explained as they passed a door and keypad in the next wing.
“It’s a shame we can’t get it up and running. It would make the job of keeping an eye on the others a lot easier,” Mike remarked.
“Indeed. We have a pretty good system now, but it takes a lot of men instead of just one,” JR replied cheerfully, “Thankfully, we have a shit ton of people with nothing better to do.”
“What’s been going on here?” Mike asked as they reached JR’s destination.
It was like a building site with tools and equipment stacked neatly along one wall. Scaffold poles, brackets, and walking boards were piled along the other. For the first time Mike noticed the cold breeze blowing in the hallway and the way each guard was wrapped up in multiple layers of clothing.
“This is where the fun happens,” JR grinned, “We had to take a lot of the materials from the compound next door for it to work. Thankfully we have a vast array of skills within these walls, from bankers to tradesmen. I’m sure you can understand that the ability to build is far more useful to us than fiddling numbers.”
Mike just nodded. The cellblock they had reached was sealed at the central building like each of the others, but that was where the similarities ended. To each side of the dual barred gates, a large door sized hole had been cut from the brickwork to allow the passage of people directly to the outside. Inside the first gate, sections of ply had been lashed to the bars for some unknown reason. Scaffolding stretched along both sides of the outer block with ladders placed at regular intervals to reach the higher tiers.
“Come take a look,” JR urged and stepped down onto the unkempt grass between the long buildings to get a better view.
Cheers and whistles sounded from the barred windows of the adjacent cell block and JR took a quick bow before returning his attention to Mike.
“What is this for?” Mike asked in confusion, looking upward, “Are you repairing the place?”
The scaffolding stretched along the whole two hundred feet length and the levels went all the way to the top of the three floors.
“Not repairing, simply providing a view for the main event,” he replied mysteriously, “Come back inside.”
Mike was at a loss to explain the construction and followed obediently with a frustrated shake of the head.
“Here,” JR whispered, pointing at the outer gate which a guard dutifully opened.
“Bloody hell, it stinks of piss and shit in here,” Mike complained, holding a sleeve over his mouth and peering down at the stains on the floor.
JR held a finger to his lips and Mike fell silent.
“Look through the crack there,” JR said, indicating a small sliver of light between the sheets of timber.
Curiosity piqued, Mike leaned forward and held an eye to the gap. With an audible gasp, he propelled himself backwards and nearly knocked JR over in his haste.
“What the fuck are they doing in there?”
“They are our guests of honour,” JR chuckled quietly and Mike leaned forward again.<
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The long cellblock itself was designed to be visible at all times from the safety of the gate. Each staircase was made of metal and the treads had no risers between them which allowed visibility through to the back of the building. Only the cells set to the right and left were concealed and would have required the prison officer on duty to do regular inspections. Suicide netting was stretched between each upper walkway and the things thrashing about on the preventative mesh had been the source of Mike’s fright. Dozens of zombies milled around on the ground floor and he could see them shambling about on the upper walkways as well. Those flailing on the netting were unable to regain their feet and flopped like fish out of water, the coarse material shredding their flesh which dripped to the concrete below.
“Why do you have dead fucks inside the walls with you? Does Craig know about this?” Mike was dumbfounded.
“Of course he knows, it was his idea.” JR grinned.
“But why?”
“All will be revealed in a few minutes,” JR replied. “Ah, here he comes now.”
Flanked by his henchmen, Craig exuded power. Debbie bounced along behind like a loyal puppy to the visible annoyance of the men. Seeing the look on his brother’s face, he burst out laughing.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, little brother.”
****
“What is all this?” Mike asked as they climbed the stairs in the central control block.
“Idle hands are the devil’s playground,” Craig replied.
“So now you’re a fucking philosopher?” Mike fired back.
“We’re all philosophers in prison. We philosophise about why we got caught, what we are going to do when we get our freedom, and for some of us how to make even more money.”
Mike was growing angrier by the second, but when they reached the top floor and the guard made to open the inner gate he cried out, “No, don’t!”
“Don’t panic, mate. This end is sealed off,” Craig said, patting him on the back.
