Day Zed - Box Set: Volumes I and II

by Charles Smith

  Kathy walked over to the lift with her lover, and they both peered down through the hole that had been cut into the floor. “We taking the ropes?” She asked him as she looked at the lines hanging from the undercarriage of the lift. Morgan laughed nervously, before answering her, “No we are taking the elevator down. I’m getting too old for all this action.” She couldn’t help but smile at him; even in the most stressful of situations, Morgan could always find some way of lightening her mood. It was then that she realised she was in love with him. “Right you heard the man. Let’s get going.” Kathy called out to the remainder of the group, whilst beckoning them inside.

  She made sure that each person held firmly onto the side with both hands, and none of them stood too near the gaping square hole. The one member who paid more attention than anyone else to the hole was Gerard as he stared down into it, Morgan disturbed him by tapping him on the shoulder, “Will it hold together on the way down?” All Gerard could do was look back and forth between the void and Morgan, finally he decided to answer, “Yeah as long as they haven’t damaged the undercarriage it should be alright.”

  Morgan disconnected the by-pass lead from the front panel, and then stepped in and pressed the down button to take the lift to the bottom of the shaft. Looking around at his friends faces, as they clung to the side rail made him feel guilty, but what other choice did they have? None of them, not even Morgan knew what they would find when they reached the bottom; it was a chance they had to take. Just as the soldier’s thoughts were beginning to get dark, his soul was saved from oblivion by Shanice, “Oh my God, what’s that stink? The smells worse than the biggest rotten egg ever.” She cried out before pinching her nose, closed shut. Despite what awaited them, for now everyone in the elevator began to laugh.

  Battersea Bunker, London, 27th July, 23:47 GMT

  When the lift came to a halt, it was accompanied by a sickening squelching and cracking sound, as the undercarriage met with the pile of bones and rotten flesh underneath of it. Waves of nausea swept through most of the group, with the new smell of condensed zombie parts being forced through the hole in the elevator floor. A silenced assault rifle sat atop the pile of black mush, as it entered the lift and Morgan quickly snapped it up as the elevator doors opened.

  Each member of the group gingerly stepped into the reception area as if they were walking on a thin sheet of ice. All of them stood listening for the slightest sound of movement. “How comes all the power is on?” Shanice asked, breaking the group’s silence. “That naughty general, sitting on his boat probably had it turned back on.” Explained Kathy. “Kath, can we cut the general’s control of the bunker?” Morgan interjected. “Yeah, but I’ll have to kill the uplink.” Kathy answered. “Okay, well if you start that now. Take Gerard, Letitia and Shanice with you, whilst we head off and check the rest of the bunker.” “What about the codes?” Leonard asked, interrupting both of them. “Where would they be?” Morgan asked him in reply. Leonard pointed to the command centre, before saying, “It won’t be any use, we need to scan the Prime Minister’s thumb to gain access.” “That’s not entirely true Leonard. If I can remove the interface from the scanner, we might be able to break into it.” Kathy informed the politician. “Get straight on it babe.” Morgan told her and kissed her on the lips, before moving off with the rest of the group in tow.

  The whole of the first floor was clear. Every inch, of every room was checked by the group with Morgan and Jackson both insisting on leading the way. As the group neared the stairwell leading down to the next floor, it became apparent just what had happened before the last large explosion had gone off. A huge blast radius from the explosion had ripped upwards, through the stairs with the vapours exiting onto the ceiling above where they now stood. The walls around them were scorched black, and items were adhered to its surface: bits of clothing, body parts and congealed black blood had been blasted against the wall on impact. One thing was for sure that whether it was zombie or human caught in the explosion; that neither had a chance of survival.

  Morgan and Jackson descended the stairs first and neither were surprised by the devastation that greeted them. The double security doors that separated the staircase from the floor below had literally been shredded to bits, and just a few shredded particles of wood clung to the doors twisted hinges. A blast pattern spread across the area in front of them, and once again everything in the downstairs explosion had been utterly destroyed. Some of the vehicles parked nearer the entrance had sustained blast damage, but at the same time had protected items directly behind them. The two soldiers drew their melee weapons at the tell-tale sign of moans. “Looks like the soldiers got sandwiched in at the doors.” Morgan said as he brought down his mace on top of a female zombies head. “Poor bastards.” Jackson acknowledged as he got to work with his iron pipe.

  Work in the command centre was going well; the main hub was similar to the one in Chatsworth that Kathy had been responsible for. Within just a few minutes, she had managed to cut the CCTV feed and isolate the master override controls, rendering the generals actions fruitless. With Gerard’s help she was now removing the security interface for the nuclear codes. They both knew that forcing the metal case which housed the codes, would be the hardest part, but for now concentrated on removing its security fail-safes, one by one.

  Once they were sure that the rest of the floor was clear, Jackson called the others down the stairs. He waited as each of the survivors walked past him and found that the only one that avoided eye contact with him was Jin-Lee. Penny noticed the awkwardness between the two of them and decided to stop at the foot of the stairs, to check that the young soldier was okay. When everyone had passed by them and moved into the room, she tenderly placed her hand on the nape of his back and said, “She will come round. Just let her grieve for now.” Jackson smiled at her attempt to cheer him up, and then went to tell her, “I’m just a square peg Pen.” The pretty nurse wore a confused look on her face, which made the young man laugh. “Jin-Lee likes circles, and Heather was her favourite circle.” “Oh now I understand, are you okay with that?” Jackson just shrugged, “In the world we now live in. Can we expect to be choosy? Even if it means getting used.” “Jackson replied. “Hey, there’s hope for all of us yet. Look it’s her loss, you’re a good looking man, with a heart of gold.” She told him as she rubbed her hand across his back, causing him to turn a very dark shade of crimson. Penny laughed at his embarrassment as they moved into the room to join back up with the others.

  With everyone assembled in the basement floors docking bay, Morgan was quick to get all of them organised. He left Jackson in charge of topping up their supplies, and told him to make sure that everyone was issued with weapons that were silenced. The rest of the group were told to get some rest as they would be leaving soon, but he wasn’t able to tell them where they would be going, he had no idea himself yet. Happy that the group would be okay he headed off to return to the command centre.

  Just as Morgan entered the room, Kathy and Gerard were removing the nuclear codes from their enclosed casement. Kathy smiled as he walked in and then pointed to the bank of screens fixed upon the walls, above their heads. Despite it being dark outside the security cameras had switched automatically to night vision and were presently capturing a squad of trained soldier’s approaching the bunker entrance. Four of the soldiers bringing up the rear were carrying something heavy between them.

  Everyone in the command centre watched the screens as the soldiers erected a tripod, and then lifted what they had been carrying on top of it. “It’s a diamond head cutter.” Gerard informed them. “The sniper said they would use one. He said it would take them, four to five hours to cut through.” Morgan interjected. “They’ll chase us down Jay. Even if we leave now, they will close the gap.” Kathy said to Morgan. “Not if I can help it.” Gerard told them and then marched out of the room. Morgan instinctively chased out of the room, and after the engineer.

  Morgan caught up with Gerard at the lift shaft.
“What are you doing Gerard?” The engineer turned to face the soldier, he was angry; it was the first time Morgan had ever seen such an expression on the religious man’s face. “I’m going to do whatever I can to slow them down Jay.” “That’s a bit unlike you mate, isn’t it?” Morgan asked him. “When someone wants to harm me, I can turn the other cheek. When someone wants to harm my little girl, then that’s a different matter.” Gerard growled and then turned his attention back to the elevator.

  Not knowing what the engineer was planning in his head, Morgan offered his help, just to see what was happening. The soldier knew that each of the men outside of the bunker was better trained than himself; if it came to a straight firefight Morgan and his group would be wiped out in no time at all. The pair headed for the lift and took it back up to the bunker entrance. It was unnerving to hear the frame being cut at, but so far there was no evidence to show they were breaking through. Gerard asked Morgan to set up a multitude of trip wires, across the entire lobby area, as he went back down to get some supplies from Jackson.

  It wasn’t long before Gerard returned with other volunteers: Kathy, Penny and Jackson had returned with him, all of them wanted to help, and they all realised they would never outrun this group of soldiers, now camped at their door. Gerard handed over a bag of grenades to Morgan, with a wicked glint in his eye. Not having to ask the engineer what they were for, Morgan started attaching them onto the trip lines, whilst Jackson and Penny were busy taping things together to make four tripods for Gerard; neither had any idea what the tripods were for, they only knew that Gerard wanted them, they had to be an exact height, and they all had to be the same size. Morgan glanced over his shoulder to see that Kathy and Gerard were busy ferrying lengths of stripped wire into the room, and when they had enough they began joining it together.

  When they all entered the lift Gerard stopped it, on its descent and asked Morgan to boost him up so that he could climb through the service hatch mounted in the ceiling. Once he was safely up, he took the four tripods from Jackson. It looked as though he had taken one to each corner of the lift and then heavily taped each one, securely in place. The engineer surprised Morgan when he asked him to climb up with him, Morgan didn’t object, and went along with Gerard’s request. Gerard handed the solider a bag with four land mine inside it, and asked him to tape a mine to the top of each tripod and then arm them. Shocked at the trap that they were now setting, Morgan looked Gerard in the face, “Has anyone ever told you that you are one sick puppy Gerard?” Gerard grinned, “Its simple Jay, piss off a soldier and he may shoot you. Piss of an engineer and he will know exactly how to bring the house down around your ears.” Both men laughed as they finished rigging the trap, and once they were safely inside the group continued their descent.

  As soon as they reached the bottom Gerard asked Kathy to ride back up alone, but just a few feet, before stopping it. She agreed in reluctance knowing how deadly the engineer’s traps could be. When the lift moved up Jackson and Morgan pried the doors apart in order for Gerard to enter the shaft, with the coils of wire he and Kathy had joined earlier looped around his shoulder. He wasn’t in the shaft long, and after a few minutes he shouted up to Kathy to jump through the square hole in the floor, and not to re-start the lift. She did as she was told, she knew whatever Gerard had done in that shaft that it wouldn’t be good.

  No one dared to ask Gerard what exactly the wire done, or why he had now connected it to the live command centre console; he told them that the lift was now off-limits to all of the group, and that no matter what nobody was allowed to go anywhere near it. He chose not to get involved with the soldiers as they discussed the best place they could set up an ambush; should any of them make it through Gerard’s traps. After much discussion they overturned two metal tables, onto their sides and lined the insides of them with Kevlar vests for added protection. They had only just gathered behind the overturned tables, when the first of the explosions ripped through the lobby above them.

  The Alpha team had only just finished cutting through the doors frame, and had allowed it to drop into the small lobby area before entering. This was something Gerard had expected and he had asked Morgan to set the first of the wire traps, just a few inches from where the door had fallen. When six of the twelve man team were ordered inside in a standard formation by their commander, they had no idea what they were walking into. Shortly after the third pair had moved into the lobby the first trap was sprung, which caused a domino effect throughout the room. Most of the explosive wave was pushed through the now exposed entrance; all six of the soldiers that were trapped inside the hallway were torn to shreds. Two further soldiers who were standing just outside of the entrance, bore the brunt of the heat and screamed in agony as their masks that they were wearing melted to their faces.

  The Alpha team’s commander stepped forward and fired a single shot into each of the injured men’s heads; in the harsh reality of the “Day Zed” World time could not be wasted on the injured or dying. After checking that the rest of the hallway was clear of any more booby traps the remaining soldiers moved in. Their cautious approach was maintained all the way to the elevator, and they checked the crack between the doors with their torched looking for anything out of place. Once they were happy that the doors were clear, they were prised apart. Using a mirror mounted on the end of a stick the commander was able to view above his head, and as there was no explosive devices set above their heads, he was happy to call the elevator up with the call button, as soon as the two soldiers released the doors and allowed them to close they could clearly hear the lift rising.

  The four armed men stood back as the lift reached the top floor, and waited a couple of seconds for the doors to open before they dared moved forward to step into it. The commander thumbed the descent button as the doors closed behind them. It only took a descent of an inch before four explosions triggered above their heads; the depressed buttons on the four mounted land mines, released and detonated as they rose back up. The roar of the explosion was deafening and the four men cowered to the floor watching as the ceiling above them buckled. Just as they began to stand, with their ears still ringing from the blast the elevator tore free from its brakes and plummeted towards the bottom of the shaft. The soldiers hung on for dear life as the lift dropped. “Hold on tight the emergency brake underneath will kick in any second.” The commander roared, and hope he was right.

  Just ten feet from the floor the brakes snapped into place, bringing their rapid descent to a sudden bone jarring halt. As the brakes connected with the wires Gerard had secured to the console the four men were subjected to the bunkers electricity coursing through their bodies, they stopped feeling the pain when their hearts gave out.

  Shanice’s Journal, New Covent Garden Market, London, 28th July, 10:18 GMT

  I’m so tired; we didn’t get a chance to rest in the bunker last night. As soon as we settled down, hoping for some sleep the explosions started. The other adults told me that Daddy had set lots of traps, and that they killed all of the nasty soldiers that the general sent to kill us. I don’t know what Daddy did to them, but whatever it was, all I know is that it sounded like Guy Fawkes Night above our heads. When Daddy and the rest eventually come back to join us last night, we had to leave straight away; we left out of the big exit, behind all the different cars.

  Jackson had repacked all of our bags and I’ve had to complain to him; I’m just not as strong as the others. When they told me that we would have to walk for three miles, through a tunnel, before reaching the outside, I nearly cried. I did ask Morgan why we couldn’t use some of the cars parked inside of the bunker; it’s not like someone else is going to use them. All he said was, “That he didn’t want us making any unnecessary noise and attracting zombies.” These adults just don’t appreciate how easy it is for a little girl to get blisters, and God do they hurt.

  It felt like we had walked for ages and ages, up that never-ending tunnel; I don’t think that I’ve ever walked for so far, in my
lifetime. How Morgan and Jackson managed to carry that big bag between them, I just don’t know. Why do they want to risk using the inflatable dingy in the river? It must be something to do with the complicated way that all of the adults seem to think? I just don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to think like one of them; maybe I won’t even survive that long to find out?

  When we finally got to the exit Penny’s Dad surprised us all; none of us were really sure, where we going, but Leonard had already decided. He told Morgan and Kathy that the only way that they could possibly make that horrible general stop chasing us, was to blow him and his boat up. When asked how they would do that? Leonard told them of a secret place right near the exit; a place that only the very top politicians knew about, somewhere that was designed to help them if an army ever turned bad. All of the politicians that knew the secret place had their own secret code to get inside, and once they were inside, they were to call the “Americans” on a special radio. There now seems to be more secret places than normal places, I never realised that adults kept so many secrets.

  We came out of the exit that opened up into a warehouse. From the outside Leonard told us that the secret place had been made to look like an abandoned vegetable suppliers, and that the exit of the secret place could be found in New Covent Garden Market. Sometimes when Leonard gets excited, he waves his arms around a lot as he is talking, and as he was telling us about the history of the area outside, he had an accident and caught his hand on a sharp piece of metal. It’s a good job Penny used to be a nurse; the cut on her father’s hand is quite deep and somehow, she managed to get it bandaged, before he lost too much blood and fainted.