Day Zed - Box Set: Volumes I and II

by Charles Smith

  The noise from above them was now deafening as the choppers began making a sweep of the area. Their appearance above the train whipped the zombies up into an accelerated frenzy, momentarily tearing their attention away from Morgan and his friends. One of the choppers veered away to the right and could be seen by the survivors moving away on the skyline. For some reason the second continued to hover above them, rather than move off it began buffeting up the debris and dust from the ground. With the dust being thrust underneath the exposed train carriage, Morgan had to cover his eyes; he wasn’t able to see anything.

  For what felt like an eternity the chopper remained in the same position. The pilot and spotter on board were reluctant to move on; they wanted to know what had drawn the zombies to the fence, before they had arrived. The spotter signalled to the pilot to turn the machine around and face the opposite direction. After the pilot completed the one hundred and eighty degree manoeuvre, his colleague beckoned for him to descend, so that he could see under the stationary train. The survivors underneath the carriage knew something was about to happen, but were helpless to react with the buffeting dirt and dust giving them zero visibility.

  The helicopter finished its descent and now hovered just ten feet from the ground. Both the pilot and spotters attention was fixed upon the group of undead to the left of them; since their arrival in the area the ranks of the zombies had swelled. The spotter moved his attention to the underside of the train, he didn’t want to be around if the fence gave way; being this close to the deadly cadavers on the ground made him feel uneasy. He could definitely make out something was indeed under the train, but with all the dust and litter being tossed around, underneath the carriage he wasn’t sure exactly what was under there. It wasn’t until Shanice coughed from the cloying dust that was swirling around entering her mouth. Her next reaction was to move her hand over her mouth, and as soon as she did the spotter realised what he was looking at.

  Out of pure reflex the spotter attempted to radio through to his base and inform them of what they had found. He had just about managed to blurt out his call sign, before the projectile entered through the glass in front of him. After ripping through the window the sniper’s bullet tore straight through the spotters sunglasses and out through the back of his head a mere second later. Before the pilot had a chance to react to what was unfolding he too was felled with a single bullet. From four hundred metres away Jordan smiled as he looked away from his gun scope, stood up and then started to move off in the direction of the stranded survivors.

  As the pilot died he slumped to the left of the helicopters cab, pushing the control stick in the direction he fell. The chopper veered away from the train and hurtled towards the old factory. As the helicopter dived nose first its blades chopped away at both the link fence and the undead waiting behind it. When the fuselage connected with the ground its fuel detonated, causing a large explosion around the area. Incinerating everything in its path. To the survivors underneath the train carriage the noise of the blades and engine being replaced by that of an explosion was no relief. The roar of the detonation made their ears ring and it disorientated them, they watched in silent horror as the zombies poured through the broken fence, towards them.

  Morgan watched the lead cadavers as they moved onto the tracks, and then stopped. With revulsion he noticed that they were smelling at the air like a dog. For seconds they stood still, and just moved their heads back and forth. Eventually as one they moved their heads back to the centre of the train and they continued to move forward. All of the group readied their weapons, waiting for Morgan to take the first shot. As Morgan’s finger hovered on the trigger of his silenced assault rifle, a wave of nausea rose up in his throat; the thought that just hiding from this repulsive monsters, wasn’t enough and that they were able to smell their prey, sickened him. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then squeezed off the first shot from his rifle.

  One by one the zombies dropped; each being felled by a shot to the head. Each of the three soldiers hit their intended targets with every shot, and the other survivors seemed to have improved with their shots; some of their shots still missed their target, but their marksmanship was better, by a long way. It took ten minutes to clear the tracks of the remaining threats, and all of the group were relieved to leave the shadow of the train behind them, when Morgan told them it was safe to come out.

  Just as they were enjoying their freedom the sky above them started to fill with the noise of the second helicopter coming back, and judging by the volume increasing it would soon be upon them. Everyone looked to Morgan for a solution to the problem, “I’m not hiding again.” He stated to the rest of them. “So what do we do now then? Are you suggesting we take on the chopper?” Gerard asked him and at the same time dreading Morgan’s answer. All Morgan could do was burst out laughing at the engineer’s question, “No Gerard, we are going to play dead.” He replied.

  Everyone was fanned out by Kathy and Morgan and then each was made to lay down on the floor, pretending to be dead. The two soldiers arranged their limbs to make things look more realistic. With the chopper nearly upon them, Morgan was the last of the group to take up a prone position, on the ground. Just before he lay down his head the soldier looked into the distance, hoping that whoever had helped them earlier, would do so again. If they didn’t he would be risking the fate of the entire group, purely on a hunch.

  The second chopper finally came into view; it hovered above them at a safe distance, too far away for Morgan to take on. Like the helicopter before, it was manned by two men; one to fly and the other to observe. From the safety of bushes that were growing along the sides of the tracks, Jordan watched the two men through his scope. Both were quite animated in pointing out things to each other; Jordan was surprised that the spotter didn’t choose to radio back to base straightaway. The pair were so busy talking that they continued to drop altitude and nearer to the crash site.

  Happy that the helicopter was now in range Jordan took a deep breath, when his body and mind had reached their optimum calmness, he gently squeezed the trigger on his rifle. His armour piercing round took mere seconds to find its target, hitting the fuel tank square on, instantly turning the helicopter into a ball of flame. Jordan stood and started to walk the short distance to where the group watched as the helicopter came crashing down, onto the factory roof. The thought of being free of General Harper’s tyrannical rule and being absent without leave from the army, brought a wide smile to his face.

  Romford, Essex, 1st August, 17:15 GMT

  After the groups encounter with the two helicopters, they continued their trek along the rail lines with a determination to put as much space between themselves and the city as possible. Some of the survivors had eyed Jordan’s arrival with suspicion; he was sent to watch them, and shoot them if they got too close to the bunker, why should they just believe him that he was done with General Harper? He had greeted them with a smile, and when Morgan had instantly approached him and shook his hand to break the ice, he had felt relieved. He couldn’t blame some of them for questioning his motives, and if they had chosen to refuse his offer of friendship and forbid him from joining them, he wouldn’t have been offended. Instead he had found the opposite; most of the group were grateful for his intervention and for now, were willing to accept him into their fold. Jordan knew more than anyone that everything is never as simple as black and white, and he had always seen himself as a grey area.

  So far their journey together had been uneventful, with the train lines protected either side by a variety of fencing, stretching along the expanse of tracks they just had to reach the outskirts of Romford. This had given Jordan a good amount of time to begin getting to know his new comrades. For the first part of his journey, Jordan had chosen to walk with Kathy and Morgan. They were around the same age as one another, but Kathy acted a lot older, it came as no surprise to the sniper that she was a higher rank than himself. She was tall for a woman, and that added to her presence of author
ity. Jordan considered Kathy as attractive, many people would find her overbearing and let that cloud their judgement of her. It was obvious to the sniper that Kathy and Morgan were a couple; little looks that they gave each other, and small shows of affection between the two, exposed a softer side to Kathy. Morgan was harder to work out; the soldier kept his emotions and feelings guarded. He had seen a lot more military action than Jordan and his face showed areas of early ageing, probably caused by the stress; a symptom common amongst front line fighters.

  As they had passed though Stratford, Jordan had eased back to the pair behind him. He could tell that they weren’t together as a couple, but an awkwardness of being somewhere between “good friends” and “lovers” hung in the air between Penny and Jackson. She was a couple of years older than the sniper; even if she didn’t look it. He had been instantly drawn to her as they had chatted. Before the outbreak, Jordan had met a few women with the same infectious attractiveness that Penny was blessed with, but each of them had behaved like they knew it; Penny was different, she had a personality. The more he had talked with her the more he found himself falling under her spell. The young man who walked with them was at first very welcoming, until Jordan had found himself unintentionally flirting with the nurse. Jackson’s demeanour had instantly changed, acting like any younger man would to a threat, and he began throwing sarcastic remarks aimed at the sniper in open conversation. Jordan wasn’t offended, instead he found the whole idea of Jackson having any chance of getting romantically involved with the nurse now he was on the scene, amusing. Weighing up the pros and cons in his head as he had walked with them, Jordan seemed to better Jackson in every attribute; when the time was right for him to make a move on Penny he intended to have the last laugh.

  Nearing the deserted platforms at Romford Station, Jordan felt a pang of guilt at not yet getting a chance to talk with the rest of the group. They had stopped now, and the plan was for them to rest for the evening, so he would have to force himself away from the allure of the nurse and spend some more time getting to know the others. From the corner of his eye Jordan spotted movement further up the tracks; it looked like someone darting into the trackside trees for cover. All of the group except Morgan had already begun to set up wires around their camp, Jordan studied the strange looking bells that were attached to each wire; Gerard had made lengths of the warning system back at the pet’s home, after finding a cupboard full to the brim with brand new cat’s collars. Anyone or anything that caught the wire would alert the group to their presence whilst they slept.

  The sniper moved over to where Morgan stood and quietly asked him, “Did you see something too?” Morgan just nodded, preferring to silently acknowledge Jordan’s question, and to not alert any of the others to what they had both seen. He turned to face the sniper and asked him, “Do you fancy a walk?” Jordan chuckled at Morgan’s question, knowing what he meant. “Thought you’d never ask.” Jordan replied in such a sarcastic tone that Morgan couldn’t help but grin back. The pair walked up to Kathy, who was already busy rigging a line of jingling cat bells across the front of the platform. She must have been a million miles away in thought, as Morgan made her jump. “We are just going to check up ahead babe.” After recovering from her shock Kathy was quick to offer her services, “Do you want me to come with you?” “No me and Jordan will be just fine.” He replied and kissed her on the lips. Jordan smirked as a crimson rush of blood lodged into her cheeks; embarrassed by Morgan’s show of affection in front of the newcomer.

  It didn’t take long for the two soldiers to reach the point at where they had both seen something move. With their weapons drawn at the ready, they advanced upon the position. As they neared the area of trees they were met with an overpowering smell of urine and excrement. Even though the dense foliage shielded the immediate area, from the sun the heat and humidity had magnified the intense smell. The area of trees backed onto a row of fenced, back gardens, and as there was no sight of anyone in the trees the soldiers both moved towards the nearest gate.

  The first three gardens were empty and devoid of any life. It was sad to see that the weeds and grass in each had already overtaken the area, and both men wondered to themselves if these gardens would ever be tended to again. Neither of them held out much hope of the world ever being able to return to normal. At the foot of the fourth garden the smell that lingered in the trees now battled with a different one.

  To Morgan the new smell brought back memories of past mornings spent in his favourite “greasy spoon” café, just up the road from where his parents lived. Even back then the smell of fried eggs and tomatoes had always managed to comfort him; now it smelt like the food of dreams, he hadn’t been fortunate enough to indulge in either since the outbreak. The source of the smell was easy to track down as they approached the gas barbecue at the front of the garden, and lifted its hood. Sitting on the metal grills was a cast iron skillet that was still warm, and could have only just been used to cook with. Both the shed and the garden where empty except for a menagerie of gnomes that were spread throughout the garden, Morgan grinned at the tiny statues that were all dressed in the local football team’s colours of claret and blue.

  The two men tried the handle of the French doors that led into the house, only to find that they were locked. A quick scan of all the rear windows proved in vain as they were all secured as well. “Guess we will just have to do this the old fashioned way?” Morgan said and then proceeded to knock on the glass of the door, with his fist. He waited for a few minutes and when no one came to answer his knock, he knocked again. This time a face appeared behind the door, Jordan instinctively withdrew a white handkerchief from his pocket, and then waved it in the direction of the scared face.

  Back at the station most of the group were now set up and resting; Kathy was already getting supplies together to make a meal, and Jackson and Penny had been tasked with the job of searching the station concourse below them. After descending a ramp and then a short set of steps the pair found themselves in the tiny entrance of the station. Both were taken back by just how small the entrance was; above them there were a total of six platforms and outside the shuttered entrance was a vast retail area. It just didn’t make sense that for such a large town it was only afforded a miniscule concourse which was only able to house a sweetshop and a coffee bar.

  Penny had jumped at the chance to volunteer and accompany Jackson on his search of the empty station. She had noticed the change in his attitude towards Jordan, during their walk here, and being alone with him would give her the opportunity to talk to him. Over the last few days the two of them had spent more and more time together, Penny could feel that things were beginning to change between them; she had caught him looking at her, and other times when they had accidentally touched she had found herself lingering on the warmth that she felt from it. As they entered the coffee bar and went through into the staff area Penny felt that it was the right time to talk, before they gathered supplies, “I think we need to talk.”

  At the rear of the store room was a small round table and two chairs, which they sat down at. “What do you want to talk about Pen?” Jackson nervously asked the nurse. “You know what we need to discuss Jackson.” Penny answered him, pulling a sarcastic face. “No Penny I honestly don’t have a clue.” Jackson lied. Penny took his hand in hers, and told him, “We need to discuss us.” The young soldier resembled a rabbit caught in the glare of oncoming headlights, yet still tried his best to keep up the pretence, “I’m not sure what you mean.” “Yes you do.” She insisted with a soft smile. “No sorry Penny. I’m lost.” Penny let out a laugh, “So you were sarcastic towards Jordan for what other reason?” A deep red now sat lodged in Jackson’s face, “I wasn’t sarcastic.” Although she found his defence funny, it also hurt her a little that Jackson wasn’t brave enough to reveal his true feelings for her. As dread rose up from the pit of her stomach, and then lodged at the base of her throat, she went to pull her hand away.

  The reaction of J
ackson quickly grasping her escaping hand, surprised her, pushing away the feeling of dread that had engulfed her; she had been right about the soldiers feelings for her after all. “Okay, okay I admit it. Sorry I’m just trying to save face.” He said to her. “Save face? Now I’m lost.” She asked, and watched as the soldier nervously looked down at the table. “Come on, I’m waiting?” Penny prompted him with a squeeze of his outstretched hand. “It’s just hard Penny. I’ve developed feelings for you, and it is difficult knowing that along with the age gap to put you off, now Mr. Wonderful had arrived that nothing will come of it.” When she began to laugh at his comment Jackson wasn’t able to look her in the face, and began to release his grip of her hand. He didn’t even look up from the table when he heard her chair scraping across the floor as she rose; it was as if he had already conceded to being rejected. He reacted with shock when she hooked a finger under his chin and proceeded to plant a tender kiss on his lips.

  As Penny stared into his eyes, he felt a wave of emotions, like none he had ever experienced before; is this what the saying of having butterflies in your stomach meant? “The age difference. Where did that come from?” Penny giggled as she playfully stroked at his cheek. “It’s just you’re a little older than me. What could you see in a younger man?” Again she laughed, “You make it sound like I’m old enough to be your mother?” She continued to giggle as she mocked him. “God, no I didn’t mean it like that.” Jackson attempted to defend his reason. “For your information you dope, you’re cute and I fancy you something chronic.” She told him as she moved in and kissed him. Jackson responded and marvelled at the feel of her toned body, as his hands glided over it. He half expected her to stop things from going any further, when his hands slipped beneath her lose top and he kneaded at her erect nipples. To his amazement Penny didn’t, and she pulled her top free, over her head. She welcomed his hot breath upon her breasts and then moaned with pleasure as he teased each with his tongue. The nurse allowed Jackson to lead proceedings for just a couple more minutes, before taking over, she had waited a long time for this moment. After freeing him from his combat trousers, Penny took him in her mouth and began to expertly tease and satisfy him. Whilst doing so she was surprised at how right it all felt; there was none of the usual awkwardness of a first time, this was totally different to her first encounter with Dave.