E Virus: The Diary of a Modern Day Girl (The Beginning of the End) (7 page)

I fumbled putting the keys into the ignition; I prayed that the car would start. As soon as the car sprang to life I threw my gears into reverse as I backed over one of the infected
. There were more making their way towards us, at least 30 of them now, closing in from all different directions.

I looked over to Duckface and Andy to check they had made their way to the car ok. There were five infected all around their car, vigorously banging on the doors and windows, trying to seek purchase on their prizes they had waited so long for.

Just as I had, Andy threw his car into reverse, the infected stumbled trying to regain their balance as both cars shot off into the distance.

Our route was easy enough. It was a strai
ght road to get us there, besides Woodford wasn’t known for being a well-populated area. It was full of grand houses, set far back from the road. It was an expensive place to live; all the houses must have had at least 5 bedrooms and multiple bathrooms. The houses were stunning.

As we made our way to the airfield, the roads were dead. No one could be seen or heard. We had to weave our way through a multitude of abandoned cars, which were blocking the road ahead.

As we neared the airfield we saw a large crowd gathering outside. There must have been at least 50 infected pressing against the chain link fence which separated the airfield from the main road.

The entrance to the airfield originally had an automatic arm barrier for cars to be let through. By the looks of it, it had been reinforced, now a 20 foot tall steel gate stood in its place.

We peered out the car, trying to get a closer look. We saw a military 4x4 with a machine gun turret along with some sort of carrier lorry.

There were no signs of survivors or the military, but we felt confident they were inside.

We stopped the cars 100 yards down the road. It was clear we wouldn’t be able to gain access through the entrance. There were too many of them outside, even if we did get in, we would end up letting a few of the infected pass through the gates which we knew simply wasn’t an option.

We turned around as Nick suggested we go down Old Hall Lane instead. As we turned into the road, there was an old church surrounded by graves on our right hand side. There was a blue sign on the corner which read ‘Welcome to Christ Church’. A restaurant I had passed many times stood opposite. Both buildings had an eerie feeling to them. We could not see or hear a single person, so we carried on down the road.

The further we drove into Old Hall Lane, the narrower the road became. As we pushed forward it became a single lane road. Hedgerows blocked our view on either side as the smooth tarmac disappeared. The road soon turned into an extremely bumpy dirt track.

Eventually the hedgerows disappeared as the road curved to the left, revealing a warehouse sized barn, made from brick and corrugated metal. There were two openings to the barn, both had green metal doors. The smaller door of the two looked like it had been kicked through revealing part of the frame work within the door.
I still couldn’t see any sign of life, it was completely silent.

We carried on past the farmhouse and various outbuildings. As we passed the farm, fields opened up on our left hand side, spanning for miles. We searched for an opening in the airfield, but it was still all fenced off.

We drove up to an old rusty gate. Hanging from it was a green sign with yellow writing which read ‘Keep Clear Emergency Exit Number 1’ the gate had a chains wrapping round both gates, no one was getting in through there. We carried on going, still not having any luck. A few yards down the road and we came to Woodford Golf Club. Cars were still parked in the small car park, however still no one could be seen. The whole place looked abandoned.

We pull
ed up next to the golf club . There, across the road, was another rusty gate with the same sign as before ‘Keep Clear Emergency Exit Number 2’

We got out of the cars for a closer inspection. Although the gate was closed, it was unlocked. Nick started to open the gate as I got back into the car. As soon as we had both cars through the gate and into the airfield Nick secured the gate and jumped back in.

“Where the hell do we go now?” I asked him looking around at the vast amount of runway laid before me. There were various buildings and hangars leading off in all different directions.

Nick pointed straight ahead “Let’s try that one, it looks safe enough and it’s far enough away from the entrance that if those things get in, we have time to escape.”

I agreed and with that, we drove towards the hanger as both cars did a lap of the building, trying to find a way in. It didn’t look like anyone was around, we were about to give up and check the next building when we heard the sound of metal shaking and parting. We drove back round to the front. There were 2 men in military uniforms on either side of the door ushering us in. 

As we pulled in the light blinded us. The whole of the hanger was painted white, even the floor. Sat in the middle was a large plane. It was the size of a large jet, it was glistening white. It looked as if it had never been used. The side of the plane read Airbus A350 Prestige. The door was open on the front right hand side with steps leading up to the door.

We pulled up opposite the plane, and cautiously opened the doors. The two men were walking towards us, the way they walked, showed they were clearly on duty.

“Good morning. My name is Sergeant Jeff Tanner, and this is my second in command Corporal Ryan Jameson.”

“Hi” I replied weakly. The Sergeant was a middle aged man; he wore a navy blazer which accentuated his broad shoulders, underneath he had a black tie and sky blue shirt, all in pristine condition. He stood with his hat tucked underneath his arm. His whole demeanour seemed to command respect. He was definitely a man of authority.  

His Corporal had the s
ame posture and uniform as the Sergeant however he seemed to have a younger and kinder face. He smiled as he shook our hands.

The sergeant continued “Please do not be alarmed, we wish you no harm. We are part of the Royal Air Force. There aren’t many of us anymore, but we can provide you with shelter, food and water. Our main base was compromised, so we have been positioned here for the last week. We have a lot to discuss, please come this way”

We all looked at each other confused, but followed the sergeant as he led the way. “When the outbreak first hit Europe we reopened the airbase, under the command of the Ministry of Defence. We were positioned here to provide support to the British Army, and to help prevent the infection.”

“So where’s everyone now?” Nick asked as we walked around the back of the plane.

“When the outbreak hit the capital, the majority of our squad were redeployed to the Midlands, to try and stop the outbreak on its journey North” The sergeant continued “I was put in command of the remaining troops, as we continued to establish a containment area. This whole airbase had been designed as a safe place, our aim was to use this area as a refuge, a safe place for survivors.”

He stopped when we reached the far wall of the hangar where wooden crates lined the wall. Next to the crates were multiple gas canisters. “These crates are filled with MRE’s. This stands for Meals Ready-to Eat; they have been used in the army for years now. They aren’t the most appetizing foods in the world. But they are substantial.”

“If this is a safe place, then where are the rest of the survivors?” I asked, thinking that clearly something wasn’t right.

“Our main base was the building towards the entrance. Within the base we established living quarters, a canteen, showering facilities and a medical centre. Shortly after the infection reached us here, we started to take in more and more casualties. The MoD had warned us not to take in any survivors who had been bitten or seemed to be contracting a fever; however they refused to tell us why. We followed our orders at first. After a few days a private brought a young boy to my attention. He was only 4 years of age. He had a small bite. The private explained to me he had been bitten by his mother and that he couldn’t leave him behind.”

I looked at the sergeant, understanding where the rest of this story was going.

“I made an exception for the little boy and sent him to the medical wing, where he developed a fever and infection. After 4 hours the boy was pronounced dead. Within 15 minutes of death, he became animated. He started to infect
the other survivors, who then infected my men. I had no choice but to lock the whole building down. The corporal and I were on the other side of the air base when I got the call. I made the decision there and then.”

The S
ergeant looked to the floor, shaking his head.

The C
orporal spoke up “You see, it wasn’t just the survivors and our men that were in there, our families were there too.”

I looked closer at the two men standing before us. Beneath the military exterior, I could see the pain in their eyes. They were both family me
n at heart. Although their job was to serve our country, they lived for their family. For the first time since the virus took over, I felt lucky. Although I didn’t have my family, I had my fiancé, he was my future family. I squeezed his hand tighter.

“I’m so sorry. You made the right decision. If you hadn’t, the chances are you wouldn’t be here today.”
I told them.

“Shall we continue with our tour?” the Corporal asked us all, changing the subject.

We followed them to the other side of the building, where the Sergeant stopped outside two metal double doors. There was an electronic keypad on the side of the wall. “We used this particular hangar to store supplies, you have already seen our food supply, well that’s not the only thing we kept here.”

Punching in the code the Sergeant opened the doors. “This is our ammunition store.”
He announced.

All the walls inside were steel. Lining each wall were a range of guns varying from assault rifles, submachine guns and pistols. I even spotted my favourite gun of all time. A Barrett 50 Cal. Boxes of ammunition lined the room, all different shapes and sizes. Grenades and knives were laid out on multiple tables around the room.

“Only the Corporal and I have the code for this room. As you can appreciate we are currently strangers to one another, the only rule I have in this hangar, is that no one enters this room without myself or Jameson here.”

We nodded, it was fair enough. We were just grateful they had let us in.

“As you can see we are very well equipped, we try not to use any weapon unless we need to. There is more to see, but for now, would you like to see your living quarters?” The Corporal asked.

He led us to the plane. The S
ergeant went into the plane first, while the Corporal stood by and let us all past.

“This plane has been here since we took over the base. We tried to trace the owner, however the company say it is simply in storage, it has yet to be sold. Given the current circumstances, I don’t think
there will be any buyers anytime soon”

We looked around the entrance. Cream carpets lined the floors, velvet curtains separated each section of the plane.

“Let me introduce you to your fellow survivors” the Sergeant advised as he opened the first velvet curtain.

As we entered the cabin, a long leather sofa curved round the room. Adjacent to the sofa sat 4 stools along a wooden veneer bar. There were three people sat on the curving sofa. One was an elderly man named George, the other two we all knew very well.

Lacey and her husband Paul were here too. They were both very good friends of ours. Paul and Nick were practically inseparable. Lacey and I had been friends for a long time; we started out as work colleagues and rapidly became close friends.

Lacey was sat with a huge grin on her face. She still had a glowing complexion, her tan still visible, from their recent holiday in the Maldives. It was strange seeing her without make up on, her hair was tied up in a bun and she was definitely dressed for comfort. She was very much like me before the virus took over. She lived her life in heels, she was always very glamorous. Her long red hair was always perfect, she never had a hair out of place. She was quite tall, without her heels she was pushing 5ft 7. She had lovely green eyes, she was the type of person that couldn’t do enough for you. She was one of my closest friends.

Her husband Paul was also smiling. He had his arm placed over her shoulder, his eyes lit up when he saw us. He too, seemed to be dressed very casually. He was a business man. Thinking back, I can’t remember the last time I saw him without a suit on. Like Lacey, he was very tall. He stood at a whopping 6ft 4. He had a slim figure, although he detested working out. How he managed to stay in shape was a mystery to us all. They complemented each other perfectly. They never boasted, or spoke about their relationship but you could tell they were still so in love. They were the happiest couple I had ever met.

We perked up the second we saw them and ran over to greet them. Duckface and Andy stayed back. We were all close friends at one point; however the relationship between Duckface and Lacey soon became sour. Inevitably I ended up stuck in the middle, as the other two constantly feuded. 

There were no bad feelings between any of the boys as they were happily talking amongst themselves.

Duckface and Lacey made no attempt to communicate with each other at all. Sensing the tension the Corporal interrupted “I take it you all know each other? I will show each of you your living quarters and then we shall all get better acquainted”

Jameson took Duckface and Andy to their room whilst the Sergeant ushered Nick and me to ours. We followed the Sergeant up the stairs towards the back of the plane, which revealed another floor. He opened the door to the first room on the left. “We were very fortunate to find this plane, I’m sure you will all agree our surroundings are rather luxurious.” He announced.

“This is stunning” I was in awe as I walked in. A double bed stood in the middle of the room, the bed was perfectly made and was covered in elegant, intricately detailed gold cushions. A small mirrored wardrobe sat facing the side of the bed with a small walkway in between.