Ridgetown: A zombie apocalypse novel (25 page)

From the relative safety of upstairs, the Ridgetowners had dispatched the last of the zombies similar to how Luke and Helen had been killing them in the playcentre, spearing or shooting them from above. Even though there were only around a hundred zombies left, they made a mess of some of the platforms that had been built between the houses that hadn't been built anticipating having to survive an assault of any kind.

Seeing the downed platforms and battered defenses of the lower floor windows and doors, Helen thought about what Mark had said about taking their safety for granted. She had genuinely thought that staying upstairs in their houses would allow the residents of Ridgetown to survive any kind of siege, now she knew better. The thought of the entire horde smashing through those gates in one single contingent was terrifying, they would have torn through it and rocked the foundations of the buildings.

Slowly, a crowd began to gather in the fields between the houses. There were still a couple of corpses scattered around which some of the residents were quick to move into the street. People talked in a hushed murmur, some hugged as they saw each other for the first time since the attack had begun, elated to see each other again. Others weren't so happy, they consoled each other as they told of people that had been lost. Helen overheard one man mention Ryan's name and another man gasp in shock. Ryan had clearly been a popular member of the community and Helen wasn't surprised. Mark ascended the platform of Liz's house and addressed the crowd.

"We're alive."

Everyone stopped talking and listened to Mark.

"I don't know how that horde knew to come here, or how they grouped together. I don't know why now or if we'll ever find out, but it's done. You all pulled together and showed what we can do as a community. Some of our community didn't make it but every one of them made us proud, their deaths have shown us that we have some improvements to make, but I want you all to look at your success. You were all survivors before you came here and you're still surviving together. We can make our defenses stronger and the next time something like this happens, we'll be more prepared."

Helen looked at the crowd, everyone was entranced by Mark as he spoke.

"I say next time because I'm not going to lie to you, you deserve better than that. This attack was something unprecedented, but it could happen again tomorrow, that's the world we live in now. It's not going away any time soon so we need to adapt to it as best we can."

"You've shown you can fight, now we need to rebuild. We'll set up a patrol rota for the next few days and nights. As always, I ask for volunteers, you've never let me down before. If anyone needs any supplies, let us know, we've got enough and now is the time to use them. Ishaq?"

Ishaq waved from below.

"Would you mind staying here for a bit and taking orders?"

"No probs."

"Okay, let my lovely assistant Ishaq know what you need and we'll bring it to you. We can do this, none of you are alone anymore. Thank you."

A few people clapped, to which Mark smiled and nodded his head in thanks. As he approached the lift to lower himself to ground level, more people started to clap and a few cheered. The clapping grew in noise and energy, Ishaq climbed on a pile of scrap metal and joined in the clapping, loudly and excitedly, howling like a wolf.

Mark started laughing as did a few other people, Helen saw Liz smile for the first time since she had heard about Ryan. Mark climbed up a few of the rungs on the ladder he had used to get up the platform and joined in with Ishaq's clapping, encouraging the crowd to cheer.

"Yeah! Be excited! Be happy, you're all amazing!" He started pointing at random people like a TV evangelist. "You're amazing! You're amazing! You're...... Slightly above average, but you, next to average guy, you're amazing!"

People were laughing and cheering, even Helen couldn't help herself. She began clapping and smirking, she even cackled when she noticed Scott, who was totally enthralled like a child at the circus with Dennis clapping slowly behind him like a reluctant parent.

Mark climbed down the steps and approached Helen, still clapping and cheering.

"Are you guys gonna stop around for a few days? You can stay with Liz and we'll get Dennis and Scott somewhere to stay, or you can all stay together if you prefer?"

"No, staying with Liz would be fine. It's nice to have a bit of girl company, plus I think she might value the companionship after Ryan. Were they an item?"

Mark sighed, "They were never officially a couple but everyone could see they were destined to be. I think Liz would like that, that'd be really nice. Thank you."

Helen looked across at Liz whose smile had wavered and although her mouth still smiled, her eyes were sad once again.

"And I can think of someone else who would LOVE you to stay." Mark pointed at Luke with his eyes.

Helen followed his eyeline and caught Luke looking at her. As soon as he noticed her, Luke looked away sharply and started looking all around him to avoid her gaze, pretending he hadn't been watching her but doing an awful job. Helen couldn't help but laugh and feel flattered.

"I'll get Ridgetown online and help set up some of the things Luke was talking about. He's got some good ideas that could really help keep an eye on the surrounding areas and give some early warnings."

She hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to say what she wanted to next.

"You're a really good leader."

Mark looked surprised. He hadn't gotten used to being called a leader, originally trying to put people off referring to him as such after losing the apartments. However, as he'd seen people react positively to the idea of him being a leader, he'd begun to embrace it, telling himself it was just for the sake of positivity rather than for his own ego.

"Thank you. I don't really consider myself a leader though, it just seems to help people."

"I've watched how they all look up to you, then listen to whatever you say and do whatever you ask. And it's not because they're scared of you, it's because they respect you and believe you. You really do have their best interests at heart and you make good decisions. You listen as well, I think people really have time for someone who will listen to what they say."

Helen worried that she was rambling or inflating Mark's ego too much. She hadn't seen him being big headed but she didn't want to give him a God-complex, just let him know what she thought.

"Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I've seen what you do and you're doing a good job. I'm sure people tell you all the time, but you're doing a great job."

"Actually, no. It's not something people ever say."

Mark sounded like it was something he hadn't even thought about before, that surprised Helen and saddened her slightly. She knew how it felt to be underappreciated and, although she thought Mark felt far from under appreciated, she knew that it was something that everyone needed.

"Look at them." Helen motioned towards the residents, still clapping along with everyone.

Mark looked at the residents of Ridgetown cheering and clapping to a beat while some of them danced and Gaz lead chants that he made up for people to sing back to him. It made him feel good to see them happy.

"An hour ago, they were fighting for their lives. Some of their friends and family didn't make it and the town they consider to be their salvation was invaded. But now they're celebrating being alive. Sure, they've had to save themselves, but you've played a big part in that. You lead the initiative over the wall leading the horde away and people, including me, followed you. Because we knew that you were willing to die to protect us and we were willing to do the same."

She put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're doing great. Keep going, you can do this."

If she didn't know any better, Helen would have said that Mark looked choked up. His bottom lip quivered slightly and he blinked rapidly.

"Thanks." His voice broke and he coughed a few times to cover it. "Ahem, excuse me. Thanks, that's very kind of you to say."

He quickly straightened up and walked away round the edge of the crowd, Helen followed.

"Did you nearly cry just now?" She shouted to him.

"No." Mark didn't turn round and carried on walking.

"Oh my God, you did. Didn't you?" Helen jumped at the opportunity to tease Mark, just as he had teased her and Luke.

"No." He shouted louder, trying to sound bored. He quickened his pace and moved into the crowd of survivors, people patted him on the back and cheered for him as he passed.

"Luke! Luke!" Helen shouted to Luke and he made his way straight over to her, still following Mark. "I think I've found a way of making Mark cry like a little girl."

"Brilliant, I'll get a camera." He excitedly disappeared into the crowd.

Helen felt optimistic about the future again. She continued to chase Mark, eager to continue teasing him. She still wanted to get her safe house repaired and secure again but she had to admit the idea of staying in Ridgetown, at least for a while, was very appealing. She'd have to speak to Dennis and Scott about it and see what they thought. But for now, she had a leader to belittle.

Ridgetown
copyright © 2016 by www.philipradford.com

Cover design by P Radford. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any format without permission in writing from the copyright holders. For further information, email [email protected]

About the Author

This is Phil's third venture into sharing the scary world inside his head with the rest of the outside world. His first book, 'A Subtle Introduction' is a collection of four short stories that can be found in the Kindle store. His second book, 'Ridgetown: Rising' puts the reader in the middle of Ridgetown during the outbreak. He lives in England, prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse, so that he can say “I told you so!” to a lot of people. For more information, please visit www.philipradford.com