Zombie Dawn Apocalypse (14 page)

Nick gave a restrained laugh as he pushed back into high box with a clunk. Though the ground was overgrown the debris was much less than on the road. They pushed forward towards the area outside the entrance to the station and about fifty yards from the tankers before coming to a halt.

Before Nick even gave the order, Zack was climbing up and onto the top of the cab so that he could man the Bren Gun. Nick kept the engine running and the lights on as the rest of the vehicles arrived. They formed up next to each other but not too close in case they needed to leave in a hurry. It was clear from the noises coming from the bus that it was suffering serious mechanical problems and when the engine was switched off it gave a sigh that almost sounded like relief. Doors banged as a dozen or so of the survivors left their vehicles and headed for the bus. All the group was armed though only a few with firearms.

The door on the bus opened to reveal a tall man in battered riot armour, it was Gary, the ex-police officer who had helped with the running battle to escape the town. He jumped down, followed by several others.

Nick cut the engine on the Land Rover and jumped out. Max pulled out a machete and followed him as he headed for the group assembling next to the bus.
 

The only sound other than a gentle breeze was the low mechanical sound of the hundred-foot tall wind turbine a few hundred yards away. Incredibly, it was still moving though it sounded much less smooth than it had when installed fifteen years earlier. A few dull lights flickered from parts of the station, presumably powered from the modest generator built into the wind turbine.

“Hey, stay frosty! Three shots in the air if you spot any trouble!” he shouted before turning to the group.

“We’ve got big trouble,” said Peter, one of the Johnson brothers, as he scrambled out from under the bus.

“What is it?” asked Gary.

“Well, three things. First, we’ve got an oil leak, a big one. Second, the engine mounts are going, I doubt they’ll hold out much longer.”

“And the third?” asked Nick as he reached them.

“The third is we only have the reserve tank with any fuel left in it. The main tank has a hole the size of my fist in it,” said an exasperated Peter.

“Oh man, that’s fucking great!” cried one of the passengers who started to pace back and forth.

“What are we
gonna
do? Can we spread out between the trucks?” asked another.

“Good question,” replied Gary, as he looked about.

“Any idea on how many made it out?” asked Nick.

Jessica, a middle-aged woman with a very young child on her back, came forward with a list.

“We’re checking on weapons and supplies, but I do have the numbers on people here.” She passed it to Nick who then moved so Gary could also read it.

“Thirty-six? Shit, is that it?” asked Nick.

Jessica nodded, saying nothing.

“Says here we have two wounded, how bad?”

“One has a broken arm, the other has wounds to the head and leg. They’re both still unconscious,” she answered.

Max stepped forward, brandishing his machete.

“Wounded, are either of them bitten? You know the rules Jessica!” he said firmly.

“Hey, I just checked. We need to keep checking them over properly,” she answered indignantly.

Nick looked around the group. The vehicles were in a bad way, but the people looked even worse. He looked towards the tankers and the service station whilst formulating his plan.

“Okay, we have about three hours before it gets light. I suggest we secure the parking area and the service station until daylight. When we get some light we’ll reappraise the vehicles and work out a plan in the meantime. Before we can relax though, we need to get this place under control.”

“I’ll take a group and check over the tankers, you take the building?” suggested Max.

“Yeah, when we have secured the place I’ll send for you and the others,” said Nick before moving over to Peter.

“I need you to keep everybody else in the vehicles. Don’t let anybody leave under any circumstances. When the building is secure we’ll come for you, ok?”

Peter nodded and moved back to the vehicles.

Nick looked around the group, checking who was left and quickly assessing the best people to take. He selected five that he’d worked with before and the group moved off to the entrance of the building. With such poor light they had to make do with the two remaining torches. Nick was armed with a machete as well as a crossbow whilst the rest carried a mixture of shields, axes, blades and one cut down musket that had more in common with a blunderbuss.

The entrance to the service station was wide and had originally contained two sets of swinging glass doors, only one remained intact however as the other was in pieces on the floor, long since destroyed though whether it was people, zombies or the weather they couldn’t tell.

Nick stepped in first, his machete at the ready in case of danger. The others followed closely behind, each checking around them for signs of danger. It was not a large station and the entrance led into a simple open hall area that was like the centre of a
spoked
wheel. Directly ahead was a large cafeteria, to the left a ransacked shop and to the right a small coffee house. In the far right corner a narrow hall led to a toilet area. Flickering light came from parts of the building and a dull orange glow came from the toilet area.
 

Nick moved ahead towards the eating area whilst signalling with his hand for the rest to follow. One thing they had learnt early on was that you never, ever went anywhere alone. That was the way to get picked off and also an easy way to get unknown bites and infections into the group. Experience showed that even though the living knew a bite meant death they would almost always hide it and this had grave concerns for the rest of the group.

In the eating area Nick stopped soon after entering and looked around. There was something odd about the place and it took almost thirty seconds before he realised what it was. The place had been fortified but even worse, it had fallen. The windows on the far side were boarded up and along the counter were several boxes of shotgun shells and bottles of fluid. He moved a little closer before spotting the first of the bodies. He
hand
signalled to the rest to stop as he knelt down to examine the decomposing body. It had been there at least a few months and showed signs of having been bothered by wildlife. More important than the body though, was the clothing and equipment.

“No way, they’re our scouts, they must have been trapped here,” said Nick.

Adam, the man carrying the shield and mace, headed for the serving area to examine the weapons.

“Yeah, this is definitely our gear. They must have raided a gun store or police station though, we haven’t see this kind of firepower in a long time.”

Nick pointed to a tear in the wall that led outside.

“We’ll get the others to take the bodies outside. Right now though we need to clear the place,” he said.

Leaving the eating area he returned back to the centre of the building and moved towards the back hallway that led to the toilet area. In his experience, this was where people usually retreated and it was often a dead end, in every sense of the word.

As Nick turned the corner he came face to face with a closed door. Most people would probably just open the door, but Nick had seen what happened when people made a foolish decision like that. He held his blade firmly in his right hand whilst gently pushing the door forwards. As it opened a bloodied hand pushed out, catching the door frame and pulling the door wide open. Two ragged creatures stumbled out from the area with their jaws open, their intent clear. Without pausing Nick lifted up his machete, delivering a swift slash that cut the first in the throat and up into its brain. Adam jumped forward, smashing his shield into the second and forcing it back into the toilet area. Anton, a lightly built man in his twenties, tried to assist but couldn’t get past Adam who kept driving forwards with the shield. He didn’t stop until he had the zombie up against the wall. Nick jumped in, followed by Anton, and they proceeded to stab and cut at the creature until its hacked body fell in a mush to the floor. The three stood there panting as they looked around. The toilet area was hardly pretty, though the fact that the entrance featured a spring loaded door meant that wildlife hadn’t found its way in yet. The room wasn’t large, though it stank from standing water and there appeared to be no running water.

Adam carefully kicked each door open to check on any potential problems in the cubicles. It took only a short time but the situation was tense until the place could be confirmed as clear. Once he’d checked the last section he turned back to the group.

“Yeah, all clear now,” he said.

Nick signalled for him to follow him as they headed back into the centre area. There was no need to check the shop. It was small and had been ransacked to the level that even the shelving had been stripped. As the group headed for the door, they glanced inside the old coffee shop. As with the shop it had been well ransacked and nothing of note remained. They moved for the door but before they could leave Adam spotted something glinting in the corner of the coffee area.

“Hey, you see that?” he asked as he moved slowly towards the object. As he got closer he flicked on the torch that lit up the corner and a blocked off doorway with streaks of blood on the walls and floor.

“Fuck!” swore Adam as he dropped the shield into position, expecting an attack at any moment. Nick joined him whilst the others stayed a short distance behind to watch their backs.

“I don’t know how I missed that,” said Nick as they crept inside.

The corridor was narrow and obviously not designed for the public. One narrow light flickered occasionally, providing minimal lighting but enough to make it seem the last place they wanted to head down. As the two reached the end they came to two doors. One was signed as Manager and the other Storeroom.
 

Nick moved up to the first door and Adam to the second. Nick signalled for Adam to wait as he placed his hand on the handle and ever so gently pulled on it. The door unlocked but try as he might it would not open.

“Must be locked from the inside,” said Adam who then tried the same with his door. With little effort it swung open to reveal an almost pristine office with only a few items knocked over. After giving the room a quick once over the two returned to the locked door.

“Wait a sec, I’ve got an idea,” said Nick.

He lifted his hand and knocked several times.

“Anybody home?” he asked.

Adam gave him a whimsical look, but to the shock of the two men a sound came from inside.

“What the fuck was that?” asked Adam as he took a step back from the door.

Nick shrugged and tried the door again. As he pulled the handle there was a clicking sound and the door swung open to reveal a dark, damp room that was packed with stores and two people. The closest was a middle-aged man dressed in rough clothing and carrying what looked like a car piston. The other person was a young child, perhaps eight or nine, and she was hiding behind a cupboard but also carrying a weapon of some kind. The man coughed as he cleared his throat.

“You’re not one of them?” he groaned.

Nick lowered his machete. “You’re okay, we’re here with other people. How long have you been here?”

“Just over a month.
 
We were coming back with a convoy, we’ve been trapped here every since.”

“Is there anybody else left?”

The man turned his head. “The last few tried to get away in cars, we’ve been waiting for help since then. Are you here for us?” he asked with a pleading look in his eyes.

Adam stepped forwards, looking inside the room. The young girl raised her weapon before the man beckoned for her to lower it.

“We’re evacuating the Green Zone, have you heard of it?” he asked.

“Green Zone,” sighed the man, “that’s where we were heading.”

“Yeah, well, it’s gone now. We need to find somewhere new,” said Nick.

As they continued talking Nick had a look around the room and was astounded at the amount of supplies and equipment in such a small place. As well as bottles of water he could see clothing, a modest amount of medical supplies plus a motley selection of weapons and ammunition.

“Where did you get all this stuff?”

“The group we were with had been collecting all of this for months ready for a push to you guys. Such a waste.”