It's Grim Up North (Book 3): The Journey Page 4

  ‘Yeah, we saw that too, that’s what the firing was,’ I replied.

  ‘It’ll be dawn soon. Come on,’ Darren said as he opened the tower door and ushered us into our lodgings for the night. Josh’s nose twitched at the offensive aroma that had been left behind by the rotting soldiers.

  Darren secured the door and we lethargically climbed the stairs of the tower and made our way to the third floor. The smell of death that rose from the former poker tournament grew weaker the higher we climbed and by the time we’d reached the room everyone was in, the smell had been replaced with the scent of the unwashed bodies that littered the floor, resting. A glow stick stood upright in a cup on a small table next to the bed giving off a ghostly green light.

  I looked for Jenna and found her in the corner, head on her Dora the Explorer backpack, face to the wall, protectively spooning the rude girl. I’m not going to lie, I was hurt. Hurt that she could go to sleep, not knowing if I was OK after my cat and mouse escapades with ex squatters of the base.

  Andy and Bobby had claimed another corner of the room to rest, Josh settled down next to his two friends who were lying in the centre of the room, while Sarah occupied the sniper’s single cot.

  I followed Darren up the last flight of stairs.

  ‘How’s the head and why the fuck are you wearing tea towel on it?’ I asked as Darren took Bessy out of her case and assembled her.

  ‘It’s not a tea towel, it’s an Israeli dressing if you must know, funny fucker. One thousand and one uses when it comes to first aid. The bonce is sore but Sarah thinks I’ll be OK. She popped in a few stitches. Light concussion and a nice groove in my skull. I was lucky. Should have been more careful. Gotta remember it’s not just the stinkaz that are trying to kill us.’

  ‘What are we going to do about Gippa, Darren?’

  ‘Yeah, that fucker. Not a lot we can do really mate. He had his chance back in Amble. We won’t be staying here long and the chances of them finding us after that are pretty remote.’

  ‘So where are we going to go?’ I asked.

  ‘I was going to ask you that.’ He replied.

  ‘Me? You’re the super army soldier. How the fuck am I supposed to know?’

  ‘Carter, I’ve been overseas for the best part of a quarter of a century. I grew up on a farm before that. I don’t know these parts as well as you. Time for you to take the lead mate.’

  I stood there, mostly in shock but flooded with pride that Darren wanted me to take the reins and make one of the biggest decisions of my life.

  I had thought about this before, back in the loft when I was planning my escape. Fleeing to the coast hadn’t been my only plan. I’d had a plan B.

  ‘The bothy.’ I said.

  You’re probably thinking ‘the what?’. A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. Always found in remote areas well away from the beaten path. They are one of the best-kept secrets of the British Isles. Mainly found in Scotland and the North of England. Northumberland was home to twelve of these gems and I knew where each of them was, having spent many a night in all of them.

  Darren had obviously heard of bothies before. ‘Where?’ he asked.

  Now the problem with bothies is their size, most having only one room, a fireplace and space for around four to six people to sleep comfortably.

  ‘Roughside,’ I replied without having to think.

  ‘It’s remote, surrounded by a large forest, it’s two storey, two up, two down, each with its own fireplace, easily defendable, with a fresh water spring nearby. The only thing is, it’s over thirty miles away.’

  ‘Not a problem mate, the Mastiff can get us through an ocean of the dead.’

  ‘It’s not the dead I’m worried about. It’s fuckers like Gippa that concern me,’ I replied.

  Between us and the bothy, thirty-plus miles away, lay a multitude of towns and villages. Each one hiding potentially life-threatening dangers and situations.

  ‘Go and get some rest, I’ll have a think. We leave here at noon. I’ll take first watch.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ I asked. ‘You’ve just been shot in the head.’

  Darren waved me off and assured me he was fine and that he’d had worse injuries in ‘the Stan’.

  I descended the stairs and found a spot to rest next to the door leading to the stairs. I sat with my back against the wall and watched Jenna’s sleeping form.

  Why was she being this way? I just couldn’t understand it. Was she angry with me? Or was it something else? Embarrassment maybe? That she’d been a participant in Gippa’s new society, albeit unwillingly if her appearance had been anything to go by? Though she’d obviously stood by and watched, as her partner had become an evil dictator, murderer and rapist. But what could she have done about it? The girls we’d saved hadn’t shown her any malice because of it. If anything, they’d cared deeply for her.

  Whatever her reasons were for being distant with me would have to be ascertained at a later date. We had bigger and more worrying things to think about.

  The bothy plan had always been a last resort for me. A very last resort. Even though once there I had absolutely no doubt that it would be a safe sanctuary for us. It was always getting there that would be the problem.

  Eventually I dropped off to sleep but was immediately awoken by Josh. I was surprised to see sunlight flooding down the staircase.

  ‘What time is it?’ I asked, confused.

  ‘It’s nearly noon,’ he replied.

  I’d slept for over eight hours?

  I looked around the empty room. Everyone had left.

  ‘Where’s Darren?’

  ‘He’s downstairs, loading the truck with the others.’

  Darren had roused everyone and had left me sleeping. I made a mental note to thank him. I could have done with another eight hours to be honest. The day before had taken its toll on me, physically and mentally.

  I achingly stood up, and readied my kit. Checked my weapons were locked and loaded and positioned my machete and hatchet on my belt.

  ‘Here,’ Josh said as he passed me a warmed MRE pouch and cup of tea, the sight of which nearly set me off. Nearly. That was the old Carter. The new Carter swallowed the lump in his throat, thanked Josh and wolfed down the offering with gusto.

  Chapter Five

  Sixty seconds later I descended the stairs and made my way outside and into the bright sunlight.

  Darren had been busy. The Land Rover sat with its back doors open and was full to the brim with supplies. Behind the Mastiff were the rest of the supplies which were being meticulously loaded by Andy and Josh’s two friends. The four girls stood watch, forming a perimeter around the vehicles. Jenna didn’t even glance my way when I announced my arrival with a ‘good morning’.

  I was surprised to see that everyone looked clean and also sported brand new military clothing.

  Darren had taken position on top of the Mastiff, keeping watch with Bessy.

  ‘Enjoy ya nap you lazy fucker?’ Darren quipped.

  I yawned and stretched and replied, ‘Yes thanks. I thought you might have all this loaded by now though. Very poor indeed.’

  The tired looks I received from Andy and the boys told me they didn’t appreciate the joke.

  I dropped my bugout bag and climbed up the wire cage and onto the top of the Mastiff with Darren.

  ‘Seriously though, thanks for the lie in.’

  ‘No problem, you deserved it mate. You got us out of there and to safety. I’ll make a soldier of you yet. Now go and get a wash and change your clothes. You’re fucking lifting,’ he said as he scrunched his nose. ‘There’s a container with clean water, some soap, a towel and some clean clothes waiting for you at the side of the truck.’

  I thanked him again and climbed down to get clean.

  The truck hid me from the girls while I washed away the stench of the previous day. The water was freezing but exhilarating and chased away any remnants of tiredness I f
elt.

  Darren popped his head over the top and looked down at me.

  ‘As soon as you’re done, come back up here please,’ he said seriously and with an undertone of urgency, but added, ‘I hope the water is just cold and it’s not always that size, pee wee,’ as he nodded towards my nether regions.

  ‘Up yours,’ I replied when I heard sniggering coming from Andy and the boys.

  I quickly dressed, replaced my weapons and climbed to the roof.

  ‘They’re back,’ he said while looking through Bessy’s scope.

  ‘Who? Gippa?’ I asked ducking my head down for fear of getting a bullet through it.

  ‘No, your little animal buddies.’

  ‘Fuck, where?’

  ‘Same place as last time,’ he told me as he passed me Bessy.

  I scoped the trees where I’d seen them the day before. He was right. The same bush was moving and what looked like a brown nose peeked out and sniffed at the air and disappeared again.

  ‘Cover me,’ I said as I passed the weapon back and lowered myself down to the ground.

  ‘What the fuck are you doing?’ he hissed as I walked out onto the field between the tower and the wood the animals were in. I waved him off, shushed him and carried on walking.

  I stopped around twenty-five metres from our perimeter and crouched close to the ground, quickly glancing behind me to check Darren was covering me. As I was doing so I locked eyes with Jenna for a second before she looked away angrily. Wtf? Dirty looks now? I didn’t have time for her shit. If that’s the way she wanted it, then fuck her. I turned my attention back to the situation at hand and whistled. The bush moved. I whistled again. This time a snout emerged from the foliage, sniffing the air.

  ‘Come on then,’ I said softly and unthreateningly.

  A head appeared from the bush and slowly crawled out.

  ‘It’s OK, come on.’

  At this a small scruffy dog walked forward and started wagging its tail.

  ‘Don’t be afraid, come on,’ I repeated, clapping my hands on my knees.

  Like a rocket, the dog darted towards me, tongue lolling from the side of its mouth. As it approached it slowed down, looked over its shoulder and barked. An exact replica of it slowly emerged from what looked to be a rose bush and tentatively stepped towards the edge of the wood.

  ‘Rocket’ continued its journey and bounded towards me, still vigorously wagging its tail, then jumped up at me excitedly, licking my face.

  ‘It’s OK, it’s OK, you’re fine now. Calm down,’ I said stroking him reassuringly.

  After a few minutes the other dog slowly made its way over to us, ears back and practically walking sideways, offering its rump in an act of submission.

  ‘It’s OK, no one’s going to hurt you,’ I cooed.

  Eventually it came within stroking distance, lay on its back and offered its stomach to me in another act of submission. It was female. I stroked her gently, speaking softly while Rocket jumped up and licked my face some more.

  ‘OK, I’m guessing you’re both hungry. Who wants some dinner?’

  On hearing this both dogs sat to attention and looked up at me with their ears pricked.

  ‘Oooo, so you’re trained. Come on then,’ I commanded and turned towards the tower. Both dogs trotted after me, walking perfectly to heal.

  Every one of our group smiled gleefully at the new additions to our family as we walked towards them. Well, everyone apart from Jenna. Fuckin mardy arse.

  Darren just shook his head, smiling, and went back to keeping guard.

  ‘Guys, this is Rocket and err... Rosie. I think they’re a little hungry. Let’s get them something to eat.’

  As the rest of our group surrounded the dogs, stroking them enthusiastically, Bobby ran over to the stacked boxes, ripped open a couple of MREs and emptied the contents into a couple of mess tins. The overly thin canines devoured the food in seconds.

  ‘Don’t give them too much. God knows when they last ate. They won’t be able to keep it down,’ I said as I climbed up to Darren.

  ‘That was a bit stupid,’ Darren told me as I climbed back onto the Mastiff and lay next to him on the roof. ‘What if they’d attacked you?’

  ‘I knew you were up here with Bessy mate.’

  ‘I’m a good shot Carter, but protecting you would have been difficult if they’d attacked at the same time.’

  ‘I just had a hunch mate. If they’d been feral or infected I’d have plugged them with Angelina.’

  ‘Oh, so you’ve named it?’ he said, gesturing at my SA80 that lay between us. ‘In homage to Mrs Pitt I presume?’

  ‘Could be,’ I replied.

  ‘Anyway, what are we going to do with two dogs? They’re going to be a liability. If they start barking every deeda in the vicinity will be on us.’

  ‘Darren, they’ve survived up until now. They’ve been trapped inside this base for god knows how long, dodging the dead and that fuckin sniper that used to live here. Unless they were his dogs?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Darren replied. ‘There was a bowl of water on the floor in the tower.’

  ‘Well that settles it. We’ve killed their master. They’re our responsibility now,’ I declared with a stern look into Darren’s eyes.

  Darren just shrugged his shoulders and went back to scoping the base, knowing an argument about it would be futile.

  ‘Do you know what breed they are, by the way?’ Darren asked.

  ‘Of course mate. They’re border terriers. One of the hardiest breeds in the world. Working dogs and as tough as old boots. Intelligent too.’

  ‘They seem to like you. They can’t be that fuckin intelligent.’

  ‘Funny fucker, aren’t you. I used to have a border when I was younger. Nettles, she was called. Smelled of old women and raisins.’

  ‘Now that sounds like a lovely combination.’

  ‘Yeah, nasty but lovely at the same time.’

  ‘There’s something wrong with you, mate.’

  The back doors of the Mastiff slammed shut around five minutes later and Andy shouted up to us, ‘All done!’

  Darren and I climbed down. I was surprised to see Rocket and Rosie sitting waiting for me as I lowered myself off. I was also surprised to see what looked like large clumps sod and grass entwined in the cage of the PPV. They definitely weren’t there last night. But before I could ask what they were, Darren started up the engine. The loud gravelly rumble shattered the silence of the brilliantly sunny afternoon.

  Andy, Bobby and Josh climbed into the Land Rover and drove off towards the base’s exit. I opened the passenger door of the Mastiff, beckoned the dogs to jump up and climbed in after them. After slamming the door shut I leaned over and quickly peeked into the back cabin. Jenna, Sarah, the rude girl and the two boys were squeezed in against the multitude of supplies we now owned. It didn’t look at all comfortable in there but the cupola was open to let in some fresh air. I did think about swapping with Jenna but decided against it when she threw me another filthy look. Fuck her.

  The Land Rover would be our convoy’s scout vehicle. Andy was to drive ahead for a mile or so and report any suspicious situations, blockages or herds of dead and report back to us using the walkie-talkie. I raised an eyebrow when Darren informed me of this.

  ‘He’ll be fine mate. If anything bad happens we can be there to back him up in a matter of minutes. I don’t want to get the Mastiff stuck in traffic on some country lane. This thing wasn’t designed for three-point turns.’

  After a couple of minutes Andy’s tinny voice came through on the walkie-talkie. ‘Maverick, Goose, over.’

  I looked over at Darren, his face blushing as he picked up the radio. Sheepishly he replied, ‘Goose, Maverick, go ahead, over.’

  ‘Fuckin Top Gun?’ I asked, throwing my head back and laughing.

  ‘Arrived on the outskirts of village one and there are dead everywhere, over.’

  ‘Have they seen you? Over.’

  ‘Negative, over.’<
br />
  Andy had turned into GI fucking Joe all of a sudden.

  ‘Village one? Negative? He he he,’ I quipped before Darren could reply to him.

  Darren just shook his head at me and continued.

  ‘Hold position. We’ll be there in two mikes. Out.’

  Darren continued driving while I tried to suppress my smile.

  ‘Right, before you start, I gave Andy a few pointers on radio protocol this morning. The code names are in case anyone is listening in on our frequency. Take the piss all you want, but it’s the safest way.’

  ‘OK Maverick.’

  Darren just shook his head again.

  ‘Can I be Iceman?’ I asked as we approached the Land Rover up ahead. I received a dead arm in answer to my question.

  Darren pulled up alongside Andy, wound the window down and informed him of our next course of action. The Mastiff would take the lead and create a path, with the Land Rover following close behind. Darren had no doubts that the smaller vehicle would handle the terrain of fallen deeda bodies. Its oversized, off-road tyres would make short work of the slick and bumpy road the Mastiff was sure to leave in its wake.

  Darren gave the horn a prolonged press. He hoped this would spread the dense herd out along the road before us, making it easier for us to push through.

  It did. The dead turned en masse and started moving towards us. To my astonishment approximately half of the one hundred plus deedaz were now gallopers. Only twelve hours before they all been laupers. They were changing fast. This didn’t bode well at all.

  ‘Not good,’ was all Darren said as he stomped his foot down on the accelerator.

  I shouted into the back of the truck, ‘Shut the roof!’

  One of the young boys was way ahead of me and was in the process of slamming the lid down on the cupola and securing it.

  The six-wheeled juggernaut barely slowed as we hit them. Some of the bodies literally exploded on impact. Torsos, limbs and heads arced gracefully through the sky. The windscreen was showered in pieces of brain and congealed black blood.

  Then something impossible happened. The dead that ran toward us parted like the Red Sea did for Moses. They just stood at the side of the road, watching us as we drove past. A shivered rushed up my spine as it had on the beach when Bub had realised he could walk in the water. They were learning and again displaying signs of self-preservation.