It's Grim Up North (Book 3): The Journey Page 5

  ‘What the fuck happened there Darren?’ Andy asked through the walkie-talkie once we were through the danger, radio protocol having been totally forgotten.

  We’d chosen not to tell Andy about the changes we’d observed on the beach that night so this was all new to him.

  ‘GOOSE, MAVERICK,’ Darren said sternly to get Andy back in army mode. ‘Maintain radio protocol, over.’

  ‘Sorry Da... Maverick. Over.’

  Shaking his head again he replied, ‘We’ll talk later Goose, for now get back on point and scout the route ahead. It’s two miles to the next village. Contact when you get there. Out.’

  Darren pulled over on the road slightly to let Andy pass and become our vanguard again.

  ‘What you thinking?’ I asked after noticing Darren’s furrowed brow.

  ‘I’m worried mate. Within the last few days they’ve changed, a lot. What are they going to be like a month from now?’

  ‘You’re right. It was scary enough when they were Romero’s; what’s it gonna be like when they’re 28 Days Later’s?’

  ‘Fuck knows mate,’ he said as he looked over at me, worry etched into his usually indomitable face.

  Suddenly I felt an overpowering sense of foreboding. Not because of the adaptations and abilities the dead were now showing. It was the fact that it was the first time I’d seen Darren worried. Not scared. Just worried. He’d always been so confident, always had a plan and never showed any negativity towards the predicament we all now lived in. Darren had just revealed a chink in his armour. He was human after all.

  I subconsciously let out a bellow-cheeked breath at this realisation, which Darren picked up on immediately.

  ‘Don’t worry Carter. Nothing’s changed. We proceed with the task in hand and smash through anything that comes at us. We’ve enough supplies and ammo to get us by comfortably. We get to the bothy and plan what to do after that. If it’s as remote as you say and seems safe enough to stay there permanently, then we fortify and weather the storm. It’ll be September in a couple of weeks so autumn is just around the corner. After that, a short step to winter, so we need to be established somewhere and be ready for it. The supplies we have will last us until spring, if we ration well. Hopefully the cold weather may affect the dead and slow them down, if not finish them for good. All I’m saying is, we can do this. I’m sure of it.’

  Just like that my spirits lifted and any misgivings I had about Darren’s resolve vanished.

  ‘Maverick, Goose, over.’

  ‘Go ahead Goose, over.’

  ‘Village two is clear of obstructions and stinkaz, over.’

  ‘Roger; be with you in one mike. When we arrive fall in behind us. We’ll take point through the big one. Out’

  On the map the place designated ‘village two’ was called Denwick. Not much of a village per say, more a close grouping of farmsteads. It lay on the outskirts of the largest town in the area, designated ‘the big one’ and also known as Alnwick. Home to the impressive Alnwick Castle, made famous by the scarfaced bespectacled wizard, Master Potter.

  Alnwick was home to a population of just under ten thousand people. We learned of this on a hastily erected sign we saw as we crossed a bridge that spanned the A1 motorway, which, I might add, was a total gridlock of vehicles and wandering and trapped dead.

  The sign in question advised ‘ALNWICK – population 8700 – all dead – be advised – do not enter’.

  ‘That’s an MOD sign,’ Darren said as we passed the placard. ‘It’s the first time I’ve seen any government or military presence since this started.’

  ‘So why the fuck are we driving towards the place then? It says keep out Darren.

  ‘I chose this route because of the bridge, mate. This is the safest crossing point for miles.’

  He was right of course. All other routes across the ‘backbone of Britain’ would have taken us though or under the congested and impassable motorway.

  ‘I know it’s good, but the Mastiff won’t be able to push through ten thousand zombies Darren.’

  ‘We’re just doing the outskirts. That sign has probably been there since the beginning. Most of the dead will have shuffled off by now. Hopefully.’

  It was a big chance to take but Darren seemed to think it was worth it.

  He added, ‘Anyway, if we get hung up, we’re safe as houses in here. Then Andy can come up with a way to lure them off.’

  We turned a corner and were greeted with an unobstructed view of the castle. Darren immediately brought the Mastiff to a complete stop. We sat there, mouths agape.

  The medieval castle was under siege. Under siege by the dead. Its vast perimeter surrounded by thousands of them, at least ten deep.

  ‘Goose, Maverick. Keep an eye on our six. Over.’

  ‘Affirmative Maverick, over.’

  Darren took the magic scope out of his rucksack, withdrew his Glock and made his way into the back of the Mastiff, beckoning me to follow.

  He carefully opened the cupola and we both climbed out.

  After using the scope for a couple of minutes he passed it to me. ‘There are people trapped in there. North corner, on the ramparts.’

  I zoomed into the area he described and could see the poor trapped people. They’d seemingly seen us too and were waving their arms at us.

  ‘Darren, they’re holding up some sort of placard with numbers on.’

  Darren immediately popped his head down into the cupola and asked Sarah to pass up the walkie-talkie from the dashboard.

  ‘Read out the numbers.’

  As I read them out Darren fiddled with the radio.

  After I’d finished and before he punched in the last number Darren said ‘I’m not sure about this Carter.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘If anyone else is scanning these radio channels, for example Gippa and his gang, we’re about to give our position away.’

  Of course. We had enemies now. Enemies who wanted to kill us. Slowly. We’d taken their ‘possessions’ and sacked their home.

  ‘Shall we just leave then?’ I asked.

  ‘No, we take the chance, they might have intel about our journey west.’

  Darren had a point. The thirty-mile journey we had ahead of us would be a lot easier if someone in the castle had information that could help us.

  A voice crackled into life as Darren punched in the last digit.

  ‘Hello unidentified vehicle, this is Castle, radio check, over.’

  ‘Hello Castle, this is Reaper one zero. Reading you loud and clear. Over.’

  ‘Reaper one zero, thanks for contacting. You’re the first living we’ve seen in weeks. We were starting to think we were the only ones left. Over.’

  ‘Negative, Castle, there are people left. Some good and some bad. What’s your status? Over.

  ‘Not good Reaper, we have nearly two hundred souls in here. We’re secure from the dead but we’re running low on food and medical supplies. We lost a crew that went out scavenging about a week ago. They didn’t make it back. Before they went dark we had radio confirmation that they’d found a truck that was bound for a supermarket and was full to the brim of everything we need but as you can see we’re surrounded on all sides. Even if we could reach the truck we’d have a problem getting it into the castle. The dead bastards have started running now. If we open the gates they’ll swamp us and I’m the only person with a weapon in here. The salvage party took the rest of the weapons. We could do with a hand to be honest. Over.’

  ‘What the fuck do they want us to do?’ I asked Darren incredulously.

  ‘Castle, wait, over.’

  Darren sat thoughtfully for a few minutes, staring towards the castle and its desperate inhabitants.

  ‘Castle, Reaper, have a group ready to go in six zero mikes. We’ll try and lure them away from your perimeter. Over.’

  ‘Reaper, we’ve tried that before. Some of our party made it into the town centre and set off some car alarms. The zeds didn’t move. They know we�
��re in here somehow. It’s like they’re getting smarter. They started converging on us around two weeks ago. Over.’

  ‘Yes, we noticed intelligence too. We’ll get their attention. Just be ready to go in sixty minutes. Over.’

  ‘Affirmative Reaper one zero. Thanks. By the way I’m Sgt Gary Murphy of the Light Dragoons. Do you have a name Reaper one zero? Over.’

  ‘I’d rather not say Spud. Over.’

  ‘No problem, Reaper one zero. Thanks again. We’ll be ready in six zero mikes. Out.’

  Darren clipped the radio to his belt and turned to me with pure devilment in his eyes. ‘Let’s go fishing.’

  ‘Weren’t we supposed to get information off them?’ I asked.

  ‘Too dangerous to ask over the radio, mate. If Gippa’s listening in he’d be on us like a Mackem on cheesy chips.’

  ‘You were going to help them anyway, weren’t you? Information or not.’

  ‘Would you have left them?’ he asked.

  From our vantage point the castle was approximately a mile away. Between us was a steep valley with a river at its base. To our right was a large farmhouse that looked to have been on fire at some point. This was where Darren planned to cast out the lure.

  We got back into the Mastiff through the cupola and explained to our passengers what was happening. The rude girl was not pleased about helping the castle at all.

  ‘What the fuck are we helping them for? We’ve got our own problems. We don’t know them. It’s everyone for themselves if you ask me. Fuck them.’

  Now I’d only known Darren for four days but I knew all too well when he was going to blow his stack. The veins in his neck and face returned with a vengeance but again, the calmness in his voice far from matched the mask of fury he now wore.

  ‘Sorry, I didn’t get your name?’

  ‘Donna,’ she replied both insubordinately and with a little apprehension, starting to realise that she should have kept her opinions to herself.

  ‘Well Donna, I’d like to remind you of where you were this time yesterday and where you are now. The only reason you’re not being fucking gang raped as we speak is because people like us do care. It’s not everyone for themselves. It’s the living against the dead. So, if you’re unhappy with the way we are doing things, there’s the fucking door, you... you... horrid little twat.’

  I had difficulty keeping my face straight at his last little outburst, so I turned and made my way to the passenger seat.

  Once Darren had stared her into submission he followed and sat in the driver’s seat.

  ‘Come on, let’s go speak to Andy. Bring the dogs.’

  We grabbed our weapons and bugout bags, then climbed down and met at the back of the Mastiff, closely followed by my new best friends.

  ‘That was awesome mate. I especially liked the “horrid little twat” comment.’

  ‘He he! That’s all I could think of,’ he said, smiling.

  ‘Twenty-four years in the forces and that’s the best you can come up with?’ I added with a chuckle.

  Andy had taken up position on top of the Land Rover, keeping watch back along the road we’d arrived on.

  Bobby and Josh were standing with each other at the side of the vehicle, chatting and laughing. It was the first time I’d seen her laugh since we’d met. It was definitely a sight for sore eyes. As if the nightmare situation we were in had suddenly been swept away. That all the turmoil and terror of the past six weeks had been worth it. Just for this moment. Two people acting normally. Chewing the fat without a care in the world.

  Andy looked down as we approached and smiled. He’d felt it too. I imagine he’d thought he’d never hear or see his daughter laugh again, after what they’d been through.

  ‘Alreet lads? What’s the craic? Does the Duke need a hand with crowd control?’

  ‘Aye, something like that,’ replied Darren. ‘Can you take watch on top of the Mastiff and keep eyes on the road to Alnwick? Carter and I have to do something.’

  Andy agreed and made his way to his new post. Josh and Bobby were to take Andy’s position and keep lookout on our six.

  Darren beckoned me to follow him and we set off with Rocket and Rosie across the fields to the charred farmhouse.

  It took us around fifteen minutes to get to the farmhouse.

  Chapter Six

  When we were approximately one hundred metres away Darren said, ‘Guns up. We bound up from here. I go first, then you follow, taking a position five metres in front of me; we’ll repeat it until we get to the main courtyard. We clear every building methodically. I enter first and you come in straight behind me and clear the right side of the room. Check every corner and behind every door.’

  The dogs absolutely blew me away. They shadowed my every movement. Every time I stopped and took a knee to the ground to cover Darren, they stopped and went to ground too, lying on their stomachs, ears pricked and on high alert.

  Once we’d reached the courtyard we started systematically clearing the multitude of outbuildings. The farmhouse was rubble so didn’t need clearing. The final place to be checked was a large corrugated barn. As we approached I heard a low growling. It was coming from Rocket and Rosie. Their hackles were raised and their ears were flat back against their heads.

  On witnessing this, Darren brought Dot up and pointed her at the large barn doors. I followed suit with my weapon and quietly reassured the dogs, who immediately stopped growling, knowing that their job was done.

  When we were five metres away from the building I told them to stay. Which they did, immediately. Good dogs.

  ‘What’s the plan Darren?’

  ‘Stay with the dogs and cover our six. I’m going to have a listen.’

  Darren walked over to the barn and placed his ear against the metal door.

  I chanced a look over my shoulder at him and he shook his head at the lack of noise coming from the large building. He tapped lightly on the door and was rewarded with a cacophony of fevered and frantic banging from the other side. The door shook on its hinges as Darren stepped backwards away from it. The dogs started their low growling again.

  ‘Darren, that noise is going to attract more of them. We’re exposed here,’ I hissed.

  ‘Take the dogs to the side of the barn and get them to stay there, then come back and get the door.’

  ‘OK. Wait, what? That suppressor on your gun is still quite loud, it’ll defeat the object of keeping the noise down Darren.’

  ‘I’m not using the gun,’ he said as he laid it on the floor and unholstered Thor’s hammers.

  ‘Oh fuck,’ I whispered under my breath as I took the dogs to the side of the barn, told them to stay and took up a position to the side of the door.

  ‘Darren, they’re faster now. Are you sure about this? We don’t even know how many are in there,’ I said, panicked, the sound of my heart beating in my chest overpowering the clattering from inside the barn.

  ‘I’m sure. And there are five inside by the way. Don’t worry. Lemon squeezy.’

  How he’d gathered that there were five inside I’ll never know. And even if he was right I doubted dispatching them was ever going to be easy peasy.

  The door was of the sliding type and was secured with a pegged latch. My hand visibly shook as I tentatively withdrew the thin metal peg and unclasped it. The din inside increased when they heard the rattle of the chain the peg was attached to.

  I steeled myself, took a deep breath and a final look at Darren before I opened the door, hoping that he’d changed his mind about this course of action. He hadn’t. What I did notice was that he looked totally and utterly calm. The confidence and the unquestionable certainty that the outcome would be in his favour oozed from him. He stood like Ahab at the prow of his ship. Chin high, chest puffed, hammers readied. Prepared to face the white whale. Determination chiselled into his stony face. Again, as had happened on numerous other occasions I, unknowingly at the time, stole and absorbed his aura of confidence and immediately calmed. The tun
nel vision that had been created by the fear I was feeling had mysteriously disappeared. I dropped my rifle, withdrew my melee weapons, looped the lanyards around my wrists and readied myself to open the door.

  Using both hands, I yanked the door towards me with all my might. I was shocked at how easily the gargantuan door slid on its rails, surmising that it most probably had a counterweight inside to aid its opening.

  The banging ceased immediately. He’d been right again of course. Five ripe deedaz emerged from their metal mausoleum. As one they sprinted towards Darren.

  The first deeda to reach him received a boot in the chest as reward for winning the race and slammed into its closest competitor. Both falling to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

  The third zombie, a naked woman, her exposed skinless skull reflecting the bright sun, met her end from an overhand hammer blow to the top of her shiny head.

  Darren slowly started walking backwards to make some room as numbers four and five were about to reach him. One and two had untangled themselves and were in the process of getting up when I came out of my entrancement of the battle that was taking place and realised I should be getting in amongst it, if Darren was to stand any chance of victory.

  Clutching my hatchet and machete in my hands I ran towards my self-allotted targets, pumped up and adrenaline fuelled.

  Time slowed. My mind raced.

  ‘Wow, I’m really doing thism’ I thought. ‘I’m running towards two fucking zombies without a gun and I’m not afraid. I’ve overcome my fight or flight instincts. I’m actually becoming the man I always thought I would be. The hero. Darren’s gonna think I’m fucking awesome after this. Once they’re down I’m going to put my foot on one of their chests triumphantly and hold my hatchet in the air. Mr SAS man will be so proud of me.’

  Little did I realise, as I was mentally conversing with myself and playing out the victory before it had been won, my targets had heard my sprinting footsteps on the cobbled arcade and homed in on me. Suddenly this was not going the way it was supposed to!