Adrian's Undead Diary Enter the World of AUD

Nice ... Keep it coming..

Well that's the last time I promise to stick to a deadline!

I apologise sincerely for the delay, thank-you to those who have read through up to now, I hope you continue to read on. A big thank-you also goes to those who have continued to check on this story even though I haven't been active as of late.

Dark times people, dark times.

March 2nd 2011: PART EIGHTEEN

A ghostly white Skelly slowly came back into focus albeit she was above me and looked upside down. She mouthed words I just couldn’t hear, my brain scrambled and tried to process ten million things at once. Her words became more audible as the pounding in my head lessened but not by much.

"Are you ok?"

Skelly’s voice was concerned and worried. I tried moving but realised I had slipped down the side of the car head first, luckily my left arm broke most of the fall and took the brunt of the impact but I was still in a precarious position. My stomach, chest and arsecheeks tightened as I panicked and flailed pushing my feet off the bonnet of Stu’s car, it wasn’t a wise move as I didn’t have much control about the way my body fell. This caused my knees to forcibly hit the tarmac and cause more pain. I lay on the ground for a good thirty seconds just staring at the sky and trying to regain focus. I could see Skelly looking over me but I was baffled as to why she continued to do nothing. Another thirty seconds later I tried to get up, the confusion and fuzziness had gone but a lot of pain remained. It seared throughout my body and my muscles ached as I could only get to my knees. Once I eventually settled on my knees my stomach let out a loud growl and from that I matched and possibly exceeded Linda Blair’s vomiting exhibitions from the exorcist, it went a good ten to fifteen feet in front of me even clearing the bonnet of Stu’s car, Skelly looked on horrified at the amount bile that spewed forth. No further pain came from my stomach and I felt a little refreshed, I sat myself up against the curb and did a quick check over making sure I didn’t have a concussion or any major damage done, thankfully there was nothing wrong but I pondered why I had blacked out. Skelly watched on as I took a few deep breaths and pulled myself up making sure I hadn’t lost any items from my pockets.

"Are you ok?"

I nodded at Skelly as I couldn’t get a word out, I felt light-headed and a bit sore as I re-found my feet. I rested against Stu’s car bonnet and nearly jumped out of my skin when the remnants of Stu stared across from me. The two zombies who feasted upon him strangely hung back as he viciously lunged at me, his behaviour similar to that I had encountered whilst dealing with Marco’s friends and family. I stared at his ravaged face stern and unblinkered and squarely told him that it was his own doing, Skelly asked if I was talking to her as she had her back turned, prepared for something nasty to go down. Stu raged upon his car, beating and grasping upon its features, I stood and watched over how angry he had become at my presence, the other two remained at an eerie standstill.

"You ready?"

Skelly put her fingers in her ears awaiting a gunshot or another bout of slaying but she was way off. I gently brought her arms down by her side and slung my arm over her shoulder leading her towards the truck, Stu went wilder as we ignored his slathering and didn’t seem to have the ability to conquer the car so I left him be. Like a gentleman (Questionable, given everything.) I opened the truck door for Skelly and helped her in, she barely uttered the word thank-you and looked to be in a state of shock as pulled myself into the drivers seat and started it up.

"You sure you’re fit to drive?"

"No idea. I’ll be right."

Most of the haziness had cleared and I deemed myself good to go, I could breath, walk and talk, I was ok in my eyes. I began steadily reversing the truck around in a circle until I hit a lamppost. I made sure I was clear and trudged on with the reversing after the error, I ended up around thirty feet from the gates and began revving to reverse through them when Skelly gave me a gentle nudge on the arm.

"What we gonna do about her."

The bump to the head had made me forget she was even there, she still hadn’t moved and she still hadn’t stopped crying, the baby had though and was sound asleep in its seat. I had no idea what to do with her, the chances are that any approach at this time would have ended in hysterics, I decided to leave her as she’d been as we arrived.

"Nothing for the moment, I promise I’ll see her right."

"You promise."

"I might not do things by half but I haven’t failed you so far have I?"

We both knew what I meant by that and didn’t have to say no more on the matter, I revved the engine and jerked backwards crashing through the almost wasted gates sending them from the hinges and scraping the grounds of the backlot. I checked in the mirror to make sure I wouldn’t touch the gates and reversed the truck between the gap I had just created meaning that if anyone wanted to gain entry they’d have to crawl under the truck which was no easy feat in itself, also the rear end would open up perfectly for loading. Skelly locked the cab door beside her and followed me out of my cab door, jumping out of it as if something was chasing her. I locked the cab and nudged Skelly in the arm as she stared at the shutter entrance of Dragel’s.

"Let’s go."

"Where?"

"To meet my family."

"Ok, you first."

I stood at the shutter and was about to knock on it when I heard the latch click and it started to rise, Peter had forgot the short briefing I gave him on gun safety as the Mossberg was the first thing I saw once the shutter had risen. I pushed the barrel towards the floor but before I could let words fly I was jumped on by mother who wrapped her arms around me and repeatedly asked if I was ok. I tapped her on the back and told her that if she didn’t let me go the end result was that I was going to be sick on her, she retracted quickly. Sheba had made her way into the loading bay and began barking in excitement and to try and ward off Skelly. Even though she hadn’t been introduced Skelly took to Sheba and within ten seconds she had her eating out of the palm of her hand, it was like magic. Everyone bar Jake who was still sat in the car stood in amazement as Skelly forgot about everyone and everything, playing with Sheba.

*Cough* *Cough*

"Everyone, this is Skelly. Skelly this is…"

Skelly and Sheba were transfixed with each other.

"SKELLY!"

My tone wasn’t angry or forceful just loud enough to get everyone’s attention. Skelly sheepishly turned around and faced everyone.

"Skelly this is everyone."

I rang through everyone’s name and they exchanged glances, greetings and waves with Skelly. It wasn’t as weird as bringing a girl home for the first time but it sure felt like it. Peter pulled the shutters down but not before taking a good look at the truck.

"You gave us all a fright then lad, thought you were gonna fall right in to those things."

It was nice that he showed some concern, over the next few minutes we all did our best to break the ice for Skelly. Peter explained that everyone bar Jake watched me hit the deck, he was ready to come out and save me if needs be but I was told I was only out for ten seconds at most. Skelly mostly averted her attention to Sheba but was receptive to mother and Lauren’s approach. Even though I felt light-headed and could have done with a break there was no time and I got everyone’s attention.

"Where you up to on the loading front?"

"All done, your mum chose the best items and me and Loz packed it up."

"Fair enough."

I opened up the back of the bakery truck and became instantly pissant, they’d done a fine job but only three quarters of the truck was full and was filled with mostly what they’d hand picked instead of bulk loading which I though they would of been sensible enough to do, there was a good month or two worth of stuff in there but I didn’t risk my life just to take a piece of Dragel’s, I wanted it all. I felt greedy but I had no other mindset, I had capitalised on the opportunity and did not want it to go to waste. The fact that there were a further four mouths to feed in Edna, Marco, Melanie and Skelly also played in, the bottom of it all was they’d chosen their favourite things instead of being more practical. I slammed the doors in frustration and felt light-headed once more. Instead of speaking to anyone I walked of in a huff and went through to the shop floor leaving everyone to wonder what was up. Once in there I grabbed another cheese and pickle sandwich and red bull to replace the one’s I ejected from my bowels before. I sat on the edge of the fridge and peered through the front shutters. More zombies had made their way into the front car park and were spaced out all over, four fresh bodies lay on the ground with pools of blood emanating from them, they couldn’t have been long dead and I knew it would only be a matter of time before they were to rise up. I lost count at twenty in the car park as I was approached by mother, she knew I was pissed off by the way I necked the red bull and flung it carelessly across the shop floor.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, I’m fine, ok, will people stop asking me."

"I know, I know, but it was a nasty fall and something’s bugging you ain’t it?"

"No shit sherlock."

"Well what’s up?"

"Everything! You’ve seen it out there, it’s a nightmare become reality. I’ve done some nasty stuff I ain’t proud of but I’m doing it so we’re ok. It’s fucking madness and I don’t even know how I’m doing it. Then I come back to this and instead of getting everything you’ve gone and hand-picked the shit you normally eat. I can understand that but we it’s never gonna be normal again. We need everything."

I slumped to the cold floor sighing as I put my head in my hands and resting my back against the bottom of the fridge. Mother knew that today had been just a little too much on everybody, it wasn’t the busyness but the way the world had changed on its head which had started to get to me. The more time I had the more I thought about what I had done, the worse I felt. I decided it was time to get moving again, I pulled myself up and grabbed another red bull. Feeling the effects of the red bull and the sandwich I consumed I felt a lot better but still had dull aches and pains throughout my body. I made my way to the counter and I pulled off a generic tab of painkillers, ripping the packet open and stuffing a handful down my throat washing it down with the red bull. Mother watched on as I self medicated.

"You’re gonna end up killing yourself doing that!"

"And?"

It went silent.

"You know what I mean ya daft sod."

"Yeah yeah, time to get back on the saddle."

"You don’t have to do this you know, we’ll always get by."

I knew I didn’t but I had to, if not for them it was for myself. My train of thought was that if I went down today at least I would have tried. I didn’t feel as if she meant those words and was just trying to alleviate the mounting pressures on my shoulders. I slung my arm round mother’s shoulder and told her that I knew that but the way the world was probably heading, should we survive the day, what we got from Dragel’s gave us a major advantage in surviving at least for the short term. I think that gave her a new perspective of why I was angry.

"So what’s the plan then?"

"Well I’ve got an extra truck and a tranny van In the parking lot, we’ll bring them in and fill them to the brim and if we have to come back then so be it. We’ve got four extra mouths to feed so getting as much as possible is on the agenda."

"Four?"

"Yeah four, Skelly and three others waiting back at the kennels."

"How come they didn’t come here with you?"

"Because they’ve already seen enough today and frankly now is not the time to be talking about it, we need to get move on before anyone else comes along, can’t be doing with any more dickheads today."

"It was only one of them who was kicking off, the others were ok, they came to front shutters at first but got chased off by them things."

Hearing that made me glad I chose a different approach and let the rest of the group I encountered on the backlot go.

"Mum, you’ve got no idea…"

Skelly appeared in the doorway just as we were about to make our way through, thrusting the walkie talkie my way and speaking so fast I couldn’t catch a word. I told her to calm down and took the radio from her, Melanie’s voice came through.

"Is anyone there, hello!?!"

Her voice was panicked and my stomach tightened expecting bad news.

"Shaine here, what’s up?"

A sigh of relief came over airwaves.

"Nothing, everything here is ok, I was just worried because we didn’t hear off you’s and it’s a bit scary. Marco is still asleep and Edna has gone off…"

Skelly and I looked at each other puzzled.

"What do you mean, gone off?"

"I don’t know, she said she was going outside for some fresh air and I haven’t seen her since, she took the keys with her but left the door unlocked."

"How long ago was that?"

"Just after you’s left."

I had no idea how long we’d been away from the place and had lost track of time in general. It pissed me off that Edna decided to leave Melanie practically on her own and especially as she took the keys leaving Melanie susceptible to possible attacks/intruders. I was pleased that they were still ok and that the walkie talkies worked even though the distance wasn’t too far. Skelly grabbed the radio from me.

"Mel, Mel?"

"Yeah?"

"There’s a spare key taped to the underside of the teapot on the kitchen side, use it to lock the door."

"Ok, thank-you."

Skelly chucked the radio back to me.

"Lock the door and contact us if anything is up. Make sure that Marco and yourself are ok."

"I will do."

With that the radio fell silent and I pocketed it, turning to Skelly and mother.

"What now?"

Skelly asked.

"Grab yourself something to eat and I’ll let you know."

Skelly looked around checking each aisle was clear.

"It’s ok, I cleared here out before, grab whatever you want."

Her eyes lit up.

"Anything?"

"Yep, anything you want."

Skelly ran off down and aisle in glee as I walked through to the managers office plonking myself on the only chair in the room and instantly noticed that the safe was empty. I looked at mother and she chuckled, I had my suspicion to whom had done it.

"Loz?"

"Yeah, Loz."

"Figures."

I swung around to look at the CCTV monitors and nearly knocked over a bottle of Jim Beam which had been left on the side. I had no idea who’d opened it as no-one besides me was a drinker, let alone a whiskey drinker. I looked at mother puzzled.

"Peter."

"PETE?"

As long as I’d known Peter he’d never drank a drop of alcohol. I suspected nerves and pressure got to him but I’d never expected him to hit the booze, not at least this quickly. It was a concern that he’s took this route but at the same time he had hardly drank anything. I gazed at the monitors watching over the car parks whilst screwing the cap back on the bottle, aside from a few more zombies it was pretty clear. I was puzzled as to why it was so quiet, a few people had tried and failed but I expected a lot worse, I was grateful it wasn’t but still it just didn’t seem right. The time on the monitors read 13:21, I double checked this with the time on my phone and I wondered if the day would ever draw to a close, there was still a lot to do in my eyes. Skelly entered the office stuffing her face with some rainbow drops (Like puffy rice krispies with lots of sugar, sweeteners and colourings.) with another couple of bags on hand to boot.

"Kid in a candy shop eh?"

Skelly nodded as she filled her mouth with more rainbow drops. Mother just smirked at me as if to note I’d probably be the same given the circumstances. I turned my attention back to the monitors and the only thing of note I still saw were the increasing amount of zombies in the front car park. I grabbed a notepad and pen off the adjacent desk and began furiously scribbling ideas off on to it, most would have made no sense in other peoples eyes but I knew exactly what it meant. After scribbling a really sketchy drawing I jumped out of the seat and went to hightail it off but was blocked off by mother and Skelly who had been watching over me.

"What’s going on?"

Mother asked.

"Nowt, I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve got it in order."

I went to run off but was pulled back by Skelly. She linked my arm and pulled me over to the monitors before pointing to the one covering the back car park. With a free finger she managed to prize away from the rainbow drops she pointed at the solitary car parked there.

"I know, I know, I’m going to deal with her in a minute. I was on my way to move the truck. Do me a favour go out front and grab two packs of three of the smallest size nappies and about three months worth of baby milk, throw a couple of jars of baby food in there too, oh and wipes and if they have any a couple of dummies and…"

"I know what babies need Shaine, you were one of them a while back. What you want this for anyway. You’re not having his secret lovechild are you?"

"MOTHER!"

Skelly shook her head and tittered.

"Yeah yeah, One of you’s get that and the other grab some long lasting crap like spam and quick food, get about a weeks worth along with a weeks worth of water and meet me in the bay."

They both just nodded trying to take in what I had just said, I felt like it made sense. I took off and went through to the loading bay, Peter and Lauren were sat on some steps and was counting the money Lauren ‘looted’ from the safe. They quickly lost count as they seen me approach. Lauren tried shoving the cash back in to her bag but the game was up. I smiled at the pair.

"It’s useless that now you know?"

"Yeah, me and Pete were counting it to cure the boredom."

"Sure you were."

"We was!"

She said it in a tone that she knew she had been caught out.

"Look if it was any other day, I wouldn’t be best pleased but it’s not, money ain’t worth a damn thing now, best keep hold of it for fools gold or even better toilet paper."

"Well it wouldn’t be the first time the Queen would be a shithead would it?"

Pete chimed in, his usual jokey self, Lauren began laughing at the crudity of Pete’s words as Sheba bounded over to see what the excitement was about. I called Pete over as I was about five yards ahead of him and he joined me by the shutter. I noticed he didn’t have the Mossberg by him.

"Pete?!?"

"Yeah?"

"The shotgun?"

"Oh I put it in the cab of the van, thought we were gonna get moving a bit quicker than this?"

I shook my head. I wasn’t mad or disappointed just a bit concerned about his indifference about the situation we were in.

"Do us a favour, don’t let it go from your side. I put my trust in you to protect you and my family for when I’m not there and I believe in you to do that. Can’t afford to leave something like that around, what would happen if he got a hold of it?"

Pete looked disappointed in himself but I patted him on the shoulder to give him a lift in confidence.

"It’s not your fault but it’s got to be this way from now on. Mistakes means murder by marauders, you get me?"

Pete just nodded, he was finding it hard to adjust. I asked him to retrieve the shotgun and cover me in the back lot whilst I reversed the truck in. I’d already had the gate open and started the truck by the time he came into view. The parking lot was clear aside from the sole car and I couldn’t anything else in my view. I jerked the stiff gearstick into reverse and slowly backed up inswinging the truck into the bay area. I steadied it in with a succession of stalls before bringing it to halt halfway into the bay.

"What you doing lad?"

I put my hand up to Pete asking a for a second or two before running around the back of the truck. I opened it up and realised I’d made a bit of a fuck up, I’d parked the transit van right on top of the ramp making it impossible for it to be brought down.

"Fuck it."

I hopped in to transit van and started it first time round, I let the engine run for a few seconds and threw it into reverse leaving the handbrake on, a large clang rattled throughout the loading bay as the ramp had been forced out via the traction of the vans wheels. I didn’t even have reverse, the release of the handbrake rolled the van backwards and gently off the ramp into the bay. I managed to steer it just close enough to Pete’s car and I eyeballed Jake as I got out, he stared straight back at me then pretended to look at his phone. I noticed that he must have exited the car or had something brought to him as there was another bottle of coke half drank sat on the dash. I Pressed my face up to his window but he took no notice of me, he was a lost cause for now and I sighed as I wasted no more energy on him. Pete was doing a continuous three sixty which looked funny at a distance but I could sense the pressure and my words had got to him, I called for him to get back inside as I hoped back in the cab. Peter stood at the by the shutters and kept a watchful eye as I made a hash of reversing the truck, itself had become easier to manoeuvre but I couldn’t see behind me at all. I managed to just get it inside the shutters as Peter pulled it back down and locked it up. I switched the engine off and jumped out making Pete my first port of call, his forehead was covered in sweat and he smelt of terror.

"Pete, you did a good job there. Thanks man."

"I know I did."

He didn’t say anything else he just walked by me and straight up to my mother kissing her on her forehead. She and Skelly stood in unison arms wrung down with the goods they brought from the shop floor. I whisked a bread tray from the pile of mess Lauren and Pete had created and  held it out in my arms, mother and Skelly placed the items onto the tray and evened the weight out once their arms had become free.

"Thank-you."

"You want me to come with you?"

I got asked by three people at the same time… weird.

"I’ll do this by myself, just open the shutters and I’ll be back in a minute."

Skelly gave me a wave goodbye knowing full well I couldn’t return favour. I was watched up the path by Peter before the crashing noise of the shutters left me outside, alone. I did my own three sixty and made sure nothing was insight before making my approach to the sole car in the middle of the lot. The woman didn’t even notice my figure shadowing her but was arisen when I clumsily brought the bread tray down on her bonnet a bit harder than I thought I would. She sat bolt upright and let a loud frightened shriek which in turn woke her baby up which immediately burst into tears. Scared stiff, I removed myself from the vehicles reach so she could regain focus. She didn’t even look at what I assumed was her child but spoke softly, the child responded to the woman but still continued to cry.  I signalled for her to wind her window down but got distracted by the sound of someone huffing and puffing, their flat feet echoing off the tarmac with every pounding beat they made.

"OI… *loud huff* OI!…"

What fucking now I thought as the rapidly approaching figure stormed into the car park…

I finally got a chance to sit a read your story, and I'm glad I did! It's very good. I"m glad some of the other commentors have explained some things as I didn't understand what an estate was. Looking for ward to new updates!!
 

  They're coming to get you, Barbara!
 

great story, really enjoyed it.

Professer Pinderschloss  " the human spirit is hard to kill"
  Grandmama.  " yes even with a chainsaw"

when mimes finally escape the invisible box, Hell will come with them.

http://midnightscorner.wordpress.com/ home of  The Clock runs down, Dark Tide rising, and now A Storm Before Dawn Book III,  and other storys from the Dead lands.

Thank-you to those who have read on and continue to do so.

@Caretames1 - Thank-you for reading and for the comment. I should include a sub-dictionary of words I use and local slang that other people might not know. As I said in an earlier post I'm grateful for other people commenting and answering questions. If there is anything else that needs clarifying please do not hesitate to ask, I'll try my best to answer in a timely fashion but if not I'm sure another AUD'er will be able to supply the information.

@Okelly - Thank-you for the comment and I'm glad you're enjoying it, there is plenty yet to come when I eventually get round to writing it, that is.

On a side note: I'm not ignoring anyone else's stories, I greatly admire each and every persons contribution to this site but as of late I've only been on the site to quickly read through stuff due to bad circumstances. I will get round to reading the stories properly. I also include a photo which set's the scene around Dragel's and its car park. I hope this gives you a better perspective on my writings, sometimes I feel my story comes across flat because I envision what I'm writing and sometimes I don't translate it all that well. I'm working on that as much as I can.

Once again, thank-you.

March 2nd 2011: Part Nineteen

"Don’t…*Huff* hurt *Huff* them *Huff* please!"

The figure running towards me and the vehicle slowed in pace, trudging almost, legs heavy and arms flopping side to side. A man, no older than his late twenties, similar build to myself with rough unshaven features, stopped cautiously at the boot of the car and rested his weight on it with his hands, straining to breathe. I noticed the woman look in the rear view mirror and tense up. The guy had caught some of his breath back but slumped to his knees, he began crawling towards me, his shredded t-shirt was caked in blood, some dry, some fresh. I took a step back and picked a bottle of water from the bread tray and tossed it towards him. He stopped short a yard or two and propped his back up against the car, taking gulps of the water as fast as he could.

"I wasn’t even thinking about it, I thought she was on her own, I came to see if she was ok."

"Thank-you"

"Rough morning I take it?"

I said as I indicated to the mess of his clothes. He panicked a little after realising how much of a state he was in. He began pouring water all over himself trying to get the blood off, he didn’t have much look where his clothes were concerned however it gave me a good look overall and he didn’t appear to have been bitten or hurt in any way.

"Yeah, rough isn’t the word."

"So what’s the story then?"

I asked, I was inquisitive in my tone.

"You wouldn’t believe I if I told you man."

"Try me, I’ve seen a lot myself this morning."

He sighed as he pondered how to word it.

"I had to kill me ma-in-law and me step-brother."

He paused for a moment after that, I could tell in his voice that he was close to cracking up.

"I had to, I just had to."

"You don’t have to justify yourself to me, I’ve done some things I ain’t proud of today."

"Try telling her that, she’s probably still shell-shocked from what she saw."

"Yeah, I don’t know how’d I’d take it if I had seen anything like that."

"She didn’t see them, she just saw what was left. That’s why she’s in the car and I’m out here."

We both went quiet as he pulled himself up against the car and looked into the back window and smiled, the baby was subdue and staring into space, unfazed by what was going on.

"The kid yours?"

"Yeah, she’s my world."

He smiled in warmth, knowing that his daughter was safe. I kept my distance and moved to the front end of the car as he edged next to the passenger side window giving it a gentle tap. The woman took no note and stared straight at me.

"Sharon, please baby."

He pleaded, he wasn’t desperate but I could tell he loved her. She continued to stare at me.

"Sharon, you know I… I had no choice… I just had to, I just had."

It was as if she would not given him the time of day.

"Please baby, just let me in, let me explain everything."

I moved around to Sharon’s window and got myself eye level with her, she stared straight forward, I could sense her panic and unease.

"Sharon, I know you have no idea who I am but please listen to me, the world has shit the bed, your partner had to do what he had to do to keep you’s safe and he’ll have to do a lot worse in the future to make it that way. All I can say is that it is best if you could work this out together, if not for yourselves but for your baby. It’s no good being a sitting duck."

She could tell by my voice that I wasn’t kidding and turned to face me.

"Can you let him in?"

She shook her head. The man slumped to his knees as tears rolled down his cheek. He softly pleaded with her through the window.

"I can’t, he took the keys."

I looked over at the man, how could he have the keys and not get in. He furiously began patting himself down and a sense of dread overcame him as he realised he no longer had them in his possession. Sharon took notice of this and panicked. The man told her it would be ok slurring his words through the sobbing. The look on his face said otherwise.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!"

Panic had overset him and he slumped back down of the side of the car, sobbing heavily. I walked around and stood above him, he looked to be at the point of conceding defeat to the pressure beset upon him.

"Crying ain’t gonna do you any good, retrace your steps."

It lit a small spark beneath him as ran through his steps, mumbling things and places he had been and done over the course of the morning.

"I remember, I had them…"

He paused in thought.

"I had them as I come down the road and when I spotted you…"

He paused again and then patted himself over again.

"Fuck."

"What?"

"I had them on a chain and it went flying as I come down the ramp… FUCK!"

He was angry at himself but it wasn’t helping in the slightest, it was doing me no favours in keeping calm.

"Keep it down fella, it’s not helping anything."

"…"

I offered him my hand but he declined and pulled himself up, he mumbled a sorry as he began dusting himself down.

"I’ll give you hand looking for your keys, four eyes are better than two."

He went around to Sharon’s side of the car and pressed his face as close to the window as possible explaining he was going to look for the keys and not to worry, she was far beyond that so it was a moot point. He looked into the bread tray on the bonnet and gestured at taking another bottle of water. I gestured back for him to take one.

"Go easy on them, I don’t know how long they’ll last you’s."

He looked at me funny as he gulped down a good third of the bottle in one go.

"I brought it out here for your missus and the baby, I assume you came here for supplies?"

He nodded at me as he drank some more. I indicated for him to take the lead. He cautiously moved forward as I kept a pace or two behind him. In the short walk to the entrance of the car park I asked him how the fuck he managed to go from the car park to appearing behind it some time later. He explained that he took the keys because he and Sharon argued over what had gone on with her brother and mother, she had threatened to drive off and leave him in the lurch, he deemed it his only measure of keeping her from disappearing and in a weird way, safe. He went on to say that he approached Dragel’s from the front, only to be greeted by the zombies that were there, as he went to make his way back to the ramp he was blocked off by a zombie and ran off in the opposite direction. He wasn’t from around these parts and only knew the main roads so that is what he ended up doing, following the main roads only to encounter more trouble on the way, henceforth the running and lack of breath when he finally appeared. I told him he was an idiot and if he hadn’t panicked he could have just run the opposite way to get back to the car park from the main road. He reached the top of the small hilt before me and I knew something was wrong as soon as I seen his legs turn to jelly, almost buckling.

"Fuck!"

He pointed upwards as I got closer to him and looked up the road. Tumbling down at various paces were zombies, a pack of zombies, a good twenty or so. They picked up the pace once they had us in view. The man didn’t know what to do and was in two minds to stick or split.

"You look for your keys, I’ll handle this."

"Eh?"

"Just look for the god damn keys will you!"

He stood still, dumbstruck as I opened my coat and withdrew the Glock, I stepped up the hilt a bit further and positioned myself for some target practice.

Shaine I love your story! However the incompetence of some of your characters is driving me absolutely bat shit crazy!!!! I know if a ZA ever happened folks would be really confused and not really wanting to believe it was going on, but holy shit my brother I can't take it LOL Please oh please interject a southern man from the states in your story and allow him to slap some sense in these damn people. The only character beside your two main ones I have hope for is grandpa up in the apartment building and unfortunately they can't get to him.

Anyway love what you are writing keep it up!
 

Good...bad...it doesn't matter. I am the mother fucker with the gun.
 

Shane, You are doing a great job.  Everything is described well.  I sorta got a picture in my head of the Kennel and the estate.  I love all your characters.  Some are dead weight, some aren't.  Guilt makes you do alot of different things.  You kill somebody and you are nice to the next person you see.  A karma balance.  Not necessarily a good thing.  He felt pressure from the people surrounding him at the kennel about the couple, so he invited them to stay.  I like the cul-de-sak outside of the kennel.  It gives a great expansion location when you have more people.  Easy to block off the road and allow for a fall back position if overrun from either inside the Kennel area or from the estate.  Once things get settled down, I'd be thinking of a wall for behind the kennel next to the tracks and what I could use.

I'm wondering if the Estates have walls around them?  Stone Walls, concrete, etc...  I don't know what English Estates are like.  This is when I'd want to drive out to the country where the farm land is, and load up some of those stone walls and move them back to my safe house.  Oh wait that's Scotland.

I like Adrian's attitude.  If you don't work, you don't stay.  Not saying everybody needs to be able to kill zombies, somebody's got to cook and clean.  Those that can't take the immediate stress of battle, could learn to clean the guns.  Load ammo.  Do skits for entertainment.  Everybody works even the baby.  Of course the baby's purpose is to eat/shit/cry and make pretty bubbles out of spit.... (laughs)  I haven't figured out Jake's use yet... Can he make pretty bubbles from spit? (smiles)

Hey Jeff, got to remember, The British aren't all that gun crazy.  That's why we left to come to America, so we could be free to collect guns.... (laughs)  They just aren't comfortable with them around.  Sorta like we are about letting kids drink Wine with the meal.  It gets a lot of people uncomfortable in America.  Culture and the things that they cause..

Uh, Shane, why didn't he just unlock the gate and swing it open instead of crashing through it?  Was it that badly damaged that it couldn't be opened?  I would have been thinking about locking it back up after I pulled the truck out.  Bread Truck would have been moved forward so that the other vehicles could be loaded faster by being closer.  When I got in the bread truck to move it, I would have screamed when I looked in the back.... (smiles)  He can't be everywhere.  Pete let him down on this job of filling the bread truck.  At some time, you are going to need to rearrange the cars.  If they are loaded they need to be moved closer to the gate and away from the building.  Definitely faster to take the time to move the vehicles.  I've loaded many a truck.

I could just see myself in his shoes opening up the bread truck and seeing it packed like that.  Wanting to scream and throw a tantrum.  Good job on using the things that are available.  That's something that I'm good at.

You know, if I just did projectile vomiting.  I'd not eat the same thing again.  That pickle and cheese sandwich from earlier might have been bad...  Of course, it could have been some blood and guts he might have swallowed too.

Personally, I'd re-collect that lead pipe.  It makes a good weighted weapon for a Pike type of maneuver.  Behind a fence, Stab a zombie in the eye.   Or combine it with a rope, use it  to capture a zombie and keep control of it.  You might be shoved around by a strong person, but you can't get bitten.

Thanks for all the kind comments and support.

Unfortunately I'm having a really bad period in my life and it is only going to get worse before it ever gets good. Please bare with me and I will get this story back on track, I know I've promised that a few times and I apologise to anyone who has been waiting for me to move my arse. I have no timescale on when I will be writing the story any further, I at least know that it probably won't be at any point this week.

Thank-you for your time and your readership.

Shaine

Shaine mate.. your families and your well being comes first without a doubt .. this is a very good story and I know when the next entry happens it will be well worth waiting for..

Take care Bro..

We'll be here when your ready..

great addition shaine.

Hope things work out for you and yours, times are tough all over for folks. so Good luck and I look forward to reading the rest when your able to write again

Professer Pinderschloss  " the human spirit is hard to kill"
  Grandmama.  " yes even with a chainsaw"

when mimes finally escape the invisible box, Hell will come with them.

http://midnightscorner.wordpress.com/ home of  The Clock runs down, Dark Tide rising, and now A Storm Before Dawn Book III,  and other storys from the Dead lands.

Cheers for the kind words, another part for you, I hope you enjoy it. If not call me out and tell me where I can improve. Thank-you for reading on.

@Jeff1969: Please remember that this is only one mans perspective, for all we know the people he has encountered are much better than he lets on. I have something in mind about an American from the Southern states. If I get round to it, I hope you'll enjoy reading it.

@DavidL: Cheers for the kind words and thank-you for reading, I have taken some of your advice in for consideration. After the bashing the gates had received I don't think there was much choice but to plough through them, the question to ask is would he have done it if the gates were still a viable security option? I admit he was lapse on a few things but he shoulders only stretch so far. Estates here do not have walls around them unless they are private (Think mansions on vast plots of land) or are of the farming variety. (Like the Scottish stone ones, they're easy to build but a bastard to maintain and repair.)

@Killswitch: I appreciate the kind words, thank-you. I'm glad you like the story.

@OKelly: Thank-you for the kind words. I agree, there is a lot of hardships that a majority of people are facing these days. I wouldn't wish any of it on anyone.

March 2nd 2011: PART TWENTY

The first bullet from thirty yards missed well wide of its intended target and most likely deafened everyone in earshot, I forgot how loud the bang could be in an open space, it echoed into the distance, miles abound with its force. The man hit the deck and sat in the middle of the road, eyes scrunched tight and fingers in his ears. I slapped him round the side of his head and calmly told him to look for the keys, I was here to help him, not kill him. The second shot fared a little better but I had still made no headway, it took the ear off a stick thin woman who had left too much on show, her dressing gown flapping in the wind and with every step another ripple waved in her sagging skin. I gave myself a second to step back and not panic. Shooting at a target or a clay/live pigeon, easy, people… (At best, if you’d want to still call them that.) it just felt a little weird. That in itself I thought was stupid considering I’d already turned the Glock on two people, killing one. The fact I was comfortable pointing the gun with veiled threats many times over today made me relax a little and think about shooting with a different approach, I raised it up and without exerting too much pressure on myself, lined the closest approaching zombie up and let fly. Unfortunately for me it wasn’t a case of third time lucky but I was pleased I somewhat hit the target I was aiming for, I’d nailed the saggy skinned woman just below the chin and sent her spinning backwards knocking the two closest to her out of commission which bought me a few more seconds to get a little more composure. As I lined up my fourth shot all I could think about was the scene from Robocop where Officer Alex J. Murphy (Peter Weller) gets lined up by Clarence J. Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) before getting the absolute shit shot out of him.

"Nin nin nin nin nin nin nin nin nin nin nin."

The man turned to me and asked what the fuck I was playing at considering I’d just given him a slap for not getting on with things.

"Concentrating,"

He looked at me, not having a clue if I was being serious or not, because of him I’d lost concentration and the zombies moved in closer to us.

"Nin nin nin nin nin nin nin nin nin nin nin."

Aside from the loud bang from the discharge the next two sounds were splat and thump. I’d claimed my first zombie death by shooting. I turned my attention to back to the saggy lady I’d hit in the throat and with my next shot confidently put her lights permanently out. The surrounding zombies were drawing nearer and I didn’t think I’d be able to clear them all out before they got closer. I went for the front three and dropped them using four rounds, I lost one due to being over-confident but it wasn’t a total waste, it hit another zombie in the shoulder which knocked it in front of two others who fell straight over the felled zombie. Another couple of rounds put two more zombies down before they started to get too close for comfort. The man realised this and went to bolt.

"Have you got the keys?"

"No but I ain’t letting them get any closer."

I could smell the fear from him and to be honest I wasn’t exactly excited at them getting any closer.

"Move down the path more and I’ll drop them. Keep looking!"

The man nodded and moved back a few yards and began scouring the area as fast as his eyes would move. I raised the Glock up and lined up the next nearest zombie, I lost count at ten coming towards us but there weren’t many more. The first two shots hit the neck and left shoulder of the nearest zombie, he toppled over into a crowd of five which were packed tight near him and brought them to a halt. Instead of focusing on them I went for the fringe players who were making ground. Another ten rounds were spent flooring them, some direct hits, others my targeting just wasn’t right but I kept control of my firing and it paid off. By my estimation I had around six or seven rounds left in the clip and there was still a few more left to tend to, instead of emptying it I decided to get a bit of practice in, changing the magazine in an almost rapid fire fashion, at least one thing hadn’t escaped me when it came to guns. The man watched intently as I prepared myself for another round of getting comfortable using the Glock as I used to. It had been months since I last had a dance with it and it was far easier to aim at a non moving piece of papered boarding than it was with the zombies who have the co-ordination and motor skills of the town drunk after a day session. I stepped back to adjust my position and heard the scraping of metal against tarmac, I didn’t even bother to look down, I knew exactly what it was and so did the man, it was just my luck and was another pointer at how my day had been. I pressed my foot firmly on it to keep it in place, I knew that if I let him have it there would be no chance he’d be within a five mile radius seconds after and although I was always taught kindness/manners don’t cost anything, sometimes there is a receipt and it was that time for me.

"Move your foot, I got it."

I didn’t budge but instead took aim and rounded off killing the remaining zombies, I made sure to count the rounds, fourteen more spent. I checked the area to see if anything else was around and most importantly to make sure I was safe, even in turning for a different view, my foot stayed firmly on the key. I could see the man lust for it but he didn’t dare make an advance on it. I picked it up and inspected it to make sure it was ok before I put it into my right hand coat pocket just after I holstered the Glock. The man looked at me confused and worried.

"The… the key?"

"Is in safe hands."

He slumped on to his buttocks, he thought it was his time and began muttering something about being sorry and that if I could spare him and his family, I switched off from there.
"Woah fella, what do think I’m playing at? You think I want to kill you? I would have done it as soon as I clapped eyes on you."

He thought about it, I could have been a bit more tactful in what I had said to him but I gave him nothing but the blunt truth.

"So why take the key?"

"One good turn deserves another, the key is in my safekeeping for now."

"So what have I gotta do?"

The man was now on the same page, I already knew what I wanted him to do but I felt like being a tad evil because of the way I’d literally (Overused terminology or what?) stumbled across the key.

"So what have I gotta do!?!"

"Shut up and listen for starters."

The exchanges weren’t as polite as made out, I understood that he was anxious to get the hell out of dodge with family intact but I don’t think he got the full extent of what I had just done for him. A simple thank-you would have spared him as to what I had in mind. I explained how I’d risked my life in helping him and I got nothing in return. I asked him if he felt that was right, his rebuttal was all wrong.

"You offered, so what you want now? Money? My wife?"

I shook my head, I thought he was better than that. The world had turned and so had his head. I pulled out a handful of cash I took from Mr Aspini’s remains and chucked it into the air, we watched it as it fluttered away, rustling against the wind and breaking the silence.

"Money ain’t shit and sorry to be so rude, neither is your wife."

The comment caught him cold.

"…"

"That isn’t to say she isn’t a very nice lady but I think you need to get you’re head in check, do you think she’d let you back in that car if she heard what you said?"

"…"

"You have no respect sir."

He looked at me in disgust, how dare I tell him that his wife ain’t shit and then have the bare faced cheek to state that he has no respect? Unfortunately it was the truth.

"I’ve afforded enough time on this bullshit and I only dragged myself into it because of your kid. Thank your lucky stars that you have her."

"I am, every day."

He didn’t sound so sure of it.

"Well make sure you’re twice that if you see tomorrow."

We stood in silence letting the words seep in.

"Can I just ask one thing?"

"Yes?"

"What the fuck have I gotta do?"

His face dropped when I explained to him that he’d now be doing it all by himself. I told him that I wanted him to clear the road of the dead zombies first and then placing some of them in the middle of the road just after the right turning of the car park. I thought that it would be a good idea because it would potentially put off any vehicles entering from the lower regions of the estate. The man shook his head all the way through the explanation, unfortunately for him, he had no other choice. I watched him as he begrudgingly started pulling bodies down the road and arranging them in a haphazard fashion, it took him a nearly ten minutes but it was a well earnt ten minutes of resting for me. After a pile of seven bodies had been strewn together in a small roadblock type heap the man threw his hands up in despair. I gave him the thumbs up excusing him from doing anything further.

"I’ve done your dirty work, give me the key."

The man said through heaved breathing as he made his way over to me.

"Thanks man, I really appreciate what you’ve done. Lets walk."

I started off towards his car and he quickly caught up asking me why I was being such a dick. We stopped halfway between the car and where we came from.

"I’m the dick? I suppose your shit doesn’t stink either, does it?."

"Well you are a dick, I come here and you play all nicey nicey, then you have me dragging bodies all over the show and I still haven’t got my key."

I shook my head, the man clearly was only about himself. I took ‘his’ key out of my pocket and dropped it in front of me I insinuated for him to come and get it.

"You think I’m stupid? You’ll just kick me while I’m down."

I moved back from the key and once again gave him the opportunity to take the key.

"Uh huh, not far enough."

He wasn’t aggressive or hardened more scared, I didn’t move."

"If you’re going to do me, at least do it like a man!"

I shook my head at him.

"What’s with the head shaking, you think you’re better than me?"

"Your anger is misguided."

"So what, your a fucking wiseman now? What else are you planning to spring on me?"

"Nothing, get your key and do one."

He took a turn, he was trying to figure out what the next step was in his head.

"Where do I go smarty pants? Out there is fucking filling out with them things."

"That’s your problem, not mine. You go your way and I’ll be on mine."

"Come on man, you can’t just leave us out here."

"I can… and I will."

He stood in silence brooding over the words. I began to walk off back towards Dragel’s.

"Hey man, I’m sorry, I’m sorry ok."

I turned around and shook my head once more.

"What the fuck, I apologised."

He threw his arms up in agitation.

"You didn’t do it for the right reasons. As I said to you before, I came out here to make sure that Sharon and your little one were ok, they are and now they have you back as well as transportation. On top of that I’ve given you supplies so that you’s can look after that child and not once did I get a proper fucking thank-you, not one word of sincerity has come from you and you expect me to be nice, I ain’t having it. Get your key and go."

He grabbed his key and stared at me as he walked backwards cussing every second word.

"You got lucky today, you have your wife, your kid and a functioning vehicle with supplies to boot. How many people have already lost that today? HUH!?!"

He cussed some more under his breath.

"Go on ahead call me what you want, I don’t care and I don’t care for you. Tell Sharon what you want but I think she knows who you really are. Take your car and get the fuck out of here, if I even get a sniff of your ungrateful fucking ass anywhere near here I won’t hesitate in making sure you don’t even get the pleasure of blinking again."

I stared at him with all the intensity I could muster. I had been a bit of a dick with him and sure I took liberties but he would have left me higher and drier if the boot was on the other foot. He slowly retreated to his car with my words echoing throughout his head. He scampered into the car before getting out and taking the tray off the bonnet and throwing it into the back seats alongside his daughter. I wondered how he would be with her if she actually got to grow up, I sadly doubted that she’d make it very long especially if he was at the helm of the family but there was nothing much I could do now as the car revved up and sped past me as quick as it could. In the small glance I got as it zoomed past, Sharon appreciatively nodded at me, at least I knew she had a good bone in her body. I didn’t even stop to look around as I trotted down the back path to Dragel’s all I could think of is the hard work I’d be facing as soon as I was through those shutters.
 

Great job! I have been dying for another entry to your story. Hope your problems are getting solved. I so like this perspective of a ZA in England. Different mindsets, than here, pretty cool.
 

Good...bad...it doesn't matter. I am the mother fucker with the gun.
 

nice  addition, thanks for the story so far.  Im really enjoying it.   hope things are going better for you. 

Professer Pinderschloss  " the human spirit is hard to kill"
  Grandmama.  " yes even with a chainsaw"

when mimes finally escape the invisible box, Hell will come with them.

http://midnightscorner.wordpress.com/ home of  The Clock runs down, Dark Tide rising, and now A Storm Before Dawn Book III,  and other storys from the Dead lands.

Thank-you for the kind words, continuing to read on and a massive thank-you for pimping my story out there, I really appreciate it and  have done the same for yours outside of these forums.

March 2nd 2011: PART TWENTY-ONE

Midway down the path I stopped and remembered that the meathead crew had left their weaponry in the cars so I turned on myself for it. As I approached the cars I first picked up the lead pipe I’d dropped when I bashed Stu’s head in with it, I considered it a bit too heavy for combat with zombies, not enough margin for error. It was then when Stu and his new found friends decided they still had an issue with me, Stu stood at the forefront of the other side of the car and scowled and growled , desperate for my attention, he had got it. I met his angered gaze opposite, staring into his blooded eyes, he knew exactly who I still was and he wanted me bad. His friends decided to join by his side, they weren’t as composed as Stu but they had a strange aura about them, I ignored their repeated and failed attempts to grab at me and instead burnt a hole into Stu’s transformed head irritated that I hadn’t already put a bullet through it.

"You want me Stu?"

Stu banged on the bonnet, he knew I was tormenting him, the other two followed suit and repeated the actions several times over. I replied back by banging the lead pipe just shy of their fingertips and making dints in the bonnet. This only riled Stu up some more, he tried retaliating by swotting at the pipe only to continually miss.

"You want me Stu?"

Stu didn’t react this time, he stood quietly on his spot inviting me to be the aggressor. The last of his morality had gone but some wit still remained. I second questioned myself and asked if this was a good idea, aside from displaying some of the traits I’d seen in countless zombie genre movies, I had no idea what I was really facing. All I had was that their motor skills deteriorated in a rapid fashion, whatever transfers via a bite is lethal and that the only way to stop them dead in their tracks is to destroy/eliminate the brain matter. I had a feeling that all previous zombie related nuances was only going to get me so far and that I had to be cautious of the fact that they might be more cracked up than they seem. I decided to take the bait and test the waters.

"STU! You fuckwit, you wanna play!?!"

Hearing his name called out in anger riled him from his relaxed posture and he once again began smashing at the bonnet, the other two joined in with the repeated incessant drumming. I played off on the bonnet bringing the lead pipe crashing down harder and harder with each strike, the two zombies stopped and backed off, alarm bells rung through me but I ignored the callings and warnings, it was personal between me and Stu and I think they knew that. I stopped banging and returned to silent staredown with Stu, adrenaline raced through my veins and I felt the need to let off some serious steam.

"On the count of three Stu I’m coming over that bonnet and I’m going to kill you once and for all. One… Two…"

I didn’t even say three, instead I chose to leap onto the bonnet and let Stu come for me, he leapt forward but missed and ate cold metal. Seizing my chance I pressed his head against the bonnet and gripped his neck, yanking him over to the safer side of the car, the two zombies tried to join in on the action but were too late, they had no other choice but to stick to what they’d been doing for the past five minutes or so, beating the bonnet. Stu’s head hung over the edge of the bonnet, I thought it would have been the perfect opportunity to use the cleaver but I had clumsily left it on the dashboard of the truck. I had to settle on using the lead pipe which sent him into la la land in the first place, I let go of his neck and struck heavily before he could even begin to push himself up. After a couple of very heavy double handed blows, Stu’s head caved in and his body went limp, his associates stopped their banging and eerily entered a staring contest with me. My temper had not subsided and I was still game.

"Do you’s want some too! EH?"

They didn’t budge.

"Playing games eh?, playing games are we!?!"

The fire in me burnt and in a bout of fury I took the lead pipe to the remains of Stu’s head, putting more effort into each strike, growling and straining like a madman as the metal eradicated what was left as blood, gloop and brain matter ran down the side of his vehicle. I stopped, dropped to my knees and instantly reflected on what I had just done. I needed to get a grip, I was treading the very thin line between man and monster I told myself. I felt no better than a zombie itself but I knew better or at least I thought I did. I rose to my feet, meeting the cold stares once more, I was calmer at this point.

"Lads, you ain’t worth it. If you want me you know where I am. But be warned…"

I tapped the pipe on the bonnet and then pointed to Stu’s remains.

"…That was just a bit of fun."

I launched the pipe at them, hitting one whilst the other lurched angrily at the bonnet. I had learnt nothing as such from the encounter but I had a feeling that I had them where I wanted them. The zombie I hit just managed to get to his feet as I took to raiding Stu’s associates cars, I would have called them his friends but I thought it was too farfetched for me to acknowledge that. I routed throughout the cars and it gave me a small insight into who these people truly were, both cars had takeaway wrappers, an assortment of beer and regular drink bottles/cans littering the floor along with news papers, jazz magazines (Porn.) and a few other things. Nothing of note occupied the glove boxes aside from an expensive sat-nav system but that would be rendered almost pointless and useless by the weeks end at the latest. The boots however were a small goldmine was to be had; thick rope, bolt cutters, electrical tape, a couple of handheld blowtorches but the piece de resistance of all of this was a pair of keyed handcuffs attached to a cattle prod. They must have been into some kind of sordidry or extortion at the very least, however their once criminal gains were now in my hands… If I’d only known about this whilst Stu was still alive. On top of that haul, I counted seven wooden baseball bats, a small but very sharp buck hunting knife and another lead pipe which looked like it had been cut from the same length as the other one. I gathered the items up and locked them up in the furthest cars boot, I couldn’t grab them all at that moment and it was better than leaving them on show should anyone else turn up. I ignored the zombies repeated banging as I finally made my way down the path and back into Dragel’s. I was met by Skelly as the shutters came up.

"Back in a minute eh?"

Skelly said in a jokingly sarcastic manner also tapping her wrist at an imaginary watch.

"Yeah, next time I’ll be as long as a piece of string."

"Ha, don’t be taking the piss, your family were worried about you."

I saw the concern in her face they must have been talking about me because they sure hadn’t done anything else. Jake remained seated in the car, his head lulled to one side, the lazy bastard was asleep, that said afternoons were usually the time he awoke, Sheba had had joined him in slumber and lay across the bottom of Pete’s car. I wanted to bang on the bonnet like the zombies had just done and wake him but it wouldn’t have been worth the trouble for the few seconds of satisfaction I’d have got. Skelly tailed behind me as I paced around the loading bay.

"Was she ok? Why didn’t you bring them in here?"

"I promised you I’d make sure she was right but that’s all I promised."

She got a cold vibe from me but I didn’t intend it to be that way, I just wanted to get it out of the way without going into too much detail.

"But…"

"Skelly, people are arseholes and I feel like the biggest one right now. Not everybody can be saved…"

"But…"

"Skelly, this may be hard to take but please let it slide because if we see past today, tomorrow will be even worse."

Skelly just nodded, I could see the genuineness of her feelings of wanting to help people, I don’t think she’d been selfish in her life and it shone through and added another appeal to her. I felt bad because of this but she would have to take it how it was now or learn the hard way, I know she would have been burnt before but no doubt her good heart would look past those incidents. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders giving her a squeeze to try and pick her feelings up a little. She turned round and hugged me back gripping the back of the coat tightly.

"But… she was ok when you left her yeah?"

"Yeah she and the little one were ok, him though…"

I just shook my head as I thought of what more than likely would happen, I had to shake those thoughts away though because I knew it would probably be happening all over the world. I eased Skelly off me and reassured her that they should be fine and we could do no more. Skelly pointed me in the direction of the managers office as I continued to think of what step to take next. Lauren, mother and Pete were all crammed next to each other on an overturned cage watching the monitors. Pete had the shotgun laid up next to him stretching over the length of one of the desks.

"BOO!"

All three jumped up in shock as I nearly curled up laughing.

"Ya fucking nobhead, Jesus H almighty, I could have had a heart attack!"

Pete exclaimed, he soon saw the funny side of it.

"At your age it wouldn’t surprise me!"

It got a chuckle out of mother and Lauren as they knew what it meant in the family dynamic. Pete was a few years older than mother and it was guaranteed we’d always let him know about it.

"You right?"

Pete nodded as he simulated an exploding heart.

"How the fuck could you’s miss me coming through here, you were watching the monitors right?"

"Yeah but we weren’t nosing on your little lovefest, we ain’t that rude."

Lauren chimed in. Skelly’s face went bright red and she rebuffed the comment in an innocent manner. I wouldn’t blame her for being offended.

"Lovefest? LOVEFEST? Have you’s never had a hug before?"

"Yeah…"

I grabbed Lauren in a joking manner and tried hugging her but she kept slipping my grasp. I let off and brought the tone down a little.

"We’re coming to the arse end of daylight so we need to get down to business."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"So what’s the plan then captain?"

Pete asked giving me a salute to match the title.

"If I’m the captain, you’re on the wrong ship."

I knew the statement wouldn’t lift the room in confidence but I had to get the message across that I wasn’t the saviour. I perched myself on the table nearest to me, how could I play this? I considered if we really did we need everything but my mind told me to be selfish on this front, everything WAS needed and my thought process be damned if I tried to oppose it. The next problem was how do we go about getting it all there, we had the transport but there was only so much room, I didn’t want to take unnecessary trips or endanger people. Another thing what split me is did we leave/have someone based here until everything is shifted or do we move in packs, either way it meant leaving someone or something susceptible and I didn’t want to do that however with the limited options I had it seemed inevitable. I stood in the silence, Skelly and my family waited with baited breath to see what else I would come up with.

"So what’s the plan then?"

"The plan… we talked about it before but as you well know they never go the way you want, lets call this an idea."

"And that is?"

I explained to them the predicament we were in, so far we had a base of sorts but it was only to be seen as a place to rest our heads for the next few days as we see what would pan out. We had transportation for moving items from the shop and to bug out if needs be, I spent a further five minutes in-between all of this to explain what ‘bug out’ meant only to be met with sighs of disappointment and disapproval. I explained to them that was a last case scenario and we shouldn’t be banking on one place, we didn’t know what the next five minutes would hold nevermind the next five days, that got a more reasoned response. We discussed the two ways I could think of doing this ‘operation’ as I put it. They were more accepting of moving everything in a pack mentality but shared the same concerns about leaving Dragel’s ripe for someone else. We made a small compromise, we’d hit Dragel’s for everything we could have it for until the truck and transit van were full to the brim and then drop it off, we’d then have a three person team come back with the both Mercedes trucks and either the bread or transit van due to the limited driving force we held. It would also give my family time to acquaint with some of the people they would be habituating with and find a place to store what we took from Dragel’s. Our main concerns at the time were that the situation on the roads would be much worse than before and possessed a higher risk and also that somebody would make a play for Dragel’s, the feeling was that people were staying away because of the gunshots and the activity around the shop, if that died down then anyone who could/may be watching would have their opportunity. We couldn't have it one way or the other, in the end we decided that we’d have to take the chance on Dragel’s being left on its own, I argued that it would be best because the shop in itself would be pretty hard to get into quickly if we locked up properly. This put myself and the others at ease, I think they began to realise the importance of having whatever we could get so that it would be one less thing to worry about in the short run. We ran over in stages of what we’d do:

Stage One: Raid Dragel’s for as much as the truck and transit will allow.

Stage Two: Secure Dragel’s and make our way back to the cattery/kennels.

Stage Three: Prepare teams for unloading/return trip/s to Dragel’s.

And that’s as far as it got at that moment, there wasn’t much else we could possibly do. I stood up and rallied the troops, I told them that the rest of this day would be long and hard as will be the future but as long as we stuck together and work for one another, there will always be hope.

Very good.. 

maybe they could fill a couple of cars too, rip the rear seats out and they will hold a lot of stuff..