Shaun Harbinger - Lightning - Fighting the Living Dead

“They took me ashore and made me wait in a tent while they tried to find out when the next camp truck was passing this way. It sounded like they had trucks travelling around each military camp tasked with picking up survivors to take to the Survivors Camps. Someone said that there was a truck delivering “the vaccine” to the nearest Survivors Camp, so I could ride along. They bundled me into the back of an army truck, one of the ones with a canvas top. There were stacks of cardboard boxes in there, which I assumed held the vaccine the soldiers had been talking about.

“Meyer got into the back with me and sat by the tailgate, watching the landscape roll by as we drove along a country road. I asked her what the soldiers had meant when they’d said the truck was delivering a vaccine. Was there now a vaccine against being bitten? She said there was, and it was being delivered to all the soldiers.

“I told her that I thought that was unfair. Why not give the vaccine to everyone? She just shrugged and continued looking out at the fields and trees. Meyer’s lack of concern for civilians made me angry, and my anger spurred me into trying to escape. I could easily jump over the tailgate onto the road. If I ran fast enough, I should be able to reach the woods before they managed to shoot me.

“But before I left the truck, I wanted to get some of the vaccine from the boxes. I thought about just grabbing a box and running with it but they were too big for that so I tore a hole in a box and took a handful of syringes out. They were full of an amber liquid and the needles had plastic caps over them for safety.

“Meyer saw me and came over, demanding that I put the syringes back. She raised her gun and I swatted it out of the way. She fired but the bullets went up through the canvas roof. I ran for the tailgate and swung myself over it.

“When I hit the road, the air was knocked out of my lungs and I dropped all but one of the syringes. I was okay apart from a few scratches but I didn’t have time to pick up the syringes of vaccine I’d dropped.

“The driver must have heard the shots because the truck came to a stop. I ran for the woods. They fired a few shots at me but I made it into the trees without being hit. They didn’t follow me.

“I found a heavy branch that I could use as a weapon if I ran into any zombies in the woods. I put the syringe into my pocket and followed the direction of the road back to the army marina. I needed to get back onboard The Big Easy and sail back to Swansea to find you.

“When I got to the marina, there was a heated discussion going in one of the tents. Apparently, the vaccine was faulty. It stopped someone from becoming a zombie but only for four days. After that, they became something much worse. After hearing that, I decided not to vaccinate myself as I had planned to do when I got back to the Easy . If it was faulty, what was the point?

“So I moved along the coast, sticking to the trees, until I found a small rowboat. I waited until nightfall and then I rowed out to where they had anchored the Easy . I got the engines started and sailed out of there unchallenged. It seemed the army were using all their resources to guard the marina from inland attacks by zombies and they weren’t watching the water at all.

“I got back to Swansea but there was no sign of you. I spent a couple of days watching the marina through the binoculars, making sure I was in deep enough water that I could make a run for it if I saw any army boats. I put the vaccine syringe on a shelf in the storeroom, thinking we’d never need it since it was faulty, but hanging onto it anyway, just in case.

“I sailed north along the coast, scanning the beaches with the binoculars in the hopes of finding you. Eventually, I didn’t know what else to do so I did nothing. I just waited on the waves, hoping that somehow you’d find me.

“Then, one evening, I was listening to the radio and I heard someone talking about the zombies only being here in Britain. They said survivors should sail to mainland Europe. And then I heard your voice. I could hardly believe it. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. You told me to meet you at the lighthouse in three days’ time so I sailed south of that area. I didn’t want to wait for you there… I still hate that place.”

I squeezed her hand. “Me too,” I said.

“What happened next was a really stupid move on my part,” she said. “I waited for two days just south of the lighthouse near a village. I watched the village through the binoculars and the place seemed deserted. No people, no zombies… nothing. I assumed the army had cleared the place and taken all the villagers to a Survivors Camp. Every time I looked through the binoculars over those two days, there was no sign of life, and no sign of danger. Something there kept drawing my attention, though; a village store. It was sitting on the main street within easy reach of the little village harbor.

“And I got a crazy thought in my head. I was so looking forward to being reunited with you that I became fixated on the idea of getting a nice bottle of red wine from that store so that we could celebrate. That thought grew in my head until I couldn’t get rid of it. And it looked like there would be no risk in going to the village store.

“So, on the day we were supposed to meet, I decided to swim ashore and get a bottle of wine. I know it sounds crazy, but the next thing I knew, I was taking the Easy in to the little harbor. When she was moored, I took a baseball bat just in case and walked up the steep road that led to the main street.

“The shop was unlocked, so I went inside. There was a foul smell in there but I wasn’t sure if it was meat products that had gone bad or the smell of a zombie. I went quickly to the wine and selected a bottle. Why I didn’t take an armful I don’t know, but my mind had become fixated on the idea of one bottle of red wine so that was all I took.

“When I turned to go back to the door, I was attacked. I don’t know how it had moved so quietly but there was a zombie right in front of me. I think it had been the shopkeeper. He lunged as I was fumbling with my bat. I managed to shove the bat between his legs, tripping him, but as he went down he bit my right thigh. I’d never felt any pain like it. I cried out and brought the bat down on his skull. Without even making sure he was destroyed, I staggered out onto the road and down to the harbor, still clutching the bottle of wine.

“I got to the Easy and untied her but the pain in my right thigh was spreading through my entire leg. I remembered how fast we had seen some people turn and I panicked. I didn’t want to be a zombie. I started the engine, got the Easy on course for the lighthouse and tied the wheel with a piece of cord. I couldn’t be sure she was going to reach you but it was the only chance I had.

“I wrote you a note, telling you the time I’d been bitten. That way, you’d know when I was going to turn, assuming you knew about the faulty vaccine and the four days it took to turn. I went down to the storeroom and injected myself. I only wrote you that note so that you’d know when to kill me. I didn’t think you’d use the information to save me.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Thank you, Alex.”

I put my arms around her and she cried against my shoulder.

I held her tight and felt hot, stinging tears running down my cheeks.

WHEN I LEFT Lucy’s room, Hart met me in the corridor. He wore the face of a man who was deeply concerned.

“What is it?” I asked him.

“There’s still no sign of Jax. We’ve scoured most of the island and all I have to show for it is the loss of a few good men to zombies. We can’t have a Type 1 roaming the island and until the situation is dealt with, the director is going to be giving me hell about it.” He pointed to a set of stairs. “She’s asked to meet you. Come with me.”