WalkerZ - A Zombie Apocalypse Story

Chapter 5 - VariantZ

Mal was waiting on the jetty at the old marine barracks as the boat floated up the river with the tide. The troupe threw ropes to a couple of waiting soldiers and Merryn stepped off the boat into a hug.

"Good to see you Merryn," muttered Mal into his friend's hair.

"You too Mal." She stepped back and waved at the group behind her. "I brought a few friends with me."

Mal waved at the others, a broad grin on his face. "Welcome to Calstone barracks. Come on, let's get you inside and get a hot meal in you."

"Well that sounds like a good start," said Andrew. "Have you got any chocolate?"

~

Merryn paused with her fork in the air and looked at her friend. The teenagers were tucking into their meal, as was Brian, but she frowned and gestured at the two armed soldiers who'd followed them back up from the jetty. "I assume the grunts are here in case any of us turn and go biter?"

Mal nodded, his face sombre. "Captain's orders Merryn. He's being cautious. Your, er, condition is not common knowledge here on the base, so the grunts here have been told to guard the new ones as we don't know them yet. Your return with a bite mark on your arm has stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest of communication amongst the senior staff. Even the prime minister knows who you are now."

"So much for a quiet night then," muttered Merryn, shoving a forkful of pasta into her mouth.

"We should be able to de-escalate things once the doc has checked you over. Then we can get everyone debriefed, and work through the information you've brought back." Mal paused. "I thought I'd lost you for a moment there."

Merryn caught the emotion in Mal's voice and reached out a calming hand to him. "Still here, buddy. You ain't getting rid of me that easy. Besides I bought you some teenagers you can play computer games with. You should be happy. Watch the tall quiet guy though, I reckon he's deadly."

Mal finished his meal and stood. "Good to have you back. Right, I'm on shift, debrief is tomorrow morning, oh nine hundred hours, back here in the canteen. Make sure your team is here and clean and tidy."

"My team eh?" muttered Merryn as Mal wandered off and she eyed up the two soldiers on the other side of the room again.

"Do we get shot if we leave?" Tom put his plate down and sat opposite her, his question quiet and private.

"No, we get shot if we turn into zombies."

He shrugged. "Fair enough. Glad they fed us first though."

As Tom bent over his plate, Merryn studied him thoughtfully. Tom was coming into his prime. He was fit, well muscled, and rangy, but had a guarded look to his eyes.

After a few mouthfuls, he posed another question. "So what's next? Do we sit here for a bit, or do we move on somewhere else?"

"That's sorta up to you really. You'll get offered a place on the Isle of Wight with the other survivors if you want it, or you may be able to stay here if you want to fight or help on the tech side of things. You've handled yourself well in the short time I've known you so I have no worries about recommending that you stay here and help if you wish to. How old are you?"

"Seventeen. Eighteen in a couple of months."

"What about the others?"

"They're between fifteen and seventeen. Andrew's sixteen despite looking like he's twelve, Eddie's a few months older and seventeen, and the other two are fifteen. Andrew and Eddie want to stay here and work with you."