WalkerZ - A Zombie Apocalypse Story

Epilogue

"How's Captain Summers?"

"Relaxed. He's taken up golf and spends hours a week firing golf balls from the parade ground out over the estuary. I think he's hoping to take out a walker one day with a ball but he needs to work on his swing."

"I'm glad he's ok, I was getting a little worried about him before we took out that swarm in Newport."

"We all were," agreed Mal. "But I think that was a turning point for all of us, knowing we could take out a swarm like that.

"The Isle has also been testing out one of Marjorie and King's creations, something inspired by a comment Eddie made about tracking future swarms. They fitted out the rescue helicopter with a compressed air gun that fired paintballs, but the paintballs were filled with glue and GPS trackers. On a reconnaissance mission, Rob spotted a swarm up near Birmingham and managed to paint it with tracker pellets so now we can see where it's going.

"He managed to drop a radio and some supplies into a couple of survivor bases north of Bristol too which was a great result. One was a group of about fifty holed up in an old castle, the other was a smaller group of ten who'd survived in a theme park. Amazing where people manage to cling on."

There was a pause and Merryn frowned. "What's the bad news, Mal? You left a 'how am I going to tell her this' length pause."

Mal sighed over the radio. "We've lost Rob. Three days ago. He was recceing up north for us, in the midlands north of Birmingham. We'd heard some odd accounts from a few survivors who'd made it down the east coast and from the castle group he'd dropped a radio to. He had taken a trip up there to have a quick look."

"What do we mean by 'odd accounts' Mal?"

"Some self-proclaimed king of England, but they seem to have banded together quite a following, several hundred from all accounts. We're not quite sure what's going on there yet, but I suspect it's just another odd rumour. We've heard all sorts of outlandish tales from survivors over the last year. But the bottom line is we've lost a pilot and a friend. Rob had trained up a few more helicopter pilots over the last few months, but they've just not got the experience Rob had, and losing a 'copter is not good either. We've only got a couple left on the Isle."

"Well Rob's a survivor, so hopefully he's just had a radio malfunction. I'm sure he'll pop up at some point."

"There is one piece of good news though."

"Go on."

"The medical team have made a bit of a breakthrough at last. Hope came up with a new theory based on the time of infection. When she cured you, she bit you not long after you'd been bitten by the walker."

Merryn shuddered, the memory of teeth slamming into her leg still raw despite the many long months that had passed. She shook herself and focussed as Mal continued.

"...team haven't got a vaccine they can give everyone yet, but they have got a sort of bite antidote. It's a bit like the adrenaline shots people used to carry if they had an allergic reaction to something. The theory is that if you get bitten you slam this stuff into your leg and it should stop you from going walker on us. Unfortunately, it won't stop a group of deadheads ripping you apart, but it's a step in the right direction at least. They're going to prioritise issue to frontline staff."

"Good to hear something's going well there," said Merryn. "It's a hell of a thing to test in the field though if it's still just a theory. Eddie says 'Hi' by the way."

Merryn looked over at Eddie who was fiddling with a drone she'd found in a cottage the day before. Eddie gave her a thumbs up and the machine lifted a few feet into the air.

"So where do we go next Mal?"

"Well, you finish your current task and then you come back here for a few days' rest. Gareth and Andrew are working their way through Cornwall, and our new Scout 3 and team are doing north Devon, so your next job is to start working your way through Somerset towards Bristol.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you soon, old friend, and I think by some massive coincidence Lily's going to be at the base at the same time you are as her ship needs some work on the computer systems."

"You're a good man Mal, thank you. I'm looking forward to a cup of tea and a game of pool."

"Um..."

"Um?"

"Well you know I said we will 'soon' have a source of fresh tea, it will be a few months. In the meantime, our scavenger crews are doing their best, but we're a little short."

"You've run out of tea?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'm on it."

"On what?"

"Eddie and I will be doing a little extra work on the way back. I'm not coming back to base without tea."

"If you happen to see any pineapple chunks..."

"Don't push your luck, radio boy, you know what happened last time." Merryn smiled. "I'll see what I can do. Stay safe my friend. Scout 2 out." 

The End

Thank you for reading WalkerZ, and if you've enjoyed the story, please don't forget to vote on the chapters, and add any comments if you wish to. Constructive critique or comment is always welcomed. 

If you've enjoyed this one, I also have another full-length Zombie story on my profile, a fanfic called World War Zed which is based loosely on the world created by the inestimable Max Brooks. Cheers, Gavin