Upton Abbey.
Ken Rand awoke with a gun being pointed in his face.
He didn’t need any light to know who was behind it.
“Richard. Come to kill an old man in his bed?”
“It’s the only way Ken, the strong keep the weak and that’s not happening at the moment.”
“And I suppose you are the strong?”
“In Upton I am.”
“Strength doesn’t come from the barrel of a gun boy.”
“It’s just a tool.”
“So what are you hoping people will believe I died from lead poisoning? You can’t shoot me.”
“I’m not going to. You’re going to take these.”
Brand tossed a bottle of pills onto the bed.
Ken lifted them to his face and tried to read the label. They were medication for his heart.
“You’ll have to shoot me, I’m not taking these.”
Richard produced a large knife with his left hand. “Or I could use this. Just know my next stop will down the hallway, Elizabeth and Eric’s room.”
“You bastard you wouldn’t get away with it.”
“Yeah I would. People want a strong leader. I tell them I saw someone running off in the direction of the Caravaners and I’m fine. People will believe what I tell them too because they’re scared. Everyone wants an older Brother.”
Ken looked at the mans gleaming eyes and knew he was serious. “You won’t harm Eric?”
“Scout’s honour.” Richard said. “Bottoms up Ken.”
Ken unscrewed the lid of pill bottle.
#
0900
Sandra was carrying a tray containing Ken’s breakfast she made her way up the stairs towards his bedroom. On the staircase she passed Elizabeth and Eric who were going the opposite direction for their own breakfast. After a cheery hello she was on her away again.
She reached the door to Ken’s room and with the grace that comes from practice opened the door with her elbow.
“Rise and shine!” She said in sing song as the door swung open and bounced off something behind it. She gave it nudge but it didn’t budge. When a grey arm reached around and grabbed her ankle she let out a loud scream and dropped the tray. She fell hard on her back as Ken Rand flung the door open. Sandra could see he had turned. His eyes were cloudy and his hand cold on her ankle. He was pulling himself towards Sandra with his teeth bared.
Instinct kicked in and Sandra drove the heel of her trainer swiftly into the Zombie’s face. After a few more kicks she was able get clear of the beast.
“Help! Ken’s.... HELP!”
She ran for the stairs while Ken crawled after her, his legs as useless in death as they had been in life.
As Sandra ran down the stairs she passed two hunters travelling the other way. Except this time there was no cheery hello.
The confirmation came in the form of a gunshot that echoed through Upton Abbey.
#
The entire of Upton Abbey was in an uproar. First there was the fact Ken Rand was dead, secondly there was the fact he’d turned despite not being bitten and lastly there was the issue of who would lead the Rands now. The impromptu meeting was being held in the dining area as the populace tried to deal with the confusion. It was perfect for Brand’s purposes.
He stepped forward and raised his arms in an attempt to calm the crowd.
“I’ll lead. It makes sense that the Hunters have more say over how Upton is run. We need to be strong now, it’s what Ken and William would have wanted.” He shot a wink at Eric who buried his face deeper in his mother’s leg. “As for why Ken turned that’s beyond me but there’s no point in dwelling. It happened and we have to move on.”
As he predicted fear was a great motivator and everyone agreed, only Elizabeth kept silent.
He had no idea why Ken had turned he thought the heart medicine would just kill him not turn him. It was of no matter now his plan was complete he had complete control of Upton. There maybe a few people that would oppose him like Elizabeth but a blue blood like her wouldn’t present much of a threat.
November 9th 2013, 1020
Callie stood in the doorway of Doctor Short’s Medical area watching the mousy woman work. It was a strange thing to see. From the second Callie had told her Hoppy had been wounded the Doctor had set about marshalling her resources. She was brimming with confidence and had no problem ordering those around her unlike her normal persona.
Carter was sitting on her bed watching the scene as well. She had offered her basic first aid training but Short had politely yet firmly declined. By the time Laney and Hoppy arrived the Doctor was ready to deal with the trauma. It took about an hour of work but eventually Short was able to stabilise her. Callie was concerned that the Doctor was having to bastardise a lot of the equipment she was using and could already see that the Scav’s would have a something of task on their hands if they were too save Hoppy’s life.
“Bollocks!” Short cried and a spurt of blood erupted from Hoppy. “Callie, get here now.”
Callie rushed to Short’s side and got her first good look at Hoppy. The girl had gone very pale and was naked from the waist up where Doctor Short was working on a small but very bloody wound. Bubbles of blood were erupting from it and Hoppy’s breathing was faint.
Short directed Callie to put pressure on the wound while she prepared some plastic sheeting and duct tape.
“It’s the pressure, it keeps blowing the dressing off. I don’t have the equipment to deal with this kind of Trauma.”
Callie kept the pressure on the wound until Doctor Short had applied her dressing.
“She needs blood.”
“What is she?” Callie asked.
“Not a clue. I’m AB negative, so I’m no good.” Short explained.
Callie shrugged. “I don’t know what I am.”
“I’m B positive.” Carter called from her bed.
“That’s no good either. We need someone who is O negative, universal donor.”
Callie nodded and raced out of the medical room in search of blood.
#
1050
She came up empty nobody had O Negative and Callie silently cursed herself for not thinking about getting a Blood Type chart up and running sooner. She was about to give up when she noticed him sitting silently on the living room couch with his head in his hands.
Callie wasted no time.
“Shinji. What Blood type are you?”
He looked up and Callie could see tears in his eyes. She remembered he’d lost his wife only hours before but now wasn’t the time for compassion.
“Hello Shinji.” He said morosely.
“Yes, Hello. What Blood Type?” Callie said.
He stared dumbly ahead.
Callie swore and ran to the kitchen where she picked up a pen, paper and kitchen knife. She returned to Shinji and showed him the palm of her hand and sliced it. She flinched at the bite of the knife and let the blood fall onto the page. She then did an equals sign and scribbled AB+.
“Oh Shinji.” Exclaimed suddenly comprehending.
He grabbed the pen and hurriedly wrote O-.
“Hoppy. Needs you.” Callie was wildly gesticulating trying to covey her meaning to the only man who could save Hoppy.
“Hoppy, yes.” Shinji said getting off the couch.
Callie took him by the hand and marched him to Doctor Short who wasted no time setting up a transfusion. Shinji was sitting a chair opposite Hoppy although he had positioned himself so he wasn’t looking at the girl given her some privacy.
“Ok Callie she’s stable but she won’t stay that way. My Blue Peter efforts won’t last long we need serious equipment to deal with this kind of trauma. I’ll prepare a list and you need to get the Scavs out. I reckon she’s got about a day. Shinji can only give so much blood.”
“Alright I’ll get people on it.”
“Good, but first let me patch that hand.”
#
Haven
1500
"And we have to end it."
Callie looked tiredly at the two men but couldn’t help the grin spread over her face which quickly turned into peals of laughter. She was giggling for a full minute before she got her breathing under control.
“We have to end it?” She said wiping a tear from her eye. “You guys sound like John Wayne or something. I’ll give you pair that you’re always good for a laugh.”
She sniffed. “Back in reality land you need to understand the Rand’s hunters are a larger group that know the area well, have weapons training and have killed in the past. You two are a History Professor and a Computing Student, so if you guys are done with the Rambo routine we have real problems. Hoppy is conscious but very sick and she’s going to get worse if she doesn’t get medical help.”
She produced a mission briefing and slid it across the table.
“Hoppy has been shot and the Doc says it’s pretty bad. She needs specialist materials if Hopster is to have a chance at survival. That takes precedent over a suicide mission to assault the Rands. Work it out amongst yourselves who goes. I’ve got Jesus ear marked for a special mission so it’s between you two, Laney and Kiera. We need those supplies within the next 24 hours.”
Job
Scrubs.
Suggested Number of Scavs – 1
Area – West Moreland Hospital
Objective- Recover Medical Supplies. Chest Tubes/ thoracic catheter, Asherman Chest Seals, as many of these as possible. Azithromycin, Clarithromycin, Clindamycin, Voriconazole, Cefdinir, Cefixime, Ciprofloxacin, Doxycycline, Fluconazole, Levofloxacin, Linezolid, Loracarbef, Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim.
Information- Hoppy has been seriously wounded but thanks to Doctor Short and Shinji she is now stable. She’s lost a lot of blood and the Doctor is worried about her lung collapsing all together. Apparently that’s really bad.
She’s put together a list of items that she can use to save Hoppy’s life however they are not in her GP practice in Cromwell. A lot of his stuff is pretty specialised so it looks like you are going to West Moreland Hospital in Kendal. The meds are all types of Antibiotics that do not need to be kept cold. It’s unlikely the hospital will have them all just grab what you can some is better than none. Kendal is a pretty big town, at least it’s big for the Lake District so keep your head on a swivel.
The Doc reckons any immediate danger to Hoppy has passed but she is suggesting Hoppy will not survive with the supplies the Doc currently has. It’s your job to get out to Kendal and back before any harm befalls her.
I’m getting pretty sick of putting up those crosses so be careful and get the supplies. If it comes down to it though your life outweighs the supplies.
Callie.
#
Upton Abbey
1900
Sandra came to her in the evening when all was quiet. Eric was asleep but Elizabeth was just staring at the ceiling. She was wondering how best to escape Upton. She had a feeling though that Brand wouldn’t make it simple. Perhaps she could reach out to Haven, their Professor King seemed nice and more importantly smart.
A knock at the door broke her train of thought. Elizabeth got out of bed and answered .
“Sandra, come in.”
Sandra slunk in like a thief and Elizabeth could relate to her feeling of paranoia. Now Brand was calling the shots the atmosphere at Upton had already begun to change. They spoke in hushed voices on the far side of the room so as not to wake Eric.
“Lizzie, I found something and I don’t know who to tell.”
“You can tell me. What is it?”
“This morning when I was cleaning up Ken’s room I found this.”
Sandra produced a small pill.
“What’s this?”
“It’s heart medication. I found it in Ken’s bed.”
Lizzie stared blankly.
“Ken has different types of Meds for his heart. Some he takes daily and I look after them. Others he takes only when he’s having an attack.”
“Ok.” Elizabeth said still not understanding the importance of the heart meds.
“This is the type he takes daily so there is no reason for him to have them, I control the administration of Meds and I’m very precise about it. Even if he did have them he would have known these aren’t the right type of Meds to combat an attack. He may as well have eaten Tic Tacs.”
“So you think he died from a heart attack but took the wrong meds?”
“That’s what I thought at first but with Heart meds being so rare I can account for every pill, this one isn’t one of mine.” Sandra said. “If he was having a heart attack he was taking the wrong Medication that he shouldn’t have even had in the first place.”
“Right that dosen’t make sense Ken is meticulous.”
“Exactly but I checked my stores anyway and they are all present and accounted for.”
“So either Ken had a supply you didn’t know about...”
“Which is impossible.” Sandra interjected.
“... or someone gave him a few of these.”
“A lot of those. I think he was murdered. In a high enough dose that would trigger a heart attack. Ken knew it would be undetectable without a clue so that’s why he dropped a pill for me to find.”
“So you think it was murder?”
“In my opinion yes.”
“That doesn’t explain why Ken turned though.” Lizzie pondered.
“I know I can’t explain that. Maybe the pills were laced?”
“If the heart pills would have done the job why... why zombify him?” Lizzie said after trying and failing to find a better word.
Sandra shrugged. “Whatever is happening it stinks and the suspect list isn’t exactly long is it?”
“No.” Lizzie said.
“So what do we do? Brand is a psycho, he can’t run this place.”
“I know I was thinking of running to Haven with Eric but it’s too dangerous.”
“I could make it.” Sandra offered.
“It will make you look suspicious though.”
“Yeah well it’s better that then letting Brand remain unopposed, nobody here is going to do anything about it.”
“Alright. I’ll cause a distraction so you can escape tomorrow morning, at guard change would be a good time. Go to Haven and give this to Professor King.”
Lizzie quickly scribbled a note and folded it into William Rand’s wallet which she then handed to Sandra.
Sandra nodded.
#
November 10th 2013,
1100
Jesus was sweating under his multiple layers and was wondering how he got himself into this situation. He was standing in the middle of Silent Valley Solar Energy Plant with Mark the Haven Guard/ carpenter and Gary Flower who was so scared he was shaking like a shitting dog.
It was a peculiar saying he’d picked up from the English locker rooms and he found it apt. It made sense though last time Gary had been to silent valley he’d seen Chip die and nearly died himself. Figured that the guy would be nervous.
They were loading up the last of the solar panels, Mark and Jesus were there for the heavy lifting while Gary was there to make sure they weren’t damaging the panels when they cut them down. Mercifully they were light but as reported they were awkward to carry even with two people, Monroe had been wise to get the truck.
In a way they were putting all their eggs in the solar basket as they had used the fuel earmarked for the generator to make this run. The truck had been used frequently over the last few days and was in the red when Mark had gone to turn it over. Callie had agreed with the decision rationalising the fuel would run out anyway so they may as well use it trying to get the solar panels.
Mark slid the last Solar panel into the truck and dusted his hands.
“Job done let’s get back.”
“Wait do we not need a battery or something, you know so we can store the energy for use in the night?”
Mark and Gary glanced at each other, both surprised at the intelligent question from the footballer.
“Ideally yes but that’s a job beyond Haven. Besides I’ve been stockpiling rechargeable... well everything. The idea is we charge everything up during the day so it’s ready for use during the night.” Gary said quietly.
“I see well let’s get the show on the road then.” Jesus nodded. Mark climbed into the back of the truck with his rifle while Jesus and Gary climbed in front. Gary was driving and Jesus was keeping his eyes peeled.
They were leaving the plant when Mark curled his nose up in disgust. It smelt like rotten barbecue. He looked to his left and saw a naked and badly burnt zombie staggering after the truck.
“Jesus Christ.” Mark muttered as he tapped on the cab. “We got one following us. Shit make that two.”
In the cab Jesus could see more in the distance.
“Shit. We’re gonna get surrounded.” He said.
Gary’s hands were shaking badly now. “What do I do?”
“Chill. Nobody ever did anything by freaking out.” Jesus said with an easy smile.
Jesus rolled down his window and called to Mark.
“Take the long way home, I have distraction devices so I’ll lead them away. Once you get to a road you can pick up some speed and put some distance between you and them. I’ll loop round and come back home later.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah I need a run anyway.” Jesus smiled, wound up his window and prepared his gear. He then stepped out of the Cab and began his run calling to the zombies as he ran.
#
November 10th 2013,
1440
The Zombs had been pretty persistent but Jesus saw that as a good thing, it meant there were less on Mark and Gary. He’d run further south than he’d intended and he figured it was time to loop back first he had to shake the Zombs.
Every Scav had their own method but Jesus found the best way was to enter a building and close doors between him and the horde. They got snarled up in the building giving him time to escape via a back door. He found a large farmhouse that looked like it would do the trick and made a run for it. He ran inside and up the stairs. He left the front door open but closed every other door. It would ensure the zombs got well and truly entangled inside the structure.
He left via a bedroom window and soon found himself on the ground leaving the house in his dust.
He slowed to a jog as he wanted to avoid making too much noise and he’d been running for hours so he figured he deserved a break. His clothes were a mess of sweat and dirt. Jesus thought it might be time to retire his teeshirt.
It was a cool day but the snow had for the most part been melted by the recent heavy rain. There were multiple ice patches and according to Gary more Snow was on the way. Jesus shrugged. He liked the snow.
He’d been running for about an hour when he stopped to check in with Haven. He spoke to Callie and gave her his position. He figured he’d be home in a couple of hours at his current pace. He was in no rush, there was a lot of bad feeling in Haven at the moment due to the number of deaths. He’d been toying with the idea of leaving as at times it felt like tensions would boil over.
Jesus was thinking about this when he heard the moan. He dropped his hand to his hammer and stopped running.
It wasn’t a normal Zed moan, no this was more controlled. He then realised he was hearing sobbing, a child’s sobbing. He kept the hammer out and followed the sound. If it was a kid he couldn’t leave them but at the same time he wasn’t about to walk around unarmed.
He found a burnt out Nissan in a clearing and approached with caution. He peaked into the back seat and saw a girl in a school uniform hugging her knees and weeping.
“Are you ok there?”
The girl looked up and wiped the tears from her face. She had long red hair and her face was blotchy from crying.
“Hi my name is Jesus. Do you need help?”
“Hey-Zeus?” The girl repeated.
“Yeah. What’s your name?”
“Natalie. I’m lost. My dad went out for food and told me to stay here, he hasn’t been back for days.”
Jesus noticed Natalie glance over his shoulder. He turned his head and in his corner of his eye detected a flurry of motion. He didn’t have time to react as the axe swung down and into the top of his head. His attacker tried to pull the axe free but it was firmly wedged. Jesus collapsed and began convulsing.
Natalie leapt out of the car and over Jesus, who was no longer capable of comprehending much, and hugged the man who had swung the axe.
“We did good Daddy!”
“Sure did pumpkin. Lot of meat on this one and that looks like a nice watch!”
“Yay!” Natalie cried as she jumped up and down.
Daddy then pulled the axe free of Jesus’ head and swung it again.
#
November 10th 2013,
1650
Gary and Mark were tinkering with the Solar panels and Callie was monitoring radio traffic for the runners still out in the field. Jesus was still out there although he had checked in a few hours ago. A knock at the door pulled her from her post. She turned and saw Carter standing in the doorway.
“Hey want some company?” Carter asked.
“Yeah sure come in.” Callie nodded. She knew this moment had been coming and how she handled it would decide a lot. She had to size up Carter while she was doing the same to her. It was the kind of thing Callie excelled at.
Carter hobbled in on a pair of makeshift crutches and sat at the end of the table.
“So you’re the boss?”
“It’s not really like that, I was just first here.”
“That’s not the vibe I’m getting, you call the shots.”
“I guess but it’s more democratic than that.”
Carter nodded. “I see.”
They lapsed in to silence for a few seconds.
“I, uh, wanted to say thanks for saving me. I know you lost one of your people.”
“Yeah we did.” Callie let the words hang. “We couldn’t leave someone out there though. There’s survival and then there’s being an asshole.”
“I’m glad you did. Your man was very professional, Forces?”
“Yeah he was army or something.”
“It showed. Very controlled. I, uh, know you were close and set this place up with him. I just wanted to say, I appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it. Time may come you have to do something similar.”
Carter nodded.
“I saw one of your people got captured and slapped around a little.”
“Yeah Ben. He’s dealing with some issues, but he’s not a bad a kid. We just don’t really have time for mental break downs right now. We’ve lost two people in the space of a week.”
“Losing people is hard. We took a lot of casualties defending Valley.”
“RAF Valley in Wales? You mentioned that before.”
“Yeah pain in the arse it was. We should have retreated much sooner but Command and Control had totally collapsed.” Carter shook her head at the memory.
“So the military isn’t functioning anymore?”
“What can I tell you? When the police and civilian services got overwhelmed they called in the Forces to try to control the outbreak. Course that didn’t work because we had no idea what we were dealing with. Lost a lot of people, people with the skills to survive this kind of thing. The brass is probably still out there, our guts their glory you know?”
“I think I can relate, except I’m the brass.” Callie frowned.
“Heavy rests the crown I guess.”
They lapsed into silence again and this time it was Callie who broke it.
“Monroe was the only person we had trained in any kind of combat, you got any training like that?”
Carter shook her head. “I’m a chopper pilot. I got escape and evasion training and I can operate some weapons systems but I was usually above the action.”
“Sorry, weapons systems?”
“Guns. I can work most weapons the RAF are issued with, combat theory isn’t my bag though. That’s army stuff.”
Callie nodded.
“What I can do is operate a radio and run ops. We had to work our own mission plans and that meant map studies. I can help you out with that kind of thing.”
“You want to help with the admin?” Callie said with a sceptical eyebrow raised.
“Yeah it’s not like I’m running anywhere any time soon.” Carter said pointing at her leg.
“Ok you can help. We have one Scav in the field at the moment. I guess you should get familiarised with the area. Monroe organised all the maps, they’re beside the bread bin behind you.”
Carter twisted awkwardly and grabbed the files. She smiled at the cover which was very precise and neat. It was organised in the fashion of an old school Map Book. Before the outbreak it was all digital, this was something of a throwback for Carter. She buried her head in the books and started studying.
#
November 10th 2013,
1700
Doctor Short had long since stopped taking blood from Shinji, in fact she’d taken more than she should have and now had the man under observation in the bed that had been occupied by Carter. Hoppy was stabilised and was even up and talking but Short was never far from her side. She had broken two ribs, Pneumothorax, a punctured lung and blood loss. Short was convinced the equipment on the list would allow her to treat the wounds but it was a matter of time, Short’s makeshift dressings would only last so long. She needed the correct equipment to deal with injuries or Hoppy would die.
This was frustrating to Short as Hoppy’s injuries where entirely treatable it was simply the lack of supplies. She needed the chest tube apparatus to stop to lung collapsing. Once she had that inserted the treatment plan became simple. Ensuring the wound was kept clean, allowing the ribs to heal and finally the removal of the tube. It would take weeks but Hoppy was lucky to be alive. The bullet had passed straight through her and avoided all major internal organs, save the lung. She had been particularly lucky as the bullet passed close to her spine. That would have spelt the end on her Scav career at least.
With nothing else to do Short checked the pulses of her two charges.
#
November 10th 2013,
1720
The panels were up but they hadn’t got the opportunity to get a full charge. Mark was sitting in his Crow’s nest with the scoped rifle when he heard a twig snap somewhere below outside the perimeter.
He lifted his large lamp and shone it in the direction of the noise. The Lamp had once been used in rabbit hunting now it served a different purpose. The beam found a bedraggled looking woman making her way up the hill towards Haven. She had her hands raised above her head.
Sandra called out. “My name is Sandra Hargrave! I am unarmed and need to speak to Doctor, I mean Professor King!”
“Tilo?” Mark muttered. “Where are you coming from?”
“Upton Abbey! King will know me I have a message!”
“Ok approach the gate then turn around and get on your knees then interlock your fingers behind your head!”
Sandra complied and Mark went outside, by now the entire of Haven was out and looking into the darkness with weapons drawn. Mark tied Sandra’s arms and marched her to Callie.
#
Carter, Tilo, Callie, Sandra and Mark were all in the kitchen. Sandra was starting to feel like a criminal but in a way she could understand the suspicion.
“Speak.” Callie said.
“Elizabeth Rand sent me. I have a message in my jacket pocket.”
Mark started rifling through her jacket which he removed when he was checking her for weapons. He produced a small black wallet and shrugged. Recognition flashed in Tilo’s and Callie’s eyes.
Mark tossed the Wallet to Callie and sheet of folded A4 tumbled out onto the kitchen table. It said Professor King on it and reminded Callie of the notes the kids in her class used to pass.
“Guess that’s for you Tilo.” Callie said. Tilo lifted the letter and quietly read it before handing it to Callie who read it aloud.
“Professor King,
I apologise for intruding but Upton Abbey is in trouble. Ken Rand has been killed and I suspect it was murder as does Sandra who you hopefully remember from your visit here. She can fill you in on the details.
I implore you to help us, the people here are scared and are reaching out for anything. Unfortunately that seems to be resulting in the wrong people getting in charge.
If Sandra makes it this far please ensure she is not mistreated.
Yours
Elizabeth Rand.
“I’d give her high marks for penmanship.” Callie said after a beat.
“This Kenneth Rand what makes you think he was murdered?” Carter asked.
Sandra explained that Ken was taking heart medication he shouldn’t have had that would have been ineffective.
“What about suicide? I’ve seen it happen to the strongest.”
“No not Ken, besides there was no way he got those pills on his own.”
“That you know of.” Carter said.
“Let’s go back to this Zombie situation. You say he turned without being bitten?” Callie asked.
“Yes well I suppose he could have got bitten on the face. The Hunters used a shotgun to put him down, there wasn’t much left of his head. If he had been bitten though that Zombie must have been the dairy milk man of Zombies because he didn’t leave a trace.”
“Weird. I’ll ask Rishi about that.” Callie said.
“So you want us to send one of our guys over there? You know one of your people has been running around murdering other survivors? A Gang of Five of them actually.” Carter said. Callie had spent the afternoon filling Carter in on the history of Haven.
“No but I bet I know who was responsible. Brand?”
Tilo nodded at Callie. That was the man he and Ben had concluded to be responsible.
“Let me guess he’s the one you think killed Rand?”
“Yeah both of the Rands probably.”
“Ok we need to take a look at this guy. Make sure he’s not a threat.”
“So what do we do? We can’t attack them, they out number and outgun us.” Mark said.
“I know.” Callie muttered.
She thought for a long moment while staring into space. When her thoughts came back to the room she found herself staring at Tilo.
The History Professor.
“Greeks bearing gifts.”
Mark looked at Tilo who appeared to be as confused as he was.
“This Brand guy. Sounds like a narcissist or a psychopath or whatever, means he likes it when people play up to his sense of superiority. So we use that as a cover to get in there and see what the hell is happening.”
“Narca-what? I thought you were a school teacher not a head shrink.” Mark said.
“You never watch Criminal Minds?”
“What?”
“Nevermind look. If we go over there, say we want to start the trades that Ken Rand proposed and play up to his ego he might just let us inside the building. From there Tilo can work out what the hell is going on once he has a word with Elizabeth Rand. See what I mean?” Callie explained.
“What if it all goes wrong?” Carter asked.
“Well if Tilo doesn’t check in then we tell the Caravaners we know who killed their guys and see what happens.”
“You mean start a war?” Carter asked.
“Don’t be melodramatic. They are the two biggest groups around here, we side with the Caravaners and take the Rands out. It’s a win win. We get back in with the Caravaners and protect ourselves from the Rands.”
“Then why not tell them now?”
“Because they lost people to those assholes and they will want blood. It’s clear not everyone supports Brand but I don’t think the Caravaners would see it that way once the bloodlust descends. They’ll slaughter everyone or be slaughtered in the attempt.”
“Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.” Carter offered. “I mean think about it. We let the Caravaners know what we know then let them go to war with the Rands. If the Caravaners win their numbers will have been thinned making them less of a threat and if the Rands win hopefully we could steamroll the survivors.”
Everyone in the room looked at Carter with wide eyes and Mark’s jaw actually dropped.
“I’m just saying.” Carter shrugged.
“That might be too far at the moment. The Caravaners can still be allies and we can’t assume Brand is evil. The evidence is pointing that way but it’s from conclusive. We need an investigation.” Callie offered although Carter’s callousness had shocked her.
“So the plan is to use the trade agreement to play up to Brand and make contact with Elizabeth Rand?” Mark asked.
“Correct. I say we send Tilo he knows the area and has a relationship with the people.” Callie said.
“I see. Will he be able to take care of Brand if it comes to it?” Carter asked.
All eyes fell on Tilo but Callie saved him from having to answer. “Tilo is smart and knows what’s at stake he can deal with it whatever way he needs to.”
Carter shrugged. “Fair enough what are you going to trade?”
“Haven’t thought about that.” Callie mused.
“We were carrying a lot of supplies might be something there worth salvaging. Food, that kind of thing. I think you guys should hold onto the weapons.”
“Yeah I think so too. What kind of weapons, we talking here?” Callie asked
“Couple of 9mm Browings , probably a few SA-80s. Nothing too heavy.”
Callie stared blankly. “I do people stuff, we had someone else for the guns. What does that mean?”
“Pistols and assault rifles.” Carter said simply.
“Ok so sounds like we got our selves an honest to God Scav mission. I’ll prepare the briefs.”
Job
An Inspector Calls.
Suggested Number of Scavs – 1
Area – RAF crash site. Upton Abbey.
Objective- Recover items to trade with the Rands from Crash site. Investigate death of Kenneth Rand.
Information- Ok so this one is a little complicated.
A woman called Sandra Hargrave arrived at Haven carrying a letter from Elizabeth Rand for Tilo. Sandra and the letter tell us things may have gone a little bad in Upton and it would be in our interest to check it out.
Elizabeth and Sandra believe and Man called Richard Brand is responsible for the death of Ken Rand. This is part of his powerplay to take over Upton. Apparently Brand believes himself to be a strong leader and the only one who worthy of leading. We intend to use his narcissism as a method to get inside Upton.
You will visit the downed RAF chopper and try to retrieve whatever you can. Not weapons though. Use the items as a way to ingratiate yourself with Brand. Play to his ego. Once inside locate Elizabeth Rand and get to the bottom of this mystery. Find out if Brand killed Ken and try to work out what Brand’s plans are for Haven. This could get ugly and there is a very real possibility you might need to kill Brand. It would be far better if you make this look like an accident. Talk to Doc Short or Rishi about how to achieve this.
Lastly it would appear Ken Brand turned despite not being bitten we’re looking into this but be aware he may have been poisoned. Odds are they could try the same trick twice assuming that’s what they did to begin with.
If we don’t receive a radio transmission at every four hours we will assume you have been captured and tell the Caravaners what we know. We want to avoid this as it will lead to a massive loss of life.
Good Luck.
Callie.
Bonus Mission.
Sea King Down.
Suggested Number of Scavs – 1
Area – RAF crash site.
Objective- Recover weapons and Items from the Sea King.
Information- When my Sea King went down it was loaded with supplies weapons, MREs, Medical equipment and ammo. By now the Zombie activity should have returned to normal so you can pop in and pop out without too much bother. Also of note is a radio equipment that would help boost the signal of the Haven Comms allowing for less atmospheric and geological interference.
A. Carter