November 10th, 2013
Upton Abbey
Ewan Alden had not received any transmissions from the rest of the gang of five through the radios that they were carrying or were supposed to be carrying. And any attempts he made to call out were met with static.
The situation at Upon seemed to be deteriorating by the minute as of the day before, when Ken Rand had to be put down by the hunters remaining at the abbey. People were still fearful and wondering how their elder leader turned. There was hysteria. At first the hunters went through checking everyone for bite marks, they began combing the halls of the manor, hoping to find an undead roaming about. However, none were found and they began to closely examine the late Ken Rand's body. They saw that he had no bite marks or wounds of any kind on what remained of his body after Richard Brand, almost remorselessly, blew off his head. They concluded that the only possible place he could have been bitten would have been on his head. It was inconclusive. That news made it even worse. People began to fear that there was some new form of transmission of the zombification.
Richard Brand, opportunistic, a word to describe the man, seized the initiative. He quickly took command, even though past incidences have proven that he was far from the sort of leaders that Ken and William were. Of course, he was a hunter, and they supplied the most in terms of food and safety. And by that point, news of William's death had reached everyone. The confusion as to how he died though was a result of the ever accurate rumor mill. That worked in Brand's favor. The mantle of leadership was up for grabs, but there were no claimants aside from Richard. The hunter smiled upon his fortune, and handily took his throne.
This only added insult to injury, especially to those who perceived the feud between the Rands and Brand's group and sided with the former rather than the latter.
From there, the ground seemed to shift. At once, Richard made it clear that the four hunters of his clique had probably turned or killed themselves to prevent turning. It would explain why they did not return to Upton. Most of the remaining hunters immediately fell under Richard. Those who were formerly with Kenneth grudgingly accepted him as leader, only Rory went so far as to make a claim for Elizabeth, saying that this was her father-in-law and husband's property. They spat on the boy and sent him out into the garden to tend the crops. Property in the new world belonged to the one with guns not to the one who held onto a defunct legal document.
Interestingly, in the old world, the legal document was just more than paper. There was an arsenal of guns behind it, so it was actually nothing new, not that many people cared. Except paper no longer had the support of guns.
------
That same morning it came to Richard's attention that one of the residents at Upton, Sandra Hargrave, had gone missing. She had been the caretaker for Kenneth, and she was a close friend of the Rands through her connection with the late elder. Richard knew all of this. He also knew that she was responsible for managing his medication. He wondered if she discovered what happened and immediately fled. It would only make him wonder more as to whether or not she told anyone anything before she left.
"Do you know where Sandra is?" Richard inquired.
"Sandra?" Elizabeth had a quizzical expression.
"She's nowhere to be found. Do you know where she could have went?" Richard raised his voice.
"No, I have no idea." Elizabeth replied.
It was bad enough that he could have been responsible for both her husband and her father-in-law's death, and now he was attempting to make advances on her. If not that, then perhaps threatening her and and her son's lives.
"So she just up and left then?" Richard said, like a wide-eyed maniac.
Elizabeth tried to come up with a possible reason to dissuade Richard's doubts.
"Maybe the incident yesterday took a heavy toll on her."
"But do you know how dangerous that was? She could have left the doors open to zed as she left. I'm damned surprised she managed to get past the night watch."
Elizabeth nodded in silence.
"Did she tell you anything? Before she disappeared?" Richard seemed to calm himself, it was atypical of him to do so.
"No, nothing."
"I know you're still a bit down after what happened with your father. If you ever need anything, I'm here for you." Richard's attempt at sincerity was disgusting.
"I'm fine." Elizabeth said, rebuffing him.
Richard simply nodded his head and left Elizabeth in the hallway.
Elizabeth knew Richard was going after the various people who were with her husband and father-in-law's side before they both perished. Sandra believed he was responsible for turning her father into a stiff, and the fact that he was the one to pull the trigger only added to her suspicions. It was possible to say that he could have been responsible for William's death as well, since they were out on their trip to Hamilton's resort. Elizabeth instinctively believed that he had injured Corporal Fields to prevent him from accompanying William. She imagined that Richard had probably trapped her husband somewhere and left him to die. She imagined him laughing with those four others when they had done it. She imagined William's last moments, the same image coming forth to her mind's eye as the one she conjured up when Professor King told her about his fate in the first place. And the sexual advances that her husband's killer made only discomforted her even more. These thoughts flooded her mind. She was upset, angry, disgusted, disturbed, sad, horrified, fearful, anxious, and even helpless. But perhaps not...hopeless.
At the same time, the cocktail of emotions was too much for her. Taking a page from British politicians, she tried to hide herself beneath her exterior and maintain a stoic countenance to prevent the man from becoming suspicious. She hoped that Sandra could get help, as she passed word to whoever still sided with her. Rory promised to stay quiet, and Dominic promised to always look behind himself. They were capable people.
------
November 10th
0900
Haven
Sometime after Tilo had recovered from the news about Hoppy, he decided to shut himself in for a bit to think. He slept, he ate, and then he slept. He felt no desire to talk to anyone, there was a lot already weighing on his mind. And it seemed to him that, as each day passed, the more his family slipped from his memory. The other day he cursed himself in angered silence that he forgot his youngest son's name. He knew he was only in his mid forties, but it stung him a bit. Secretly, he felt ashamed. He spent an hour to two writing Horatio's name over and over and over on a sheet of stationary. He never told anyone about the incident.
The old man looked over the notes he had written while he was at Upton. He was glad that the sheets weren't as badly crumpled as he expected them be as a result of the return trip, and that the ink had not smudged.
Ken Rand was born in London, and he later moved his home to Liverpool, on the west coast of England to expand his business of greengrocers. He met Theresa Kenny there in 1976, and in that same year, William was born. This made William 37, compared to my 45, it was only an eight year difference. From there, young William attended a preparatory school from 4 to 11. After that he attended senior school until he reached adulthood. Both schools were independent schools, unconfined by the national curriculum, and paid for in full by the elder Rand. I think it would not be too much to conclude that William had a quality education. After that, William enrolled in the University of York's law program. When I spoke with the elder Rand, he said that the only thing his wealth did, was giving his son opportunities, and he emphasized that it was his son who made the choices that got him where he was in life...
Tilo had asked people around Haven about Monroe and Toby.
Some say Monroe was born in Belfast in 1975 or 1976. They said he was in the Forces as part of the Paras. He joined mainly because he wanted to get away from the Troubles. I remember hearing about that, just a lot sectarian violence that did not needed to happen. He received a military cross for actions in Sierra Leone. After he left the army he became a contractor, but he never settled down. Truth be told, I can see why that was the case. He was probably unaccustomed to civilian life, and accustomed to military life. Institutionalized, I suppose. His personal life was riddled with womanizing and alcohol, at least that's what I heard. When I came to Haven, I saw none of that. In fact he was more of a gruff no-nonsense type, sobered up even. And maybe he talked about me behind my back, he was a soldier, and I was a...well...a student. One thing that I will never forget about the man, he often drank this rank smelling coffee that rotted the nostrils. And for some reason, and maybe this is pure coincidence or maybe not, but it seemed as if whenever I was there, he would be drinking it. Of course, I'm hoping that as the days go on I'll remember him by just more than that. He did what he could to prepare us, us as in the Scavengers of Haven...
He stopped there and moved on to another piece. Cramps? No, he had none of that. His mind was too busy thinking about people to worry about a little hand fatigue.
I was kind of sad to find out that nobody knew about Toby. In fact, I kind of beat myself up for not knowing her real name in the first place. The only people around who actually knew her real name were Callie and Mark, October Harrison. Since this is what I would hope to be my memoirs, I want to honestly say that, when I first met her I dreaded the possibility of having to work with her on a mission. It was the scar above her lip that made the first impression for her. She was shorter than me, and stouter framed, and somewhat more muscular. Her arms had tattoos, which I only found out about after our mission to Hamilton's retreat. She was not really sociable, but maybe that was just me or the rifle that I held. I doubt I looked intimidating because she knew that I had no prior experience of using such a firearm. I later found out that not many people knew her. She was almost like a ghost. She seemed to be the self-reliant type. Mark told me that she had made her way on foot all the way from Halifax. I think lesser people would have crumbled before reaching Haven. I don't think she deserved her fate, but then again I'm not God, and I don't get to pick and choose who lives and who dies. Food for thought I suppose.
As Tilo's hand cramped again, he heard a knock on the door, goddamnit. He took a moment to let that sink in, had he just swore under his breath at a minor annoyance? It seemed his fuse was getting shorter. He immediately hid the guitar in the corner, covering it with his sleeping bag.
"Who is it?"
"Tilo it's Gary, open up."
"Have you checked this out?" Gary handed Tilo what appeared to be a small booklet.
"What is this?"
"You saw Rishi's book that was pinned to the board right?"
Tilo nodded.
"This is a pocket sized version that the man spent, who knows how much time, to make."
Tilo skimmed a few pages.
"He ran some tests over the zed that he's got locked up in that building, and he managed to write down what he could find. By the way, is it true that you actually found him that specimen?"
"Well I..."
"Actually, how did you even manage to catch one and bring it back here?"
"It's a long story," Tilo waved his hand, "Um, I'm a little busy right now Gary, could you?"
"Uh...yeah, sure," but before he left, "You've been in here the entire morning. I didn't see you get breakfast. Are you okay Tilo? About the whole Hoppy thing?"
"I'm fine," that was a partial lie, "Mark was kind enough to leave a plate of eggs outside," Tilo smiled.
He reached over to the cabinet, where he left the empty plate, and handed it to Gary. Once the man had taken the plate and left, Tilo shut the door.
------
1230
By about early afternoon Tilo decided to check the job boards. He found that the only job around was one by Rishi. Tilo simply looked past it, too tired to try another one of the man's forays. He was sure that Callie sent word out for medical supplies, as to where, Tilo did not know. He was a non-native. He drifted along the farm, hands in pockets, the cold beating against him.
He entered the infirmary, or what was supposed to be the infirmary. Doctor Short did what she could to convert the large room into an adequate facility for the sick, the injured, or the wounded. Hoppy was sleeping, her face growing almost as white as the snow outside.
Doctor Short came in. She started coming into the infirmary at intervals to watch Hoppy's progression. They were both quiet for a time.
"I told Callie to tell Ben and Kiera to hurry," she finally said.
Tilo glanced at the doctor, observing her concerned expression.
She sighed, "I don't know if she's going to live."
It was a mental thing for doctors to prepare themselves for the worst. They out of all people, with the exception of perhaps soldiers, dealt with death almost on a daily basis. And as each day passed, they accumulated a mental and emotional conditioning that made the burden less burdensome.
"How is she?"
Doctor Short shook her head, unsure if there were any words left to express.
"I think she's the first one I actually managed to..." she searched for the right words, "give a chance to."
"Kim was already bitten. I heard about Toby. And Monroe..."
"She'll pull through doc," Tilo said, trying to reassure the middle aged woman, calming her nerves.
Tilo left after Doctor Short told him she would watch over Hoppy's condition.
1500
The day passed by quickly. Tilo occupied himself in his room. He had told Mark and anyone who came to his door to tell others not to disturb him. He was still intent on writing. Once his first pen was out, he placed it aside on the desk, and grabbed another one. Every couple of minutes he would write about one person and then move on to another, jotting down notes about them. He skipped around. Then he would stand up to stretch his arms or walk around. His solitude was incomplete because he had a companion, which was the mid day sun permeating into the lightless room. He had gotten used to living without light.
As soon as it got dark, Tilo made sure to turn off the power in his room. It was one of the little things everyone had to do to ensure that the petrol would not run out. 'Light discipline' was what Callie and Monroe had called it. Their earlier attempts at finding an alternate source of power were not fruitful, so they made sure that scavs tried to grab a jug of petrol every now and then. Once they found out about the Silent Valley plant, they began drawing up plans and trying to find a way to set up a panel, or a couple of panels, at Haven to make sure they didn't freeze through the winter. Cumbria was well to the north in the Isles, and the Isles themselves were just as far north as they could get. As a result, winters came early, unofficially. Tilo felt this winter seemed colder than usual, perhaps it was due to the lack of heating.
He wanted to write what he could about anybody. He tried to capture his thoughts in little snippets. Then he went about trying to strum the guitar that was to be Laney's present. He had played a bit when he was younger, but he gave up on it once school picked up and he had to redouble his efforts on his studies. Now he just played a note or two and tried to hum a song. Then he would sigh. Then repeat the entire cycle again. At some point Mark had left a cup of ramen with some canned sausages outside his room, which Tilo had almost kicked over as he stepped out.
Mark was thoughtful. He made sure that everyone maintained their strength. He definitely deserved a couple of words. Tilo had heard about Kim. The old man admired how Mark continued on, giving what he could to Haven, despite his loss. It was probably one of the toughest losses a person had to deal with. Nobody would have known just by looking at the man. In a way he was sort of like Monroe, but a bit more polite and less unsavory.
Speaking of unsavory, Tilo stepped out of his room and entered the bathroom. Nobody really used it anymore, since there was no running water. The mirror showed him that his beard had grown almost as thick as the bark on an oak. He looked like a caveman.
He saw what he wanted to see and returned to his room.
------
1730
Tilo sighed. He wiped his forehead and massaged his scalp, racking his brain for anything more he could write down about anyone. He leaned backward in his chair, hands behind his head, content with what he managed to do. He let out one long exhale in the silence of his room. Then he decided he would go check on Hoppy again, but as he reached for the door he heard a knock that made him jump.
"Tilo open up! It's Mark, someone from the Rands is here for you."
Tilo immediately opened the door.
"From the Rands, you mean Upton?"
Mark nodded, "Comon', Callie and Alison are already in the kitchen with her."
Her? Was it Elizabeth Rand?
"Alison?"
"The pilot that Monroe saved," Mark said as they went down the stairs.
Then they entered the kitchen, where the pilot had taken Monroe's seat at command. Her appearance at the coffee table was an incongruity in Tilo's mind. Maybe he wasn't used to seeing someone else in that poorly fashioned seat. She had a cast on her left leg and a makeshift crutch resting against her seat. Short blonde hair, her face was straight to the point.
Callie sat beside the middle aged woman that Tilo seemed to recognize. She was the same woman who tended to Kenneth.
"You're..."
"Sandra Hargrave. Thank God, you're here Professor."
The formalities were cut short as Callie commanded, "Speak."
“Elizabeth Rand sent me. I have a message in my jacket pocket.” Mark checked her jacket and found a wallet, it was the one that belonged to William. And with it there was a note with Tilo's name on it.
"Guess that’s for you Tilo.” Callie said.
The old man read the letter to himself before he gave it to Callie to read 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.
------
“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 the old man, but by God he was thankful that 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 Brownings, 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 ourselves an honest to God Scav mission. I’ll prepare the briefs.”
Everyone was still somewhat mystified by how Ken Rand died.
Tilo tried to wrap his head around the idea, but he couldn't. "I still can't...he turned without being bitten?"
"Well, I didn't really get a good look at him when I saw him, but I'm sure he wasn't bitten anywhere on his head. We checked his body and everything,"
"And the head?" Mark asked.
"Brand blew it off with a shotgun," Sandra said matter-of-factly.
"You know what, I'm going to go talk to Rishi about that," Callie promptly left the coffee table.
The room was bathed in silence, before Mark finally spoke. "Well, it must have been a long trip, and you're a guest. So I'll get you some water."
"Thank you." Sandra said, she was no longer as visibly shaken as she was before when Tilo saw her.
------
1800
"...seen any other method of transmission, I thought it was safe to assume the bite is what got you. If there are other methods of transmission, we are vulnerable to infection without further information on the virus, or whatever it is that is doing this to people," Rishi's voice echoed down the stairs, he was followed immediately by Callie.
When Rishi entered the kitchen, he immediately spotted the visitor and shot out, "What were the circumstances of this person's death?"
“Pardon?” Sandra was caught off guard, as was everyone else.
------
“There is no transmission!” He yelled at her, Sandra simply staring in a shocked sort of awe.
“Rishi, calm down. Tell me, what are you talking about?” Callie asked.
“People don’t die because there is a virus in the saliva that slowly turns them into a zombie Callie. People die from the bite wounds because of infection brought on by the germs in our mouths! They just die Callie, they just die. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before. Callie, this is very important. We might all be zombies already.”
“Excuse me?” Sandra said, clearly outraged at the statement.
Mark, Tilo, and Alison looked at each other with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. They thought he was mad, but this much? It was almost astronomical.
“Slow down. We might all be zombies?” Callie said, motioning with her hand for Sandra to calm down.
“Yes. How do you explain so many people turning at once, all throughout England? Everywhere at once? Look, not all of us might be infected, but I would reason otherwise. It would be safer to think that all of us have contracted this ‘zombification’ process, and that if one of us were to pass away, we would come back regardless of the circumstances surrounding our deaths.”
“Can you be sure?”
“I would need to see it for myself, but I believe that might be the case.”
“I can’t listen to this.” Sandra said, getting up and leaving the room. Rishi looked at Callie and sighed.
“I am going to watch over Hoppy while we wait. Mark told me about her condition, so if she doesn’t make it, I need to be there to make sure…” He trailed off as he let out a sigh. “Let's just hope that for once, I am wrong.”
"Wait hold on," Tilo said.
Rishi turned as he heard this.
"We were wondering if you knew of any...possible method of killing someone..." Mark said.
"Well yes, there are plenty..."
"But making it look as if it were by accident," Tilo finished the sentence that Mark began.
"Oh?" Rishi's eyebrows were raised, "And who do you want killed?"
"A bastard named Brand," Alison blankly stated, "Not Russell Brand, another one."
He paused for a moment, not catching the pop culture reference. Then he began to think, trying to comb his memory for any novel information that might help.
"Amanita phalloides. A deadly basidiomycete fungus found throughout most of Europe. The primary toxic agent is alpha-amanitin, in short, acute liver failure and eventually death. Toxicity can not be reduced by cooking, freezing, or drying. Half of it is enough to kill a man," Rishi said.
"If you do manage to find one, try slipping it into a meal reserved for this Brand fellow. Once he consumes it, it'll take some time before the abdominal pain kicks in and gastrointestinal symptoms appear. These will be delayed anywhere from six to thirty hours. The man is sure to die within a matter of days afterward as long as you make sure he ingests it."
"And where might we find these?" Tilo said.
"Right, right, um, they form mycorrhizae with many broadleaved trees such as oaks, chestnuts, and pines. The fruiting bodies are most likely to appear during the summer and autumn. I'm not sure about the winter. They are white in appearance, look for a large and conspicuous flat or convex cap, that is pale in the ranges of yellow to perhaps olive green. Young ones look like eggs coming out of the ground. The smell has been described as sweet, but I don't suggest inhaling it. However, I do advise you gather a large number of them, to guarantee the man's fate because there are a number of edible species out there that are similar in appearance. The taste has been described as sweet, which will work to your advantage at disarming any suspicions from this Brand fellow," Rishi paused to sigh, "Anything else?"
"Thanks Rishi. By the way, how do you know all of this?" Mark said.
"Call me a renaissance man, anyway I'll go check on Hoppy," before he went out the door, "Be sure to take a copy of my little pocketbook. They're flying off the shelves!"
Callie chuckled at that.
"What happens if I can't find one?" Tilo looked to Callie.
"Find one, or improvise," Alison cut in and Callie shrugged.
------
1900
After dinner, Tilo sat outside on the steps of the porch in the cold for a bit. He tried to feel the cold again. The night was dark and the farm house was silent. The only light was the candle that Doctor Short had lit in the infirmary to keep watch over Hoppy.
Mark came and sat beside Tilo. The man sighed.
"Cold isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"Are you ready for tomorrow?"
Tilo exhaled through his nose, "I don't think I could be more ready. I've got the sawn-off if it ever comes to that."
Mark stared at Tilo, unsure what to say.
"So you've got the panels charging?" Tilo asked.
"Yeah. Gary and Jesus were with me. Jesus hasn't checked in yet, that's got me worried."
"You think he's..."
"There's a high chance. But the kid's a footballer, he's supposed to be fast. He should have been back before nightfall."
"It could have been the Rands."
"Could have been, or even the Vanners."
Tilo looked at Mark.
"As much as Callie wants to trust them, I can't. I think the pilot had the right idea." Mark spit.
"It's already bad enough we have to fend off zed, but other humans?" Tilo asked.
Mark shrugged, "Get some sleep old man, you've got a long day tomorrow."
------
November 11th, 2013
0400
Tilo put everything he needed into his pack. The map and compass were on hand, he had the sawn-off and a couple of rounds. His hatchet was holstered into a belt loop. It was still fairly dark, so he decided to bring a flashlight. The radio was turned off to conserve the little battery power it had. He also carried a canteen half filled with water. He knew a trip in the cold was sure to dry his throat.
The old man had on the pack and stepped outside into the winter sky. No lights, no city. He was surprised to see all the stars glittering above against the black velvet of night. He exhaled, his breath swirling with frost from the cold.
He stood on the porch a bit to watch the horizon above the line of trees. Time seemed very slow and non-existent.
Callie was up behind him with a thin sweater so she held herself to brace the cold, "Beautiful isn't it?"
"Hmm?" Tilo turned around.
"Monroe once told me that as a child he would often look up into the sky and imagine that he was a bird. He wanted to fly far away from the Troubles. I suppose he got his wish."
They lapsed into silence for a time.
"I couldn't have sent Ben."
Tilo looked at her with a quizzical expression.
"He would have gotten both of you killed. Matters like this need discretion."
The old man nodded before he started to leave.
"Come home safe, Tilo."
"I'll try, ma'am." Tilo looked back with a smirk.
Callie simpered, she mouthed "I'm not the Queen," before turning in.
------
0500
The path to the crash site was clear. It was located near Jones' farm which was the opposite direction of Upton. The place had seen much blood and fire.
The chopper itself was strewn atop the crest of a hill. One of its rotors was lodged into the ground, while the other three were bent. The paint had begun to fade and snow had gathered into icicles. Its cargo content had spilled out beside the shrapnel and other parts of the chopper. It seemed as if the chopper had been searched through, but not fully cleaned out. Tilo left his sack outside and went through the cabin hatch that remained upturned and not buried in the snow. Most of the space still had cargo, the average Sea King could hold about twenty to thirty people.
He pulled out the flashlight and kept it dimmed so as not to attract any undead. As he went in, he saw several corpses, rotten. Maggots and flies. They were still in uniform with blood dried. The skin had darkened on those who had pale complexions, and it became cracked on those with dark complexions. One of the corpses was impaled on a long pipe with a sharpened tip. Another one had a limp grip on a pistol. Tilo retched at the sight.
The old man spotted some duffle bags. He rubbed them, feeling out the solid and metallic items inside. They had handles, they were probably the weapons. He remembered that the pilot said they should keep those for Haven. Another scav would be sent after him to retrieve. The old man then rummaged through the other strapped packages looking for kits with the red crosses on them. He found only a few remained, which he shoved into his sack. He turned to look at the deceased. He would have buried them, but he did not have the tools. He would have uttered a prayer if he was Catholic, but who said he needed to be Catholic to do so.
"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..." Tilo paused trying to remember the next verse.
He was not one to attend church much in the old world, but he did study the Bible for other purposes. He wanted to curse himself at observing how age had ways of deteriorating a person's mind.
"Thy kingdom come, thy will...be done, on earth, as it is in heaven."
"Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us...from evil," he drew a breath from the air.
Then he slung the pack over his shoulder and forged on with his shotgun in hand, trying to erase the sight that he just witnessed. The night was behind him and the day was before him.
------
0730
Once Tilo reached the valley with the many hills he began to search for the mushrooms. The trees of the valleys were tall and stood with splayed branches. He combed the ground while keeping his eye out for zed. The brush on the ground consisted of dead dry leaves that had fallen off from the trees to prevent water loss. Fauna no longer roamed freely, they were shut in their little nests or dwellings, contemplating the weather outside. They balled up inside their fur coats and closed their eyes, hoping that this year's winter would be shorter than last year's.
The pebbles, leaves, grass, and snow formed a sea that covered any possible mushrooms that Tilo could find. If what Rishi had said was correct, it would be incredibly hard to identify the white mushrooms against the white snow.
Fortunately, the sun began to rise in the eastern sky. The rays of orange and gold melted away the night and shone clear the forest path. It felt warm. The white clouds though, distilled the light. It was not as clear as it could have been.
Tilo continued looking at the bases of the trees, where the ectomycorrhizae would be.
Then he found some of the caps that indicated mushrooms. They were brown though, and so he moved on. He knew that the mushrooms he was looking for would be nestled near oaks and pines, however, he was not a tree expert. All he knew was that the Lake District had many pines and oaks.
After searching for what seemed to be an eternity, he found some of them. They were young ones, recently sprouted from spores. They looked like eggs. Then he found some more, and as Rishi had advised, it would be safe to gather a large sample. So he did. They had wide flat caps and yellow to olive green coloring on top.
Once the rest of the space in his pack was filled with the poisonous things, he thought about whether he should radio into headquarters about his progress. It couldn't hurt, he supposed.
"I found the medical supplies. I left the guns where they were, and I managed to find the mushrooms that Rishi spoke of."
"Good job Tilo, over," it was Alison.
He was unaccustomed to her voice, after being so used to Callie and Monroe.
"Where's Callie? Over."
"She went to check on Hoppy, anyway I've got to go, you can check back in about an hour. Over."
"Got it. Over and out."
Tilo clicked the little walkie-talkie off and slid it back into a sidepocket before he continued.
------
The trek was quiet. No birds anywhere. Just snow and trees, and the occasional babbling brook that had a few chunks of ice in it. His throat was sore with the cold, and every so often he pulled out his canteen and took a swig of water from it.
He continued walking, eyes always darting side to side. The zombie threat at times seemed present at times and absent at times. He walked past a line of trees until he spotted a shadow in the distance. His shotgun grip tightened and he inched forward to the figure slowly. As he crept closer, the figure made no motion to turn around and face the old man. Once he got close enough to see it clearly, he determined it was zed by the color of its skin. It was no natural living hue.
However, the thing made no move whatsoever. Tilo noticed the icicles that had accumulated on its elbows. Maybe it was frozen, but he did not want to assume. So he grabbed a pebble and tossed it in front of the stiff.
No motion.
Tilo then whistled, no motion.
Maybe it was frozen, he decided to test even further. He whispered to it, still no motion.
So instead of firing his shotgun, he decided to save the rounds and just use his hatchet instead.
He swiped the head clean off the body, unbalanced it fell forward while the head rolled to a stop on the ground.
Tilo walked on.
Some time as he continued walking, he decided to start singing. The quiet was unnerving and he felt the need to calm his mind. He began to hum a favorite tune of his.
"Yesterday..."
"All my troubles seemed so far away," he hummed in between.
"Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh I... believe... in yesterday..."
"Suddenly... I'm not half the man I used to be..." he hummed, "There's a shadow hangin' over me... oh yesterday.. came suddenly..." Tilo hummed, he had forgotten the other lyrics.
It didn't really matter.
"Yesterday..."
"All my troubles seemed so far away..."
"Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh I... believe... in yesterday..."
"Suddenly... I'm not half the man I used to be..."
"There's a shadow hangin' over me... oh yesterday.. came suddenly..."
And he repeated those lines for a time.
------
0700
"Is everyone ready?" Richard loaded the last round into his rifle.
The hunters nodded in agreement. Dominic had taken off his bandages, the bruises on his head had disappeared. This only revealed the unflinching gaze with green eyes the man had that made him a threat in Brand's view.
He was taking Dominic, Finley, Ewan, and four others of his loyalist cadre with him on a hunting mission. He told them that they were going to be searching for a new source of food. Perhaps they might try for Penrith or Appleby. He left behind most of the hunters that were loyal to him to guard Upton for his return. They weren't as loyal as the four, but the shift in the situation made them willing dogs.
"Safe journey lads," one of the remaining hunters said to the group as they left. Then they proceeded to lock the giant main doors of the manor.
Elizabeth was having a private conversation in her room between her, Rory, and Talisa Alden.
"Are you sure it was him?" Talisa questioned.
"Who else could it possibly be?" Elizabeth said in a hushed voice, "You've seen how the man acted when William was gone."
"I don't know. What can we do with him? He's restored order for the time being, it isn't so bad," Talisa tried to pacify her.
They didn't know that Talisa was actually sleeping with Richard. She had her needs.
"I'm not so sure about that," Elizabeth said.
"Well...what do we do?" Rory looked at her with concern.
"I sent Sandra to Haven to get Professor King, I hope to God he has a solution. In the meantime, keep on the lookout for him."
------
0830
The topiaries and manor, once again illustrated old world splendor before Tilo, but he ignored it and made his way quickly to the door. He had a mission. However, he stopped halfway to report back to headquarters.
"I've made it to Upton, over."
"Good job Til--"
"Callie?"
...
There was static and then the battery died. He looked at the thing, pressing several buttons, trying anything to revive the talker. Still nothing, he decided to just slip it back into his pack. He looked at his sawn-off, they would probably confiscate it like last time. He decided to place it inside the pack, removing several medical kits for space.
The great doors opened before him once he reached them, to welcome him were four men who looked completely unfamiliar. Tilo should have expected the changing of the guard.
They pulled him in at gunpoint, asking him questions.
"Slow down mate," Tilo pleaded, his hands in the air. It was almost like deja-vu.
"Who are you? And where are you from? And what's in the bag?" A burly hunter asked him, his beard almost as thick as Tilo's own.
"Tilo King. Haven. I came here with some supplies for Mr. Kenneth Rand," Tilo said, showing them the kits in hand.
Then he unslung his sack and rifled through the bag, making sure they could not the shotgun. Once he pulled another kit out, the hunters lowered their guns.
"I didn't ask what you were here for, but he's dead anyway. You came here for nothin'."
Tilo already had beforehand knowledge, but he knew it was best to hide the fact that he knew. So he tried his best to portray shock and confusion, which partially succeeded. He was never the actor, but he had to up the ante.
"When? How? What happened?" Tilo asked in false exasperation.
"Two days ago, on the ninth. The old man turned, someone was screamin'. The old man was a crawler. Had to put him down."
Tilo kept on a confused face before Elizabeth and Rory came through the hallway. Her eyes widened as Tilo could see, and she acted quickly.
"Professor King," she said, hoping her little stunt would lower their guard.
"Miss Elizabeth. I'm so sorry to hear about..."
"It's okay..." Elizabeth looked to the rest of the hunters who loitered about, unsure what to do, "You guys can return to your post, he's a friend."
"I don't know about that, Miss Rand. Richard said we shouldn't let strangers into Upton."
"Well, he's been here before, so he's not a stranger. Now go on," she emphasized with gestures.
Jeremy scratched his beard, sighed, and left them alone.
Minutes later, Tilo was in Elizabeth's room.
"So what do we do?"
Tilo showed her the mushrooms and explained.
------
0900
Richard and the band of hunters laid in wait at the crest of a hill overlooking a field that was a chopper crash site.
"What are we doing here Richard?" Dominic asked as they sat against some stones for cover, "There aren't any zed around, we should just loot the chopper."
"Just waiting," he said, watching the chopper for activity. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw two men.
Immediately he grabbed his binoculars and examined them closely, it was an older man probably in his fifties. He had a rifle with him, and accompanying him was a younger fellow. The younger fellow had a beard, pimpled face, and he was armed with a machete or some blunt object, Richard couldn't tell from the angle and distance.
Richard and the hunters watched the two people circle the chopper, inspecting it. Then the hunters spotted the zeds, swarms of them coming from Jones' farm.
"Shouldn't we go help them?" Dominic asked.
"No, those bastards deserve to die," Richard said.
"But they're people," Ewan protested, "Each one we can save is one less we can fight."
"You think so mate?" Richard's eyes bulged psychotically.
"They're just like us, willin' to do anythin' to survive. I'm willlin' to bet my life that when the chips are down, they'd stab m-.. us, in the back for potatoes."
Everyone remained silent after that.
"'Sides, they were responsible for William's death," everyone stared at him in shock.
Dominic, and Finley were caught off guard by that statement. They heard from Professor King that he had to kill William before he turned. The news about how William died was kept a secret between those who were present when Professor King was there. Among them was Kenneth, Dominic, Finley, Elizabeth, and Rory. Nobody else was in the parlor when he spoke. Now that they heard Richard denouncing the Caravanners as the ones responsible for William's death, it made them suspicious. They looked at each other and shook their heads subtly, remaining silent. In the corporal's mind, he came to the realization that Richard had a hand in William's death, and he would find out. He was injured the day Richard and William went out to Hamilton's retreat, which was the day that William disappeared.
"That's right, they killed 'im. I saw it with me own eyes. Wankers even killed Abel and the other three. Damned sick of them."
Richard's ploy was working, from what he could tell. There was no one else proving him wrong. He peered into his binoculars again to see that the two people had noticed the zed. They realized they were surrounded, and so they decided to climb the chopper.
------
Elizabeth entered the kitchen with a plastic bag. Flora was chopping some vegetables, but she noticed her walk in.
Mrs. Wilson was maintaining the fire of a stew. With the lack of power, they had to rely on a fireplace cooker that was previously installed in the abbey before the elder Rand bought the home. Elizabeth approached her and showed her the bag full of mushrooms.
"Where did you get these mushrooms?" the old lady inquired.
Elizabeth whispered into her ear, "Nevermind that. These...are for Richard."
She emphasized her meaning with a sharp glare, the old lady looked frightened, but she understood and nodded.
"It won't matter if you cooked it or cut it. Just make sure he gets it."
Elizabeth left the bag beside the old woman and promptly exited.
Flora watched the two of them from afar, unsure what was going on. She sneaked slowly behind the older woman and peered into plastic bag. She saw mushrooms. As a city girl, she wasn't really sure what the mushrooms were for and why the two were acting so fishy. A new ingredient to liven up the spirits, she supposed. But, what if they were poisonous? Flora had never given a thought to such things when she lived in the old world.
"Valerie? What..?" Flora pointed to the bag full of mushrooms.
"Oh dear me," the older woman nearly jumped, she was startled by the younger woman.
She panicked slightly at the inquiry, "Oh these? Um...new ingredients that the hunters found. White mushrooms. Haven't had any here yet."
"These are pretty big for white mushrooms."
"They're like that before you cook them," Valerie hoped that the girl would stop asking questions soon.
"Ah," Flora accepted the answer and returned to her place, cutting vegetables, "But..."
"Hmm?" The Mrs. Wilson nearly jumped again.
The older woman had a mental sigh, unsure how far she could have continued with the farce.
------
0930
"Your sister-in-law's got a fine ass mate," Richard said to Ewan who sat quietly with his rifle.
"Aw cheer up, don't be a bore. It was a compliment," Richard laughed.
They had been watching the pair fight off the hordes that were now gathered. The two strangers managed to thin the ranks of the dead, until the older man appeared to have run out of bullets.
"Damn it I need to go help them," Ewan said.
Richard grabbed him by the collar, "Don't be a fool Ewan," he swallowed, "They killed William. And now you're gonna go save them?"
The hunter knew how to act. His eyes had crocodile tears that lent an intensity and conviction that convinced the other man. Ewan believed him, so he sat down.
Richard peered into his binoculars again; he saw some cracks ring from a nearby hill just past the field enclosed by the stone wall.
"A newcomer," Richard watched her closely.
She had dark skin and wavy hair beneath a ridiculous looking helmet. For some reason she looked familiar, then something clicked in his mind, it was the same woman that shot Abel.
What are you up to? he wondered.
She came to the chopper once the zeds had been cleared and the two men on top jumped down to meet her. They conversed for a bit until the older man went to the wall...to piss.
Then suddenly the younger man smacked the woman to the ground and jumped on her.
"A little tiger aren't we? Look at that wee bastard. He's been deprived," Richard snickered, "Dom, I think this one's for you. You can be her knight in shining armor."
Dominic scoped the rifle and aimed at the younger man who was on top of the woman, and he pulled the trigger. The kid doubled over from what he could see.
Richard whooped, "Good shot!"
The boy was still writhing on the ground in pain, another hunter, Clive, ended that pain.
There were some faint screams and the old man disappeared into the woods. Dominic pulled the trigger again and missed the woman, who scrambled to safety behind the chopper.
"Damn it man, I thought you were in the Forces! Didn't they teach you how to shoot?" Richard taunted.
Dominic shrugged it off. The man's insults were only skin deep in his mind, but his motivations were dubious.
One of Richard's loyalists grabbed his own rifle and checked for the woman who appeared from behind the chopper and made a dash for the wall where the old man pissed.
The hunter pulled the trigger, hitting the duffle bag, but hoping that it penetrated and got through to her leg.
"Again, again," Richard yelled.
The hunter missed her as she crawled.
"Shit," the hunter sighed. The woman appeared to have escaped.
"Clive, Finley, go check out the chopper." Richard descended the hill heading in the opposite direction, followed by Ewan and two of his loyalists, "Ewan, you're with me."
"Where are you goin'?" Dominic asked from the crest.
"You, Simon, and the others go check the chopper for supplies. I'm takin' these three to Penrith. Just head back to Upton when you're done."
"Penrith? What for?"
"Supplies," Richard yelled back, but he whispered to himself, "And business."
He wasn't really going to Penrith.
------
Two men walked along a forest road, one was armed with a pistol and a crowbar, the other with a shotgun.
"Somebody oughta do something about those Haven people. We haven't heard anything from Jake or Sam since they went out with them. They've been missing for six fucking days," said the first one.
The second man sighed, "I miss her too man, but...you have to accept the possibility that she's..."
"Gone? No. Fuck that, she's still alive somewhere and I need to find her," the first man spat.
The two were knocked over by another man who seemed to be running for his life. They fell against the brush.
"Jesus Christ it's one of them!" said the second man.
The first man had his pistol ready and was about to fire until, "Charles? Charles is that you?"
"Oh fuck, thank man," Charles was out of breath.
"Charles what happened? And where's Benson?"
"It was..it was.." Charles tried to catch his breath, "Bitch from Haven. She shot 'im."
"What? Haven?" the second man stood up.
"Bloody hell I knew it! We need to tell Jane," the first man's triumphant appeal was cut short when he fell to the ground at the sound of several cracks.
Then the second man jerked as the pellets hit him and fell over. Both of their bodies were slumped on the ground, blood pouring profusely from their wounds. They coughed up blood and choked for air.
"Ah shit!" Charles, completely stunned for a moment, got up and ran off in the direction the two men came.
Out of the nearby brush, Richard stepped out and took off his beanie, revealing his flowing hair that had not been shaved. He ran his hand through his hair and looked off in the direction that the old man had run. This would be as far as they would track him. He pulled out a pistol and fired several rounds randomly into the same region that the old man fled, hoping he would hear them on his run back to camp. It would be a nice little signal, Richard thought. Once that was done, he holstered the pistol and looked down at the two lifeless bodies.
"Sorry mates. A man does what he needs to do to survive."
He pulled out a Bowie knife from his jacket, and proceeded to sever the heads from the corpses. Blood squirted onto his jacket and face which he wiped off. It took him a couple of minutes, but he managed to brutally decapitate them.
Then he carved into their stomachs crudely the word, "Haven." He put the beanie back on, and then he slipped back into the woods.
------
Tilo sat waiting in Elizabeth's room. The door opened and Elizabeth came in, followed by Rory.
"He can be trusted," she said of Rory.
"Professor King," the lad nodded.
"I hope for my son's sake," Elizabeth paused, "That we can weather this storm."
"I know I won't be strong enough to take over, but I need to be once Richard is out of the picture," she turned to Tilo, "You should probably leave Professor, I don't know what Richard will do if he found you here. He might already have suspicions, what with Sandra gone already. The man is a pure psychopath."
Tilo shook his head, "No, I think he's responsible for more than just sir Kenneth's death. I have to find closure for my friends."
"And we have reason to believe he was responsible for the deaths of several people from Eden Valley."
"The caravan park people?" Rory asked.
"Yeah, I don't know if he's trying to orchestrate a war between us and Eden Valley over misconceptions."
"Dear God, he is mad." Elizabeth covered her mouth with her hands.
------
1100
"Shit!" Simon screamed, as a zed lunged at him. He blew its skull to bits, but more of them came after that one.
"Look it's the kid!" Clive pointed out as he spotted the re-animated corpse of the kid that he had killed. Wounds and everything in his torso where the hunter had shot him.
"Damn thair a' place. Jist keep shootin'!" Finley howled, as a bullet from his rifle connected with another zed.
"Comon! Let's get out of here! Leave them damn it!" Dominic waved at them and they began their dash back toward Upton through the woods.
The hunters dropped whatever supplies they were carrying to lighten the load to allow them a quicker pace. They were being pursued by a horde of walkers that had appeared out of nowhere. They had left the crash site about twenty minutes ago.
One of the hunters, Clive, was unaware of the wound he had acquired on his arm when the undead came out of nowhere. Amid the fear and the adrenaline that was pumping him onward to Upton, he completely lost sensation of the pain.
-----
Back at Upton, Tilo and Elizabeth were seated in the parlor. The former's stomach was grumbling, he was hungry for not eating breakfast. Mrs. Wilson told him that he could dine with them during lunch.
"He's back!" Rory swung down the stairs.
Tilo was slightly startled by the younger man, but he was a foreigner, unaware of their routines and protocols.
It was usually the person on watch's job to tell the hunters at the door to open up for any friendlies they spotted from the window on the second or third floors.
The hunters immediately opened the door, Tilo remained in his seat, unaware who had returned. Perhaps it was Richard. Several men shuffled in and they conversed in the hallway, their voices mingling in the air.
"Aw fuck, I'm hungry. Mrs. Wilson is lunch ready?"
"Almost," a soft sweet voice replied from the kitchen.
The words were crude and impolite, and the tone was coarse, carrying the air of a scoundrel. It was Richard.
The man stepped into the parlor, and placed the gun on an end table. He noticed Elizabeth and the old man that visited before.
"Lizzie," He nodded, "And you," he looked to Professor King.
"I remember you...you're..."
"Professor King," Tilo answered.
Richard chuckled, "Yes a professor. A Professor King, or a King Professor."
It wasn't really funny.
"You were here last time, when Kenneth was still here."
"Yeah. I've heard, I'm terribly sorry to hear about it."
Tilo noticed that the man fell silent, whether it was half-hearted or earnest, he did not know. He leaned toward the former though, Brand could not be trusted.
"Is he joining us for lunch?" Richard asked Elizabeth.
She nodded,"Yes."
Ever since Kenneth departed, Richard became increasingly verbal, forcing Elizabeth onto the defensive. She forced herself to voice her opinions, lest she came off weak and be swept aside by Brand and his cronies. Upton Abbey belonged to her family, and she had to try at least.
------
1200
Mrs. Wilson sent Flora out, the kitchen was all hers now. She decided to create a separate, smaller stew just for Richard. The water vapor continued to rise from both pots as she managed and took care of them.
She pulled the large white a. phalloides from the plastic bag that Lizzie had given her. There were a lot, and every single one of them was for Richard. She swallowed before she set to work. She hoped the things would not release any poisonous spores that might kill her. Immediately, she took the knife and began slicing the mushrooms and then dicing them until they were bite sized bits. She cut several down even further until they resembled cheese gratings to ensure that if he did not eat the large chunks, he would at least sip the soup with the little grains in it. Then she balled the plastic bag up and hid it inside one of the counter top drawers.
She wiped her head of sweat, and every few minutes she checked behind her back to make sure no one was entering the kitchen. She swallowed, and proceeded to dump the many mushroom chunks into Richard's stew. Then she stirred them and she was about to taste the flavor on accident as she raised the spoon up to her lips. Then she remembered not to, breathing heavily at her very close call with death.
She proceeded to spoon Richard's bowl first, get it over with. The old woman made sure that she scooped all of the white chunks into his bowl.
------
Elizabeth, Tilo, Richard, Ewan, and only the other hunters were eating at the table. Everyone else was eating elsewhere.
Mrs. Wilson watched closely as Richard looked at the bowl of soup. It looked as if he wasn't going to eat it.
Shit, Tilo thought. He might have to improvise and devise another method of killing Brand. In the meantime he hoped the man would at least sip the soup.
"What is this white stuff?" Richard asked, unfamiliar with the new ingredient.
Tilo and Elizabeth were both cold with fear, as Mrs. Wilson answered.
"Oh those?" Mrs. Wilson paused, "Those are mushrooms, we started grow'n them recently."
"Mushrooms?" said one of the hunters, "'Ow come I didn't get any?"
Richard had no hint of suspicion, as he finished the soup. Tilo and Elizabeth were relieved.
"Oh..." she was panicking, Elizabeth and Tilo eyed her as they spooned some of the other soup into their mouths.
"Well, ay suppose I may hae scooped th' only mushrooms of th' soup intae Richard's bowl," she smiled, "We only had two."
"Seconds Miss," Richard handed her the bowl.
Mrs. Wilson took the bowl and went directly into the kitchen, once she was beyond the conversation of the table, she breathed a sigh. Anxiety washed away from her.
Once lunch was finished, most of the hunters disbanded and headed back to their posts.
Only Richard remained with Elizabeth and Tilo. And so there they were, the man who had robbed them of their friends and families.
Tilo was never a man of action, but he wished to God at that moment that he had a shotgun or something to shoot the man with, and clean this pestilence from the face of the Earth. The old man, however, kept his emotions tightly knotted in this confrontation. Any sudden expressions would only give the man a hint.
"Trade huh? I don't think you'd have anything that we would need, or want." The man's voice was dry and rough.
"Not even medical supplies?" Tilo tried to played it cooly.
Hoping to bide some time, maybe he would be lucky enough to see the mushrooms take effect. Highly unlikely though, as Rishi said, the symptoms would be hidden anywhere from six to thirty hours after ingestion. Of course, that was only for one mushroom. Neither of them, Tilo or Elizabeth, knew that Mrs. Wilson added all fourteen mushrooms into Richard's stew.
"You guys will need it more than we do." Richard said calmly.
Tilo's eyebrow raised.
There was a brief moment of silence before Richard communicated his thought fully.
"That's right I killed your friends."
What was that?
That's right I killed your friends.
Did he just say that?
"What...what are you...?" Tilo was lost.
Elizabeth stared on in horror.
Why would he...
"I know all about your little group. And frankly I'm fuckin' sick of you pricks coming into our territory. You made it out of here last time, but you won't be making it out this time."
"Richard!" Elizabeth cried.
"Shut up woman," as he said this, there were several large thumps coming from the foyer, the sound of glass breaking and screams followed after.
"What in Go...?" Richard's attention was toward the direction from which the sound came, and they immediately rushed to the main hallway.
They found two hunters, Clive and another hunter holding the front doors as they were being beaten upon by the zed outside. Cracks rang out from the second floor.
"Shit they're fuckin' everywhere! Get a board or somethin' to cover the damn door!"
Simon was sprawled on the ground bleeding out of a wound on his abdomen and others on his arms. He was slipping in and out of consciousness. Dominic and Ewan were tending to him, they examined his body for bites. Mr. Wilson came with medical kits.
"What the hell happened?" Richard stared in complete confusion.
"It was th' feckin' kid, ah swear," Finley cried with his Scottish accent.
"We were coming back from the crash site and zed just came out nowhere, one of us misfired and shot Simon by mistake."
By this time, Finley's wife and daughters came to see what was happening.
"Just keep shootin!" a voice screamed from upstairs.
Rory came down the stairs, stopping halfway, "We need more gunners up here, there's stiffs everywhere outside!"
"We'll pull him out of here, Rory come and help." Dominic and Finley dragged the wounded Simon into the back.
The hunter holding the door back against the beating bodies saw that his partner had gone limp. Clive had a feral look in his eyes. They had turned milky white, then the hunter noticed the bite on Clive's arm.
"Jesus..." his prayer was cut short.
Clive dove for him and sank his teeth into the man.
The doors, with no one to hold them, fell open with a giant thundering.
And the bodies poured in like a wave, falling over, because the entire time they had been pushing against the doors.
"They're inside!" someone yelled, and everyone began to flee.
Tilo and Elizabeth fled down in separate directions, Brand and another hunter ran in another direction.
------
Halfway down the hall Elizabeth met up with Dominic and Finley.
"Fuck! Behind you!" Finley fired a round, the walker's head exploded into bits against the wall.
"Elizabeth we gotta get out of here quick!"
"But my son!" she protested, the tears of fear and panic streaming down her face.
"We can't stay comon'!" Dominic grabbed her wrist, but Finley stayed behind.
"Fin! What are you doing?"
"Ah need tae fin' mah fowk," Finley disappeared into another room.
------
Tilo did not know where he was running, just that he was running somewhere. The manor was filled with twisting hallways and rooms all interconnected. He wanted a god damned map or maybe even a lighted path to tell him where to go. Fueled by adrenaline, and fear, and perhaps something greater.
Then he spotted something hiding in the corner. It was Eric. Screams, cries, gunfire echoed in the hallways. Bones broke and unnatural growls followed.
I couldn't save your father in time. I won't make that mistake with you.
He grabbed the boy and held onto him as the child buried his head into Tilo's shoulder, and the old man ran for dear life, away from the hordes.
A zed fell out in front him and almost made his bones jump out of his skin, but he darted past the slow walker.
------
Several weird things were happening in Richard's mind at this point as he tried to recover his thoughts. He was wondering what the hell was going on.
"Keep shooting!" Richard screamed, firing his assault rifle. The repetitive rattles shook the entire room and perhaps even the ground they stood on. Blood popped and mists of red sprayed the walls.
He spotted Rory running, this was his chance to clean out the pests he thought. But weren't there greater concerns to deal with? Brand didn't think so.
He fired seven rounds that hit Rory, the impact sounded like hard snowballs as the boy shrieked with a cracked voice and fell over.
Then a sharp pain jabbed Richard in the stomach. What the hell? And it got increasingly worse. He fell over in wrenching torment, his insides were being clawed apart. He felt a great pain build up at his rectum, boiling almost.
"Argh what the fuck..." Richard tried to speak, sweat almost covering his face.
The vein on his forehead bulged and he was sucking his breath in to deal with the agony.
"Mate, are you alright?" the burly man, Jeremy was still firing.
Richard got up and tried to walk away, but only succeeded in stumbling.
"Where the fuck are you goin'?" Jeremy cried, but he had to maintain fire on the undead.
------
Tilo was running for a bit, his breath was nearly gone, the weight of Eric was slowing him down, but he couldn't drop the child. He continued until he felt two incredible shocks hammer him in the back.
He cried out in pain. And immediately he was sent skidding to the ground into another room, but he was still conscious enough to make sure that Eric wasn't the cushion for his fall.
Tilo and Eric fell beside a hunter covered in blood.The deceased man had a dead man's grip on the shotgun.
It was Richard who had shot him in the hallway. The man's discomfort now doubled to the point where he could barely gather breath. It shifted from his stomach to his nether regions and then back and swirled around like a hurricane.
"Goddamnit!" he cried like a demon.
Tilo held the child, who was crying in his arms. Tilo was aware of the possibility that he had been shot. He took his free hand and rubbed the area that was throbbing on his back and brought it to his eyes.
Thick, dark red, hemoglobin and plasma covered his shaking hand. And he gasped for air, the sting slowly spreading across his back. He looked at the child whose teary eyes looked back into Tilo's for hope.
This is the end
Dominic and Elizabeth had ran past many of the gunfights, the zombies, and the dying. They even ran past Brand, noting the man clutching his stomach tightly and they reached the room Tilo was in.
"Eric!" Elizabeth cried, grabbing her son from Tilo's hands.
"Mommy!" the boy reached out to her.
"Professor King! We need to get you out of here!"
With what little strength he had left, "Leave me...go...there's too many of them."
"We can't leave you!"
"He's right Elizabeth, we gotta go before they surround the place," as the corporal said this, they heard zed coming from down the hall, someone cursed and screamed in agony.
"Elizabeth comon'! We don't have time!" Dominic had his shotgun, peering out the hallway.
She was reluctant to leave, but she saw Tilo nod to her. She left, mouthing two words. Thank you. Tilo gave one last glance to the child that resembled William.
And then they were gone.
Gunfire and screams continued.
Tilo laid there thinking. He looked over to the dead hunter, and pulled the man's bloody grip off the gun with his own bloody hands. He ignored the pangs on his back as his breath faltered.
He looked up through the windows where the sun shone through, and he wondered if there was another reality in which this never actually happened. He wanted to laugh at himself about how his last dying moments mirrored the way he lived, but he knew he didn't have the strength to do so.
------
1430
After trekking through the wilderness on nothing but fear, Dominic, Elizabeth, and Eric reached the walls that Tilo knew.
------
Gunfire and screams continued back at Upton.
Tilo was thinking about whether he was selfish for saving only Eric and not other people.
My only friend the end.
Alright everyone, smile! This one's for the album.
Horatio, are you alright?
My boy's going to university...
He missed his boys and his wife.
The faces skipped past him, as he faded in and out of reality. He didn't have time to cry, because time was gone.
He saw a zed out of the corner of his eye, it seemed to be a slow one. His dizziness getting the best of him.
He pulled the shotgun's barrel up to his chin. He would miss the friends at Haven. He didn't even get the chance to spend Christmas with them.
Were they worth it?
Yes.
Tilo's last feeling was his finger pulling the trigger.
Beautiful friend, my only friend, the end.