Day 3

The door shook violently, the battered and decaying fists of the undead smashing against the door of the foremans office cabin. Robert sat at his desk, looking over at the filing cabinet lying behind it, the obstruction had held them for the past hour but it wouldn't last forever. Gripping hold of his backpack, he threw it over his shoulder and made for the nearby window. Slowly peering through the blinds he couldn't see a single walking corpse at the back end of the office cabin. Taking a look down at the ready pounce Adam, he whistled before slowly opening the window. He raised the blinds and gestured for his companion to leap out of the window, the faithful black haired dog wasting no time in making its way outside. Robert cast one glance to his desk and the note he had left...

To whoever reads this, whether you worked here or not, i'm making my way to the large building south of here. It has large steel shutters, ladder access to the roof and it's own electricity source. There is fresh flowing water and various appliances, making the place almost self-sustaining. I have managed to start barricading it from the inside, if you can make it, climb the ladder to the roof and make your way in. All survivors are welcome. - Rob

As Robert leapt out of the window, the sound of the door smashing to the floor echoed behind him. His feet landed next to Adam, the black german shepard, who looked up caringly at his master. Rob leant over and rubbed the dog behind the ear behind running off towards the large building south of his office.

The large steel shutters came into view, that lined the one side of the building. They provided a sturdy barrier between him and the undead, but the sustainability of being there was what made it the best bet. The recently installed solar panels and water drawn from a nearby stream was all part of a project to reduce the quarry's carbon footprint. He had never been one to believe in global warming, thinking it was just a scam by the Governments of the developed world who foresaw the worldwide recession and looked for a way to reduce the impact. It didn't matter now though, global warming or not, he had done his part and it looked like he had found himself a nice place to stay for the forseeable future.

As the lowly fire exit came into view he spotted a clear path to it, breaking into a sprint before reaching it. He pulled one of the metal mallets from his belt and cautiously opened the door, peering in carefully. He had shut the door behind him when he had left, but he thought it best to be cautious. As he got in through the door he moved a stack of wooden pallets behind the door, the pile propped up on a pump truck. As he pulled the release handle the stack fell to the floor, forming a strong barricade through which nothing could get in.

The fluorescent lighting of the corridor made it easy to see, keeping shadows to a bare minimum. For ten minutes he searched through the entirety of the building, making sure that nothing lurked in a corner or underneath any of the now dormant machinery. As he entered the canteen, the final room, he let out a sigh of relief. He turned to Adam and spoke to the animal.

Looks like we are ok. How do you feel about some food?

The inflections of Roberts voice as he spoke let the dog know it was feeding time, it's face giving as big a smile as a dog possibly could. Reaching into his back Robert pulled out his wind up torch radio, quickly turning it on to one of the stations. In his hurry to get to safety he had left it in his office, but needing to know what was going on he risked going to get it. Luckily for him and his companion, they both made it back ok.

Georgia wipped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand as she walked down the large gravel road. She was just walking now, no destination accept a safe shelter and food.

Back when she was still in the village, the locals told her to try for Coalville. They were wrong. The whole town was zombie infested. The only living there were bandits. They stole the old beaten truck her neighbors gave her.

She wipped the back of her neck. "Freaking heat wave," she murmured to herself in frustration. The heat and all the walking made her legs ache. She shed her coat and rolled up her sleeves.

Georgia stared down at her feet while walking, trying to forget the hot air all around her. It was a bad choice, walkers could pop out of nowhere. But the heat demanded all her attention, and she had to obey.

Georgia stopped after a bit and took a breath. She crouched down, rubbing her throbbing ankles. The survivor pulled out her water bottle and drank one sip. She wanted to drink it all so badly, but she didn't know when she'd happen upon water again.

Georgia looked around her surroundings. A few building cropped up, but a few of the dead were trudging around.

"Shit," she whispered to herself.

Justin Glasgow had found the quarry after days of searching "This is it." He said to himself seeing the afflicted workers down below he crouch walked over to a dump truck and looked inside the cabin before entering he didn't find anything moving in there so he hopped inside "Please, Please start." He prayed to the air and when he got to hot wiring the truck it gave that familiar start up of the ignition "Yes, Thank god, now time for the plan." He started honking the horn of the truck getting as much attention as he could from the walkers after honking for a good while he hopped out and began sprinting for the nearest office.

He cleared the distance on pure adrenaline alone panting and gasping he opened the door with his crowbar and walked in he began to rummage for things even breaking down walls for copper wire hoping to find things he can use and scavenge.

James Morgan
Near Worthington (a bit north of Coalville)

James was sat on an old wooden log, the morning dew causing a slight dampness that left his backside a bit chilly. As a result he found himself slumped forwards with his arms tucked in to keep his body slightly warmer. He was nursing a cigarette but it seemed to give him little relief; other than the odd night out he wasn’t really a smoker, but he’d found the pack the previous day and at this moment in time thought fuck it, why not? He raised his head to see Doc approaching him and as he did so let out a puff of smoke, “How are they doing?”

Doc shrugged as he squatted down closely in front of James. Doc was in his mid-forties and had thick but greying hair which matched his grey eyes. Even in his muddy shirt and jeans combo he still seemed to have an air of distinction about him. “Melisa didn’t get much sleep last night and is feeling it now. The twins are well… they’re too young and just can’t rap their heads around this yet” Doc’s eyes looked tired too, but James guessed this was due more to emotional fatigue than physical fatigue. The two of them shared a look of understanding for a moment before Docs eyes drifted towards the cigarette in James’ hand. Without any words being spoken James put the cigarette out on the log before flicking it into some grass. “We need to think about where we’re going. So far we’ve just been moving around to survive, but we need to think long term.” Doc paused for a moment before continuing, “We could go east towards Wales. It’s rural and perhaps safer. There’s also the possibility of us trying to catch a boat over to Ireland or the Isle of Man; we don’t know if this pandemic has spread overseas.”

James softly shook his head, “But that means trying to go through or around Birmingham. None of us know Wales either. And well… if there are any other groups of survivors out there I don’t think their first instinct will be to flock to Wales?”

Doc smirked. It was a silly point and yet one that was hard to argue against. “We could go East. Again more rural. Lots of farmland, which means food. But that’s about the only plus I can think of. We could go North towards the peak district and hide up there, or go on further still to the Scottish Highlands?”

“Too far. Plus it’ll mean we’ll have to worry about the environment killing us just as much as the biters.” James replied. The reality was James knew where he wanted to go – South. To be precise he wanted to go as close by to Leicester as he could in the hope that he might somehow find his fiancé Carly. “We should go South. It might be just like in the movies, like 28 Weeks Later, where people could be crossing the Channel to France. If there’s military anywhere it’ll be between here and the South won’t it?” James wasn’t going to say that it was just for Carly, although he suspected that the Doc would realise as much.

“Ok.” Said Doc with a gentle nod, “In that case I think we should head off now and try find a place for the night before the days up. Once we’ve secured it, me and you should go hunting for supplies.”

With that the two of them took each other’s hands and yanked each other upright. They then walked over to Melisa and the kids. Melisa was short and very skinny, almost ill-looking with her fading blonde hair, pale complexion and tired baggy eyes. The twins both had blonde hair to their shoulders and wore identical white and red dresses that were now caked in mud. The three were a dim sight if nothing else, but Melisa tried her best to put on a smile as the men approached. “Are we moving on again so soon?” she asked and her smile began to whither. Though they had set off early in the morning they had only traveled a short distance and only for a short amount of time.

“Yes honey. We’ve got to keep moving. Come mid-afternoon we’ll find us a little cottage or something to settle into and you and the kids can get some more rest.” Doc stroked her hair back behind her ear and kept his hand their as she nuzzled her head into it. The kids were eerily quiet for their age, but they had been since James met them; like Doc said, they didn’t know how to process what was happening. After a few moments of checking that they were all ready, the group set off again in single file, with Doc leading and James taking the rear guard.

"No, no, no, no, no, no." Phoenix mumbled under her breath as she looked through the window of her hide-out. She stayed there overnight when she felt herself become faint from exhaustion. She hadn't been able to get much sleep before, considering she was always moving and never staying in one place. If there was one thing she learnt from watching zombie movies, it was that it was best to never stay in one place. Unless you have some master built base that no one can get into. What are the chances of that though? Honestly.

There were a few dead hanging around outside but, not too many. Though, there were way more than she would prefer. She pulled her shirt over her head and then put her hair in a tight ponytail. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes lingering on the thin scar on her neck. She had a......disagreement with some survivors she ran into a week or two back. She got away obviously, but not without taking on a battle scar.

She shook her head, trying to shake away those thoughts. She walked over to the old couch and picked up her backpack, going through it quickly in order to make sure everything was there. She nodded to herself before placing the backpack on her back and adjusting the straps. She then walked over to the door and picked up her bat which was leaning against the wall. She looked through the window once again to see it was clear. The wanderers were gone luckily.

She slowly opened the door only to stop it halfway having to squeeze through. She couldn't risk opening the door all the way because she did that when she first fount the house and there was a loud creak. She had to stay hidden within the house as they banged on her door. She had to stay perfectly quiet and she didn't dare move a muscle, not until she was sure they were gone. She does not want to go through that again.

She walked carefully down the steps making sure to jump down before she could touch the last step. It was a creaky step. When she hit the sidewalk she looked around her carefully before adjusting her grip on her bat before she began walking to the small store a few miles away. She left her bike there since the store was close to the edge of town. She left it there so that when she was ready to leave she could just jump on her bike and leave this town behind her.

Georgia watched in disbelief as some random guy made the perfect distraction to get by the walkers. She toyed with the idea of following him inside, but with the last experience of people she had, she wasn't keen in being social. But she didn't like her chances with the dead either.

"Fuck it," she said as she ran behind the guy, pulling out her bat at the same time.

Justin scoured the room eventually settling with some copper wire and somethings that would rattle and make noises he tied two ends to wheeled chairs so that if a walker tripped it the trap would follow, hoping and praying they weren't already inside Justin proceeded to try to slow his breathing and take a small bite out of the stale cookie he has in his laptop bag he looked up when he heard something in the building he raised his crowbar "Hello?" He shouted "I'm friendly if your a person, but if you want to eat me..." His voice trailed off "Stupid" He thought "You probably just alerted every walker in a mile radius." He hid behind a corner and raised his crowbar over his head ready to slam it down on whatever came around the corner.

Georgia could hear his voice echo through the hall.

She hesitated at first, but what did she have to lose at the end of the world?

"Coming in," she called out, keeping her bat up. "Don't shoot me, alright? And you better not be lying about being friendly."

She walked in to find a scrawny guy huddled in the corner with a cookie and laptop, holding a crow bar up in defense.

Georgia put down her bat, knowing he wasn't a threat. "Nice set up you got there," she mocked, jestering towards the laptop.

Justin looked at the woman "Thanks she has a two terabyte hard drive and 32 megabytes of ram space." He smiled and lowered his crowbar "Want some of my cookie?" He asked breaking off a small part of his cookie and handing it to her.

Jack woke up in a daze. He had been huddled in the corner of the quarry in his sleeping bag and under some boxes he had found. Scratching the sleep out of his eyes he pulled the backpack over and packed the sleeping bag away. Pulling out the kitchen knife he looked over at the yellow truck that was drawing all of the dead from about a mile around. Great his little hole in the ground was about to be filled with the dead. Checking his boots he started to edge his way around the quarry, avoiding the walkers that were still making their way to the bright yellow vehicle. He fell to his stomach and slid as he reached the point closest to the sounds. As he came to a pile of concrete bricks he sat back up onto hi arse and breathed heavily. He was still half asleep and needed to figure out what had started the sounds and, really, get as far away as possible. As he listened out he heard a shout and his head spun round as he looked over the top of the bricks. That had definitely been a shout. What a dick, walkers will certainly of heard that. He continued to edge around the outside of the quarry on the office level now. He listened into each building he found, trying to find the source of the shout. As he came to the final office he heard a couple talking inside. Thinking for a second he came up with a plan. Knocking heavily on the back door he stepped back. Drawing the kitchen knife he held it behind his back whilst his other was raised in the air. Hopefully they were friendly but if they weren't he was going for the kill.

Georgia chuckled as she took half the cookie from the kid. At Lear he really was friendly.

"Georgia Willmore," she told him as she brought the cookie to her lips. She took a bite and chewed slowly.

"Is this stale?" She asked, her mouth full.

Suddenly a knock at the door came. She pulled out her bay and held it in attack position.

The sound of a car horn grabbed Robs attention. Turning out of the kitchen he left Adam to finish his food, his long tongue scooping it all into his mouth unaware of his owner leaving. The welshman ran up the nearby staircase that led to the roof access, the metal staircase banging with each heavy step. As he approached the top he led with his foot, kicking the unlocked door wide open. The sunlight poured through catching him in the eyes, but it didn't slow him down. He carried out onto the roof and tried to get his bearing and work out where the sound was coming from. He looked around as best he could but couldn't see anyone.

Minutes passed but still no sign of anyone, not even a walking corpse. It had only been three days since everything had happened, but it felt like an eternity since he had last seen a human.

Whoever it is, I hope they are ok...

As the thought went through his head he realised he had to do something, anything, to get the attention of anyone who might look his way. He looked around the roof and found an old, discarded bit of gutter piping. He removed his shirt, exposing his defined, muscular frame. He tied the sleeves at the end of the six foot length of piping and began to wave it around like a flag pole. By time he started he hadn't noticed Adam appear next to him on the roof, the dog as stealthy as canines came. He looked up at Rob curiously before lying down next to him, head raised looking out towards the direction of the noise.

Someone has to see this...

Phoenix just exited the shop. She was scavenging around the shop and didn't find much. It was honestly a bit of a waste of time. So, she planned on leaving this place. Finding somewhere better. She was walking to her bike and was about to take out her keys for her bike when she noticed something out the corner of her eye. On the roof of a building she'd passed, there was a man waving a seemingly hand-made flag trying to get attention. She blinked a few times making sure her eyes were not deceiving her. Yes, that was an actual person. She walked closer and looked around the area. Empty, like a ghost town.

She walked closer till she was close enough to see his features. She didn't speak, she instead looked up at him and began waving. He can see her right? He should be able to.

Justin Looked at Georgia "Names Justin Glas- Did you hear that?" He said looking at the back door where the knocking was coming from he walked slowly towards the back door and flung it open looking at the man on the other side and seeing something else in the distance another man with a shirt tied to some sort of pipe "Before you say anything look behind you, I swear on my third edition dungeons and dragons monster manual i'm not going to hurt you." He told the man

Justin had to formulate a plan to incorporate the three new elements right now he tried to think he looked over at Georgia and at the new guy in front of him and at the guy waving something that looked like a flag on a pipe "Hmm..." was the only thing Justin said before formulating a quick plan he looked at the desks "Georgia, check how heavy those desks are." He told the girl.

James Morgan
Just North of Coalville

As the day went on the girls began to drag their feet and it was clear then that it was time to find a place to rest. They had been going at a very slow pace and had on more than one occasion looped round certain obstacles (including walkers) for their own safety; as a result of this it had taken them a few hours to walk what might have only taken James a bit over an hour to walk before the outbreak. The group settled on a little roadside cottage in the end. It was a pleasant little thing and no other buildings could be seen from it. It had two floors and although it was clearly designed to look like an older cottage the bricks in certain places suggested it was a fairly young building. “Stay in here and keep quiet, we won’t be long. If something happens take our bags and run.” Whispered Doc as he slowly shut the wooden shed door in the back garden. James stood a few metres away with his back to the shed as he kept guard, too focussed on trying to spot danger to listen in on the conversation. They had decided to leave the girls and the majority of their possessions in the shed whilst they cleared the building. “Right, let’s do this.” Said Doc, patting James on the shoulder.

“Ok.” Nodded James nervously. He watched as Doc withdrew his old revolver and gave the barrel a spin. Doc only had one bullet left and he was an awful shot. James still didn’t know where Doc had acquired the weapon, mostly because he never asked; he didn’t need to know, he trusted Doc enough. James then threw his hood up over his head to offer a little more protection and gave the wrist that held the large knife a bit of twist to try loosen it up. The two slowly stepped forward in tandem towards the backdoor, beyond it lay the kitchen which appeared to be void of life. By now Doc had sheathed his pistol and was holding up his hammer. James slowly turned the handle and began to slowly open the door, careful not to make any noise. As soon as the momentum stopped however the keys on the inside of the door swung back and gave out a little chime that caused the new guests to wince. The kitchen was clear and it were two doors: one that opened to the hallway leading straight to the front door and staircase, and the other that opened into the large living/dining room. The two of them slowly made their way through each room in the house, never more than arms reach away from each other, and always ensuring that every corner and hiding spot was checked. They struck lucky as they couldn’t find any sign of biters. They couldn’t find any food either though, meaning that whoever lived here probably packed up and left when the shit hit the fan. Having done this they proceeded to move the girls and their possessions upstairs into one of the bedrooms and barricaded the front door and windows with whatever they could find.

“Right Melisa, the front of the house is jammed up. We’re going to go out the back and round. We’re going to take one of the keys to the back door and lock it behind us. We won’t be very long and when we return we’ll let ourselves in. Don’t leave this room if you can help it, not for knocking at door, not for screams outside, not for anything really.” Doc kissed his wife and children goodbye. Once again James and Doc left most of their possessions with the girls, albeit this time they took their (now empty) bags so they could carry more supplies back. James decided to take his cue stick along with him this time, as he didn’t think he would have to worry about tight spaces quite as much.

Mercy

Where she was currently stood in a quarry of all places...there had been a large group of walkers hovering north of the Quarry’s entrance, they had made her question whether being on foot was a good idea. When is being on foot ever a good idea? My feet are killing me She thought bitterly to herself, the young blonde had taken cover behind a column of concrete blocks as soon as someone had set off the alarm of a dumper truck not far from her. What the hell? She peeked out from behind the concrete blocks her cornflour blue eyes focused on the few shambling corpses that emerged into the dirt road heading towards the screaming vehicle, she licked at her lower lip nervously her gaze travelling to the offices opposite her she still had time to get across..

Her hesitation cost her time however and a few of the walkers got between her and the office building before she could pluck up the courage to run for it. “Damn it” She hissed under her breath retreating back behind the concrete block she was currently using for cover, she shifted her decorative blue bow back up onto her left shoulder as she pressed her back against the cool surface behind her, she tilted her head back closing her eyes briefly, a glistening sheen of sweat covered her forehead highlighting the muck that clung to her soft features. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again, casting her gaze towards the sky in front of her...Huh? She blinked in surprise as she caught frenzied movement in the distance, she lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the sun –typically the world goes to hell and the UK gets brilliant sunshine- focusing her attention on the roof of the building just ahead from her. She could just make out the strange make shift flag, she felt her heart leap into her throat...another survivor?

Lowering her hand she glanced around her warily before slinking away from her cover, moving slowly between the rest of the blocks she reached down and retrieved an arrow from her hip quiver holding it tightly in her right hand...it was all she had as a melee weapon, she really hoped she wouldn’t have to use it. Will it even work? Argh and the mess... She jogged down the straight path towards the large building, barely checking her corners as she went, as she got closer she noticed the flag wielder was in fact a man. She pulled up next to the last stack of blocks, glancing around it as she studied the area. Ladder! She quickly located a way to ascend the building jogging towards it eagerly, exclaiming loudly as one of the walkers lurched towards her, it was still a few yards off...she increased her pace, shooting over to the ladder.

Her hands shaking as she tried to grip the slick metal, her boots clicking as she climbed up, ignoring the groans beneath her. Don’t look down... By the time she’d reached the top she was breathing heavily and her hands were trembling, her eyes focused on the man before dropping to the dog at his side, surprise passing through her expression, she pulled herself up and onto the roof slowly. “...I come in peace?” She murmured, looking at him warily she hovered by the ladder, offering the back of her hand to his dog so it could sniff her, if it came to investigate her.

Georgia gave the guy-what was his name? Jake? Justin?-a weary look.

"What for?" She asked, still not putting all her trust in him. He may look harmless, but he could have a few tricks up his sleeve.

Jack stared at the man in front of him, Dungeons and Dragons? he thought. Taking his hand out from behind his back he kept the knife firmly in his grasp. He took a step to the side and looked over his shoulder. So that he was still facing the man as well as able to see the spectacle behind him. A man waving a makeshift flag, what the hell was happening in this quarry? He heard the man shout back at a girl inside; Jack continued to keep his knife out however it was lowered to his side now. He fell in behind the man as he went back inside and Jack slumped to the floor. The guy was asking about pushing some tables around, and the girl was being as a stubborn as a donkey. He slid a bottle of whiskey he had found out of his pack and unscrewed the top and took a swig. It swam down his throat and his hands, which had been shaking, slowed a bit. Keeping the bottle in his hands he looked at the pair in front of him.

”What’s with the running around and pushing desks? That engine outside is keeping their attention. Name’s Jack, I would offer a drink but this is all mine.”

He shook the bottle again and took another sip.

Georgia looked over at Jack. "I don't think I want to get tipsy when a bunch of corpses are walking around outside," she scuffed. "Anything new out there?"

Georgia kept her bat out, but let it rest at her side. She didn't trust either of these men, and if they turned out to have harmful intents, then she had to be ready to defend herself.

Justin looked at his rag tag group "I just realized there's a ladder we can talk more when we get to that guy over there." He pointed at the man waving his makeshift flag "My distraction should keep the dead busy for a bit so we should get moving." He told the group poking his head out, he starting curling the copper wire around his hand and when he saw a chance he took it jogging over and climbing the ladder to the man up top.

The first thing Justin saw was a dog, the man in question, and finally a girl, Justin felt nervous "Friendly." He said between gasps and pants "There are two others in the building I just ran from, someone named Georgia and someone named Jack." He finished and slumped over against the wall out of breath but watching the dog cautiously not wanting to get his throat bitten out.