Dead Days: The Complete Season Two Collection (19 page)

“Rodrigo‌—‌the loudspeakers around the site. Is…‌‌is there one in the old site? The Dumping Ground?”

Rodrigo puffed his lips out as if he were re-grounding himself in reality and pointed in the direction of the Dumping Ground. “That mast over there is fitted with a loudspeaker, yeah.”

Riley’s heart thumped. He could see a plan forming out in front of him. Even through the groans, which were growing louder, more echoey by the second, he could see this plan shaping up. “Then maybe we don’t have to give this place up after all.”

Pedro tutted and shook his head. “Riley, I know you like this place. I do too, bruv. But without a plan, we‌—‌”

“Is there a way to activate just one of the loudspeakers?”

Rodrigo nodded slowly, trying to latch on to Riley’s plan. “Yes. We’ve tried that before with the loudspeakers around the site. It is possible. Dean Hutchins is good with electrics. He’d be able to‌—‌”

“So we could create a sound from the loudspeaker in the old site? Draw the creatures over that way?”

Rodrigo’s nod intensified. Even Pedro looked intrigued all of a sudden.

“It’s possible. It’s just‌—‌”

“Then that’s what we do,” Riley said. “It might not be a permanent solution, but at least it keeps them away from us. Gets them distracted. And while they’re over in the old site, we can work on a sort of…‌‌a sort of blockade. An extension of the Dumping Ground. Something like‌—‌”

“There’s one small problem,” Rodrigo said. He didn’t look as triumphant or delighted as Riley expected him to look.

“Of course there is,” Anna muttered. “Of course there is.”

“The generator that powers the loudspeaker in the old site. It’s disconnected. Figured we’d conserve the power should ever we…‌‌you know. Need it.”

Riley shook his head. “You do need it. Right now is exactly when you need it. Please tell me we can activate this generator remotely.”

Rodrigo didn’t respond. He didn’t nod and he didn’t shake his head. He didn’t have to. The embarrassed look of defeat on his face was enough to give away that this generator needed activating manually.

“Then it looks like some of us are going on a little journey,” Riley said as the groans of the oncoming creatures grew louder and louder.

“So how are we going to do this?” Pedro asked.

Riley looked out of the side gate of Heathwaite’s Caravan Park. It was situated in the middle of a group of trees to the left of the main Heathwaite’s leisure centre. Much like the front gate, it was made up of stacks of thick metal, as well as tyres, old parts of machinery, and a whole load of other things that Riley couldn’t quite recognise. It looked solid enough. Besides, there were only fields beyond it anyway. Fields that led out to nowhere, but if followed correctly, could lead right towards the Dumping Ground.

“Do it however you like,” Rodrigo said as he, Riley, Pedro, Anna and Aaron perched on the side of the gate. He pointed into the distance, where a metal tower much like the three in the main caravan park loomed over the tree-laden Dumping Ground. “As long as you get that thing up and running, I think we stand a semi-decent chance here.”

Pedro sighed and shook his head. “Look at all that land. All that land out there. We have time to walk. Time to pack everyone’s bags and walk‌—‌”

“We’re not walking away,” Rodrigo said, staring Pedro right in his eyes. “At least, I’m not. And I think it’s in the best interests of the people of Heathwaite’s for them to stay put, too.”

“Be careful deciding the best interests for people,” Anna said. “Fine line between saviour and dictator.”

Riley slipped back down the gate. In the distance, over by the front of the caravan park, he could hear the groans of the creatures echoing against the metallic fence. He could hear their limp limbs knocking against the metal, waiting for a sign of life. The most patient fucking things in the entire world.

“We’d better do this quick,” Aaron said. “We‌—‌we gotta do it as quick as we can. In and out. Yeah?”

“Sounds good to me, kid,” Rodrigo said.

“Where’s our car, anyway?” Pedro asked. “All loaded and ready to go?”

Rodrigo’s eyes widened. He looked at Pedro, then at the others as if he’d been mortally misunderstood. “I…‌‌I’m sorry. Car?”

A slight pause. The echoing groans of creatures at the other side of the front gate.

“We…‌‌we are heading down to the Dumping Ground in a car. Right?”

Rodrigo puffed out his lips. “I…‌‌If you go in a car, the zombies will follow you. They’ll hear the engine and they’ll follow you out there and before you know it you’ll be cornered. Now, I happen to be an honest man. I happen to be in the business of not shipping people out for our own benefit. I’m not Mike. Going by foot is in your best interests. Seriously.”

The news hit Riley square in the chest. He’d only just started feeling comfortable jogging around again after the shrapnel-in-leg incident. He was hardly in the mood to start running for his life so soon.

“I‌—‌I’m not sure,” Anna said. “What if…‌‌what if they see us when we’re heading down there? At least if they see us when we’re in a car we have a chance to drive away. But on foot…‌‌I don’t know.”

Rodrigo shrugged. “There’s no idea option here. Going on foot is the best way to sneak on down to the Dumping Ground, fire up that generator, then get back safely before we activate the loudspeaker. Going by car…‌‌you’re just asking for trouble.”

Before Riley could offer another thought on the matter, a huge clunking sound rattled against the front gate. He looked over. Donald and the guard beside him were gesticulating wildly and whispering to one another as they backed away from the gate. Heathwaite’s Caravan Park had been brought to an eerie silence. Even the birds that were left in the trees had given up their songs.

“I’ll say it again,” Rodrigo said. “There’s nothing ideal about this situation. But it’s the best shot Heathwaite’s has. We need this place. You saw the sprinkling of snow last night just as well as I did. And right before Christmas, too. These people need warmth, shelter, but most of all, they need hope.”

Riley thought for a moment that Pedro was going to disagree.

Instead, he grunted and nodded his head. “Let’s get going then.”

“I appreciate your loyalty,” Rodrigo said. “Understandably, I won’t be coming along. I’ve got people here to keep calm.”

“Understandably,” Riley said. Partly sarcastic, partly sincere.

“You four know each other well enough now. You’ve survived together before, you’ll survive together again. I can trust you‌—‌”

“Wait!”

A voice came from behind Rodrigo. It wasn’t a shout‌—‌more a pained, attempted whisper.

A man was running in their direction. Dave Wellson, that was his name. Dark hair. The cynical guy. Constant frown etched on his forehead. Piercing in his tragus and a spider tattooed on his hand. He had his eyes right on Riley.

“Dave, you should be back with your family,” Rodrigo said.

“When I heard you were goin’…‌‌goin’ out,” Dave said, panting between words. “I wanna pull my weight, Rod. I’m sick of sitting around like a sack of potatoes and doing fuck all around here. Let me give you a hand.”

Riley, Pedro, Anna and Aaron all looked at one another. Riley had kind of grown fond of their little team.

“Well…‌‌every little helps, or however that supermarket saying goes,” Rodrigo said. “But it’s up to these guys, really. Riley? What d’you think?”

Riley felt the spotlight burn against him.

Again.

“You understand the danger of what we’re about to do?” Riley said. The echoing cries of the creatures got louder. The rattling against the fences increased in number.

Dave nodded once, still looking right at Riley. “Course I do. I know how to ‘andle me-self. Used to go huntin’ back in the day. Outran a Grizzly Bear when I was in Canada once upon a time.”

Riley looked at the others. Anna raised her eyebrows. Pedro looked as sceptical as ever. “Aaron? What do you think?”

Aaron twitched like he’d been woken up from a coma. “I, erm…‌‌Dave’s a decent man. And he’s right‌—‌he knows how to handle himself.”

Riley nodded. “Then you’re welcome to come along. But you need to understand how we work. You stay with us. If we get surrounded, it’s our own life first, anybody else’s second. This world doesn’t reward heroes. Understand?”

Dave nodded again in acknowledgement. “Sure,” he said. “Sure. Makes sense. When we off?”

Riley and the group all exchanged a smile. A reassuring smile. A smile in the hope that they would all make it back here and be able to smile at one another again.

Riley took Rodrigo’s hand and shook it.

“Good luck,” Rodrigo said, pulling Riley close. “And if it all goes balls up, head over the Arnside Knott. That’s the hill over there. There’s an old military bunker over towards Grange way. No idea what sort of condition it’s in. And it’s in a remote spot, so it shouldn’t be too quiet. But that’s the contingency plan. Use it wisely. If all goes to shit here we…‌‌we’ll see you there.”

He pulled himself away, patted Riley on the arm, then turned back in the direction of the derelict caravan park road.

“What was that all about?” Anna asked as she pulled herself up onto the fence.

Riley ascended the ladder and looked down at the ground at the other side. The way Rodrigo had whispered it to him. He sensed it was a symbol of trust. A symbol of privacy. A real contingency plan.

“It doesn’t matter. Not yet.”

Riley took a deep breath, neared himself to the edge of the fence, then hopped down onto the spongy ground below.

The Other Side.

Chapter Four

Riley kept as low as he could as he moved across the crispy, frosty grass. The fluffy clouds overhead were growing even thicker. The frost underneath his feet reminded him of just how wintry it was out in the open. It was easy to forget when you had your feet up in your heated caravan. Something he longed for very much right now.

Riley led the way, with Pedro close behind. Anna was behind Pedro, Aaron was behind Anna, and Dave Wellson‌—‌their newest “recruit” of sorts‌—‌propped up the back of the group. He was hardly the smallest of men. Believing he’d outrun a bear was somewhat hard to believe. More likely he sat on the bear than anything.

As they moved across the fields towards the metal tower where the loudspeaker was propped, the tip of it getting closer and closer, the sounds and groans of the creatures at the gates and fences of Heathwaite’s Caravan Park grew more and more distant. That was a good sign. They weren’t following them, not yet. It was about as good a sign as they were going to get. Providing a whole new horde didn’t come flooding across the field, of course.

“It’s best if we head down the back of the Dumping Ground,” Aaron said. “We can enter through the fields. The generator should be at the foot of the tower, and the tower ain’t too far from the fields. We should be able to do this.”

“Better bloody hope we should,” Pedro muttered. He might not have been talking, but he’d been grumbling most of the way.

“This generator,” Riley said. “It’s just a case of flipping a switch and it working?”

“Not been around much generators, have you mate?” Dave muttered from the back of the line. “Tug and activate. Tug and activate. All there is to it.”

Riley raised his eyebrows then continued leading the group across the field.

As the group got further across the fields, the echoing groans but a distant hum in the back of their minds now, a clear pathway between them and the tower formed in front of them.

“Looks clear,” Riley said.

“Clear from goons, maybe,” Pedro said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Anna asked.

“He’s worrying about our little dog skinner, ain’t he?” Dave butted in. “Worried they’re gonna be out there waitin’ to slice his big neck.”

Pedro didn’t react to Dave. Well, other than his cheeks going a deep shade of purple.

“What happened with that dog anyway, man?” Aaron asked. “It‌—‌it looked sick. Whoever did that…‌‌just sick.”

“Tactics of war, pal,” Dave said. “Tactics of war.”

“And what would you know about war?” Pedro asked.

Dave shrugged as they approached the loudspeaker tower. “Just a hunch.”

“Let’s just get this done with,” Anna said, crouching down by the side of the wooden fence at the edge of the field and staring across the road at the metal tower. “See anything suspicious?”

Riley examined the street. A few empty caravans, no movement inside or outside. He squinted and listened for groans, but nothing. He listened even harder for footsteps and shuffling, but still, nothing but the wind.

“I think we’re clear,” Riley said. He examined the metal tower that the loudspeaker was propped on top of. It was surrounded by a tall metal fence. “How are we going to do this?”

“One of us climbs over,” Dave said. “Climbs over, get the generator running, then gets the hell out of ‘ere.”

“And who do you suggest does that?” Riley asked.

Dave puffed out his chunky cheeks. “Safer if two of us go over. Like I said, I want to pull me weight around here. So I’ll volunteer.”

“Me too,” Anna said, stepping forward. “I’m getting bored of sitting around and doing nothing. I should help with this.”

Riley, Aaron and Pedro all looked at one another. None of them protested.

“Sounds good to us,” Riley said. “Dave‌—‌you sound like you have experience with machinery and stuff, so that makes sense. We’ll watch your backs.”

Dave saluted. “Wouldn’t expect anything less.”

They all crept over the rickety wooden fence and descended the hill that led to the metallic tower. Riley scanned the street as they dropped down onto it. No creatures to the left, no creatures to the right. “All clear.”

Anna and Dave jogged ahead, staying low and looking around them constantly just in case. When they reached the metal fence surrounding the tower, Dave lowered himself onto one knee and held out his hands. Anna stared at him in confusion.

“As much as I’d love to, I ain’t proposin’,” Dave said, with a bemused grin. “Hop on over.”

Anna wiped her shoe on the grass and placed her foot into Dave’s hand. He lifted her up, and she peeked over the edge of the fence.