Chapter Nineteen.

The drive to the rendezvous point at a park in the most southern point of the Georgia Green area was only twenty five minutes away, but to Henry it felt like forever. He was stuffed into Alistair’s car with him at the wheel and Bridget and Stanley.

Lana had already offered Callum, Nadheera and David a lift which left only one space for either him or Zoe. And under the very current circumstances, he felt like letting Zoe have the seat in the fun car.

“Sorry mate,” Lana had said to him when it was clear that he was left in the ‘grown up’s car’.

“Don’t… worry,” he had said.

“Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“…Yeah no I’m… alright,” he said. But Lana didn’t look assured.

The entire car journey Henry spent gazing out of the window, thoughts running through his head. Not only did he have to worry about what was about to happen at the farm in this big operation, but he had to worry about the fact that Zoe knew what had happened between him and Mark in the library.

She hasn’t said anything yet. Why not? Will she? Will anyone believe her? There’s no proof, right? The dog did it. But why would she lie about it, people would think… Will she keep it quiet? Oh God, what would Mum say if she found out? Does Zoe want money to keep quiet? I don’t have any… Oh shitshitshitshit crappity FUCK!

“…Henry? Hello?”

Henry startled back into focus. “Shit, sorry. What’s up?” Everyone was looking at him in the car. They’d stopped.

“We’re here now, I’m waiting for you to get out of my car,” Alistair said. “You were miles away, son. Are you ok?”

“Yes… Sorry.”

“Look, tonight’ll be ok kid. There’s going to be enough of us there,” Stanley said.

“Except Yissom and Kirkstall and Town Centre. They’re going to maintain coverage over Tarmsworth while we’re all doing this,” Alistair explained.

“Well… That’s still going to be enough of us, right? Still no need to worry, eh Captain?” Stanley stressed.

***

The briefing by Teddy Shepherd was quick enough. All the remaining Divisions were stood around while an outline of the objectives (that Alistair had already outlined earlier) were given.

“Pin Corner, I need you to stay behind. You’ll have the job of locating the vampuras, but I need to speak to you all first,” he had said, much to the surprise of the group.

So when the big briefing was done with and the Divisions went their separate ways ahead of the breach, Pin Corner remained.

This was the first real available moment Henry had had to be in Zoe’s company since their confrontation earlier. Internally, there was a huge conflict in his head, every fibre in his body wanting to run. To get as far away from her as possible but those fibres were all begging him to stay. To talk to her. To get assurances from her.

He tried to look at her, to make her make eye contact with him so he could try and get a read, but she wouldn’t. She must know that I’m staring at her. Why won’t she respond?

Teddy came over and smiled warmly. “Hello! Thanks for staying behind.”

“Sir,” the group mumbled back in respect.

Henry tried to focus on Teddy instead for the time being.

“So you lot have the important job of locating the vampuras. I didn’t say before, but they’re going to be in the stone outhouse with the red roof.”

“Are you sure about that?” Alistair said looking at the Google Maps satellite print out of the site. The stone outhouse with the red roof was right at the far back of the site.

“Positive,” Teddy said. “Our information has come from…” he sighed. “From a reliable source.” But the way he said ‘reliable’ sounded like he didn’t quite believe in it.

“Well, is it reliable or not?” Alistair asked. He was the only one who was able to question their Chief like he was and get away with it. After all, he was going to be leading his Pin Corner Division on this mission, so he wanted to be certain himself.

“It is,” a Scottish female voice said from behind the Pin Corner’s backs. A familiar Scottish voice. They turned around and stood there in a black cape and cloaked hood was unmistakeably Marta Barr. “I am.”

“Yes…” Teddy said dryly. “Marta here has been the one who has given us the information we have needed about this farm. And she will be going with you to find the vampuras.”

No one said anything for a moment, before Alistair spoke up, asking, “Why?”

“Since the battle at the blood bank, I’ve been looking for Rowena. And she’s in that stone outhouse, and I will finish her off once and for all. But I want your help to do it.”

“No one else knows about Marta’s involvement in this raid, or that the intelligence we’ve got has come from her,” Teddy explained.

“But I’ve worked with you before,” Marta said. “I can trust you.”

“Trust… that’s an odd thing between Nasscies and a vampura,” Alistair muttered.

“Aye,” she agreed. “But bottom line, you’ll get what you want, and I’ll get what I want. We just need to help each other to achieve it.”

“Fine,” Alistair said, speaking on behalf of everyone. “We’ll work together. But no funny business.”

“No funny business,” she repeated. She looked at Henry and gave him a nod. He nodded back. He strangely felt at ease with her being there. The big bad, Marta Barr.

“Then we’ll leave in five minutes. Make sure your protective gear is all on before we go,” Teddy said.

***

The Divisions all converged on the dark lane, a hundred metres away from the farm’s driveway. The only light was from the moon, and it was just enough for people to see where they were going, and even the hands in front of their faces. Just about.

Henry had seen Zoe get out of the car she was in and he was keen to keep close to her, but he had sensed her move away and he no longer knew where she was.

“Move up!” came a hushed whispery cry from the front of the pack. Pin Corner were hung further back, with Marta in the middle so that they could make their flank to the stone outhouse with the red roof whilst everyone was distracted.

The group moved up as one, jogging slightly for warmth and slightly for speed. When they got to the farm’s driveway the speed increased and the different Divisions split off. For the time being, Henry was only focussed on this. Alistair took the lead but Marta ran ahead, knowing from her own visits spying on this site, no doubt, where they were going. But they all followed her.

She was one of them tonight, and she was driven by her own personal mission.

It wasn’t long before the shouts and war cries could be heard across the farm as the illegal gang in charge of the zombie farming realised what was going on and began to retaliate.

“This way,” Marta shouted, no longer needing to remain anonymous now that the fighting had started.

The stone outhouse with the red roof also had a wooden rickety red door. Marta stopped just by it and waited for the rest of Pin Corner to catch up. They huddled up, and Henry looked around. Everyone looked determined. Ready. Even Zoe. Maybe she wasn’t thinking about him at the moment.

Callum even had a slight smile on his face. He looked like he was enjoying this. He caught Henry looking at him, and Callum gave him a wink. “This is Call of Duty in real life isn’t it?”

The comment made the younger members of the group chuckle, maybe in slight discomfort that he wasn’t actually that wrong. Only instead of machine guns and rifles, they had wooden stakes.

“I’ll break the door in, so you’ll need to fan out when you follow in,” Marta instructed in a whisper. “They should be chained up but just be aware of your surroundings.”

She then kicked the door in with a swift kick as she said she would and charged in, swinging up her silver sword that she had had at the blood bank battle.

The group piled in amidst sounds of shrieks and cries… coming from the vampuras who were sure enough, chained to the four walls of the building and to lower internal stone walls.

They weren’t expecting the door to be crashed in.

“Fuck me,” Alistair said. He rarely swore, but this occasion warranted it.

There were at least thirty to forty vampuras chained up to collars around their necks and by one ankle. They sat, slumped against the walls, their clothes covered in dried dark blood from their forced feeds. The smell of vomit, bile and irony blood hung heavily in the room.

But the vampuras, a mixture of old and young, male and female groaned and started to beg for their help.

“Save us!”

“Stop this misery!”

“Just stake me now, I can’t go on!”

“I don’t want to be here anymore!”

They all pleaded.

Henry gulped down his own bile that had made its way into his mouth. “So they’re all here just to farm zombies?” he asked quietly, talking about them as if they weren’t there.

“We don’t want to, we hate it,” a vampura woman said defensively from the back wall.

“You!” Marta shouted, having seen a familiar face near to the woman who was just talking. She walked over to her, the sword’s point clanging as it was put down on the stone floor.

The weaker, restrained vampura flinched as Marta crouched down in front of her.

“Not now,” Alistair said sternly. “We’ve got a job to do.”

“I’ve found the reason why I’m here,” Marta responded, not looking back at him.

“And she’s not going anywhere. But you’re here with us. You’re not in charge. And I need… your help still.”

An explosion blast shattered the glass in the small windows of the stone outhouse vampura prison, making everyone freak out and hit the ground, more so out of fright.

“Fucking hell!!!” Nadheera screamed.

“What’s happening out there?” Lana cried. Gun shots could be heard popping off.

Stanley threw open the door to see the damage. “I think it was the gas tank we passed,” he called out, before running out.

“My God I think I pissed myself! Someone tell me if I pissed myself!” David yelled over the sound of ringing in his ears, getting up and dusting shards of glass from him. Callum was adjusting his helmet which looked like it had taken the brunt of his landing.

Stanley came back highly agitated. “It’s the gang here, there’s quite a lot of them and they blew the tank up. We’ve got fifteen Nasscies down.”

“Shit, come on. Leave the vampuras. We’re needed out there.”

“No!” a vampura yelled. “Release us. We can help. Their bullets won’t stop us.”

Alistair looked at the pathetic, deadbeat vampura who said it, and then around at the others. They were all nodding in agreement that they would help. He looked back at his Nasscies.

“Don’t do it. You can’t trust them,” Marta said first.

“We’re trusting you,” Henry said to her. She just shook her head.

“Release them,” Alistair instructed. Bridget and Lana unzipped the holdalls they had brought with them and took out the bolt cutters.

“While my team are releasing you, no one moves. If you move, we’ll stake you where you sit in filth.” Lana, Bridget, Callum and Nadheera went to breaking the chains keeping them tied to the walls. “When you’re all free, we’re going to run into battle. When you see your captors, attack them. Understood?”

“Yeah,” a chorus of voices replied.

Stanley, Zoe, Henry and David stood watching to see if there was any funny business. Henry looked round and caught Zoe staring at him. She had such a look of contempt on her face.

“I need some air,” Zoe said abruptly looking away from Henry.

“Don’t go too far,” Alistair warned as she walked off.

A smaller explosion went off in the distance. The fighting was still continuing. Which meant the Nasscies still had a chance.

“I’ll stay with her,” Henry offered quietly, following her out.

“Oh for fuck sake Henry, I wanted fresh air!” she said when she saw him. “Not the shite I have to breathe with you around.”

“Zoe, I’m freaking out. It’s hard to concentrate on what’s going on tonight because I am just panicking over you and what you might do,” Henry said urgently. “I need to know we’re ok?”

“Ok?!” she snarled, trying to keep her voice down. “We are never going to be ok!”

“FUCK!” Henry cried out in a combustion of mixed emotions and feelings such as exasperation, anxiousness and fear. “Look are you going to tell anyone about what happened to Mark? That’s all I have to know.”

She hesitated, but then looked angry at herself. “I don’t honestly know. I actually hate you and I want to. But the right thing is for you to say.” She pointed aggressively at him.

“I don’t think I can Zoe.”

“Can’t… or won’t?” she challenged.

Stanley appeared at the door cutting their conversation short. He didn’t seem to pick up on the tension. “Right, we’re letting them go now,” he said referring to the vampuras. They began stumbling out through the door, unsteady on their feet meaning they had probably not been on them for a while.

“What are we going to do now Stan?” Henry asked.

“The gnashers,” Alistair said, appearing as the last vampura left. “We find them and release them too.”

“That’ll be savage,” David remarked.

“It’s our last resort. This wasn’t as easy as we thought it’d be and we need to hit back,” Stanley explained, understanding his Captain’s logic.

Marta walked out and stormed past everyone out to where the fighting was happening and towards where her prize, Rowena, had headed.

“Marta, wait!” Alistair called out. “Zoe, Henry, can you go with her please?”

Henry looked at Zoe, who resisted looking at him. She went off first, so he followed.

Marta ran down the short track to the main farm buildings, where the fighting was taking place. Bodies of Nasscies (dead and injured) lay in the mud with the bodies of what were zombies and members of the gang responsible for this, all while fighting still took place.

The vampuras that had been unchained had stuck to their side of deal, savagely attacking those remaining gang members. They weren’t armed with wooden stakes to defend themselves, just guns and farm paraphernalia and went down very easily to the vamps. The bitten ones would soon rise with their new found zombiehood.

“Stop following me,” Marta said, heading straight for Rowena, who was doubled over, vomiting from the taste of the blood she had just been drinking.

“Sorry, we were asked to b-” Henry started to say.

Marta whacked Rowena square in the face with her knee as she chucked the last of the vomit unawares of Marta’s presence. Rowena fell back with the momentum, lying across the body of the gang member she had just killed.

“Now?” Rowena asked. “It’s not exactly fair is it?”

“Fair? You’re talking to me about fairness?”

“I don’t have the capacity to process this right now, sweetie. Can we do this another time?”

Marta unsheathed her sword and hovered it over Rowena’s neck. She looked at it and lay her head back on the ground.

She sighed, and looked up at Marta. “It’s been over a hundred and fifty years, and this is how it ends? This is where it ends?” She tilted her head to look at Henry and Zoe. “You’re about to see the great Rowena slain as she lies in mud and shit. What a moment.”

“Don’t worry about him, he’s seen a lot worse,” Zoe said, not looking at Henry. “He saw his brother die in an abandoned library to a vampura dog.”

“Shit Zoe,” Henry hissed, going red. “Shut up.”

“I’m sure they don’t mind. Think of all the people they’ve murdered…”

“Shut the fuck up you two,” Marta said to Zoe and Henry, the sword still hovering over Rowena’s neck. Once Henry and Zoe very quickly got the message, Marta turned back to Rowena. “I don’t give a shit if you’re in lying in shit, or we’ve fought an equal and fair fight to the death. For over a century we’ve found ourselves close to killing each other, playing a foolish game of cat and mouse. And if you were in my shoes, would you hesitate?”

“Never,” Rowena admitted, with a brief hint of a smile.

“Then you know how much I need to do this.”

“Tell me first, after all this time… is it really about the kids still? That’s driven you to this?”

“It’s never stopped being about those kids. Willow and Norah were their names. The rules about not feeding on kids have existed because of you two, and the justice I’ve sought for them. Your death now, is for them.” Marta plunged the sword down into Rowena’s neck. Her face expressionless as her body shattered into dust and from existence.

Marta stood there, staring at where Rowena once lay. She’d done what she had needed to do, a hundred and fifty years later.

Henry and Zoe remained silent and still as they watched Marta, unsure of what to do next. The fighting was still going on, and had sort of moved on to another part of the farm.

“We need to go now,” Zoe said first. “We still might be needed.”

Marta looked at Zoe, but didn’t say anything. She walked over to the pair.

“What were you two on about earlier?” she asked.

Henry went red and this time Zoe stared at him. Henry found himself for once wanting more than anything for her to stop looking at him, not wanting to see her face or gauge a reaction from her. Not here. Not now.

“Well?” Marta said. “We might still be needed, but we’re not going anywhere until someone says something.”

“Hen-Henry?” Zoe stuttered.

He took a deep breath, avoiding eye contact with anyone, but knowing they were both looking at him now. “I… I watched as my brother… as he died. A-and I didn’t… I didn’t do anything to stop it.”

“And…?” Zoe said. “Oh for fuck sake Henry, just say it. Say what you di-” Zoe stopped talking and started making gargling sounds. Henry looked up and saw Marta’s sword sliced right through her throat. Her eyes were wide with shock and horror, her body stiff as she feared moving due to the enormous silver blade impaling her.

Marta pulled the sword out the way it came, and Zoe’s body fell to a heap on the floor, blood gushing out of her and dribbling down her jacket as all life drained out of her.

“Shit… What the fuck did you do that for?” Henry asked, horrified by what he was seeing.

“Did you kill your brother?” Marta asked softly.

Henry’s thoughts were still on Zoe. “Wh-why did you kill her?”

“Because she knew something you didn’t want her to, right?”

“B-but…”

“Did you kill your brother Henry? The one whose tree I met you at?”

He looked at her, with tears running down his face. Relief? Fear? Regret? Guilt? Was Zoe’s death on his hands now?

“…I didn’t mean to,” he confessed quietly, ashamed. He looked back at Zoe. “You… you didn’t need to kill her. They’ll be after you now… God, what do I say?”

“I’ll be out of here before any one realises I killed her,” Marta said. “But you have a choice now. Do you tell the truth? Do you keep going? No one except for me knows now and I’m not going to tell anyone. But I for one know what that can do to someone. Like the dead cow said, I’ve murdered before…”

The corpse of the gang member Rowena had killed began to reanimate, growling and scrabbling to get up just a few feet away from where Marta and Henry spoke. It fell after its first attempt onto their face, motorboating the wet mud in confusion.

“I’m going to go now. I got what I came for, and I don’t want to be around when they see us stood around her,” Marta said nodding at Zoe’s body. “Good luck with deciding what you’re going to do about your secret. I can tell you’re not a bad kid.” She turned around and like that, simply walked off into the darkness of the surrounding fields.

Thank you, I guess… he wanted to say. “Goodbye,” he actually said, but not quite loud enough for her to really hear.

He looked down at Zoe’s body and felt a sense of calm wash over him. He crouched down next to her and felt the tears coming. Tears of sadness- he didn’t want anyone to have to die again, but also tears of joy. Was this a second chance for him? Could he-

Henry’s thoughts were interrupted as he was yanked from the back of his neck corset and pulled onto his back into the mud. The wind was knocked out of him and he only had a moment to scream as a zombie that looked like it had been having a facial mud pack bit down on the middle of his face.

There was an agonising pain as Henry scrambled desperately to get the zombie off him, his legs kicking out like a boy taking his first swim, but the burning pain, and the weight of the zombie pinning him across his upper body made his attempts futile and within thirty seconds, the pain took over and the shock sent his heart into cardiac arrest.

Henry’s chances of a second chance disappeared, along with his nose, and his life.