“Heather’s worried about what the foreign troops will do next. But—” He briefly frowned at her. “— we know these soldiers came here with ill intent, and you and your people saved us from whatever they intended to do. Another reason we are all here is because I wanted to thank you for doing that.”

  Liz beat her husband to a reply. “We have been gone through hell to get here. This is our last chance of surviving this nightmare. We did what we had to.”

  Fin nodded in agreement. “It’s the same for everyone here. Now, let’s get the rest of your people to the shore and we can set about getting all of you situated. And maybe later, Joe, I can give you a tour of the island.”

  “Sounds good.” As Joe turned around to see the others getting off the skiff and into the surf, he avoided looking at the London gangster, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Mathew since the moment they had arrived.

  *****

  JOE

  Joe looked out from the passenger seat of a silver SUV, Liz, Tia and Hope behind him, while Fin drove. The car cruised along a two-lane road which bordered the beach to the left and a row of large houses on the opposite side, which people moved in and out of.

  “These were stores before, and many of them still are, but there’s no use for currency anymore. That would be pointless,” said Fin. “Instead we have implemented a barter system for people that have something to exchange. For everyone else, we have been giving them free food, but will be rolling out a ration system soon. Just simple pieces of card that they can use in these stores and others in the camps across the island.”

  “How many camps are there?” said Liz.

  “Five. The largest, camp two, is housing around seven thousand people, the others between two to four thousand.”

  “That’s a lot of people to feed…”

  He sighed. “It is.”

  Joe’s eyes drifted to the side mirror and the car behind following, containing four individuals.

  Fin caught where Joe’s attention was. “That’s four of my security team. They go everywhere I go. There was some trouble in one of the camps which I was visiting. Saul had arrived shortly before, and evidently was in charge of a security firm in London.” He glanced at Joe. “Which I’m sure you’re aware of. And volunteered to take care of that kind of thing. I was thinking that I needed it anyway, and his offer was perfect timing.” He glanced at Joe. “There were those that weren’t happy with how I was planning things. Giving the food out for free and other things…”

  Joe continued looking outside, at small pockets of groups of buildings with narrow roads dissecting them. “This trouble? It happened before Saul arrived or just after?”

  Fin thought for a moment. “Hm… just after. Like I said, it was fortuitous that such a man was around to help out.”

  Tia spoke up. “Are there any soldiers on the island?”

  Fin looked in the rear, smiling. “Yes, there—”

  Joe looked at him. “The military is here?”

  “Not in any organised sense, no. But there are some soldiers and officers that managed to escape the mainland and come here. There are a few in the camp you’ll be staying in…” He sighed. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if those other troops had landed on our island.”

  “You said they had weapons?”

  “Yes. They clearly were intending to be some form of occupational force.” He looked at Joe. “Not something anyone on this island, agreed to.”

  The buildings outside the window started to become further apart, with walls of trees showing glimpses of rolling hills becoming more frequent.

  “But you said you were in communication with them before?”

  “We were. One of their helicopters dropped some medical supplies off a few days after everything began. They kept in touch on the radio after that, and then two days ago, radio silence. No response to our attempts to talk to them.”

  “Are there zombies on the island?”

  Joe turned around to face his daughter. “Tia…”

  “What?”

  Fin smiled. “It’s okay.” He looked in the rear mirror again. “The first few days were… difficult. We did lose many of the islanders. People who have lived here for most of their lives. Being so cut off, we did not have much of an understanding of what was really happening until people started to be attacked, and by them we couldn’t save them. But, at the same time people began to arrive from the sea and some by air, and it was those people that helped us get the situation under control. We now have—” He slowed the SUV near a few parked cars, and some men waiting by the side of the road. “— checkpoints around the main routes across the island. They work as a network to allow us to communicate between the camps, and if any of the dead are seen, they can be contained to a region of the island.”

  One of the men waved at him and he sped up again.

  Joe nodded. “I’m impressed. It seems you have everything well organised.”

  Fin shook his head. “We are surviving, but the sheer volume of people is causing problems, which are getting worse day by day. We make regular trips to the mainland to get food, but during the last days that’s been getting harder and harder to do, due to the numbers of the dead we have had to try to avoid.” He looked at Joe. “I’m sure you know about that.”

  “Yup.”

  “So we got enough food to last perhaps a few weeks, and then… And now we got this problem with the foreign military wanting to take over, which I’m not about to let happen. But there’s no way we will be able to stop them if they try again. Most of the people on this island are civilians, not soldiers.”

  He turned off, moving deeper inland, the SUV moving up a hill with tall trees on both sides.

  “I’m placing you in camp four, which is just up here. Close to where I am.”

  The trees fell away on the right side, which was a field sloping upward and they all immediately saw the sea of tents across it, up ahead. Before anyone could comment, space opened up on the left side as well, and the true breadth of the camp became apparent. Thousands of white, blue and green tents, some larger wooden structures and a few vehicles filled the fields on both sides of the road. Hemmed in on the left by a forest, but with no limit on the right, as it stretched all the way to the top of the hill and beyond.

  But what really shocked those in the car was the volume of people. People in huddles, discussing, others laughing, others seemingly performing. There were also larger groups waiting at some of the more substantial tents, which children ran between.

  “Dogs!” shouted Tia, pointing at three dogs on the end of leashes being walked near the car.

  Fin smiled. “Yes, many people brought their pets with them, and even some livestock, which are proving their worth by supplying the camps with fresh eggs and milk”

  He pulled the car off to the side in a small area before the tents, where there were a few more vehicles, and got out with Joe and his family. A woman and a man walked up to him, slowing down a little when they saw the weapons the newcomers were carrying.

  “Weapons?” said the woman to Fin with an Irish accent. She was in her forties with tied back blonde hair and flecks of what looked like blood across her face.

  He held up a hand. “I know. I know. But Swanson vouched for them, and that’s going to have to be good enough.”

  The man, who had dark, but slightly greying hair, looked concerned. “We don’t want weapons in our camp, Fin.”

  Fin began to speak but Joe interrupted. “I understand why you have the rule. But I’m a major in the British army. And the people I’ve traveled here with, have fought through hell to get to this place. You might not need guns here, but on the mainland you definitely do. Maybe we’ll be prepared to give them up once we feel comfortable here, but for now, we need to keep them. I promise you we will guard them well…”

  The man and woman looked at each other.

  “This is husband and wife, Ada and Malcolm Hughes,” said Fin, speaking before they had a chance to react further. “They run camp four.”

  Ada offered a hand to Joe and Liz, who shook it then did the same briefly with the man. “Welcome to our camp. As you can see, there are a lot of people here like yourselves.” She pointed to a large nearby tent, with a few people waiting outside it. “That’s our orientation office. You’ll go there first, and they will find you a tent and give you some supplies. Umm… you can keep your weapons for now. But the people here won’t like it. So please keep them hidden.”

  Joe nodded.

  Fin clapped his hands together. “Well, I should go back and retrieve your friends and bring them here, as well.” He looked at Joe. “Once that’s done, and you’re settled in, I’ll give you that tour I promised. And perhaps you can tell me more of the journey here. We, er… don’t get much news from the mainland… or what it’s become.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  LIZ

  Children ran past the outside of the white tent, their shadows and laughter quickly fading. Liz was sitting on a single camp bed, one of two in the small space, which also had a freezer box, a chair and a bag of supplies, which included a torch, some packets of crackers, two bottles of water and some other essentials.

  Tia was on the other bed, reading a book she had brought with her from the lighthouse. A tale of sea dragons, mermaids and a sailor. And Hope was on the floor, drawing with a pencil which was almost completely gone, on a few sheets of almost dried paper.

  The smell of puke lingered on Liz’s breath. She had retched twice while on the short journey between islands. She was never much of a sea lover, and trying to handle a hangover on choppy water with one leg, produced the obvious result.

  But she did not want to rest, or even be inside the tent. She felt the rifles with her ankle, which had been wrapped and tucked under the bed, contemplating whether to bring one with her or not, but decided against it, then picked up her cane, leant on it and stood. Tia looked up at her from above the book. “Can you watch Hope for me?”

  “You’re going somewhere?”

  “Just to the toilets, then I’ll see if I can get us some more food, and I’ll come back. Is that okay?”

  Tia nodded. “You don’t want me to help you walk?”

  Liz smiled. “This is the first chance I’ve got to practice walking without the undead chasing me.”

  Tia nodded again.

  “I won’t be long.”

  She hesitated near the entrance, looking back at her daughter. “I’m so proud of you. You know that, right?”

  Tia smiled and Liz ducked a little and moved through the flap into the bright sunshine and the sounds of summer. Something which she had forgotten. The ringing parade of crickets, mingled with conversations, laughter and the hint of music. With the din came the smell of earth, grass, sizzling meats and coffee. Her tent was one of the highest on the hill. A few rows of canvas miniature homes and gave her an unparalleled view of the other few thousand that covered the rest of the landscape down to the road, then across the field on the other side to the tree line of pines and the forest which ran up the other side of the valley.

  People.

  Not panicking, fleeing for their lives, but rather, standing, talking, cooking, playing. Living.

  She tried to choke back some tears, but they came anyway and she wiped at her cheeks.

  “Carter!”

  Liz looked to her right, not being able to stop the impact of the moderately sized, enthusiastic dog which jumped up at her, almost knocking her over.

  “Carter, leave her!”

  Liz looked down the narrow avenue between the tents to a middle-aged woman, with straggly black hair and flushed cheeks. She too had a walking stick. The golden retriever returned its paws to the ground, its tail wagging.

  “I’m sorry,” said the woman. “He’s like that with all the new people. Has to check them out or something.” The woman held out her hand, which Liz shook. “I’m Maggie.”

  “Liz.”

  Maggie looked across the tents. “These are the newest put up. Everybody here arrived within the last few days.”

  “When did you arrive?”

  “I’m a few rows down. Came here with my family a few days ago.” She looked confused. “Or was it longer? Who knows. The days are a little fuzzy right now.” She looked at Liz’s tent. “Your family are here?”

  “My husband and my daughter… I mean, daughters. Yes.”

  “Have you eaten breakfast?”

  “Um… I’m feeling a little queasy from the boat ride over here. But thank you.”

  “Ah, coffee?”

  “That would be amazing. Thank you. Would you know where the toilets are?”

  Maggie nodded. “I’ll show you.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  JOE

  The sun shone bright as the SUV moved over the top of the hill, causing Joe to flip the sun visor down. As the scenery came into focus, he gasped at the sight a mile off at a lower altitude, where the fields sloped down to the coast. More tents than he had ever seen in his life covered the horizon, from right to left. Even more than the refugee camps that he had spent some time in, during his tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.

  “And this is camp two,” said Fin, driving. “The largest camp. This is where most of the inflow went that turned up, just after things got bad on the mainland.”

  Amongst the tents which spanned field after field, were houses and farm buildings, the camp seemingly swallowing up a small town within its boundary. Joe also noticed the ships and boats off the coast, although they appeared to be of the larger variety than what he had seen before.

  Fin pointed in the same direction. “Most of the vessels on this west side of the island came in from the north Atlantic, so they’re mostly tankers, trawlers. There are even two cruise ships moored a bit further out, which are housing a few hundred people as well.”

  “Can’t more people stay on them?”

  Fin let out a slow breath. “We tried that at the start, but some of the dead got loose on them, and since then, most people see them as death traps. We had to transport a lot of people into this camp. There are still some people there, though. The captains are usually the last to leave.”

  Joe squinted, trying to see any details on the ocean. “I’m not seeing any of the foreign navy?”

  “Oh, they’re out there, but keeping their distance, like they think if they get too close they will catch the virus or something. They also got subs. Their periscopes have been spotted several times.”

  “So they’re keeping an eye on you.”

  “Yes, they are. After what happened with that plane, we now know they want to do more than just observe…”

  The car slowed at a checkpoint, where a woman waved them through, then progressed along a road which was busy with people. Most were carrying bags of some sort or children, while others pulled trailers with more goods in the back. Some of them waved at Fin as he slowly drove forward, smiling and waving.

  A group moved past with sheep and goats in tow.

  “I… thought all the animals were gone,” said Joe.

  Fin smiled. “We made a point, early on, to protect the wildlife, especially livestock. We lost a few to some of the undead, but most we managed to keep alive. That was an early win.”

  They arrived at a junction, equally packed with individuals with places to go.

  “This marks the northern point of the camp. I’ll take you into the town, which is now basically a central hub for medical attention, food and water hand outs. It’s where Candace and Jacob spend most of their time.”

  Joe nodded to the other route, which headed north. “What’s up there?”

  “The coastal road. Also there’s access to the old caves. Some of us hid in them when all of this started. A few are still living there, afraid to come out…”

  They turned left, Fin still having to drive slowly through the crowd.

  “I appreciate the tour, but why are you showing me all of this?”

  Farmhouses became more apparent on both sides of the narrow road as it sloped towards the deep blue of the sea.

  “We have thousands of people here, but only perhaps twenty with authoritative experience. Government, armed forces etc. I’m just a headmaster who ended up in this situation because people felt I would know what to do, but between you and me… I’m making it up as I go.”

  They slowed again alongside larger buildings. An auto mechanics with a number of vehicles parked outside, and a few stores with handwritten boards outside mentioning fresh bread, eggs and milk available for ration cards. They kept on going.

  “Well, from what I’ve seen, this place is… a miracle. There’s nothing else like this that I’ve seen on the mainland.”

  “That’s a fluke of low population, and there not being many cemeteries. And even so, we still lost many… But anyway, to answer your question. I give the tour to those that I feel will help us keep this place going. Simple really. You and your group have shown you can survive. And that’s who we need running this place.”

  He slowed to a stop in a small car park, alongside a few other cars. The roar of the ocean could easily be heard and the sandy beach began just tens of yards away. To their left was a side of a three-story building, which loomed over them. A large sign on its wall proclaimed it was a hotel.

  Fin looked over to it and the steady stream of people that were moving along a path which led around to the front then looked back at Joe. “If you don’t mind, I want to show you where we are trying to keep all of this going. Our headquarters, so to speak.” Joe nodded and Fin pushed his door open.

  As he got out, Joe hesitated to follow. He wondered if now was the time to tell him about Hope. After a moment he pushed his own handle down and got out into the warm summer heat that was already building, despite the wind blowing off the ocean. He looked out across the sand and pebbles to the crashing waves of the sea and the parade of large vessels which filled it. Not as many as the other side of the island, but certainly more substantial in size.

  He ran to catch up and both men walked past the people queueing on a ramp that went up to the open double doors, some with obvious injuries, others holding pieces of paper, and continued into the building which was alive with the anguished sound of the desperate.