Chapter 3
Mission
We were all pottering around the art room, gathering equipment, throwing away the useless stuff and preparing for the night shift. "So are you coming on this hunting trip, or are you staying here" Raphy asked Jasmine. Jasmine looked up at Raphy, before looking at me. "We’re only going to scavenge, Jasmine. We all know how to drive, so this won't take too long. We need to go to Bristol," I explained to a rather startled looking Jasmine. She looked suddenly relived. "Wait," Eloise interjected, "We're going to Bristol?" I looked round the room to see four confused faces. Uh oh. "Yes. I have had contact from another large school up there, which are in need of some supplies," I explained slowly. I let it sink in. Lucy was the first to break the silence. "Hang on; if we start giving out supplies then we're going to be running low. On top of that, why should we help those people? For all we know it could be a trap," Lucy challenged. I looked around the room before meeting Raphy's eyes. Like everyone else, she was torn and still rather shocked and confused. "Well," I began, " We are in need of medical supplies and there's a hospital in Bristol. There are also some very large malls, and we could really use… well most things really. The weapon stores there are going to be really useful too. I just thought, you know, we'd be there anyway so we could give them a hand. They don't need too much." I looked at my hands; I was now rather nervous. Eloise cleared her throat. "Well ... if we're going to be passing there anyway ... couldn't do any harm, could it?" Eloise asked Lucy. I tore my eyes away from my hands; too see Lucy's expression as she answered. “Again, what if it's a trap? Also, why can't we get supplies from some other place? Why Bristol?" Lucy questioned. Her eyes darted to me. I thought for a few seconds, my eyes focused on my hands once again. " Look we can't use up too many of the nearby supplies. There's no way that we are the only survivors around here, but we are the only ones with shatter proof glass and vehicles that are just ... wow. Why Bristol, well that's just because that's where these people are. Trust me Lucy, It's not a trap," I explained, carefully. I looked up. She now looked completely confused. “How do you know it's not a trap, Nadia? What are you hiding?" Lucy questioned me. I answered quickly. “I’m not hiding anything! Just, please trust me, it's not a trap." Eloise and Raphy walked over to me and Lucy. “Lucy … I believe Nadia. I don’t think it’s a trap. Besides, what if there’s someone we know up there. We could help save people’s lives. The more allies we have, the more of a chance we have of surviving this... Hell,” Raphy reasoned with Lucy. Lucy sighed; she knew that Raphy was right. We couldn’t just save ourselves and not give others the support they need. It would just be wrong. “Ok but, just everyone be careful, ok?” Lucy asked us all. We all nodded, in synchronisation.
“Is there anyone you know, in Bristol, Nadia? In all honesty,” Eloise demanded. I felt four pairs eyes dig into me. Well looked like they figured it out. “Yes. My contact is a dear friend of mine. He was in Birmingham when it all broke out. His Mother drove them to Bristol, to get the rest of their family, but they never got out again. He’s done the exact same thing we did, but he travelled to the school. He wasn’t at school when it broke out,” I began. Eloise’s eyes snapped up suddenly. “So he went to a state school? He was on his half term?” She asked. I nodded and I foolishly let my mind wonder. If only I’d gone to see him on the weekend before he went. I had heard that something was up, and I was sure his family would have listened… or called me a mental case. “What school?” Raphy interrupted my thoughts. “Causeway school, the one that’s closest to me and Eloise,” I explained. I caught a flash of light from the corner of my eye, and turned to see my own face in the small mirror. My expression was sullen and I realised then that I sounded rather depressed when I spoke. I looked round the room once again, to see four eyes, bright with impatience. I continued with my story, before anyone had the chance to start tapping their foot. “They picked up any of the living people they could find, and they drove to Hanham high school. The kids there had managed to survive a few days, but teachers were holding the doors, stopping the zombies from getting in. A few of the teenagers at Hanham, so I’m told, were brave enough to go to the closest primary school, and get some kids from there.” “Hang on,” Jasmine interjected. She had been silent up too that point, and I had just about forgotten she was there. “… Teenagers went to help little kids?” I very simply nodded. She looked shocked. I knew how she felt; it had shocked me too. I took a deep breath before continuing. “Now my friend and his family, much like Eloise and I, are very big gamers. They knew what to do. They needed weapons…fast. They did pick up guns in Birmingham, but they ran out of ammo, when they were about half way to Bristol. They had to use machetes when they walked, and his mum just rammed the out the way most of the time. So, my friend, his two older brothers, his mum and the strongest teens at Hanham, set off in the car to get weapons,” I stopped for a second, as I wanted to see everyone’s expressions.
