Luke's Diary: An unlucky man in a zombie apocalypse. Days 601 - 756

Day 691: Wednesday 18th July 2018

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Day 691
Wednesday 18th July 2018

What a day! We're back at the power station, a familiar face has returned and there's been drama and death.

It all started when I woke up really early. I say 'woke up', but I wasn't really getting that much sleep what with Mike's constant dinosaur – like snoring and me using a pack of rice as a pillow. Anyway, I walked over to the racking where all the bottled water and cartons of juice were. I peered round the corner to see that Rocky was no longer tied to his chair. In fact he was nowhere to be seen. Still half asleep, I rubbed my eyes, frowned with confusion and walked closer to the abandoned chair. "Rocky?" I said, looking around, "Where are you?" I inspected that wires that had been used to tie up Rocky and noticed that they had been cut with something. My confusion and intrigue increased and then all of a sudden – THUD. Something hard and heavy hit me on the back of the head and I fell to the floor unconscious.

When I opened my eyes I was laid on the loading bay floor with my ankles tied together with wire and my wrists tied together behind my back. I managed to wriggle around and shuffle across the floor to join Mike and Naomi. They were also sat up against one of the shelving units, tied up in the same was I was. I also noticed that the infected had gone. They were no longer banging to get through the main door or the loading bay shutter. Mike and Naomi had very serious and angry looks on their faces. "Babes, are you OK?" asked Mike. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said, "Bit of a bump on my head. What the f*ck is going on? Where's all the infected? Why are we all tied up? Was it Rocky? Were you right all along?" "No," a voice from behind me said, "It wasn't Rocky." I wriggled around and Naomi, Mike and I looked up to see a smug Janine standing over us. "You did this?" I exclaimed in shock. Janine gave me a big arrogant grin. "That's right," said Janine, "You've out grown your use, so I'm off. Weird isn't it? I always end up having power over you don't I?" "Fuck off!" I loudly and angrily snapped. Janine gave a slight sinister laugh. "You untied Rocky didn't you?" asked Mike. Janine gave Mike a patronising smile and started slowly clapping. "Well done you little freak," said Janine, "If I had a coconut I'd give you one." "I hate coconuts," said Mike, "And I'm not a f*cking freak." "Oh you're the biggest freak going," said Janine, "The lot of you are a waste of space." I turned to Naomi and frowned. "I told you we couldn't trust her," I said. "This is NOT the time to be saying I told you so," said Naomi. "Why did you untie him?" asked Mike. "Is he OK?" I asked, "What have you done with him?" "I haven't done anything WITH him," said Janine, "Let's just say an opportunity presented itself and in order for me to get something out of it I had to untie Rocky." "He could be on his way back to the power station," said an angry Mike, "He could have all sorts of f*cked up plans for the others. He might be on his way there right to kill them all." Janine shrugged. "Oh you dirty twisted little piggy," said Mike, "When I get out of this I'm going to rip out your liver and choke you with it." "Let me make this very clear," said a firm Janine, "I look out for number one, and that's me. I don't give a sh*t about any of you. If I have to use people and saddle myself with them to stay alive then I will, but when a better offer comes along, I'll grasp it with both hands and stand on every single one of those people to get to it." "Oh?" I sarcastically said, "So you've got a better offer have you? Found a cure to the virus? Got access to a 10 bed-roomed house in the middle of nowhere with loads of food, water and electricity?" "I've got something much better than that lined up," said Janine. "Like what?" asked Mike. "And what's it got to do with Rocky?" I asked, "If you wanted to f*ck off, you could have just taken the car and gone. Why tie us up?" "What can I say?" said Janine, "I guess I just like tying you up." "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you," Naomi said. "Oh, NOW she says she knows she shouldn't have tried her!" I loudly exclaimed, "It's a pity you didn't say that when you were waving your axe around and demanding that we let her stay with us." "I saved your life," said Janine, pointing assertively at Naomi, "I saved your life and your granddaughter's, and do you know why I did it? Because it suited me. I knew I'd get something out of it. If I didn't think there was a chance you'd let me get in your car and go back to that big house, I'd have let those monsters eat you alive and left you for dead. You and that brat." There was a tense slice. "The second," said Naomi, calmly, "And I mean the second I get out of this, I'm going to let Mike do his Quentin Tarantino sh*t with your liver and whilst he's doing that I'm going to be slamming my foot down so hard on every single one of the bones in your leg that there's only going to be pile of dust left." "Big words," said Janine, "But that's all they are; words." "You like words?" said Mike, "Here's four more for you; suck on my sh*t." "Not a very nice thing to say to someone who saved your nephew," said Janine. "You only saved one of them," said Mike. "Yep," sad Janine, "And do you know what? I don't care. I could have gone back and easily rescued Aldi, but I didn't want to, and do you know why I didn't want to? Because I didn't care. It didn't benefit me. When the infected got in the house and those soldiers were ransacking the place, I thought if they're busy with what they CAN see, they might not bother looking too hard for what they CAN'T see – me hiding with some of the kids. Dom wanted to get back in the house, but I wouldn't let him in, but when the infected and the soldiers were all over the place, I looked down the corridor and the second I saw Esther all infected walking towards the bedroom, I knew that Aldi – stupid name by the way – was a goner." Silence lingered as we all absorbed this horrific news. "You just stood there and watched as an infected went into the room, KNOWING it was going to eat Aldi?" I calmly said, as a tear ran down my face. "I told you," said Janine, "I look out for number one. I figured if you're all crying about a dead baby and you believe I did what I could to save it, then the heat wouldn't be on me so much." "The heat will be on you when I douse you in petrol and set fire to your face," said Mike. "There are going to be so many people that ant to kill you," I said, "These wires won't keep us tied up forever. You need to get out of here because as far as I'm concerned you're a dead b*tch walking." "I'm not going anywhere," said Janine, "I'm waiting for my life to get back." "Lift?" I said. "That's right," said Janine, "I might have tied you up but I was only doing as I was told." "Who told you to tie us up?" I asked. "That was me," a voice said from the other side of the loading bay. Naomi, Mike and I turned our heads and saw Rocky entering the door from the corridor and confidently walking towards us with Naomi's long handled fire axe in his hand. He joined Janine and stood in front of us. "I got rid of the infected," said Rocky, with strength in his voice, "I don't know how long they'll stay away for, so we need to make a move. You gather some food and water and I'll get the car ready. Have you got the keys?" Janine nodded. "OK," said Rocky, "You get the supplies and I'll put this lot in the car." "Err . . . Whoa, hang on, wait a minute!" I loudly said, "What the F*CK is going on?" Rocky turned round and gave me an emotionless stare. "Janine, Mike and Naomi were right," said Rocky, "I'm an undercover operative for ACROBAT. I'm experienced in infiltrating hostile situations, gathering intelligence and deciding the best course of action that needs to be taken to effectively achieve the desired outcome." "WHAT!?" I loudly exclaimed, "Are you serious!?" "I'm deadly serious," said Rocky, "'TAKE A RAT' didn't work so Operation Rock was initiated." "I have no idea what you're talking about," I bluntly said. "It doesn't matter," said Rocky, "I was the main operative involved in Operation Rock and I have nearly completed what needs to be done." "All this cryptic stuff isn't explaining anything!" I loudly said. "You filthy liar," said angry Mike, "I'm going to stick my chopper in you so hard and make you feel so much pain, you'll be begging for death." "That sounds wrong," I said. Naomi turned and looked at me. "Looks like we both trusted the wrong people," she said. "Can you just please explain things," I said. "When everything went down back at the house and rocket launchers started appearing and cars were driven into people, we had to retreat and come up with a new plan," said Rocky. "A new plan to do what?" I asked. "Get you to The Base," said Rocky, "It was decided that if I infiltrated you and built up trust, I'd gather intelligence and come up with a plan to get you there." "Who's idea was that?" asked Naomi. "Commander Goyle's," said Rocky, "Although it would have worked better if Commander Goyle hadn't have told you all that The Base was under ACROBAT control." "We're not going anywhere with you," said a firm Naomi. "You are," said Rocky, "You don't have a choice." "But why are we needed at this Base?" I asked, "Why are WE so important to ACROBAT?" "I don't know," said Rocky. "B*llocks!" Mike, loudly said, "You're full of sh*t. You've been lying to us all this time. Why should we believe a word you say?" "Whether or not you believe me is of no interest to me," said Rocky, "I've nearly achieved my objectives and my mission is nearly complete. Not everything I said was a lie, but it's true that I'm just hired to do a job and fire a gun. The difference is that I'm exceptional at the job I do, and I'm pretty good with a gun; Shame I haven't got one." "You must have some idea why we're so important in all this," said Naomi. "I genuinely have no idea," said Rocky, "All I know is that it's in the planet's best interest to get you to The Base." "Bu why?" I said, "Why us?" "All I know is that I'm your ride," said Rocky. "What have they got planed for us?" I asked. "I don't know," said Rocky, "But all of these questions are starting to get on my nerves and after you ran down my colleagues and blew them up with a rocket launcher, you should be worried about what I might have planned for you, and trying to stay on my god side." "We're not going anywhere with you," I said, "You've been lying to us all this time." "I had to," said Rocky. "All that stuff we talked about," I said, "About having Mums that were a nightmare. Was all that lies?" "Yes," Rocky, plainly said, "I did what I had to. My parents died years ago and we got on very well. Targets don't suspect you're undercover if you convince them you have things in common." "Targets?" I said, "Is that what we are to you?" "That's exactly what you are to me," said Rocky, "I didn't stop Trudy leaving because I thought it was the best thing for her or you lot; I did it because I needed you all to stay together so I could get you to The Base. When you're in my position you do whatever you need to do to get the job done. All those tears, my crying, begging for my life . . . Fake. I need you to think I wasn't threat and I need one of you to untie me. I was banking on Luke, but when I heard some of the things Janine was saying I realised there was a better chance of her untying me." "What do you mean?" I asked, "What's in it for her?" "The Base might be under ACROBAT command but it is still an impressive underground facility that can provide human beings with an opportunity for life during and after the apocalypse." "Rocky's said I can come," said Janine, "He said if I knocked you all out, tied you up and untied him, he promised to let me come and live out the rest of my life during this whole sh*t storm there." "You vicious two faced b*tch," I snapped. "Hang on," said Mike, "If stopped Trudy from leaving because you wanted us all to stay together, that means you need the others too." "That's right," said Rocky. "But they're at the power station, they're not just going to come because you ask," I said. "They will if they think I'm going to kill you," sad Rocky. A tense silence followed. "God you are a stupid man," said Naomi, "If you and your lot need us because we are so important in this whole thing, do you really expect us to believe that you're going to kill us?" "Oh that's a good point," I said. "Yes, very good point well made," said Mike. "Some of you are more important than others," said Rocky, "I can kill if needed." "I don't believe you," said Naomi, "You've already proved to be a massive liar. I don't think you've thought this plan out. You're not going to kill any of us." All of a sudden, Rocky grabbed hold of the long handled fire axe, lifted it up, swung it in the air and brought the sharp edge down with an almighty thud and ear-piercing crack right into the back of Janine's skull. The three of us gasped as Janine remained frozen to the spot; shock and terror plastered across her face as she starred forward blankly with blood pouring out of the top of her head, dribbling down the back of her neck and running down the front of her face. Rocky retrieved the axe and Janine fell down dead to the floor. He gave the three of us a very stern look. "Do not think that I am not prepared to kill," said Rocky, "She is nothing to me. She is someone I used to get me untied. If I have to kill people to complete my mission, I will. She is just some b*tch that no one liked. Do you really want to take the risk of me killing the unimportant ones and murdering someone you actually care about?" The three of us exchanged defeated and tense looks. "Now I'm going to load the car up with supplies, get you lot sat in the back and then drive back to the power station, get the others and we're all off to The Base." THUD. Rocky's eyes rolled to the back of his head and fell to the floor, to reveal Tara stood behind him with a large hammer in her hands. "Tara!" I loudly said, Oh thank God! Quick untie us." Tara looked stressed and grubby; liked she'd had a tough time. She approached us all and started to untie the wires that were binding our wrists and ankles. "What's going on?" she asked, "What are you all doing here? Where are the others?" "He works for ACROBAT," said Mike, "He's a f*cking spy." "What?" said Tara. "He was there at the old house," I said, "Goyle sent him to get us all." "Get you all?" said Tara, "What do you mean?" "He's been with us for ages pretending to be our friend so he can try and get us all to The Base," I said. Tara turned and looked at the unconscious Rocky. "He wanted to get you all to The Base?" she said, "And he's been spying on you? An ACROBAT spy? Jesus what a pr*ck." "Is he dead?" I asked. Tara walked back over to Rocky, grabbed her heavy hammer, lifted it high in the air and brought the face of it down with a heavy thud and a blood curdling squelch, smashing the back of Rocky's skull. "He's definitely dead now," she said.