Bolo's Blog (16)

What happened between the point where Nana opened her eyes and the moment I found myself here is a confusing, violent and mutinous mess.

"Here" is one of the many discarded outhouses of the farm. It's not much more than a concrete shack.

There's no power and the light outside is starting to fade. I have one of our remaining glow sticks, un-opened, in my jacket pocket. They're a precious commodity these days so I'm reluctant to open it unless absolutely…

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I remember those words so clearly.

They hit me like a sledgehammer dipped in pure spring water-

"help us..." she'd said.

"us"!

Was Nana alive!?

I was still in the doorway as Rampage appeared at my shoulder and his people followed him. As I ran over to Nana I didn't want to believe it in case it wasn't true. I knelt down next to her, her face was caked in blood, one eye was puffed and swollen and it was several seconds before I could bring…

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Forgive my absence, it's been a busy few months. All will be explained one day.

Oh, and Lloyd's dead.... but, as is my habit, I digress...

The day is the Victory at Jubilee Beach. The time is 12:23pm.

We were returning home, high on the victory of our latest and most rewarding battle. With seemingly impossible odds we'd co-ordinated our "lure-and-cure" strategy on a beach, of all places, with the end result being the…

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Everybody hates End Game. Wanker, Rampage, Tongs, Nana... everybody.

They say that it is irresponsible, reckless, dangerous and unnecessary and I agree with them, except for the unnecessary part.

End Game is the unofficial Final Phase of every clearance and battle that we enter and it was very fucking necessary.

They hate it because, in a worst case scenario, I could die and this would leave them without a leader.

Well, first off, at that particular moment I didn't want to… Continue

While everybody had no choice but to wait for Gobby to take care of business in the aquarium I found myself wanting to be in there with them.

Not to help them or assist in any way but just to watch.



The sheer volume of carnage that this mouthy, skinny walking ASBO and his other half could cause with their tiny little blades was seriously impressive.

They would work around each other like well-practised dance partners, plunging their twist knives into eye sockets, temples,… Continue

I was awake when the alarm went off at 3:00am.



The first thing that I noticed was that I wasn't angry. I wasn't consumed with the boiling fury that I'd been feeling every morning for the last 10 days.



Instead there was calm. An icy, violent calm that seemed to sit at the very peak of the rage and aggression I'd been feeling recently.

Something was going to happen, and it was going to happen that day.



I left the ready room expecting everybody to still… Continue

After 27 organised battles with the undead I thought (or at least I hoped) that I knew enough about them for the final phase to work.



It relies on perfect timing from the boys and the rank stupidity of the zeds. Tricky...



"Phase 4" I told them, "is when it all happens."

"When I'm happy that Gobby has got every zed in the area all rounded up into a well behaved herd, I'll give the word, Rampage will bring his lot out of the aquarium and make their way towards… Continue

I can't believe it myself but I actually felt a bit guilty about what I had to tell Gobby next.

"Once you've finished clearance at the aquarium, that's your lot for fighting".

Well, his face fucking dropped and he looked like he was about to kick off... or cry.

"It's not over for you though, mate. We're gonna need you more than ever for the next bit."

He was still sulky but it could've been worse.



"So, Gobby, once you're out of the aquarium you'll be hairing it… Continue

And so it was that I was sat at the table in the ready room and, with the exception of Nana, Joy and Lloyd, with all the people I've mentioned previously to discuss what we were going to do about the pre-"rehabitation" clearance of Jubilee Beach.

As I've mentioned before there are 37 of us plus myself. Nana, Joy and the Rat Fuck don't fight so that makes 34 to divvy up for battle.



After the call came through me and Wanker dug out what maps we could find of the area, including… Continue

You can tell a lot from a handshake.



You can tell whether someone is a grafter or a slacker. You can tell whether they are humble, strong-willed, arrogant, timid, even eager to please or dis-trustful.

And always look into their eyes. Always.

This is why I insist on this otherwise redundant tradition everytime a new member joins our fold.

I need to know who I'm letting in, and 8 days ago I let in Lloyd.



Lloyd's handshake was... ugly.



It was cold… Continue

Ada "Nana" Keeler and her granddaughter Joy.



There's no "how we met" tale here. Instead I'll be giving you an insight into the nature of this incredible woman and it will become obvious how much we need her as part of our family.



At the age of 79 years she has lived through the Second World War and she has the fighting spirit and presence of mind of many of her generation.

When we got to her she and her granddaughter had survived for 3 weeks and 6 days after the First… Continue

Gobby a.k.a The Suicidal Fucks.



How we came to cross paths is interesting but, at this point, of no tactical relevance so I'll forego that particular tale.



Perhaps another day.



Gobby is in fact two people- The fast-talking, expletive spitting lad we call Gobby and his, well... let's just say "partner" for now.

In harsh contrast to Gobby his partner says nothing... ever. I've seen him whisper in Gobby's ear before but only when he thinks no-one is… Continue

After Spook came Tongs.



Daniel "Tongs" Shoesmith.



What I do know about him is that he was a CNC operator in his original life, and apparently quite a good one.

"I've made parts for particle accelerators!" he said to me, the day we picked him up.

"Not much use to us, I'm afraid fella" I replied. "What else can you do?"

"Er... I like metal!?" he offered, a little confused.

"You like metal...okay... What do you know about heat treating and tempering?" I… Continue

Wanker made me do it...



"What's the fucking point?" I asked



"You know what the fucking point is, Bolo. The fucking point is that we've now fought and won 27 battles with these flesh-eating tossers and every time we've had a different tactical plan and we've never lost a fighter yet! That's the fucking point! Ever since that Uber-geek managed to wipe off 95 percent of the shite you find on the 'net pretty much the only site they're gonna be looking at… Continue

I suppose, upon reflection, calling the first post "Part 1" could've been a little misleading.

I'm not an author or a playwrite and I don't want this all to sound like a story.

This shit happened and will continue to happen until the numbers start to swing in the favour of the living.



Still, I suppose if you're tucked up in your cosy government bunker with a lifetime's supply of replenishable supplies with nothing more to worry about than getting out of your bunk for… Continue

We got a call over the scanner.."seafront clear... all zed's culled" (fucking "culled"!? They're not fucking squirrels!) "...safe for civilian re-habitation..".



Well that's bollocks for a start.



We knew that the "Squads" had spent less than three hours down there and they reckon they've "culled" every zed that's there?



Like I said, bollocks.



For a start- the seafront is a mile long. It has hotels, arcades, restaurants, more fucking hotels, beach huts,… Continue