The Battle at Jubilee Beach.

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 be asleep for another hour or so, instead the barn was a hive of activity.
Nana and Joy were making sure everybody had what they needed, Tongs was putting a last minute hone on a couple of machetes, even the two-headed monster Gobby was checking their toolkits for everything they would need.
All this premature activity from everyone could only mean one thing- they were scared.


The numbers were to be divided like this-

Spook would be driving the Volvo with the caravan hitched to the public toilets at the South end of the beach. In the car and caravan would be 11 Leatherheads with paddles.
Myself, Wanker, Shotgun Trevor and Mr Full-Bore (who, after his run-in with Wanker, had decided to use his .22 semi-auto for zed dispatch instead of his .308 deer rifle) would be center with the van.
We would drop off Rampage and 15 Leatherheads armed with machetes (fortunately the van is a high-top, long wheel base, but it's still a pretty tight squeeze for them), at the aquarium at the North end when Gobby had given the all clear.

Gobby would be on dirt bikes.

We left the barn at 5:00am to arrive at 6:00am. In Original Times the journey would have only taken 30 minutes but the major route was crammed with abandoned cars so we had to take a few back roads and allow extra time.
We arrived about a mile out of town at 6:07am and after a quick last minute check of equipment and tools it was time to start the clearance of Jubilee Beach.

"Right, Gobby" I said "It's all down to you two, mate. Not too much noise until you get to the toilets, okay? We don't want any trouble just yet."
He was wired, "Yeah, let's fucking do this, eh? We got this sorted, Bolo, I swear mate. Fucking sorted."
"Alright" I said "Do it."
And they were off.
"Spook. You know what to do. Good luck, mate."
He nodded, got in the car and slowly drove off towards the South end.
I took a deep breath, "Right." I said to Wanker and Rampage "Shall we?"
"Righto" said Wanker.
"Let's do this, man" agreed Rampage.
And we were off to the North end where all we could do was sit and wait for Gobby's "all clear".

As it turned out, we didn't have to wait long as just as we pulled up to within 100 yards of the aquarium Gobby came over the two-way.
"Bollocks, Bolo. This is fucking shit, mate!"
"What's up Gobby?" I asked.
"We got to the fucking toilets, yeah, they're all fucking locked up so we cut the fucking lock off, right, and there's no fucking scumbags inside! I'm all fucking ready for a scrap like, and fuck-all! Nothing! It's fucking shit, mate."
Most of us would be happy with this result, but not Gobby.
They didn't earn their name "The Suicidal Fucks" for their love of cats and knitting, they needed action, they weren't getting it, and this concerned me.
If they didn't get to indulge their blood lust before everyone was in their final position then they might try and enter the battle proper, which was one fucking variable I did not need!
I had to try and appease him.
"Don't sweat it fella, there's still the aquarium to clear. Get yourselves over there and see what you can destroy."
"Yeah, alright." he replied, although he still sounded angry.

I pressed the trigger on the two-way again, "Spook, do you receive?" I said.
"Receiving." he replied.
"Primary position. Over." I told him.
"Understood. Over."

I watched through the binoculars as Spook moved his team into the public toilets. Once he'd done that, he stayed outside by the door to welcome any early and unwanted arrivals with his blade.

I heard Gobby coming before I saw them. The noise of the bikes, like thunder in a tin can, came screaming up the beach.
No zeds yet. That was good.
But as he approached the aquarium, I heard it.
The pitiful, agonised moan of the first undead.

It was high pitched and I assued it must be a woman but then I caught sight of it.
This small, shambling figure coming out from behind a parked car.
Dirty and bloody, covered in sand, and still carrying a little yellow plastic bucket. It was a fucking child and it was heading straight towards the beach, and Gobby.

I wanted to shout to the kid, to tell him that it would be dangerous, and all the while this little boy was wailing the most painful, pitiful cry I'd ever heard.
I wanted to help him look for his parents. His fucking parents! Can you believe that!?
But instead I took Mr Full-Bore's 10/22 from him and shot the boy in the head.

My icy, calm fell below zero.

Even over the noise of the bikes we could here Gobby shouting and screaming "WOOHOO! COME ON YOU FUCKERS! I GOT SOMETHING SHARP AND SHINY FOR YOU, YOU FUCKING SCUMBAG FUCKS!!"

We watched them riding up the beach and as the noise of their engines grew quieter we could hear more moaning and it was coming from every direction.
Then the ones the Squads had missed started to make themselves known.
A couple came out of the arcades behind us, a few more shuffled out of doorways and alleys.
I saw one of them coming round the side of the toilet block where Spook was positioned.

He saw it coming and I watched as he swung his paddle and destroyed the neck of the zed. It wasn't completely decapitated but enough as to make no difference.
He must've felt me watching him as he turned in my direction and gave me the "okay" sign.

"Bolo, come in." Gobby came over the two-way.
"Receiving." I confirmed.
"Yeah there's no fucking way we're getting through this door, mate. It's steel plated and the locks on the inside."
Fuck it, I thought. I can't be arsed with complications... not today.
"What can you see, Gobby?" I asked him.
"The cafeteria's next door, yeah? We can smash the fucking window and get in but we'll be open fucking season if the scumbags start pouring in." He didn't sound worried, he just didn't want to die today.
"No problem," I told him "Turn your engines off, smash the window and gain entry and carry on as planned. Just tone down the noise for a bit, okay? Spook will divert any zeds away from your end."
"Yeah, fucking sorted. Cheers Bolo." he was satisfied with that.

"Spook," I said "Did you catch that?"
"Yes Bolo." he replied.
"Get your people out of the toilets and make a shit-load of noise. Bang your knives on your paddles, shout and scream and bring the fight your way for a bit, understood?"
"Okay, Bolo." he said.
I gave the order, "Your exit is clear. Go now."
I heard a smash from the aquarium and at the same time, as I watched the South end, I saw Spook and his team swarm out of the toilet block, shouting and banging their twist knives on the blades of their paddles.
I took a look around me and saw the previous zeds silently looking in Spooks direction.
I swear, if these dead fuckers had any emotions, at that point it would've been confusion.
One by one they started shambling in Spook's direction, their moans getting louder at the thought of brunch.

"Bolo." It was Gobby again.
"Receiving." I replied.
"We're in the fish tank and there's fucking dozens of fucking scumbags in here! We're fucking loving it, eh, but it's gonna take a bit to finish them all off.
I was relieved to hear that Gobby was finally "having fun". It meant that they were going to have enough fight without feeling the need to get involved in the later phases.
I relaxed a little, "Okay Gobby, do what you do best and give us a call when the building is totally clear. Over."
I hit the button on the two-way again, "Spook, you catch that?" I said.
"Yes, Bolo. No problem. We can hold out here for a while." he assured me.
"Rampage." I said, "How you doing?"
He and his team were still in the back of the van, basically right under my feet, and he must've been itching to get out.
"It's getting too fucking hot in here." he growled "We need some air."
I'm not surprised, I thought, all cramped in the back of the van, full combat leathers on. They must have been fucking sweating.
"Alright mate," I told him "Nice and quiet, pop the back doors and get some air. Stay in the back though. Undo your jackets if you need to but don't unzip them all the way, and don't take them off. It's the best I can do for now, fella."
Right beneath me I heard some movement. The doors opened up about a foot or so and I could here shifting and breathing as everybody in there tried to get comfortable. I heard a dozen zips all being pulled down as quietly as possible as they all tried to cool down a bit.

Usually I'd feel sympathy for them but I wasn't in a sympathetic mood.

Besides, they'd get enough of the fresh sea air and they'd get their chance to fight, and soon.

And so would I.