World War Z : A British Perspective Prt 2

a nondescript street
. . . in a nondescript town
. . . in a nondescript part of Southern England
​
Gun fire from army rifles echoed across the area making a high pitched popping sound while the continual thud of incoming artillery shells signified the ongoing battles against the 'Zulus' as the men of Two Six Para made their way slowly through the streets of the urban area on their clearance operations to rescue trapped civilians. Although the rest of the planet referred to the undead as Zed's or variations due to their language and dialects, the British on the other hand in their usual style jokingly referred to them as 'Zulus' in a similar way of calling the Talibs in Afghanistan as 'Terry'.
Discarded flyers blew along the unkempt pathways, their information on them advising the civilians what to do until being rescued fading from the weathering action of nature. At the far end of the street the roar of a Challenger tank broke the relative calm as it came into view at the road junction. On the front it hauled a 'dozer' blade which came in very handy for obstructions and any other types of road blocks such as hordes of Zulus and as such bore testament to the ferocity of the action the Para's had taken part in as dried up emaciated blood and body parts from Zulus clung to the tanks 'dozer' blade like trophies. As the tank stopped at the junction it traversed it's main gun for a few seconds and after a while were it looked like it was going to open fire there was a rev of the engine emitting acrid smoke from its exhaust as it proceeded to carry on down the road, it's squad of men walking behind it crouching as they did as if they were Russian troops attacking Berlin in 1945.
A few seconds later an entire column of Para's and their mechanized back up courtesy of other elements of the British Army came into view, half continuing to follow the tank the other half turning into the street to start the house to house clearances. Firstly a Warrior MICV led the way followed by the Landy's, DAF and Bedford canvass back trucks and a DURO Command post.Although canvass trucks weren't ideal protection against Zulus they just had to do due to the limited supplies of APC's. As they continued down the street at walking pace, the Para's split into two columns and walked down each side of the street to lock horns with the Zulu's who they knew would be lurking in the homes or somewhere in the street.
Taking their prompt from the flyers that were dropped by the RAF a few weeks earlier telling everyone to remain in their properties until rescued, white sheets etc were to indicate a home that were clear of Zulus but had civilians trapped inside or a mix of white and coloured sheets and clothing indicating that although their were civilians in the property there was also a family member or members who had turned into Zulus and thus trapped the other members in the house. It was then that the whole street erupted into a cacophony of gun fire, civilians screaming, Para's barking out orders, glass being shattered while front and back doors were being caved in for entry.
Eight Para's walked up to the next set of semi-detached homes and spotted both the white and coloured sheets and clothing hanging out of the windows. Four went to the left side while the the remainders to the right, each foursome then split into pairs, one pairing standing at the front door while the others making their way around the rear so both could gain entry in a pincer movement.
It was then that there was a huge breakage of glass from the front lower window from the home on right side of the semi-detached building from a Zulu bursting through the window and making a grab for the two troopers causing them to bolt back in response and end up on their backs on the lawn while the Zulu getting suck on the broken glass still fixed in the pane continued to put her arms out in futile desperation on getting her hands on the targets lying on the lawn.
"You Ok Archie!/" Oliver said while he and his wing man and the two other troopers who'd ran back to help their comrades starting laughing at the two men lying on their backs.
"Get fucked Charlie!" Archie replied while he and his wing man got back up and dusted themselves off before Archie applied the 'coup de grace' to the undead as two rounds from his L85A3 rifle cut the Zulus head in two. It was then that both Archie's and his wing mans PRR (Personal Role Radio) crackled into life.
"What the fuck did I say to you this morning at the briefing? . . . . like every fucking morning at the briefing?" barked an irate sergeant on the comm's who'd spotted the two troopers from across the road drop a clanger putting themselves in danger.
"You can't fuck about about with these cunts . . . you know what these Zulu's are like acting like Colt Seavers out of the Fall Guy!" the sergeant continued. "If I see you fuckers try a stunt like again, I'll beast the fuck out of ya . . . . you hear me!" It was then that the two troopers in question replied to him sheepishly then continued on their jobs.
Further on down the street 'Mac' Maclean, Harper, 'Tommo' Thompson and 'Jonno' Johnson came to their next property to clear. Waiting for another four man section to arrive to clear the other half of the semi-detached building Tommo looked up to see three petrified children looking down at them from the upstairs window.
"We've got kids Mac!" said Tommo then gestured to the window in question.
"Stay their kids, well be there in just a tick!" Mac said noticing both white and coloured fabric hanging out the window.
With the other four man section finally on point at the property next door all eight men moved into the front gardens towards the buildings and as usual two of them went down the side of the building to the rear and the other stopped at the front door while all the time keeping away from the windows.
"Ok Mac! . . me and Jonno are ready!" said Harper on his PRR kit.
"On my mark . . . three . . . two . . . one!" Mac replied counting down the moment when they entered the property front and back.The troopers burst through the doors and started clearing the bottom rooms of building checking to see if anyone was in there . . . alive or dead!.
After a few moments of checking the lower rooms with the shouts of 'clear!!!' to signal that all was well the troopers got to the final room which was the front lounge with it's curtains drawn and carefully opened the door to hear a rasping sound coming from the darkened room forcing the troopers to use their rifle mounted torches to illuminate the area. It was then they spotted the emaciated corpse of a man most probably the children's father wandering around the room aimlessly as it was quickly found that Zulu's couldn't open doors. It was then that he spotted the troopers and made a beeline for them forcing Harper to put a double tap into the father and put him out of his misery, the loud 'pop' 'pop' sound echoing around the room as the Zulu slumped into a heap in front of the fireplace.
Walking into the lounge and over the corpse they pulled down the curtains allowing the light outside to enter to see if any other Zulus were present which they wasn't and it was only after this they noticed the continual 'dum' . . . 'dum' . . . . 'dum' of a door upstairs being hit.
Carefully walking up the darkened stairs with their torches and rifles scanning in unison they spotted the cause of the noise. It was the children's mother hitting the door with her left and fight hands trying to enter the room were her kids were holed up, her prime evil desire to kill her children making her completely oblivious to the troopers entering the house and the noise they had made. Making a 'clicking' sound with his mouth as if enticing a horse to come over to him and be feed or petted Mac called out to the mother causing her to turn around. 'Pop' . . . 'Pop' again echoed around the house as the mother slumped into a heap on the landing as two rounds of 5.56mm sliced her head open like a ripe melon. The troopers then raced up the stairs, onto the landing and cleared the two other bedrooms and bathroom.
"Hey kids! . . . it's ok you can come out know!" said Harper turning the handle of the bedroom door trying to open it while the others dragged the corpse of the mother into the bathroom and shut the door.
"Where's mommy?" a muffled voice said from the other side.
"It's alright, your moms gone to sleep!" Harper said trying not to distress the children even further then tried again to open the door without any luck.
After a good few minutes of talking to the children inside and trying to coax them out from the room and the the troopers not being able to open the door relief set in as they heard the sound of furniture being moved away from the door.
"Thank fuck for that!!!" Mac whispered to the others. It was then that light illuminated the landing as the door slowly opened and a girls face peered around the half opened door while the awful stench of urine and faeces hit the troopers noses. Harper edged forward and opened the door wider to greet the children while Jonno spoke into his PRR equipment calling for a medical team.
"It's ok, no ones going to hurt you from now on, . . . how long have you been like this?"
"A week or so!" said the eldest, she and the rest of her siblings clearly the worse from wear from dehydration. Harper then Mac who'd followed him into the room looked around and saw what looked like a bed sheet rolled up in the corner that was being used as a latrine and and some spent milk cartons and a two cereal boxes that the kids had used to eat and drink from presumably taken from the kitchen before their parents had turned. A loud thumping on the stairs signaled the arrival of the medical team.
"In here!" shouted Harper as they got to the landing. "We've got three young girls here, looks like they're unharmed apart from being dehydrated and starving!" With the medics in attendance the troopers left to carry on with their jobs.
Halfway down the street a short wheelbase Landy minus its canvas cover and mounting a half inch L111A1 machine gun on its roll bar pulled up. On the back a trooper scanned the street and homes in case being called up, its gun panning left and right continually like a demented Darlek, while the driver got out to give him cover against any Zulus who had been missed tried creeping up on the vehicle.
"Your crash Wozza!" said Taffy standing on the road next to the Landy while acting shotgun for Wozza.
"Piss off Taffy! . . . you had one of mine in the next street!" Wozza replied noting that he's already had given Taffy a cig' earlier on. Taffy started smiling and opened his half empty packet of cig's and offered one of his, Wozza lighting it up using Taffy's lighter and put it in his mouth while keeping a eye out. It was then while another section of troopers entered the front gardens of the semi-detached properties that he spotted something in one of the top front windows that was open.
"Hold it Shaggy! . . . I've got something here" Wozza shouted to his comrades via his PRR kit forcing the troopers to come to a complete halt on the front gardens, his cig sticking out the side of his mouth..
"Spot something?" Shaggy asked while he and the rest of the squad looked up at the windows noticing that they weren't any clothing are sheets hanging out of the windows of the home that had the window open..
"I could swear I spotted someone!" Wozza said.
"Well there's no markers on the front . . . are you sure?" said Shaggy.
"That's what's bothering me, especially that the window is wide open!" replied Wozza determined to gain clarification of wether it was a civilian or a Zulu that he had spotted.
It seemed to take a age while both Shaggy and his men waited for the all clear to come from Taffy and Wozza allowing them to clear the properties. As they waited the net curtains in the open window moved gently to and fro from the slight breeze, Wozza wishing on for a stronger gust so to lift the curtain up to confirm if he was seeing things.The tension was nigh on unbearable when at last a good gust of wind finally forced the curtains up in the air confirming Wozza had in fact spotted something.
Coming into full view was the unmissable emaciated face of Zulu just standing there her blood marked mouth wide open, her brain trying to get a grasp on what was going on outside.All of a sudden Wozza let rip with a six round burst from his half inch gun, forcing the Landy to squat down from the recoil a it made a deafening 'pom' 'pom' sound. The first two rounds hit the Zulu in the chest opening her up like a sardine can, the third round hitting her straight in the head forcing it to explode like a balloon that had been popped. The next three rounds careered past the falling Zulu and hit the wall behind turning the brickwork into a crater looking moonscape.
"Clear!!!" Wozza said while putting his thumb up to Shaggy and his cohorts indicating that they were free to start their clearances.
"Thank fuck for that . . . I was going to order the Christmas Turkey!" Shaggy replied highlighting the time it took for the all clear as two GR-5 Tornado's or Tonka's to the men mad an ear splitting pass over the street on their way to another close air supporting bomb run.
"You cunts wouldn't have said that if it was a civvie I malleted by mistake!" Wozza replied noting the piss taking from his mates. It was then that Taffy got back in the Landy and moved the vehicle further on down the street to continue their over watch.
Even further on down the street another squad of men entered the front gardens of another two properties. On the property on the left Willie and Ginger walked up to the front door and waited while Stevie and Charlie walked along the side passage towards the back and noticed the half opened gate which should've been lock or even shut at a minimum. Gingerly peering around the rear of the building as they panned their rifles against any probable threats the shuffled up to the door. It was then that Stevie tapped Charlie on the shoulder and as Charlie turned around Stevie nodded in the direction of the lawn.
"Stand by Willie . . . we've got a contact here!" Charlie said into his comm's kit.
Steve then walked across the patio towards the lawn while Charlie watched. On a children's swing halfway down the garden, a young girl probably not more than six years old slowly swung to and fro by a mere foot by using her feet as leverage appearing lean over her pet her doll. Less than six feet away Stevie called out to the kid.
"Hey kid! . . . you ok there?"
It was only then that the girl got up on hearing the voice behind her and turned around showing the two troopers that she was in fact a Zulu and the doll was in fact a new born child that the Zulu had been eating, it's face completely chewed away.
"Fuck me!!!!!!" Stevie said absolutely stunned at what he was seeing.
"Do her! . . . do her! . . . do the fucking do the cunt!" Charlie screamed at Stevie while he lifted his firearm to protect him, causing Ginger and Willie to run round from the front from the sound of shouting. It was to no avail as the Zulu made a lunge at Stevie forcing him to jump back and trip and land on his back.and it got even worse as if by paying homage to the British Army's earlier SA-80 rifle Charlie's rifle got a bad case of 'dead mans trigger' as it jammed.
Time stood virtually still as the time dilated effects of both men's brain neurons working at near the speed of light took effect. Just as the Zulu was about to grab Stevie and turn him into Para sandwich a loud 'pop . . . pop' from the fence on the right as two other troopers who had also heard the shouting had looked over the fence and seeing what was happening eliminated the threat in the usual brutal style, just as Ginger and Willie came into the back garden.
"You lot need any help over there!" said the trooper looking over the fence smiling while his cohort stood next to him but was only visible by the top of his camoflauged helmet.
"Get fucked Barney!" Ginger replied as Stevie got himself up and Charlie started to clear his weapon.
"It's ok, . . . just give us a bell if you need any help!" Barney continued to jest then put his thumb up and disappeared back behind the fence.
"Well . . . what the fuck was all this about?" Ginger asked as Stevie slowly walked towards him clearly shaken from the events of the past few minutes.
"Sorry . . . but it was a kid!" Steve exclaimed.
"Kid??? . . . fucking kid???? . . . that cunt was going to rip you apart Stevie!" Charlie said also shaken up at the events and not being able to protect his wing man due to the jamming.
"For fucks sake Stevie, you should know the score by now.!" Willie said.
"Yeh . . . you can't fuck about with these bastards Stevie, we was all told when we was at the barracks and the gaffer told us to forget about what they were . . . but remember instead of what they've become!" Ginger continued. After a little breather to gather themselves they set about to continue their work while Ginger and Willie turned to walk back along the ally to the front. Just before entering the alleyway Ginger turned and spoke
"Right . . . ready?, we've got work to do!" to which both Charlie and Stevie nodded in agreement then continued.
"By the way, there's one good thing that's come from this"
"What's that?" both asked.
"Well next time a pissed up fucker comes up to you in a pub and calls you a baby killer . . . well yes you can actually say you are!" Ginger said while shaking his head and chuckling to himself.
"Thanks Ginger! . . . I really needed that!" Stevie replied.
With that the troopers got back to work.
The End