Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

Chapter 3: A Brave new world

Marsden

Chester Town hall
Chester Safezone

Zday +6
08:50

Marsden walked through the corridors with a purpose.

It'd been 6 days since the corpses started rising and 2 since the power grid had failed and all communication with London, the military, with anyone had failed. The last orders from the Ministry of Defense was for the leaders of the Chester safe zone to do whatever they deemed necessary to ensure the safety and future of the citizens within. To that end, Marsden had been appointed by the mayor to a council of advisers that would advise her on various matters, specifically military ones in his case.

He turned a corner in the corridor and stopped at a large wooden door guarded by 2 armed police officers. They checked Marsden's ID before allowing him into the meeting room.

The meeting room was a large, oak paneled room with a soft red carpet and paintings of various local figures hanging from the wall. In the corner was a table with luxuries such as biscuits and jugs of water and squash, accompanied by a stack of plastic cups. In the center of the room was a large round table with 6 chairs around it, each occupied by the head of each major department within the ruling council.

Seated at the head of the round table was Leader of the Council Charlotte Reva. She was a middle aged woman who had held her office for the last 2 years and had been a favorite to win the next election for her office. Next to her was Chief inspector Cook who was a striking man with greying hair the contrasted with his policeman's dress uniform. He had a reputation as a man who would do what needed to be done, even if certain people disagreed.

Next to him was Marsden's empty space and next to that sat Mr. Clayton. Mr. Clayton of Clayton and Co building contractors was a middle aged man with a belly that hung over his belt and jeans, but also boasted muscles that would give Royal Marines a run for their money. He and his men had been responsible for putting up and reinforcing the large metal gates that now stood in the wall's gateways and were also in charge of designing and building special projects for the city.

The last person at the table was Mrs. Bell. Mrs. Bell had been a civil servant before the fall and was now head of admin, supply and rationing for the city. While the military sections managed their own supplies and rationing (something which infuriated Mrs. Bell to no end), she was responsible for the civil end, and of all the people in the room, probably wielded the most power over the civilian population.

"So good of you to join us Squadron Leader." said Mrs. Bell said. Her smile was indicative of her distain for the man.

"I apologize, but I had some matters regarding an incident on the wall last night to attend to." He said.

"Nothing serious I hope?" queried Mr. Clayton.

"One of the cadets guarding a section of the wall thought he saw someone beyond the wall and started shooting at shadows." said Marsden, "He was slightly shaken up but has been returned to duty."

"Anyway." began Reva, to cut off Mrs. Bell's building rant. "We have much to discuss." She turned to Marsden.

"What is the status of our defenses?"

"The walls are secure ma'am," Replied Marsden. "For now."

"For now?" queried Mr. Clayton, "There are no holes in the walls. Me and my boys saw to that." Marsden nodded,

"This is true," he said, "and your men did a good job, the gates are holding and barricades you've put up are keeping the other holes plugged. The problem is with the weapons, or lack thereof to equip the soldiers guarding the walls."

"Soldiers?" scoffed Mrs. Bell, "You mean children." Marsden glared at her,

"Those children, as you've called them ma'am, have been through hell over the last few days. They have all lost family friends; some have even lost their lives. They have earned my respect and yours."

Mrs. Bell was about to erupt again when Chief inspector Cook cut in.

"How short are you on weapons?" He asked.

"Put it this way." said Marsden. "We have 122 active military personnel, including cadets and the 12 soldiers that came here. To go around them we have only 26 firearms. Ammunition is going to be a worry before long too. Therefore I wish to mount an expedition to recover weapons and ammo from the Dale barracks, shooting clubs and other sights where firearms can be acquired."

"I wouldn't recommend it councilor." Mrs. Bell announced imperiously. "We have other, more important priorities. Such as repairing the local power grid and scavenging for supplies."

"Something else that could be better accomplished with an armed escort." pointed out Cook, who continued despite the death glare Mrs. Bell shot at him. "Currently the police have about 30 officers and only a handful of firearms to go around, not enough to properly defend the walls without the military. More people with guns would make it safer for anyone going beyond the walls to get supplies."

"True enough." said Mr. Clayton, voicing his own opinion on the matter. "My lads would feel a lot better with an armed escort when we have to go out. If we have that it'll make getting the power grid back online a lot easier."

Reva considered the argument.

"Alright Squadron Leader." she said. "You have my permission to go and scavenge more firearms. However I have concerns with your cadets. Most of them are only teenagers; can we really trust them with guns?"

"Roughly half of them are qualified on rifles and have been taught by the professional forces." explained Marsden. "The remaining half are, for the most part, assigned to auxiliary duties such as managing supplies and the such. I do however want to get them trained up as well so the ones who are qualified can have some downtime. Those who are qualified have already proved themselves as being capable of doing what they need to safely. So to answer your question, yes. We can trust them with firearms."

Reva looked at him, then nodded.

"That may well be." Said Mrs. Bell. "But I've heard some rumors from some of my staff. There seems to be a consensus amongst the civilians. They aren't happy with us forcing 'child soldiers' to fight. And I for one agree."

"They aren't being forced to do anything," argued Marsden.

"Really?" asked Mrs. Bell, "Then what do you do if they disobey an order? I heard that one cadet who disobeyed an NCO in the field was shouted at and then dismissed from duty when she filed a complaint against the afore mentioned NCO."

Marsden frowned. Evidently Cadet Dyer had not taken her dismissal from active duty well.

"Cadet Dyer was a problem cadet. The NCO in question, Corporal Rees, gave a justified dressing down of her when she failed to comply with his orders, which as an NCO he is entitled to give. Specifically, at the incident in question Rees was in the process of preventing a cadet who had been bitten and died in his arms from reanimating, and Dyer refused to leave as Rees had ordered. And besides, do you really think it would have done a 14 year old girl any good to watch another cadet having his brains blown out?"

Mrs. Bell remained silent and Reva spoke up.

"You have a point Squadron Leader." She said, "But I am still concerned about out use of cadets, teenagers to fight."

"Then may I suggest we limit the cadets who go outside the walls on missions to volunteers over the age of 16?" suggested Cook.

"That would drastically reduce the number of cadets that can go on missions." Argued Marsden.

"But it would alleviate some of the problems the civilians are having." Said Cook. "It the best thing for the foreseeable." Marsden, reluctantly agreed.

"Very well. It is decided" Said Reva "So what other matters do we have to discuss?"

...

After the meeting, Marsden returned to the castle. Standing post outside his office was Cadet Jackson. Upon sighting the officer, the heavy set cadet snapped to attention and saluted Marsden. Marsden saluted as he passed and entered the office.

"Tea sir?" asked Jackson. Marsden huffed as he sat down in his chair. He might not have been the best fighter, but Jackson was a hell of an aid, made a decent brew as well.

"Please." Marsden replied, "Milk, One sugar."

"Yes sir." Said Jackson, he turned to leave before he paused, "Also sir. Corporal Rees said he wanted to see you about something."

"Alright where is he?"

"Down in the armory sir. I'll go get him." Jackson then left the office and set about his work. Marsden sat in his desk. Since the incident with Cadet Joyce, Corporal Rees had been taking on every duty he could, perimeter patrol, supply inventory, weapons maintenance, anything he could do since the council had put a hold on all movements beyond the walls for the cadets after day 1 of the outbreak. After a minute, Rees walked through the doorway into Marsden's office. He snapped to attention and tossed a salute.

"Sir." He said. Marsden looked him up and down. While his uniform was neatly pressed and ironed, but it was clear around the cuffs that it had been in use a lot over the last few days. Rees also had on his face a slight shadow of brown hair, betraying the fact he hadn't shaved in the last few days. It was a common problem in the city as shaving materials were just one of the things that were beginning to run out despite rationing.

"At ease Corporal." Said Marsden, Jason relaxed slightly. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Sir," he said "I and a number of other cadets, would like to know when we will be resuming search and rescue efforts and other missions beyond the perimeter."

Marsden sighed. He understood why the cadets wanted to keep looking for survivors, many still had family missing, including him.

"Corporal, for now all operations are on a hold." Said Marsden. Rees opened his mouth to protest but Marsden cut him off. "As much as I'd like to go after anyone out there we have to focus on maintaining what we have first. And that starts with guns." Rees suddenly refocused, and Marsden could have sworn he saw a twitch of a smile.

"I'm sure it has not escaped your notice that we're short on rifles and firearms."

"It hadn't sir." Replied Rees with a smile. "In fact I've been going through the museum's store rooms to find any that haven't been deactivated."

"Did you?"

"One AK that's still active and an old trench gun. That's it, unless you want to start using rifles with bayonet's as spears." Marsden chuckled at the idea,

"Well that's why we've been given permission to mount a scavenging op to the Dale barracks. Despite most of the Royal Welsh being deployed the armory and magazine should still be pretty well stocked."

"I volunteer to go on this mission sir." Announced Rees snapping to attention. "And I have a further suggestion."

"Shoot." Rees settled back to an at ease position.

"Sir. I've been speaking with some of the civvies. Some of my colleagues from school and such made it. Some of them, as well as some adults are keen to get more involved in the defense of the city, scavenging, search and rescue. If we're going to start recruiting, or even operate for an extended period of time we're going to need boots, uniforms, webbing etc. The stores at Dale should have everything we need to outfit and train new recruits." Marsden nodded.

"Corporal, were you a salesman before all this?" Rees snickered,

"No sir. 6th form student."

"Alright then. I'll consider your proposal. For now standby for further information. Dismissed." Rees snapped to attention and saluted before walking out.

"And Corporal," he put his head around the door-frame. "Get to sharpening those bayonets."

Jason

1 ½ miles outside Chester safe zone
Z-day + 6

07:00

They'd been up since before dawn. After breakfast rations in the small ours, the 12 selected cadet volunteers and 4 soldiers from the Royal Welsh Fusiliers who would lead the mission had piled into 2 Land Rovers and 4 vans and headed out for Dale Barracks.

Jason rode in the lead Land Rover along with the rest of fireteam Alpha. Fireteam Alpha now consisted of himself; Cadet Martel, a tough looking 16 year old army cadet, Able Cadet Wheatcroft, a female cadet from the Sea cadets and finally Sergeant Sale from the Royal Welsh. Their objective was the base Armory and magazine. Bravo's was the base stores. Charlie got the fuel dump. Delta would stay and guard the vehicles.

Martel had been trying to strike up a conversation with Wheatcroft the entire trip, without much luck.

"So, have you ever been to the Dale or fox barracks?" he asked.

"No." she said. She'd been sticking to one word answers almost the entire trip. Jason just shook his head in the passenger seat as he released the action forward on his L98, the action cycling with a satisfying Clack.

"So how come we're not hitting Fox Barracks as well?" asked Jason.

"Not enough time today." Replied Sergeant Sale as he drove the Land Rover on. "Trust me. There are still enough weapons and ammo in there to fight World War 3."

"And I'm guessing a pretty wide range of guns too?" ventured Martel hopefully. While Jason wasn't going to ask, he was looking forward to letting out his inner gun nut. Sale snorted approvingly,

"If the British army uses it, it'll be there." He said. Martel cheered triumphantly while Jason and Wheatcroft both smiled devilishly. Out of everyone, they had the best job on this op.

"Alright guys eyes on. Were coming up on the base. Corporal alert the convoy"

"Rog'." Replied Jason as he picked up the speaker of the Land Rover's radio. "Convoy Black, Convoy Black. This is Romeo One. We're entering the target now. Eye's on. Out." He turned once more to Martel and Wheatcroft. "Lock and load."

"Did you really just say that?" asked Martel humorously. Jason snorted.

"Shut up." He replied as he cocked his Glock. The convoy followed the road, exiting on a roundabout towards the base. On their right was Fox Barracks, the attached TA and Army cadet base. There were several dozen infected behind the chain link fence. In the back, Jason could hear Martel growl slightly. On their left was military base housing, dozens of identical yellow brick, semi detached houses. All abandoned. The convoy followed the road round past a sports pavilion and a sports field, occupied by tents.

"Military set up an aid post." Said Sale. "Was overrun on day 2."

"You were here?" asked Wheatcroft.

"Yeah…" replied Sale, trailing off. "Alright. We're here."

The convoy came to a stop in front of the double chain link fence that acted as the main gate onto the base. It was locked up tight, and a few infected in the surrounding area, who were now moving in on the stationary convoy.

"Alright. Martel bust the lock and get the gate open. Wheatcroft and Rees. Hold 'em off."

"Yes Sergeant!" they all replied. They immediately jumped out of the Land Rover, Martel moving towards the gate while Wheatcroft and Jason moved onto the flanks. There were 6 infected, 6 targets in front of Jason. He raised his L98 and flicked the safety off, he trained on one and squeezed the trigger.

Ka-pow! Ka-pow! One down. Next target. Ka-pow! Ka-pow! Ka-pow! The linty of gunfire continued around them until the one's in their immediate vicinity were down. But more were starting to appear out of the aid camp ruins.

"Clear!" shouted Jason, "But the noise is attracting them! Get a move on Martel!"

"Got it!" shouted Martel as he finally unlocked the gate and wheeled it open, allowing the convoy through. As the last of the trucks moved through, Jason and Wheatcroft doubled it through, spinning back round to cover while Martel closed the gate, sealing them off from the infected horde that was massing from the camp.

"Alright." Said Jason, turning to Martel. "That secure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Back in the Land Rover." They doubled in and climbed back into the waiting vehicle. Jason nodded to Sale who then picked up the radio.

"All fireteams." He said, "The word is given. Good Hunting. Out." He then shifted the Land Rover into gear and started down the base's internal roads. They passed barracks buildings, administrative centers and other base facilities. They passed a few infected, but not as many as they'd expected for a large military base. Sale pulled the Land Rover up outside a single storie, redbrick building that looked, to the untrained eye, like any other building on the base. But small things gave it away; the windows were grayed, there were air vents on the flat roof indicative of an extensive ventilation system, and finally, the double doors were beefier looking than ones on the other buildings with no markings on the doors.

"Alright. Let's go." Said Sale as he killed the engine.

They dismounted, and Sale popped the bonnet, removing a wire so the Land Rover couldn't be taken while they were inside. While he did that, Martel retrieved and handed out duffel bags to be packed with weapons and ammo. They advanced, covering all angles of approach. Sergeant Sale went in first, Jason close behind. Behind the doors was a small atrium with an office, before a large pair of armored red doors. Sale went into the office before returning a moment later with several sets of keys. He unlocked the red door and quickly checked it before returning and summoning Martel and Wheatcroft inside. Once inside, they closed the front door and locked behind them.

"Alright guys." Said Sale, handing each of the cadets a set of keys. "These keys will open up the Armory cells and the weapon lockers inside. We need Pistols, Assault Rifles, Marksman and sniper rifles as well as Shotguns. Stick to 9mm, 5.56, 7.62 and 12 gauge. Pack your bags and put them in the hall outside your cell. Just remember there may be more down there than guns and ammo. Now then," he flashed a smile "Happy hunting."

The Cadets immediately moved through the armored red doors, smiles on their faces. Behind the doors was a corridor with 4 armored doors on each side and a staircase down at the other end. Each cadet and Sale took a cell, Jason taking the 3rd one down on the right. He unlocked the armored door and moved in, Glock in hand. The cell walls were made of grey cinderblocks, with grey weapon lockers lining them, with additional rows forming aisles that soldiers could go 'shopping' for weapons. Jason moved to the first locker and unlocked it. He was greeted by racks of ready to use L85A2 rifles. He started cramming rifles into his duffel bags. Once all the rifles were in he emptied the locker of spare magazines until the bag was full. He put it in the hallway and moved to the next locker.

…

Jason hefted his 8th Duffel out into the hallway outside his cell. He'd just filled the last one with L86A2 Light Support Weapons and Bellini M4 combat Shotguns, along with plenty of ammo. He'd nearly finished clearing out his cell's weapon lockers. Some had been full to the brim with weapons and ammo along with cleaning kits etc. Others had been depleted and a few completely empty. But thus far it was a good haul. He glanced down at his watch, 09:55. They'd be stopping for a break soon, just enough time for one more locker. He retrieved a fresh duffel and moved to the next locker. He unlocked it, opened it up and peered inside.

Inside was a rack of marksman rifles, most were Standard issue L129A1 marksman rifles but the one at the end was not. This rifle was fitted with a Magpul MOE retractable stock, 16 inch barrel surrounded by picatinny rails, a Harris bipod, and a large X6 ACOG sight with a micro red-dot. Jason smiled, he knew an HK417 anywhere. He picked up the rifle from the rack, its familiar weight reassuring in his hands. He decided it then and there; this one was his.

He grabbed a cleaning kit, accessories and as many magazines for it as he could find, as well as a large box of 7.62 NATO rounds. He rigged up the rifle's strap and slung his new rifle on his shoulder. He put the L129A1's into the duffel as well as their cleaning kits, magazines until it was full. He glanced down at his watch again, time for the groups break.

He left his partially filled bag of marksman rifles and headed for the foyer where they were going to have their break. The hallway was filled with piles of full duffel bags and weapons cases outside open cells. Each pile was up to Jason's waist in height, that meant a lot of guns, and they weren't halfway done yet. A sudden thought struck him, would there be a problem about his new found rifle. He entered the foyer…

And discovered there would be no problem…

He was the last one to arrive, and each of them had picked up something. Sergeant Sale was whistling quietly to himself while he was worked on attaching a holographic sight to a Bellini M4 shotgun. Wheatcroft was busying herself with cleaning a Sig P226 tactical, and Martel was happily sizing up a Dragunov sniper rifle he'd looted.

"So what did you get?" asked Sale as he looked up at Jason. Jason smiled as he unslung his new battle rifle and displayed it to his colleagues. Wheatcroft whistled approvingly.

"HK417, nice."

"Anything wrong with your L98?" asked Martel.

"Let's just say I prefer something with a little more kick." Replied Jason as he sat down against the wall, placing his backpack down as he rummaged through it to find something to eat. Sale looked at his, slightly skeptically as he pointed to the 417.

"You know how to use that?" He asked.

"Yup."

"I didn't think cadets could get qualified on the 417." Stated Martel.

"We can't." replied Jason as he took out the box of 7.62 and started loading magazines. "I did it privately."

"That sounds like a story worth hearing." Said Wheatcroft, setting aside her Sig and listening.

"Alright." Said Jason. He continued to load mags as he worked. "Last summer, I went to a shooting school in America run by this old delta force captain. During the sniper section of the course, everyone got their choice of rifle, I chose the civvie version of this bad boy. I came second on the sniper section behind this Japanese kid… Hirano? I think his name was. He was good."

"How good?" asked Martel.

"I saw him get a 10 round half inch grouping at 500 yards in the dark." Replied Jason, he then looked at Martel. "A balalaika huh?"

Martel looked confused, "Nah mate's it a Dragunov."

Jason laughed. "I know mate. Balalaika is a Russian army slang nickname for the Dragunov. Speaking of which, you got any ammo for that thing?"

"Yeah," He said, "I found about 'hundred rounds."

"Not enough mate." Jason shook his head, "And Russian 7.62x54 isn't common enough for it to be practical. I'd ditch it and get something else."

"But…"

"He's right Martel." Said Sale. "Ditch it and stick with your L98. I'm sure the corporal will teach you all you need to know about his new 417. Won't you corporal?"

"As soon as were back home mate." Promised Jason, offering a fist bump to seal the deal. Once the pact was made Sergeant Sale spoke up.

"Right then." He began. "Fireteam Charlie has finished at the fuel dump and are heading back. They want us to load up what we've got into one of their trucks and they'll take 'em back. We're to continue clearing out the armory and magazine before taking what we've got to base stores, and help Fireteam Bravo clear out the stores. Understood?"

"One question Sergeant." Said Martel, "What are we doing about explosives and big stuff? I found a case of LAWs, few cases of grenades and even a few mortars and .50 cals plus plenty of ammo."

"Bring 'em." Said Sale, "If were short of space we can leave them but otherwise bring 'em. I'm sure Wheatcroft would be willing to help you pack it up while Rees and I get the truck loaded. Now then, if there isn't anything else?" The cadets remained silent.

"Crack on then."

…

"This is the last of it Sergeant." Rees said as he ferried 2 large and heavy duffel bags of weapons and ammo as well as a pair of long rifle cases from the armory to the waiting truck.

"What's in the rifle cases?" asked Sale as he loaded a duffel onto the truck.

"L115A3's," replied Jason, "found a few in a crate."

"Nice." Commented Sale as he lugged the crates and last duffel aboard. He looked at the vast pile of bags and boxes.

"I think we can get a few more things in here. Go and see if Martel and Wheatcroft have any of those mortars or fifty cals packed up yet."

"Sure thing." Jason turned and jogged back into the armory, his kit jumping up and down as he moved. He moved through the hallway and down the stairs at the back of the armory and down to the basement. The basement was almost exactly the same as the ground floor above. The only difference was that there was no doorway at the far end, only a brick wall. Jason moved at a normal pace towards the furthest open vault, walking in casually.

"Hey did you guys finish packing up those…. Whoa."

He found at the back of vault Martel and Wheatcroft making out wholeheartedly, to the extent that they didn't actually register Jason's presence until he cleared his throat for the 3rd time of increasing volume. They look surprised to say the least.

"Well then…" he began,

"We were just…" interrupted Wheatcroft before being silenced by Jason raising his hand.

"Have you guys got any of those mortars or fifty cals packed yet?" Asked Jason. Martel pointed to a large wooden box, the black stenciled markings indicated it was a fifty. Jason nodded, grunting as he took the weight of the HMG and its case. He turned to leave, pausing at the door.

"Thanks guys. Carry on."

He left the surprised cadets in the vault and lugged the heavy weapon back up the stairs to Sale and the waiting truck.

"Didn't they give you a hand with that?" Sale asked as he moved up the path to help Jason with the gun.

"They were… indisposed…"

"First base or second?"

"I'd say about halfway between."

"Right…" They hauled the MG into the back of the lorry, then signaled the driver he was loaded and good to go. The lorry started up and the lorry moved off to rejoin the convoy heading back for Chester. Sale turned back toward the armory with Jason in tow.

"We clear out the armory then head over to Bravo at stores." Said Sale, "I want to be outta here inside of 3 hours. This place gives me the creeps."

"Yes Sergeant." Agreed Jason, this place gave him the creeps too.

Chester safe zone
Northgate

Z-day + 6
16:00

The convoy of laden trucks rolled back through the Northgate in the city walls, for the first time in hours the men and cadets who'd been to the dale truly relaxed. The convoy was directed into the Chester castle car park, where they would unload the weapons and stores into the museum and other stores buildings. Jason thanked the truck driver for the ride and jumped down from the cab.

While the mission had been a success, it had cost them 2 cadets from Delta who'd been bitten while guarding the vehicles. All the cadets were exhausted and even the regulars who'd lead the mission were tired.

"Corporal Rees." Called an unfortunately familiar voice. Jason looked over towards the voice, hoping to be mistaken as to its owner. He wasn't.

Sergeant Owens strode across the car park towards him. Unlike Sergeant Sale, who was fit and trim and was understanding to the trials that the cadets were facing, Owens' stomach bulged over the belt of his combats and was the dictionary definition of an asshole. Jason groaned internally, of all the people that had died to the infection, why couldn't Owens have been one of them?

"Sergeant Owens." Replied Jason, nodding respectfully to the adult NCO.

"Why weren't you at the briefing today?" Owens demanded.

"Well I was…" Jason started but was cut off by Owen.

"Stand to attention when you talk to an adult NCO!" Jason frowned and snapped to attention.

"Sergeant. I was deployed on an operation to Dale camp to recover arms and ammunition." He replied, "I also was unaware of any briefing that I was to attend." Sergeant Owens did not look convinced.

"Really? Well then you've been reassigned to the training Rota."

"Training Rota? Who are we training?"

"New recruits." Replied Owen, "Everything will be explained at parade this evening, in front of the town hall. Now go get changed, you stink."

"Yes Sergeant." Replied Jason. He turned and left the Sergeant, happy that he'd stashed his new 417 in his patrol bag, otherwise that would have started a huge fight that he wasn't certain he would win. And what was this parade? And training Rota? He'd guess he'd find out later tonight. But the Sergeant was right about one thing…

He really did need a shower…

Chester Town hall
Chester Safe zone

Zday +6
19:00

"PARADE… Stand at ease!"

Jason and the hundred or so other cadets stood at ease in unison. They were formed up outside the steps leading up to the town hall having been ordered to attend. Gathered around were civilians as well, curious as to what was happening. Squadron Leader Marsden came forward, standing in front of the massed cadets.

"Cadets." He began, "Over the last few days, you have borne great hardship, sacrifice and loss, and for that you have my thanks. You were called upon to assist with dealing with the outbreak, and you have done that."

He looked at the cadets, some only 13, and some looked relieved, as if they were about to be told they could go home and back to their lives. Marsden was sorry to disappoint

"It is however my sad duty to inform you, that we have failed to stop the outbreak. We have lost all communications with Civil and Military authorities. We cannot raise any other safe zones, and our scouts have reported that the safe zones in Blacon and Wrexham have been overrun with no survivors. As far as we can discern, we are the only ones left."

He let that sink in. Many of the cadets and the civilians were listening more intently, and some were despairing. He couldn't blame them.

"Therefore," he continued, "In compliance with our last transmission from regional command. All cadets above the age of 16 are herby drafted into the First Chester Militia Company. You are no longer cadets, but members of her majesties British Army holding equivalent rank to that which you held as a cadet. You will be expected to carry out your duties as expected of a member of the armed forces. Cadets under the age of 16, we thank you for your service. You will be honorably discharged and are welcome to rejoin after you turn 16."

He then looked up to the civilians.

"Any civilian between the ages of 16 and 45 are welcome to enlist. Speak to any of the adult NCO's or come to the recruiting station outside the town hall."

"And what are we supposed to do?" shouted a cadet. Jason looked over, it was a young cadet, and was one of the cadets who was just dismissed.

"School will be starting in a few days for those under 16." Announced Marsden. There was a massed groan from the ranks of cadets. Marsden smiled, the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

Dear reader,

Here's chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed it and please review it, it helps me write better stuff in the future...

This is the last of the 'stage setting' chapters, from here on out were going to be having survival issues, domestic and otherwise. And its going to be sick... hopefully... (that's British teenager for awesome for those who don't speak brit)

Once again I must thank my beta reader who was named in the previous chapter and I do hope that you are enjoying the story thus far.

Your Sincerely

Jango

P.S. To the bellend (he knows who he is) that stole my donuts... I'm coming for you...