Hey guys, this part is pretty long and I hope it´s not as bad as I think that it is xD
Please review and I don´t own anything .
Enjoy
9. May 2011, The First Rescue Mission
One week after the first infection
They met in the card room on the first deck. It was equipped with the newest technology. Navigation, spyware and equipment for missions like armours, weapons and wireless headsets. The little group stood around a big desk with a tablet pc as a tabletop. On the monitor was a map of the local grounds and one more showed our recent route.
The zeppelins engine could only accomplish a maximum speed of 90 miles per hour, because the airship was huge. But the ship glided really slowly trough the air to safe as much fuel as possible.
Their recent route was pretty tedious. First they had to fly to Bristol, than to Telford, Sheffield, York and lastly to Darlington just to avoid the citys. Citys were dangerous grounds, zombies were roaming the streets, using buildings as hiding places and killing the last surivors, which refused to leave their homes behind.
"So, why did you call us here?", asked Lestrade and Sabrina touched the tabletop to start a voice message.
"... I hope anybody hears this... We are trapped! We wanted to get food for the others... They are at a farm outside of Barforth, please, please help them!", said a woman, hear breath came in short gasps and in the background there were the screams of the undead.
"Sarah! Did you mention our situation?", asked another female voice with determination.
"Lisa, relax..."
"Relax? My technician has a sprained ankle and some cracked rips, because she jumped out of a good damn window to get away from the zombies and now we are sitting in a tree. You can´t even open your eyes, because you are too scared of the height and you tell me to relax? Are you crazy?"
"No..."
"Good, now tell them about our situation, while I kill some of those zombies. Just keep your eyes closed and you won´t have to look down."
"Okay, Lisa... We are trapped... In a tree of the local park of Durham... We are surrounded by zombies and don´t have any food or water... So please... Help us!"
"Sarah, that´s too soft! Give me the the microphone!" There was a moment of silence and then suddenly:
"Move your sorry asses over here and get us out of here!" Then a crack and silence.
"This message was sent trough a mobile phone mast to everyone in a perimeter of 60 miles. We are already on our way to Barforth and then to Durham.", explained Sabrina and showed us the map.
"We need one hour to get there and probably two hours to get all new passengeres settled. After that we have to hurry to Durham and get these two ladies out of that tree. We will form a team, they probably have to fight of zombies to get to the tree, so we will need fighters."
"I will go.", replied Sherlock immediatly to Mycrofts words.
"Sherlock, you are exhausted and you really think you can fight zombies like that?"
"Yes, John, and you have to come too. One of them is injured, so we will need your medical knowledge."
"I will come too.", said Lestrade and moved a step forward.
"That´s good, you are a good gunner." Sherlock smiled, but Mycroft wasn´t happy about their plans. He frowned at them and then sighed soundly.
"I don´t want you to go, but it seems like there is no other way. The other passengers aren´t trained yet and you three are the only ones with enough experience."
"Exactly, dear brother. I will go to sleep, wake me up, when the survivors are settled."
Two hours later it was already evening, after they had picked up the thirty survivors, most of them were children, without any problems, they left for Durham. They had found the farm at first try. There weren´t any zombies nearby and nobody refused their help, after they told them about Lisas and Sarahs delicate situation.
John checked their health conditions and Beverly moved them into several cabins. Some of the kids couldn´t calm down so Lestrade read a story to them, till they finally relaxed and started to ask the inspector for Lisa and Sarah.
The both of them were like parents to the kids. They took them in and cared for them when their own parents had died or abandoned them to save themselves.
"How can parents be so cruel to their own children?", asked John Sherlock later, after he woke him up.
"They were scared John. When you corner an animal and have only one choice left, you will take that choice, even if that means, that you have to abandon your own flesh and blood."
"That´s cruel, Sherlock and you know that." They were already on the first deck in their uniforms and checked their weapons.
"Yeah, I know." Lestrade sat down next to them.
"Mycroft just informed me, that we will go down in five minutes. Are you ready?" Both man nodded. They were determined to get the two woman out of there and make some of the kids really happy to have their new parents back.
"How far away is the park?"
"We will get out right at the entrance and have to move fast. The sun will go down soon."
"I see, when we get back, I want a scotch."
"Me too, John, but first we have to rescue the ladys."
The moved the a small hole in the ground and climbed down the narrow ladder. The first one down was Lestrade, he watched out for zombies before he motioned to them, that it was safe.
They moved trough the destroyed gates of the park and followed the cries of the undead in front of them.
"There are at least twenty zombies in front of you. Be careful.", informed them Sabrina from above trough the headsets.
"Roger. Lestrade, only shoot if it´s absolutely necessary. They can probably hear us and I don´t want more of them trying to eat us." Sherlock grabbed his baseball bat tighter, it was his weapon of choice. John on the other hand was weaponed with an elegant sword. Sherlock had deduced long ago, that John was capable of handling a sword. He had learned to use it, when he was still a teenager and was pretty good at it. Lestrade was holding onto a hockey stick, it was perfect for his height and would keep the zombies at distance.
"Yes, Sherlock." Lestrade moved forward, till he could see the first zombies. They hadn´t discovered them yet.
"I am actually glad that we have these little things.", John said and showed them one of the flashbangs, "Cover your eyes and then we have to move fast."
"Yes, Sir.", replied Sherlock with a smirk. John activated the flashband and threw it over twenty meter to the left. It exploded and the whole park was bathed in light. Immediatly the zombies moved to the light and the little group moved forward to the tree.
"Hello? Ladys?", Lestrade asked uncertain. He couldn´t see anybody in the trees.
"Y- Yeah?... Who is there?", asked someone from above.
"We are here to rescue you. Can you climb down or do we have to get you?"
"No, we can come down by ourselves. Come on, Sarah. Help is here.", said the second women soothingly. They still couldn´t see any of the woman, but after some seconds there was a little thud and one of them landed right in front of them.
"She can´t walk. Who will carry her?", the woman asked. She had a grim expression on her face. Her long black hair was tied back in a tight knot, her almost black eyes were glowing with determination and in her hands she hold a big spanner, ready to swing at one of the undeads. The zombies were already on their way back and Lestrade killed them, when they got in his reach.
"Lisa, I can´t get down like you... So could you give someone give me a hand?", asked the other woman, Sarah, from a lower branch of the tree. Her eyes were closed and she was really pale.
Sherlock stepped forward, he was big enough to reach her. The young man gently moved her down and into his arms as carefully as possible, while John and Lisa started to swing their weapons at the undead. The petite woman in Sherlocks arms had long blond hair and stared at him with blue-green eyes, like she couldn´t believe, that someone really rescued them.
"Okay. We have them. Sabrina, you have to lower down the emergency stretcher. We will be there in a moment, so you have to hurry.", spoke John into the microphone. They moved away from the tree into the direction the came from and had a hard time keeping the zombies away from them.
"Sherlock, give her to me.", John said and Sherlock put the injured woman over to the doctor. She grabbed onto his uniform tight and the exsoldier started to run. The little group fought their way trough the undead and finally arrived at the entrance of the park. The stretcher was already lowered to the ground and John was doing his best, to work as fast as possible on the many belts to secure the woman.
"I won´t go up there!", Sarah suddenly said and her face ashened even further.
"You will. Just close your eyes.", replied Lisa from her side and killed one more zombie with a deadly precision.
"What´s her problem?", asked Sherlock will smashing a zombies skull with his baseballbat.
"Oh, she has Acrophobia, but it´s okay, as long as she doesn´t see how high in the air she is."
"Okay. Sabrina, move the stretcher up, we will follow in some seconds."
"Aye aye, Sir." Lisa climbed up the ladder first, then followed Lestrade, John and then finally Sherlock. The brilliant man had to fight of the zombies trying to grab his foot, while moving higher up the ladder, but Mycroft actually helped him out, by moving the zeppelin higher up into the sky.
Finally all of them were on board and immediatly surrounded by Beverly, Mycroft and Sabrina to help them out of their bloody armours and clothes.
"First mission accomplished, dear brother.", Sherlock said with a big smile on his face and even Mycroft had to grin.
"Move Sarah to the medical treatment room. I will treat her there. Beverly, please show Lisa around and get her settled. Sherlock, I want you to go to sleep, you still look tired and Lestrade... read the kids a bedtime story or something like that.", ordered John, he was still in military mode, probably because of the adrenaline in his veins.
"Is he always like that?", asked Lisa with a worried look.
"No, normally I am the strange one. He is actually a cute guy with a warm heart and cuddly jumpers.", the young man replied with a chuckle. John hadn´t heard him, he was too occupied with his current patient, but the others had and were now looking strangely at him. Sherlock ignored them, laid a hand on Johns shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.
"Good job, John." Then he walked away, probably to sleep.