Sudden Death: A Zombie Novel by James Carlson Page B

Kieran moaned.
    “Well, that’s us fucked then,” Muz said with a wry smile. He didn’t subscribe to that common superstition. “Come on, help me tape off.”
    The two of them tied the red and white cordon tape between lampposts on opposite sides of both the roads, as close to the junction as possible. They may as well not have bothered, Muz thought. Not a single vehicle or pedestrian came their way for a long while.
    “How’s your missus doing?” Kieran asked.
    “Yeah, good thanks,” Muz replied distractedly. “We had the first scan the other day. I couldn’t make out a bloody thing, to be honest, but the Doctor said it was all good.”
    They stood there , standing out against the gloom in their florescent jackets, feeling more than a little impotent, as their radios went crazy with people desperately trying to transmit their messages. All the while, the area they were covering remained completely silent.
    Off in the distance , the rotor blades of the Air Support Unit could be heard cutting through the air, as it circled above the ensuing melee. The occasional sound of someone screaming and the screech of tyres broke what should have been an early morning calm, and at one point, the two officers heard a loud bang.
    “Was that a gun?” Muz asked.
    “Sounded like a shotgun to me,” Kieran answered.
    The sound was followed by a succession of sharp cracks that were the unmistakable rapport of handguns. Both Muz and Kieran’s radios beeped repeatedly, as officers elsewhere were pressing their emergency buttons one after another.
    “Shots fired! Shots fired!” someone called out over their PR.
    The voice of the CCC operator grew higher in pitch, as he struggled falteringly to keep on top of it all.
    “This is total bullshit,” Kieran said, trying to sound annoyed at being stuck so far from the action , but Muz heard the unmistakable tremor of fear in his voice.
    After what seemed like a dragging age, the growing light in the eastward sky became noticeable and birds in the trees took up their morning chatter, as day began to break. Muz looked up. From the early warmth and the clear sky, it was already looking like it was going to turn out to be a pleasant day, as far as the weather was concerned anyway.
    Eventually , they heard the sound of an engine coming towards them along The Ridgeway and a silver 3 Series BMW appeared over the brow of the hill. Kieran put up his hands and directed the car to stop beside him.
    The lone occupant of the car was a white man in his late thirties, though his salt and pepper swept back hair made him look older.
    “What’s going on, officer?” he asked, with an affected air of superiority. “I need to get through.”
    “Sorry, Sir,” Kieran replied. “We’re not able to let anyone through at the moment. There’s been...”
    “Why not? What’s going on?” the man demanded to know.
    “To be honest, your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that it’s some kind of public order incident.”
    “Well, that’s not really good enough, Officer,” the driver responded with an exaggerated sigh of frustration. “I need to get through. I’m going home. I live on Tavistock Avenue.”
    Kieran turned to Muz and raised his eyebrows. On every cordon he had ever stood on, there had always been at least one idiot who demanded to be let through, not seeming to comprehend that police were obviously there for a reason.
    “Sorry, that whole area is closed off,” Muz said now, with an element of finality.
    “Well, how long is this going to bloody take?” the man barked back.
    “Sir, I don’t know,” Muz told him, keeping his voice level and calm.
    “Look, I understand you guys are just doing your jobs,” the man said now, changing his tactic, trying to sound reasonable and friendly. “Can you not just let me through though?”
    “No.”
    “Well, what am I supposed to do?” the man snapped, reverting back already to his angry, aloof manner.
    “All I can suggest,” Kieran