The Corporal glanced to his left, caught the look on Andrew's face and lowered his gun to his feet as did the other soldiers on guard.

"Step back from your weapons," ordered Andrew.

The Corporal took a couple of steps back and as he did there was a rapid crunch of footsteps on gravel and a man in an officer's uniform appeared.

"Scout 1, Scout 2, what is the meaning of this?"

Gareth motioned to Andrew to lower his rifle and walked forward to stand in front of the officer. "Morning Lieutenant. We were having a quick discussion about entering the castle." He bent down, picked up the Corporal's gun, and clicked the safety back on. "May we come in? I'm gagging for a cup of tea."

Lieutenant Osborne's face remained impassive. "Indeed. Corporal Rimmer!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Come and reclaim your gun, please. Private Morphy, please escort our guests to an empty room in the west wing of the castle and make them a cup of tea. I will join you in a moment."

The Lieutenant scrunched off across the gravel and Rimmer snatched his rifle back from Gareth. He glared at Andrew. "You'd better watch your back, kid."

Andrew slung his rifle over his shoulder. "Corporal you couldn't get the drop on me unless you fell on me. I don't know why you're such a bell end, but you might want to work on your people skills."

"Why you little..." started the Corporal but recoiled as Stan walked between him and Andrew. Hope, walking next to Stan, glared at the man as she walked past. "Arsehat," she muttered.

Gareth coughed to cover a grin and ushered the rest of the team in through the gates. "Very much looking forward to a cup of tea," he said brightly, clapping a hand on Andrew's shoulder.

~

A few hours later, the tide had changed in the estuary and the group walked down to the river's edge escorted by the Lieutenant. Gareth had stayed long enough to have a quick cup of tea with them but had made his apologies and left to prepare for his next mission. Osborne bade them wait by an old jetty at a disused yacht club as they peered across the river for their ride.

"I'm sorry you had a bit of an altercation with Corporal Rimmer," Osborne said to Merryn. "He's a good soldier, but not the most personable of men."

Eddie standing behind him huffed. "The man's a complete t..."

"Alright Ed, we get it," said Merryn with a smile. "There's nothing to worry about. I'm sure that next time we come across him we'll sit down and have a cuppa with him and everything will be fine."

"I doubt it," muttered Hope. "He was not happy with Stan being there."

"Ah, here's your water taxi," said the Lieutenant, changing the subject. "I'll leave you in the capable hands of Dave." He saluted Merryn and strode off back towards the castle.

Dave pulled his boat alongside the narrow wooden jetty and kept the engine running to hold its position while everyone clambered on board. He poked his head out of the engine house with a grin. "Good to see you alive!" he shouted. "Let's get you home."

Mal was waiting for them on the dock at the barracks and, as the team disembarked he made a beeline for his friend and enveloped her in a hug. A few muffled words were spoken and after a few moments, Merryn laughed and disengaged. "Good to see you, buddy," she said, drying her eyes with a sleeve.

"You too." Mal looked over the rest of the team. "Well, you look knackered. Come on, let's get you inside, showered, and fed. Um, Hope, we've set up outdoor quarters for Stan for now if that's okay."

Hope had a quick discussion with Stan and then turned and nodded. "Stan's quite happy outside."

"Well he's got his own shed, so I hope he likes it." Mal looked at the grey-skinned man and nodded at him. "Welcome to base Stan, I'm Mal."

Stan nodded and walked up the hill behind the others.

~

"Stan settled in okay?" asked Merryn, dropping her plate of food onto the table next to Hope's.

"He seems fine. You can't really tell with Stan to be honest. He's hard to read."

Merryn laughed and spooned a mouthful of food into her mouth. "The others are coming now," she said in between bites.

For a while the team ate in silence, enjoying the luxury of being in secure surroundings and feeling clean. Andrew took his empty plate up to the kitchen and returned a short time later with what looked like a bowl of custard. He sighed happily and was about to spoon some into his mouth when his expression soured. "I guess there must've been a shift change up at the castle, here comes Corporal Numpty."

Merryn reached across and patted him on the hand. "Keep your eyes on your food Andrew, I'll deal with him if he decides to start."

"Not if I get there first," muttered Hope.

"Easy tiger. Not a deadhead remember, he's on our side." Merryn cast Hope a warning look and she subsided, muttering under her breath.

The Corporal walked past them and his expression darkened for a moment but he kept walking, intent on food rather than fighting.

Eddie breathed a sigh of relief as did Andrew, and the conversation returned to normal levels until a few minutes later when the Corporal walked past them on the way to drop off his empty plate.

"Bloody zombie lovers," he muttered.

Merryn stood up. "Corporal, do you have something to say?"

The soldier stopped, dropped his tray on a nearby table, and turned to face her. "Yeah, I do." Corporal Rimmer moved towards her, chin jutting pugnaciously as conversation in the refectory stopped and people listened in. "You and your little pet here," he gestured at Hope. "Brought back a deadhead that we now have to look after. You're risking our lives for a creature that's probably killed people, killed soldiers, and we're expected to be grateful and happy. Well, screw that. You're not even army, just some junkie who came here and banged on the gate screaming to be let in because you'd wet yourself."

Merryn eyed the corporal. She knew his reputation within the barracks was as a bully. He was a stocky bruiser of a man in his mid-twenties. But as she opened her mouth to reply, Hope pushed past her and faced the man. Her chin was at his chest level and she glared up at him.

"What's the problem, big man? Are you scared that you're going to wake up with a straw in your ear? Do the moans of the deadheads keep you awake at night? Must be easy to have a pop at other people when you're sat here in the safety of the barracks. What is it you do again? Polish the gravel of the parade ground and stuff your face with whatever the scavenger crews bring in? They're out there risking their lives to gather food so you can grow your backside, and pretend to be a soldier. You're nothing but a parade ground wanna-be sergeant. But you'll never make the grade because none of your squad respects you enough. Do you want to test it? Shall we see how many step up to help you when a woman half your size knocks seven bells out of you?"

"Hope," said Merryn. "That's enough, you don't have to challenge this scumbag."

"Back off Merryn." Hope's eyes were lit with fire, anger spilling into the gap between her and the larger frame of the corporal who had involuntarily taken a step back.

Hope stepped back into a fighting stance, hands raised in front of her. "What's it going to be, Corporal? You reckon you're enough of a fighter to take me out?"

"I'm not going to fight you, child," spat the corporal.

"So what, you're going to swagger around making dumbass remarks instead? If you won't fight me then apologise to my friend."

The corporal looked Merryn in the eye and spat on the floor next to her feet.

Hope snapped. Her hand whipped out and she slapped the corporal across the face, her eyes ablaze.

"Bitch!" The corporal swung in a massive roundhouse which missed as Hope ducked inside his guard. As his punch over extended his body, she struck into his now unprotected ribs with her left hand, then jabbed a short but powerful right uppercut into his stomach, the punch driving up into his solar plexus and prompting a whoosh of air from his lungs. As the man staggered backward, Hope followed him, people scattering out of the way. Wheezing, the man managed to draw in a breath, and, as he tried to straighten up, she kicked him in the crotch prompting a moan of sympathy from many of those watching. The corporal hit the deck clutching himself and moaning and she stood over him fists clenching and eyes wild.

"I will gut you," wheezed the corporal scrabbling at his waist for a blade and Hope took a step back, her face set.

"That's enough!" roared Captain Summers, striding into the room. "Corporal, if you pull that blade I will shoot you where you lie. Scout 2, get her the hell out of here and calm her down, drop her in the river if you have to."

Merryn bustled forward and grabbed Hope's arm, leading the furious woman away. The Captain opened his mouth to say more but was drowned out by the tannoy system crackling into life. "Captain Summers please report to the command centre. All personnel to their positions, please. This is not a drill."

There was stunned silence for a moment, followed by a buzz of activity as the crew moved in long-practiced drill into their positions. Summers looked down at the Corporal. "Get to your position soldier. If you make one move against Hope or anyone else, I will make you sleep in the shed with Stan. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."

Summers turned and left the refectory, casting a worried glance out of the window at the countryside beyond.

~

"Where do we go Merryn?" said Andrew following the crowd streaming towards the exit.

"Grab your weapons. Meet me at Tower 2. Scouts report there." She turned to Hope. "Except you. You need to go and talk to Stan, please. Make sure he keeps quiet." Hope nodded and sped off.

A minute later the team clambered up the steps and joined a Sergeant who was standing with a pair of binoculars glued to his eyes and a high-powered rifle leaning against the wall nearby.

"Sergeant. Scout 2 and team reporting for duty."

The man turned and nodded. "Hi, Merryn. If you could position a few rifles along the front here it'd be useful. Thank you."

Merryn nodded an affirmative and set up the rest of the team. "What's going on Dan?"

"Looks like a swarm heading south along the road outside the barracks. We'll see them soon enough."

"What's the plan?"

"We shut up and hope they drift past without noticing we're here."

"Why aren't we taking them out?" asked Eddie.

"Why waste ammunition if we don't have to use it?" replied the Sergeant. "Besides, we don't have much information on these swarms yet. The more information we can get, the better understanding we will have and be able to tackle them better in the future while reducing the risk of losing good people."

The Sergeant's radio crackled and Captain Summer's voice whispered across the airwaves. "Walkers in sight, radio silence until further notice. Do not engage without my express permission. Complete silence. Summers out."

Dan turned the volume knob down and lifted his binoculars, as did Merryn. The road outside the barracks was straight, and clear for several hundred yards to both north and south, and Merryn watched as a two-hundred-strong group of walkers hove into view. They shuffled along, feet scuffing the tarmac, some dragging damaged limbs, others upright. All were grey-skinned, with rotting clothing clinging to their gaunt forms, and remnants of hair clinging to scabrous-looking scalps. Staring ahead with vacant expressions they moved in near silence along the smooth surface of the road outside the base.

"Shit," muttered Andrew without thinking then clapped his hand over his mouth in horror as the Sergeant threw him a look.

As the walkers drew level with the front gate of the barracks they stopped, halting at the same time, and everyone held their breath, hands tightening on weapons and equipment.