"If there's a flare dead ahead, that might be the old lighthouse," said the Coxswain.

"There!" said the Captain pointing. "Patil, take us in, but watch those rocks."

"Aye Captain."

Patil guided the boat towards the flare and as they got closer a white-bearded man in a heavy wool jumper came into view, standing on the rocks waving at them, the slender column of the lighthouse looming behind him.

"Fancy a trip?" said Lily looking at Merryn.

"Yup. Can I take your Sergeant King and the Corporal with me?"

"Good idea. We don't want too many there, but it may not be just him."

Merryn nodded and went to find the two men.

~

As the dinghy drew up to the sea polished granite rocks forming the foundation of the lighthouse, Merryn threw a rope to the lighthouse keeper who pulled them in and tied off the boat on a massive iron ring set deep into the rock.

A tanned and lined face split into a wide smile and he came forward with his hand outstretched. "My name's Jan, I'm the keeper here."

"Merryn, and this is Sergeant King and Corporal Jansen. We're from the base at Exeter, attached to the government on the Isle of Wight."

"Well it's blooming good to see you." The man turned and whistled and a tall dark-haired man stepped out from behind the door of the lighthouse, shouldering a rifle and holding out his hands to show he meant no harm. A teenage girl and younger twin boys stepped out from behind him.

The man strode forward to greet them. "I'm Rob. It's good to see a Navy ship. We thought you looked official, but we wanted to make sure you weren't pirates or scavengers before we came out to say hello."

"Is that a pilot's badge Rob?" asked King, pointing to an emblem on his jumper.

"Yes. I flew helicopters out of Penzance airport to the Scilly Isles back in the day. Come on, come inside and we'll get a brew on. We'd love to hear any news you have."

As the kettle boiled Merryn updated the group on the state of the world, with both Jan and Rob asking occasional questions. After a few minutes, the two boys got tired of the discussion and went into another room to play, joined by the Corporal who got pulled into a noisy game involving wooden blocks.

The girl watched the conversation, her dark eyes missing nothing.

"So how does a pilot end up stuck out here in the middle of nowhere with their family?" asked King.

"Well, the kids aren't officially mine." He smiled at the teenager. "I picked up Jenna and her brothers along the way."

"He saved us," said Jenna. "Then Jan took us in." She moved over to the kettle and poured out mugs of tea, placing one in front of Jan.

The old man took a sip of his tea and sat back in his chair. "When it kicked off it was me and my mate Ken who looked after the station here.

"We'd spend weeks out here, nothing but us and the seagulls, and they're noisy buggers. Back then we were in constant contact with everyone through modern technology and they were talking about automating the lighthouse, so I think our days were numbered, but it was an amazing job and I was nearing retirement so I wasn't too worried.

"We got ferried in via the helicopter pad up on top of the tower. That made it easy to drop in people, supplies, visitors, you name it. Even Prince Charles and his missus popped in once and had a cup of tea. Nice people they were, interested in everything.

"When things kicked off I was quite happy where I was, but my mate Ken who was on duty with me was going frantic. He had a wife and kids on the mainland. When the TV died I turned on the radio to see what we could find out. But then, sudden like, a voice came over the speaker, clear as a bell.

"It was his wife. She'd managed to get to the airfield at Penzance and had found a radio, but she was in trouble." Jan paused, his voice somber; his tone dark, and his hands gripping the arms of the chair.

"She left the mic' open. We listened to the screams as she and her kids died. We heard the feeding and the moans of the undead as they claimed the airfield, and then there was silence.

"As I sat there, stunned and crying, Ken climbed to the top of the lighthouse. A few seconds later his body plummeted past the window to the Rocks below us.

"It was a beautiful day too, for being so tragic. Just like today. The sea was like a mirror then too, the blue of the sky reflected unbroken to the horizon. I'd known Ken for near on twenty years. His wife Morwenna had been the prettiest little thing you ever saw, and his kids? Well, they were their mother's daughters."

Jan gathered himself and sat up in his chair. "A couple of days after I'd given Ken a burial at sea and wondering what the hell I should do next, I was standing on the helipad at the top of the lighthouse, and I spotted something coming towards me. It was a helicopter! Rob."

Rob rested a hand on Jan's shoulder and took over the story. "There were regular runs to the Scilly Isles in those days, taking food, clothes, and supplies. Jan sent up a flare and I landed on top of the tower. I'd managed to scavenge a load of equipment and had filled the cargo bay of the 'copter full to the brim with any useful kit I could lay my hands on. I had been heading out towards the Scilly's, hoping they were uninfected, but as I came past the southwest point of Cornwall I saw Jenna and her brothers running across a field, being chased - albeit not at speed - by a group of walkers. So I dropped the helicopter into the field next to them, threw them in the back and came here when I saw Jan's flare go up."

Merryn leant forward, her eyes intent. "Do you know anything about the Scilly Isles? What state are they in?"

Rob shrugged. "Once I'd dropped off the kids and unloaded stuff here with Jan, I headed to the Scilly Isles to take a look. I had friends there and wanted to see if I could find any of them. The main Isle was overrun. I couldn't see any signs of other pilots or their helicopters and I couldn't see any survivors either so I came back here.

"We did make radio contact with a family on the island of Bryher. I helped them as best I could, and the farmer I'd made contact with did a couple of trips to the main island with me for supplies, but they wanted to stay where they were. He helped me load up one last time and then I came back here a couple of days later with my helicopter stocked full of essentials, but no news, and no more survivors.

"We had to make a choice then. Stay here, or make a run for the mainland, but we didn't think the mainland was safe. So, we unloaded everything, then I landed the 'copter on the smooth rocks about a hundred metres away at low tide. We stripped the thing of anything useful, and then that was the end of it, the sea took it away at the next high tide.

"It wouldn't have stayed on the Helipad over winter, and I guess we always lived in hope someone might find us and that they might need somewhere to land if they had a helicopter.

"We kept in touch with the farming family for a while, but then one day they stopped answering. We're not sure if they're gone or if their radio broke. Ours broke not long after that anyway so we've been cut off ever since."

"We can help with the radio, we have equipment on the ship we can leave here with you." Merryn looked at Rob, her expression thoughtful. "Would you be interested in coming with us and checking out the airfield on the Isles? We could do with a helicopter pilot on the team. And we can go and check on your farmers too and see if they're still there."

Rob nodded. "It's something we've discussed with the kids, they know I'd be asked to join up if the government were back in power. So yes, I'd be up for it, and I'd like to try and find a working helicopter again. Can the family come too?"

Merryn looked at Jan. "Would you be able to cope here for a little longer? We have to swing up the coast on another mission first. We can leave a radio here and any other supplies you need, then we can come back this way and pick you and the family up and get you onto the Isle of Wight with the other survivors."

"Yes, we'll be ok for a bit longer won't we?" Jenna nodded and the old man continued. "We've got enough food and supplies here for about another six months if we need it, so not a problem there. Right, that's settled then. Let's get you on your way."

~

After furnishing Jan with a new radio and some other essential supplies the Cruiser left the lighthouse. As they pulled away there was a deafening roar as the foghorn at the top of the lighthouse sprang into life followed by a shout of "you little buggers!" and Rob, who was standing on the bridge with Patil, Lily, and Merryn, laughed aloud.

Rob shook his head. "Oh dear, poor old Jan's going to have his hands full. Those two boys are full of beans. A couple of weeks ago one of them lowered his brother down the side of the lighthouse on a piece of rope so he could tap on the little kitchen window up there. I thought Jan was going to have a heart attack. I'm glad they're going to get taken to the Isle of Wight, they need the space."

With Rob's additional local knowledge Patil was directed to the south side of the largest of the Scilly Isles, St Mary's. The Cruiser dropped anchor a few hundred metres offshore and once again Eddie directed the drone up into the sky.

"If you head up over the cliff where that sea cave is and take the drone up a couple of hundred metres you should get a decent view of the airfield," suggested Rob.

The bridge crew, with the exception of Coxswain Patil, crowded around the small screen.

"Looks pretty clear," said Merryn. "A couple of walkers near the main hangar there, but the runways look in decent shape and clear, as is the Helipad. So, if we did want to send in an expeditionary force it should be possible. Would there be any helicopters here at all Rob?"

Rob leaned in close to the screen. "If they're anywhere, they'll be in the little hanger on the east side of the runway."

Eddie directed the drone towards the building, but as the drone approached it was evident from the open doors that there was nothing inside.

"Well that's a shame," said Merryn. "But we're not out of options yet. Should we tour around the other islands and see if we can see any signs of life?"

"Yes, we'll do that, then we need to head back towards the mainland and up the north coast." Sands nodded to Patil who hauled in the anchor and moved west towards the island of St Agnes.

As they drew closer to the island, all hands were called on deck to look out for signs of human habitation. Patil steered the boat around the island, moving at a steady speed to give people time to check the coast. Seagulls lined the rocky shores, mocking them as they passed. As they rounded the most south-westerly tip of the island a soldier at the prow of the boat pointed and the lookout's voice crackled across the speaker. "Chimney smoke spotted to the north Captain." Patil moved the ship closer to the shore and what looked like a young man dressed in jeans ran for the house, appearing a moment later with a shotgun and several other people similarly armed.