Lily helped Merryn with the straps on her rucksack. "The folks inside understand that you'll be able to get through the throng surrounding the power station. We've told them you're immune and although they seemed surprised they smiled too, so I think they'll be okay. They're scientists and engineers so they should understand nature will take a hand here and throw up some interesting variations to the original virus.

"The jetty we're tied up to leads to the perimeter fence of a new power station complex. It's complete but not operational yet. The perimeter fence for the new station is there and complete so you'll be unable to get into the new build area. And you won't want to, it's teeming with trapped walkers wandering around in fluorescent jackets and construction gear. Our group is holed up in the older part of the power station with the reactor built in the eighties. It's a concrete monstrosity, but it is at least secure. They've recommended going down the jetty, then using an access ladder to get onto the foreshore. Follow the perimeter fence to the east, and you'll see a gate. They will let you in there and provide an escort. To get you in they will need to switch off the power to that section of fence. As soon as they do so, any walkers in the area will become active and be able to approach the fence and maybe you too. They will signal you when the fence is safe to approach. Do not approach it before they signal you as the electromagnetic field around it is huge."

Sands gave her a quick hug. "Good luck Merryn."

"Thank you." Merryn caught the look of concern on her face. "Don't worry, I'll be okay."

Lily nodded and walked back to the bridge.

Eddie, standing behind the glass at the top of the ship, gave her the thumbs up and the drone lifted into the air as Merryn climbed up onto the long concrete jetty.

~

It was as Merryn descended the ladder to the shoreline that she spotted the walkers. A few of them were wandering around on the exposed rocks, one still with a dog lead draped around their neck, its slack-jawed owner a stumbling wreck of a human with bones exposed in its left arm and patchy hair hanging lank from its scalp.

Merryn picked her way along the low cliff separating the tidal river from the power station, then made her way up a convenient set of concrete steps at the start of a sea wall so she could get a closer look at the fence and her destination.

The drone buzzed overhead its quadruple rotors holding it steady some fifty metres up. There were a great many more walkers on the flat area between the sea wall and the fence, with the ones closer to the fence moving less. Merryn stayed as close to the sea wall as she could and walked on, being careful to avoid contact with the walkers.

After a few hundred metres, the view changed from more modern concrete and building works to more established buildings and there were no walkers trapped on the other side of the fence dressed in fluorescent site garb.

There were a couple of people in warm-looking clothes smiling at her through the fence. A man and a woman in their thirties nodded and waved at her pointing down the coast a little further and she gave them a thumbs up.

There was a larger group of people waiting another hundred metres along the fence by a sturdy-looking gate, a gate that led to a fenced-off area inside the main fence, and a second gate, constructed so one vehicle at a time could enter the compound to maintain security.

A man stood by another whiteboard, nodded at her, and pointed at the board which she read. Concise instructions were listed there and she confirmed her understanding with yet another thumbs up.

The man pulled a radio from his belt and pressed a button on it three times. Looked at Merryn and counted down from three on his fingers.

As the power dropped, the walkers standing nearby jerked into action, and a collective moan rose from the ranks.

Merryn sprinted forward and opened the gate, slapping it shut behind her. She then ran to the internal gate and waited as an operative on the other side opened it to let her in.

As the second gate shut and was bolted closed the first man lifted his radio again and this time spoke aloud. "Power up."

As he did three guns were cocked and pointed at Merryn and she lifted her hands. "Hi. Thank you for letting me in. I'm Merryn."

The man in charge walked forwards and looked her in the eye, then held out his hand which she shook as the others lowered their weapons. "Mark. I'm in charge here. Come on, let's get you inside."

Merryn waved at the drone in the sky above her and then followed the group inside the building.

~

"Cruiser, this is Scout 2, do you read me? Over."

"Scout 2, this is Cruiser, good to hear your voice Merryn. We heard the moan go up from the walkers. Everything looked okay from the drone though, so we're assuming you have a cup of tea in your hand as usual."

"Yes, thanks, Captain. All is well here, and I'd like to introduce you to Mark, who's the man in charge over here."

"Hello Captain, Mark Bater here. I'm the chief engineer of the facility."

"Hi Mark, I'm Captain Lily Sands and I work for the UK government which is now located on the Isle of Wight. Nice to hear your voice. You have the place well organised."

"We try Captain, but at the moment we're getting a little concerned about our guests outside the gates who are somewhat attracted to us and seem desperate to come in and join us. We're now in a bit of a Catch 22 where we can't turn off the power to the fences because we're worried they'll breach the fences, but if we don't turn off the power soon we're going to end up blowing a fuse somewhere and the power will go out anyway.

"When you say 'blowing a fuse' Mark, I suspect it's somewhat more dramatic than that."

"The reactor here is well contained and not in any danger of going boom, but we are predicting an imminent failure in the systems powering our zombie fence. You saw what happened earlier. As soon as we switch it off, they moan, then they start to move. We managed to slip someone out to call for help, but they ran pretty fast, as did Merryn when she came in."

"Well Mark, we may be able to help here." Sands outlined the technique they had used with the swarm at the base in Exeter and Mark and the other survivors listened without interruption until she'd finished.

Mark looked around at his team. "Right, ideas please folks."

A diminutive woman with greying frizzy hair and glasses put up her hand.

"Yes, Marjorie. You don't need to put up your hand, by the way, we're well past school age."

"Thank you, Mark. You really do remind me of my old head teacher though. Sound is the key it would seem. We have tannoy systems located around the perimeter of this facility. So, if we add in a few switches so we can control which are on or off, we should be able to lead the horrible horde along the fence. Most of them are on the land side, a relative few are on the shoreline. So if we lead them there, then with luck they'll wander off into the river."

"May I add something?" asked Lily.

"Of course Captain," replied Mark.

"Well, I love that idea, top job Marjorie," said Lily over the radio. "But if we can lead them down onto the shore then I'm thinking perhaps the ship's tannoy can also chime in then and we can try and lead them further down the coast away from you. We can also try and shoot the hell out of them as we go, to try and reduce their numbers a bit. We picked up a rather large amount of ammunition in Plymouth and there's more down there we can pick up on the way back. My crew could do with a bit of target practice."

Mark nodded in appreciation. "Excellent. Marjorie, how long will you and your team need to sort out the switches on the sound system?"

Marjorie thought for a moment. "I reckon a couple of hours if Sidha and Tain give me a hand."

Mark clapped his hands in approval. "Grab the people you need Marjorie, you're in charge, let's get this done." He turned his attention back to the radio.

"Captain, our electronics team reckon they'll be ready in two hours. Is that enough time for you?"

"Sounds good Mark, we'll be ready. Marjorie, what are you intending to play across the tannoy?"

~

Two hours later, the tannoy system crackled into life across the landward side of the power station fence, bagpipe music playing across the airwaves as Mark cut the power to the fence. As before, the walkers responded with a group moan that raised the hairs on people's necks and made many shudder.

"I'm not bloody surprised they're moaning this time," muttered Mark.

"Not a fan of the pipes?" asked Merryn with a faint smile.

"I prefer a bit of violin, mind you, we're not trying to lull that lot out there to sleep are we?"

Marjorie was sitting at a desk in the power station's control room, a bank of monitors and a whole new system of buttons in front of her, and she watched the CCTV system like a hawk.

"There they go," said Mark.

The walkers outside the fence started to move, some taking a staggering step forward. Marjorie flicked a couple of buttons and the speakers changed from a non-stop full volume blare to a rippling wave of sound, speakers going from high to low volume to produce a Mexican wave of noise that flowed around the perimeter fence.

Walkers began to shuffle east, random movements becoming more concentrated as more and more of the deadheads flowed around the power station.

Mark's hands were white-knuckled on the arms of his chair as he leant forward to watch the CCTV. Guards were stationed along the inside of the fence, watching as the horde moved.

"Well done, Marjorie, keep it up. We'll need to wait until the majority of the walkers are around the perimeter and heading towards the shoreline before we call the Cruiser."

"Shush Mark, please. I'm trying to concentrate," snapped Marjorie. "Let me do this."

"Sorry, Marj." He turned to Merryn. "I'll shut up for a bit."

"Good plan," said Merryn, still watching the walkers.

"Ready?" said Marjorie. "Now!"

"Cruiser, this is Station, they're all yours Captain."

The distant wail of the Cruiser's sirens reached them inside the control tower, and Marjorie played with the volume on the tannoy system, trying to entice a few last walkers around the fence. Thousands of deadheads were continuing to move around the perimeter and were tumbling over the low cliff onto the shoreline where they staggered along, some broken and crawling, others getting closer and closer to the Cruiser.

As they watched, the Cruiser moved West, still blaring out as much noise as it could muster, drawing walkers along the coast, some staggering into the river, most following the rocks and shingle of the shore.

After an hour or so of intense concentration, Marjorie sat back in her seat and looked over at Mark. "We're done, Mark. Most of them have moved, but there are still a few left wandering around here and there, but I don't think we have any more than about fifty in the immediate area of the fences. Do we need to put the power back on?"

"No. This gives us an opportunity to rest the systems, carry out some maintenance and make sure everything is working. Well done Marj, top job."

"I'm going to make a call, Mark," said Merryn, walking across to the radio.

"Cruiser, this is Scout 2."

"Scout 2, Cruiser here. We've got most of the swarm heading west now, and we're going to light 'em up and see how many we can take out. Also, there's a group of fifteen marines heading your way. We decided to test out one of the new inflatables yesterday and Sergeant King suggested we drop a team east of you to keep an eye on the walkers' movements as they rounded the perimeter.

"I left them hiding in the woods this morning, and they're geared up with silenced rifles and will start taking out the remaining walkers now. So please keep your people inside Mark until Sergeant King gives the all-clear. We'll get your area safer and give you folks a bit of respite. Sands out."

"Sounds like the Captain has things well in hand," said Mark.

"She's a smart one," said Lily. "Look, you can see King and his marines there." She pointed at one of the CCTV screens, noting a group of marines working their way along the perimeter fence taking out the few hundred walkers that remained.

Mark sat back in his seat and relaxed. "Thank you, Merryn."

~

Several hours later, King's voice crackled over the radio. "Scout 2, this is Sergeant King."

"Sergeant, this is Scout 2, go ahead."

"Merryn, we've pretty much cleared the area now, so please let the folks there know they're safe to leave the fenced area if they wish to. But hi-vis jackets are a good idea.

"But there's something else. You may want to check your access road camera. We're not close enough to identify yet, but there's a group of people walking in, five of them. One carrying another on their back. It might be Scout 1 and his team."

"Thanks, Sergeant, we'll check that out."

Mark was already working the controls of the CCTV system and flipped one of the cameras onto the main screen in the control room.

"Well there's Andrew and Tom," said Merryn, and someone's carrying Gareth. And there's a young lad there too. But..."

"What the hell is that?" muttered Mark.

Merryn shook her head in disbelief. "That appears to be a walker in a rather smart floral dress, wearing a nice hat."