"Control, this is Scout 2, do you read me?"

"Merryn! Where the hell have you been? You scared me to death! Gone for days with no news. We've been worried sick. I've been worried sick." There was a pause. "It's good to hear your voice."

"It's good to hear yours too, Mal. Listen, it's going to take a few days for me to get back. And I need to make sure it's safe for you and the others at the base."

"Need to make sure what's safe?"

"I got bitten, Mal."

"Oh hell. But hang on a moment. When?"

"A couple of days ago, when I went in to rescue Hope. But she ended up saving me."

"Hope? Okay, hold it there please. I need to get the Captain."

Merryn sat in silence and looked over at Hope who was eating her way through a tin of pineapple chunks. A zombie staggered past them in the old canteen, and Merryn absentmindedly pushed it away. Hope smiled at her and carried on stuffing her face.

"Scout 2, this is Captain Summers, it's good to hear your voice."

"Thank you sir."

"Sounds like you've had an interesting time of things."

"Er, yes sir. You could say that. I found the young woman you mentioned on the drone footage. She's called Hope. She was bitten, but survived. She'd escaped from a group of men, one of the local gangs, and managed to get into the compound here. Some of the men had died trying to get to her, but others retreated.

"When I got here she'd been living off food in the canteen here. It was as you said sir, the place is pretty much untouched. As I was planning to leave we were attacked by a group of men who came in quietly and were taking out the walkers with crossbows."

She patted the stock of the weapon she'd liberated from one of the dead men and continued. "We stopped them, but I got bitten as we were making our way out. Hope promised not to let me become one of them, but when I passed out after the bite, instead of sticking a bullet in me like she promised she would..." Hope paused in her chewing and stuck out her tongue at Merryn who ignored her and carried on, "...she bit me instead and I woke up staring down the barrel of a gun."

Merryn paused, the memory of waking up after the bite still raw, the insecurity of her current state still gnawing at her.

"So what now Merryn?" asked the Captain softly. "Mal mentioned you were going to take a few days to get back to us."

"Yes, sir. We're going to try sailing up the coast, and that will give me a bit of time to come to terms with this, but also to make sure I'm not contagious to you, or the others at the base. But there's something else sir."

"Yes?"

"Hope and I have been looking around and there's a lot of gear here. We've covered a fair bit of ground, something we can do more easily now the walkers aren't interested in sucking our brains out through our ears anymore. I've got things itemised and catalogued as best I can and will give you a list when we get back. There's a few places we haven't been able to get into and they'll require specialist equipment to get them open, but other than that, there's a lot of good kit here we could make use of."

"Ok, Merryn, that's fine. Thank you for spending some time cataloging what's there, it's appreciated and I look forward to seeing your report."

"Yes sir, but there's something else."

"Yes, Merryn?"

"When we come back, I need to know we'll be treated like humans, not like lab rats. I expect to be questioned, given a medical and have blood samples taken and all that stuff, but if the doctors are intending to stick me in a cell and dissect me then I reckon Hope and I will stay here."

"You have my word, Merryn. In fact, you and Hope make a rather special team. If you're immune, and the walkers don't notice you as you've said, then you can go places we can't. That has serious possibilities."

"Thanks, Captain."

"Not a problem Merryn, you've done well. Summers out."

"Hi Merryn, Mal here again. So I guess this means I'm buying you a pint when you get back then?"

"You'd better be, Mal. I'm armed and dangerous again, and more importantly, I have access to cans of tinned pineapple.

There was a long pause. "Mal?"

"Sorry Merryn, I was having a rather nice dream about pineapple juice. I don't suppose there's any condensed milk there?"

"Don't push your luck, radio boy."

There was a chuckle from the other side of the ether, and then a brief buzz of static.

"Look after yourself kid, I'll see you when you get back."

"I look forward to it, Mal. Scout 2 out."

Merryn switched off the radio and sat back in her chair.

"So what now Merryn?" Hope placed the empty tin of pineapple on the table.

"Now? Well I'm wondering what else there is here. I've always fancied learning how to drive a tank for example. But we'll have to wait until we can get some cutting gear down here to get into some of the warehouses."

Hope grinned at her. "We do have a slight problem."

"We do?"

"Yes, we're out of pineapple."

"Oh, pants. Ah well, Mal will have to wait then won't he."

"Are you and Mal..."

"Hell no, he's not my type. But he's a good friend, and the nearest thing I have to a family now."

Hope flushed. "Sorry Merryn I didn't mean to be nosey, it's been a long time since I talked to anyone about normal things."

"No worries, there's not much normal around these days. It's been nice spending a little time with someone who isn't in the army actually. That and the fact the food here is a damn sight better. Right, next job, we need to go and talk to a man named Brian and his family."

~

"Ready?"

Hope nodded and Merryn eased her way through the narrow gap between the gates. Both her and Hope had scavenged backpacks and rifles from the downed gang members and both had crossbows in their hands.

"So what's the plan?" asked Hope.

"We need to get back over the river. See the concrete jetty over there? That's where I launched from, and that's the way back to the scouts."

The sound of a bullet being chambered stopped them in their tracks and they turned around slowly.

"Well, hello ladies!" A tall gangly man holding a gun stood in the shadow of the building. Lank greying hair hung to his shoulders and a scar twisted his face in a sardonic smile. Three more men ranged out either side of the leader, with crossbows trained on Merryn and Hope.

"What you're going to do now ladies is place your weapons on the ground. Any sudden moves and we'll shoot you. Then we're going to have a little chat, somewhere nice and private and comfortable away from our undead friends. You're going to tell us what you know, and then we're going to have a drink and maybe a little party." He leered at the women, eyes traveling up and down their bodies.

"You don't appear to be my type," said Merryn glaring at him.

"Come on Chig, let's shoot them, strip 'em and dump 'em in the river. We ain't got time for this."

Chig turned his sardonic smile on the man to his left. "We've always got a little time to make pleasant with the ladies Will."

The man gestured with his gun. "Kit on the ground ladies please."

There was a dull thud and one of the men keeled over with an arrow in his stomach. A millisecond later the other two men either side of Chig hit the concrete of the dock as crossbow bolts slammed into them. Chig's eyes widened and then a single rifle shot sounded and blood blossomed from the man's chest.

Merryn spun around to see Tom, Eddie, Andrew and one of the other scouts approaching from the river.

"Grab your kit, Hope, and the guns and ammo from our newly deceased friends, and let's get the hell out of here." A chorus of moans started up behind them, and Tom motioned them towards the river.

"Help me." Chig's sidekick Will lay on the ground, his face ashen as his hands scrabbled at the wound in his stomach. Merryn kicked away the man's crossbow and bent down next to him. "Don't let the walkers get me," he said.

Merryn nodded. She pulled out her bayonet and slammed the blade up under his chin into his brain with a sickening crunch. She wiped the blade clean and checked the other downed men quickly, picking up Chig's gun.

As they reached the edge of the dock, she looked down to the edge of the water and was greeted by the sight of Brian and his troupe seated astride a solid-looking raft built of wooden poles, plastic barrels and planks.

"It's been a while since we built one of these," he muttered. "Good to see you Merryn."

"Thank you for coming to get us."

The man nodded. "Right you lot, let's get the hell out of here."

~

A short time later they sat around a cook fire at the Sea Scout hut. A simple stew bubbled over the flames in a large pot, and Merryn breathed in the scent of tomatoes, herbs and some spiced sausage. Andrew was absent, keeping watch and Tom doled out food into tin plates.

Since their return, Merryn had filled them in on what had happened to her and Hope, and Brian was getting her up to speed on what the troupe had been doing while they waited for them to return.

"The large boat in the shed is in good condition, Andrew was right. The gear is intact and whoever stowed it knew what they were doing so it looks like it'll work okay. We've got it as ready as we can, and the next step is to get it to the slipway over there and launch next time the tide starts to recede so we can use the river to take us out to sea. We've found a local store with some food in it and the team raided that and brought what they could find back here. We've only had one walker join us and Andrew spotted it and alerted Eddie so she could bolt it before it caused any problems." Brian paused.

Merryn threw him a questioning look "What's up?"

"Andrew did say he heard something large moving around last night. The kid's got ears like a bat and although he said it didn't come near enough to cause any concern he said he felt like he was being watched."

"Do you reckon it's a solo?"

Brian looked confused.

"Sorry, army slang. A solo is a lone survivor, ex-army or survivalist type living off the land and their wits. They don't tend to cause too much trouble normally and tend to keep themselves to themselves, although sometimes they can go caveman and revert to a beast-like mentality."

Brian shrugged. "He's not sure, couldn't see anything, more of a gut feeling, but I'd trust that kid's senses, he's kept us alive several times in the past because of his instincts."

"Noted. Well, there's not a lot we can do about that now. How long 'til high tide?"

"A couple of hours. We'll need to get moving soon." Brain reached out and grabbed her arm, his face mirroring his concern. "Are you okay Merryn? With the bite and all?"

"You mean am I going to go deadhead on you and start trying to kill you and the kids?"

He nodded. "They're my priority. I have to ask the question."

She smiled at him. "Health and Safety first? The honest answer is that I don't know Brian. But Hope has survived with the bite for some time and I've been a day or two now. If I start showing any signs I'm changing, you have my permission to shoot me and dump me over the side."

She undid her gun belt and handed it to Brian with its pistol dangling in its holster. "You know how to use this?"

He nodded. "All of us know how to handle pistols and rifles."

"When we get to Exeter you can let me have it back, but for now, that's your insurance. Is that okay?"

"Thank you, Merryn. I can see why they sent you out here, you're quite something you know."

"I'm not the one who's kept these kids alive Brian. Come on, let's get this boat moving."

Brian took the proffered hand, she hauled him to his feet, and they walked off towards the boatshed.

~

"Right you lot. Have we got everything?"

A chorus of "Yes Brian" was returned and the bearded face split into a rare grin.

"Has everyone been to the toilet?"

"Ah come on, really Brian?"

"Sheesh, seriously?"

"Sorry kids, couldn't resist. It's been a while." Brian turned to the stern. "Cast off please Andrew, and keep an eye out to the rear until we're clear. Eddie, keep an eye portside, Tom to starboard. The rest of you, up front and checking for obstacles, sandbanks or anything weird."

"Um, sir?"

Brian turned to face Hope. "Yes, Hope?"

"Can I help somewhere?"

"Yes, why don't you join Eddie on the port side. That's the city side so I suspect we may be at more risk from that side than the other."

Hope moved over and sat next to Eddie who nodded at her and offered her a drink from her canteen.

"She seems like a good 'un," said Brian.

"Aye, she is," replied Merryn. "Fierce when she needs to be too, definitely more to that one than meets the eye I think."

As the boat eased away from the shore, Merryn turned to look behind them just as Andrew turned to face her, his mouth wide and pointing. At the shoreline stood a single figure. A walker. Its skin was grey, and the ragged remnants of a tracksuit clung to its gaunt frame. But its gaze was steady.

"Is that thing looking at us?" asked Merryn.

Andrew turned and raised his new rifle and the creature raised both hands, turning its head away.

"Wait!" commanded Merryn and strode to the rear of the boat, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder as the walker lowered its arms again. Without thinking, she raised a hand and waved and the walker studied her as the distance between them grew from a few metres to ten metres. It lifted a hand, waved back and then shuffled back into the tree line.

"What the actual hell was that?" muttered Andrew. "I'm sorry Merryn I didn't even notice him until the smell hit me.

"Him?"

"Sorry?"

"You said 'him' Andrew."

"I did, didn't I?" The boy paused, still looking back at the receding shoreline. "He didn't act like a normal walker. I can sense those a mile away. This guy got to within a few meters of the boat. What was that?"

"I don't know, but it'll give us something else to talk to Captain Summers about when we get back to base won't it."

Brian swung the boat out into the main river channel, the silty water swirling around the sides of the boat as it picked up speed with the current. "Okay you lot, stay on your toes. We've got a fair bit of city to get past yet. You can relax when we hit the sea. Until then, you have your stations. Let's not lose anyone else now."