Mal was waiting on the jetty at the old marine barracks as the boat floated up the river with the tide. The troupe threw ropes to a couple of waiting soldiers and Merryn stepped off the boat into a hug.

"Good to see you Merryn," muttered Mal into his friend's hair.

"You too Mal." She stepped back and waved at the group behind her. "I brought a few friends with me."

Mal waved at the others, a broad grin on his face. "Welcome to Calstone barracks. Come on, let's get you inside and get a hot meal in you."

"Well that sounds like a good start," said Andrew. "Have you got any chocolate?"

~

Merryn paused with her fork in the air and looked at her friend. The teenagers were tucking into their meal, as was Brian, but she frowned and gestured at the two armed soldiers who'd followed them back up from the jetty. "I assume the grunts are here in case any of us turn and go biter?"

Mal nodded, his face sombre. "Captain's orders Merryn. He's being cautious. Your, er, condition is not common knowledge here on the base, so the grunts here have been told to guard the new ones as we don't know them yet. Your return with a bite mark on your arm has stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest of communication amongst the senior staff. Even the prime minister knows who you are now."

"So much for a quiet night then," muttered Merryn, shoving a forkful of pasta into her mouth.

"We should be able to de-escalate things once the doc has checked you over. Then we can get everyone debriefed, and work through the information you've brought back." Mal paused. "I thought I'd lost you for a moment there."

Merryn caught the emotion in Mal's voice and reached out a calming hand to him. "Still here, buddy. You ain't getting rid of me that easy. Besides I bought you some teenagers you can play computer games with. You should be happy. Watch the tall quiet guy though, I reckon he's deadly."

Mal finished his meal and stood. "Good to have you back. Right, I'm on shift, debrief is tomorrow morning, oh nine hundred hours, back here in the canteen. Make sure your team is here and clean and tidy."

"My team eh?" muttered Merryn as Mal wandered off and she eyed up the two soldiers on the other side of the room again.

"Do we get shot if we leave?" Tom put his plate down and sat opposite her, his question quiet and private.

"No, we get shot if we turn into zombies."

He shrugged. "Fair enough. Glad they fed us first though."

As Tom bent over his plate, Merryn studied him thoughtfully. Tom was coming into his prime. He was fit, well muscled, and rangy, but had a guarded look to his eyes.

After a few mouthfuls, he posed another question. "So what's next? Do we sit here for a bit, or do we move on somewhere else?"

"That's sorta up to you really. You'll get offered a place on the Isle of Wight with the other survivors if you want it, or you may be able to stay here if you want to fight or help on the tech side of things. You've handled yourself well in the short time I've known you so I have no worries about recommending that you stay here and help if you wish to. How old are you?"

"Seventeen. Eighteen in a couple of months."

"What about the others?"

"They're between fifteen and seventeen. Andrew's sixteen despite looking like he's twelve, Eddie's a few months older and seventeen, and the other two are fifteen. Andrew and Eddie want to stay here and work with you."

"And you, and the others?"

Tom looked at her and frowned. "I'd like to stay here and help, but I'm not sure how yet. The other two want to go somewhere safe, and Dad will go with them."

"He won't stay with you?"

"He's burned out. Did you notice only the kids carry the weapons?"

"I did wonder."

"Dad had a complete breakdown a month or two ago when we lost some of the troupe. He got me and Andrew back to the hut then he lost it. It's best if he gets to the Isle of Wight and works the land. It'll be good for him. He's a good leader, and a good sailor too so he'd be useful, but he can't face going back into fighting deadheads, he wouldn't survive, and neither would those around him. I'd like to know he's safe somewhere."

"I'm sure there's more to that story than meets the eye," said Merryn. "But that's fine, we all have our stories. If that's what everyone wants then I can make it happen."

Tom finished his meal in silence then stood. "Thank you, Merryn."

"You're welcome Tom, and I hope we keep you here too. We always need good people."

As Merryn finished her meal, a woman in a long white medical coat walked into the refectory area and made her way to sit opposite the scout.

"Hi Merryn," the doctor shook her hand and glanced around at the rest of the room. "Seems you've been busy."

"I brought you some new folks to check over Doc. They're in pretty good health all things considered, but I thought they could do with a feed first before we start with the medical stuff."

"Absolutely right. Food first, prodding later. And how are you feeling?" the doctor leaned forward, her dark eyes intent on Merryn's.

"Tired, but otherwise okay considering I should be moaning at you and trying to eat your brain."

"Merryn, if you've not gone full biter on me yet, then I suspect it's unlikely. Hope's proof of that too. She was bitten some time before you were, as I understand it?"

"Yes, but I don't get it." Merryn stared at her hands. "What the hell am I Doc?

There was a note of despair in her voice and the doctor reached across and clasped her hands. "You are you. You are Merryn, Scout 2. And you have saved a group of kids, a nice chap with a beard and a rather special young lady who could potentially pave the way for the rest of us to become immune like you one day. But there's a lot of work to do before we work that out.

"For now though, please come with me, and let's get the poking and prodding out of the way, then we can have a cup of tea and a chat. Everything's better after a cuppa."

~

Merryn stood at the refectory window listening to the bustle of the kitchen behind her. The sun was casting an orange glow over the rippling water of the river, and a gentle breeze rustled the trees. A family of ducks quacked its way into the reeds at the water's edge and she lifted her tea to her lips, blowing for a moment before taking a sip of the hot liquid.

"Morning Merryn." Hope stood behind her, freshly showered, hair brushed and looking clean. She had a bruise on her head that stood out against her pale skin, but otherwise she looked relaxed and happy.

Merryn lifted an arm and Hope stepped into the one-armed hug, joining her at the window. "This is my favourite spot when I'm on base," she said. "The weather changes by the minute here, and every time you blink there seems to be a different view, something else to see and you can forget for a moment what else is out there."

"Thank you for bringing me here," said Hope. "I've not felt safe for a long time. I'd forgotten what it was like."

"You seemed pretty able to look after yourself from what I saw at the docks," noted Merryn.

"Survival isn't the same as safe," said Hope. "I can beat anyone I know in a fair fight, and can usually hold my own when it comes to learning and knowledge too. But here feels different. It's the first time since the Outbreak that someone has genuinely seemed to care. I've not felt that since I left Dad to go to university."

"You studied in Plymouth?"

"I'd been there for two years doing medicine. Top of my class. I was also in the university karate team, UK under twenty one champion. But walkers don't need a good bedside manner, and don't feel a kick in the guts."

"Well that explains a few things. I was somewhat in awe when you took out that man on the roof with the sword."

"I always did have a short fuse when people threatened me," said Hope.

There was a bustle of noise from behind them and Brian and his troupe joined them as did Mal, the doctor, and Captain Summers a few moments later. Merryn and Hope moved towards a table and they sat down as the Captain perched on the corner of a table, looking at them and spreading his arms in welcome.

"Welcome to Calstone. I'm glad you made it to us. You are safe here. Merryn, welcome home.

"First, and most importantly, the doctor has given you the all-clear." Summers looked to the back of the room where the two guards still stood with guns in hand. "Private, Lance Corporal, you are dismissed. Thank you."

As the two uniforms left the room, Andrew breathed an audible sigh of relief, and Summers cast him an amused look.

"Now, as I understand it, Brian, you and two of your troupe would like to join our main group on the Isle of Wight?"

"Yes sir," said Brian. "If that's okay with you."

"It is. I would like you to skipper your reclaimed sailboat there if that's okay. You will be taking one of our medical staff there along with blood samples from Merryn and Hope, and several of our soldiers will be joining you too. Once there I have a feeling you'll be joining our agriculture team, with occasional missions as it seems you are a quite accomplished sailor from what Merryn tells me."

"I sailed most weekends with my boys before the outbreak," said Brian, looking across at Tom. "They were some of the best times of my life. If I can help by teaching others to sail, then I'm happy to do that. And I grew up on a farm so it'll be nice to get back to the land. Thank you."

"Well that leaves you three," said Summers looking at Andrew, Eddie, and Tom. "We're happy to have you here if you'd like to join us. You are experienced at finding food, scouting, and surviving in general. We always need good people. We'll put you through some basic army training, but Merryn's proposed we form a scout unit with her and you three together."

All three nodded.

"What about me?" Hope had raised her hand but lowered it again with a smile as Eddie giggled at her reaction.

"You have a choice, Hope. Think about what you would like to do and talk it through with Merryn. The doctor has confirmed we have everything we need from you for now so we have no reason to keep you on base or confine you here. You have medical knowledge, but also useful field knowledge too. There's no hurry. Mull things over."

Summers moved over to the wall and pulled across a panel that had been used as a blackboard. Behind it was a map of the local area.

"We are here. You came from here." Summers traced the coast west back towards Plymouth. "And that is where we need to go back to.

"The information we have now from Gareth, Scout 1, Merryn, and your team seems to show the docks are largely untouched by the gangs, in particular the restricted area where you found Hope. That is probably due to the sheer number of walkers there, but it may also be a gang border too.

"We know there are weapons there, as well as information, medical supplies, welding gear, fuel, food, clothing, and a lot more as it was used as a depot for the navy, has workshops used for maintenance and refitting, and many other areas used by construction firms too. Getting any useful stuff back here in one piece is the problem. Before the outbreak, it was an hour by road, but now the roads are far from clear. And we now know from your information that in the city there are not only deadheads but also several well-equipped and vicious gangs. So what do we do?"

"Go by sea," said Andrew. "Er... oops, sorry. Did I spoil the surprise there?" Eddie punched him in the arm and muttered "teacher's pet" under her breath.

Summers chuckled. "Exactly. The sea. One of the gents here, Dave, is a local fisherman and knows this coast well. We have found a large fishing trawler upriver, and some of the team here have managed to get it working, including the crane onboard so we can fill the hold. So, the idea is we send a team to the docks, find whatever we can, load it onto the ship, secure the cargo in the hold, and bring it back here. We're great at doing quick hit-and-run supply missions and scrounging food and materials from local depots, DIY stores, and supermarkets, but if we can hit a proper naval supply depot, we can pick up a huge amount of stuff in one hit. Our colleagues on the Isle of Wight have carried out similar runs to depots in Portsmouth and Southampton with great success. We're next. Any questions?"

Eddie cleared her throat. "What about the gangs?"

"Good question. I'm hoping Merryn will be able to scout ahead a little, perhaps using one of our drones so it's safer and provides some intel there. I'd prefer it if we didn't engage with them if we can help it."

Eddie nodded in agreement. "Won't they hear us coming if we're using a fishing boat? They use diesel engines, don't they?"

"Another good question. We're hoping to float the boat in with the tide. Our ship has a sail on it, so it should provide enough pull to get it into place, then we use the engine to high tail it out of there once we have everything on board. The crane winch also makes a noise, so we're going to have to make sure we use that for heavy or awkward items, and just before we need to depart."

Eddie sat back, appearing satisfied with the responses, and Summers moved away from the map. "Ok, that's me done. Doc, over to you."

Doctor Habirah took the Captain's place by the map. "Medically speaking, you are okay. That's the good news. Some of you are a little thinner than I'd like but we can sort that out with some good food. Hope, Merryn, I have run all the tests I can on you here, you're clear as far as I'm concerned and I don't think there's any immediate danger of you going zombie on us. But if you feel odd, you know where I am. I have taken blood samples, and Brian and the team will be sailing those up to the lab in the hospital on the Isle of Wight.

"Hope, you are remarkable. I'm glad we found you." She paused and looked at them. "But I am interested to know more about the walker you saw as you left Plymouth.

"We called him Stan," offered Andrew. "'Cos he looked a bit like Stan Laurel from the Laurel and Hardy films. "He's tall, thin, pale, and looks like he needs a good meal."

"Well you tick all the same boxes there apart from the 'tall' one?" muttered Eddie under her breath.

"I've heard zombies go for brains, so you're not in any trouble," retorted Andrew.

"Knock it off you two," said Brian firmly. "Honestly, teenagers. Even in the middle of an apocalypse..."

Merryn grinned at him and continued where Andrew had left off. "He's different from a normal walker Doc. He managed to sneak up on us, and got to within a few metres. When Andrew pointed a gun at him he shied away and raised his hands. He could see us, or at least sense what we were doing. When I waved, he waved back. But other than that he looked like a normal deadhead; grey skin, dressed in rags, skin and bone..." she trailed off.

"Except for his eyes," interjected Andrew. "He had dark eyes, not the normal sightless grey ones the walkers have. Did he blink? I'm sure Stan could see us. I heard something moving around when we stayed in the hut by the river the day before we picked up Merryn. But it wasn't a human or a walker, it may have been Stan now I think about it." He shrugged.

"So we're saying that it was something new?" suggested the doctor and Andrew nodded. Habirah looked across at the Captain. "We need to know what that is."

"Why?" asked Eddie.

"Because Stan may well be as vital as Hope is," replied the doctor. "Different could mean we have a chance to change the current situation. He may represent a way to revert zombies back to some semblance of humanity. Or he may be a variant in the virus we've not come across, or he may be a mutation or some sort of hybrid. The more information we have, the more equipped we are to deal with things.

"My colleagues and I have long been concerned about the original virus mutating, and that hypothesis may be proved true if Hope has now provided us with a potential vaccine. But, any vaccine we produce now may only be useful against the original virus. If we're seeing mutations in the virus or the zombies themselves then we could be up against any number of variations in the coming months and years. It's imperative we not only get a vaccine developed but we also see what Stan is too."

"I hope Stan doesn't get seasick," muttered Tom.

"When do we ship out?" asked Andrew, looking nervous.

Summers looked at him. "Brian's crew will leave tomorrow, the rest of you will be heading out next week when the tide is able to bring you into the docks at sunrise. That'll give you a day to grab as much equipment and supplies as you can, try and find Stan, and check out the lay of the land. In the meantime, I'd suggest you rest up, get some food in you, and we give you some basic training."

Andrew nodded. "Okay. May I have some breakfast now?"