British Zombie Breakout: Part Two by Peter Salisbury

Chapter 1: The Minister
Calls
    Deep underground in a concrete bunker, a phone rang in an
untidy office. The bunker was located twenty feet beneath the
surface of a fenced compound. Within the compound were several flat
roofed concrete sheds sufficient for detaining and processing up to
a thousand people.
    The phone was answered by a bald man in his fifties wearing a
white lab coat.
    'Yes?'
    'Is that the head of Breathdeep Biological Research
Facility?'
    'Professor Mason speaking,' the scientist said, putting down
the scan of a terminally infected skull he'd been
studying.
    'At last! This is the Minister for Home Affairs.'
    'I see. I expect you want my report on the breakout?' Albert
Mason looked around his office: crowded desk, paperwork overflowing
beside the computer, and a bookcase stuffed with academic papers
and folders full of case-studies. There was also a wall-mounted
lightbox with several x-rays of skulls clipped to it and a square
of material on the floor which may once have resembled carpet.
Everything in fact, except said report. Still holding the phone, he
got up and pushed the door shut with his foot.
    In a stern and haughty voice, the Minister continued, 'The
report, doubtless with its full catalogue of excuses, can wait.
What I want right now is something I can use to reassure the Prime
Minister.'
    Mason sighed and cleared his throat. He'd had no break of any
sort since the alarm went off at 4 a.m. and it was now heading
towards midday. 'You can reassure the PM with the fact that the
army is rounding up every infectee…'
    'Infectee! Don't use your jargon with me, Mason. These are
zombies plain and simple. Creatures maddened by one of the most
infectious diseases ever created. Zombies created initially in your
facility from an illegal deterrent weapon. One which was never
meant to be used but also was never, ever to reach the population
of England. Zombies, which, although once human beings, have been
transformed by your vile disease into psychopathic monsters intent
on murder and contamination of anyone they can get their hands
on!'
    Mason waited until he thought the minister had reached the end
of his tirade. 'As I was saying, Minister, the army has been
deployed under my direction. The zombies …'
    'All escaped from your supposedly secure research facility
last night. Where is it they've gone to this time?'
    'Instead of heading inland like before, they went straight to
the nearest fishing village, a place called Kilkorne.'
    'That's something of a blessing, I assume. How many innocent
people have they slaughtered so far?'
    'You may further reassure the Prime Minister that most of the
occupants of the village were working, either in towns some
distance away, or had left two days ago with the fishing fleet. We
have made contact with all vessels in the fleet and they are to
remain at sea until further notice.'
    'So, we know at least that they were not contaminated. What
damage was done in the village?'
    'The less reassuring aspect is that the infec… er, the zombies
rampaged through the school on the way through the village to get
to the harbour. However, in the last hour I've received direct
communication that they have been surrounded by the army and either
killed or captured, together with any remaining
villagers.'
    'Children! Can you imagine what the media are going to do with
this?'
    'We found only one child who was actually injured, none
infected, we think.'
    'Are all the other civilians accounted for?'
    'Unfortunately not.'
    'What? You had better not be about to tell me that the country
is to be subjected to the scale of terror your 'Facility' dumped in
our laps last time!'
    Professor Mason sank down into the chair behind his desk. He
decided against reminding the Minister that it was his ambitious
young predecessor who had made the zombie weapon. For the next
forty seconds he held the phone away from his ear as the Minister
for Home Affairs gave vent to his anger. Mason occupied himself
meanwhile by