The Silence Before The Storm

Willem was already starting on his 3rd bottle of rum while at diner when he saw Alex come in. he stood up, opened his arms while still holding the bottle of rum and screamed to her completly forgetting his manners

Alex! your late, have seat you need to eat good because we have to work tonight, rum?

he tossed the half full bottle of rum towards alex and uncorked another one. he then sat back and waited till everyone was nearly finished with their food and then he stood up and walked towards the exit of the room. When there he grabbed his gun and shot trough the open door in the air, the bullet would probably end up somewhere in the sea but at least the crowd was silent now.

The one on serving duty have to clean this mess up, all the other prepare the ship for full work load. I also want the domes prepared, lubricated and cleaned. The engine room is already in good conditions thanks to Hans. all my other officers and Alex I need you on the bridge, oh and Ash you too. Dismissed

he then walked trough the door all the way to the stern of the ship and finished his bottle, now after three and a half bottle of rum he needed to hold the railing while walking and he had the feeling he would smash someone's face if they were annoying. so when he walked the stairs to the bridge he saw that all his officers where there, Hans, Ash, Alex and some other officers. he opened the door of the bridge on starboard side and walked to his desk opening a small drawer, inside that drawer layed some cigars of the brand "Gulden Vlies". He gave everyone who wanted a cigar and then took out the same drawer a zippo lighter made of wood and while he made the flame come out of the lighter he smiled to Ash. after he lighted his cigar he let the lighter go round and store it safly in his drawer afterwards. he then layed his feet on the desk and spoke

We need to seek a target, over yonder lies a map of Mid-West England. We need a small settlement. I miself thought of Formby but if you got beter idea's I want to know them

he then layed back enjoying the sounds of the sea while looking at how his officers would come with a nice plan for a raid, While he silently smoked his Cigar.

Ash eventually reached the mess hall, where crew members were already beginning to stream in. He grabbed himself a plate and a fork, then moved towards the large table in the center of the room. He watched as the seats slowly filled, deciding where to sit. He found a spot near Hans and sat down, greeting him with a nod. He started loading up his plate with food spread out along the table, using his cook eyes to pick out the best possible bits. Then he returned to his seat, picked up his fork and waited for the signal to dig in.

Ash heard someone shout behind him.
"Aye Lads! lets get some food! don't drink too much, we got work to do tonight!"
Moments later, Willem, a little bit drunk, sat down beside him. He grinned slightly to himself.
"Nice speech Cap'n."
He lifted up his mask to just above his mouth, below the ridge of his nose. This was the most of his face he revealed in public, and only so he could eat. People before had tried to take his gas mask from him, in an attempt to reveal his face, but to no avail. To the crew, he had still never shown his full face.
Ash quickly wolfed down the meal, then left the empty plate and cutlery on the wash-up table. He pulled down his mask, tightening the straps until he was satisfied. He was just about to enter the kitchen to help wash-up before he heard a gunshot behind him. He immediately crouched in an alert stance, turning to see who fired the shot. He relaxed a little as he discovered it was just Willem trying to get everyone's attention.
"The ones on serving duty have to clean this mess up, all the others prepare the ship for full work load. I also want the domes prepared, lubricated and cleaned. The engine room is already in good conditions thanks to Hans. All my other officers and Alex I need you on the bridge, oh and Ash you too. Dismissed."
Ash looked on in surprise for a moment, before striding towards the bridge, wondering why the Captain wanted him.

The walk to the bridge was shoot, only taking a minute or two. Outside the door to the bridge, Hans and a few others were waiting. Ash quietly greeted them all, before taking a place by the railing. After a few short moments the girl, Alex, arrived. He nodded silently to her as they all waited for Willem. They weren't forced to wait long.
Willem opened the door and they all poured in. Some of the officers took seats inside, but Ash remained standing.
The captain then offered cigars to everyone, using a working Zippo Lighter to ignite them. While some officers accepted the cigars, Ash knew they wouldn't do any good for his lungs, plus he only had eyes for the lighter. He hadn't seen a working one in his whole life, and the object astonished him. Willem simply smiled before storing it back with the packet of cigars. Ash felt a little sad after being denied access to the beautiful portable flame.
"We need to seek a target, over yonder lies a map of Mid-West England. We need a small settlement. I myself thought of Formby but if you got better idea's I want to know them."
Ash stepped forward, looking at the map as he spoke.
"Captain, Formby is located between Blackpool and Liverpool. That area has a bit of a dangerous reputation."
One of the officers laughed.
"Boy, we're on relatively good terms with The Black. They don't pose any threat to us."
Ash just smirked at this.
"The Black are a large band of Raiders and Slavers. Not exactly the most trustworthy sorts. I know myself as, in-case you hadn't remembered, I myself was a Raider."
The officer shut up for the moment, and Ash mumbled to himself.
"Bloody Dutchman."

Ash continued.
"As for Liverpool, it's infested with, well, pretty much everything in this wasteland that wants to kill you."
Another officer raised their opinion.
"But Liverpool is a little far south, so we could probably avoid it altogether."
Ash nodded.
"Well, there are some advantages with Formby. Its remote, so its unlikely going to grab the attention of the Royals or the Government. If they know we're raiding their towns, that's gonna cause a lot of problems."
Willem interrupted quickly.
"Tell me more about these 'Royals and the Government'."
"Well, i don't know much myself, but they're pretty much the two biggest factions in the area. The Royals are apparently descendants of the original Royal Familiy and so believe they are entitled to leadership. The Government on the other hand follow someone named the 'Grand Minister'. They have numbers, land, and equipment. They ALSO believe they are entitled to leadership. The two groups have been warring since before my time."

The Captain soon dismissed everyone, asking Alex to wait and telling Ash to walk with him. Ash was intrigued, and followed the captain to his destination: the stern of the ship. Awaiting them was the Dutch officer from earlier, who was sent out during the discussion. The captain simply withdraw a pistol, checking it was loaded and handing it to Ash, all the while speaking.

"He is a landing craft officer, I have 4 of those officers. They command 14 people to raid, kill and loot. He is a dumb arrogant fool, you are smart and these lands are your home. You know things about here that are vital, so I'm offering you an officer spot. You still can stay cook but this is extra, you will do fine. If you want the job, shoot him, otherwise let him live and give me back the gun. Ohh and Ash, you know all officers have their own lighter? Same as the one I have."
Ash frowned under his mask, before taking the weapon.
"Sir, did you really think you could bribe me with a silly old lighter?"
His frown twisted into a grin as he mumbled.
"It seems you were right."

A loud bang echoed through the air on the stern of the ship, and the officer gasped as he found a hole in his throat before choking on his own blood. As an insult to injury, Ash took a step forward, pressing his foot against the man's chest and pushing him overboard. He handed the weapon back to Willem, before he coughed violently and then asking:
"So, when do i start?"

"Alex, look how I do this. I want to learn you how to sail her, If you would like to."

"I would, sir."

Alex knew not of how a ship was sailed, but if she was to be useful here, it was a simple, but important task. If she did well, Willem may see fit to keep her around.

Alex took the wheel, and got a feel of her. It was something else. For the moments she was in control, she felt powerful. Controlling such a large and powerful vessel. Her mind drifted for a moment, but quickly came back to the wheel when Willem came back and helped her.

"You need to think a bit ahead, the sea has current and wind. those things will drag you out of course so you have to steer against it, like this."

Alex began to countersteer with the assistance of Willem. She was guided to Formby, their location. It took time to get there, but once they were close, Willem took over and slowed, then eventually stopped the ship.

"Aye Lads! the time is now! Fire at Will, and Prepare the landing crafts! United we Stand, Divided we Fall!"

Willem picked up a walkie-talkie, and left the bridge, but not before she was given her orders.

"Sit at my desk, in the wall is a larger broadcast system, its linked to my Walkie talkie. When we land you need to give Orders the the Dome's that they hold fire. if we need Artillery assistance I'll message you the target."

"Yessir."

Alex moved to the desk, and sat down, looking at all the fancy bells and whistles. She had a feint idea on how to use intercoms, it was simple really, but this was a big intercom system.

Thunder strike.

The day the citizens of Formby fell over their own dead in a struggle to survive.

The day had been going ordinarily, in fact it was the yearly Festival of Companionship in the small isolated town. Every man, woman and child had come out of their shacks and decrepit brick houses to share food, drinks and stories in an effort to keep the country strong. There were banners, dimmed lanterns and tables decked in colourful cloth.

But as everything in Formby, the celebration was muted. The necessity to be silent to evade the Ghoulish Horde had weaved its way into these stoic survivors. It was not out of necessity to talk so quietly this far away, but rather out of habit. Their laughs were stunted and short, but their faces bore all the mirth of any normal person - if not more, for body language was important to these people.

But the relative silence of the feast was broken by a cry, a shout of urgency, from the tall tower that guarded the town. It was an old, double decker bus - gutted internally and turned into a mti-tier, laddered watch tower. It was an amazing feet for the people of Formby, and it had given them the local nickname of the "Busees".

The celebrations halted and the town guard rushed for the wall - not to defend it, but to hear better the cries of the Watcher. They didn't need to wait so long. The town erupted suddenly in fire and explosions, a sharp screech of metal followed the collapse of the iconic watch tower. Shacks burst like overfilled Dirt Melons, showering the narrow 'alleys' in shrapnel and flaming debris.

People died immediately, but those who survived ran not for cover - but for their armoury. They knew this day was coming. The day the Government would come with their flame-bringers and set alight the ground that bore them. They had prepared, scavenging even the areas around the dreaded 'Ghoulpool' in preparation. Well the Busees had their own flame-bringers.

Almost everyone in the town took up arms, be it pistol or rifle, and ran to the shattered wall. It was scrap metal in construction and sturdy, but the collapse of the tower had left a debris-strewn breach that bore dull flames. They bore the heat, as they must, and took cover behind the chunks of the semi-molten metal.

Each Watcher bore a silenced weapon, and they went further. They crept around the unused ruins of buildings outside the small town, little more than walls that had yet to fall, and took position to defend their home.

Two, carried something heavy looking and draped in khaki cloth.

A final line.

After a little while, Alex began to hear gunfire. The sack of the town had started. She looked outside briefly, and wished she was there. Alex began to wonder how marksmen were in the attacking force. One sniper can be worth 10 normal soldiers. But still, she was entrusted with operating the intercom. She sat back down at the console.

"Blowing up the wall on left flank after this message is done. I also want status reports from you guys, radio them over. Alex can you look outside and give me a total report of how its going, Out."

Alex sprinted outside, with a pair of binoculars, and observed the battle. Our forces were slowly, but surely winning. The strange thing was, all the people of Formby had some sort of suppression on their firearms. Unusual. She went back inside, and grabbed the microphone.

"We're pushing them back, but watch out, sir. They have silencers, all of them. No idea why, just keep an eye out. Over."

The shelling was hitting Formby hard, and Alex wondered how much longer they could hold out. If they were slightly more accurate, they could shell the wall, and blow it apart, killing the Watchers on the wall, and carving a way into the small town.

Formby was overrun. The townsfolk could not have expected the numbers coming from their shore. Radiation take the damned bastards.

But the Busees weren't going down without a fight. A slow retreat was signalled through the first breach in the wall, and from there the defenders fanned out across the town. The people were never trained for large scale fighting, but the hardened survivors were excellent at guerrilla warfare - the only warfare against Ghouls.

Silently they crept through alleys ahead of the advancing assailants, some stayed close to the holes in the wall - using the fallen debris as makeshift barricades. But it was on the surprise left flank that the defenders raced towards. Men and women, as silent as the grave, using the town they knew better than anything to launch surprise attacks upon the invaders.

They climbed buildings, nimbly and without fault - a they had done to escape Ghouls.

They took up place in secluded windows, using short bursts from their silenced rifles to disorientate and wound - as they had done to fight the Ghouls.

They never stayed in one place, flitting carefully through their broken homes like shades of a Damned City. A sudden burst of fire from the left, a single shot from the rear - deadly and silent.

But not all of the Busees were as silent. The time had come. At a well defended position overlooking the middle breach, two Busees pulled back the shroud covering their last hope. A long, sleek, well-maintained tube of metal - a group of shells that would erupt in all consuming fire. A Fire Launcher, as they knew it.

A Rocket Launcher - to everyone else.

Shoooom. And the breach exploded in fire and shrapnel.

They would take down those who would claim their land even if the Ghouls would come to claim their bones. Better a fair fight against Ghouls than an uneven fight against Men. At other points in the city shot flares, high into the sky to paint the sky the colour blood.

And the Demons of the North answered the call with scream and cries. The Doomsday Clock would tick on Formby - it's time was limited in but the time it would take the Horde to run. And the Horde was a dispersed thing, smaller numbers would be there before the main bulk.