Luke's Diary: An Unlucky Man In A Zombie Apocalypse. Entries 757 to 956

Entry 906: Thursday 21st March 2019

Entry 906
Thursday 21st March 2019

It was the Q&A debate between Blade and Natasha at Seaclose Park today. Thousands of people were there! The whole place was set up like it was when Blade spoke to everyone before; a large staging area overlooking the crowd and platforms scattered across the park with armed GRID soldiers and large speakers so everyone could hear Blade. [ENTRY 824].

I made my way to Seaclose Park with Trudy and TJ, and we met Sci-Fi Cyn, Mum, Ash, Roz and Richard outside the entrance. Kyle was at home looking after Leo, and Ash said that Naomi was going to be getting involved in the Q&A debate. This really piqued my interest.

We were all gathered together within the crowd of thousands and looking up at the stage in front of us. It had two podium stands, both hooked up to microphone. The stand on the left had a sign on the front saying 'KISS' and the stand to the right had a sign on it saying 'QCUC'.

We all waited for a while, and after a few moments, Blade and Natasha both appeared on stage and stood behind their prospective podiums. The huge crowd fell silent and we looked over at the stage with a sense of anticipation. Blade welcomed everyone and said that today was about the KISS party and the QCUC party both putting their sides across and explaining to islanders what their campaigns are trying to achieve. Blade staretd. "Since I have been in charge of safety and security on this island, there have been little to no deaths," said Blade, as he spoke into the microphone, "In 2016 we had some problems and there were certainly some teething problems getting the island set up as a safety zone, but we achieved it and we achieved this by working together; by trusting each other. If we can't trust each other then what have we got? Yes, there have been a few incidents over the last few months but all of them have been responded to and dealt with. Catherine Rennison and her husband became infected after Catherine hid her infected husband and was feeding islanders to him. What action did we take? We implemented the mandatory reporting system to make sure we can keep a check of all islanders and we discovered a number of infected being hidden. Not many, but some. A small number of civilians became trapped in a garage when a man had a heart attack and became infected. What action did we take? We set up the quarantined area in Newport for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. A boat trip ended in disaster when a number of islanders became trapped on the mainland. What action did we take? I sent various GRID soldiers over to the mainland to rescue these people. A minor outbreak occurred in Cowes which was quickly neutralised because of the actions of a brave fifteen-year-old boy who, yes, he became erratic, but what action did we take? We put him in prison for a short time and now he is engaging with counselling, and finally I am sure we are all aware of recent events. An infected was released from the community centre and placed in Natasha Swann's shed in an attempt to discredit her and the QCUC campaign. What action did we take? As soon as I knew the infected was missing, code red was announced and we were all evacuated to the shelters. The infected was located and safety was restored. Incidents such as this have been dealt with and they have been dealt with because of the policies and procedures I have implemented. If we implemented Natasha's policies more people will die. If it's not broken, then why fix it. Don't vote for QCUC. Vote for KISS; Kill Infected. Stay Safe."

Blade took a step back and it was now Natasha's turn to respond. "Well what can I say?" said Natasha, speaking into the microphone and addressing the huge crowd, "I think Mr Blade is guilty of some pretty ugly cherry picking. You've just heard him say, if it's not broken, then why fix it. Are we seriously saying this is a system that is working? Deaths, lies and deceit, corruption, injured people murdered, little girls being brutally killed. Are we really saying that's a system that's working? That isn't broken? That doesn't need improvement?" Mr Blade talks about trust, but he's given us no reason to trust him. He introduced mandatory reporting and set up a quarantined area of Newport which caused a huge amount of unrest. He irresponsibly sanctioned a boat trip without ensuring any safety precautions were in place resulting in one of his guards being killed, one going missing presumed to be dead and pregnant women being killed. Where were Mr Blade's soldiers when eight-year-old Ella Jones was killed by a fifteen-year-old boy? A fifteen-year-old boy who instead of being kept in prison where he belongs, is being hailed a hero and having counselling! A fifteen-year-old boy who pointed a gun at a load of innocent people and made loud irrational comments about the world being nuked. This boy was released with no consultation with islanders. Mr Blade is telling you that he and his team did a great job of finding the missing infected man but it was Blade who brought the infected to the island in the first place! And not only that, he hid him and kept him a secret from us. Are we really supposed to believe this man is concerned with our safety and security? He talks about trust, but are we seriously expected to trust this man?" Lots of head nods and signs of agreement came from the crowd and many people became very vocal as they expressed their agreement with Natasha. "You are the one that cannot be trusted," he firmly said, giving Natasha a stern stare, "You knew full well the infected man was in your shed and you chose to say nothing, meaning everyone was underground a lot longer than they needed to be." "I proved that the infected can be secured and restrained without the need for killing them," said Natasha, "I was able to muzzle and restrain the infected and get him from my shed down into my cellar. Not only does this prove that we can quarantine and care for the infected, but it also shows that you and your soldiers are completely incompetent as you were unable to find the infected man." "You had him behind a secret wall," said Blade, "No one could have found him." "I think Mr Blade is struggling to hear criticism," said Natasha, "What Mr Blade is selling to you as successes are in fact, failures. Failures on a huge scale. He is delusional." "You're the delusional one if you think handling one infected proves that dozens of them can be handled," said Blade, "A fifteen-year-old boy was able to kill six infected on his own but how did you think you, or for that matter, ANYONE here would be handle a handful of infected. When the outbreak happened in Cowes, people were running away from infected, not towards them to try and quarantine them." "I think it's pretty clear to everyone here that you have made some huge mistakes and that perhaps you are not up to the job of running this island," said Natasha. A noticeable noise of agreement was heard emanating from the crowd. "My management and leadership is not on trial here," said Blade with a firm tone, "Whether you like it or not I am in charge of safety and security on this island. Perhaps you should stick to promoting your polices rather than assassinating my character."  "Very well," said Natasha as she continued to address the crowd, "The fact that I was able to single handed remove an infected from my shed down into my basement without any help from GRID soldiers shows that it is possible to quarantine the infected. With the help of GRID soldiers and with some training on restraining infected I am confident that we can all learn how to quarantine infected. Many areas of this island remain uninhabited. The infected can be placed there, miles away from popular areas. Think about it. If your loved one dies of natural causes or due to some sort of accident, they can be kept alive and quarantined forever. Isn't it better that your loved ones are alive as infected rather than dead?" "No!" Blade loudly snapped, "No that is not better." "But you shouldn't get to decide that," said Natasha. "Neither should you!" snapped angry Blade, "People; is this really what you want? To see your dear departed loved ones moping around a quarantined area of the island, a shadow of their former self? Bones sticking out of their neck and a vicious look on their faces as they stare at you, licking their lips, just waiting for a chance to lunge at you and kill you? Is that really what you want? Isn't it better that they die with dignity?" "Die with dignity!?" exclaimed Natasha, "Being stabbed in the head? Is that dying with dignity?" "It's more dignified than being gathered up and left to rot and mope around in a fenced off area like some sort of animal," said Blade. "I think you're wrong," said Natasha, "People becoming infected means they can never die." "No," said Blade, "They might be walking around but they're not alive." "Of course, they're alive!" Natasha loudly exclaimed, "They can move, they can run, they can make sounds. They're absolutely alive." "NO!" Blade loudly and aggressively said, "This is madness." "This is evolution," said Natasha, "This is how we evolve. Remember people there are two types of infected; the savers and the fatals. The savers are those who become infected but could be saved and returned to normal if a cure is developed. The fatals are those who will not be returned to normal if a cure is developed but they can still be kept alive and be useful to society. They can be used as basic security deterrents. They can be used to pull carts and help with transport. There are probably other ways too, but the most important thing is that they can be kept alive and we can visit them like we visit ill people in hospital." "Ill people in hospital won't jump up from their hospital bed and try to kill us," said Blade. "The infected here won't kill anyone if we implement stringent safety and security measures." "What?" said Blade, "Gathering them all in one place and keeping them there? It doesn't sound like a smart idea to me." "It sounds like a caring idea to me," said Natasha. "We can't always care," said Blade. "We should always be able to care," said Natasha, "If we can't care then we can't call ourselves human." "What about the infected?" said Blade, "Do you call them human? Because the only thing they care about is killing and eating people." "That's because they're ill," said Natasha, "One day they might be well." "What you are proposing is dangerous," said Blade, "If you get your way, every single person who dies and comes back as an infected will not be killed. Not only does that increase the risk of an outbreak and put everyone's lives in danger, it will also give us a serious over crowding problem. Eventually there will be a lot more dead infected people than there will be living and non-infected people." "That is only going to occur if a cure is not developed," said Natasha, "And at some point, I think a cure will be developed." "How the Hell do you know that?" snapped Blade, "You're not a scientist. You used to work at Greggs. Is that what this is? Not happy with a dead-end job so you're using this platform to get your fifteen minutes of fame?" "It appears I'm touching a nerve?" said Natasha, "I'm sure your scientists are working hard at getting a cure, so if they're working hard there's no reason, we can't quarantine all of the savers until a cure is developed." "And what about the fatals?" asked Blade, "Infected go for the neck. I think we're going to end up with more fatals than savers. Are you seriously suggesting that we should gather up lots of fatally infected, potently hundreds, eventually thousands of fatally infected, and put them all in one place just so people can come and see them slowly rotting and decaying as the try and desperately eat their loved ones, and so we can use them to pull carts and as make-shift security guards. This is madness." "Really?" said Natasha. She then called back to two people who were stood behind the curtain behind her and Blade. Two big strong men walked on to the stage each holding an infected person. One of the infected was the man that Blade had brought to the island and who Mike and Naomi released from the community centre, and the other was Beth. With some sort of muzzle on their faces and with their wrists bound with a zip-tie, both infected snarled and viciously growled as they aggressively tried to wriggle free. Thankfully the two big strong men were able to restrain them. The crowd gasped. Some people were scared, some were angry and others clearly thought this was going too far. The two strong men placed themselves and their prospective infected in between Blade and Natasha. "Now I know that is what could be described as shock tactics," said Natasha, "But it's necessary. This is the man Mr Blade brought over here from the mainland, and this is Beth Hutson who died... Of... Well... Suffocation. Anyway, whilst they are clearly eager to attack us, they are being restrained, and if one of them was to get free I could restrain them, and with the right training, we could all restrain them."  Natasha stepped out from her podium and nodded at one of the strong men. She then proceeded to put on a pair of thick heavy-duty gardening gloves. "What is she doing?" I gasped. "It looks like she's showing us how to restrain the infected," said TJ. "She's off her f*cking flaps, she is," said Trudy. The man unfastened the ties that were restraining the infected Beth's wrists, quickly removed her muzzle and jumped back. The crowd gasped in horror and some even yelled at Natasha to run for her life. The infected Beth gave Natasha a crazed look and then with hate in her eyes and with purple veins pulsating from her neck she made an aggressive terrifying screech and violently launched herself at Natasha. The crowd again gasped as everyone's fear seemed to intensify. As Beth threw herself at Natasha, Natasha confidently took a step forward, quickly extended her arms and placed her hands, (which were protected with the heavy-duty gardening gloves), tightly around the infected Beth's neck as she kept her at arm's length. Natasha assertively but gently pushed the infected back on to the staging floor and then looked up at one of the strong men who handed her the muzzle. Natasha fastened the muzzle around Beth's viciously growling face and then quickly flipped her round and re-tied her wrists with the zip-ties. With the help of the strong man, Natasha picked up the now re-restrained infected Beth (who was still viciously growling and snarling) and presented her to the crowd with a big smile on her face, as if she was proud of what she'd just achieved. The crowd clapped and cheered. "What the Hell is wrong with everyone?" said Ash, "This isn't something to cheer about. Blade's right. This is madness."