They were harsh words, not any that could easily be accepted, but he was right. The infection was beyond our control, even if a cure could be found, we had no way to secure the victims to pursue a treatment. The fact also remained that as far as we had seen without own eyes, these creatures were humans that had died, so were they even the same person anymore? There was nothing else to do but accept this, and the fact that I may well have to do the same for one of my friends in the near future, a horrible thought.
“What now?” Cyril asked of Holmes.
“Egerton, Berty, keep a guard on the inner perimeter, Cyril, Watson, come with me.”
We followed Holmes upstairs to a quiet room where he evidently wanted to discuss our situation and tactics. We were now in a siege situation, which was never an appealing idea. We pulled up chairs and sat down in the middle of the room, there was a permanent groan of the masses outside, but other than that, it was quite peaceful.
“We are safe for now, but that safety can only last as long as the barricades do, or our ammunition, or until hunger finally takes us, as is the case in every siege,” I said.
“It was not a wise move becoming locked in like this, and yet, one we must now deal with,” replied Holmes.
“So what do we do?”
“Stay and we may eventually be relieved by the military forces, if they can subdue the enemy, fight to break out, in which we may have too little ammunition, or divide our forces with a combination of the two,” replied Holmes.
“But which is the best course of action Holmes?”
“If Moriarty is not stopped then I see no hope for us, and whilst the onslaught may stop, we could face the potential of a wicked villain in power. Not just in England but across Europe, a dictator the likes none of us have ever known. Therefore, wemust continue on to Meirengen to either stop Moriarty’s scheme or finish him,” replied Holmes.
We all sat back, contemplating the turn of events. It was becoming ever more clear to Cyril and I what Holmes knew had to be done. At least some of us had to continue on to the greater task at hand, but none of us would leave a school of children to such a wicked fate, except perhaps Holmes. Cyril scratched his chin with an uncomfortable contemplation, and finally spoke.
“Do you still believe you can stop this villain?” he asked.
“We can but try,” replied Holmes.
“Then that must be done. It seems to me that you and Watson must continue on with the task that was placed in your lap, and we will do the very same here,” said Cyril.
It was an admirable thing to hold the fort, not wanting glory or asking for the chance of survival, but merely doing what was gentlemanly. Holmes pondered the situation for a moment, I knew he would not want to lose such a great asset as three competent fighters, but it was also the best option available.
“Then it is decided, thank you Cyril,” said Holmes.
The great detective offered his hand out to Cyril, for all of Holmes’ cold-heartedness; he had once again shown some inner warmth as he had done when we first met again at the start of these unspeakable events. We were perhaps leaving three great men to die, but on their own terms and for all the right reasons, a fitting death for military men.
We were all thoroughly exhausted, and were yet to devise a plan for us to break out. It was quite clear we needed the help of the teacher, who was more familiar with the building and terrain than we were. “We need to talk to the mistress of the school, as we must be leaving within the hour for what could be the final battle of this war,” said Holmes.
The three of us got up and strolled down the corridor to where we could hear the sound of conversation. Opening the door the room went silent, there were maybe twenty children sat with their nervous teacher biting her nails, she was in her early thirties. The children were completely silent, observing and listening intently to every move and word we made. Holmes explained to her that we had to be off within the hour, but that the other three would stay with them. She was still in shock and quite shaky, but fortunately still capable of assisting us, as well as able to speak near perfect English.
“It might be useful to know that in the courtyard we have a cart with two horses, though one of the wheels is buckled,” she explained.
“Do you have saddles? I asked?
“Yes.”
This was music to our ears, we had gained transport. Now we just needed a way to break out of the siege that would both provide a safe exit for us and not compromise the defence of the school.
“Is the courtyard enclosed?”
“It has a gate and high walls running all around and is adjoined to the school on the westerly side,” she replied.
“Thank you, we will investigate and return presently,” said Holmes.
The three of us walked back downstairs and headed to the westerly side of building. Through the gap of a window that was now mostly covered up we peered at the courtyard, my heart sank. The horses were indeed visible in a small stable across the courtyard, but the gates to the yard itself were open and a dozen zombis were already shambling around the area. I moved back and allowed Holmes to see through the same gap to assess the situation. He looked back at me, but not in concern, only consideration, ever the tactician.
“That gate could well be our escape route, but we need time to rest and prepare the horses, we must get it shut and secure for the night. However, gunfire will inevitably draw more creatures to this westerly wall,” said Holmes.
“Agreed, then we use cold steel and be quick,” said Cyril.
My old friend Matthey had a wide smile and glint in his eye. As frightful as this situation was, the opportunity to exhibit his skills with a sword were too much for him to hide.
“Fine, but we leave one man as sentry to the school whilst we do this,” replied Holmes.
“Egerton, Berty!” Cyril shouted.
Cyril quickly explained the plan to the two men, he left Berty to patrol the ground floor of the school whilst Egerton joined us. We placed our long guns down in a corner, but kept our handguns on us, for you could never know when they would be necessary if things didn’t go as planned.
“Is the doorway clear?” asked Holmes.
Cyril looked through the small gap in the window and quickly turned in response.
“Aye, the first creature is ten yards away, the rest spaced throughout the yard.”
“Ok, then Watson and I will take the centre, both taking the direct path to the gate to close it, Cyril the right flank, Egerton the left. We will drive forward as quickly as possible and therefore you two men will have to keep a keen eye on our backs. Ready?” said Holmes.
The three other men nodded, in all honesty, we were not afraid, nor edgy, we were eager to draw blood and gain some payback for the death of John. Holmes pulled the heavy bolt across and heaved the weighty door open. The eyes of a dozen creatures were immediately framed upon us. Stepping outside, the four of us lined up at the entrance to the courtyard. The distinctive ring of metal on metal rang out as our swords were drawn in almost perfect sequence.
Not waiting a second longer, Holmes strode out towards the first creature and I followed just a few feet afterwards, enough to stay safely from his swing but close enough to provide support. The other two men headed diagonally outwards into the courtyard to engage every enemy in order reach the gate.