Merryn waved until she could no longer see the fishing boat and Dave standing sturdy at the wheel. Hope, Stan, Sergeant Harper, and two other soldiers had boarded with the outgoing tide and Hope had waved for some time as had Stan.

She sighed and walked back up the path towards the barracks, following in the footsteps of Eddie and Andrew a few minutes earlier.

As she rounded a corner, there were footsteps from a side path and she turned to see who it was. Rimmer was walking towards her, his face stony. She turned to face him and the man stopped.

"I see the bitch and the deadhead have left," he muttered.

"And yet you still remain," retorted Merryn. "Get the hell out of my face Rimmer."

"Or what?" The man took a threatening step towards Merryn and she lifted her hands and stepped back, her eyes narrowing.

"What do you think is going to happen if you attack me Private? I'm not sure why you have taken such a dislike to me, but we're fighting the same thing here."

"What's that?" asked the man pointing at Merryn's forearm. As she'd raised her hands in defence, her sleeve had ridden up showing the semi-circular scars. "I knew it, you've been bitten. I'd heard some rumours but I'd put them down to stupid stories people tell. You're one of them!"

The man launched himself at Merryn, arms outstretched and hands going for her throat. Mal barrelled into the man from the side path, shoving him off the path and into a deep hedge. "Quick," he said, grabbing her hand. "Run!"

There was a bellow of rage behind them, and Rimmer surged from the depths of the hedge, covered in scratches and leaves. "You're dead!"

Mal cast a glance over his shoulder as they ran into the open grassy area behind the barracks, in the past, an area used for parade ground movements in the summer months. "He's still coming," puffed Mal. "Quick, inside the refectory, there are people there."

The two of them ran towards the refectory door, Rimmer hot on their heels, but before they could get there, Captain Summers strode outside, pulled his pistol and fired. Grass kicked up from a few paces in front of the charging soldier and Rimmer stopped, his face murderous as Summers adjusted his aim to point the pistol directly at the Private's head.

Men and women spilled out from the refectory, standing in a growing circle behind the Captain who kept his revolver trained on the uniformed man standing in front of him on the grass.

"Private Rimmer, you will be escorted to your billet. There you will gather your belongings. A ration pack and equipment will be issued to you together with basic weaponry. From there you will be escorted to the gate and you will remove yourself from these premises. If you attempt to re-enter without permission, harm any member of this community on or off site, or cause damage to this or any other facility you will be shot on sight. Or I will shoot you now if that is your choice. Do you understand?"

Rimmer stared at the Captain, hate darkening his features. "I choose exile. I would rather take my chances out there than stay in here with this nonhuman scum." He pointed at Merryn. "Watch your backs everybody, she will end you."

Summers gave an order and two sergeants escorted Rimmer away.

"Positions everyone please," called Summers making safe his handgun and holstering it, and the crowd dispersed, many casting curious or even hostile glances at Merryn.

Merryn threw her arms around Mal. "Thank you."

Mal hugged her back. "You okay? I mean, I know you're not, but you know what I mean."

"I will be," she disengaged from her friend and nodded at the Captain. "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome Merryn, and I'm sorry that I didn't take action sooner, that put you in peril, that's unforgivable."

"It's okay Captain. It's not your fault. I suspect Rimmer has been affected by everything going on. He's not quite in his right mind."

"Possibly not, but in this horrible world we're in now I don't have the luxury of giving him the benefit of the doubt. Thank you, Merryn. And well done Mal."

The Captain clicked the cover closed on his gun's holster and walked away, his shoulders slumped.

"Glad I haven't got his job," muttered Mal. "Blimey, what a day. Listen, I've got to call Dave in the boat in about an hour, do you want to join me on that and say 'Hi' to Hope."

"That would be good. Thanks, Mal." He smiled at her, squeezed her hand then wandered off in search of food.

~

An hour later Merryn walked into the Radio room, joining Mal and Captain Summers.

"Mobile 1, this is Control. Dave, are you reading me? Over."

There was a brief pause and then the radio crackled. "This is Mobile 1, how's it going Mal?"

"I'm checking up on you Dave, how's progress?"

Summers moved across to the map on the wall, a magnet in hand and ready to place on the metal.

"Doing well thanks Mal. We've kept close to the coast and have had a nice cruise down the length of Chesil beach. Even managed to pick up a couple of lobsters from the pots I put out yesterday when I was out doing that sweep of the coast for you. I reckon her prime ministerness on the Isle will like those."

"You never bring me lobster Dave," said Mal, sounding hurt.

"I thought you were allergic to shellfish."

"Well, yes, but not that much. I'm willing to risk looking blotchy for a lobster. Can you call Hope up to the wheelhouse please? Merryn would like to say hi."

"Sure, hang on a mo." Dave leaned out of the wheelhouse and bellowed at Hope.

Summers rolled his eyes and flapped an impatient hand at Mal.

"So where are you now Dave?" continued Mal.

"As I speak, we're rounding the point of Portland Bill. It's glorious out here, flat and calm. Hang on, what the hell is that?"

"Mobile 1? Dave are you there?"

There was a crackle and then the channel re-opened. Gunfire sounded and Hope's voice came over the radio.

"Control. We're under attack. Three fast, small boats with groups of men on board. They came out of the lee of the island as we passed. They must have had scouts up on the top of the hill looking west. They've got machine guns! One man down." There was the sound of shattering glass and Hope screamed "Dave!"

Mal went white. "Hope, please continue to report. We'll get to you as soon as we can."

"Sergeant Harper's taken out one boat, Dave's injured but still steering. Two men down. Oh god, Stan!" There was a pause and Hope came back on the speaker. "They shot Stan and he fell overboard."

Merryn leaned over Mal and hit the transmit button on the radio. "I will find you Hope. We're on the way. Stay alive."

There was silence. Merryn straightened up and walked out of the room.

~

Captain Summers found Merryn a few moments later. She was dressed in her Scout gear and was checking the contents of her rucksack.

"Don't try and stop me Captain."

"I wasn't going to. I was going to ask you to wait for a moment though."

"What for?"

"These two," said Summers as Andrew and Eddie walked into the room.

"No," said Merryn, her tone flat. "I will not endanger anyone else."

"You don't get to argue this one Merryn," said Summers. "I want you to find our people. Find them and bring them back if you can. If you can't because you're outnumbered or if they are already dead, catalogue what you see and wait. We will then send in a larger force. You will have a day's march on those that follow. We cannot allow pirates to disrupt our activities along the southern coast. I will also be radioing the Isle for support."

Merryn nodded, her face determined. "Right you two, let's hit the road."

~

"Bicycles? Really?" Andrew gave their transport a dubious look.

"Electric bikes Andrew. We don't have many of these so Summers is being kind to us. It beats walking, they're quiet, quick, easy to hide, and we'll be going on the coast road so these will help get us up the hills. Gareth and Scout 3 have checked most of the route between here and Portland already, so we should be able to really shift. It's only the last few miles where we'll have to take it steady, particularly now we know there are pirates on Portland. They've not been spotted before so I guess they're getting brave. That place is an absolute maze of old stone quarries, and right on the top of it is an old prison. But we can't assume they're holed up in there. There's hotels, several old forts, and various natural features that could provide shelter. If the gang is organised they could have quite easily cleared the place of walkers as it's very secluded. The Romans dumped their prisoners, undesirables, witches and other 'we don't want them 'cos we're Roman' types there as there's only one route on or off the Bill, unless you swim or take a boat."

"Fun," said Eddie. "You take us to all the best places. Will there be ice-cream?"

"Somehow I doubt it," noted Merryn. "Let's go."

~

A steady drizzle made the journey along the coast uncomfortable, but they made good time and later the same day they coasted to the top of a hill and caught sight of the miles long pebble curve of Chesil Beach below them. Visibility was deteriorating by the minute and Merryn steered them into a nearby barn.

"Let's stow our bikes here. Any road from hereon in is going to be watched. Take a moment to try and dry off, have something to eat and drink, then we move again."

Eddie and Andrew nodded their assent and soon had a camp stove lit with a pan of stew bubbling as well as a cup of tea brewing.

Merryn was studying a map she'd brought along and as Andrew passed her a cup of tea she spread it on the barn floor pointing to the lower corner. "We're on the top of this hill here. We need to get down to the beach area below and follow the curve of it into Portland. The weather is to our advantage, and visibility is going to drop even more as we go into the early evening. What we can't do is walk on the beach. It's made of pebbles, is difficult to walk along and makes a hell of a racket as you try to make any headway. We'll have to walk under the sea wall."

"Sorry," said Andrew. "Not sure I understand."

"In my previous life, I once worked for a construction company. My patch was the southwest of England. This is why I'm a scout now as I know the area, and of course I grew up down here too. The company I used to work for helped build the sea wall along the top of the beach, as it protects the harbour behind it. At the base of the sea wall is a footpath. Most people tend to walk along the top of the wall though as the view is better. So, unless we want to try and swim in, I'd suggest that that lower footpath is our best chance as we're hidden from the houses on the other side. It's also going to be out of the weather, but it's still a risk."

"Whatever we do is going to be risky, Merryn," said Eddie. "What about getting out again?"

"I don't know," said Merryn. "Either we go back out the way we came in, or we try to steal a boat. There's a harbour on the other side of the island, so there should be something we can swipe even if we have to row out."

Andrew nodded and finished his meal. "I'll scout ahead. Give me five minutes then head down the footpath you pointed out on the map. That'll take us to the sea wall, and we can go from there."

Merryn nodded, and packed up her kit, as did Eddie.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" asked Eddie.

Merryn nodded. "He's one of the best natural scouts I've ever seen, Ed. Given a little time he'll be even better than Gareth. "Come on, let's go and catch him up."

The two of them checked their exit and then proceeded with caution down the vegetation-choked pathway. Andrew appeared ahead of them a moment later in a gateway. "You'll have to come this way, the path ahead gets narrower and overgrown, no farmers left to maintain it. But this side of the hedge is good cover and there appears to be a way through."

The three of them made their way through the field, Andrew keeping some fifty yards ahead of them. At the base of the hill, the field gave way to a solid-looking wall and scrubland, and Andrew made his way through the tree cover to the wall, pulled himself up onto it, and checked each way. After a few seconds, he turned and motioned the others up onto the wall.

"There's a couple of metres drop here onto the beach, but if we go back down the coast a hundred metres or so, there are some steps. I'd suggest we go there rather than risk spraining an ankle by trying to jump."

Merryn nodded, and a few minutes later, the three of them found themselves in the lee of the wall, out of the wind and rain, and walking along a concrete step in the wall that dropped onto the cobbles of the beach below.

They huddled together for a moment, and Merryn visually checked out the route ahead. "We're best off here, the wall is giving us some protection and with luck, no one above us will be able to hear us if we do have to walk across any areas where the beach has covered the concrete. But we'll need to proceed in absolute silence. Andrew, you take point, I'll bring up the rear. If you hear anything, raise a hand and we'll stop."

"Got it."

"At the far end of the beach, there's a pub," continued Merryn. "Once we get there, the island broadens out again and we'll have more cover. There's a trail on the west side of the island. We'll start there."

Andrew nodded, and Eddie moved into position behind him. Merryn cast a glance over her shoulder. Visibility was getting worse. She shrugged her rucksack into a more comfortable position on her shoulders and zipped up her waterproof jacket. Rain had penetrated through to her skin, but there was no choice now but to continue on.

The three of them walked in complete silence for the better of a mile before Andrew stopped and lifted his hand. Eddie was a few metres behind him, Merryn a similar distance again. The wind gusted and the sound of faint voices drifted to them, voices that grew louder every second. The three of them shrank back against the wall, and then the sound of footsteps stopped and a pair of legs swung over the wall, dangling a few feet from Andrew's head.