Killing The Dead (Book 16): Infected

by Murray, Richard

  Her hand was cold as I wrapped my own fingers around hers. Jinx, whined softly as she looked up at me from where she lay on the other side of Lily, furry body pressed up against hers. I managed something close to a smile for her.

  “She’ll be okay,” Evelyn said softly and I looked up, somewhat startled to see her sitting opposite where I stood.

  “Sister.” I licked suddenly dry lips and my gaze returned to Lily. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  A single word but enough to make me exhale a soft sigh of what I could only imagine was relief. The idea that she could have been hurt was surprisingly painful to me. I couldn’t understand it.

  “The babies?”

  “They’re fine too,” Cass said and I turned to look at her. She was seated beside the door with my mother next to her. Which was a surprise.

  “Mother,” I said by way of greeting and nodded towards Cass, who smiled gently in response.

  “She was hypothermic when they found her,” Evelyn said, voice soft and calming. “If not for this beautiful creature, howling fit to raise the dead, she might not have been found in time.”

  Evie smiled at her own choice of words, absurd as they were in a world where the dead did, in fact, walk amongst us. I nodded thanks for her explanation and looked into the large, brown, eyes of Jinx. It seemed that I owed her a great deal and I would be sure to reward her appropriately when given the chance. Just then, all I could do was offer my thanks to her, which I suspected she understood by the way she was looking at me.

  “What happened?” There was a return of the coldness to my voice as I said that. She would be fine. Our children were safe. That allowed me to regain my anger and I needed a target. “Where is Samuel?”

  “He’s next door,” Cass said and rose from her seat, approaching me slowly, cautiously, like I were some wild animal. “It wasn’t his fault.”

  “I gave him one command.”

  “Yes.” She gripped my arm in hers and stepped in closer, voice dropping for me alone. “This was not his fault though. Lily left in the middle of the night, without telling anyone and taking only a few guards.”

  “Where was he?”

  “Hunting the infected.”

  The what?

  She caught my look of confusion and smiled tightly. “Go. Go talk to Samuel and he’ll fill you in on what’s been happening. We’ll wait with her.”

  I stared at her a moment and then turned to look at Lily, lying there so frail and vulnerable. I didn’t want to leave her side, I realised with some surprise. I wanted to be there with her to make sure she woke up.

  “Ryan,” Evelyn said with that same soothing voice she used with her patients. She was looking at me with something like puzzlement as though seeing something unexpected. “We’re here for her now, but while the infected are still running around, she’s in danger.”

  “They attacked her once,” Cass agreed. “If they aren’t stopped…”

  She didn’t need to say any more than that and I tightened my hands into fists, a cold darkness rising up inside of me. It seemed like I could be there for Lily and still get to fulfil my need for murder after all.

  I stalked from the room, body tense and the need to kill something almost overwhelming me. Into the next room, where a single figure was seated beside the bed of a young woman that I vaguely recognised.

  She was as pale as Lily but conscious. Her eyes met mine and widened as she struggled to push herself up. The side of her face was swollen and bruised and her hands were bandaged. Samuel reached out and gently pushed her back down before rising himself.

  He turned to me and bowed low, then pulled his knife from his sheath and tossed it in his hand, catching it by the blade. He offered it to me, hilt first and looked directly at me.

  “I failed you, My Lord Death. My life is yours.”

  My urge to take the knife was almost overpowering. I wanted to do it, I realised. I wanted to take it and carve out his eyes. To cut out his heart and scream my rage for all the world to see. Lily was hurt and I wanted someone to hurt as much as I did.

  That realisation rocked me. I was experiencing emotional pain! That was a new and unpleasant thing to me and one that I did not appreciate.

  “Put it away,” I snapped. “And tell me what happened.”

  Samuel stared at me for a long minute before lowering his hand and bowing his head. Then he began to speak, telling me of Briony’s escape and the effect her bite had on others. Leaving them not quite dead, but not alive and definitely dangerous.

  They maintained their intellect but couldn’t seem to overcome the need to feed. When the hunger became too much, they lost control and would do anything they could to get the meat they craved.

  He nodded to the young woman beside him as he explained that Lily had gone out to see the researchers in the middle of the night and what had happened after.

  “It was my failure, My Lord Death,” Lisa said softly. “I should have insisted she stay.”

  “Like that would have mattered,” I muttered as I gave her an appraising glance. “You were in the river with her?”

  Her cheeks heated but she nodded, looking away, ashamed.

  “What happened?”

  She explained in a wooden voice. The car going off the bridge, the killing of Alec and fight with the infected under the water as Lily escaped to the surface.

  “I should have sent for a truck and more guards.”

  “No. You couldn’t have foreseen that and without your actions in the water, Lily would be dead. You have my thanks for that.”

  Lisa blinked at that, surprised. Which was understandable. My gratitude was rare and not something I gave out for little reason. Still, she deserved it. Without her actions, I was sure that Lily would have died. I could forgive much for that.

  “You killed the infected?”

  “Yes, My Lord Death.”

  “Good. You are not infected yourself?”

  “No.”

  “Then rest. I want you to heal and then remain at Lily’s side. Do you understand?”

  The young woman nodded, and I turned back to Samuel gesturing for him to follow me from the room.

  “Tell me about this search.”

  There was an enemy to face after all. One that was even more challenging than the Reapers by the sounds of it. One that I could take out all of my anger and frustration on. I smiled as Samuel began to talk.

  “Oy, Clever Bastard!”

  Isaac pushed himself away from the wall where he had been leaning and came towards me. Samuel readied the knife he still carried but I waved him back. There was no danger from the mercenary.

  “You hunting the bastards that hurt her?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “We’ll help.” He gestured with a jerk of his chin towards the ever silent Erin.

  “Why?”

  “I like that lady of yours. More than I like you, anyway.”

  “As you wish. Keep up with us.”

  “I’m in too,” Gregg called as he stepped out of Lily’s room. “Cass and the others can watch over her. I need to be doing something.”

  “Good.”

  “Any idea how we can find them?” Isaac asked and I smiled.

  “They’re smart enough to hide from us. But the streets have been cleared and people are remaining in their locked houses. They won’t open their doors to strangers so we are going to give them something to eat.”

  I looked at my companions and my smile widened. It would be more than that. We would be laying a trap and you didn’t lure your prey into a trap without some bait. So I was going to get some.

  Chapter 24

  “Why do I have to be the bait?” Gregg asked for perhaps the second time in as many minutes.

  “Because you’re obviously looking quite tasty,” Isaac said with a laugh.

  He grumbled a bit but didn’t reply which was good, since I was in no mood to be questioned. I stared across at the bridge that Lily had been forced off of an
d just felt a slow, burning anger that needed to be answered.

  “Why are we even here, anyway?” he asked. “Why not further south?”

  “Because this is as close to a middle as we will get,” I said quietly.

  It was true. When I looked at the map of the town, it was clear to make out a rough hourglass-like shape. Homes and small, local businesses to the north of where we were, spread out to east and west.

  While to the south, it was much the same. Due to the way the river to west curved around, the town had grown around that. Hugging the river on one side and being forced to spread outwards rather than just building more on the other side of the river.

  As a result. There was a small part of the town that was like a natural bottleneck between north and south, and that’s where we were. A large shopping complex was just off the road to the east of us and we stood in the centre of a small roundabout where we could be clearly seen by anyone travelling north or south.

  “Is Erin in place?”

  “Aye, she’s up there,” Isaac said with a nod towards the shopping complex roof.

  I was counting on her and the sniper rifle of hers, to give us an edge. My plan wasn’t without risk after all.

  Samuel and the every available CDF trooper and minion had gone to the very north of the town. Drones flew in constant search patterns overhead, covering as much of it as possible. My idea, simple as it was, would see any infected driven south.

  Right towards the three of us.

  The sun was dipping below the horizon and night was not far away. Word had gone out. Any home that was unlocked would be searched. Anyone out on the street would be at risk of being mistaken for infected and killed.

  They had hurt Lily. I wouldn’t let them live through the night.

  “Should be starting now,” I said.

  Sure enough, in the distance, we could hear it. Spread out in a long line, to cover as much of the town as they could, the soldiers and minions would be moving from house to house, building to building.

  If there was an unlocked door anywhere, they would open it and search inside. There would be no place for the infected to hide.

  And, since they weren’t zombies, any door that was locked would require someone living to show themselves at a window and reassure the soldiers that there were no infected in the house. They could work a lock as well as any living person, after all.

  It would be a house to house search that would take time, but time we had. No one would be sleeping until we had been through every single house and building in the town. I didn’t care how long it might take.

  As they walked, they would each be playing a recorded message out loud. Simple as it was, I expected it to work. After all, the message proclaimed loudly for any hungry infected to hear, that there was food waiting unarmed, on a roundabout in the road.

  I would see just how much of their reasoning ability they lost when hungry.

  Even expecting it as I was, I was a little surprised when the first two infected people came running down the road. Blood still coated their clothing from where they had been bitten and there was a wildness to their movements that spoke of a lack of control.

  “Should I..?” Isaac asked, half raising his hand and I nodded.

  He clenched his fist and raised it high. Immediately, a shot rang out and the first infected fell. The second moments later to Erin’s next shot.

  “She’s really good,” Gregg muttered as he stared at the bodies.

  “Aye, was top of her class in training.”

  I glanced at him but he pressed his lips firmly together and didn’t say any more. He was remarkably reticent about their time before Genpact. Which was fair enough. It wasn’t like I shouted out my past to anyone who would listen.

  The next one was smarter. I almost didn’t see it until it was almost on us as it took its time, sneaking through the bushes and trees on the river banking. It moved slowly, watching and waiting for the right moment to pounce.

  When it did, I had a bare moment to register its leap before Isaac stepped forward and smacked it right in the jaw. It flew backwards from the force of his powerful blow and without wasting any time, I had my knife out and in its skull before it could recover.

  “Thanks,” I said as I wiped my blade clean on the corpse.

  “No Problem.”

  “Bet that felt weird,” Gregg said with a giggle. “You spent all that time hunting him and abducting him. Now you’re helping save him.”

  “Yeah, a little weird.”

  I ignored them as I stared at the body. Three of them had fallen for the bait and three of them had died. According to Samuel, they had killed a handful while searching for Briony. How many then, was she turning?

  People had been reported missing but with everyone locked up in their houses, it was hard to know if some infected had broken in and killed everyone. Sure, the neighbours should hear and raise the alarm but in the middle of the night, if done right, it could be quite silent.

  Whatever she was doing, it was clearly with a purpose. The question was what that was. According to the little Samuel had learned from Lily after her talk with Vanessa. Briony was still the same person she had always been.

  When the hunger came over her, she couldn’t control that urge to feed though had managed to force herself to feed on rats back in the bunker, rather than her friends. What then, would cause her to be raising so many?

  Unless it wasn’t her. She might have infected one or two, but they were the ones going out and spreading the infection. Perhaps then, she had some other reason why she hadn’t handed herself in. Some other goal.

  Or her mind had simply snapped and she was little more than a snarling beast biting anyone and everyone.

  Either argument could be equally valid.

  “Another one, no, two.” Isaac squinted as he peered ahead, not that it would help him much in the darkness. “Oh shit! There’s a whole load of them.”

  He was right, it seemed. The noise behind them was louder and I guessed that Samuel had driven the last of those hiding to the north towards us. I readied my knife.

  Three of them were down before they came close, then a fourth, as Erin did her excellent work. But then they were too close for her to shoot and it was up to the three of us and our knives.

  Unlike the Shamblers and even the Ferals, the infected people were fast and they used their fists and feet as well as snapping teeth. Whereas a fight with the undead was a case of keeping their teeth from your throat, with the infected it was like a regular brawl, just with the added chance of infection.

  I sliced through the throat of the first to come near me, narrowly avoiding being covered in the spray of blood as I darted to one side. It reached up to grasp the wound, an instinctive reaction from a living person who wasn’t quite sure how undead they were.

  My blade slammed into the side of its head as it was distracted. Then on to the next. I grunted as its fist caught me in my ribs, and then a second blow hit my jaw. I staggered back and ducked the third swing before ramming my blade up beneath the jaw.

  Infected of zombie, that tended to stop them.

  And on it went. Isaac used his skill and training to good effect, tossing the infected men and women around as though they weighed nothing. Breaking bones and snapping necks as much as stabbing with the combat knife he carried.

  Gregg, on the other hand, did his best but had a natural reticence when it came to killing the living and the infected were too close to that for him to be truly comfortable. Which isn’t to say he didn’t do his job, he did, but he hated it.

  I could tell that from the look he wore as he pulled his knife clear of the infected woman's skull and turned to the next as it advanced on him.

  The next infected to attack me surprised me by catching my wrist as I swung my knife. It gave me a moment's pause and in the brief time, it caught me a stunning blow to my temple that had me staggering back.

  Before I could recover, the infected rushed in and collapsed at my
feet as the bullet entered its skull. I glanced up at where Erin lay on top of the complex and nodded my thanks.

  Then it was over and I was left to frown down at a good fifteen or so bodies. I was actually a little disappointed as I had expected more than that. I’d also expected more of a fight. If anything, it felt a little too easy.

  “Do any of these look like Briony?” I asked and received blank looks from the others.

  Samuel came into view, followed by the soldiers and minions. He cut off the sound as he saw us and marched straight up to me, looking down on the infected with dismay.

  “We found some houses with infected still inside. They have been cleansed.”

  “Any of those infected Briony?”

  “No, My Lord Death.”

  “What then was the point of this?” I wondered aloud. “We’ll have to do the same with the southern part of town.”

  “As you command.”

  “Mate, radio again,” Gregg said.

  I lifted the infernal thing from my belt and threw it at him. He caught it adeptly and grinned as he answered. His grin soon faded as he heard the screams coming from the radio and then a single voice.

  “They’re in the hospital!”

  Chapter 25

  My first thought, upon waking, was that I hurt. A lot. Which likely meant that I wasn’t dead which was a huge bonus. I opened my eyes and found friends and family around my bed.

  “The babies?”

  “They’re fine,” Evie said with a smile. “You’re all fine.”

  Jinx lifted her head just enough to lick my cheek and I lifted my arm and managed to embrace her and pull her close. The details of the night were vague but I recalled that she had pulled me from the river and her howling, which is what I guessed alerted rescuers.

  “Lisa? Did she make it?”

  “The bodyguard?” Evie asked but it was Cass who answered.

  “Yes. She’s fine and in the next room.”

  “Thank you.” I smiled and rested my free hand on my stomach.

  We’d survived. That was nothing short of a miracle and I almost couldn’t believe my luck. My babies were safe.

  “Ryan was here,” Evie said and I blinked in surprise at that.