There were times when I would be vulnerable and that was not acceptable. I had no desire to depart the world and so, when the opportunity appeared in the form of Samuel and his delusional beliefs, I had seized upon them.
That left me with the unpleasant realisation that while I could manage alone, it would be easier and I would be more effective, as part of a group. The options for forming or joining one were limited, however.
I could always settle in some small community, living in obscurity while toiling away at the day to day task of basic survival. Hardly an appealing prospect.
There was always the raider groups. I could form one of my own or join another. After a moments reflection, I realised that my time with Lily had made me unsuitable for such a role. Besides, any group I joined would end up with some fool trying to order me around and I would have to kill them anyway.
Which left me only two realistic options. Disappear into the wilderness and walk the world alone, keeping away from other people unless it were to kill them. Or, I could return to the island with Gregg.
I honestly couldn’t say which appealed the least to me.
With a weary sigh, I crawled out from beneath those overhanging branches and rose to my feet, brushing off the loose needles and dirt that had stuck there. I was in a small copse of trees a short distance from a village. There was the scent of woodsmoke hanging in the air which told me that I would need to avoid that place.
I set off in the opposite direction, moving slowly and placing my feet carefully so as not to make a noise by breaking fallen twigs or leave a noticeable trail. The ground was reasonably flat so the walk was not too strenuous which I appreciated just then.
My ribs ached a little and my left shoulder was stiff from where I had hit it against the hard road surface when I fell from my bike as the raiders ambushed me. Not enough pain or discomfort to cause me any real difficulty but just one more annoyance to deal with.
By midday, I came upon the A442, a road that travelled in a rough north to south direction from where I stood. Since my destination had been north of where I started, I figured it would be my best option to head that way rather than south.
I stayed in the fields beside the road, hidden from view by the overgrown weeds and trees that lined it. Occasionally I would stop and risk stepping over to the road to check for signs or evidence that people had travelled that way.
The only things I found were the abandoned vehicles and long decayed bones, all of which had been picked over by scavengers at some point or another. I continued on and it was by early evening as the sun sank lower towards the horizon that I found evidence of recent travellers.
In the form of horse droppings. Quite a bit of it, out in the centre of the road.
I looked carefully both ways along that road before stepping a little closer. There was no way to tell if the animal or animals that had left it had done so going north or south, but from the generally fresh look of it, I was sure it had not been so long since they had.
While it wouldn’t change my plans or the direction I was going, it would mean that I would have to be a little more cautious to avoid walking into another trap. With that in mind, I set off once more.
By mid-afternoon, I was forced to stop. Ahead, on the road, a group of raiders in their distinctive armour stood waiting. Since they were in the middle of the road and not hidden, I didn’t suspect a trap but I was curious as to why they were there.
Behind them, just a little further up the road and on the opposite side from me, was a low built cottage. There were two access points to the road and, from the limited vantage I had, what looked to be a large pond.
Shelter, easy access to the road and a potential food or water source. All of those made it the perfect place for one of the way stations I knew they were fond of using. Still, that didn’t explain why five raiders were standing out on the road, waiting.
My stomach grumbled and I winced at the cramp there. I needed food and water and the best place to get it was right in front of me. All I had to do was wait until they settled in for the night and then I could go and get it.
I lowered myself into the long grass and weeds and crept forward, just enough that I could peek out from beneath the bushes and see the road for a short distance to the north and south. I lay there for some time, watching and listening as they made coarse jokes and regaled each other with their tales of rape and murder.
In truth, I found myself more than a little bored listening to them. Another effect that Lily had left with me. The only murder I could really, truly, be interested in were those committed by myself. I couldn’t seem to find that thrill when listening to oafs like those raiders as they talked about their own.
As for rape, well I had never had much fascination with that particular kind of violence, so listening to them talk of it only increased the burning rage that I felt for those raiders and the monster that led them.
If anything, it made me all the more determined to wipe them all out. Which led me once again back to needing to return to the island and recovering my mantle as leader of the minions that were there.
They were idiots for believing in Samuel’s fables, but they could at least be useful idiots and spend their worthless lives doing as I told them.
A light rain began to fall in the early evening and I was glad for the shelter of the bushes as it grew in strength. Soon enough the raiders talk had stilled as they huddled together in the centre of the road.
Curiouser and curiouser, why would they not seek shelter even from the rain that was all I could hear bouncing off of the leaves and branches above me. Even with that, I was still getting drenched and my already aching neck was burning with being held up in one position for so long.
Soon enough though, my patience bore fruit as the raiders pointed and began to chatter animatedly. I turned to watch where they were pointing and was rewarded with the first sight of my true enemy.
Ten horsemen, wearing the raider amour and helmet, along with a long wooden lance topped with a beaten steel point, rode in two columns behind a tall man on a black horse that dwarfed those behind it.
Clearly, it needed to as the man was an almost literal giant, easily close to seven feet in height and as broad as two men. He wore the same armour as the rest of his troops with the one difference being that his helmet had a faceplate in the shape of a skull.
No, I realised as he came closer, not a faceplate but an actual skull. He had stripped away the flesh and skin and polished the bone beneath before cutting away the front portion and fixing it to his helmet.
There was little doubt that seeing him would inspire terror in the survivors of the apocalypse, a giant of a man stepping out of the darkness with eyes that glowed.
I squinted at that, but there it was, a definite crimson glow coming from the eye sockets of the helms faceplate, low, barely noticeable but certainly there, and I almost burst out laughing.
Pure theatrics. He had to have fitted some LED lights in the skull to make himself look more menacing. My shoulders shook with silent laughter as I watched them approach the waiting raiders.
“Report.”
A booming voice that could be heard clearly over the falling rain. Overly theatrical or not, he certainly sounded the part of big bad raider.
“No sign of them, boss.”
The large man climbed wearily from his mount and I half expected the ground to shake as he landed. He handed his reins to one of the raiders who almost bowed as he bobbed his head up and down grinning like a fool as though he had just been bestowed some great honour.
“I want them found!”
“Our folk are spread all around the area, boss. We’ll get em.”
“The Silures?”
“Hit a small group to the south-west. Haven’t come much further east as of yet.”
The raiders on their mounts were waiting in silence and I had to almost admire their discipline. Clearly, they were of a higher calibre than the ones I had been facing. I would have a lot of fun killing th
em all.
“Inside,” the leader instructed. “Food and rest for we leave at dawn.”
Again, the raider he had been speaking too almost bowed in response before gesturing for them to follow him. The other raiders dismounted and together they led their horses after their leader towards the cottage.
I considered my options. While I very much wanted to kill him, I would find it difficult while he was surrounded by so many of his people.
No, I had to do something else and I began to grin as I realised just what that would be.
Chapter 20
The cottage was large, as cottages go, but it was nowhere near big enough to fit in all of the people that were spending the night there. I did not doubt that the fearless leader would have a room entirely of his own, and his personal guard would take the majority of the other rooms.
Those raiders that were stationed at the property would draw guard duty since the others would be leaving early the next day, and they certainly wouldn’t allow themselves to be left unguarded while they slept.
Which meant that there were five raiders standing guard duty through the night. Since they had been awake during the day, they broke into two groups and while the first group slept in makeshift tents made out of blankets hanging from the fence, the other stood watch over the road and property.
The closest to me was beside the road, slouching against the stone wall that formed the border at the front of the property. The next was beside the entrance to the cottage and the third walked post between the rear fence and the front gate.
My stomach grumbled as I crouched in the darkness watching those guards. Like them, I’d had little sleep and I had a great deal to do before the morning. There was little time to waste then and certainly not enough to hang around until the guards were tired.
Whoever had once lived in that cottage had decided to screen out the road as best they could with a number of thin trunked trees that rose high above the wall. The raider had gravitated to those to shelter beneath the branches as best he could from the rain.
With my footsteps covered by the patter of the rain against the tarmac, I crept almost silently towards that sheltering guard. Rather than watching the road, he had hunched his head down into his shoulders and buried his hands in his pockets, clearly just miserable and not expecting trouble.
More fool him.
A quick dash the last few steps as my knife rose in my left hand, striking up beneath his chin and through into his brain. His squawk of pain was barely heard by me, let alone anyone else and I caught him as he slumped forward, eyes wide and full of hurt surprise.
I patted his cheek almost gently as I laid him down and then I reached for the top of the red brick wall and heaved myself up and over, to fall silently into the soft grass on the other side. I immediately dropped into a crouch and paused, awaiting any cry of alarm.
None came and with another grin, I crossed the yard towards the pond. Opposite that there were three cars, all streaked with dirt and covered in old leaves from the surrounding trees. I dashed across to those and slipped in between the two closest, keeping low.
Any wondering I might have been doing over why the guards had chosen to sleep outside in their tents rather than taking shelter in the cars, was extinguished as I caught a glimpse through the windshield.
Naked apart from the bruises she wore and the thin, ragged, blanket that part covered her, she didn’t react to my presence, just stared back at me with empty eyes. Her hands had been tied securely to the steering wheel and it was immediately clear to me that she had been there for some time.
The stench was almost overwhelming even from the outside and I guessed they hadn’t allowed her to leave that seat since she had been put there. All the guards needed do was open the passenger side door and drag her out far enough for them to abuse her before tossing her back in, bruised and bleeding.
Any dampening of my rage vanished in an instant as I saw her quiet acceptance as she shrugged off the blanket readying herself for me to use her as she expected. My hand tightened on the knife I held, and I fought that rising tide of fury that threatened to send me into the cottage, numbers be damned.
There was another woman in the next car along, hair matted and sticking to her face with blood from the cut on her temple. Her left hand looked to have been struck with a hammer and she held it awkwardly as if unable to rest it against the steering wheel, to which she was tied, without pain.
I couldn’t kill them all, not without a great risk to myself. Ordinarily, that would not have been an issue and I would have tried anyway, but the promise I had made to Lily hung in my mind and I knew that I could not leave those women to suffer.
With a silent curse, I set off, moving swiftly across the open ground and ducking into the bushes by the rear fence. I waited, anger tugging impatiently at me as the bored guard made his slow and measured way back to where I waited.
As soon as he passed, I moved. Standing and stepping out behind him, my right hand clapping over his mouth as my left drove the dagger into his eye. I let him fall to the ground, heedless of the noise he might make as I stalked towards those makeshift tents.
The tired men died in silence and I didn’t spare them a thought as I walked away, blood dripping from my blade, towards the front of the cottage. As the rain beat down against my skin, I slipped around the corner of the building and moved silently towards the door where the guard sheltered.
My hand closed around his throat, squeezing as I cut off his breath leaving him unable to speak let along call out. I stared into his eyes for a moment before I slammed my blade into the side of his skull.
Working quickly, all too aware that time was of the essence, I dragged the body towards the pond. Once there I gathered the others, carrying them one at a time to lay beside the first. When all five had been gathered, I wiped the water from my face and crouched down to begin to work.
I kept my blades sharp and even after the five kills, it was still more than sharp enough to cut cleanly around the first raiders face. I gripped the skin and slid my knife into the cut, digging deep between skin and flesh beneath as I peeled it away.
Once done, I set it aside and did the same to the other four corpses. I cut quickly, caring only to keep the skin intact as I cut and peeled. Afterwards, I dragged the bodies into the pond, one after another.
If the raiders chose to use the pond for drinking water they would find it less than palatable. With a grin, I picked up the faces of the raiders and carried them around to the front of the house. There, I carefully laid them out on the doorstep.
I couldn’t kill their leader, not right then, but I could let him know that it was my choice not to. I could let him feel a portion of the fear that he let his people bring to others. That those women, abused and beaten, tied in the cars, did.
My stomach growled, audible even over the rain, and I hurried back to the cars. I pulled open the first door and the young woman inside turned to look at me as I recoiled from the stench that hit me.
She didn’t speak, just turned her body and shuffled back towards the door, assuming a position she had been forced to take so many times before. I had to grip the top of the car door and suck down a deep breath of that foul air as I forced myself not to go and try to kill everyone in that cottage.
Lily. I pictured her in my mind, seeing the strength and compassion in her face. Recalling the empathy that I had always lacked. The look of disappointment when I did something that she considered to be wrong. She knew that I didn’t understand, but still, she couldn’t always hide it.
I knew that if I left those women there she would be disappointed and of the few things I truly cared about, disappointing her was one. I would not do that. I reached past the woman and cut quickly through her binding.
She looked at me in surprise and I raised my finger to my lips, gesturing her to silence before jerking my head towards the door. She climbed out slowly, stumbling on shaky legs that meant she had to grip the car frame for support.<
br />
Her eyes were full of fear and uncertainty and I had neither the time nor the patience for questions, so I simply said, “you will not be harmed if you come with me, but you will if you stay. Your choice.”
There was doubt, I was sure of that, but since her choice was getting back into the stinking car, running off into the night naked and utterly alone, or going with me; I reasoned that she would choose the latter.
I repeated the same to the other woman as I released her and without another word I set off towards the front gate, stepping out onto the road and straight across to the undergrowth where I had been hidden earlier that day.
Only as I passed through the trees did I look back to see the two women following, wrapped tightly in their ragged and soiled blankets. They were thin, painfully so, and weak enough that they would not be able to walk far without collapsing.
A problem I had brought upon myself that might yet see me killed. Still, I would rather face death than a disappointed woman that for some bizarre reason had found it in herself to love me.
I very much would have enjoyed seeing the reaction when those raiders awoke to find my gift on their doorstep and their missing men. Prudence required that I get far enough away that the captives would be safe though.
So, I pushed on, chivvying those two frightened women along when they began to lag behind. Eventually, the rain stopped, and the sky began to lighten, and I got a much clearer look at the injuries they bore.
“Not much further,” I said. “We’ll find somewhere safe to rest soon.”
“Why are you doing this?” the first asked, voice cracked and hoarse from days of screaming. “What do you want?”
I considered her question for what seemed like an eternity before I finally answered, smiling at the thought.
“Because they wanted to hurt you and I want to hurt them,” I said, simply. “There is nothing I want from you that you will not willingly give. Agree to follow me, to obey my commands, and I will give you the weapons and the training you need to help other victims like yourselves. Or choose to go your own way. I care not, other than to hold to a promise I made to someone important to me.”
Killing The Dead | Book 22 | Fury Page 13
