Killing The Dead | Book 22 | Fury

by Murray, Richard

  They hated me, but they feared me too. The arrogant display of disdain I held them in had given them pause and coupled with their leader’s subtle displays of fear and reverence as he stared at me, they didn’t know what to do.

  So, they followed me.

  Brute was vocal, of course. The large oaf speaking rapidly and gesturing wildly as he cast glares my way. I merely smiled in reply which caused a flush to redden his cheeks as his anger grew with each passing moment.

  Not that his anger could match the overwhelming fury I felt at the thought of leaving a single one of those raiders alive. Whatever happened, I would ensure that many of them would die that night.

  I led them around the streets near the community, keeping far enough back that they wouldn’t notice our approach. I kept a brisk pace, knowing the mounted raiders would be more than capable of keeping up and soon enough, we approached the train tracks to the south of the bridge that formed the entrance to the community.

  As I dropped to a crouch, keeping myself hidden from view behind the bushes that lined the track, Leader and Brute both approached. I kept my expression neutral as they shared a glance and then dropped to a crouch beside me.

  Smoke hung low over the compound and even where I was hidden, safe from their view, I could smell the stench of burned flesh. With any luck, that meant they were having a celebratory feast and would be taken unawares.

  “Lead your people inside,” I said, not bothering to look at the two men. “Charge through the gates and slaughter every single person in there. I trust you can manage that?”

  “Aye, we can, but why the hell should we?”

  I turned to Brute, not flinching away from his scowling visage as I looked him steadily in the eye. I was well aware of the manner in which his hand caressed the hilt of his sword, but I didn’t care. Should he draw it, I would cut him down and take my chances against the rest.

  But I didn’t think he would. Not right then, not without the blessing of his leader, and that blessing wouldn’t come. I was sure of that.

  “You have a duty to defend your territory do you not?”

  “This isn’t our territory.”

  “Then put it this way,” I said, coldly. “They will move towards you, destroying any community they come across until they reach Birmingham. Every death at their hands will give them a new soldier to fight for them against you. Destroy them now, and you save yourself from dying later.”

  Leader looked back at his waiting army and then towards the fortified community. A soft sigh escaped his mask and he reached up to pull the bone mask away from his face.

  I studied him, curious as to whether or not I would recognise him. A strong jawline and eyes that shone with intelligence. A puckered scar crossed his upper lip towards his nose and his unshaven face bore a touch of grey in the mahogany of the hair.

  His eyes darkened as I showed no recognition, and he pressed his lips together as his jaw clenched.

  “Release me from the oath I made.”

  I cocked my head to the side, allowing a smile to form as I kept my eyes fixed to his.

  “Very well. Once you have destroyed those raiders inside the compound, I free you of any oath that you feel may bind you to me.”

  Not that I understood why he needed me to release him from it. I couldn’t see myself keeping any oath that I had made if it suited me better not to.

  Except if that oath was in the form of a promise, a treacherous little voice in my mind pointed out.

  “So, go and attack then,” I said, pushing that voice down.

  “You first.”

  I glanced at Brute, his voice full of anger matched his expression and I almost laughed. He wanted to kill me then and there, but he couldn’t. Not without permission.

  “Very well, if you lack the courage to lead the way, I am more than happy to strike the first blow against my enemies.”

  His angry flush was all the response I needed as I rose and stepped out onto the railway tracks. A hand grabbed my arm and dragged me back before I could take two steps and I drew my knife only to find a sword pressed against my throat.

  “What, are you doing?”

  “Thought you could lead us into a trap, huh?”

  “Trap?”

  Brute gestured towards the compound and I turned my head, carefully due to the blade pressed against my neck, and looked that way. My brow furrowed and I was momentarily unsure of how to respond.

  The timing couldn’t have been worse. I watched as a long double-column of black-garbed and hooded figures descended from the top of the banking and hurried into the tunnel that led towards the compound’s gates.

  “You still have your followers then,” Leader said. “More fools who will throw away their lives for you not realising you don’t give a damn.”

  His voice was full of hurt and I almost laughed. He had been a true believer indeed and my not recognising him had cut him deeply. Though likely not as deep as my knife would when I had the chance.

  “I had no idea they would be here.”

  Why would I? they should have been a great many miles away on the island guarding Lily and my children. The fact they were in Wrexham was perplexing enough, but they were also walking into a killing field with psychotic cannibal raiders and their pet Reapers at the other side.

  “Whether I believe you or not, it doesn’t matter.” Leader glanced at Brute who hadn’t moved his arm an inch, nor the sword he held. “Keep him here. He can watch his followers be slaughtered.”

  “Aye, happy to.”

  Brute leered and I rolled my eyes as Leader marched back to where his horse was waiting, held by one of his men. A few brief words and four of his raiders dismounted and tied their horse's reins to the metal railing that ran alongside the road before they hurried over to provide back up for Brute.

  I watched, a half-smile on my face, as the raiders moved out, down the banking and onto the tracks. They began to trot and then gallop, weapons drawn as they charged at the tunnel where the last of the Dead had passed through.

  Fools that they were, they had ruined a perfectly valid setup. My intention had been to have the two raider groups fight one another to the death while my merry little band kept them from retreating.

  Now, with the Dead caught between the two and about to be slaughtered, I would need to adapt and do something else. What that would be, I wasn’t entirely certain though I knew that if I just waited a few moments more I would have the opportunity.

  “Why you smiling?” Brute asked. “You think you can draw your weapons before I slice your throat, you’re wrong in the head, mate.”

  “I don’t need to.”

  “Yeah? Why not?”

  “Because I have my Fury.”

  His blank look was enough to make me giggle as Two leapt on the back of the closest raider, Seven not far behind. The other Furies attacked in silence, blades flashing as blood sprayed into the air and men cried out in fear and pain.

  Brute looked back, mouth dropping open as he saw their unbridled rage and I was moving, my knife out and driving up in one smooth motion, cutting deep into his armpit. His sword dropped from suddenly numb fingers and he managed to look at me with wide-eyed surprise before I pulled back my knife and swept it across his throat, cutting deep and saving me from having to hear him speak once more.

  “You took your time,” I said, as the women finished off the last raider.

  “We expected to meet you at the tunnel entrance after they’d gone through,” Two snapped. “Shit happens. We came as soon as we could.”

  “What now?” Emma asked, wiping her knife on the jeans of one of the dead raiders.

  Gregg, moving slowly with sweat streaming down his face, had his arm around Abigail with every movement stiff and awkward. He didn’t so much as glance at the bodies but instead just echoed Emma’s question.

  “Yes, what now?”

  “I’m reasonably certain that you won’t like me leaving a number of our allies to die.” I glanced back a
long the train tracks to the fortified compound. The sounds of battle could be heard from within, the clash of metal on metal and the war-cries mixed with the screams of the dying. “I suppose we should go and save them.”

  “How?” Two asked. “There’s a lot more of them than there are of us.”

  “True, but we have one thing in our favour.”

  “What?”

  “The element of surprise,” I said with a grin. “They don’t expect us at all.”

  Gregg shook his head as my laughter rang out and without another word, I set off running towards the compound. Adrenaline rushing through my system and an almost electric tingle coursing through my body as I felt that bubbling joy that only came with killing.

  Enveloping it was, though, was my rage. That burning fury for those who would act the monster and attack the innocent I had promised Lily that I would protect. For the men and women who would prey on others, who would, if left unchecked, one day be a threat to my children.

  I wouldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t allow such a threat to exist for long in the new world that was being built after the apocalypse. There would be no monsters allowed but me, and only me.

  It was with that thought uppermost in my mind and a wicked grin that I increased my pace, arms pumping and the man who Lily had found, who she had loved, and who had learned to love in return, was drawn away.

  Until only the killer remained.

  Chapter 30

  “How much longer?”

  I couldn’t quite keep the irritation from my voice and judging by Charlie’s look of hurt, she had picked up on it. I began to apologise but she waved it away and turned back to her work, tapping away on her keyboard in the command centre.

  All around us the technicians worked in almost silence, heads down whenever I looked their way as though they were afraid that I would snap at them too.

  Great, I’d become the bitch they all hated. Not the sort of leader I wanted to be, but there wasn’t much I could do about that now. I’d been riding them hard as we did everything we could to get some idea of what the hell was going on with the raiders.

  “They’re approaching Wrexham, ma’am,” one of the techs said, listening intently to her headset. “Drone is being released.”

  “Finally!”

  Cass touched my shoulder, and I bowed my head. I needed no comfort, not right then. Everything would hinge on what happened in Wrexham. If Samuel and his cultists won, then we would need to move fast to secure the region before another group moved in.

  If they lost, we would need some idea of the numbers we would face when they came up the road directly to us, and if we didn’t hold, the mainland would be left to fend for itself.

  As Isaac took his security personnel to prepare ambushes along the road, a trio of Charlie’s techs had volunteered to take a car south. They would launch a drone when close to Wrexham and we would be able to see what was happening.

  Which is why Charlie gestured to a screen that lit up with an image and I peered down at it, heart beating furiously in my chest. Fear and anxiety warred within me and I clenched my hands into fists as I leant forward, hoping that we weren’t too late.

  The drone flew high enough that it couldn’t easily be knocked from the sky but that left us with a birds-eye view of a wide area. When zoomed in, we lost too much detail to make out more than the most basic of identification of the people we would be watching.

  It would be enough, though. It had to be.

  “Compound coming up,” the tech said, eyes fixed to the screen.

  There it was, the high walls of steel topped with razorwire and forming a rough rectangle around a small cluster of homes. Smoke rose from the large bonfires that still burned out in the open spaces between the houses and battle had been joined.

  “Samuel’s cultists,” Charlie said, tapping the screen with one long finger.

  They were moving fast, their black clothing and hoods standing out. Their target seemed to be a cluster of people moving slowly through the gate of the compound. No, not people, I realised, but zombies.

  “Using the people they kill as a weapon,” Cass muttered, shaking her head, disapproval and disgust showing on her face.

  “Shouldn’t be a problem for the Dead, they are used to fighting them.”

  At least that is what I hoped. The front of the cultist's ranks hit the zombies like a spear pushing into flesh, and the zombies were cut down, falling away to either side of the point. More poured through the open gates, Shamblers, but freshly risen and dangerous all the same.

  The first cultist fell, a zombie pulling him from his feet and biting into the upraised arm. More zombies joined the first and he was soon buried beneath them as the fight continued.

  Activity inside the compound drew my attention and I gasped softly as the Silures moved into position. They had their spears out as they pushed the zombies towards the gate and behind them came the Reapers.

  Four of them, too tall forms bent over as they walked on all fours like some cursed beast of nightmare. Their too-long fingers, blackened and claw-like, were ready to tear flesh from bone. They lifted their heads, noses to the air, searching for the scent of their prey, the living.

  “Two-thirds of the zombies are gone,” Charlie said, voice rising with excitement. “See! I knew Samuel and his fanatics could do it!”

  “They haven’t done it yet,” I muttered, gaze intent on the scene unfolding on the screen. “Those Reapers are dangerous enough when there’s just one, but four of them!”

  “Not to mention the bloody raiders,” Cass agreed. “But I still think-“

  She stopped and my eyes flicked to her face, wondering why she had cut off. Her mouth hung open as she shook her head slowly and I quickly turned back to the screen.

  “Fuck,” Charlie whispered as armoured horsemen charged into the back of the cultists, trampling many before the swords they wielded began to fall.

  “No…”

  It was over. Attacked from two sides, zombies and Reapers, Riders and Silures. I closed my eyes before I burst into tears. I had no desire to see my friend die, cut down by rival thug’s intent on slaughter.

  “Let Isaac know.” I licked my lips, working moisture into my suddenly dry mouth. “He needs to know that we’ve failed to stop them.”

  The charge had slowed, and the horses were pushing up against the Dead who had turned to fight back. Their knives would be of little use against the armoured raiders who had the height and longer reach of their swords.

  As their brethren died, the Dead formed a circle, pressing themselves against each other and fighting with all they had against the two enemy forces. I could only imagine what it was like, the panic and the fear, the blood and the pain.

  I wanted to weep, but I couldn’t. Instead, I would take up a weapon and I would wait with the rest of my people. When the raiders came for us, they wouldn’t take us without a fight, that was for sure.

  “What’s that?” Cass muttered, leaning forward and pointing at the edge of the screen. “More raiders?”

  I squinted at the image, trying to make it out, but all I could see was a handful of running figures. They charged along the rail tracks and to my utter astonishment, the first of them leapt into the ranks of the Riders and an armoured body toppled from his horse.

  “The hell is going on?” Charlie asked, though no one had an answer for her.

  As that first warrior leapt and ducked, weaving amongst the milling horses, the rest of his group reached the fight. With a fury that I could scarcely comprehend, they tore into the Riders, with knives and a rage unlike any I had seen before, they began to kill.

  More and more of the Rider’s were falling, cut down by what seemed to be an unstoppable force. Panic was rising amongst those Riders as they struck out at someone who moved like a ghost, vanishing from one place only to appear in another, a weapon in each hand bringing death to all he encountered.

  “Who the hell is that?” Cass asked. “The Jackals?”
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br />   No, I was certain of that. Any raider group that could fight like that wouldn’t be skulking around the edges looking for opportunity. Whoever they were, they were incredible to watch. It was something I had not seen for years and with a pang of sorrow, I knew it reminded me of him, my beloved, Ryan.

  The leading figure spun away from a dead raider and came up against the black-garbed defensive wall of the cultists. They parted before him with something that I could only call surprise, and the man thrust out one arm, pointing at the Riders.

  It seemed to be all the cultists needed to hear and they sprang to action, forgetting about defence and attacking the raiders with a ferocity that almost matched that of the mysterious group themselves.

  Only minutes had passed, though it seemed like hours, and I couldn’t tear my gaze away from that screen. Slowly, the tide had turned, and the Riders had stopped their attack and were instead defending.

  At the rear of the fight, the first raider turned his horse around and galloped from the battle. Then another, followed, and another. A trickle that became a flood as they fled, driven from the fight by a ferocious enemy that seemed to be an ally of ours.

  Whatever their motivations for joining the fight, I wanted to thank each of them personally. The battle hadn’t been won but it wasn’t as hopeless as I had believed it to be just minutes before.

  “Reapers are coming out!”

  I sucked in a breath, holding it as though afraid to release it. My arms trembled and I hand to clasp my hands together. I knew what a lone Reaper could do. I had seen it decimate squads of trained soldiers, tearing them apart as though they were made of straw and-

  “What the hell!”

  A lone figure had dashed out from the ranks of the Dead, straight at the Reapers. The first of them reared up, claws lashing out at the running figure and then…

  “What happened! Did you see that?” Charlie asked, staring incredulously at the screen as the Reaper collapsed in a heap and the warrior leapt at the next.

  “Who the hell are these people?” I asked. Whoever they were, I hoped to God that they were willing to join us because I definitely wouldn’t want them as enemies.