Killing The Dead (Book 18): Sacrifice

by Murray, Richard

  “As long as I can move it,” I managed. “Lot of killing to do yet.”

  He just nodded and looked around, chewing his lip. “They know we’re here so no point hiding. Let’s get inside and clean you up then we can be on our way.”

  “Guards will be coming.”

  “We hope so,” Briony hissed and I blinked, taken aback by her presence. I’d not noticed her and that was an indication of how tired I was.

  She had fresh scars on her face that were just healing, and her little group had dropped to four, but they were there. And not trying to kill me. Which was a surprise.

  “How?” I asked, and it was Gregg who answered.

  “Some fast talking by me and a promise that I would let her bite me,” he said, lifting the sleeve of his coat. The skin there was red, around the imprint left by teeth, with dark lines spreading out from it. “We should get going.”

  His one eye seemed to wink at me as he let the coat sleeve fall. At least I thought it did. He could have just been blinking. It was hard to tell since he just had the one eye. But still, he knew as well as I did that his sister was immune to the zombie’s infection, which likely meant he was too.

  I grinned and then passed out.

  Chapter 22

  I forced myself to watch. Not to look away. To see the entire horror unfold knowing that I was directly responsible for what was happening to those women. It was all on me.

  They had boarded the cruiser as a crowd of men had gathered. I was beyond proud of how Shepherd had stood with back straight and head high, unintimidated by them. A huge man had stepped out of the crowd.

  He was clearly the leader. Bald and tattooed with the defined muscles that any bodybuilder would kill for. He was the ultimate cliché bad guy and I couldn’t hear what he said, but it had his people laughing. Right up until they converged on those women.

  “This is our response to your terms!” the voice had said through the radio. “When we’re done. Surrender and give us everything you have.”

  Then it had gone silent and I had watched through the binoculars as those women were stripped naked there and then. Despite the cold, despite the snow, they were pushed down onto the deck and abused by one man after another for the past hour.

  I watched each man, burning his face into my mind. If nothing else, I would ensure that they would all die for what they were doing. Shepherd and the others didn’t cry out, they just stared sightlessly at the men abusing them.

  The drugs that Vanessa had given them had seemed to do the job. At least I hoped it had. That they were suffering such an assault was one thing, having to feel it was entirely another. The drugs were supposed to keep them numb for the full two hours.

  “Not long now,” Admiral Stuart said, voice soft. He too had been forcing himself to watch.

  “I hate this.”

  “It would be a surprise if you didn’t,” he replied.

  “We could have found another way. I could have.”

  “Perhaps but… somethings happening.”

  “Where?”

  “White male with brown cap and green jacket to starboard,” Admiral Stuart said.

  I moved my binoculars, scanning the crowd until I found him. Yes, there he was. Bent over beside the rail as he vomited messily over the side. I remembered him. He’d been the third to assault Shepherd.

  “Come on,” I whispered. “Work, dammit!”

  “Everyone get ready,” Admiral Stuart called to the crew. “It’s about to begin.”

  I watched the man as he heaved up his guts again and almost smiled. Vanessa and the others had been working on the zombie parasite for months searching for a cure after their vaccine hadn’t worked.

  They hadn’t succeeded as of yet, but they had figured out how to do a few other things in the meantime.

  The man was jerking and shuddering, his body shaking as something began to happen.

  They’d not cured the infection, but they had figured out how to make it multiply without immediately changing the person. After just a short time, minutes, in fact, the body would be swarming with the parasites that would change a person, but not immediately.

  No, the researchers had found a way to delay the change. Not long, just a couple of hours. Long enough for the parasite to be transmitted via blood, saliva and sexual intercourse. It had been theorized that it was built into the parasite by Genpact as an earlier possible way of spreading that was later changed to the more efficient strains.

  The coding was still there though in the parasites DNA and it was just a case of switching it on. Which our people had managed to do, and a group of incredibly brave women had volunteered to be injected with it.

  “It’s begun,” I breathed as the green-jacketed man stood suddenly upright, before spinning about scanning the crowd.

  He ran straight at the nearest man and leapt on him, teeth sinking into his flesh. Blood spurted into the air and the zombie was off and running to the next as the baying crowd realised what was happening.

  “Another,” Admiral Stuart said. “Portside, yellow cap.”

  I searched the crowd, catching sight of the man in question just as he tore a chunk of flesh out of another man's cheek. Panic was running through the crowd as weapons were pulled free and shots fired.

  Which was when Shepherd reached up, grasping the head of the man who had just stopped his assault at the first sound of a gunshot. She pulled him down and sank her teeth into his throat.

  “Goodbye, my friend,” I whispered as the infection finally took hold in her.

  I lowered the binoculars, not ashamed of the tears in my eyes and turned to the Admiral. He looked questioningly at me and the rest of the crew were doing the same, I realised.

  “Do it.”

  The Admiral wasted no time, lifting the radio to his mouth and speaking, quickly and authoritatively. He gave the orders that the fleet had been waiting for, the command to set forth and unleash hell on those bastards that would threaten our families.

  With the Cruiser occupied, that took out the largest threat and the biggest number of crew. A good third of the raiders were on that ship, which left us with around four hundred spread over a hundred and odd ships, all armed to the teeth.

  The two enemy destroyers reacted quickly as our fleet began moving. Admiral Stuart watched stone-faced as they cut through the waters. Beside us, the Resolute was moving too, putting a strain on their engines as they moved.

  “In range,” a sailor said, and the Admiral nodded.

  Both ships had torpedoes, we knew that much from observation alone. The majority of the armaments were on the Cruiser though, so when they unleashed their fury on us, they released everything they had.

  I bit my lip as the Resolute turned, moving directly into the path of those torpedoes. It had no active weaponry and a skeleton crew who had volunteered for this one task. They were to be the shield for us, to take the hits so that we wouldn’t have to.

  The ship rocked as one after another of the torpedoes hit its hull. I turned away, too many sacrifices were to be made that day and I’d had my fill already. I didn’t need to see the ship slip below the waves or see the few crew trying to launch lifeboats.

  I left the Admiral issuing orders, as I stepped out into the cold, sucking in breaths of frigid air and wishing that I hadn’t had to order so many people to their deaths. The Admiral responded by unleashing our full arsenal.

  At sea, all around me, the fishing boats were speeding towards the pirate fleet. As I watched, two broke away, heading towards the tankers that carried the fuel for the enemy fleet. Machine gun fire raked their decks and waters around them, but they didn’t stop.

  Straight at those fuel-bearing ships, crashing into the sides and detonating the improvised explosive devices that filled their cargo holds. More of my people died in a fiery explosion that tore great holes in the hulls of the fuel tankers.

  The gunfire increased in fury as the enemy fleet realised what was happening. The other fishing ships, pilot
ed by the fishermen determined to keep their families safe, sailed straight at those guns.

  Where possible, they came alongside, and black-garbed acolytes swarmed aboard the ships with sharp knives and no mercy for the raiders. When they were done, they left burning wreckage in their wake as they went to the next.

  The waters were filled with the dead and dying as scores of my people were cut down by the automatic weapon fire. Naval Marines gave as good as they got, their superior training more than offsetting the difference in numbers, but still, it was wasn’t enough.

  When the boarding parties were dead, the fishermen turned their ships into weapons, ramming the enemy and detonating the explosives that filled their holds.

  Ash soon joined the snow falling the sky, streaking my face alongside the tears. An enemy destroyer listed, slowly sinking as the Admiral turned us towards the remaining one. Royal Naval sailors manned the machineguns that raked the destroyer’s decks and all too soon we were up alongside it.

  I unholstered my gun and rushed to the side, joining the marines and acolytes there. Lisa, the only acolyte without a hood, caught sight of me and came to my side.

  “You should stay back, My Lady.”

  “No. This is all of ours fight.”

  She looked around, seeing the flaming wreckage and the frantic fights filling many of the ship's decks. The chaos and the death, the desperate battle to save our people. The sacrifice of so many brave men and women, and she nodded once, a single jerk of the head.

  I followed her across to the deck of the other ship as I drew my knife while firing my gun at any raider I could get between my sights. Then we were too close for guns and it was a frantic melee of flashing knives and stabbing poignards.

  A raider reared up before me, axe raised high. He stopped, a hole appearing in his forehead before he fell back. I smiled my thanks though I was sure Erin wouldn’t see it, she would already have her sniper sights fixed on another target.

  Blood flowed over my hand as I sank my knife into the belly of a dark-skinned raider with golden teeth. He looked surprised for just a moment before I was away and moving on to the next. My world shrank down to a seemingly endless repeating of stabbing and slashing my knife at anyone who came close.

  Ash and blood covered me and somewhere close by, a moan sounded as a body began to reanimate. The moan was cut off by the knife of an acolyte and I put it from my mind as the raiders broke and ran.

  We followed them into the dimly lit corridors where it was hard to tell friend from foe. The sound of gunfire dimmed as we moved further into the ship and all I could hear was the screams of the wounded and the dying.

  There was no mercy to be given.

  Then, there were no more to fight, and I found myself standing over a body, blood dripping down my face from a wound I couldn’t remember receiving. A handful of acolytes were with me and they set about ensuring the corpses didn’t rise again.

  “Lisa?” I asked one and received a blank stare.

  I brushed past him and headed for the control room. Someone would need to inform the Admiral that we had cleared the ship. Then we would head on towards the cruiser.

  Bodies filled the hallways and corridors. Raiders and acolytes along with naval personnel. So many dead, so much wasted life. I gripped my knife and pressed my lips tightly together. It was too much. How many how to die before we would finally live in peace once more?

  In the control room, I found Lisa. She was speaking into the radio and I greeted her with a smile as I joined her. Which was when I saw the Triumph moving away from us.

  “What’s going on?”

  “The Cruiser,” Lisa said. “The raiders have regained control.”

  “Then we need to get back to the ship.”

  She shook her head and passed the radio to me. I stared at it blankly for a moment before raising it and speaking.

  “Admiral, what’s going on?”

  “Ammunition is depleted, and the cruiser is moving, ma’am.”

  “Then let us get aboard. You’ll need us to help clear that ship!”

  “No, ma’am,” he said, voice soft. “A few of the raiders are fleeing, most are gone along with the majority of our fleet. We’re the closest.”

  “To intercept them?” I asked, confused as what would be the point without the crew to board them

  “No, Lily.”

  I swallowed back the tears as I heard the sorrow in his voice, the regret, the goodbye.

  “Admiral. Nathaniel. Please, don’t do this.”

  We’d lost enough. We’d lost far too much. It was too much to bear.

  “I’ll tell my family of you when I see them again,” he said. “Goodbye, Lily.”

  And I wept as the Triumph sped towards the cruiser at full speed.

  Chapter 23

  There was a conversation going on nearby and it wasn’t a friendly one, at least to my ears. Without opening my eyes, I listened to what they were saying. I wasn’t one to shy away from the chance to eavesdrop.

  Not that it helped. I couldn’t pick up more than an angry murmur. Clearly whatever they were arguing about was not intended for me. Which probably wasn’t a good sign.

  I lifted my shoulder, experimentally, and immediately let out a groan as pain surged through me. Like a dam opening, it seemed that movement was enough to prompt my body to remind me of all the other places I was hurting.

  “Careful, mate. You break those stitches and I’ll be pissed.”

  I blinked up at his face, full of concern and still a little annoyance, and I tried to manage a grin though I suspected it came out more like a grimace.

  “How long?”

  “Barely ten minutes. Just enough time to stitch you up.”

  I pushed myself up, wincing at the fresh wave of pain and with a quiet curse, Gregg moved to help me.

  “Why the hell are you here? I left you on the boat for a reason.”

  “Yeah, I know you did, mate. Not my fault you were wrong.”

  I wasn’t really going to argue with that. A man had the right to choose his own fate. After all, I would certainly never let another choose for me. Anything I did, was of my choosing and mine alone.

  “Where are we?”

  “Zombie hole,” Gregg said, glancing around with distaste.

  The was filthy with blood and all manner of bodily fluids spread around. I had been lying on one of the few clean patches of floor and then over in the furthest corner from the hole through which we’d entered.

  “There’ll be more on the way.”

  “Aye, mate.”

  “Then we had better leave,” Briony said, turning to stare directly at me.

  Clearly, she was pissed and also, clearly she had heard every part of our conversation. I flashed her a quick grin.

  “Not wanting to kill me anymore?”

  She didn’t immediately reply, and I tensed. My knives had been retrieved and placed back into the sheaths on my belt and my hands twitched towards them. She noticed, eyes flicking down for a moment before coming back to my face.

  “We will not kill you until the task is done.”

  “Why the change of heart?”

  “Don’t press it mate,” Gregg muttered.

  “Your companion was persuasive.”

  I looked at him, but his face gave nothing away. If he wasn’t going to tell me then there wasn’t much I could do about it. Well, I could ask, but I wouldn’t.

  “Fair enough. Security will be on the way, so we best be off.”

  With the Infected along for a shield, I actually stood a chance of getting inside. So long as they didn’t betray me, anyway. But, considering the mercenaries that Genpact had guarding the base would be carrying guns, having a bunch of people that couldn’t readily be hurt by them would be a good start.

  We left the building and went out into the snowstorm. I struggled with the cold and the wind, my shredded coat offering little protection. Not that I would need it for long, I realised. All too soon I would be dead. Whe
ther from Genpact or Briony.

  Not that it mattered, so long as my family were safe.

  “Should have named the twins,” I said, quietly, a sudden pang of what I could only assume was regret, assailing me.

  “Aye, you should have.”

  Which wasn’t really helpful of him to say. He ignored my glare and moved to walk a little closer beside me, ready to reach out and grab me should I need the support.

  Under the watchful gaze of Briony, I led the way between the two buildings and out into the square beyond. There, before us, was the twenty plus storey building I had been headed towards. Even from the first look, I knew that I was right.

  Where all the other buildings in the area had been clearly abandoned in a rush. Windows still open, doors ajar and a great deal of mess in their lobby. The building before us was sealed up tight with an immaculate interior.

  “There,” I said with a nod towards the building and my hand on the hilt of my knife. “We need to get to the roof.”

  “Why the roof?” Briony asked, turning to look at me, a calculated expression on her face.

  “Because that’s where the helicopter is and however they access it, will be up there.”

  “Surely it will be via elevator. There are several visible from here,” she said with a gesture at the glass doors and the lobby beyond.

  “They won’t use the same elevator that everyone else uses. Theirs will lead to a secret base. No chance they want others to even suspect it.”

  “We shall check, anyway.”

  I gave a shrug at that and watched as she directed two of her minions to break through the glass doors. The noise of the glass shattering had the hairs standing on the back of my neck. Too loud, too easy to attract unwanted attention.

  She led the way in, her minions following and with the hope of dying warm instead of in the damned snow and cold, I followed along. As I stepped through the open doorway, I smiled up at the camera.

  If the building had power, then so dd the security systems. No alarm had gone off when the doors were smashed, which indicated they were smart enough to avoid something loud enough to draw a lot of attention.