Dead South | Book 4 | Dead Love

by Bohannon, Zach

  "In the meantime, we need to get our hands on some food," Jon said. "People are going to get hungry."

  "Me and you can go out and hunt," Brooke said to him.

  "Alright," Jon said. He looked at Raylon. "You want to help everyone get settled here? Brooke and I will go out while we've still got some daylight and try to find something to eat."

  "That sounds good. You all just be careful."

  "What do you want me to do?" Terrence asked.

  "Sit on your lazy ass and rest," Brooke said, catching a laugh from the others.

  Jon joined in on the laughter, but in the back of his mind, he couldn't help wondering how long Malcolm was going to wait before he showed up at Freedom Ridge looking for their group.

  9

  Malcolm sat alone in the third row of the SUV, his hands resting on his lap. Bennett had found three men to bring with them, each one now being armed with an assault rifle. When they arrived at Freedom Ridge, Malcolm wouldn't carry a rifle with him. But he had a pistol on his hip just in case, though he knew he wouldn't have to use it. He knew Lennox well enough to know that the man would not start a fight. This was simply an unannounced intimidation visit being made by the contingent from Black Hill. And if Lennox didn't give Malcolm what —or, in this instance, who—he wanted, then it was going to be the last straw. Malcolm would make sure Lennox knew that. But Malcolm also felt confident enough that Lennox wouldn't hesitate to turn the Savage over to him. If he didn't, it would be the biggest, and last, mistake Lennox would ever make.

  "We're just a few minutes away," Bennett said from the driver's seat. "Are you sure you want me to pull right up to the gate?"

  "Yes," Malcolm said without delay.

  "Alright."

  There was an uncertainty in Bennett's voice that bothered Malcolm.

  "Do you have a problem with that?"

  "No, sir." But Bennett still spoke with little confidence, and when he glanced into the mirror, Malcolm frowned at him. "But haven't you always set up meetings with him and met in a neutral spot?" Bennett asked. "We've just never gone straight to their camp before."

  Leaving his hands in his lap, Malcolm stared out the window next to him. "That's exactly the point."

  Shortly after the exchange, Malcolm felt the SUV slow down, and he looked out through the windshield. He saw the dirt path off to the right, and Bennett turned onto it. The rough road made it hard for Malcolm to sit still, his body swaying as Bennett navigated. The place was well-hidden—Malcolm had to commend Lennox for that. But his people should have done a better job of making sure they weren't being tailed before going back there. That had made it easy for one of Malcolm's scouting crews to find the entrance to the camp some weeks ago when they'd followed a vehicle back to Freedom Ridge.

  Malcolm didn't know what to expect when they actually reached the camp. Malcolm had always met Lennox somewhere neutral, as Bennett had pointed out, but Malcolm hoped that by coming right to the man's doorstep and knocking, he would send a message to Lennox. A message that Malcolm knew where the camp was, and that if Lennox didn't give him what he wanted, then there would be real consequences to pay. Malcolm felt confident the intimidation would work and he wouldn't have to expose the fact that his camp wasn't filled with the ruthless soldiers he had made the inhabitants out to be. That was part of why Malcolm had brought such a small crew with him. He wanted to show Lennox that he wasn't scared of him, and that he knew Lennox's real weakness was his belief that the truths the two men had agreed upon would hold. That Malcolm would live up to his end of the agreement.

  But Malcolm had no intention of holding a truce.

  Instead, he was only biding his time before he took down Freedom Ridge.

  That time would come soon enough.

  The SUV pulled within ten feet of the gate before Bennett stopped. At the gate, the young guard, who couldn't have been older than twenty-five, pointed his gun toward the SUV while shouting back into the camp.

  "He seems uneasy," Bennett said. "Should we wait?"

  "The three of you get out and identify yourselves," Malcolm said. "Tell him you want to speak to Lennox and to get him up here ASAP. I don't think that kid would shoot you even if you were running at him full-speed with a gun pointed at his face."

  "You heard the boss," Bennett said to his two henchmen.

  The three men got out of the vehicle while Malcolm stayed in the back. He believed the kid wouldn't fire the gun, but he'd rather be safe than sorry. Besides, it was Lennox who he was looking to intimidate. That would be enough to make the others in the camp scared.

  As he waited for Lennox to walk up, Malcolm reached under his shirt and grabbed the pendulum hanging around his neck. The jewel meant so much more to him now that he knew it had belonged to the Savage's wife. To caress it now made him smile, and he thought about the Savage's pain as he did so. He even felt his penis shift slightly in his pants, the feeling bringing him a hint of sexual pleasure.

  This time, though, Malcolm also felt his neck. It burned a little to the touch, and he could feel the swelling where the Savage had nearly choked him out. The sensation reminded him how the Savage had gotten the best of him in their first encounter. In their next one, Malcolm would do everything to make sure it was the last time the two men met, or he'd die trying.

  He refocused when he heard the gate opening. Lennox and a crew stood there ready to come meet him outside. Then, there came a gentle knock at the car door, and Bennett opened it for Malcolm.

  Placing the pendulum back under his shirt, Malcolm assured that the collar was tight enough to hide the marks on his chest, and then he stepped out of the vehicle. He adjusted his collar again as he stood, becoming self-conscious about what the Savage had done to him. He put the concern aside, standing up straight and approaching Lennox.

  Lennox had brought four people out with him. Beyond that, over a dozen people loitered inside the camp, staring out toward the gate and wondering what was happening. Malcolm was fine with that; the more people from Freedom Ridge who saw him intimidate their leader, the better.

  "You've got a lot of balls showing up here at my doorstep," Lennox said. "Especially without warning."

  "Apparently, doing things the way we were doesn't work anymore. You lied to me and didn't hold up your end of our bargain."

  "I didn't lie to you. Some unexpected shit happened."

  "And I'm supposed to stand here and believe that you had nothing to do with that rescue operation at my camp?"

  Licking his lips, Lennox glanced around the surrounding people before focusing on Malcolm again. "Frankly, I don't give a shit what you believe. All I can do is tell you the truth. Someone at my camp went behind my back and made it impossible for me to live up to my end of the bargain."

  "That's on you," Malcolm said, still speaking in a calm voice. "You're responsible for this place and for the people in it."

  "Yo, you're not going to walk up here to my house and tell me how to run it. If you want to have some sort of dictatorship where you're at, fine. But that's not how we roll around here."

  Malcolm could feel Bennett tensing up. He looked over at the man, assuring him through his look that he had everything under control and there was no reason to do anything. Not yet.

  "You're right," Malcolm said. "I can't tell you how to run your camp, just as you can't tell me how to run mine." He could see Lennox perking up at that, proud that he'd apparently put Malcolm in his place. Then, Malcolm continued. "But what I can tell you is that your people disrespected me, and because of that, you disrespected me. So, what's going to happen is, not only are you going to bring me the Savage, but you're also going to bring me the prisoners who were taken from us, and you're going to bring us the people responsible for breaking into my camp."

  Lennox shook his head. "I can't do that, Malcolm."

  "This isn't a request," Malcolm said. "We had a deal, and not only did you not live up to it, but you—"

  "No, you don't understand," Lennox said, cutting hi
m off. "Even if I wanted to, I can't. They aren't here."

  Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Then, tell me where they went."

  "I don't know."

  Malcolm scowled and scratched at his neck, visibly showing his displeasure.

  "I'm serious, Malcolm. They tried to come back here and wanted us to fight you, but I refused. So, they left."

  Malcolm stared down at Lennox, trying to read whether or not the man was telling the truth. He thought he might be, but he wasn't sure. More than that, he wasn't sure he cared anymore. But it wasn't a decision he had to make now.

  Turning his back on Freedom Ridge, he walked away. His men followed.

  "Malcolm," Lennox said, "hold up!"

  But Malcolm didn't respond. He got back into the SUV and ordered Bennett to pull away.

  He unbuttoned his collar as they pulled away from the camp, sweat protruding on his brow in frustration. "Take me back to Black Hill. And then I want you to put scout teams together and get out there and find those people."

  "What if he's lying?" Bennett asked.

  Malcolm knew he was going to have to address that possibility, as well, and then he'd find out if the Freedom Ridge leader was telling him the truth or not.

  10

  Brooke hung her arm out the window of the van as they headed down the highway. Jon had said he knew of a decent place nearby to hunt. They hoped to snag a deer, but even a couple of rabbits or squirrels would help them get by. Raylon had also said he was going to scour the kitchen, believing that amongst all the trash there would be some non-perishable food they could eat.

  She was thankful for the time with Jon now. It was the first time they'd spent together alone since Jon had come and rescued her from Black Hill. She didn't know where to start as far as what to ask him or say to him, and part of her just wanted to enjoy the time and not worry about what had happened. All that really mattered was that the two of them were here now, together.

  Jon reached over and grabbed her hand, catching her off-guard. She turned to him and smiled, no longer worrying about what she'd been thinking about before.

  Even while she wanted to focus on being in the moment with him, though, she had at least one question.

  "How did you get out of the prison?"

  Jon looked over, keeping a grip on Brooke's hand. She rubbed her thumb on the webbing between his own thumb and his index finger.

  He explained to her how he'd found a way back into the pantry. How he'd been locked in there for so long and felt so hopeless that he would never get out, he'd considered killing himself. But a group of bikers had shown up and cleared out the zombies, and then taken him out of the room. They'd taken Jon back to their camp, and that had been when he'd found out it was possible he was immune.

  "They wanted me to join their gang and leave with them," Jon said. "But I couldn't leave you."

  Brooke blushed and squeezed his hand. "I'm glad you didn't."

  "No shit. Especially after I found out they had you at Black Hill."

  Jon pulled the van over near a vast cluster of trees. There were no houses in the area.

  "Let's try here."

  When they got out of the van, Jon grabbed the rifle from the back, along with his bat and hatchet. Jon kept the rifle, handing Brooke his pistol. These guns were going to be good enough to hunt with, but Brooke knew they were going to need a lot more to fight the folks from Black Hill. She hoped Raylon was right and that he could get his cousin on board.

  As they headed into the woods, Brooke couldn't help but ask another question. "Are you sure you're immune? I mean, how do you know you can trust what this biker said? It's not like he was a doctor."

  With that, Jon explained to her about how Los Muertos had known a doctor within their previous camp in Cleveland who'd been studying the virus. And about the woman there who'd been bitten, but hadn't turned.

  It was all a lot to take in, but Brooke believed as much as Jon did that it was true. If Jon trusted that this man could be correct, that he was truly immune, then she did, too. She had no reason not to believe him. After all, Jon was there now, the zombie bite still apparent on his arm. He hadn't turned, and the longer he went without doing so, the more everyone around them would believe that he wasn't going to. It would bring all of them hope. Perhaps there was even the possibility of a cure, and maybe someone out there was working on one now.

  They headed into the woods with a couple of hours of daylight left. Brooke didn't want to be out there for more than an hour, but they couldn't come home empty-handed. They needed to return to the house with something to eat, even if it would only be enough for the children.

  "Watch where you step, and let's keep it down to a whisper," Jon said. "And keep your eyes peeled for anything—deer, rabbits, squirrel, anything we can eat. Especially be on the lookout for zombies."

  Brooke remained alert as they made their way into the woods. She could hear small animals scurrying around them, but couldn't see any. They did a good job remaining out of sight amongst the leaves, bushes, and trees.

  Jon and Brooke ended up staying out in the woods for an hour and a half. In the end, they'd killed three rabbits, but hadn't spotted a single deer. Conversely, they also didn't encounter any zombies, which both surprised and relieved Brooke. They had seen a small pack of four off in the distance, but the creatures had been far enough away to where they'd been no threat and hadn't even known she and Jon were there.

  "Hopefully, they found some canned food at the house," Jon said as they loaded back into the van.

  Brooke doubted that would be the case, but she didn't vocalize the opinion to Jon. She wanted to stay positive. With how lucky she'd been already, in that she and Lucas and her friends had all come out of Black Hill alive, she wouldn't sweat over something so small.

  "We can hunt again tomorrow and get more food," Brooke said. "Maybe we'll have better luck early in the morning. But this should tie everyone over until then. I don't think they're going to complain very much."

  On their way back to the house, Brooke gazed out the window. The sun had begun falling, and she was glad they'd stopped hunting when they had so that they weren't out in the woods in the dark.

  "We've got to talk with the others tonight and figure out what we're going to do," Jon said, breaking an extended silence.

  "I know. What are you thinking?" Brooke looked over at Jon.

  He hesitated, running his hand over his face. "I don't know. There's a lot to consider."

  Brooke agreed. She wanted Malcolm and the people of Black Hill to pay for what they'd done to Hope's Dawn. She also wanted to see the asshole who'd killed Hugo right in front of her die in a pool of his own blood. But they'd been through so much already, and were fortunate to have survived. She wondered if it was best for them to all move on—and to keep everyone, including her own son, safe.

  One thing she knew for sure was that whatever decision they made, they'd make it together, and it wouldn't be easy.

  11

  The group sat out in the backyard to eat together while enjoying the fresh air and the cool breeze the night had brought with it. Opening all the windows inside of the house had released some of the foul odors, but it would take more time. Fortunately, someone had found some cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink, as well as in one of the bathrooms. Rosa had said they would spend the following day doing some cleaning to make the place more pleasant, even if living there was only to be temporary. Jon thought it might keep the woman's mind occupied, as well, keeping her from thinking about her dead husband.

  Hugo was at the center of just one of the many thoughts racing through Jon's head as he sat on the hood of a rusted sedan and watched the rabbit cook over the fire. Most of the group sat near the fire to keep warm from the chilly air, but Jon wanted some space for himself. As much as he wanted to enjoy the time with everyone, it was difficult not to think about Malcolm.

  Jon wanted the man dead, but at what cost?

  So many people had already been hurt or ki
lled between fighting the Vultures and then this ongoing confrontation with Malcolm. Jon didn't want to see anyone else close to him get hurt.

  It was going to be a tough decision, determining what the group should do next, but it was one he was ready to get out of the way.

  The group ate and, as dinner wound down, the others made their way over to Jon. Raylon came first, and then Brooke and Terrence walked over together, with Brooke assisting their injured friend. Raylon grabbed a chair for Terrence while he and Brooke stood. Jon remained on the hood of the car.

  "So," Raylon said, starting the tough conversation, "what's everyone thinking? Personally, I only see that we have one option." He shook his head. "We can't let Malcolm hurt anyone else."

  "That's exactly what he's going to do if we try to go after him," Terrence said. "With or without your cousin."

  "And if we don't do something," Raylon said, "he's going to slaughter Lennox, my niece, and all of the other innocent people at Freedom Ridge."

  "Okay," Terrence said, clearly trying to bite his tongue and hold back from saying too much. "But Lennox didn't come help us when we were in there."

  "You don't know what Lennox was going through. He had a lot to consider. Hell, he wasn't even planning on leaving you there. He'd made a deal to get Malcolm to let you all go."

  "In exchange for Jon?" Terrence asked.

  Raylon bit his lip and didn’t answer.

  "Exactly," Terrence said. "So, don't act like he's all high and mighty."

  "Fuck, man, you don't even know—"

  "Both of you, stop it!" Brooke said, interrupting Raylon. "This isn't going to get us anywhere."

  "We need to discuss more options," Terrence added. "That's all I'm saying."

  "I agree," Brooke said. "Everything has to be on the table. Right?" She looked at Jon, and the others’ gazes followed.

  Jon nodded, reluctant to get involved in the conversation yet, as per usual. He liked to hear other people out in these situations before interjecting his own thoughts. And, in truth, in this situation, he wasn't sure yet what the best thing to do was.