Killing the Dead (Book 13): War of the Dead

by Murray, Richard

  “There isn’t one I don’t think. Local council offices are in the next town over and they’d have all the local records.”

  “No, they wouldn’t have gone there I don’t think.”

  The only reason for them to take the kids parents was for information. Any other group out there doing the same as my own followers, would have been noticed. So, no, I didn’t think they were trying to help the survivors and I didn’t think they would bother with survivors if they could get the information elsewhere.

  “Spread out,” I said to the gathered minions. “I want every inch of this town searched.”

  They set off at a run, splitting up into pairs as they scattered in all directions, looking for some kind of sign of this new enemy. I cocked an eyebrow at Jenny who stared back at me without flinching.

  “We shall follow you,” she said instead and folded her arms beneath her breasts.

  The other two minions nodded, the movement almost hidden by their cloth hoods and I flashed them a smile.

  “Let’s move then.”

  I was fairly sure that we could discount the local houses. Unless they were looking for the home of a particular individual they wouldn’t bother with them and if they were, we had no chance of finding them.

  The warehouses and the supermarket too didn’t seem to be targets so we could discount them. I had a sudden thought about the people we had found at the supermarket but dismissed them. Their weapons had been poor and no attacking force would bring children with them.

  No, it was one of the other businesses in the town and I was fairly sure that we had interrupted them in their search. We had arrived, likely just a day after they had tried to burn the bodies of the undead they had killed.

  If that were the case, they may well have been searching as we arrived and had hidden themselves away as they waited for us to finish and leave. That meant the thing they were looking for wasn’t something they thought we would be interested in.

  Curious, I thought.

  Not food related, nor any of the usual supplies people would go for when they first entered the town looking for salvage. We could discount the schools and churches as they would have nothing of worth for some time.

  The majority of the businesses that dealt with the town's tourism would be of little use as would the banks, accountants, solicitors and the like. Same with the pubs and restaurants. I was sure they weren’t after food and there was no hospital.

  My people would have checked any vets and dentists along with the optometrists as those were likely to still contain some items we could use. Clothing and shoe stores were likely not a major concern to a well-equipped force so what did that leave?

  Car parts and dealerships would be little use to them unless they had a stash of treated petrol which I doubted. Police, fire and postal services would not be of much use and would be checked by my minions anyway.

  That left few real choices remaining and as I thought back to the journey we had made through the town in search of the warehouses, I recalled one quite large place that we had overlooked entirely because it contained nothing that we would need.

  “Follow me,” I told the minions as I headed back down the hill.

  It wasn’t even that long of a walk and within five minutes we were there. A large fenced off compound with a small trade shop with an attached warehouse. The gates were closed, but there was no sign of anything that had been used to secure them.

  I pushed one open and slipped inside, the minions following me and spreading out. Pallets of wood and brick were stacked everywhere with just enough room for a forklift truck to drive between.

  By the far corner, in a secured cage were dozens of canisters of gas, each of them labelled and safely secured as per the health and safety regulations. Alongside the cage were the aluminium poles that would be used to build scaffolding.

  The crushed gravel that covered the compound ground had little by way of tracks moving through it but that was of little real concern. It was easy enough to erase your tracks as walked if you were intent on remaining hidden.

  My feeling of being watched intensified as I approached the dark warehouse. It was easy to imagine a gun being aimed directly at me, but I was fairly confident that they wouldn’t shoot. Not with all my minions in the town anyway.

  I paused beside the half-open warehouse doors and stared into the darkness. There was little to see and no discernible stench of death or decay which indicated that there would be no zombies leaping out on me at least.

  Even so, I waited there a moment and then knocked loudly on the metal door. The sound reverberated through the warehouse and I grinned as I called out.

  “No need to hide, I just want to talk.”

  My smile didn’t waver as the barrel of the assault rifle came into view. I just stood stock still and watched as the man came forward, out of the darkness.

  He wore a rounded helmet that covered his head except for his face. The goggles I suspected to be night-vision hung around his neck, nestled amongst the dried grass that was fitted to the camouflage netting that he wore like a cloak.

  “Well aren’t you a clever bastard,” he snarled as I just grinned in response.

  Chapter 18

  Lou spoke quickly to the CDF soldier standing guard before the gates. He was young, shaved head glistening with beads of sweat as he kept glancing nervously our way. I wasn’t sure if it was the member of government beside me or the three black-clad acolytes behind.

  His companion was a little older and watched us with suspicion, his hand resting on the poignard that was strapped to his belt. If there was to be a problem, I suspected it would be him.

  “Come on!” Cass muttered and I reached over to clasp her hand in mine and give it a squeeze of support.

  She smiled her thanks, but it was tentative and not her usual sunny smile. If anyone hated the plan more than me, it was her. After all, it was her brother who had been ‘arrested’ during the early hours of the morning.

  “Lieutenant!” Cass snapped and Lou twisted his head to look at her, nodded once and turned back to the young man and raised his voice.

  “Listen here, soldier! Minister Matthews brother was brought here by mistake last night. I can assure you that whatever your sergeant does to you when he gets here and finds out you’ve let us go in and get him, will pale in comparison to what the government minister can do to you.”

  The young man paled and he trembled noticeably but to his credit, he stood his ground. I checked my watch and frowned. Our window of opportunity was small and the more time we spent arguing the less time we had to find Gregg.

  “Take their names,” I said loudly to Lou. “Serial numbers too. I’ll ensure Colonel Smith receives my report personally.”

  If I ever meet him, I thought with a twinge of amusement.

  “Just let them through,” the other guard said with some exasperation. “The bosses can argue about it amongst themselves later. Not worth our asses.”

  The young man swallowed and looked over at his companion, seeing no support there. He stepped aside and pulled open the wire mesh gate. We marched through without a backwards glance and headed up to the main building.

  By the time we had made it up the short driveway to the front office, a slim, dark-haired woman was waiting. She wore a white lab coat and thin-rimmed glasses, along with a warm smile.

  “Good morning, Minister Matthews. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Charmed,” Cass said as she took the other woman’s proffered hand.

  “I’m Jamila, one of the lab techs here. I’ll be happy to show you to a meeting room where you can wait.”

  “For what?” I asked, suspicion heavy in my voice.

  “The young man, your brother,” she said with that fake smile stretched taut. “It would be far too much of an imposition on your busy schedule for us to expect you to head inside.”

  “No,” Cass said. “I think I would rather go and see him straight away.”

  That fake s
mile faltered a little as the young woman briefly scanned our faces. Seeing no give there, she clasped her hands before her and nodded.

  “Of course.”

  “Wait here,” I said to Lou. “If they radioed ahead to her, they likely called their superior too.”

  He nodded and I pointed to one of the acolytes. His fist hit his chest and he took up position beside the other man.

  That was a little too easy, I thought and quickly scanned the treeline above the road where I had hidden to watch the facility just a short time ago. Of course, I didn’t see anything but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.

  We followed the lab tech inside the building and I couldn’t shake the feeling of apprehension. There was just something so very wrong about the antiseptic smell and the white painted walls without a single stain on them.

  It was, after all, the end of the world and it could be expected that standards would slip a little. I mean, it wasn’t like you could nip down to the local store and get some more paint. Plus, decorating wasn’t really a priority.

  More surprising though, were the computers that were switched on with people working at them in the offices we passed. I had no idea what they were doing but it was clear that they had managed to establish some form of network, though I suspected that was local only.

  “You can wait in here,” Jamila said, gesturing for us to enter a room that was empty of anything bar a long wooden table with ten seats set around it.

  There was a window that filled half of the far wall and I stood beside that as Cass and Lou seated themselves. My ever-present guards took up position beside the door, their hands on their knife hilts.

  I couldn’t bear to watch Cass fret, so turned and stared out the window. Sure, we’d all agreed to the plan but if anything happened to Gregg I would be devastated but Cass would lose not only her brother but another connection to Pat, the father of her child and Greggs friend.

  Time slowly ticked by and despite how often I glanced at my watch, no one seemed inclined to turn up with Gregg. The reason for that became apparent when I looked out of the window and caught sight of the land rover speeding along the road towards the gates.

  They were opened and the driver didn’t need to slow down as he was waved straight through. I had a sudden feeling of dread in my gut and spun to face the others.

  “Things have gone wrong,” I said. “Time for plan B.”

  “You’re sure?” Lou asked as Cass pressed her lips together in a thin line.

  She clenched her hands together on the desk before her and I stopped for a moment as I moved past her. My hand trembled as I placed it on her shoulder, fear and doubt filling me. Even so, I gave her shoulder a squeeze and then I was gone, my guard falling in behind me.

  No one looked up from their work as we passed their offices and I led the way down first one corridor and then another, stopping only when I came up against a door that had an electronic lock. I swore softly and looked at it helplessly.

  It had never even occurred to me that they would have such sophisticated locks on the doors. That was a failing on my part.

  There was a muffled thud from the nearest office and I spun around, hand moving down to the sidearm strapped to my hip. Lisa stepped out of the office, an ID badge hanging from the lanyard she gripped in her hand.

  “Did you hurt anyone?”

  “They’ll have a headache,” she said with a shrug that was so very like Ryan I could have laughed.

  I took it from her and held it against the panel beside the door, holding my breath as the light stubbornly remained red. I pulled it away and pressed it back again. I expelled my breath in relief as the light turned green and the door opened at my touch. I went through it.

  Another corridor but lined with small labs rather than offices. None of the white coat wearing men and women seemed inclined to stop us or even question our being there. They just continued with their work doing whatever science type stuff that they were doing.

  Through the next door and into a large open space. The steel walkway beneath my boots shook with each step I took and the noise and stench of the place was overwhelming. I fought the urge to gag as my guards pulled their knives free.

  Cages, barely large enough for an adult to sit upright in, filled the room. Stacked one atop the other, they all had locks on their doors and each and every one of the hundreds of cages had at least one zombie in them. Worse than that, they were all Ferals.

  “Oh hell!”

  I gripped the metal railing and leant out over the side, staring down at those packed cages and wondering what the hell they were doing in that facility.

  “Where are the humans?” I wondered aloud.

  “They might know.”

  Ben pointed down at two men wearing lab coats, standing before one of the cages down on the floor and making notes on their tablets. I shook my head and looked for a way down.

  I took the stairs two at a time, anger growing in me as I considered the danger that building contained. If any of them got out, the island could be overrun. For them to keep so many of them so close to the last remaining hope of humanity surviving was appalling.

  “Hey!”

  Two CDF troopers moved from their position beside the door and jogged towards us. The lab guys looked up curiously from their work, eyes widening as they saw us.

  “Don’t kill them,” I hissed as my guards moved up beside me.

  Lisa sprinted towards them as they pulled long black rods from their belts. She dropped to her knees, sliding beneath their swings and sprang to her feet once past them. Her roundhouse kick caught the closest in the side of his head and he dropped without a sound.

  The other spun to face her, thrusting the black rod towards her like a sword. She sidestepped it and landed two quick blows to his gut. He doubled over, breath violently expelled from his mouth. She slammed her fist into the side of his head and he was down.

  Ben had taken the time to cover the distance between us and the lab guys and had them well in hand by the time the I closed my mouth and reined in my surprise.

  “That was… impressive,” was all I could say to her.

  She shrugged modestly and lifted one of the black rods. It had a handle and a button that when pressed had electricity arcing between two prongs on the end.

  “Cattle prod,” she said. “Will take you out easily if you get hit with a jolt from one of these.”

  “Let’s not do that then,” I said with a shudder.

  The two men that Ben frogmarched over to us wore looks of surprise as they stared at the three of us. I opened my mouth to ask them a question and stopped as I realised all sound in the place had come to a stop.

  “What… the…”

  I looked around at the caged Ferals and couldn’t hide the tremor of fear that ran through me. They pressed their faces against the cages, their claw-like hands gripped the steel mesh and each and every one of them watched us with a predatory gaze.

  “Who are you?” The older of the two lab guys asked.

  He was unimpressive to look at. A thin frizz of hair surrounding a bald dome and frightened eyes. His skin bore deep lines of loss that had likely come from the past year's nightmare of survival. He wore chequered shirt and pants beneath his lab coat, even a bow tie too.

  “Where are the live prisoners?”

  “What?” The younger man struggled in Ben’s grip. “We don’t have any live…”

  He dropped to the floor at a single heavy blow from Ben’s right hand and I looked at him in surprise.

  “Why did you do that?”

  “He knows nothing.”

  “How could you know that?” I snapped and gave him my best glare that fazed him not at all. I turned back to the older man. “Answer my damn question. Where are the live prisoners?”

  “In… in the back,” he stammered.

  “Take us there.”

  “I can’t!” He shook his head, eyes widening and fear gnawed at me.

  “Take us or we’ll pu
t you in one of these fucking cages!” I snarled and he flinched back, away from me, head bobbing up and down in assent.

  Ben kept a tight grip on his arm as he led us to a door behind a stack of cages on the far wall. We walked down a well-lit corridor with blank doors lining it and stopped at an elevator. When the doors opened, he led us in and pressed his ID badge against the panel beside the buttons.

  Immediately it started moving and I watched the display above the buttons as it counted down. Lower ground floor, basement, lower basement and then it went blank. A few seconds later the elevator stopped moving and the doors opened.

  Lisa thrust her arm out in front of me and pulled her knife as she led the way out of the elevator. Only when she was sure it was clear did she gesture for the rest of us to come.

  My nose wrinkled at the smell, one I was far too familiar with. Unlike the other corridors, this was lined with thick glass windows that went from floor to ceiling. The only break in the glass being the heavy steel doors set into them.

  I swallowed hard as something stared at me in the first cell we passed. Tall and sinewy, its skin grey and unhealthy looking. The flesh of its fingers and toes had blackened, hardening into what I could only call claws.

  Thick ridges of bone had grown around its skull, leaving it looking almost like it was wearing a crown of bone that protected it from being easily killed. I knew from experience that the soft palette of the mouth would be covered in a similar bony mass.

  It shifted and took a half step towards us, blind eyes searching. Its tongue protruded from its mouth and a low rumble began deep in its chest as it tilted its head back, sniffing at the air.

  “Fuck,” I whispered.

  They had a Reaper. An actual fucking Reaper captured and contained deep below ground. There was no way in hell that wasn’t going to end badly and if I had more of Ryan’s people with me, or Ryan himself, I would have tried to kill it.

  “Another,” Lisa said as she stared into the next cage.

  “You can’t be serious!” I said to the lab guy. “What the hell are you doing with these fucking things!”