I glanced back to see other Ferals gathering, the one that had sounded the alarm had moved forward a few paces and had settled into a crouch to wait for reinforcements. Another sign of them working together which made them even more dangerous.
The reasons we’d survived so often against the other undead was that they didn’t work together. They fought against one another to be the first to reach our flesh and as such got in each other's way. If the Ferals weren’t doing that, then we may well be in a great deal of trouble.
Charlie reached the fence and didn’t stop. I glanced back again as I reached the corner of the house and saw them set off, bounding along on hands and feet as they chased across the field. Rats and carrion birds that had ignored us scattered at their approach. I didn’t need to count them to see there were far too many for us and behind them, moving slowly, a herd of the Shamblers.
We raced through the garden and along the road. My legs aching and sweat streaming from me as I ran. The girl had put a fair bit of distance between us and it irked me that she was more likely to survive than I was, purely because I had done all of the work so far and exhausted myself in the process.
In the distance, Gregg was jumping up and down, waving for our attention. I really hoped he had a car as I glanced back and saw the Ferals burst from the garden and spread across the road. Faster than I’d expected, certainly faster than me and it was only the fact that I’d started so far ahead of them that had kept me from their reach.
At my best, most rested, I could have tried to stand my ground. Using the parked cars and the area around as protection as I attempted to kill them all. But exhausted, carrying a backpack I had overfilled with medicines and with little left to give… I wouldn’t have a chance.
Charlie had reached Gregg and with his aid, moved from her chair and into a deep green car. He attempted to fold her chair as Jinx leapt over it and straight into the backseat of the car.
“Leave it,” I shouted as I neared him.
I didn’t bother to try and take the backpack off but just climbed straight into the car as he stared wide-eyed at the mass of undead following me. He abandoned the wheelchair and practically jumped into the passenger's seat before Reece pressed down on the accelerator and set off with the roar of the engine drowned out by the sounds of the howling undead.
“What about my chair!” Charlie screamed at me and I purposefully sheathed the knife I held as I ignored her.
“You can get out and go back for it if you want,” Gregg said. “But I wouldn’t bloody recommend it. What the hell was that?”
“The Ferals followed us,” I said as I let my head fall back on the upholstered seat.
“Still following,” Reece commented and I looked back through the rear window to see a mass of undead racing down the road after us.
“Tell me this road doesn’t lead straight back to the sanctuary,” I said.
“According to the map I found in the glove compartment, this road leads most of the way there and then splits. One way towards Carlisle and the other, to the castle,” Gregg said.
“Castle?” Charlie and Reece both said at the same time.
“We better hope we reach the turn off well ahead of them so they don’t see which way we go,” I said, ignoring the question. “I doubt they’ll be happy if we bring so many right to them.”
“Speed up,” Gregg said to Reece.
As Reece concentrated on driving and Gregg watched the road attentively, Charlie stared down at her legs no doubt wondering what she’d do without any means of getting around. I was just glad for the silence. Jinx put her head on my leg and I scratched her idly behind the ear as I hoped we wouldn’t be too late to save Lily.
Chapter 17 – Lily
The pain was still there when I awoke. Not the deep, throbbing pain of the infection eating away at me in the wound in my stomach, the much deeper pain that seemed to start deep in my soul. I swiped at my eyes with one hand and felt at the dampness on my cheeks.
“You were crying in your sleep,” Evelyn said softly. I looked over to see her seated beside the window. Her eyes were red and I had no doubt she’d been weeping too.
“I have a lot to cry about I suppose,” I replied and her lips formed into a half smile before it faded away, all too soon.
“That you do.”
“What time is it?”
“As best I can tell, it’s about half six in the evening.”
“No watches,” I said with a sigh. “I keep forgetting that.”
“My dad has an old pocket watch, keeps it wound up so he always knows the time but the rest of us who had embraced the modern technology that needed batteries… we’ve no clue.”
She laughed. It was a low, full-throated sound with more than a little bitterness.
“Are you ok?”
“No,” she said and looked out the window, away from me. “I just spent the last two hours consoling my mum and dad who’ve found out their son killed two people.”
Evelyn turned back to me and her eyes were full of tears. “The worst part was, all the time I was trying to console them I knew that he’s likely killed a lot more than those two. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“No,” I said and her tears fell. “You suspected already though didn’t you?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve suspected for years. I’d watch the news and read the papers. Would you believe that I had a scrapbook at home full of newspaper clippings and reward posters for people who’d gone missing?”
I nodded slowly as I pushed myself to a sitting position. I was still dressed which was a bonus, but the pain didn’t lessen.
“For years, I’d sit on a night and try to figure out which ones were missing because of my brother.”
“Must have been hard.”
“Oh it was,” she said and pulled a tissue from her pocket to wipe at her nose, sniffling into it. “But not as hard as seeing him again after I thought he was dead and hoping for a moment that I was wrong. Then I met you.”
“Me?”
“Someone who knew exactly what he was and didn’t care.”
“I cared,” I said and it was my turn to laugh, a short, sharp burst of laughter that cut off as pain wracked me. “I cared right up until I realised that in this world, it was a benefit. He’s saved a lot of people.”
“And killed more,” she countered.
“Mostly ones who deserved it,” I said.
“Like those two young men who were just trying to protect their families?”
“Yes like them,” I snapped. “Whether he was fully justified in killing them or not it was done to help me, so their deaths are on my conscience.”
“And that hurts doesn’t it,” she said shrewdly. Her gaze fixed on me and her head began to nod slowly. “You’re feeling that guilt and questioning things.”
“Perhaps I am.”
“How do you think he’ll take it when he realises that?” she asked and I stiffened.
“That’s between me and him.”
“No, because from what I see, you’re the only thing keeping him from becoming a true monster. What do you think will happen if he doesn’t have you to do that?”
It was my turn to laugh and my laughter grew as I saw the confusion on her face. “Is that what you think is going to happen?” I asked. “That I’ll leave him?”
“You won’t?”
“Of course not,” I snapped. “For all his faults, and there are a few. I love him. What’s happened won’t change that and while I will be having a rather long and serious talk with him about his definitions, I have no intention of leaving him.”
“Even though he’s a killer, a murderer?”
“And he’s the man who saved my life. Cass, Pat, Gregg, and so many others. Even when he had no need to do so, he did it. That tells me there’s something in him trying to change.”
“You’re deluding yourself. He’s a psychopath who cares only for himself. Anything he feels for you is make believe. He might desire you, enjoy your company even,
but he can never love you.”
“No,” I said and this I did know to be true. “You’re wrong.”
Before she could say anything else, there came a pounding on the door before it opened and Pat stuck his head in.
“There’s a car coming this way, everyone’s out in the courtyard.”
“Ryan?” I asked and he shrugged.
A thought occurred to me as I pushed aside the covers and I looked across at Evelyn whose face bore no surprise. “You’ve been talking as though he were alive this whole time.”
“I suspected my brother might have been wrong,” she said.
“Help me up,” I instructed Pat and he nodded and hurried over, picking me up in his large arms and cradling me as I gasped in pain. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” he replied with a smile.
“Get me to the courtyard.”
He hurried out of the room, Evelyn following behind us and along deserted corridors to the door that led outside.
People filled the courtyard and by the gate, giving instructions was Bryan. His clothes were rumpled and he looked tired and older than before, but still in control. Caleb was beside him and I realised how much trouble there might be if it was actually Ryan.
“Here’s Cass,” Pat said and pushed through a small cluster of people to join her. She nodded a greeting at our approach.
Becky and Georgia stood beside her and each gave their greeting as Pat let me down beside them, though he kept one arm carefully around my waist to keep me from falling.
“You think it’s him?” Cass asked and Becky snorted.
“Harder to kill than a cockroach, of course it’s him.”
“I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you too,” I said to her, perhaps a little snide but still…
“Yeah well, Gabe told me how he ended up with a bandaged neck, so I have to say I’m a little pissed with him.”
“Why? How?” I asked.
“He was going to kill another two of the people in the village,” she said as her voice dropped low and she looked around to make sure we wouldn’t be overheard. “Gabe disagreed and Ryan tried to kill him. It was only Gregg intervening that saved him.”
“C’mon,” Pat said. “If he wanted to kill him, he would have. Don’t get me wrong, I love Gregg like a brother but he isn’t a fighter.”
“Yeah, my brother’s got a lot of heart but he couldn’t stop Ryan unless Ryan wanted him to.”
“Well we may see for sure in a minute,” Becky said as the wide gates opened and a green Vauxhall Corsa drove slowly through.
“No security measures at all,” Pat muttered. “Could be anyone in that car and they just let them in.”
The car slowed to a stop as the crowd parted around it and the front and back doors open. Gregg was the first to emerge and a sob came from Cass who had her hands to her mouth and shining eyes fixed on her brother, who she perhaps had half believed was dead.
A younger man I didn’t know got out of the driver's side and then from the rear door came Ryan. He was haggard and covered almost head to toe in blood and other substances but it was undeniably him. His eyes swept the crowd, passing over his family without pause and resting finally on me, a smile forming on his lips.
“Bastard!” Caleb screamed as he ran at Ryan, fists raised high as he saw the look of recognition in Bryan’s face.
With barely a glance his way, Ryan yanked open the door as the larger man reached him. Caleb met the door with a resounding bang and a grunt of pain as Ryan spun round, grabbing the man's head in one hand and slamming it down against the car roof.
Caleb fell as though poleaxed and the crowd around the car was silent. Ryan looked down at the man and then up at Bryan.
“Hello father,” he said in a conversational tone. “You might want to close the gate, there’s a lot of zombies following us.”
Chapter 18 - Ryan
She’s still alive, alive! Why does she look so annoyed?
The man on the ground at my feet groaned and I looked down at him. No idea who he was but he was obviously angry too. Is she mad because of that? I didn’t kill him, just hurt him a little. Why’s everyone looking so upset with me?
“Is it just me or are we not exactly being welcomed here, mate?” Gregg asked from the side of his mouth, lips barely moving as he surveyed the crowd.
“You must have done something to upset them,” I replied as I set off towards Lily. The click of the dog's claws on the stone covered ground told me that she was following along.
The crowd parted before me, hostility on several faces and hands clenched into fists. I ignored them and focused on Lily, being held up by the strong arm of Pat, but hunched slightly around the wound in her stomach. She’s in pain, I thought as understanding came. No wonder she looked angry.
“Hello Lily,” I said as I approached.
“Hello Ryan,” she replied. The faintest of smiles tugged at the corner of her mouth and she’d completed our little ritual which meant that she may be upset, but she was still glad to see me.
I shrugged off the backpack, eyes never leaving hers and held it out to my sister who took it without speaking and fumbled to open it. Cass stepped forward and paused before laying one hand on my filth covered shoulder.
“Thank you for bringing him home,” she said before wrapping her brother in a tight embrace.
“Glad you made it mate,” Pat said in his usual quiet way. I nodded, eyes never leaving Lily. She was definitely annoyed with me. I knew enough to know that much at least, but there was a thawing around the eyes and she didn’t look away.
“Jeez you two, get a bloody room,” Becky snapped before pushing past me and disappearing amongst the crowd.
“Maybe a good idea to get inside,” a young woman standing beside Lily said.
“Yeah I agree,” Lily replied to her as she finally tore her eyes from my own. As though freed from some spell, I was suddenly acutely aware of the angry murmurings from the crowd behind me and a frown formed. Foolish to ignore a threat so completely.
“What did we do?” Gregg asked as his sister finally released him from her hug.
“We’ll talk about that inside,” Lily said. Even in pain, still in charge. My smile widened and this time, she returned it for about a second before she said, “Looks like your dad’s headed this way.”
“Hello father,” I said as I turned to see him approaching. He looked much the same as the last time I’d seen him, perhaps a little older, hair a little thinner but still generally the same.
He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it, before looking across at my sister. “Take the young lady inside and put that medicine to good use.”
“Yes dad,” she replied and I almost rolled my eyes.
“Take the dog too,” I said and could see her look of puzzlement from the corner of my eye.
“I’m not a vet!”
“Do you really think I care?” I asked and turned my head so I could like directly at her. “That dog was useful to me and it even helped keep us alive so you will treat it with respect.”
“Evie, do what you can please,” my father said and she nodded as I looked back over to him, a lacklustre smile firmly on my face.
The crowd behind him was restless and I caught a glimpse of the great wooden gates closing. That was good at least, in a short time, we would be hip deep in zombies.
“We need to talk Ryan,” my father said and I laughed in his face.
“Talk all you want later, for now, I need to make sure Lily is ok.”
“No,” she said from behind me and I spun to stare at her, surprise no doubt evident on my face. “You need to talk to him, then come see me.”
“Very well.” She smiled at my agreement, a genuine smile, I think, before Pat lifted her and carried her away. Jinx looked up at me and I nodded towards the departing group and she trotted along after them.
“That dog responds well to you,” my father said and I shrugged my shoulders as I turned back to him. I doubted that
was what he wanted to talk about and my patience was wearing thin. I wanted nothing more to see that Lily was receiving the care she needed and then I could finally sleep.
“What do you want father?”
“Ryan! Watch your tongue,” a woman's voice said rather sharply.
“That would be a ridiculous thing to try and do mother,” I replied as she pushed through the crowd to stand beside my father. Yep, she looks angry too. What’s wrong with everyone?
“Enough of this,” my father snapped before my mother could reply and I flashed her a devilish grin of pure mischief. “We need to speak with you son.”
“Then speak, I have things to do.”
“In private,” he said with a slight incline of his head to the angry sounds of the crowd behind him.
“No.”
“Ryan, do as your dad says.”
“No,” I repeated. “Speak now or come and find me later.”
“Insolent child,” my mother snapped and my grin widened. It was hard to get her really riled up but I was too used to being myself these days and had lost practice with pretending to be the good son.
“You’ve been accused of killing two young men,” my father said. “We need to discuss this.”
“Oh, that? Fine, I did it. Now are we done?”
Both my parents stared at me, bodies stiffened at my casual admittance of a crime they would never be able to comprehend ever having to do. It was almost enough to make me burst into laughter. I’d wanted to let them truly know the real me for such a long time that it felt surprisingly good to get it out into the open.
The crowd behind them however, heard my words and the angry mutterings rose in volume. I let my right hand rest casually on the combat knife on my belt and met the eyes of the closest people in the crowd. They one and all, flinched from the darkness they saw there and I knew I’d have no real problems with them.
They weren’t soldiers, warriors or killers. They were scared people trying to survive and most of them adhered to my parent's philosophy of non-violence. If I so chose, I was fairly sure I could cut down the first handful and the rest would run in fear. But that would break Lily’s promise.
Killing The Dead 9 (Season 2 | Book 3): Family Matters Page 13
