“He’s alright. Used to be a policeman and knows how to keep people under control.” Pat said as he pulled the rucksacks straps over his shoulders.
I knew that it would be likely that I would end up meeting ex-police or military at some point, but the idea of being in such close quarters as a former police officer was a cause for concern. If anyone was likely to be suspicious it would be him.
It would possibly be worthwhile disposing of him first. Accidents were almost unavoidable and at the first chance I would ensure he had one.
When I saw that Pat was ready and awaiting instruction, I led the way roughly north-east through the woods. The land around us rose and fell which made spying any approaching threats awkward at best.
My intention was to reach the road and travel along that for a short distance. Any buildings close by would have already been cleared out by the scavenging teams and so we could ignore them.
“There’s one” Pat said softly and pointed to our right.
I followed his arm and saw a lone zombie walking through the woods. It was definitely one of the shambling types. With a nod to Pat we made our way through the trees towards it.
The sound of our passing soon alerted the zombie to our presence. It was unavoidable with the fallen leaf mulch and twigs that we were walking over, but it was still galling that we were so noisy.
It turned towards us and I saw that part of its jaw was missing. The hair along one side of its head had been torn out along with some skin and the clothes it still wore were filthy and torn. I readied the spear as it started towards us.
When it was almost within reach I stepped forward and thrust the spear at the zombie’s throat and missed. The thrust was off and all I managed was to peel some of the skin off its neck. I took two quick steps back out of its reach and Pat swung his lump hammer. The skull shattered and the zombie collapsed without a sound.
“You might want to practice with that” Pat said as he laughed and I had to resist the urge to turn the spear on him.
“I think you are right” I said as calmly as I could as I moved away from him. I needed distance between us and I made a show of examining the corpse.
Neither Pat nor I had any intention to bury the body so we left the remains lying on the frozen ground and continued on our way. Around noon we crested a hill and saw a group of a dozen or so undead headed south.
“Do we bother with them?” Pat asked.
I crouched beside a tree and watched the zombies as they moved southwards. They were moving through a large grassy area. Beyond them to the east was the road and if they continued south they would have the chance to turn back north and head towards our camp.
Ideally we would either turn them east or follow them south to make sure they didn’t turn back north when they came up against the road. We could of course just leave them be and hope for the best but I was bored and in need of some entertainment now that I was finally free of the confines of the camp.
“Let’s turn them north.” I said.
“Why north?”
“We can lead them to Windermere and let the soldiers deal with them.”
“That sounds kind of dangerous.” Pat said as his brow furrowed in thought.
“Not at all. You said yourself that a couple of hundred soldiers were at the town right?”
“Yeah I guess but why don’t we just leave them be?”
“Well if we leave them, then they may end up hurting someone further south or coming back north and finding our camp. Surely it’s better to eliminate them entirely” I said with my most earnest expression.
Pat nodded doubtfully but voiced no more objections so with a grin of utter delight I picked up a handful of loose pebbles and set off down the slope towards the undead.
As I neared them I stopped running and called out to the zombies. I threw a few pebbles for good measure and managed to hit at least one of the undead on the shoulder. It didn’t hurt it in any way but it helped get their attention.
A low moan rose from one of the zombies to the rear as it finally noticed me and I saw the others stop and turn towards me. As they raised their ruined voices in chorus, I turned and ran north at a gentle jog.
The undead were no match for me when it came to speed but they did have the advantage of not needing to rest. I was soon winded and slowed to a walk. I kept glancing behind me to see that they were still following and when they started to gain ground on me, I would set off running again.
I kept going for a couple of hours. Pat stayed close though not so close as to be noticed by the zombies as they followed along tirelessly. The going became easier as I came across a main road and aside from a few cars that had been pushed to the side of the road, I encountered nothing of note.
My intention was to get them moving along the road and then duck into hiding until they had passed. From what I remembered of the map, any road that I encountered would lead directly to the town.
Once I saw all of the undead were on the road behind me I started to increase my pace and soon their moaning was fading. I glanced back to see that they were still moving steadily along the road.
Alongside the road beside me were trees and tall strand of yellow grass. With a final check behind me I ducked into the undergrowth and crouched behind a tree. I waited as the minutes ticked along. The sound of the undead was growing ever louder as they came towards me.
I held my breath as the leading zombie passed my hiding spot and continued along the road. My muscles were aching with the need to move and I shifted slightly as I tried to ease them. In moments the zombies had passed and were walking along the road. I breathed again.
“Ryan” whispered Pat and I cast my gaze around until I saw him further along the road. I crept along through the tall grass towards him.
“It seems to have worked” I said with a wide smile.
“Windermere isn’t too far ahead.” Pat said quietly.
“You’ve been here before?”
“Yeah with one of the scavenging teams.” He said.
“Well then, lead the way and let’s see if we can find somewhere to watch what happens.” I said.
Pat moved along through the brush as the ground rose beneath us. More trees covered the top of the hill and we soon lost sight of the road. It didn’t take long to find a spot that overlooked the road and we could see the undead as they travelled north.
I could see the first houses on the outskirts of the town and further along the main road a barricade had been erected. It was too distant to see much but we heard the pop pop pop of the guns as they fired on the zombies.
It didn’t last long and the undead were soon lying lifeless in the road. A truck with military colouring came out from behind one of the houses and headed towards the corpses.
We kept watch as a group of people started to clear away the remains before we started back south.
“You see, that wasn’t too bad was it?” I asked Pat.
“I guess not. They managed to clear them out easily enough.”
“Of course they did and no one was hurt.” I pointed out.
Pat nodded and we continued walking through the trees back towards the south and the camp. He seemed to have nothing to talk about and I was fine with that. I had several ideas forming and I had a great many things to plan out. I hummed quietly as I walked.
Chapter 24
I arrived back at the cottage after dark and as I walked into the candle lit room I found Lily sat at the kitchen table eating a bowl of pasta.
“Your friend has been here again” Lily said with a smile of greeting.
“Julie brought more food?”
“No, I brought the food. She wanted to speak to you about something. She said it was really urgent.”
“I suppose I should find out what it is, though after I eat.” I said as I eyed her food.
“You go now and I will get you some food.” She said with a laugh. “Where’s Pat?”
�
��He is reporting to Matthew.” I called back over my shoulder as I left the cottage.
My breath frosted before me in the cold night air and I pulled my jacket a little closer. I knew where Julie’s cottage was and I headed towards it. I gave a brief greeting to Claire as I passed her and Maggie as they sat at one of the tables before the bonfire.
The atmosphere around the bonfire was subdued and many of the gathered people looked worried and kept their children close. Most of the talk was about the infected people locked away in one of the cottages and the arrival at camp of some new people.
I couldn’t see Julie or Emma at the bonfire so continued on to the cottage they shared with Claire and Maggie. I could see light leaking through the gap in the curtains and knocked on the door expecting a prompt response.
What I didn’t expect was for Julie to open the door while holding a meat cleaver. She looked dishevelled and worried.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Get in here quick.” Julie hissed and looked around furtively before pulling the door closed behind me.
The cottage was decorated in much the same fashion as the one I shared with Lily and the others. Emma was sat on one of the couches playing with a few toys that she had found somewhere. I turned to Julie.
“What was so urgent and why are you holding that?” I asked and pointed at the cleaver.
“You haven’t seen them?”
“Seen who?”
“Beth and the others.” She whispered.
“Who?” I asked.
“From the outlet store.” She said. “Beth and that Candice woman you arrived with. They are here with the others.”
“Which others?”
“I told you this.” She said exasperated. “They have arrived here with two of the men from the outlet store.”
“Didn’t I kill all the men at the store?” I asked in confusion.
“No. Some of the men were out looking for other women survivors. One of them isn’t here but the other two have arrived with Beth and Candice.” Julie insisted.
“Ok. So what’s the problem?” I asked.
“The problem is they will kill you for what you did to their friends and probably kill me too.”
“You think?” I asked thoughtfully. “Where are they now?”
“With Howard. He is finding them somewhere to sleep. Matthew is with them too, he is all excited because they brought some more guns.”
“Where did they get guns?”
“I don’t know and I really don’t care. I’m scared Ryan and you should be too. Alan sent them out looking for survivors because he was scared of them too.”
“Have they seen you?”
“No. I think I saw them first and kept out of the way.”
“Well then, stay in here and I will talk to you in the morning.” I said.
I ignored her protests and left the cottage. I paused on the decking and looked over the crowd. Howard and Matthew were nowhere to be seen and neither was Candice or Beth. It wouldn’t really matter if they saw me or not anyway, I had no intention of hiding.
Pat was sat at the table eating when I returned and Lily passed a bowl of pasta to me as I removed my jacket. I took it gratefully and sat beside Pat and started eating.
“What did Julie want?” Lily asked.
“Remember those people I told you about at the outlet store?” I asked and she nodded. “They turned up today with a couple of guys who are likely peeved that I killed their friends.”
“Those people I saw with Howard and Matthew?” Pat said and it was my turn to nod as I chewed a mouthful of food. “Yeah, I saw them and they don’t look pleasant.”
“This is a problem.” Lily said.
“It is?” I asked.
“Yes, of course it is. We need to tell Howard.” Lily said.
“Don’t worry about it. If they feel they have a grudge against me I can deal with them.” I said with a smile that didn’t seem to reach Lily.
“If these are the people you told me about, it isn’t just you who should be worried. They are a danger to the people here.” Lily insisted.
“What about if I just deal with them anyway?” I said quietly.
“No.” Lily said, shaking her head and glancing at Pat who didn’t seem to have noticed anything untoward.
“Then what do you suggest?” I asked.
“I will tell Howard and Matthew. They can deal with them.”
“Well take them to see Julie then, she can probably tell them more than I can.” I said, “Besides, it’s been a long day and I need some sleep before heading out tomorrow.”
If I wasn’t going to be allowed to kill them openly then I saw no reason to worry about them too much. I could always arrange accidents for them later and I had several more accidents to prepare for before that.
Lily left to talk with the camps leaders and I was left alone with Pat as we finished our meal in a comfortable silence.
By the time she returned we had finished eating and were sat on the couches. Pat had found a fitness magazine somewhere and was reading by candle light as I lay back and tried to think of some way to kill people without actually doing the killing myself and breaking my promise.
“They wouldn’t listen” Lily said angrily as she stormed into the cottage.
“Did they not believe you?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” She said as she flopped down onto the couch beside me. “They said they would keep an eye on them but they had to give everyone a chance.” She said with disgust.
“So would you like me to...?”
“No.” she said quietly with a glance at Pat, “We will have to just be on our guard. I suppose we could move Julie and Emma in here with us so we can keep an eye on them.”
“Is that necessary?” I asked, “We have limited space as it is.”
“It’s a better idea than posting a guard on their door.”
“I could just deal with them quietly and get this whole issue over and done with.” I said.
“From what you said Beth and Candice have done nothing wrong and too many questions would be asked if just those men disappeared.” Lily said in a whisper, “Those questions would lead back to you and answers you wouldn’t want to give.”
“Ok, I suppose I should go and fetch Julie and Emma then.” I said with a weary sigh. I pulled on my jacket and boots and set out into the darkness again.
I was almost at Julie’s cottage when I saw Howard and Matthew across the bonfire. They were leaving the cottage that Pat used to share with Rachel. A man I hadn’t seen before was shaking Howard’s hand. It seemed I now knew where they were staying.
Julie opened the door when I knocked and was still holding the cleaver tightly. I informed her of what was happening and she eagerly gathered her blankets and few belongings as I helped Emma with hers.
We trudged back across the camp and back into my residence. Lily met us at the door and ushered the others inside. I went back into the living room and after removing my jacket and boots, settled back onto my couch.
Lily informed the girls that they would be sharing her room and took them into the bedroom to get them settled.
“Any sign of Cass or Gregg?” I asked.
“Yeah they came back while you were out. They have gone to see how John is doing.” Pat said.
“He’s still alive?”
“Aye, the other one died this afternoon and turned. John is hanging in but they don’t think he has long left.” Pat said, “You should visit him.”
“Maybe I will, though perhaps tomorrow if he lasts the night.” I said.
Lily thankfully returned before Pat pressed me about visiting John. She sat beside me on the couch and sighed.
“Well they are settled in my bed. It will be crowded but we should manage.” She said.
“When are you due to head out with the scavenging teams?” I asked her.
“I’m not sure yet. I think tomo
rrow I will head out with Pat and you can stay here and keep an eye on the new group.”
“Babysitting duty isn’t quite my thing.” I said.
“Don’t think of it as babysitting then” She said with a grin, “Think of it as being ready to leap into action if they try anything.”
“Great. Tomorrow will be such a fun day.” I said.
“Don’t worry I’m sure we can find you something to do.” Lily said and laughed in a way that made me nervous.
Chapter 25
Lily was out of the cottage first thing in the morning and returned a short time later with half a dozen children in tow.
“What’s going on?” Pat asked.
“This is Ryan’s job today.” Lily said with a wide smile.
“My job?” I asked.
“Yes. Your job is to look after these kids.”
“Am I really the best person to look after children?” I asked quietly.
“Ryan, I know you well enough to know that you won’t harm a child. These kids are probably safer with you than with anyone else.” Lily whispered back.
“Fine. What am I supposed to do with them?”
“You and Julie can keep them entertained.” Lily said and leaned in close to whisper, “Keep her close and away from the newcomers.”
I really wasn’t at all happy with the idea of looking after children all day but acquiesced with as much grace as I could.
Pat and Lily left with Gregg and Cass to patrol and divert any zombies who may be wandering too close to the camp and I was left with Julie and the kids.
“So what do we do with them?” I asked her.
“Do you think it will be safe to take them out of the camp?” she asked, “I could really do with not being around here today.”
“It has to be better than hanging around here” I said, “Get them ready to go, I will wait outside.”
I ignored her protests and left the cottage. I liked small children well enough, but a full day of watching them was not going to be pleasant. I checked that I had the sheathed combat knife attached to my belt securely and retrieved my spear from beside the door.
We could go for a walk through the woods. This close to camp I didn’t expect to encounter more than the occasional zombie and I was confident I could deal with any of them.
Safety Lost (Killing the Dead Book 3) Page 14
