“No, I mean, that’s not why…” he looked at me for a moment and shook his head. “You don’t know why I’m apologising do you?”
“Because you know I don’t like being touched, no?”
“Not really, but yeah, I’m sorry for that mate.”
“It’s really not a problem.”
I pushed myself up and winced at the pain from my toes. Without another word, Gregg came around the bed with his pack in hand and knelt down before me. He unbandaged and cleaned my injuries quickly and efficiently before wrapping my foot once more.
“Thank you. I could do it myself you know.”
“Yeah, but it’s easier if I do it. Besides, I have the first aid kit.”
I couldn’t argue with that logic and besides, the bruises that covered much of my body from the beatings I had taken made bending over painful. It didn’t help that I suspected that I had a cracked rib too.
He pulled the boots from the dead minion and brought them over to me. He lifted my foot and held the upside down boot against it before grunting softly. “Seems a bit big but with your bandages, that’s probably a good thing.”
“Thanks.”
I felt more than a little useless as he pulled the boots on for me and laced them up. A few days rest and healing would no doubt do me the world of good. Of course, that wasn’t an option so I would do the best I could with what I had.
If that meant letting my friend dress me like I was a child or infirm, then so be it. I would let him tend my wounds and pull on my boots. I’d even let him support me when required. If he started to try and feed me, I would draw the line.
“Thanks, by the way.”
“For what?”
Gregg looked up at me and then away. He muttered something I didn’t catch and dropped his pack on the bed beside the dead minions. He emptied them both and then began to sort through the various items, putting most of the heavier ones into his own pack.
“It’s just.” He hesitated and shook his head again. “Look, you don’t treat me different like others have done, okay. I appreciate that, mate.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant but he seemed quite earnest about it and after a pause that stretched uncomfortably long, I realised he needed an answer.
“Okay.”
He let out a bark of laughter and slung his backpack over his shoulder without another word. I pulled the other to me and slipped it over my shoulders, wincing only a little. The minions sheathed knife was hung from his belt that I wrapped around my own waist and we were ready to go.
With few provisions and limited weaponry, not at full health and with no real backup, perhaps, but as ready as we would be. For the task ahead we were woefully unprepared and I couldn’t help the smile I wore.
It was almost exciting.
Together, we pushed the dresser away from the door and unsheathed our blades as Gregg pushed open the door. We moved cautiously into the main room and exhaled a soft sigh as all seemed the same as it had been the night before.
“Birds singing,” Gregg said softly as he reached for the front doors handle. “That means it’s safe, yeah?”
“For the birds at least.”
I ignored his glare and gestured for him to open the door. We stepped out into the chill air, weapons raised and I was almost disappointed when we weren’t immediately attacked. A stab of pain from my left foot reminded me why I wasn’t too disappointed.
We set off through the trees, Gregg holding his knife in one hand and a compass in the other, led the way. I hobbled along as best I could but was pleased to note that a good nights rest and some food had reinvigorated me a little.
Even so, our pace was slow. I knew it was because of me but there was little I could do about that just then. We were on something of a clock however and we had a number of miles to go before reaching our destination and only the vague idea that it was to the south-east.
“We’ll have to go around the loch,” I reminded him as we reached the road. “Head towards the dam to the north. That’s barely a mile away and we can cross the river that feeds this loch.”
“Aye, mate.”
It was an almost pleasant walk. The waters of the loch moved gently and a light breeze tugged at the leaves of the trees that lined the shore. The road was clear and as close as we were to a secret base that had been run by the architects of the end of the world, we had little to fear from zombies.
That allowed us to walk fairly briskly, considering my limitations, and it wasn’t long before the road rose up towards the dam.
Ordinarily, it wouldn’t be anything I would have noticed. A simple construction of concrete rising up out of the water. It wasn’t even very high, just enough to allow the water to sluice through it turning the turbines and generating electricity.
But then again, it wouldn’t have been just on the edge of a village with a number of houses lining the road towards it. I shared a quick glance with Gregg as we slowed our pace, keeping our attention on the surrounding houses.
It was all very quiet. The houses were empty and what few cars there were, were pulled up to the sides of the road. If not for the weeds that were growing wild everywhere, it would have looked like any other quiet village on a Sunday morning.
Clearly, I reasoned to myself, the mercenaries at the secret base would have cleared out any potential threats. Unless they wanted to keep some zombies around to deter any casual passerby.
I wiped the sweat from my brow and paused beside a low wall where the road turned onto the dam itself. A couple of hundred metres of road with nothing but water on either side. Not ideal and we would be fairly vulnerable while on it, but I was reasonably sure we would be okay.
“We good, mate?” Gregg asked, his voice betraying his nerves.
Another glance around at the silent houses and a stubborn refusal for those little hairs on the back of my neck to settle back down, and I nodded.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
The sound of running water was all we could hear, drowning out the rustling of the leaves as the breezed caught the thick screen of trees that covered the banks at either side of the river. It was a little unsettling, even to me.
Beyond the village, the hills rose steeply and to the south, there appeared to be no smaller than those to the north. It would be a strenuous climb with one small bonus. The zombies didn’t seem to like to climb over rough terrain. For the most part at least.
Even so, we would have at least two days, perhaps three, on those hills with little in the way of shelter and only the food and water we carried with us. Not the best prospect.
“You hear that?” Gregg asked and I glanced his way. His head was cocked to the side as he listened and I felt a frown form.
“What?”
“Shh.”
“That…” he said with a nod towards the end of the dam, his face grim.
“Ah, that’s my fault.”
They were dressed in the coveralls of the Genpact people and they were certainly fresher than the zombies we were used to. They moved slowly across the end of the dam and I couldn’t help my grin.
When I’d sent the activation code to the black discs each of the people in the bunker wore, releasing the zombification parasite directly into their hearts, I had clearly also managed to affect the small group that were working at the dam.
One turned its head, eyes fixing on me and a moan rose from its mouth. There were no wounds on her body and aside from a pallor to her skin, she looked just like anyone else would. I gave a short laugh. It was like being back at the beginning all over again.
They ran towards us and I braced myself, legs apart and knife held before me. The first slammed up against my raised arm, the leather of my jacket protecting me from its teeth long enough for me to thrust my knife forward, fast as a striking snake, sinking the blade deep into its eye.
It dropped without a sound and then the true fight began.
My blade was slick with blood, arm rising and falling with brutal efficiency as I kill
ed, a savage joy rising in my breast. They were so fresh they were almost alive, and a definite threat. My aches and pains fell away, injuries forgotten as the adrenaline rushed through my system.
I was enjoying myself and felt a pang of disappointment as the last of them fell.
“Fuck me,” Gregg muttered, flicking blood from his knife blade. “Never a dull moment with you, is it?”
There’d only been five but I had killed four to Gregg’s one. I flashed him a grin at that and leant down to wipe the blood from my blade on the clothing of the dead man before me.
I swore loudly as the pain returned and I clutched my side almost falling but for the quick catch by Gregg. He hooked my arm and pulled me upright before guiding me back to sit on the stone wall that ran across the dam.
“Careful, mate.”
“Yeah, forgot about my cracked rib for a minute.”
He shook his head and took my knife from me, bending down to wipe it clean before passing it back.
“Rest there a minute, yeah. I’ll get rid of these.”
I watched him approvingly as he lifted the first of the bodies and dragged it over to the wall beside me. He gave a grunt as he lifted it higher and pushed it over into the running water below.
He did the same with the other four as I caught my breath and waited for the pain to subside a little. If the Reaper were to follow us, we would do our best to ensure it wouldn’t have anything to feed on which would make the chances of us healing before it did, that much better.
Once done, Gregg wiped his hands on his jeans and helped me back to my feet. With a last glance behind me at the village, we made our way off of the dam and turned towards the hills to the south.
I wasn’t looking forward to the climb, but considering what would come when we reached our destination, I was actually looking forward to a few days without being attacked.
Chapter 6
The capture of the submarine was surprisingly bloodless. The only injury reported was from one of the marines who happened to slip and sprain his ankle when climbing down into the main body of the sub.
There’s been no way of hiding the fact that we had taken the sub’s occupants into custody so we didn’t even try. I figured by the time we had to answer any questions, we would have answers aplenty.
A Trafalgar-class nuclear submarine of the Royal Navy had a complement of one hundred and thirty. A third of that number had been lost as they had tried to accomplish the task that had now fallen to my own beloved and Gregg.
During the past year, as they did who knew what, they had lost almost another quarter of those remaining, leaving them well below half the usual complement. Those that remained were malnourished and weary beyond words.
Admiral Stuart had ensured that they were sequestered in a building near the docks with ample food and water. He’d also arranged for our overworked medical staff to visit them. The commander and his lieutenant were brought to the main council building.
I seated myself at the centre of the ‘U’ shaped table, settling back in the heavy leather chair as I waited for the admiral to arrive. Cass sat at my right, nursing her gorgeous baby daughter. Every day she resembled her father a little more and I felt my sorrow at his death anew.
To my left was Lou, formerly the leader of a small group of people he had managed to keep alive in Glasgow. A good man and fast becoming a friend. I trusted his word and knew that he would do his duty.
Beside him was Minister Jones. A short man with hunched shoulders and the drooping jowls of a man who had lost a lot of weight in a short time. He’d served in the previous government but for all that, he had been a vocal opponent of the then first minister. I liked him.
At the other side of the table, beside Cass, was Minister Shepherd. A weasel-faced shrew of a woman with a cutting tone and biting humour. She would argue her point bitterly and was often on the opposite side to my minister of war, Admiral Stuart, but she was honest to a fault. Something I needed from the people who served in my government.
The door opened and a squad of armed marines marched in, splitting off to stand either side of the door, their assault rifles held across their bodies and their faces set. Behind them came the admiral and our new allies. I studied them carefully.
He was tall with grey at the sides of his chocolate brown hair. Lines creased his face and he appeared to be beyond weary. His uniform was creased, as though he had slept in it more than once but his salute was as smart as the admirals.
Beside him, the woman I assumed to be his lieutenant was surprisingly young. Blonde hair in a tight bun. Like her commander, she was painfully thin, and her uniform was creased and worn. Her salute was smart though her hand trembled a little as she held it and I wondered at how much they had been eating.
“Could we perhaps get some seats?” Cass said and I nodded at the admiral who directed one of his marines to go in search of some.
The marine returned a moment later with two wooden chairs that he placed before our table and then retreated to his place by the door. The admiral gave a curt command for the two naval officers to sit before he moved around to take his place at the table beside Minister Jones.
“Now, Commander…?”
“Commander Curtis Lowery, ma’am.”
I nodded and looked at the lieutenant.
“Lieutenant Heather Green, ma’am.”
“Good.” I made some brief introductions of the rest of us and clasped my hands together before me as I leant forward. “Now, I…”
“Are we prisoners, ma’am?”
I gave the commander a hard stare and pursed my lips. From the corner of my eye, I caught the slight shake of the Admirals head as he cautioned patience.
“No, commander, you are not prisoners.”
“Yet you have detained my crew and boarded my vessel.”
“Yes.” Just that. No apologies or reason for our actions. Just a simple statement of fact.
“A poor way to treat us when we came here in friendship.”
“Piss poor friends you are,” Minister Shepherd snapped. “Arriving late after stalking these waters for some time and then asking for favours.”
“We had our reasons.”
“Then tell us them,” I said softly.
“Commander,” Lieutenant Green said warningly and I glanced at her curiously.
“As the highest-ranking member of the Royal Naval forces still alive and a member of the new government, I order you to explain yourselves,” Admiral Stuart said, his voice curt.
“You can also start with where you’ve been for the past year or so,” Cass added.
The lieutenant gave another warning glance to her commander but he waved her away, his shoulders slumping a little. He was beyond weary and I had the distinct impression he was eager to talk, to have someone to report to.
“Yes, sir. We have had a difficult year.” His demeanour seemed to indicate more than just difficult but I let it slide as I didn’t want to interrupt him. “We waited to announce ourselves because we were not sure of you.”
“Of us?” Cass asked, clearly surprised.
“Yes, ma’am. We had been monitoring your communications for some time as we approached and what we heard…”
“Was crazy,” Lieutenant Green interrupted. Her cheeks heated as the commander looked at her. “It was though.”
“How so?” the admiral asked.
“Talk of death cultists, people being fed to the undead and some of the things we heard about some of your people, well, it gave us pause.”
“Bloody Charlie,” Cass hissed. “Gossiping with the ships crews over the comms.”
That was worrying since she knew a little more about us than I would prefer to be public knowledge, especially about Ryan, though I wasn’t sure if the truth about him would make much difference at this point.
“Things have been difficult for everyone,” I said. “Adjustments have had to be made.”
“As you say, ma’am. We had to be careful of who we trusted a
nd to be frank, we were unsure of you.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Your actions over the past week. When threatened, you put as many of your people out of harm's way as possible yet you stayed here yourself. The… cultists, whatever they may be, stood fast and were willing to fight and die to protect you all. That says a lot about you.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat at the mention of the sacrifice of the Dead and I didn’t look at Cass as she sniffed softly and gently rocked her gurgling baby.
“Our supplies were low, as you will find when you investigate our sub, and our options were extremely limited. I took a chance that you were the sort of people we could trust.” He looked back over his shoulder at the armed marines. “I might have been wrong.”
“You are not,” I said, the tension draining a little from me as I settled back in the chair. “The only thing we want is to keep as many people alive as possible. If that means investigating you fully, we will do so and apologise later.”
“I understand, ma’am.” His eyes grew distant and his lips twisted at some remembered sorrow. “The fate of the world is here, on this island. This is the largest group of survivors we have discovered.”
“You’ve found others?”
“Yes, ma’am. Quite a few enclaves scattered around the world. Some will thrive and some have no doubt already fallen. None had more than a hundred people. The numbers you have here are quite remarkable.”
“That is the admirals doing,” I said with a smile for Admiral Stuart. “He saved the vast majority of these people and kept them safe.”
“An outstanding achievement, sir,” the commander said with another salute for the admiral who returned it stoically.
“Yes, yes,” Minister Shepherd snapped. “Where have you been for the past year and why were you so mysterious about this favour you asked of us?”
Commander Lowery shared a look with his lieutenant and sucked in a deep breath before he spoke.
“As the world began to fall, we were given specific and confidential orders. They are classified until such time as I receive orders otherwise.”
Killing The Dead (Book 15): The Gathering Storm Page 4
