War of the Dead

by Richard Murray

  “Sir,” Jennings said as the Admiral stepped out beside me.

  “Send someone to the ship and have the rest of… Ryan’s people brought to the sports centre.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Perhaps you should go yourself,” I said to the captain.

  “May I ask why?”

  The Admiral looked at me, a curious expression on his face and I gave a disinterested shrug of my shoulders.

  “They will know that he is telling the truth. If one of your other soldiers goes, they may suspect a trap.”

  “What makes you think they will trust the captain?”

  I glanced down at the captain’s hand and just smiled as colour rose on Jennings' cheeks. He knew why and I didn’t need to voice it. He’d proven himself to them but more than that he knew what would happen should he lie to my people.

  “Perhaps I should go, sir,” Jennings said and the Admiral nodded.

  “Very well.”

  The captain moved away, pushing through the crowd of people that had gathered along the roadside, his back straight as he held himself rigid. I held back a grin as I studied the faces of those people watching me.

  “Please,” the Admiral said. “Follow me.”

  Two of his marines fell into place behind us as the admiral led me along the main road. More of the town's populace lined the way and it appeared that I was the source of some curiosity. I held back my laughter as I thought of how they would react when they saw the main body of my minions as they trooped through the town.

  An effort had been made to clear the streets of abandoned cars and personal belongings, along with the remains of the previous occupants. More than one building beside the road bore bullet holes in their white painted walls or shattered glass in windows that had been boarded over. The battle to retake the town had been hard fought.

  Many of the people who watched us walk by were pale, their bodies thin and faces drawn. They were devoid of hope, living just for the sake of it or because they were too weak to take their own lives. More than one looked closer to death than they should have been.

  I watched the admiral from the corner of my eye as we walked but his face very carefully showed no emotion. I began to suspect that there were problems brewing on the island and my fingers twitched towards my knife, the need to kill something growing in me.

  “How many have died?” I asked and he turned his head to study me.

  “What do you mean?”

  I waved my hand towards the people we were walking past and smiled grimly.

  “Suicide, illness, old age. The number of people dying daily must be high. How many?”

  “Too many,” was his only reply.

  “And how many of them turn and attack others.”

  He grunted a response and I nodded slowly. That was answer enough and it told me plenty about what the situation was in the town and likely on the island.

  They were trying to live like they had before. Settling into houses and trying to be civilised without realizing that the time for that was past. They wanted, or perhaps needed normalcy but the world was no longer normal.

  “Food is distributed daily,” the Admiral said softly. “Each resident of the island has a chit that allows them to collect their ration. Some people are trying to start small gardens and allotments to grow some food to supplement their rations but with mixed success.”

  He nodded towards what had once been a supermarket. It had a number of trucks pulled up outside of it and long lines of people waiting outside the door. They watched us dully as we passed them by.

  “It will be different for your people. I’ll have food delivered. It won’t be much but will be the same as the rest of us are eating.”

  “That will be fine.”

  He grunted again and gestured to a large building that rose above the others surrounding it. All white aluminium panelling atop a wall of breezeblocks.

  “The sports centre is where you can set up camp. It won’t be comfortable and I’ve scrounged up some blankets but little else. There’s no heat but we have running water at least.”

  “You do?”

  “The island has its own water treatment plants and we’ve had them up and running. Power too, though that is limited.”

  “Impressive. It’s been a while since I last had a shower.”

  “We have electricity, but most buildings were heated with gas so it’s hit and miss with regards to heating. The sports centre has none.”

  “That will be fine.”

  He nodded and slowed his pace as we turned into the street that led directly to the sports centre. There were guards posted at the main entrance and military vehicles in the carpark.

  “I will have to ask you to keep your people contained for the moment,” he said and I nodded. I’d expected as much. “The guards I will leave are to keep people away as much as your followers inside.”

  “Understood,” I said, keeping my tone agreeable. “Anything else I need to be aware of?”

  “Don’t be concerned if you hear sirens. We have a lot of people trying to heat their homes, some with more success than others. We’ve had a number of fires and as a result, have a working fire service. They are called out often.”

  “You have working phones?”

  “No. But we have set up guard posts throughout the town, mainly at intersections. They have radios and call in any issues.”

  Like fires, badly behaved residents and people turning and attacking their families and neighbours. I understood the need but it did seem to be a waste of resources. While most of those on guard duty would be from the CDF, it was still a large number of his troops committed to watching over the townspeople.

  “I shall come by later to receive the report from Lieutenant Morgan. That will be a good time to discuss future plans.”

  The way he said that set my teeth on edge. There was something in his tone that I didn’t like. What that was, I couldn’t say for sure, but it was there. I watched him carefully but his face betrayed nothing, not that I would be able to discern much from his expression anyway.

  There was little else to say and so we waited in silence. I watched the crowd of people as they stared back at me. There was fear on some of their faces and that was something I could recognise, and on others, something else entirely.

  I knew my minions were coming close by the spreading silence. I held back my smile as necks were craned and heads turned, all sound falling away. The admiral shifted uncomfortably as he turned to watch them walking up the road towards us.

  Samuel was at their head, leading them with eyes fixed on the two of us, looking neither left nor right as he stared straight ahead. The minions followed in a long column, five people wide and sixty long.

  Each of them was dressed entirely in black, with at least one knife sheathed at their belt and the black cloth hoods on their heads. Where possible, they wore leather for the protection it gave but we’d soon run out of that and the rest wore heavy wool with extra padding sewn around the arms for protection.

  They marched in unison and I could practically feel the fear from the watching people. The naval forces that marched alongside, providing an escort, seemed to pale in comparison. Even with their guns, they didn’t evoke the raw, almost primal fear that my people did.

  “An impressive sight,” Admiral Stuart murmured as he watched them.

  While he had seen them in battle, there was something else in his tone that had me watching him carefully. I was fairly sure he had some agenda that he wasn’t ready to reveal to me. I hid a grin as I thought that if he intended to try and use my people, he was in for a shock.

  “My Lord Death,” Samuel announced in a loud voice that carried across the silent crowd. “We await your command.”

  I flashed him a wry smile as I shook my head. He was playing up for the crowd and no command from me would make him stop. He had some belief that I downplayed our role somewhat and he had taken it upon himself to let everyone know who we were and what we did.r />
  “Thank you, Samuel.”

  He pressed one clenched fist to his right breast and was immediately followed by those in the row behind him. It set off a chain effect as the salute they had chosen was copied all down the line and I held in a sigh.

  “See to getting everyone quartered,” I said. “Usual guard rotations.”

  “As you command, My Lord Death.”

  “Yes, yes. There will be some people dropping by tonight at some point. If they ask for me by name, you should be fine to have them let in. If in doubt, just get me.”

  “Of course.”

  He gave another salute before leading the column of my followers into the sports centre. I ignored their passing and turned to the Admiral.

  “Your people will have no problem with allowing visitors?”

  “None,” he agreed. “They are there just to keep the curious out.”

  It was left unsaid that they were also there to keep out any of those who may intend mischief. I had no illusions that my people were welcomed by everyone.

  I left him there without another word and went to explore my new home. I had come far since that time when I had reunited with Lily. I no longer kept myself far from my minions and could admit to myself that my paranoia at the time was strong. Though, I still wasn’t quite ready to fully trust them either.

  The main thing one had to remember about my minions was that I had first trained them to be like me and if anyone couldn’t be trusted, it was me. I was a killer, a serial killer in fact and I was good at it.

  Any emotions I may have were far beyond my reach and while Lily seemed to believe she could coax them out, I was still not quite sure. Needless to say, I was not quite ready to trust my minions and so preferred to sleep at least in a separate room. My minions seemed fine with that idea and since Lily often slept with me, they raised no real objection.

  The soldiers on guard ignored me as I passed them by and I paused inside the entranceway, watching as my followers moved through the building with purpose.

  First, they would check for potential threats. Undead, angry villagers, traps, that sort of thing. Then they would locate any and all entrances, securing them in turn. Next would come the inventorying. A tedious process where they would gather anything useful and take copious notes before assigning it all to a storage space. Only then would come the assigning of rooms.

  Fortunately, as their ostensible leader, I had the option of hanging back and letting them do all of the work. Unfortunately, that meant that I soon became bored.

  I seated myself behind the reception desk and rested my feet on the light coloured wooden countertop as I waited. It had been some time since I’d last eaten and my stomach rumbled loudly.

  One of the black-clad followers stopped as they passed by the desk and reached into a pocket. He pulled out a small plastic bag that contained strips of dried whitefish and placed it on the desk beside me.

  I glanced at him curiously and he reached in, taking a piece at random and lifting his hood to take a bite. He made a show of chewing and swallowing the fish before tapping his chest with his fist and returning to his task.

  It irked me that they all seemed to know I didn’t trust them but none of them seemed to care. They just accepted it as one of my quirks and worked around it, making an effort to be as non-threatening as possible, which, to be fair, just made me more suspicious of them.

  Still, I didn’t think they would try to poison me. I’d taught them better than that. A direct confrontation and death with a blade was always best. I reached for the fish he’d left and pulled a piece out.

  I was chewing absently as I stared at the ceiling when Gregg and the other soldiers of Lily’s squad arrived.

  Mark, the surly young fellow who seemed to dislike me, walked straight past where I sat to speak with Samuel. No doubt asking for a room to be assigned. Lars and Kerry, two people who looked completely the opposite of each other, nodded politely as they followed Mark.

  Lars was as close to being one of the Dead as any of them. He had a deep-seated hatred for the undead and it was only his sense of duty that kept him clinging on to the world of the Living. Kerry, on the other hand, was a bright-eyed young woman who was eager to help change the world.

  No doubt she would have that wide-eyed enthusiasm torn from her at some point, but I saw no real need to be the one to do it.

  Ray came next, a large muscular man with arms as wide as my thighs that were covered in tattoos of what I guessed were nautical themes. He was a pleasant enough man and a fellow Yorkshireman. His wife, Ruth, walked beside him.

  Since he was the pilot of the boat that Lily and her squad travelled upon, he had spent a great deal of his time in Glasgow. Despite exchanging long letters on the courier boats, his wife had apparently grown weary of his absence and turned up on one of those courier boats.

  It had been an entertaining few hours as he had argued then shouted, followed by bargaining and finally pleading for her to return to the safety of the island. All the way through she had stubbornly set her feet on the rooftop and crossed her arms, refusing to budge. I liked her.

  A hot, wet tongue licked my hand and I glanced down to see Jinx. An Alsatian with large brown eyes and thick dark fur, she seemed to like me for some reason. Lily seemed to think it was because we were the kindred spirits, whatever that meant, but she had fought alongside me and protected Lily when I wasn’t there.

  I scratched at her ears and her tail wagged as her tongue hung from her mouth and she panted softly.

  “Good to see you two are still buddies,” Gregg said.

  He lifted himself up to sit on the counter, his legs swinging in the air as he grinned at me. With the ragged scar that crossed his face, made by the clawed hands of a Feral, it wasn’t an attractive look for him. I offered a thin smile in return.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “We’re stuck with you lot, mate.” He grinned again and reached into the bag for a piece of fish. “Nowhere else for us to go.”

  “I thought that you would be assigned new roles with the CDF.”

  “Pah.” He pulled a face at the taste of the fish and chewed for a moment before replying. “The Civilian Defence Force are pretty much just the police now. Used to keep the peace and little else. Way I figure it, they’re too comfortable on this island and think nothing will get them. So, they don’t see any need for us now.”

  “Makes sense.” I continued to scratch behind the dog’s ears as I thought. “I can’t see it working though.”

  “You can’t?”

  I glanced out of the open door at the cold rain falling beyond. It was a common occurrence as far north as we were and it had only recently stopped snowing. The summer months were short and the winters harsh.

  To sustain a viable population would require a great deal more resources than were available on the island. Despite the large fleet of fishing boats they had out each and every day, I couldn’t see them feeding everyone on that alone.

  The naval fleet that was anchored out in the sheltered bay hadn’t looked like they were intending to move anywhere and I was beginning to suspect that the new government had decided to pull up the drawbridge and hide away from the problems plaguing the rest of the world.

  That wouldn’t do.

  “Are you seeing your sister?”

  “Huh? Er, yeah, as soon as I’m given some leave I will be.”

  “She’s coming here later. You might want to see if you can be free.”

  “Thanks, mate, I will.”

  I smiled and nodded as I continued to scratch at Jinx’s head. I stared once more at the ceiling and my smile didn’t fade as I began to consider options.

  Chapter 5

  Flames poured out of the windows of the house and smoke billowed up into the chill evening air. I pressed my sleeve against my mouth and coughed, the acrid smoke was all I could taste.

  People milled around, many looking like they hadn’t a clue what to do and I glanced at my escort, a b
urly sergeant in the CDF.

  “What’s going on?” I demanded.

  A handful of CDF troopers in their navy-blue fatigues took up position in front of the house. They each wore the small steel buckler on their left arm and had a sharp poignard in the other. They braced themselves as they watched the house.

  “Step back, ma’am,” the sergeant said.

  He lifted one large arm in front of me and gently motioned me back as something shattered inside the house with a large crack that filled the air. I stepped back, wondering what the hell was going on.

  “Are we waiting for the fire service?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Then why the…” I gestured at the troopers and his lips turned down as he looked away.

  Someone, somewhere inside the house was screaming, the sound full of pain and horror. It cut off abruptly and I stepped forward only for the sergeant to grip my arm.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said without releasing me. “It’s too late.”

  “What do you…”

  Realisation hit me and I swallowed back what I had been about to say. I nodded and he released his hold on me.

  Something heavy hit the front door of the house. A scream unlike any I had heard before coming from behind it and the troopers exchanged nervous glances as the crowd moved back. The sergeant gripped the hilt of his own poignard, ready to draw it and I reached for my sidearm.

  “No guns, ma’am,” he said apologetically. “Orders.”

  “Why?” I asked but reached instead for my poignard, knowing he wouldn’t answer.

  The door shook again and the wooden frame cracked. I wondered how many people had been in the house and then the door burst outwards, wooden splinters flying into the air as it was ripped from its hinges.

  A woman landed on all fours, atop the door. At least I thought it had been a woman once. Charred skin covered much of her thin frame and flames still licked at her skin, smoke and the stench of cooking flesh rising from her.