by Smith, I. J.
“Where is MacLeod?”
The man did not speak.
“OK!”
Jack tightened the vice and slight cracking noise echoed out, the man’s skull was cracking.
Jack stood up and walked around the table.
“MacLeod, where is he?”
The only response was screaming.
Jack smashed the ball-peen hammer into the man’s kneecaps, he didn’t just hit them once he kept hitting them repeatedly. Jack smashed them both so hard; that the legs began to break in half.
“TRENT MANOR! TRENT MANOR! FUCKING HELL PLEASE STOP!”
Jack walked back to his seat.
“Now was that so hard?” Jack asked.
The man sobbed in pain.
“You killed my friend, you hurt my other friend, and you killed the woman I love and my unborn child” Jack spoke emotionally.
The man looked up at Jack as he took hold of the vice handle.
“NO!”
Jack tightened the vice, the man’s eyes began to bulge, and eventually they popped out of his head. Jack tightened it more; a large split appeared across the man’s forehead. Blood spewed from his mouth and his head. Within moment the man’s skull was crushed to nothing.
Jack walked away, picking up the ball-peen hammer.
“I’m coming MacLeod!”
As Jack walked out of the building something caught his attention. He moved to the side to see a large homemade coffin.
“Perfect!” He uttered.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ALONE
Tommy drove the van towards home. Raven and Sarah sat in the back with Kat, she was still not talking. Jacob and Adam sat in the front. The silence was suddenly broken.
“Do you think Jack is OK?” Jacob asked.
Adam glanced at him. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him look like that before!”
“I have,” Jacob muttered.
Driving along the road, there was a sudden banging from the back of the van, Tommy stopped immediately. Jumping out, they opened the side doors.
“WHAT WRONG?” Adam asked panicking
Raven helped a now dressed Kat out of the van. “She is going to be sick!”
Raven led her to the side of the road. Sarah stepped out. “That girl is broken!”
Suddenly Kat pushed Raven to the ground and ran off into the overgrown field. All of the others chased after her.
“KAT STOP!”
They ran through the bushes Kat rushed through and jumped over a small fence. She ran towards a large gas refinery, ten large grey units stood tall. Kat ran towards them and climbed the ladder of one of them. She climbed the ladder up to the top, almost a hundred feet in the air. She walked across the top and sat on the edge looking out.
Raven, Sarah, Jacob, Adam, and Tommy rushed into the refinery, but they could not see her anywhere. Zombies roamed around the area.
“She could be anywhere!” Tommy told the group.
Jacob looked around and out the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure on top of one of the large tanks.
“Look, if we stand around here all we are gonna do is attract the dead. So why don’t you guys go get the van, while I keep looking.” Jacob said suddenly.
Raven looked at Jacob in the eyes, she was a little shocked. He was volunteering to wait here alone. Jacob locked eyes with Raven, he looked up. Raven glanced over and could see Kat, and at that moment knew what Jacob was up to.
“Yeah, he’s right! Come on, we will be back soon.” Raven said, agreeing with Jacob.
Tommy stood his ground.
“NO! I’M NOT LEAVING HER!” He said angrily
Adam put his arm around Tommy. “Come on, we will be right back!”
Jacob watched as they walked away, Raven touched his arm as she passed, giving Jacob a sign of encouragement. He waited a few minutes and then walked over to the ladder, he was about to climb when a zombie grabbed his leg.
“Oh hell no, you can fuck off!”
Jacob kicked out so hard, the zombies jaw broke off. Then Jacob started his long climb to the top.
As he climbed up, he kept muttering to himself not to look down. Reaching the top, he gripped the bar so tight he could have broken it off. He looked over to see Kat sat on the edge. He slowly walked over.
“You mind if I join you?” Jacob asked quietly.
Kat looked up, her eyes still filled with tears.
“Just leave me alone!”
Jacob ignored her and sat down beside her anyway.
“I can’t do that. You see, you’re my friend, and you are hurting.”
Kat continued to cry.
“I can say sorry about Ray, but it won’t make a difference to how your feeling.”
Kat stared ahead, looking out over the new day.
Finally, she spoke. “Where’s Jack?”
“Gone to kill the person who hurt the people he loves most!”
Kat’s faced screwed up as she cried again.
“It was me!”
“I killed my grandfather!” Kat said through heavy tears.
Jacob looked lost for words, it took him a moment, but then he placed his hand on hers.
“Tell me?”
Kat looked at him.
“They gave him a choice, me or him!”
Jacob moved closer and placed his arm around her.
“Then there was no choice, not for Ray. He loved you; he wanted you to live, so he made the choice knowing that you were surrounded by people who care for you. Also, you have a man that loves you like family to look after you, “Jacob said gently.
Kat rested her head on his shoulder. “I told Jack I hated him, I blamed him.”
“He will understand!” Jacob replied.
Jacob kissed her on the head. “The world is dark and cruel, but there is light, and Jack is your light!” He told her.
“He is going after them alone!”
“Then maybe we should go help him!” Jacob suggested.
Kat raised her head and looked at him. “Can we keep this between us?”
“Of course!”
“You promise?” she asked.
Jacob gripped her hand. “I will tell you a secret, so if I tell anyone, then you can tell them mine. I really missed Jack these last few months.”
Kat laughed suddenly.
“Come on, let’s go find the others and then we can find Jack!”
Together they stood up and climbed back down the ladder, as they reached the bottom the white van appeared. Raven jumped out and raced over to Kat. She embraced her and guided her back to the van.
Adam stepped out and spoke to Jacob.
“Well done!”
“I know her pain, that’s all!” Jacob replied as he climbed back on board.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ALLIANCE
Bray stood with his gun pointed at Pauline’s head, everyone tried to calm him down.
“Bray, come on! She saved us!” Zoe argued.
Pauline continued to order her people to stand down as Bray pushed the gun into her head; she closed her eyes and spoke.
“If you have to, then do it!” Pauline told Bray.
Bray breathed heavily as his daughter watched him.
“Bray, put it down!” Ryan added.
“What the fuck is wrong with all of you? These fuckers killed Elle; they cut her damn head off. Frank’s dead because of them. And how many of you were raped by these bastards?”
Rain approached Bray; she touched his shoulder and looked at him.
“I don’t know what they did; I didn’t know the people that died. What I do know is you are the only one ready to kill!” she calmly told him.
He glanced at her through angry eyes.
“Dad! Please, no more death today!” Jennifer added.
Zoe took Pauline by the arm and pulled her behind herself.
“She needs to talk to Jack, she has something offer him!”
Pauline moved Zoe to one side and stepped towards the gun.<
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“My people here with me were not at the school. They did not kill anyone. MacLeod is my brother, so if you need revenge, you take it out on me. But please, let them go!”
Bray become confused, he lowered his gun slowly and shouted out. “SHIT!”
Zoe walked over to Rain. “Please get all the children on the bus!”
Without hesitation, Rain started to gather the children, Jennifer was quick to help. Bray, Zoe, and Ryan stayed with Pauline and her people.
“We don’t know when Jack will be back,” Ryan said.
Before Pauline could answer, a white van appeared, driving into the park and parking next to the bus. Adam jumped out with his gun raised, quickly followed by Raven and Sarah.
“IT’S OK! PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN!” Bray shouted over to them.
Bray looked at Pauline. “Don’t worry; it’s just our people coming back from a run.”
Zoe walked over, next to Bray. “There’s something wrong!” She tells him.
Bray frowned, as he looked at her.
“What?” he asked.
“Adam left with Jack and the new people in the car. Ray, Tommy, and Kat took the van,” she replied.
It suddenly hit Bray; there was no sign of Jack. He knew him so well that if he saw The Mercy here he would have started to kill them without warning. He slowly walked over towards the van. He could see everyone except for Jack, Ray, and Kat. He was relieved when Kat appeared from the van. As she walked towards him, she noticed the markings on the black 4x4’s, the red circle with the painted M in the middle. She looked over and could see Pauline standing in front of everyone else. Without warning, Kat ran at Pauline.
Bray tried to stop her, but Kat was fast and ducked past him, she reached out for Pauline but felt arms behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Raven holding her back.
“LET ME GO!”
Sarah raced to face Kat.
“Look at me, look at me!” Sarah repeated.
Kat calmed down, Raven held her gently in a warm embrace.
“Thank you,” Pauline said.
Sarah swung round and head-butted Pauline, opening a large cut on her head. Pauline fell back, her people raised their weapons.
“NO! STOP!” Pauline ordered them.
Pauline steadied herself and held her hand to the cut. She stared at Sarah without saying a word, but what could she say. Her brother had wreaked terror on all these people and here she was attempting to make a deal.
Sarah glanced at Kat. “I will teach you how to do that one day!”
Raven looked around. Bray and Ryan walked over to her.
“We have had some issues while you have been gone!” Ryan told her.
“No shit. Guess what, us too!”
Bray looked at the van again. “Yeah I noticed. Where the hell is Jack and Ray?”
Kat looked lost. Jacob stepped forward. “Ray is dead, MacLeod killed him,” he said, looking at Kat.
“They hurt Kat too. Jack has gone after him,” Jacob added.
Pauline stepped forward.
“What? No, Jack is walking into a war he cannot win!”
Ryan laughed. “You really don’t know Jack do you!”
Pauline moved closer. “You don’t understand, MacLeod is obsessed with him, my brother will do anything to kill him!”
Jacob stepped face to face with Pauline.
“Jack is gone. The Reaper is hunting and I tell you, nothing will stop him. I have seen The Reaper work and I swear the Devil himself would be afraid!”
Pauline swallowed hard. “He is going up against an army!”
“Then we better help him!” Raven spoke out.
“Hell yeah!” Sarah added.
“I might puke a few times, but I’m in,” Jacob added.
“So what’s the plan?” Ryan asked.
Bray stepped forward, knowing without Jack there, he was in charge.
“Rain will take the kids and head south; there is a large car park just off the main road. The rest of us, we’re going to war!”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
STAND OFF
Less than a mile from Trent Manor, a blood-soaked car was parked outside a veterinary clinic. The building had been ransacked; windows broken, rotting corpses covered in maggots and flies were piled up outside the entrance. There was a tapping noise coming from the car, a half-eaten zombie dragged its rotted feet along the road towards the trunk of the car. The tapping noise continued as the zombie fell onto the trunk and began clawing at it. The sound of a man crying could be heard.
Inside the building, Jack looked through the window. He had a look of determination on his face; he had removed his black shirt and held a needle and thread. With a bottle of vodka in his other hand, he poured it over his wound. Most people would wince in pain, but Jack was too focused to feel it. With the needle and thread he began closing the deep cut on his arm as blood ran down his arm. The sound of cracking glass made him look up.
In the doorway stood a woman, her pale, dead eyes looking at him. She was dressed in a long white dress and walked over the glass, her feet were bleeding. Jack noticed the hole in her cheek where she had been bitten. He ignored her and continued to sew up his wound, as she continued to move forward. Jack looked up again and noticed the white dress was a wedding gown, he glanced at her face again, but this time he saw someone different.
As Jack watched her, he saw Elle and for a moment his mind wandered.
On a beach, surrounded by beautiful, blue ocean, under a large, white flower-covered arch was Elle. Standing barefoot in the sand, a large man stood next to her in black trousers and a white loose shirt. It was Jack; they held each other’s hands as the Priest announced them man and wife. There were rows of white chairs, but in the front row, Frank stood clapping, Bray cheering next to him. Jack moved in to kiss his bride, when suddenly her face changed to a rotted fleshy mess, trying to bite Jack.
Back to reality, Jack shook his head. The zombie approached and, pulling his machete, he stabbed it clean in the head.
“If only!” he muttered to himself.
Standing up Jack, pulled on his shirt and walked out of the building. He looked towards the zombie clawing at the trunk. He ignored it and walked away. As he turned the corner, he could see a car where the roof rack was piled high with boxes. Walking over he pulled the rope, it was tight, and grabbing his machete he cut it off and pulled it clear.
“Perfect!”
He walked back toward his car, the zombie still clawing away at it. He pulled the zombie to the ground, stamping on its skull, popping the head like a grape. Jack opened the trunk and looked at the man inside, scared for his life.
“I can help you, just please don’t kill me,” he begged.
Jack smiled. “I’m not gonna kill you!”
He punched the man unconscious again and dragged his limp body from the trunk. Dropping the body to the ground, he tied one end of the rope around the man’s legs tightly, the other end to the tow-bar of the car.
He leaned over the man and began slapping him in the face. The man began to stir.
“Now you can help!”
Jack returned to the car, starting the engine. The man began to scream. Jack drove the car slowly dragging the man’s body behind. He drove along a long road, attracting every zombie within distance, as he drove more and more of the dead followed.
On the main road, he saw a sign for Trent Manor.
“You wanted me, you got me!” Jack muttered.
He slowed the car, zombies were just out of reach of the dragging body. A line of blood began to appear from the screaming man, his skin was being ripped off as the car drove.
Jack drove as slow as he could, just slow enough to keep the zombie from reaching the man.
Along the long road, the sun was beginning to set. A sign showed Trent Manor just ahead, Jack drove faster. He reached two large metal gates where two armed men stood on the other side. Jack accelerated and rammed the gates, in one hit they collapsed. Jack sped a
long the gravel driveway, the man behind the car, bashing up and down. As the car hit a speed hump, the man’s head bounced off the ground, his head cracking like an egg. As the skull opened up, the brain collapsed and dragged away from the body.
Gunshots started to echo out.
Bullets hit the windscreen. Jack did not move as a hole appeared. He drove to the front of the house and stopped. He sat in the car for a moment, groups of people appeared in front of the car. Jack switched the headlights on, illuminating the group. An old woman appeared, wearing a black dress. She stood in front of the light smiling, and then from behind her the large figure appeared. A sword strapped to his back, a bald head with angel wing tattoos.
Jack opened the door and stepped out.
He walked forward and sat on the edge of the front hood. He locked his gaze with MacLeod, giving his half-smile.
“Who are you?” Joyce asked.
Jack continued to smile.
MacLeod stepped forward and looked at the man he had been hunting for so long.
“This is The Reaper!” MacLeod told Joyce.
Joyce laughed aloud. “This? This is The Reaper? I was expecting so much more!”
Joyce walked towards Jack. “So you are the one who caused all this trouble?”
She noticed his gaze did not move from MacLeod.
“You want to kill my son?” Joyce asked Jack.
“He’s already dead!” Jack muttered.
As Joyce laughed, everyone around them started laughing.
“God you are stupid! You come here alone and think your tough guy act will impress?” Joyce asked him.
Jack suddenly looked at her with a smile. “Who said I came alone!”
Joyce was suddenly confused she looked towards the car, as she looked beyond she could see it. A horde of zombies was approaching them. Everyone began to panic and grab their weapons. Jack and MacLeod stayed perfectly still, locking eyes once again.
“You fool. You will die here tonight!” Joyce said as she marched off.
As she passed MacLeod she spoke to him. “Do me proud!”
MacLeod pulled his sword; Jack stood, pulling both machetes clear.
“Time to dance!” Jack sneered at MacLeod.
Both men ran for each other.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ONLY ONE
