March of the Dead (Killing the Dead Book 11)

by Richard Murray

  He was gesturing to the north-east and for a moment I struggled to see what had so interested him and then, there it was. A plume of smoke rising from a dip in the land some distance from us. A fire meant people and possibly food.

  “You think we can reach that before dark?” Lisa asked with an edge of fear in her voice. She, like the others, would be wanting somewhere safe to spend the night and as I scanned the tops of the hills around me, it was pretty clear that there was little in the way of shelter.

  “No choice,” I said as I gave up on the idea of dropping the bag and resting. “They might have shelter. If not, we’re roughing it.”

  “Great,” she replied with a shudder.

  Admittedly the idea didn’t much appeal to me either. I detested the idea of being vulnerable to anything or anyone and spending the night with only the long grass for company had little going for it. On the plus side, we could see anything coming toward us from a long distance away. While we had daylight at least.

  The group walked together, comfortable enough with each other’s company that the occasional silence didn’t bother anyone. They’d been together long enough that they’d told all their stories so many times they could each repeat anybody’s personal story on request.

  Johnny had been the rising rugby star with a loving girlfriend and part-time job on the side. Mark came from old money and had been studying for a business degree at university so that one day he could take the reins of ‘daddy’s’ company.

  Nathan had been a hairdresser by trade and a bit of a bed-hopping lothario on the side. He’d spent his days indulging in self-pleasure and caring for little else.

  Lisa, on the other hand, had been studying environmental law. She was a great believer in climate change and the carbon footprint and had been hoping to lead the charge in saving the world. I was pretty sure we didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

  Abi hadn’t done much with her life. A string of ex-boyfriends and a young child, she’d lived in a council flat one street over from her mum and had few expectations for her life other than eating and watching daytime TV. It was almost obscene that one such as she had survived when so many more capable and intelligent people hadn’t.

  I hated myself a little bit for even knowing that much about each of my companions. As much as I’d avoided talking to anyone over the last few weeks, I hadn’t been able to avoid hearing their chatter. Georgia, despite her assertions that we were the same, had a gregarious nature and seemed to find genuine pleasure in talking with people. At least until they bored her and then she would start to think about killing them.

  So those were my companions. A far cry from the ones I’d had before and not even all of them together was worth one of my old group. If it hadn’t been for the wave of undead forcing us together, I’d have left them long ago.

  Which was another problem. I would have left them. Not killed them. Left them. My desire for death was gone and even killing the undead was done almost mechanically. A necessary chore that I had to get through.

  She had taken it from me in some way. I didn’t know how or when it had even happened, but at some point, she had managed to rob me of the one thing I truly cared about. Almost as much as I’d cared about her.

  I shook my head to clear it of that thought and focused my attention back on where we were headed. It was a bad habit I’d developed of late, lapsing into contemplation rather than paying attention to my surroundings. A truly bad habit to have during the apocalypse.

  Not that I was the only one to have that habit. Abi and Lisa were deep in conversation, fortunately low enough that I didn’t need to hear it, while Johnny regaled Nathan with the story of how he’d won some game or other for his team. Nathan was only half paying attention as he clipped at errant strands of hair, his gaze focused on the mirror he held.

  Georgia was feigning interest in whatever Mark was saying and to all intents and purposes, appeared to be paying rapt attention. To my eyes though, she was clearly scanning the area around us for potential threats. A hunter’s instinct that had kept her alive and one that I’d once had.

  Since I wasn’t quite ready to die some tedious death on a hill in Scotland, and I certainly wanted to avoid any more confusing thoughts about things I’d lost that I couldn’t change. I cleared my mind as best I could and focused on my surroundings.

  There was little to actually see, just grass and more grass with the occasional rocky outcrop thrown in. The way the land rose and fell made it pretty difficult to see much more than that A light breezed helped with the heat, though the sun still warmed my skin unpleasantly. At least the flies were far fewer in number.

  The air smelt cleaner than I remembered. I’d spent so long surrounded by the undead that I had become almost used to the odour and had forgotten what it was like not to have that ever present. Beneath the sounds of the quiet chatter of my group, I could hear the faint burbling of a stream, the water washing over rocks. The sound grew as we approached our destination.

  “Get down,” Mark said as we neared the edge of the hill.

  A wise precaution I conceded as he dropped to the ground and crawled forward. Johnny and Georgia followed and I considered doing the same but had little real interest in knowing what was down there.

  It didn’t take them long to see what needed to be seen and head back to where the rest of us stood waiting.

  “Small camp,” Mark said. “Three people, man and a woman with a kid.”

  “We going down there?” Nathan asked. He was no doubt as eager as me to be done with carrying the damned bags.

  “Might have to share our food with them but at the same time, they could have some to share with us,” Mark said musingly. “Either way they’ll have info to share with us.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Georgia said with a bright smile, though her hand remained on the hilt of her weapon.

  I eyed the rest of the group with more than a little doubt. Georgia was lethal with her Hori Hori, and I, even in my current state, was more than capable. The others though… I’d yet to see them really tested. Their general response to danger was to flee rather than fight and Alison’s frenzied flailing at the zombie was a good indicator of how well the others would do.

  Their weapons were varied. Nathan had a screwdriver, Johnny a claw headed hammer. Mark held a wrench, while Abi and Lisa both held heavy, long-handled spanners. I suspected they had found a toolbox somewhere which had provided their weapons. Not an inspiring sight.

  The stream I’d heard ran along the bottom of the hill in the small valley that was pretty much enclosed on the north, south and east sides. A bubble shaped tent that had seen better days was set up beside the stream and a small campfire burned before it. An equally small stack of wood, mainly branches by the looks, was set nearby.

  A slim male with receding dirty blonde hair and an angry scar across his stubbled jaw, sat beside the fire poking at it idly with a stick. He was perhaps thirty years of age but the way he sat, shoulders slumped and head bent low made him seem older.

  His companion, and I assumed partner, sat with her feet dangling into the water. Her cinnamon coloured hair was tied up in a messy bun and I could tell little about her except that her laughter had a tinge of sadness to it as she watched the child play.

  She was likely only four or five and it had been a while since I’d seen a child survivor. They tended not to last too long.

  I shoved aside the image that came to mind of a small child who had cried as I sliced my blade across her thigh, giving her as peaceful a death as I could. It had been some time since I’d thought of the child, Emma. I had to say, I didn’t like the way she came to mind, evoking feelings that I shouldn’t have.

  “Hello the camp,” Mark called.

  At the sound of his voice, the people below sprang into action. The woman grabbed the girl from where she paddled in the stream and thrust her into the tent, appearing a moment later with a long carving knife in her hand. The man rose to his feet after picking up a th
ick branch from the grass beside him. He stared at us balefully as we slowed our pace.

  “We mean no harm,” Lisa called and I wondered if it was purposeful that she always spoke immediately after Mark. A way to show that we had women in the group who could speak up, who weren’t badly treated. A way to show that we were safe.

  “There’s nothing here to take,” the woman said. Her voice had a touch of fear to it and I suspected that we weren’t the first people they’d encountered.

  “Seriously,” Mark said. “We aren’t here to hurt anyone or take anything.”

  Suspicion was plain on their faces and I held back a sigh. We’d not encountered any new people for weeks and every single time we did meet someone new, we had to go through the same rigmarole.

  I slipped the rucksack off and pressed both hands to my lower back as I stretched. The damned thing was heavy!

  The conversation was clearly going nowhere and there wasn’t much we could do to build trust in the time we had left before dark. Considering that was fast approaching and I had little interest in spending my evening in the open air, I stepped forward.

  His eyes widened at my approach and he cast a panicked look to his companion before swinging the branch at my head. It was an easy thing to duck beneath it and land a heavy blow to his abdomen. He coughed and grasped at his stomach as he dropped the branch and fell to his knees, winded. The woman shook her head as she waved the knife in my direction, muttering to herself.

  “Not again, not again, not again!” she said as she slashed at me with the knife.

  I caught her wrist as it passed and held it tight as I looked directly into her eyes. There was fear there and despair. Her body trembled and it was easy to see that they’d had little luck with strangers. I pulled the knife from her unresisting hand and tossed it to the ground beside the campfire.

  “There,” I said. “Now you know we can disarm you and do whatever we want. So, believe us when we say we mean you no harm.”

  Her lips moved but no sound came as I released her wrist and sat down beside the smouldering fire. I didn’t need the heat as such but there was something comforting about being beside an open fire when surrounded by enemies. Something primal no doubt.

  In the tent, the girl was crying and Georgia moved up to put one arm around the shaking woman’s shoulder as she whispered words of comfort. She was good at that, I had to admit. She had the ability to talk to people that I lacked and yet she was just as much a killer as I was. Or at least, as I had used to be. That likely meant that it was just something wrong with me that made me so different.

  I pondered that difference as the rest of the group moved forward and introduced themselves. Mark cast more than one dirty look my way which I ignored as he tried to reassure the man that we meant no harm.

  Which was true. The group I was with wouldn’t hurt a fly and I was seemingly incapable of finding any joy in killing, so had no reason to harm those people. It was frustrating, to say the least.

  Introductions were made and the wailing of the child quietened, I began to relax a little. As the sun moved across the sky, the little valley we were in became a nice little suntrap. The water of the stream rippled with reflected sunlight and most of my companions had taken off their shoes and socks to sit on the bank with their feet in the water.

  “We’ve been out here for about three weeks,” Jeremy said.

  His voice was gruff and suspicious. He hadn’t been happy at how easily I’d made him look a fool and cast dirty looks my way with some frequency. It was almost irksome enough for me to consider killing him.

  “Nearly four now,” Marie, his wife replied in a soft voice that still bore some distrust.

  “Where did you come from?” Mark asked and held up his hands placatingly as the couple shared a look. “It’s okay if you don’t want to say. We’re just curious.”

  “Galston, near Kilmarnock,” Jeremy said.

  “That’s up near Glasgow, isn’t it?” Johnny asked, his brow furrowed as he thought. “About forty miles from here. Give or take a couple.”

  “Aye, it is.”

  “What’s it like up there?” Lisa asked.

  “Same as everywhere else,” Marie said. “Those monsters are everywhere. Killing and eating people.”

  “We was with a group of good people for a while,” Jeremy said as he resumed poking at the fire with his stick.

  “What happened?” Lisa asked gently.

  “Lost a few to the zombies and the rest to other people,” Jeremy said. He didn’t look at his wife and she, in turn, looked down at the child she held in her lap as she stroked the girl’s hair.

  I stood and stretched as they continued talking and the couple asked a few questions in turn about where we’d been. I had little interest in their story and even less in hearing from my companions that which I already knew.

  Instead, I wandered a short way upstream, lost in my own thoughts as I debated with myself about what best to do next. I could slip away in the night and head east. It was likely they would encourage this new couple to come with us and I had no interest in adding to our burden. The food we had would barely sustain us for the next day or so as it was and with more mouths to feed, especially a child, we would have even less.

  But then, I couldn’t really leave the child defenceless. I could just imagine what she’d have said about that.

  No. I’d have to stay long enough to ensure that the child, at least, was somewhere safe and had enough food that my conscience would be clear. Which was an odd thought since I’d always considered myself to be without one of those.

  “Hey,” Georgia said and I glanced back over my shoulder to see her approach. I kept the irritation from my face as best I could.

  “What?”

  “Just saying hi,” she said with a flash of straight white teeth as she smiled. I wasn’t sure how she managed that since our toothpaste had run out weeks ago. “Got a question for you.”

  “Ok.”

  She raised one eyebrow as she tilted her head to the side, studying me curiously.

  “You aren’t going to ask what question?”

  “I really don’t care. Just ask and then leave me in peace.”

  “Jeez, you really did use to be more fun you know.”

  “Maybe so, but that was then.”

  “Sourpuss,” she said and grinned as I frowned at her. “Oh fine! I wanted to know which one you wanted to kill.”

  “Which one what?”

  “Of the people.” She gestured back at the small camp with a nod of her head. “I’m tempted to kill the guy, but I know some men can be funny about killing women so thought I’d check with you first.”

  “Why?” I asked and when she stared at me blankly, added, “why kill either of them?”

  “Because I want to.” She gave me a look that I couldn’t decipher and she shook her head slowly. “I thought you’d get that.”

  “Guess not.”

  “Man, she really messed you up didn’t she?” Georgia said. “I figured she had some kind of control over you but not that she’d neutered you…”

  Her hand closed around my wrist before I had the knife out of its sheath and her Hori Hori was pressed against my stomach as she grinned at me. From the way she stood before me, I doubted anyone at the campsite would be able to see what was happening between us.

  “So touchy about her, aren’t you?”

  The point of her weapon pressed against my stomach and I highly doubted that the thin material of my t-shirt would be any real barrier to it should she choose to exert just a little extra pressure. My grip tightened on the hilt of my knife as I considered drawing it anyway. I was pretty sure I could kill her before she finished me off.

  “What did she do to you to make you like this?” she asked as she stared at me thoughtfully.

  “Just leave me be.”

  “No,” she said with a shake of her head that sent an errant strand of hair across her face to stick to the sweat-streaked skin of her cheek
. She didn’t seem to notice or care. “You’re better than this. You’re a killer and you need to realise that.”

  “I do. I just no longer feel the urge.” It was surprisingly hard for me to admit that to her and her eyes widened as she stared at me.

  “Oh! You poor baby,” she said. “She really did a number on you, didn’t she?”

  She laughed at my scowl and released her hold on my wrist. I stood facing her, unsure whether or not to kill her but knowing that I wouldn’t really enjoy it so it would be a waste. She pressed one finger of her free hand, lightly against my stomach.

  Mischief danced in her eyes and she wore a wicked grin as she traced a trail down my stomach, past the point of the Hori Hori and beneath the top of my jeans. First her finger and then her hand, slipping down as I stared at her hard, all too aware of the pressure against my stomach from the Hori Hori. I grunted as she tightened her grip.

  “Just checking she didn’t take your balls completely,” she said as she released her hold and stepped back, sliding her weapon back into its sheath.

  She glanced back at the camp, that grin not leaving her face and I followed her gaze to Jeremy and his wife Marie.

  “I’ll kill him tonight and tomorrow, if you haven’t killed her, I’ll do it for you,” she said with an almost dreamy tone to her voice as she considered what she would do. “I’ll even let you kill the kid if you want, though I’d prefer to do it.”

  Without another look at me she set off back to the camp and I was left wondering just what exactly I was going to do.

  Chapter 4

  We shared the few tins of food we’d scavenged from the village of Durisdeer with the family who had decidedly less than we did. They’d finished the last of their food a couple of days before and even then, they’d been giving the majority of their supplies to their child. They’d been debating where to go when we’d arrived.

  “There’s a reservoir about fifteen miles north-east from here,” Marie said as she wolfed down the pale tinned potatoes and mixed veg we’d boiled above their campfire.