Killing the Dead (Books 4-6)

by Murray, Richard

  A nudge from Lily directed my attention to the people out on the streets who were watching as we passed. They didn’t look exactly hostile, but they certainly weren’t welcoming.

  Due to the poor conditions of the ice and snow crusted streets we had to walk slowly along the well-trod paths made by countless people going about their daily tasks.

  Many of the buildings we passed were old fashioned, built a century ago when the village was at its peak. They had been well tended over the years and it was plain that the residents had a lot of pride in keeping their homes neat.

  Above the rooftops the only thing we could see was the steep valley sides, bleak and barren. I was glad to have not tried to circle the village after all since it seemed that the only place that had provided any cover was the stand of trees that we had been in.

  In the centre of the village where four roads met were several pubs, restaurants and hotels for the tourists. Our armed guard led us towards a two storey building with a large wooden sign attached to the wall that proclaimed it to be the Black Bull hotel. With a sharp gesture from his gun, our guard gestured us through the door.

  Chapter 5

  Our friends were sitting on small stools in the centre of the room, each of them facing towards a group of five people behind a table. Several more armed villagers stood around the room and watched everyone.

  We joined the others and while greetings were exchanged I warily watched the five seated people, distracted by the warmth that filled the room, provided by the electric heaters set up around the floor.

  They all seemed to be either late fifties or sixties and were dressed conservatively for the cold weather. Three women and two men, each of them watching us and waiting as two extra stools were provided and both Lily and I were instructed to sit.

  “Why did you bring our friends here under guard?” Lily demanded and the watching faces betrayed their tension.

  “We are the new council for this village and it is up to us to ensure that the people left here are looked after.” The man in the middle, apparently the leader, said.

  “So you abduct us?”

  “If we find people skulking outside our homes then we have the right to ensure they mean us no harm.” The leader said hotly.

  “We have the right to check out an armed village before making ourselves known.” Cass added.

  “These are difficult times.” The leader said, “We’ve got to be careful and I’m sure that if the positions were reversed you would agree.”

  He looked at each of us sternly before continuing.

  “We aren’t going to harm you but we do need to know why you are here.”

  “We’re looking for two people and any supplies we can find.” Lily said.

  “Steal you mean.” Snapped the skinny woman at the far side of the table.

  She was looking at us as though we had personally robbed her at knifepoint and it was beginning to annoy me.

  “We wouldn’t take anything from other people but if it’s been abandoned then we will use it.” Lily said with a quiet confidence that brought a sneer from our accuser though a stern look from the council leader stilled her.

  “Who are you looking for?” he asked and Lily quickly gave the details that Phillip had provided, he looked embarrassed before replying, “We saw them and couldn’t help.”

  “So where are they now?” Gregg asked.

  “We sent them south.” The leader said gruffly, “And a day or so later they returned as part of a pack of zombies.”

  “Since then we’ve been getting fresh groups appear every few hours, all from the same direction.” The other woman on the council said and managed to sound almost sorrowful as she looked kindly at us.

  “You‘re responsible for their deaths.” Cass snapped.

  “Why didn’t you help them?” Lily asked.

  “Why should we?” The skinny woman asked.

  “Because they’re people who needed help.” Lily replied in exasperation. “You had a chance to help them and when you sent them on their way, they were killed.”

  “Young lady,” The leader began, “When the first people turned into those things and attacked their neighbours, we worked together to contain them. We lost nearly half the village before it was done and with barely the time to bury our dead with any decency we had refugees arriving.”

  “It soon became apparent that things had changed and we constructed our defences to protect the remaining people from the undead threat. The refugees aided us and we shared what we had willingly. Four sexual assaults and one murder later, we realised that we had to look after our people first.”

  The leader looked almost embarrassed as he paused briefly before continuing.

  “We drove out the refugees at some cost to both them and ourselves. We had learnt our lesson though. We’d defend what was ours and do what we must to ensure the survival of our village.”

  “At what cost?” Lily asked quietly.

  “We can’t help you.” The leader said as he ignored her question, “We have neither food nor supplies to give you and if you try and take anything we will defend ourselves. We’ll allow you to leave but if you’re seen skulking around the outskirts of the village again then we will do what we have to.”

  “So you’re going to send us on our way, back to tell an old man and a young girl that their only family are dead.” Lily said, disgust plain on her face.

  “The world has changed young lady.” The leader said in a curious echo of the words I had spoken so often before, “We must all do what we can to survive.”

  It seemed that the audience was over and despite protestations from Cass, we were escorted back out of the pub and into the cold.

  “So what now?” Cass asked in a low voice as our guards gestured us forward.

  A quick shake of the head was all she received from Lily who looked both upset and incredibly angry at the same time. I assumed it was something to do with the supposed village council.

  We followed the road back out the way we had originally come. It seemed that the villagers would kick us out the same way we had arrived and our options of where to go would be back to give Phillip the unpleasant news or across the rough countryside in search of anywhere with food we could use.

  I could at least now understand the hostility we were receiving from the people on the streets as we passed. We were a threat and as I was well aware, any potential threat needed to be dealt with swiftly and decisively.

  As we passed through the gate and back out into the snow the roar of a shotgun being fired could be heard from the other side of the village and everyone seemed to pause as heads turned in that direction.

  Another shot was fired and then yet another which was followed rapidly by several more. Voices around us were raised in alarm and a determined looking man had his shotgun aimed directly towards us as he insisted we leave.

  The gate was soon closed behind us and many of those we had seen atop the barricade earlier were running to the south end of the village and the gunfire that was now echoing from the hills.

  “Those idiots will just attract even more zombies with all this noise.” I said with a grim smile.

  “Screw them, they deserve whatever happens.” Cass agreed.

  “We should help.” Lily said and we all turned towards her.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because we aren’t like them.” Lily said with a sad smile, “Because if everyone was like them then the world wouldn’t be worth saving anymore.”

  “They have the guns and the numbers as well as the barricade around their homes; I doubt we can offer much to help them right now.” I said.

  “I suppose so.” Lily replied and lapsed into silence as we began the long trudge back through the snow to bring the bad news to Phillip and his granddaughter.

  It was a long and quiet journey back to the house and by the time we were walking up the driveway once more, the sun had set and thick flakes of sn
ow were falling around us. Cold, wet and miserable we entered the house and Lily gave the bad news to Phillip.

  We all sat around the dining room table to give Phillip some privacy as he sat in the living room and rocked a weeping Laura. No one seemed inclined to talk or do much more than stare in to space. I was bored.

  It occurred to me that since the only reason I had held back from doing anything wonderfully violent to Rachel and the others, was due to Lily being there. Since that was no longer the case, I could do as I pleased.

  A whole host of wonderful new options had arrived with the realisation and I was incredibly pleased to note that my desire to kill was back. Whatever malaise had affected it seemed to have passed with the arrival of Lily which gave me another reason to be pleased that she was with me.

  “So what do we do now?” Gregg asked, breaking the taut silence.

  “We need somewhere to stay out the winter, preferably somewhere warm with plenty of food.” Cass replied.

  “We’d have had that if it wasn’t for that bitch Rachel and the rest.” Gregg muttered darkly and I had to agree.

  “We could always take some of that food back from them.” I said quietly.

  “No.” Lily said before anyone else could speak, “There are other people there. We won’t steal from them. That would make us as bad as them.”

  “Then what do you suggest?” I asked mildly.

  “We could follow the road south alongside the lake. We didn’t travel that far before and I’m sure there are places out there that have been abandoned.”

  “Why not north?” Pat asked in his usual quiet tone.

  “Unless we go cross country, we’d have to go through the town of Ambleside which is overflowing with the undead from what we’ve been told.” Lily said, “Cross country in this weather won’t work.”

  “Coniston was being attacked from the south.” I pointed out helpfully and received an annoyed look from Lily to which I flashed a quick grin.

  “They were on the other side of the lake and we haven’t seen any this close to Windermere yet.” Lily explained as she smiled back at me with a shake of her head, “It couldn’t hurt to find out if they were any close by before they turned up on our doorstep.”

  “Makes sense.” Cass said and the others nodded agreement.

  I had no objections since it would give me a chance for some merry slaughter. I smiled at the thought.

  “Then it’s settled. We’ll head back towards the lake and take the main road south.” Lily said. “We’ll leave in the morning if Phillip will allow us to stay the night.”

  “You’re welcome to stay as long as you desire.” Phillip said from the doorway and we all looked over in surprise. He’d moved remarkably quietly.

  “That’s very kind of you.” Lily said as she rose from her seat and crossed to him. She laid one hand gently on his arm which seemed to give him comfort.

  “The company will be welcome and to be truthful, I fear we would not do well alone. I would hope that you would share any food you may find.”

  “Of course.” Lily agreed and he nodded once.

  “Then I will bid you all goodnight, I’ll stay in Laura’s room tonight as she doesn’t wish to be alone. Feel free to make use of the other bedrooms.” Phillip said before leaving us once more.

  “I suggest we all get some sleep as well.” Lily said, “We leave as soon as we can in the morning.”

  Chapter 6

  I was fast becoming used to waking up beside Lily and the easy way that she slept pressed up against me was a great deal more pleasant than I had ever expected.

  As we lay there in bed, the warmth of our bodies beneath the sheets managing to banish the deep chill of winter, I was incredibly loath to move. The pressure against my bladder and assorted noises coming from other parts of the house told me that I would have little choice in the matter.

  She murmured in her sleep and turned her head which allowed me to study her profile in the dim early morning light that was filtered through the gap in the curtains. She looked tired still with faded dark rings beneath her eyes easily seen against her pale complexion.

  Lily needed some real rest in safety, in a place where she wouldn’t need to worry about innocent people dying, food shortages or the undead invading her space. She wouldn’t ask for it, she had left a place of relative safety to be with me. It was up to me then to ensure she would survive and be in a place where she could rest. How I would do that was something I still hadn’t figured out.

  “Morning.” She said sleepily as her eyes fluttered open and she caught me watching her.

  “It seems to be.” I agreed.

  She smiled and stretched beneath the blankets, luxuriating in the warmth from our combined bodies.

  “I suppose we should move.” She said with a sigh that I echoed.

  Lily threw back the covers with a giggle at my yelp of shock as the cold hit us and then leaned forward to kiss me before leaping from the bed and grabbing her clothing from the floor.

  With a great deal less enthusiasm I did the same, pulling on my still damp clothing before making use of the bathroom that everyone in the house shared.

  We gathered quietly in the dining room and had another breakfast of eggs before gathering our weapons and advising Phillip to keep the door locked after we had gone. His granddaughter had sat quietly without eating, just staring at her plate.

  The heavy snow throughout the night had filled in much of the tracks we had made on our previous days excursion, which had the added effect of making our journey that much more wearisome.

  There was little talk as we walked, each of us merely concentrating on moving and trying to stay as warm as possible.

  My knife was in my hand at the sudden noise that came from behind me and it took several long seconds to realise that a sheepish looking Gregg had just sneezed unexpectedly loudly. His sister slapped his arm and berated him.

  When we reached the junction where the road split to the north and south, the snow was undisturbed and each of us looked north towards the apartments that we had called home. I wasn’t sure how the others felt about abandoning the place of safety to wander the wilds with me.

  “Thank you.” I said, breaking the silence and the rest of them looked to me.

  “What for?” Lily asked.

  “For not staying back at the apartments.” I said with a shy smile for Lily as she reached out and grasped my hand in hers. “I was not looking forward to a short life alone out here.”

  “No worries mate,” Gregg said with a grin, “We came to keep Lily company more than anything.”

  “Ignore him.” Cass chimed in with a look of mock annoyance to her brother, “You’re our friend and we wouldn’t leave you out here alone.”

  “We only stayed back as long as we did to try and talk sense to them.” Pat added.

  “Screw ‘em. More fun out here anyway.” Gregg said and the others laughed their agreement.

  “Wouldn’t be anywhere else.” Lily said in a whisper for my ears alone.

  By mid-afternoon we had reached the group of houses that we had last visited just after arriving at the apartments. They had doubtless been stripped bare by subsequent visits from our group so we ignored them and continued on.

  Since we expected it to take a while to actually get anywhere, we had already planned on finding somewhere to spend the night and that was looking less and less like it would be the case as we ploughed on through the snow.

  The trees that covered the fields and hills around us were bare of leaves and as the sky darkened with encroaching night, they took on a sinister aspect. It was a great deal of relief for all of us when we came to a small road that branched off from the main one and led in the direction of the lake.

  It was little more than a dirt track through the trees and with few other options we set off along it in the hopes that it would end with somewhere we could spend the night.

  After ten minutes of
walking the trees opened up into a wide clearing with a house set a short distance from the edge of the lake.

  Wary of threats from the living or undead alike, we stood at the edge of the clearing and watched for several long minutes.

  “What do you think?” Gregg asked as he rubbed at his nose in an attempt to stifle a sneeze.

  “Seems quiet.” Pat said.

  “Well we can stand here all night watching and freezing or we can head in.” Lily told the group with a smile, “I vote against freezing to death.”

  We approached the house cautiously, each of us with weapons in hand and wary. It didn’t look threatening in any way, just a single storey cottage with whitewashed walls and snow covered roof. It was no doubt very picturesque and no doubt a pleasant home in the summer.

  The front entrance was a double set of doors that seemed to be just a wooden frame with large glass panels. Not really suitable for the zombie apocalypse but no doubt secure enough any other time.

  Pat reached the doors first and rapped on the glass with one gloved hand before standing back and raising his lump hammer. When no response came he reached for the handle and seemed surprised to find it opened easily.

  “That can’t be a good sign.” Cass muttered before we went inside.

  It was a two bedroom property with a single bathroom, small kitchen and an open plan living room that the front doors opened on to. I opted to check the kitchen while Pat and Gregg went to the separate bedrooms and both Cass and Lily decided to clear the bathroom which was likely more due to their refusal to pee outside in the cold than any thought of finding a threat.

  I was opening cupboards in the kitchen and finding a surprising amount of tinned and packaged foods when the others joined me and declared that the house was empty.

  “So who leaves the doors unlocked and food in the cupboards?” Lily asked quizzically.

  “A person who no longer needs anything in this house.” I said, as I crossed the kitchen to look through the patio doors at the snow covered garden beyond.

  “You think someone was here and left to find friends or family?” Cass asked.