Killing the Dead (Books 4-6)

by Murray, Richard

  All of the windows on the first and second floors had been boarded over and it looked as though the doors had been reinforced, though from my distant advantage point I couldn’t say more than that.

  The men and women behind the fence were taking careful aim as they fired though with so many of the undead pressing forward, they would have been hard pressed to actually miss. In the far distance by the passenger craft that they had taken from us, several more armed people were climbing aboard. I did wonder where they had found more weapons.

  As we watched the boat moved away from where it had been tied up and sailed serenely across the lake to stop just offshore in the small bay beside the road and fence. At that point, the armed people inside the cabin all climbed out onto the roof and took up positions before firing into the crowded zombies.

  They seemed to be doing well enough and a great number of the undead had been killed only to stay held in place in the crowd by the crush of their brethren who all seemed to strain forward to reach the fence.

  It was hard to get an accurate count but I was confident in my assessment that maybe three hundred zombies were crowding the narrow road in an effort to reach the apartments. Both the stench and the sound of their moans were almost overwhelming, even to us as we sat above them on the hill.

  “The fence is starting to give way.” I said to Pat with more calm than I felt. I ached to be down amongst the chaos, fighting and killing with wild abandon.

  On top of the car the armed men and women had stopped firing as they reacted with alarm at the first sign of the fence bowing inwards towards them.

  “That can’t be good.” I added as I watched several of the zombies claw their way up the slope.

  “They need our help.” Pat said as he rose to his feet.

  “I’m sure every bit of help would be welcome but we are behind them.” I pointed out, “With a lot more on their way from the south.”

  “We can’t just sit here and watch them all die.”

  “Well, we can... But I’m guessing you don’t want to.” I sighed. “Follow me.”

  I watched as the men and women on the car used the butts of their weapons as clubs to crush the skulls of those zombies that were managing to clamber up the steep slope created by pushing the fence posts over. If the car hadn’t been there, the fence would have gone down and the undead would already be streaming into the front gardens of the apartments.

  We jogged down the hill on the northern side, away from the massed zombies to the east and only paused once when we heard an ear splitting scream that seemed likely to indicate that one of the defenders had been taken.

  Pat clenched his teeth and shook his head, no doubt wondering if it had been someone he knew well.

  The zombies hadn’t moved past the junction where the roads split so we were able to clamber over a dry stone wall to the road and the lakes edge without being noticed. Ahead of us in the bay, the boat was bobbing up and down in the water as the people on the roof fired shot after shot into the crowd. The sound was deafening.

  “This better be worth it.” I said to Pat as I waded out into the freezing water.

  “Damn that’s bloody cold.” he exclaimed as he followed me and I didn’t try to hold back my grin.

  If we tried to swim we would soon lose all our remaining energy, drained by the cold waters but we could wade and hopefully still be safe from the undead. I had noticed several times before that they had an aversion to large bodies of water.

  Whether it was because they tended to sink or the water removing even the small amount of balance they still had, they avoided it and we had a chance.

  When the water was waist deep we turned back towards the apartments, Pat helpfully calling out to the people on the boat when he saw one rifle turned towards us. It hadn’t occurred to me that the idiots might mistake us for zombies and I was quite suddenly ever so grateful for Pat’s presence.

  I couldn’t tell if the zombies increased their volume as we passed them by, but several of them noticed us. I was becoming quite adept at discerning which of the undead were shamblers and which were the ever more dangerous fresh type.

  It was one of the fresh ones that turned to watch us pass and for a heart stopping moment took two steps into the lake itself before retreating. I was sure it snarled angrily at us and I moved up studying them on my mental list of priorities. They were changing and it could only mean bad things for us.

  Everything below my waist was becoming disturbingly numb and my teeth were chattering by the time we pulled ourselves from the water behind the fence. If anything the sounds of gunfire was even more overwhelming up close and reminded me of just one of the many reasons I disliked guns.

  With only a few seconds to gather our bearings we jogged across to the barricade and the clustered people there, several of whom I had never seen before. Toby was one of those standing on the car and he gave me a curt nod when he saw me.

  The fence was bowing even further than we had seen it previously and a loud splintering sounded as several of the boards gave way followed by another of the posts falling inwards to press against the cars’ bonnet.

  After several final shots fired into the crowd, the car was abandoned and I joined the rank of people standing behind it, weapon ready to strike at the zombies as they crawled over.

  Everything became a blur of the roar of the guns, the stench of the undead and the screams that came when one of our number fell, usually beneath several zombies.

  I stood firm between Pat and Toby and struck at anything that came within reach of my blade. With adrenaline surging and exhaustion almost forgotten, all joy vanished as it became just another chore.

  For everyone I killed, another two seemed to fill the space and slowly, we were pushed back. The people around me had ceased firing and were using their guns solely as clubs.

  I caught sight of Rachel at the far end of the line as she clubbed a zombie with half its jaw missing in the face. Then she was gone, replaced in my sight by a zombie that reached out with gore stained fingers to try to claw at my eyes. Only to die under a single blow from Toby’s rifle. I nodded my thanks.

  A call went up to fall back, to retreat and we did. My last sight of the fence before I turned and ran for the apartments was to see a wave of zombies wash over it, to fall atop one another as they scrambled to reach us.

  Only the churned slush slowed them enough to allow us to escape, exhausted and splattered with the blood and brains of the ones we had slain.

  Another scream came from behind us and I didn’t look back to see who had fallen to them, just put my head down and tried my best to make it to the door. My only thought was how disappointed Lily would be if I died.

  As the last of us barged through, several of Jim’s religious followers threw shut the doors and dropped a large length of timber into the brackets that were set at either side of the doors, effectively preventing them from being easily opened.

  I sank to the floor beside the stairs where Emma had been shot, that unpleasant image springing to mind as soon as I had entered the damned building, and bowed my head as I gasped to regain my breath.

  “Glad you made it.” Pat said as he placed one meaty hand on my shoulder before sinking down beside me.

  “You too.” I said, still amazed to find that I meant it.

  “Not sure how much better a situation this is though.” he said, and I shrugged.

  “Better than sitting out in the snow for another night.”

  “Guess so.” he agreed, and fell silent as he looked around the entrance way and the worried people that moved around purposefully. “Lot more new people than I remember.”

  I looked up and glanced from face to face and realised that he was right. Several of the people I remembered from my time with the group. Jim was there, tall and speaking in his gravelly voice as he gave orders to his followers.

  Toby was standing beside Gabby who no longer looked as cheerful as the last time I had se
en her, before we had arrived back at these apartments and found myself to be unwanted. Then there was Rachel, dark red hair in its customary pony tail and holding her rifle with casual familiarity.

  She was standing beside Candice and glancing over at me as they spoke. I grinned which seemed to infuriate them both more than usual and they stormed over, Rachel turning her gun towards me.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” she demanded.

  “Being helpful.” I replied calmly as I became aware of silence spreading out around us.

  “You were told that if you came back we’d shoot you.” She snapped and I grinned.

  “You’d murder me? In cold blood as well... I got cast out of the group for simply the accusation of that.” I said and she snorted.

  “That wasn’t the only reason was it, child killer?” she said and I tightened my grip on my knife handle.

  “What’s going on?” Matthew demanded as he walked up to stand beside her only to add when he saw me, “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Waiting to be murdered by the looks of it.” I said without taking my eyes from Rachel.

  “Rachel, put the gun down for god’s sake. We’re here to help.” Pat said.

  “You left with him which means you’re just as unwelcome.” She snapped back at him and I wondered what he had ever seen in her.

  “I would think you would take every bit of help you could get right now.” I said to Matthew, “You seem to be in a bit of trouble and we’re here to help.”

  “Yeah, just the two of you?” Rachel sneered, “What happened to the faggot, his sister and your bitch of a girlfriend.”

  Pat had a firm grip on my arm and pulled me back down before I could rise and jam my blade into her throat. Her eyes widened as she recognised the threat and her finger tightened on the trigger.

  A crash from the front doors drew all of our attention and anything else that would have been said was forgotten as the zombies reminded us of their presence.

  “We can deal with this later.” Matthew said and Rachel nodded slowly before turning away and calling for people to start moving the sofas that had been set around the entranceway to be moved up against the doors.

  “That was close.” Pat whispered and I relaxed the tension in my muscles that I hadn’t even been aware of.

  “Could have ended badly.” I agreed.

  “So what now?” he asked.

  I shrugged once more. We had helped the people defend the barricade and were now locked inside the apartments with a number of people who would happily see me dead and a horde of zombies outside.

  Dimly I could hear the sounds of gunfire coming from beyond the walls and it occurred to me that the folk on the boat were still out there.

  I watched the doors shake as the undead pounded on them and knew that they wouldn’t hold. The zombies would pour into this place and we would fight and die. At least Lily was ok, though for how long I had no idea. I just wondered if she would be in time.

  Chapter 11

  Matthew allowed me into one of the ground floor apartments to clean up, though he insisted that I have an armed guard. I wasn’t entirely sure what mischief he expected me to get up to, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort of arguing.

  The young man who escorted me carried a club made of what I assumed to be left over lumber from the haul we had brought back so long ago. A rough grip had been formed by wrapping string around one end and someone had made the attempt to shape it so that it was wider at the business end than it was at the handle.

  When I asked him about the club and if Jason had made it, I received a blank stare in response, which was pretty much the same for any query I had, about where he was from, his name and so on.

  “How is Maggie?” I asked.

  My mind having reminded me painfully about Emma, I was naturally curious about Claire’s daughter. The little girl who had been practically catatonic since seeing first her mother and then her best friend shot during the deserters attack.

  “One more question about the kids here and I’ll beat you senseless.” my guard said as he brandished his club in what I assumed he meant to be a threatening manner.

  “Why is that?” I asked though I suspected I knew what the answer would be.

  My guard’s response was to sneer and wave me towards the bathroom. With a shrug and a smile that I hoped would annoy him immensely. I headed the way he directed.

  The water that ran from the bathroom taps was incredibly cold and barely dribbled where once it had gushed. It seemed the water pressure was way down. Regardless, I had little choice but to use the soap and icy water to scrub away the worst of the grime from the fight before returning to the entranceway.

  When I rejoined Pat on the stairs I couldn’t help but notice more than one stranger looking at me with an angry gaze.

  “Is it just me or am I really unpopular here?” I asked quietly.

  “Not just you mate.” Pat grunted, “Rachel and Candice have been telling everyone the story of how they kicked you out because you killed Emma.”

  “I imagine they aren’t telling the whole story then.”

  “Not likely.” He snorted with laughter.

  I watched the strangers who seemed intent on disliking me and wondered why I had bothered coming back to help the people here. It seemed no matter what I did, opinions had been formed and I was barely one step above the zombies in terms of popularity, a short step at that.

  “Wonder where all these new people are from.” Pat said quietly.

  “From Windermere or travelling the roads.” I said. “We won’t have been the only ones who thought heading for the hills was a good idea.”

  We listened in silence for a while as the zombies moaned and banged on the doors. Despite the sofas, tables and chairs that had been piled against them I still had little faith that they would hold.

  “Everyone with a rifle, grab your ammo and follow me.” Matthew called from above us on the stairs.

  A number of people, Rachel included, headed up the stairs and I considered following them but ultimately decided that it would be tempting fate to be around so many armed people who disliked me. I was safer with the zombies.

  Twenty minutes after the gun men and women had disappeared; fresh gunshots could be heard from above us. It seemed that Matthew was determined to use all of their ammo on the horde gathered outside.

  “You two, follow me.” Matthew called, and I looked up to see him staring down at Pat and me. I glanced at my friend who shrugged and pushed himself to his feet. With a groan, I did the same and slowly climbed the stairs.

  “In there.” Matthew said when we reached an apartment door on the second floor.

  I led the way inside and found it to be much like the one I had shared with Lily. A corridor led to the two bedrooms while the tiny kitchen and dining room opened onto a living room that was incredibly dark with the boards over the windows.

  Thin strands of sunlight filtered through gaps in the boards that had been nailed across the windows and I sank gratefully down onto the couch and waited for Matthew to speak.

  “Where are Lily and the other two?” he demanded without preamble.

  “They are off on an errand for me. They may try and join us later.” I said as Pat bristled beside me at his girlfriend and her brother being referred to as ‘the other two.’

  “Where?” he asked, suspicion writ plainly across his face, “How do I know you haven’t killed them?”

  “Why on earth would I kill them?” I asked curiously.

  “You aren’t military,” he began, “Nor are you private security or even a common street thug, yet you’ve killed people. Before this mess happened, I’m sure of that.”

  “You are?”

  “Yes, I’d stake my career on it.” Matthew said as he began to pace, “You’re dangerous. I knew something was off about you when we first met. You were entirely too comfortable with... everything.”

>   “And that means I’m what?” I asked with a faint smile.

  “You’re a killer. No doubt about that.” Matthew said, “If these were normal times I’d lock you up and throw away the key.”

  “They are hardly anything remotely like normal.”

  “No, they aren’t.” he agreed. “But I don’t want you around these people here.”

  “That’s fair enough.” I said agreeably, “Just nip out and ask the zombies to move over so I can leave.”

  “Don’t mock me.” he snarled and I fought back a grin. “If I were to guess I’d say you were a murderer at best and at worst a serial killer.”

  “Really?” I asked.

  “Too bloody right. I was on the force, I know what reports of missing people often meant.”

  “Get to your point.” I sighed.

  “I don’t want you here. The rest of the group don’t want you here and no one will feel safe around you.” He trailed off into silence and I waited patiently with the merest shake of a head to Pat as he opened his mouth to speak. “We do need you though. Both of you.”

  “It would seem that you do.” I agreed.

  “You can sleep in here, I’ll have someone bring you some food but I’m putting a guard on this room.” Matthew said, “When they break through the door down there, I expect you to do what you seem to do best. When it’s done you can leave.”

  “You’re asking a lot and giving nothing in return.” Pat said incredulously.

  “I’m giving you a chance to leave rather than putting a bullet in you.” Matthew snapped back. “He isn’t welcome here and neither are you if you choose to stand with him.”

  “Of all the ungrateful...” Pat began but I cut him off.

  “You’ll provide us with supplies when we leave.” I said, as I looked Matthew straight in the eye. “You’ll allow us to take some of the medical supplies and food that we brought from Windermere.”

  “I can’t let you take much, we have more mouths to feed here.” He grumbled but I knew he’d give in. He was too weak to just have me killed and during this crisis he had no one to spare to watch me constantly.