Killing the Dead (Book 10): Feral

by Murray, Richard

  “Officious prick,” Cass muttered and I nodded agreement as I hid my smile behind my hand.

  “Ladies,” Gabe said with a nod. “Can I have a moment of your time?”

  “Of course,” I said and ignored Cass’s soft sigh.

  “Your suggestion to use the girl… what’s her name?”

  “Charlie?”

  “Yes her. To use her drone to keep an eye on the surrounding areas was inspired.”

  “Glad it worked out,” I said.

  “Oh aye, it’s great. I’ve even asked the scavengers to keep an eye out for more. With those and the solar panels and electrical stuff she needs to make some more solar chargers, we can use them for a number of things.”

  “Which we told you…” Cass said as I nudged her warningly.

  “It’ll be great for scouting too,” he continued, ignoring her completely as she rolled her eyes. We’d already explained this to him but somehow he had managed to convince himself that it was his idea and that if he kept telling everyone that, then we’d believe it too.

  “I’m sure it will,” I agreed politely. Anything to keep the peace.

  “Which brings me to what I want to ask you.”

  “Shoot.”

  “You know the state of our larder?” he asked and I nodded. To say it was bare was an understatement. During the last inventory, they’d discovered that the woman in charge of keeping stock hadn’t been doing her job. If she hadn’t been killed by the undead in the attack, I was sure that they’d have had a harsh word for her. Probably little more than that, but they’d have been really disappointed in her which was as harsh as they’d get.

  “Well, we need to find more. A lot more.”

  “That’s why a dozen people, including Pat and your brother, are out there now,” Cass said. His eyes darkened at that and I held back a smile. He’d left Ryan to die and when he’d come back… well, things had been strained between the brothers.

  “The problem is that I don’t think they’ll find much.” We’ve scoured the local area and while we can have fresh fish from the river or the sea to the south, we can’t live on that alone.”

  “Then what do you suggest?”

  “Well lass,” he paused and sucked in a breath before speaking again, his words tumbling out in a rush. “I think we need to go to either Dumfries or Carlisle.”

  “Are you out of your bloody mind?” Cass snapped as I nodded agreement with her.

  “They barely made it back from the outskirts of Dumfries,” I said. “Even then, hundreds of the undead followed or have you forgotten that already?”

  When I said the last, I looked pointedly at the stained stones of the courtyard and the scaffolding pole that had been used as a locking bar on the gate. A not terrible replacement since the wooden bar had splintered under the weight of the undead horde.

  “Has to be done,” Gabe said. “Becky’s wanting to push on north and you’re almost ready. If we leave before this place is self-sufficient, there’ll be no one left when we come back.”

  “We’ve lost too much to risk it going to a large town or city,” I said.

  “But you would go to a smaller town?” he asked and I held back a groan. Walked right into that one.

  “Maybe. I’d need to speak to the others.”

  “Why us?” Cass asked in a tone that demanded an answer. “Why not one of your other groups?”

  “Your group knows what it’s doing,” he said with a shrug. “My people can go to the smaller places, but if they have to face any threats… we usually lose those people. We can’t afford that.”

  “So which small town do you want us to visit?” I asked, annoyed at how he’d tried to manipulate us into going.

  If he’d just straight out asked then we’d have likely said yes straight away. Instead, he’d gone for a big shocker of a task that he knew we’d refuse and followed with a more manageable task that he figured we’d be too guilty to say no to after refusing the first. I was seriously beginning to understand why Ryan disliked his brother so much.

  “Lockerbie to the northeast or Annan which is almost due east from here.”

  “What makes them so special?”

  “Can drive to either of them in the car we have,” he said with a nod towards the battered car that I’d last used as a battering ram to clear the undead from before the tea room doors. “Lockerbie had a population of about four thousand with a large supermarket. Annan has supermarkets and a lot of plant nurseries.”

  “Annan had a distillery along with tanning plants. They exported cured hams, cattle, sheep and grain as well as producing a lot of goods we could use. They also had a train station and lots of the goods they would transport would likely be waiting in nearby warehouses.”

  “What makes you think there’d be anything left?” Cass asked.

  “I hope lassie,” he said with that same grin I’d once found so charming. “Either way we need something.”

  “Yeah, you’re not wrong,” I agreed quietly. As much as I’d have preferred to stay and recover a little longer before I left anywhere, I was going pretty stir crazy. I’d not left the castle since arriving weeks before and with Ryan going out nearly every day, it’d be nice to spend some time with him. Even if it was doing something dangerous.

  “Who would go?”

  “You two lovely ladies,” he said immediately. “Ryan, Pat, Gregg, Becky, Me, Charlie and Georgia. Maybe a few others.”

  “That’s nine people,” Cass said. “Pretty small car for that many.”

  “Why Charlie and Georgia?” I asked before he could answer.

  “Charlie, so she can use the drone to scout for us. Georgia offered to come to look for plants and seeds that might be useful,” he replied before turning to Cass. “And there’s a truck at a farm not far from here. We’ve not needed to use it so left it where it was. We can use that instead of the car.”

  It did actually make sense. The drone that Charlie had brought with her had proved invaluable during the undead attack. The lights and music she could project from it were an ideal distraction for the zombies and would be useful in a town.

  Georgia had been more than helpful with my recovery. Her herbal remedies had kept me alive until Ryan brought the medicines I needed and she seemed more than capable of looking after herself. Something about her set my teeth on edge though.

  Added to that was the suspicion that she had done something to Caleb. His death had been sudden and unexpected just hours after surviving the attack and just before he was due to try and kill Ryan. I know Evelyn suspected he was poisoned with something and a few other people had died before we arrived.

  Ryan believed that there was a poisoner in the castle and Georgia, with her knowledge of plants, seemed as good a suspect as any. Which meant that it would make sense to keep her close until I was sure. The last thing I wanted was for more people at the sanctuary to die.

  “I’ll speak with the others,” I said. “No promises but we’ve not shirked this sort of thing before.”

  “That’ll be great lass,” he said with a wide grin as behind him, the pole was lifted from the gates as they swung open. He glanced over his shoulder and his brow furrowed as he saw the approaching people. “We’ll speak later then. Don’t forget you’re invited for dinner.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Dinner?” Cass asked as he turned abruptly and walked back the way he’d come rather sharpish. I didn’t need to look through the gate to know it was Ryan coming back. Only he could have that effect on his brother.

  “Yeah, I’m supposed to sit down with the whole family tonight and have a ‘civilised meal’ with them.”

  “Oh, won’t that be fun. I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that.”

  “By all means, take my place,” I replied as I steered her towards the gate. “It will be painful I’m sure but for now, let’s go greet our men folk.”

  She let out a sigh as she spied Pat crossing the br
idge and some of the tension she probably hadn’t been aware she was holding, vanished. I let the smile come as she unlinked her arm from mine and dashed across to her partner. The life they’d made together, growing safely in Cass’s womb, was a worry to be sure, but at that moment I was just happy for them. They’d found each other.

  The rest of the group were comprised of strangers. More mouths to feed when we were already struggling. The two at the back looked to be in their seventies and I could only imagine how annoyed that had made Ryan, though as his eyes met mine, I saw nothing but pleasure at seeing me.

  “Hello Lily,” he said as he passed beneath the gates and came straight towards me. His eyes never moved from my face and a light smile turned the corners of his mouth upwards.

  “Hello Ryan,” I said and felt that all was right with the world once again as he took me into his arms.

  Chapter 3 – Ryan

  It was something that I thought had gone extinct with the majority of the rest of the world. Constraining, claustrophobic and eminently impractical during the apocalypse. The noose slipped over my head to settle around my neck, where Lily pulled it tight.

  “Oh stop with the pouty face,” she said to me.

  “Pouty?”

  “Yep.” She agreed as she adjusted the navy blue tie until it sat correctly, in her mind at least.

  I’d submitted with as much dignity as I could when presented with the shirt and trousers. I’d complained only a little at having to wear a tie once more but when she lifted the sheathed combat knife from my belt, that was too much.

  “No weapons to dinner with your parents,” she insisted when she saw the look on my face. “No sulking either.”

  “I’m not a child.”

  “Then don’t act like one,” she said in a tone of voice that carried a hint of warning.

  “You realise that I’ve killed people for less right?”

  “Pish.”

  “Pish?”

  “You wouldn’t hurt me and you know it.”

  She turned away from me to drop the knife on the end of our shared bed before reaching for a pair of earrings she’d set aside earlier. I couldn’t tell if presenting her back to me was a calculated move to show she didn’t fear me… or if she was just busy getting ready.

  “Where did you even find a suit?”

  “Looted from some of the houses nearby,” she replied absently as she finished with her earrings and moved on to the limited makeup she had available.

  I shared a glance with the black haired Alsatian, Jinx, who shared our room. She looked back, tongue lolling from her mouth as she panted and seemed to be laughing at me. She didn’t have to wear a collar.

  It seemed like a great deal of effort to sit and have a meal with my family, but I had to admit, she looked incredible. I’d only ever really seen her in jeans and whatever shirts were available, usually caked with mud and bodily fluids of one sort or another. To see her how she must have dressed before the fall of everything, was something strange to behold, but infinitely pleasing.

  “How’d I look?” she asked as she twirled around to face me.

  Her hair, almost back to its natural mousey blonde after months without dyeing it, hung loosely around her shoulders, framing her face. The makeup she’d applied added a little colour to her cheeks and lips while making eyes of blue grab your attention.

  She wore a black dress that clung to her body and ended mid-thigh and cut low to reveal just enough cleavage to skirt the line between what would and would not be considered appropriate for the religious nut type family of mine.

  I took it all in with a glance and my smile was genuine when I said, “breath-taking.”

  “Charmer,” she replied but seemed to be pleased with my response.

  We stepped out of what we laughingly called our room, into the narrow corridor. The entire ground floor of the main hall that had once been the museum, had been converted into living quarters.

  Rope had been strung from the walls like the web of some great spider, crisscrossing the space and breaking it into sections. Blankets had been draped over those ropes to create walls for small ‘rooms’ where people could get a little privacy.

  Our bed was simply a pile of blankets and cushions taken from nearby houses, much the same for everyone else. It wasn’t especially comfortable and at night I was party to the various noises of dozens of people sleeping in the same area. It was cold and closed in, loud during the day and the aroma of so many people packed together was less than pleasant. But, it allowed me to spend my nights with Lily which was something.

  She led the way along the narrow corridor, smiling and nodding to the people who had pulled aside their curtain wall, an indication that they were open to receive visitors. It was a strange little community that had formed with new rules to learn, which was most displeasing for me. I’d barely managed to grasp the rules of the old world, let alone the new.

  In what had been the tea room just a short time before, a few of the tables had been pushed together and an actual linen table cloth had been draped over them. Plates and glasses were set around the tables and it appeared that everyone else had arrived before us, dressed in suits and dresses much like our own.

  My brother, sat as far from the remaining two places as possible, was opposite Becky. She’d not changed much since I’d first met her and pulled her from the wreckage of the plane she’d just crashed. She appeared entirely enamoured with my brother for some reason, and they shared looks often with each other as they spoke softly.

  Beside him was Evelyn, my sister. The one member of my family who had seemed to understand me when I was growing up. She’d been skittish around me since I’d arrived and I had no idea why. She’d been the one, more than anyone, who had saved Lily when we arrived with her unconscious and feverish from a knife wound. She had my gratitude and respect for that.

  Across from her was her son. A tousled-haired youth I’d not really had much to do with. Nor even known had been born. I guess that’s what comes of not keeping in touch with family.

  My mother sat beside the boy and my father at the head of the table next to her. Neither of them looked particularly healthy. With dark bags beneath their eyes and a withdrawn demeanour, they were a far cry from the generally cheerful and pleasant people I’d grown up with. To be honest, I preferred them as they were now.

  “Sorry we’re late,” Lily said as she took a seat beside my sister, leaving only a place for me at the left hand of my father. Great.

  I settled into my seat with a silent nod for my parents and tried not to tug at the tie. It felt far too much like a noose for my liking.

  “It’s fine dear,” my mother replied. “Food isn’t quite ready yet anyway.”

  “What delights await us today?” I asked.

  “Salmon,” she said with a wan smile. “One of the groups managed to catch some from the river. Or there’s trout if you’d prefer?”

  “Ah, no thanks. Salmon will be fine.”

  “Quite a treat for everyone,” Evelyn said. “Especially those new people you brought in.”

  “Aye, thanks for that,” Gabriel added. “Not like we’re short on supplies is it?”

  “It was the right thing to do,” my father said before I could reply. “We won’t turn away those in need.”

  “There’s not much left out there,” I said with a touch of anger in my voice. Lily reached down to grasp my hand beneath the table, her fingers entwining with mine as she squeezed in what I guess she thought was a comforting manner. “Not close by anyway.”

  “Which is why we need to go further out…” Gabriel began before my father cut him off.

  “No!” he slammed his hand down on the table, rattling the plates and glasses. “We’ve lost enough people. The further we go, the more we’ll lose.”

  “You can’t hide away here forever father,” I told him and smiled as the glare he cast my way. “People die. It’s a reality of this new world.”


  “No more.” He pressed his fingertips to the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut as though fighting an oncoming headache. “We’ve lost too many to throw more lives away.”

  “We might have lost less if you’d fought alongside us from the start,” I said and he blanched.

  “Ryan!” Lily and my mother both said at the same time, using much the same tone, and I waved my free hand, a gesture that I’d leave it be.

  “I’ll go and gather the food,” Mother said with a stern look for me.

  “Let me help,” Lily said and Evelyn rose to her feet as well.

  They left in silence, moving out through the front entrance of the tea room to the courtyard where the food was being prepared over open fires. Since the attack by the undead, most of the people seemed inclined to eat anywhere but the tearoom, despite it being thoroughly cleaned. A number of people had still died there.

  “Any idea on who poisoned Caleb?” I asked and received blank stares in response, along with one frown from Becky. The little boy just ignored me, playing with some toy or other in his lap.

  “We still don’t know he was poisoned,” Gabriel said. “Could have been his heart giving out after all the fighting.”

  “Evie said she couldn’t tell without a lab,” Becky added and I shrugged.

  “Well, not our problem anyway. As soon as Lily is ready we’ll be off again.”

  “Aye. That’s just like you,” Gabriel snapped. “Just leave mum and dad wondering if you’re alive then turn up when you need something and go again.”

  “Can you honestly say that you’d be happy for me to say?” I asked and smiled his way as he clenched his hands into fists and turned back to his conversation with Becky.

  “Enough son,” Father said softly. Before I could reply, the doors opened and the others returned with plates and bowls laden with food.

  The next hour passed excruciatingly slowly for me. My mother dished out the food and as I ate in silence, the others made small talk about inconsequential things. It was entirely dull and I couldn’t understand why I’d been forced to dress up to sit with them when I could have had a much more pleasant dining experience with just Lily.