Fear the Reaper

by Richard Murray

  “I assume you set him straight,” I said with a look around the open space that had been filled with what I could only call acolytes and knew that he hadn’t.

  “Of course not,” he confirmed. “I was too weak to do much myself and needed some willing helpers. Part of the group wanted to leave me as soon as they could do so with a clear conscience. I needed at least some of them to stay.”

  “To keep you alive.”

  “Yes,” he said and cocked his head as he looked at me. He seemed to sense something in my tone but couldn’t understand it. I held back a sigh.

  “As time went by, some of the group left and some stayed. I grew stronger and began to take trips out into the world again.”

  His grin was pure mischief and I closed my eyes and muttered a short string of curses. I knew what was coming next would be something I wouldn’t like.

  “It was purely by accident,” he began. “A few of the group had been out scavenging nearby houses and were late back. I needed to stretch my legs anyway so I offered to go looking for them. When I found them, well, they were trapped.”

  “How?”

  “A Feral and a couple of Shamblers had them cornered. These people were not like us,” he said and I knew what he meant, I’d met many like them. People who had survived by luck rather than by being great fighters. “I considered leaving them. For just a moment.”

  “But you didn’t?”

  “No,” he said with a soft smile of satisfaction. “The fight wasn’t particularly hard. I took out the Feral first while it was distracted with the others and then I killed the Shamblers. Which is when I made a mistake.”

  “What mistake?”

  “They were a little in awe of me. Like I said, they weren’t fighters at all and had seen the Ferals especially, kill their loved ones without them being able to do much but run.”

  He seemed a little embarrassed and that was a first. I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d done that he was ashamed of and considering who he was, if I should be worried.

  “What did you do, Ryan?”

  “The overly religious inclined fellow… he asked me how I did that. I responded with some smart-arse remark. I was attempting to get them on my side. I’m not used to making friends so I didn’t know how it would go.”

  “What did you say?” I asked with more than a little dread.

  “I just said, ‘because I am Death’ and thought they’d be amused.”

  “Oh, good lord,” I said and shook my head as I pressed my hands to my temples. I was starting to get a headache.

  “Now, it isn’t really my fault that they took it literally.”

  He sounded quite defensive and I just wanted to scream at him. He had no real understanding of how the world worked. Of how people worked and so it wasn’t entirely his fault.

  “So, you have a group of people who have lost everyone they loved,” I said and he nodded. “They are isolated and alone, half-starved and sleep deprived. They are brutalized and in constant fear and at their lowest possible moment, when all is lost, you appear out of thin air like some bloody messiah and strike down the monsters that they haven’t been able to, and you do it easily. Is that right?”

  “Yeah…” he said cautiously as though knowing there was a trap there but not quite able to see it.

  “You know who else uses those tactics?” I asked and he shook his head. “Cult leaders, Ryan. You’ve only gone and formed a new fucking religion.”

  Chapter 10 - Ryan

  Okay, I could admit that I knew what I was doing and that I had seen the advantages to having a loyal force of believers behind me. I wasn’t so sure that Lily would see it that way though.

  “This isn’t good. You see that right?” she said?

  “Why not? They do as I ask and we are helping people.”

  “Let me guess, you began to train them to kill like you do,” she said.

  “Well, yes. How else would they have been useful to me?”

  “You gave them the weapons and the skill to fight back against the monsters. Jesus Christ! This gets worse.”

  “Why? I don’t quite understand.”

  “It’s like it came right out of the ‘how to build a religious following’ handbook,” she said with some annoyance. I could recognise that in her at least. “You gave them the tools to fight their oppressors, their demons or whatever they want to call them. You saved them, you gave them the ability to fight back, then… I’m guessing here, you gave them a bloody purpose!”

  “I… did…” I said and began to understand where I may have made one or two mistakes as things got a little out of control.

  “Oh, good grief. How the hell am I going to explain this to the admiral?”

  “What Admiral?”

  She stopped rubbing at her temples and shook her head as she gestured down at the blue naval fatigues she wore.

  “I’m officially part of the Civilian Defence Force,” she said as though that might mean something to me. “Admiral Stuart is in charge of the entire Fleet and we have a new home on the Isle of Lewis.”

  Her face became animated as she spoke, excited even.

  “There are more than twenty thousand people there.”

  “Impressive,” I said. “He saved them all did he?”

  She gave me a sour look and said, “spare me the dick measuring bullshit. Yes, he saved more people than you but he had a couple of destroyers and a small fleet of ships.”

  “I have no idea what you mean,” I said and she gave me a long look before muttering something beneath her breath.

  “No. You probably don’t.”

  “Is it time for you to tell me why you’re here?”

  “Yeah, let’s just forget about this new religious group you’ve founded, shall we?”

  I shrugged helplessly. There wasn’t really much I could do about it even if she was right, which she likely was. I mean, it did explain a few things but at the end of the day, they were doing as they were told which was all that mattered.

  “Fine. I’m here to formally open talks with you, the head of the group of people known as ‘The Dead,’” she said. “We came to Glasgow for three things. The Shipyards, survivors and supplies.”

  “Ah.”

  “What do you mean, ‘ah?’”

  “I thought you were here to retake the city, but really you want to loot it.”

  “There are half a million zombies in this city,” she said. “We have nearly nine hundred people in the CDF so far that are trained and armed. Of that, barely a fifth of them are military personnel. Do you really think we can retake it?”

  “Likely not,” I admitted. “Not with the way they’ve been behaving anyway.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Doesn’t matter,” I said with a shake of my head. “We can discuss that later. For now, perhaps you should return to your friends.”

  That stung more than a little to say and I was surprised. As much as I’d missed her, I’d thought that I was beyond such things as jealousy. But, knowing she had others in her life was strangely difficult.

  “I think we still need to talk,” she began but I cut her off.

  “No. I have tasks to be about and you need to check in with your new boss. We’ll talk later.”

  “Wait,” she said as I began to walk away. The dog kept turning her head from Lily to me as though unsure who she should stay with. “We still have things to discuss.”

  “Not me,” I said with a grin I knew would infuriate her. “I have followers in need of my presence.”

  I pulled on the black hood and was out the door before she could respond. The two dark-garbed minions would stop her from following me and it would give me some much needed time to think.

  “Sir,” a black-garbed figure with a standing posture I recognised, said as I approached his position by the door.

  “Anything new, Samuel?” I asked and he shook his head, the black cloth moving almost as though alive.

  “Jones sent back word th
at they secured the building as you requested then resumed their regular patrol.”

  “Raiders?”

  “None sighted west of the river so far.”

  “I want their base located,” I said. “Too many groups of survivors are getting caught before we find them.”

  “As you command,” he said and I winced beneath my hood.

  Since she’d pointed out a few facts about my happy little minions, I was all too aware of how reverent Samuel sounded when he spoke to me. Devotion was all well and good as it meant I could accomplish my tasks, but blind devotion could cause problems down the line.

  I’d have to figure some way of working on that and the best person to help would be the one most pissed at me at that moment. I’d expected our reunion would be less than pleasant, but despite the fact she’d not mentioned my reason for leaving her, there was a definite anger in her. Most likely directed at me if that punch was anything to go by.

  “My Lord Death,” Samuel said and I winced again. It had been amusing at first but I could only imagine the reaction of Lily when she heard it.

  “Maybe we should tone that down,” I said. “Call me Ryan.”

  “Ah… as you command.”

  “No, I didn’t command it, I… oh never mind. What?”

  “These people,” he said with a glance back at the building. “Can we trust them?”

  “Two of them, with my life,” I said. “The soldiers? I’m not so sure. Keep a watch on them.”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll be back before dark,” I said. “Keep things running till then.”

  He bowed low and I turned away without acknowledging it. What had once amused me had become something that would cause more issues with Lily. And, for some utterly bizarre reason, I didn’t want to do that.

  I gave a nod to the two minions I had guarding the eastern barricade and clambered over the cars that had been parked across the road. There was only a slight twinge from my shoulder which was a pleasant surprise. After the fight earlier, I’d expected a little more pain.

  That damned weapon of Georgia’s had done some damage and once the infection had gone and it had begun to heal, it still wasn’t quite right. I’d definitely lost some of my range of movement in my left arm and it was weaker than it had been.

  For an hour, I wandered the streets of the city, surveying what had become my territory. The only undead I saw were through the windows of buildings. While I’d issued the order to begin clearing the streets, we left the undead contained wherever possible, only clearing buildings when they had something we needed.

  Eventually, I came to the River Kelvin. It was an offshoot from the much larger River Clyde to the south and was a natural barrier to the undead. When Lou and his troops had originally vacated the city, they had done a great deal to ensure the undead were hampered in their pursuit.

  One of those things had been the destruction of each and every damned bridge in the city. A minor problem for us, since we had located the subway which gave us access to the various stops around the city centre, it was a major problem for the zombies. They couldn’t cross.

  I watched the heaving mass of undead for a good five minutes and smiled beneath my hood at their angry moans. I edged closer to the point where the road cut off abruptly and stared down into the water below.

  Rubble and cars had tumbled down into the water and so had many zombies most likely. I imagined they were still there, trapped by seat belts in their cars, waiting for some passing food to come to them.

  “How long before the raiders discover the subway system?” I asked aloud.

  “Sir?” a voice replied and I turned towards her hiding place.

  “You may as well come out, I know you’ve been following me.”

  Two black-garbed minions stepped out from their hiding place and I watched them impassively. They wore the same black leather as the rest of my group and each had at least one knife on their belt and a black cloth hood over their face. They bowed low.

  “My Lord Death, we meant no offence.”

  “None taken,” I said with a casual wave of my hand, dismissing their concerns. “Samuel has a tendency to worry and always sends someone after me.”

  Either to protect me or to assassinate me. I wasn’t entirely sure which, but I suspected.

  “You knew?”

  “Of course.”

  That was a mistake and I knew as soon as I said it. They shifted slightly, their eyes meeting for a fleeting second as something passed between them and I knew that unless I killed them, they would go back to their brethren and spread the tale of how their Lord Death knew everything that happened around him. Adding to my legend.

  Crap!

  Maybe Lily was right and I had formed some kind of cult. It had been a bit of a joke at first but after what she had said… well, it was beginning to lose its humour. I’d kind of known, but hadn’t really questioned it so long as they obeyed me. And if they wanted to do things a certain way, no matter how ritualistic, who was I to argue?

  I set off at a brisk pace. They would follow as Samuel had instructed and they would only step in to help if they felt I needed it. Which was a strange contradiction really. I was supposedly their undefeatable leader and yet they sent minions to watch my back just I case I needed it. People were weird and I was reminded once again, why I tended to avoid them unless they were of use to me.

  The long abandoned city streets were filled with dirt-streaked cars and general rubbish. Clothing and paper, books and toys, all seemed to end up in the gutters. Leaves and other debris from the trees that lined many of the city’s streets covered the cars and roads alike.

  Alongside the detritus of civilisation were the bodies. All those undead my minions had killed and dumped in heaps over the months of waiting. As we’d grown in number, so too had our ability to fight back against the undead.

  When you had a group of people who already considered themselves to be dead, you had an army that would go out at dawn and kill without fear until they could no longer lift their weapons. When facing the Shamblers, we could easily kill dozens apiece in a day. Most likely more if we had regular breaks and ample food.

  We’d lost some people along the way, the weak falling before the teeth and claw-like hands of the undead. Those that remained became stronger, more skilled. Every single day they were thrown against the undead in the most intense training they could possibly have. The ones that survived, were the adepts.

  With nearly a hundred members of my group, we could easily kill a thousand or more undead a day. At least we had done, more than once. Of late, the undead had been changing. They no longer rushed straight for us, but instead set up ambushes and laid in wait.

  I’d expected that from the Ferals, but it seemed that they were adapting a little too fast to our assaults. Their behaviour was not at all typical of what I’d come to expect and the ambush Lily and the others had walked into was just one of the changes.

  “Sir…” a hesitant voice asked and I glanced back at the two minions following me.

  “What is it?”

  She stood up a little straighter as she saw me watching and I was pleased the hood allowed me the mocking smile I would have once had to hide.

  “The evening rite will begin soon.”

  “I am aware,” I said with a quick glance at the darkening sky.

  “They cannot begin without you.”

  There was a touch of admonishment in her tone and I nodded in acknowledgement. The evening rite had been Samuel’s idea and I’d seen no real problem with it at first. I wasn’t sure how Lily would react though since it would help cement her belief that I was in charge of a cult.

  Well you are, a niggling voice at the back of my mind said and I grunted irritably as I set off back to base.

  Chapter 11 - Lily

  We filed into the same cavernous room as before. The stairs leading down into the impenetrable darkness of the subway was especially intimidating in the late evening darkness. Gregg
Leant in close to whisper to me.

  “Is that supposed to be a throne?”

  I followed his gaze and exhaled softly. Ryan, without his hood, was seated on a wooden chair opposite the stairs. His acolytes, a frightening number of them at least, were lined up in silent ranks facing the stairs.

  “What’re they watching for?” I whispered back and he shrugged.

  We were directed to stand over at the side of the room, out of the way of whatever the hell was going on and I stood in silence with my squad. Jennings ignored me and his people did much the same

  He’d not been too pleased that he’d been sidelined while I stayed down to talk with the leader of the Deadmen and was even more so when I explained to him what I’d learnt. Our radios were out of range of the fleet so we had no way of contacting them for an update on our orders and Jennings insisted we continue as planned.

  I was sure that Admiral Stuart would baulk at the idea of a new religion being introduced to our island home, but at the same time, he was pragmatist enough to know that we needed the help of the people gathered here.

  Jennings, I was sure, would use them as leverage against the Admiral. I just wasn’t sure how. As for Ryan, well, I had no idea how I felt about him but I was pretty sure that whatever I was about to witness would help me decide just how pissed I was.

  “Kneel,” a voice called and the mass of black-garbed acolytes all went down on one knee and bowed their heads.

  I looked over to Ryan, only to catch him watching me and I turned away before he saw just how much I wanted to cross the room to him. Instead, I focused my gaze on the only black-garbed man who was standing.

  “Bring them forth.”

  They rose out of the darkness of the stairs, the only sound the ever-present moans of the undead hanging from the ceiling. Four people in all, ragged and dirty. Eyes blinking against the dim light of the electric lanterns that had been set up around the room.

  Two guards, for that’s what I assumed they were, flanked them and once they reached the top of the stairs they were each forced to their knees.