Killing The Dead | Book 23 | Come The End

by Murray, Richard

  “What do you want to do?” Gregg asked.

  At the end of the day, there was very little that we could do, so I just lifted my shoulders in a shrug and looked back at my friend as I said, “kill them all.”

  “My Lord Death?” I glanced back at the speaker, a tall minion with bloody streaks across his chin and cheek. His hands were bloodied to the elbows and behind him, the rest of the minions were moving into view. “Your command?”

  “Get ready to attack.”

  No argument, no talk of how many more of them there than us. Nope, just a simple nod of acceptance. They were idiots, but at least they were loyal idiots.

  I hefted my axe in my hand, feeling the weight, savouring the moment of calm before the chaos would begin. I wanted to laugh, to shout, to sing! Death was at hand and it was incredibly likely that we would not survive what was to come.

  It was going to be fun.

  Before I could give the order to attack, a cry sounded from ahead of us as one of the raiders looked back and saw us massed there. I readied myself for them to charge us, but to my complete and utter surprise, they just stared.

  “What’re they doing?” Gregg whispered, as if I might magically have some answer for him. I just rolled my eyes in response.

  “Oh good, here comes their leader,” I said, holding back a sigh.

  Tall and broad of shoulder, he towered above those around him. There was an almost palpable silence as the crowd waited for a command.

  “I knew you would be here,” he called, voice booming and filling the air easily between us. “You could never stay away from the chaos.”

  “Monologue time,” Gregg sighed, shaking his head.

  “Leave and I won’t kill you all,” I called back, cutting off whatever boring speech he was about to begin. “Fight and you will all die.”

  “There’s more of us?” He waved his arms at the crowd behind him and I made sure he could see my smile.

  “You know that doesn’t matter.”

  Behind him, at the warehouse, the hammering against the door had stopped. The creature had turned, its blank-faced helm seemingly directed at me. The Rider’s leader glanced back and grinned.

  “Oh aye, it wants you bad.” His grin widened as he waved towards my idiot minions. “You going to reveal yourself as the fraud you are?”

  “What does he mean?” Gregg asked.

  “He seems to think that if I don’t fight it alone then it will prove I’m not the person they think I am.”

  “Does it?” Gregg asked, and I shrugged. How should I know?

  The crowd began to part to either side of the road and the Rider’s leader stepped aside, grinning widely at what he was about to watch. I could only guess that he was still upset about my slaughtering most of his people.

  “Oh hell!” Gregg cried, eye-widening as the creature began to run, straight towards us.

  I watched it a moment, noting the almost graceful movements and the purposeful stride. It was no Reaper as I had first suspected. No, it was something else entirely. A man turned into a killing machine, almost impossible to kill, faster and stronger than your average human and utterly remorseless.

  “This will be fun,” I said, raising my axe.

  Chapter 33

  The hammering on the door stopped and I shared a look with my friend. We couldn’t believe that it would have just given up, not one of those monsters. No, it would be still out there, waiting, searching for a way inside.

  My heart ached, and my cheeks were wet with tears. Cass hadn’t let go of me or stopped weeping since Samuel had dragged me inside. Even as one of the white sash women stitched up my leg and applied a bandage.

  Our children were gone.

  Cass was beside herself with grief and I wasn’t far off it myself. I had to hope that they were alive somewhere still, hiding away. Even as a small voice in the back of my mind told me that it was useless, they were gone.

  Isaac was dead, I knew that even though I’d not seen him fall. All of his troopers had been wiped out and the last few fighters we had stood beside the door with Samuel. Blood ran down his arm, though he had waved away the white sash who had gone to tend him.

  “What do we do now?” Evie asked.

  Good question and one I didn’t have the answer to. Ryan was still out there somewhere, fighting the raiders. He would come for me, I was sure of that, though what would happen when he found out that our children were lost was not something I wanted to think about.

  There were a couple of hundred people left. Out of the twenty-five thousand that Admiral Stuart had originally saved, I had lost so many that only those few hundred terrified men and women cowering inside the warehouse were all that remained.

  What a fool I had been. Everything that I had been working for, all the dreams I had coveted about a better, safer world for our children. Gone. Destroyed utterly and all that I had to hope for was a quicker death than we had allowed the raider we’d captured.

  “Maybe Ryan...”

  “He has thirty or forty fighters with him,” I said, brushing at my eyes with the back of a hand that wouldn’t stop shaking. “Even if he manages to beat the other raiders outside the village, there’s still hundreds of them waiting outside this building. Not to mention whatever that creature is.”

  There was no hope left for us. All was lost. I had lost. It was time to admit that.

  “We aren’t going to be saved here.”

  Silence followed that statement and I hung my head. We’d survived so much. Those first days of the apocalypse as our loved ones were torn apart of became the very thing that had killed them. The long search for safety and the lost hope, that was found once more.

  We had endured so much, faced so much loss, and we had survived. We had prospered, and our families had grown.

  Only to die there, in a tiny village on the northern coast of Wales.

  A hand touched my shoulder, offering support and love. Evie, my lover’s sister and a close friend. She had lost her mother and son with the fall of the island and yet still she could muster the strength to support me when I lost my babies.

  Samuel, standing by the door, watched me with an unflinching gaze. He merely awaited a command and he would die trying to fulfil it.

  All around me were strong men and women. Survivors, one and all. We had been through so much and they had been the ones with the courage to leave the island and help fight for the new world we were trying to build.

  I wiped at my eyes and pushed myself up, Evie grabbing my arm and helping support me on my injured leg.

  It wasn’t much, I could admit that, but it was all we had left. A warehouse and a group of survivors.

  “We can’t just sit here and wait for death,” I said, my voice filling the silent space. “We have to fight.”

  “Why?” someone called. “We’ll not have a chance out there.”

  “Does it matter?” Cass snapped in angry reply. “We’re dead either way. At least if we go out there we can fight and take some of those bastards with us.”

  A few were nodding, not many, but perhaps enough.

  “Those who are willing, gather your weapons and head to the doors.” I sucked in a deep breath and let my gaze sweep the room. “There’s no shame for any who wish to stay behind.”

  Moving amongst the survivors, offering what aid and support they could, were the white sashes. I had no doubt that they would not fight. It would violate every belief they professed to hold. At the end then, when the rest of us had died, it would be only they that were left.

  Defenceless before the rapacious enemy.

  “Not sure how much use I will be,” I said, tapping my injured leg gently. “But I have to try.”

  “We’ll be with you,” Evie said. Her voice betrayed an emptiness inside of her, a loss so deep as to have taken everything else with it. “Better to die amongst friends, I guess.”

  “At the very least you know Ryan will find a way to make them pay,” Cass said, forcing a smile. “He�
��ll do everything he can to make them sorry for killing us.”

  “For killing her at least,” Evie agreed, her smile just as forced as Cass’s.

  “Help me to the door.” I was in no mood for humour. My leg burned and trembled, unable to quite support my weight. There was no way I could do much more than die, but at least it would be on my feet, with friends at my side. “It’s time to end this nightmare.”

  By the time I reached the door, more than half of those in the warehouse had risen and gathered whatever weapon they could. For most, it was knives or one of the various tools that had been stored in the warehouse since our arrival.

  Another look back at them, meeting the eyes of as many as I could to gain strength from them, from their willingness to fight on.

  “Open the doors.”

  Samuel leapt out first, knife raised, his cultists right behind them and then it was my turn. I needed help from my friends to do it, but I was out into the cool night air and I sucked in a deep breath.

  “What the hell?”

  The cultists had come to a stop a few feet from the door and it soon became apparent why. The enemy forces were watching the creature fight someone.

  No, not someone, it was Ryan.

  I knew it as soon as I saw him, the way he moved, the way he fought. I had watched him so many times that I could have noticed him anywhere.

  He moved like a jungle cat, a tiger or panther, every movement smooth and placed with care. There was no wasted energy, no deviation or distraction from his target, and all of his energy went into every movement.

  Like a dancer, he spun and leapt, ducking and diving, rolling and bouncing back to his feet with all of the energy of a toddler with a bag of sugar. It was utterly exhausting to watch, and yet beautiful in a way that had my heart beating harder in my chest.

  Blood sprayed into the air, a fine mist of it hanging around him as he rained blow after blow against the armoured hide of the infected. His attacks were ceaseless and he managed to parry or deflect any of the strikes from the infected creature.

  It wasn’t enough though, he was tiring where it wasn’t. Soon enough his movements would slow and the creature would strike. He wouldn’t be able to stop it and his blood would fill the air.

  “God,” Evie said, eyes wide with wonder. “I never knew it could be so...”

  “Graceful,” Cass finished.

  Samuel was as still as a statue, staring at his beloved messiah with something dangerously close to worship on his face. He practically trembled as he held himself in place, watching the spectacle. Much like those raiders were.

  “Attack!” I snapped, looking around me at the people who were milling about. “While they’re distracted! Kill the bastards who invaded our home and killed so many of us!”

  It was all that they needed to hear and without question, they raised their tools and knives and set off running towards the backs of the enemy.

  I wanted to go with them, even as hobbled as I was, but I couldn’t. Like Samuel, I was stuck in place, watching the love of my life facing a creature that appeared impossible to kill. It had torn through our forces like they were nothing and I was amazed that he was still fighting it.

  But he couldn’t keep up that pace, the only thing saving him, not for long anyway. So, I would stand and watch him fight until the end, then, with both my love and my children taken from me, I would let the enemy come and I would die fighting them.

  The tears on my cheeks were for my family, for my hopes and my dreams that had been dashed. For all those who had suffered and died at the hands of the raiders, and for the darkness that had swept over the world with none left to fight it.

  But most of all, I wept for an end that was coming, and I stood still as I watched it approach.

  Chapter 34

  I could taste its foul blood on my tongue as I swept aside another lightning-fast strike from its right, before ducking beneath the left and leaving a six-inch gash in its side. Dark blood leaked from that wound but it slowed the creature, not one bit.

  The elongated form was all sinewy muscle and it had an energy reserve far greater than my own. I was tiring. I could feel myself flagging and it was evident in how close some of those damned attacks were coming.

  A slow swing caught against my axe and I barely managed to spin away, out of reach of the real attack from its other hand. A second slower and it would have gutted me like a fish. The damned creatures unadorned helm gave nothing away, though I liked to think it was pleased with itself for that move.

  It wasn’t a Reaper, no, Infected then. A mind controlling the actions and more base impulse of the zombie. Composite plates at neck and spine, protecting it from killing blows. Much as the heavy belt it wore prevented me from cutting open its belly and pulling the parasite out with my bare hands.

  Another lunge and I swayed to the side, too slow! Pain flashed through me and I danced back, creating space between us as I nursed my aching hand. A quick glance to assess the damage and I swore softly.

  The little finger of my left hand was gone and the next one had a gouge in it that was bleeding profusely.

  “Why do they make you wear that mask?” I jeered, smirking at the creature. “To stop you from eating is my bet. Can’t have you growing that parasite you carry, can they?”

  No answer, not that I expected one, it just circled me watching for weakness. I had the distinct impression that it was enjoying itself, toying with me much as a cat would with a mouse.

  That did not sit well with me.

  “Who made you? Genpact?”

  Again, no reply other than for it to dart in, right hand swinging high and left low.

  I hated ambidextrous fighters.

  My axe caught the low blow and the knife slipped in my left hand, the creatures hooked knife sliding over the blade and leaving a deep gouge in my forearm.

  It didn’t let up as I backed away, cradling my arm to my abdomen and sucking down a deep breath of air. A cry sounded behind it, then another and that was followed by the clash of arms. Lily’s people were attacking, striking at the back of the enemy.

  They couldn’t win, not without help.

  “Kill the raiders,” I snapped over my shoulder. “Now!”

  No hesitation as my idiot minions ran past us, giving the creature a wide berth as they did so. It seemed to watch them go past, the urge to lash out at them almost overwhelming but kept tightly under control.

  “Aye, pay attention to me, you dumb bastard.”

  The creatures head snapped back towards me and I leapt forward, axe raised high as I brought it down. It raised its knives to catch the blow and I yelled as I twisted my arm, changing the direction of the swing out to the side and then back in.

  An audible grunt issued from it as ribs shattered from the heavy blow. I wrenched free the axe and was away, twisting around behind it and coming full circle as it spun after me, chasing me like a dog chases its tail.

  My axe buried deep into its chest as it finally came around to face me once more and I gripped the handle tight and raised my foot, bracing against its knee as I kicked out with all the force I could muster.

  “They always forget about the knees,” I muttered as the creatures leg bent the wrong way and it fell to the ground in a heap.

  I didn’t hesitate and pulled free my axe even as I stepped down against its closest arm. Before it could raise its other hand, I raised my axe high and brought it crashing down against the creature's wrist, half-severing it and making it utterly useless.

  Another blow shattered bone and tore through the muscle, cutting the hand free. My laughter was cut short as its other hand slammed the hooked knife deep into my side.

  Pain swept through me and I had only a moment before the creature sent me flying through the air to land on the hard tarmac several metres away. My blood splashed against that surface as I struggled to keep a grip on my weapon and consciousness.

  “Strong bastard,” I muttered as I forced myself up.

  I
swayed for a moment, shaking my head to clear my vision as the creature regained its feet. One hand remained, its knee damaged but healing fast. Even so, it walked with a severe limp, foot dragging as it didn’t have full use of its leg.

  All I could hear was the fighting ahead of me. The stench of smoke and death filled my nose as men and women cried out in pain. Death walked the world, it was true. For a decade it had taken more lives than at any other period in history.

  I could only smile at that, as I watched the creature approach.

  Blood was flowing freely down my side and I knew the adrenaline would not be able to keep me moving, let alone conscious, for much longer. That left little choice but for me to end the fight quickly.

  A flurry of blows had the creature reeling back, for the first time working to really deflect them, and I laughed.

  “Energy reserves running low, are they?”

  No answer of course, but I knew, the more damage required healing, the more energy required. The helm stopped it from eating which meant that it couldn’t replace what was lost.

  I left a long cut across its breast, blood oozing from the wound as it backed away. I followed after it, not letting up as I swung blow after blow down upon it. Fresh cuts were made, more blood flowed and there was a tremble in its still healing leg that caused it to stumble.

  My axe sank deep into its upper arm, slicing through the muscle and tendons there. It swung away before I could strike again, but the damage was done and its one remaining hand hung loose. Two more strikes and a low howl began behind that helmet.

  There was no mercy. No remorse. Nothing for it but death. If I could not kill it quickly then I would do to it the same as I had done to those others who opposed me. I would cripple its ability to cause more harm.

  A crushing blow to the helm sent it reeling and I kicked out, taking its legs out from beneath it. As it hit the ground, I struck again with my axe. Twice more and the arm came free. Like a tortoise on its back, it yowled but couldn’t seem to fight me.

  For good measure, I took its other arm off at the shoulder and then moved to the legs. It took me several long seconds and a furious flurry of cuts with the axe for me to realise the noise had fallen away and I looked up, expecting to see nothing but death and instead, found two forces watching me.