Dead South | Book 3 | Dead Hope

by Bohannon, Zach

  Each man struggled to make it to their feet, and finally they stood at nearly the same time and faced each other.

  Malcolm ran his arm across his nose, wiping away blood. Jon worked to catch his breath, ignoring the throbbing pain in his face. He could only think of one thing.

  “I’m only going to ask you one more time,” Jon said. “Where the fuck did you get that pendulum?”

  Grinning, Malcolm still didn’t offer Jon an answer. The anger grew within Jon; he was done playing games.

  But he didn’t have time to focus that anger before Malcolm came at him again. He swung, but Jon ducked the punch. He caught Malcolm with a left jab in the ribs and then a right hook across the cheek.

  Malcolm absorbed the blows and swung again, only for Jon to dodge again, this time moving backward. Then, he caught Malcolm with a short jab to his already broken nose. The punch disoriented Malcolm, allowing for Jon to get behind him. Jon then wrapped his arms around Malcolm’s neck, locking him into another chokehold.

  Jon cinched up on the choke as Malcolm tried to fight it. He pushed Jon backward, trying to make both of them fall to the ground, but Jon’s back hit the dresser and he continued to hold onto Malcolm.

  Malcolm gasped for air, still flailing his arms. But as time wore on, his movements grew weaker. After a time, Jon let up slightly on the choke.

  “Tell me where you got that pendulum.”

  Hesitating first, Malcolm then let out a laugh. Jon tightened his grip around Malcolm’s neck.

  “I’m not asking again,” Jon said. “I can take all the breath out of you, or I can break your goddamn neck. Either one is fine with me.”

  Then, Jon remembered the pistol in the dresser. He used his left hand to open the drawer and draw the gun out. Then, he stuck the gun to the side of Malcolm’s head, keeping his other forearm pressed firmly against Malcolm’s throat and limiting the air he got.

  “Tell me where you fucking got it!”

  “He doesn’t have to tell you shit.”

  The male voice came from outside of the room, through the sanctuary. Jon looked through the door and saw the silhouette of a large man coming toward the room. He stepped through the door, and Jon saw that the man wasn’t alone.

  He had Lucas in hand, and held a gun to the side of the boy’s head. “Let him go, or I’ll blow the boy’s brains out.”

  Jon kept hold of Malcolm for the time being. There was no way these men were going to simply let him out of this. Jon knew they would kill him as soon as he let Malcolm go.

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” the big man said. “We’ll give you the boy, and the two of you can walk out of here.”

  “Bullshit,” Jon said.

  “You’re a smart man,” Malcolm managed to say through short breaths.

  “Boss, I’m giving him the boy if he lets you go,” the man said.

  “The hell you are, Bennett,” Malcolm said. He focused his attention back on Jon. “You want to know where I got this pendulum? I’ll tell you where I got it. I stole it from some cunt I killed out in the woods.”

  Jon swallowed. Some of Malcolm’s blood trickled down Jon’s arm, causing him to flinch. His body got hot, and the slight trickle of blood irritated him to the core. But he kept his hold on Malcolm.

  “Yeah, she seemed like she’d make for a great addition to Black Hill. But she was a feisty one. She bit Judah on the arm and tried to run away. I couldn’t have that. So, I shot her in the back. And that stupid little boy of hers.”

  “Shut up!” Jon said, cinching up again.

  Malcolm gasped, and Bennett held Lucas tighter. The boy cried in the large man’s arms.

  “Stop it!” Bennett said. “You let him fucking go right now!”

  “You knew them, didn’t you?” Malcolm asked. When Jon didn’t respond, Malcolm then let out a laugh. “Oh, that was your family, wasn’t it?”

  Jon could hardly breathe. This was the man who Judah had warned him about. Though, he hadn’t told Jon that Malcolm was the one who’d actually murdered his family. Now, he held his wife and son’s killer in his grasp. A twist of the neck or a tightening of his forearm around Malcolm’s throat would surely kill him. But he knew if he did that, then Bennett would put a bullet into Lucas.

  “I have to tell you,” Malcolm said. “Your wife, she really didn’t take death as well as I thought she would when we first came across her. She screamed when the bullets entered her back. And her face when I walked up to her was full of so much fear. I can’t even begin to tell you how exhilarated that made me feel.”

  “Shut up,” Jon said.

  “What? Are you going to kill me? Do it. See what happens to the boy.”

  Jon wanted to kill Malcolm more than anything. And he had no interest in using the gun to do it. At this point, not even choking him out would be enough. He wanted this man to suffer. Jon wanted to tear him apart, limb by limb, and listen to him scream. But he knew he couldn’t do it. He had no doubt the man on the other side of the room would kill Lucas. And how could Jon ever live with himself if that happened? How would he ever be able to explain that to Brooke?

  “Speaking of boys,” Malcolm said. “Let me tell you about your son. Oh, you should have heard him scream.”

  Bennett laughed as he stared at Jon. “Do something. I dare you.”

  Sweat pooled on Jon’s forehead. He could feel moisture collecting in his palm around the grip of the gun as well as on the arm he had wrapped around Malcolm’s throat.

  “What’re you gonna do, Savage?” Malcolm asked.

  “You have to give the boy up first,” Jon said.

  “No way,” Bennett said. “You piece of—“

  A gun clicked behind Bennett, halting him mid-sentence. A man appeared over his shoulder.

  “I’m the one who’s going to decide how this goes,” Raylon said.

  “Like hell you are,” Bennett said. “You want me to put a bullet in this kid?”

  “You want me to put a bullet in you, you stupid, honky piece of shit?” Raylon asked.

  “I knew Lennox was involved in this,” Malcolm said.

  “Lennox ain’t got shit to do with this,” Raylon said. “I went against him and chose to do the right thing.”

  “The right thing?” Malcolm scoffed. “You have no idea of the mistake you’ve just made.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see about that. For now, this is how it’s gonna go. You’re gonna let me, the boy, and Jon slide out the side door. And in exchange for you doing that, I’m going to allow you and Bosephus here to live.”

  “You can go fuck yourself, darky,” Bennett said.

  “No,” Malcolm said. “We will listen to the man. Let them have this fight. They’re as good as dead now anyway.”

  “But, boss, we—“

  “Let the boy go, Bennett!” Malcolm yelled.

  Bennett shook his head, but then he let go of Lucas. The boy stepped forward, unsure of where to go.

  “The side door to the sanctuary is open,” Raylon said. “Go to that door and wait for me and Jon.”

  The boy didn’t hesitate. He walked behind Bennett and Raylon, and went out into the sanctuary.

  “So, what happens now?” Bennett asked. “You expect me to put my gun down?”

  “After Jon does.”

  Jon blinked rapidly. “What?”

  “Remove the magazine and toss it to the other side of the room.”

  Jon waited a moment. What the hell was Raylon thinking? They had the opportunity right now to kill these two men. Lucas was safe. All Jon and Raylon had to do was pull their respective triggers, and it’d be over. For all they knew, the rest of Black Hill might not even bother coming after them.

  “Do it, Jon.”

  But Jon had to trust Raylon. He exhaled as he removed the magazine from the pistol, and tossed it to the other side of the room, through the door where Malcolm and Lucas had been when Jon had first shown up.

  “Good,” Raylon said. He pressed the gun harder into Bennett’s head
to get his attention. “Now, give me your gun.”

  “You can go fuck yourself,” Bennett said. “How do I know you’re not just going to shoot me?”

  “He won’t,” Malcolm said. “He knows he’ll have to answer to Lennox if he hurts either one of us. Do what he says.”

  Bennett grimaced and cursed to himself. Then, he raised the gun over his shoulder, the barrel pointing up toward the ceiling. Raylon took it from him, and Bennett didn’t hesitate to let him have it.

  “Now, you’re going to let us walk out of here,” Raylon said. “You’re not going to follow us.” He nodded at Jon. “Let him go.”

  Jon shuffled his feet, repositioning himself. For the moment, he kept his chokehold locked in on Malcolm. What would Raylon do if Jon just broke the man’s neck right now? Would he shoot Jon? Bennett was unarmed, and if he came at Jon, then Raylon would likely shoot him. Jon could end this right here and get his vengeance on Malcolm for killing his family.

  “Do it, Jon.”

  “Yeah,” Malcolm said. “Do it, Jon.”

  But Jon knew this wasn’t the way. Raylon had made a deal to get them out of there alive with Lucas, and Jon was a man of honor.

  He let go of Malcolm and turned around, pushing him into the dresser. The man caught his breath, holding his throat. He tried to laugh, but coughed instead.

  “I knew you didn’t have the balls,” Malcolm managed to get out between the coughs.

  Jon sidestepped Bennett as Raylon directed him to go stand next to Malcolm. Then, Jon backed up and stood next to his friend, who still had his gun aimed at the two men.

  “The next time we meet, nothing and no one is going to stop me from killing you,” Jon told Malcolm. “I’ll be back for my wife’s necklace.”

  Malcolm grinned, the blood dripping from his nose. “I’ll look forward to it, Savage.”

  Jon left the room first, followed by Raylon. Jon grabbed Lucas’ hand, and they headed out the side door and for the opening in the fence.

  42

  Brooke chewed her nails as she waited. She’d begged for Raylon to let her go with him to help Jon or let her go by herself. But he’d insisted she stay at the van with the others, primarily due to the trauma he knew she had to be feeling. Raylon insisted, likely correctly, that Brooke wasn’t in the right headspace to go and help. And even though she knew he was right, it didn’t change the fact that her son was still inside the camp. She would do anything for him.

  Not only that, but Jon was there, too. It still hadn’t totally sunk in that Jon remained alive. The last thing she wanted was to lose him again.

  Even so, she paced some fifteen yards from the van now. She had made the kids stay inside the van while Terrence and the other adults stood outside of it, consoling Rosa and her children. Brooke had done all she could for Rosa, and she felt so bad for her friend. But she wasn’t in the right place to be trying to help her. Brooke would be restless until Raylon came back with both Jon and Lucas.

  She hadn’t heard any gunshots come from the camp, but that didn’t do much to ease her mind. Raylon had been gone a while now, and the longer he was gone, the more she worried. Brooke didn’t know what she would do if she made it out of the camp alive and Lucas didn’t.

  A few minutes later, when Rosa had mostly stopped crying and her children had begun to calm some, as well, Brooke heard something coming from the direction of the camp. She held the pistol ready, though down by her side. It could be people who lived in the camp, or even zombies. She wanted to be prepared in case of either scenario. But after a few more moments, she saw the shadow of a small figure coming toward her. They moved faster, running toward Brooke upon seeing her.

  “Mom!”

  Brooke covered her mouth as her son came into her view. He threw his arms around her, and she held him. Running her hands through his hair, she threw her arms around her son.

  “Baby, I love you so much.”

  Raylon and Jon came next, both of them jogging. Jon put his hand on Brooke’s shoulder, grabbing onto the sleeve of her shirt and pulling her up.

  “We’ve got to get moving,” he said. “Now.”

  Brooke didn’t hesitate, grabbing her son. “Come on, sweetie.”

  Everyone loaded into the van. It was a tight fit, but it was only temporary. Raylon jumped into the driver’s seat and Jon sat beside him while everyone else crammed into the back. Brooke kept her son in her arms. If she had it her way, she’d never let go of him again.

  “Hold onto something,” Raylon said. “This is gonna be bumpy.”

  Raylon whipped the van around and sped down the dirt road. Other than the sounds of breathing and some crying, the van was surprisingly quiet. After a couple of minutes, Raylon pulled off the rough road and onto the highway. He sped away from Black Hill with the sun soon to be awakening on the horizon. Cradling Lucas in her arms, Brooke looked forward while Jon glanced over his shoulder at her.

  “You alright?” he asked.

  Brooke nodded. She was still in a daze, and had a lot to talk to him about. But that time would come. She had more immediate concerns now that involved the whole group.

  “What happens now?” Brooke asked. “Have you guys come up with a plan with Lennox?”

  Raylon scoffed. “There’s a lot we’ve got to tell you. But let’s just say that you shouldn’t expect a warm welcome when we get back to Freedom Ridge.”

  “Everything will be alright,” Jon said.

  He reached his hand toward Brooke, who took it. She gripped it tightly while keeping her other hand on her son.

  Brooke had everything she needed right here. She wasn’t going to lose Jon or Lucas again. And she’d do whatever she had to do to ensure that stayed true, even if it meant fighting a war.

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  About Zach Bohannon

  Zach Bohannon is a horror, science fiction, and fantasy author. His critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic zombie series, Empty Bodies, is a former Amazon #1 bestseller. He lives in Tennessee with his wife and daughter. He loves hockey, heavy metal, video games, reading, and he doesn’t trust a beer he can see through. He’s a retired drummer, and has had a beard since 2003—long before it was cool.

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