Something to consider if I wanted to make it through to the control room.
Isaac directed me to an elevator and we waited in silence for it to descend. Twelve buttons on the panel indicated floors and since we were on the first floor, I couldn’t help but wonder what was on the others.
We stopped on the third floor and the doors opened to yet another corridor that stretched away for some distance. Here though, the walls were painted a plain white and there was laminate on the hard-stone floor. It looked much like any hospital corridor I had ever seen though with an absence of windows.
The doors we passed were wooden rather than steel and they had small inset windows set into them. For the most parts, they seemed to be medical labs behind them though in one I caught sight of a number of beds, all empty. Likely a recovery room when required.
“In here,” Isaac said brusquely and reached for the handle of the door we had stopped beside.
It swung open soundlessly and I was ushered inside and directed to sit on the examination table. I did so without complaint, looking around the room and taking note of everything from the twin chairs beside the desk and the computer that sat upon it, to the sink and rectangular bins labelled for biological waste and standard.
There was a box fixed to the wall that contained latex gloves and cabinets all around the walls, each with locks on their doors. No doubt they contained all manner of items that they didn’t want getting into just anyone’s hands.
The old man took one of the seats and gestured irritably for the pink haired girl to leave him be when she hovered close by, clearly concerned for his wellbeing. Dawn took up position beside the door and Isaac remained close to me.
“So,” I said into the silence. “How many of us here are friends?”
“No one,” Isaac snarled as the old man gave me a curious look.
“Ah, that’s a shame. Always nice to have friends watching over you.” I looked up at Isaac and smiled the most charmingly sincere smile that I could muster. “How about you, do you have friends watching over you?”
His eyes shifted to the camera for the briefest of moments and his head tilted forward. It was barely a movement but it was there and I lifted my shoulders in a shrug before turning towards the old man.
“Do you have a pen and a piece of paper perhaps?”
“Why?” he asked, clearly suspicious.
“An addition to our agreement,” I said, smiling politely. “I would like to write some items down that I will need while I remember.”
“Do it later.”
“No. I think that I shall do it now as it will take my mind off of whatever unpleasant thing you are planning to do to me.”
“Let him write his bloody list,” Isaac said. “Not like it will do any harm.”
“I’d also like to write a note that you can leave outside where my friends can find it,” I said pointedly. “It will tell them where to meet me and you can have an ambush waiting. They will recognise my handwriting.”
The old man was clearly suspicious but I didn’t care so long as he did as I asked. I widened my smile and tried to be as disarming as I could, which was hard considering that he had read my file and probably knew a great deal more about me than I expected.
“Fine.” He waved a hand towards Elspeth who wrinkled her nose in distaste at the idea. “Give him a pen and paper.”
She pulled a simple biro from the pocket of her jeans and a small pad of paper along with it. Clearly, she was prepared to take notes should the old man require it. I smiled my thanks as she stopped two feet away from me and tossed them onto the examination table beside me.
I scribbled down a quick note, not really putting any effort into it as I considered my options, then with a smile, I hopped down from the table and took two steps towards Dawn and held out the piece of paper in my left hand.
“What?” she asked, eyeing the paper as though it were a snake.
“Someone has to take this outside and you are the least interesting person here,” I said with a grin that I knew would infuriate her.
She took a step towards me, fingers tightening on the assault rifle and she opened her mouth for what would no doubt have been a truly cutting remark. No sound came other than a slight gurgle as I thrust my right hand forward and sank the pointed tip of the biro directly into her neck.
Blood spurted and the whole room was silent for a fraction of a second, then Dawn raised her weapon and I darted forward, head crashing down against her nose in a pretty brutal headbutt. She reeled back, one hand going to the pen sticking out of her neck and the other trying to point her gun at me while she ignored the blood streaming down her face.
I kicked out, wincing as my own poor toenail absent foot crashed against her jaw. She collapsed to the floor and I spun on my heel.
Isaac simply stared at me, mouth agape and I ignored him as no real threat. The old man, however, seemed entirely unperturbed, just staring at me with his arms crossed across his chest.
“Well you have some skill, it seems,” he said. “Waste of a good soldier though.”
“Aye, well, you’re next.”
His lips twisted into what I could only assume was a smile and he raised one hand. Elspeth turned her gaze on me and for a moment I knew something close to doubt.
She was across the room in an instant, right foot striking me ribs, left fist against my chest and right against my jaw. Three blows all in quick succession and all too fast for me to even clearly see, let alone block.
I stumbled back, arms raised before my face as she rained blow after blow down about my head and shoulders. Clearly, I had underestimated her.
Blood flowed down my face and my ears rang from a kick that had caught me right on my ear and I stumbled back, almost tripping over the dead mercenary. She spun, suddenly, leg kicking out and the knife flew from Isaacs' hand.
I sucked in a deep breath as she turned her attention to him, kicking, punching, weaving this way and that around the expertly thrown blows from his own large fists. He was an experienced fighter but she was smaller, faster and a great deal more agile. He couldn’t last.
An alarm started ringing and I swore softly to myself as I realised the old man was gone, slipping out a side door that had been hidden by the privacy curtain.
Ah well, cat’s out of the bag, I thought as I picked up Dawn’s assault rifle.
Isaac’s eyes widened and he dropped to the floor just as I squeezed the trigger. The retort filled the room with the sound of thunder and shattering glass and then all was silent. Pink haired girl was slumped over Isaac and I hit the side of my head with the palm of my hand in an effort to stop the ringing in my ears.
“Goddamn it!” Isaac yelled, his voice muted to my damaged hearing. “What have you done?”
“Lead me to the control room,” I said with a grin. “Let’s go have some fun!”
Chapter 20
“Word just arrived, they’ve come ashore.”
I looked up at Cass and saw the fear she was trying very hard to conceal. I swallowed down my own and gave Jinx one last scratch behind her ears before I rose to my feet. My mouth was dry, but my hands were steady and I looked her straight in the eye, my gaze unwavering.
“Where?”
“Northern tip of the peninsula.”
“We have time then. Good. Spotted by a drone?”
“Yeah, Charlie sent word.”
“Right then. Let’s get everyone into position and…”
“It’s done.” She pushed shut the door behind her and leant back against it. “Samuel is moving his acolytes into place now. The barricade is built. All the CDF and naval forces are strung out along the coast and the people who are remaining in the town are all sequestered on the second floor of any building with supplies to last them a few days.”
She attempted a strained smile of reassurance that really didn’t work and licked her lips.
“The streets are empty or soon will be, so all we can do now is wait.”
�
�I have to be there…”
“No.”
There was a firmness to her voice that surprised me and I didn’t immediately know how to respond.
“Really,” she said. “Your role is to lead us and you’ve done that. It isn’t to hold a weapon on the battlefield and stand toe to toe with the undead.”
“You can’t expect me to sit here and do nothing?”
“That’s exactly what we expect you to do.”
She meant the new government, all of them in agreement that this was the right thing. Still, it rankled.
“Where’s Patricia?”
“With her nanny,” Cass said and swallowed hard. “She’s safe aboard the cruise ship.”
With all the other children. I nodded understanding at the pain that must have been causing her. Yet there she was, blocking my door and doing her duty as she saw it knowing that if she fell, if the island fell, her daughter and all the other children would have a chance still. A brave woman and perhaps braver than me.
“I can’t just sit here doing nothing while people are dying out there!”
She gave a soft sigh and managed a slight smile.
“We figured as much. The official line is that you are to stay here but if you insist, you are welcome to join the rest of us in the control centre. We can watch what’s going on from there.”
“Yes, let’s go! I need to be doing something.”
She pulled open the door and I shook my head as I saw the eight bodyguards standing there waiting. It seemed that Cass had known that I wouldn’t sit still.
“Come on then,” I said to Jinx. “You can come too.”
The sports centre was dark and empty without the usual bustle of acolytes going about their business. It was eerie but no more so than the town itself. There were lights still on in the upstairs windows of many of the homes and business buildings where people were hiding, praying and hoping for another day of survival.
The sun had barely begun its ascent into the sky and I rubbed my arms at the chill that my sweater just didn’t seem to keep out. The sky itself was overcast in parts and far out to sea the truly dark storm clouds were making their way towards us.
It would be a day of epic violence from nature and the undead and I couldn’t help a shiver at the thought.
“Hold,” Lisa said and the entire group stopped.
They had formed a rough circle around us with me at the centre and Cass covered by default as she walked alongside me. At a gesture from Lisa, they closed ranks and pressed in around us. I shared a look of concern with Cass.
“Carry on,” she said and I gave a small shrug of my shoulders in response to Cass’s unasked question.
It wasn’t a long walk to the office that Charlie had taken over for her control centre and at least part of it took us up a slight rise that allowed me to look out to sea with an almost unobscured view. The ships sat there, at anchor, just waiting to find out what was going to happen.
No doubt many of them were wondering why they weren’t going anywhere and my answer would be the same as that I had given the captains of those vessels just a day before. There’s nowhere to go.
If things went to hell and we lost, then they would have to set sail and see if they could find somewhere they could make their own but it would cost a lot of lives. My sincerest hope was that wouldn’t be necessary.
We were ushered into the building by two burly marines who closed the doors firmly behind us and locked them shut. My guards were thorough in clearing each and every room we made our way through, so much so that it was a good ten minutes from walking through the entrance and reaching the floor where Charlie had set up her workstations.
It had changed since I had last been there. There were more tables and desks set up for people to work at and a good half-dozen or so people sat at banks of terminals watching the drones do their thing.
More desks had been set up for the Admiral and his staff. They had created a sort of command centre off to one side with maps of the island spread out across desks and miniature models that represented the actual troops out in the field.
I crossed over to him and glanced down at the map as I passed. It was somewhat depressing to look at. With the majority of our troops forced to spread themselves across a large area of coastline, it left us with only Samuel’s people to defend the town against what I was sure would be the bulk of the enemy forces.
“Tell me again why we can’t pull everyone back to the town.”
“If we do that then we risk being surrounded,” Admiral Stuart said absently, his mind clearly elsewhere as he stared at a feed he had accessed through a tablet. “Plus, we wouldn’t be able to defend the smaller settlements.”
“All those people have come here though, haven’t they?”
“Not by a long shot. Blasted fools have decided to stay and lock themselves in their homes.” He shook his head and looked up, seemingly realising for the first time that I was there. “Apologies, ma’am.”
“None needed,” I assured him. “What’s the situation?”
“Troops are all in place and the barricade is as secure as we are going to be able to make it. The planes are fuelled and loaded with the improvised napalm. Most of the fleet is at anchor out in the bay and the two destroyers are currently deployed as I recommended.”
“Good.”
“Where are the other ministers?” Cass asked, looking around.
“Lou went north with the CDF troops, Shepherd and Jones are on the ships at my insistence and Samuel is with his people.”
“Why did you insist they stay on the boats?”
“We’ll need leadership if this goes to hell. They represent continuity. I also recommended that both you and our fearless leader head to those ships as well.”
I could see the indecision war on Cass’s face. She wanted to be with her daughter but at the same time, she wanted to remain, to play her part in the same manner that she had since I had first met her. A brave woman indeed.
“No,” I said. “I stay here but I want Cass to head to the ships.”
“Not while anyone else remains here,” she said stubbornly.
“As you wish. I’m glad you’re here.”
She reached out and took my hand in hers, giving it a quick squeeze.
“Me too.”
“The zombies,” Admiral Stuart said. “Have come ashore in three places.”
“Three!”
“Yes, the northern tip of the peninsula, a little less than a kilometre to the south of there and four kilometres north of us.”
He turned the tablet around so that we could see and tapped on the screen. The video began to play.
It was clearly taken from one of the drones as it hovered above and showed a group of fifty CDF soldiers standing in a long line facing the water. They had their steel bucklers strapped to their arms and poignards in hand.
The camera zoomed in showing faces set and fear in plenty, then a cry went up and the camera turned towards the sea. There, crawling from the waves, trailing seaweed were the first of the undead.
Their journey beneath the sea had not been easy for them and many of those pulling themselves out of the water were worse for wear. Their skin sloughing off and showing fresh marks where fish and crab had feasted on them as they passed.
Damage from rocks had left many hands, arms and legs as battered messes and more than one struggled to rise to its feet. I did as quick a count as I could and came up with less than thirty.
A rallying cry went up from the sergeant in charge and the proud men and women of the CDF marched forward in unison. They met the zombies on the sandy shore and their blades flashed in the early morning light.
It wasn’t so much a fight as a slaughter and I almost laughed with relief as my hope grew. The undead were left to lay where they fell with no apparent injuries amongst our people.
“That’s good, right?” a wide-eyed Cass asked.
“If that’s an indication, then yes, very good,” the Admiral said.
“Unfortunately, not all will be as weak as they were.”
He tapped on the display a few times and another video began to play. He kept his face still as he watched us and I bit back on my dismay.
Clearly, from one of the other areas where they were coming ashore, there were several hundred undead and most of them were up on their feet and moving aimlessly about, right up until a Feral pulled itself from the waves.
It moaned and growled, and somehow managed to herd the zombies up the sandy shore to the road and they just kept moving. They would follow the road directly to us and even as they started their slow journey south, more of their brethren were pulling themselves from the sea.
“So, what now?”
“We watch and we wait. Once we have enough of them massed in one place we can drop the napalm on them. But, that will likely be when they are pressed up against the barricade. We’re going to lose people, there’s no denying that.”
It was a sobering thought and I swallowed past a dry throat and nodded slowly.
“What about the Reaper?”
“Loaded and on its way north, ma’am.”
“Good, then we have a chance. What about the sub?”
“No sign of it, my concern is that it has slipped past us and could be anywhere now.”
“Then bring the destroyer home. If nothing else we can load more refugees onboard but if that sub is an enemy I want our ships protected.”
“I’ll see it done but it would be remiss of me to not point out that even sat out in the bay we have limited options if that sub decides to attack us.”
“Will it?” Cass asked. “I mean, why would it? There’s no reason to do that, is there?”
“We just don’t know. The fact that they haven’t reached out to us or responded to our hails is telling.”
“Okay, let’s…”
I cut off at the sound of a loud banging from the floor below us. I looked across at Lisa who made a sharp gesture and two of the black-garbed acolytes ran for the door.
“Probably someone thinking this place will be safer than…”
The building shook as an explosion tore through the lower floor and we all clung to the tables as dust and plaster fell from the ceiling.
Killing the Dead Season 3 Box Set | Books 13-18 Page 31