I shook my head and sent a quick glare Greggs way as my hand inched towards my knife. I wasn’t entirely sure I would be able to draw it before he fired, but after spending a week being tortured, I had no intention of facing capture again.
“Don’t,” a voice from off to my left said and I glanced that way to see a young woman with her rifle raised and pointed at me.
“You had to say it didn’t you?” I said as I let my hand fall.
Chapter 8
I settled down onto my bed and ran my hands through the thick fur of the gorgeous Alsation, Jinx. Her tongue hung from her mouth as she panted and great big brown eyes stared up at me with nothing but love in them.
“Yeah, I miss him too,” I whispered as she dropped her head into my lap.
Poor Jinx hadn’t had much to do since Ryan had been abducted and I had taken over the island. I resolved to spend a little more time with her and ensure she got out and exercised a bit more. If nothing else it would be good to have her company with me.
I suppressed a sigh as the knock came on my door and called out. “Come in.”
Minister Shepherd stepped inside, letting the door close behind her and glanced around my cramped quarters. I’d converted an office in the sports centre for Ryan and myself, figuring it was the best place to be with all of the Dead around me as guards.
“I’d expected something… bigger.”
“It suits me,” I said, more than a little defensively as I tried to ignore the piled papers on the desk and the muddy boots I’d left by the door.
I’d always been quite clean and tidy but it seemed that the apocalypse along with the insane amount of time I had to spend dealing with the myriad problems of the camp had wiped away my usual fastidiousness. I wasn’t going to apologise for it either.
“The former first minister, Wells,” she said and I nodded. I remembered him well. “He was a corrupt little toad and it showed.”
She lifted a rumpled t-shirt from the desk chair with two fingers and let it drop to the floor before she seated herself with a mild look of distaste.
“I visited his home once, you know?”
Since I hadn’t known he’d had a home, I clearly didn’t but I nodded anyway.
“It was the largest in the town. A five bedroomed monstrosity that could have housed a great many people. But it was just him.”
“Your point?”
“I went past it on the way here. There are four families living in it now, quite comfortably.” She gave me a steady look and I held back another sigh. “Each day I am more convinced that I made the right decision to join your government. I truly believe you care for the people of this island.”
“Thank you for that. It’s nice to hear, and, for the record, everything I am doing is to make things better.”
“Yes, I understand. So that being said, how can I help you?”
An interesting question and I wasn’t entirely sure how to answer. There was so much that needed doing after all. The new ministers were taking over parts of the governance of the town and island, each of them fulfilling a role and freeing up some of my time, but there was always so much more that needed doing.
“I need a census,” I said as I settled on the one I considered to be quiet urgent. “Of everyone on this island.”
“A census? May I ask why?”
“Yes.” I waved a hand before me as I organised my thoughts. The idea was barely formed but I knew I needed it. “We have around twenty-five thousand people, yes?”
“Give or take a few hundred.”
“Right and what are they doing?”
She blinked at that and pursed her lips as she leant back, eyes going distant as she thought.
“For the most part, very little.”
“Yes! Most of them have nothing to do and it is causing arguments and little fights that become big fights that result in people being thrown into a cell for a while.”
“Minister Macintosh is maintaining order well enough.”
“Yeah, Lou is doing great but he is dealing with the effects and we need to focus on the cause.”
“And a census will help that?”
“I want an accurate count of people. I want their names, dates of birth, location of living quarters and more importantly, what they did before this all happened and what skills they might have.”
“Ah.” I saw the light of understanding in her eyes and smiled to myself. “Yes, I see what you want. How soon?”
“Yesterday,” I said with a faint smile. “There are things that will be happening sooner rather than later and we need to be prepared.”
“In what way?”
I rose from the bed and crossed to the desk, sorting through the papers there until I found the one I was looking for. I scanned it with my eyes for a moment before passing it over to the minister.
“That is every resource we have stockpiled,” I said softly. Her eyebrows rose up as her eyes widened and she looked over at me. “Yes, it’s that bad.”
“What is a census going to do to help this?”
“In a short time, once this island is secure once more, we will be launching an invasion fleet.” I moved over to the map of the UK that was taped to the wall beside my bed and pressed my finger against a small area between Ireland and mainland Britain. “We’re invading here.”
“The Isle of Man?”
“Yes. Eighty thousand people lived there and I suspect there are still there, just not as living people. More to the point, there is land for farming and ample places for fishing. There’s hydroelectric power and water. We could build a real community there.”
“That won’t help us now,” she said softly. “We won’t live to see the spring without more supplies.”
“I’m working on that but whatever we manage to find, it won’t last forever. We need a place where we can start producing our own food. We take the Isle of Man and we have until the spring to get ready for planting.”
“You have seeds?”
“A great many. Enough to feed ten times our number if we can get them planted. To do that though, I need to know who can grow those crops for us.”
“Which is why you need a census.” She smiled grimly and nodded slowly, still clutching the piece of paper I had given her. “Very well. I shall provide you with a complete list of skills we have as soon as possible.”
“One more thing,” I said as she rose to her feet. She looked at me expectantly and I sucked in a deep breath. “When this is over, when the zombies are defeated, we will, if lucky, have a number of communities spread across the islands.”
“That is the hope, yes.”
“Not all of them will want to be ruled by us.” I held up a hand to forestall any questions. “I won’t force those communities to become a part of us. We will be neighbours. But, we will no longer be the Great Britain that we were.”
“We’re going to need to be something new. And for that, we will need laws and a charter. Once the crisis is over, we will need an election process.”
“I shall keep an eye out for anyone versed in law,” Minister Shepherd said quietly. She hesitated and then added, “I’m glad you are planning on elections.”
“For the moment I will be a dictator because that is what we need,” I said and didn’t look her way as I pressed a hand against my stomach. “But when it is over, when we are safe, we will need a different form of government.”
Her hand touched my shoulder, just for a moment and then she turned and strode towards the door. She glanced back once as she pulled it open, concern and sorrow on her face, and then she was gone.
I sank back down to the bed and pulled Jinx close to me. I had a million things to do and not enough time to do them. But, I thought, at least I had done something useful that day. I had planted the seed for what would come.
Before I was finished I would have to do a great many things that the survivors would not like and afterwards when things were as close to normal as they would ever be, I would have to answer for
them.
I knew that and I would do them anyway. Not just for the people of this island, but for my children. I would be the monster I needed to be to make sure they would never have to.
For a long time, I sat hugging Jinx close and thinking of a future, any future that my children would have.
Sleep was a long time coming.
Chapter 9
They divested us of our weapons and I had a good long look at each of them as they did so. It was clear right from the start that they were related. They had the same light brown hair and while the man was clearly older, his skin weathered by years working outdoors, hers still bore the blush of youth.
She was pretty where he was handsome, and while her hand trembled as she held the shotgun, I suspected that was due to concern for the man rather than any real fear.
He had dismounted from the horse and searched us as she kept her weapon aimed our way. A clear sign of concern, putting himself into potential danger and keeping her out of it. I guessed them to be father and daughter.
“We’ve told you boys to not come this far west. Can’t say we didn’t warn you of what’d happen.”
Huh?
“Do we have to, da?”
“Fraid so. Get the rope.”
Well, things were clearly taking a turn for the worse and Gregg flashed a look of concern at me as I shrugged my shoulders and lowered my hands.
“Back up in the air!” the man snapped and I flashed him a smile.
“I’m pretty sure you’ve mistaken us for someone else.”
“I won’t tell you again. Can be the noose or the gun, I’d prefer to save my ammo but I will shoot if I have to.”
“Really, mate. You’ve got the wrong guys,” Gregg offered. “We’ve no idea who you are and aren’t from around here.”
“Just passing through,” I said helpfully. “Headed east.”
There was a flicker of doubt in his eyes and I thought that perhaps he was considering his words but then his daughter returned from the horse with a length of rope that had already been tied into a noose on one end.
That couldn’t be a good thing.
Since I didn’t have my usual clothing, just that which had been provided by the Genpact people, I didn’t have any secret blades hidden on me. Gregg did though. I took a sidestep towards him, the man’s gun following my movement.
I patted him on the shoulder and gave him a slight shove forwards as I said, “better do him first.”
“What! Seriously, mate?”
I gave him another pat on the shoulder and let my hand fall, down behind his back. My fingers dipped into the waistband of his jeans and found the hidden pocket I’d persuaded him to sew there many months ago.
With a smile, I watched the girl approach, the coiled rope in one hand and the end with the noose in the other. Gregg flashed me a look of panic and I smiled encouragingly as I pulled the blade free.
“Go on now, it’s your time.”
“Fuck off! It’s really not, mate.”
“It’s fine. A short drop and a bit of choking and you’ll be done.”
“You’re not bloody helping.” The girl slipped the noose over his head and his eye widened further as it flicked from her to the shotgun aimed our way.
“Been nice knowing you, mate,” I said as I took a step away, edging slightly forward.
Gregg stared open-mouthed at me as I flashed him a grin and the girl pulled the noose tight. The man’s eyes moved to her for just an instant, away from me and I was in motion. I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close to me, my other hand rising up to press the sharp edge of the razor blade against her throat.
She gave a little yelp as the shotgun pointed straight at me once more and I grinned. I could feel the heat of her body against mine and hear the roar of her heartbeat. Adrenaline was surging through my body and it was taking every little bit of self-control to avoid sliding that blade across her throat.
“Let her go.”
The threat was clear in his voice and I almost laughed out loud.
“Or what? You’ll shoot me? Pretty sure you were going to kill us anyway.”
“What? Of course, we weren’t!” the girl said and squealed as I increased pressure on the blade.
“Sorry, but this bloody noose makes me think you’re lying!” Gregg snapped as he pulled it over his head and let it fall to the ground.
“Was just tryna scare you. Don’t harm the girl.”
“Bloody worked you wanker.”
“Calm down,” I said quietly as I stared hard at the man.
The urge to kill her and take my chances against him were growing and it was only the slightest suspicion that they were not the sort Lily would approve of me killing that was stopping me. The man must have seen that in my eyes as he lowered his gun and raised one hand, palm out, placatingly.
“Alright now, please, don’t hurt her.”
“Give me a reason not to,” I said, voice tense with the strain of holding back.
“Look, take what you want. We won’t try and stop you. No harm done and we can get your more supplies. We have caches all over… just, just, let her go.”
“Like I said.” I let the girl go and lowered my arm as I realised, with a pang of sorrow, they were likely not the type of people I could kill. “You have the wrong idea about us.”
The girl flung herself at her father, and he pulled her behind him, watching us suspiciously. I ignored him and reached for my knife, lifting it and sliding it back into the sheath on my belt.
“Here.” I tossed Gregg his knife and he glowered at me. “What?”
“They were gonna hang me!”
“But they didn’t.”
“That’s not the point. What would you have done if they’d done it before you could get the chance to do anything? I’d be dead! That’s what would have happened. Always bloody me!”
“You’re fine, calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to bloody calm down, mate!”
I rolled my eyes and flashed him a grin that I knew would infuriate him and turned to see the man and his daughter still staring at us.
“What?”
“Who are you?”
His daughter watched us fearfully but hadn’t gone to retrieve her shotgun and his was still lowered so that the barrel was pointed at the ground. I gave him a shrug.
“Just people passing through, as I said.”
“You’re not with them?”
“Who the hell are you talking about?”
I flashed another look at Gregg who waved his hands in apology at his tone. He was clearly annoyed about something and I figured it was best to let him sort through it.
“The Riders?”
“We have no idea who they are.”
“But… we figured.” He nodded to the leather bikers jacket I wore. “You were one of them.”
A biker gang?
“Are you actually suggesting there’s a band of lunatics out here that are some sort of apocalyptic bike gang?” Gregg asked with a laugh that faded as the man stared at him stoically. “Oh fuck me. This is all we need.”
“You’re not part of them?” the man stressed and I shook my head.
“Never heard of them. We came over the hills from around Loch Rannoch.”
Some of the tension seemed to leave him and he nodded once.
“Then we owe you an apology.”
“Aye, you bloody do,” Gregg said as he rubbed at his neck.
“We’re sorry,” the girl said. “Truly. We’ve had some bother and we saw your jacket and thought… well…”
“Understandable,” I said with a smile that I hoped was charming as I ignored the indignant squawk from Gregg. “I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to tell you something. What was it?”
“We’re from the Royal Navy,” Gregg said, voice barely above a mutter as he grimaced at the man and his daughter. “We bring word from the new government of Great Britain. You’re not alone and we’re here to help.”
The man a
nd his daughter stared at Gregg with open-mouthed amazement and I nodded my thanks to him.
“Yeah, that. Though technically we’re just passing through but we can pass any details about your group on.”
“New government?” the man said. “Really? How many of you are there?”
“Twenty-odd thousand,” I said and his already wide eyes opened wider. “We’re welcoming any survivors so long as you work and help provide for the others.”
“How many of you are there?” Gregg asked and the man turned to look at him.
“Er, about fifty or so. We’ve just a few families who’ve gathered together to stay safe.”
“What about these, Riders?”
“Not sure. They travel in small packs and raid the surrounding area. Usually, they take food and…” He looked at his daughter and swallowed hard.
That was interesting. A fresh pulse of excitement quietened that darkness that roiled hungrily inside of me, eager for death.
“You know where they are?” I asked and felt Greggs eyes on me.
“Mate, we have a mission.”
“Nothing to say we can’t do both.”
“They hold the town of Dunkeld,” the man said and my excitement grew. “There’s a bridge across the river there and it means anyone trying to get past has to cross it. They settled in way back when everything went crazy and began taking a toll.”
“Robbing people, da.”
“Yes, love, they were.”
Gregg let out a fresh groan and I stayed silent, my mind processing that information. From what Lily had been able to tell us, her new allies had attempted and failed to get to the target. They assumed zombies but what if it were something else. What if it were a group of raiders who fell upon them as they approached, ambushing and slaughtering them.
It would explain a few things and could also indicate that our mission had already failed. If they had been in town for that long then it was likely that they had already raided our target and taken the people we were supposed to rescue. Or killed them.
An interesting possibility and no matter what, they were raiders. It was practically my duty to ensure they were stopped from hurting other people.
“Oh crap,” Gregg muttered as he saw my expression change.
Killing the Dead Season 3 Box Set | Books 13-18 Page 40