My other companion didn’t say much in reply, though his eyes narrowed as he stared at the small groups of the Dead loitering near the building.
Ryan’s second in command and the zealot behind the rise of the cult of the dead. It was he, who began the legend of Ryan. He, who began recruiting others and converting them. He was dedicated to Ryan in a way that few could understand.
I did, though. I knew about the family he had lost, about the helplessness and the anger that he felt. About the sorrow that wreathed him. He needed a purpose when he had none and someone to believe in when the world had fallen to hell.
He found both with Ryan and didn’t look back.
I smiled when he caught me looking at him and he returned it warmly. Many had come to see him as Ryan’s shadow, the administrator of the day to day activities of the cult. They looked at his rail-thin figure and a wild shock of hair that stuck up no matter how much he brushed it, and they saw someone they could dismiss.
That would be a mistake. If anything, there were few I would consider dangerous when compared to Ryan, but he was one of them. If not for his fanatical devotion to my beloved, I would have worried.
“Ma’am.”
The soldier saluted as he spoke, the movement of his arm crisp and precise. Behind him, the rest of his squad did the same, earning the slightest nod of the head from the admiral. High praise indeed.
“May we see your ID badges, please?”
There was a slight flush to his cheeks as he asked, and I smiled encouragingly. It was no doubt ludicrous to him to have to ask for our ID as the three of us were well known. Still, both the Admiral and I had insisted on there being no exceptions.
I pulled my own official – and laminated – badge from my pocket and he made a show of looking it over before nodding. While he checked the other two, I slipped the lanyard over my neck so that the badge hung down before me. We would be expected to show it several more times.
When the guards were satisfied, the squad leader pulled out his own ID badge and pressed it against the electronic lock. It buzzed quietly, though clearly audible even with the slight breeze, and the soldier pulled the door open.
We stepped inside and were met by another squad of soldiers a mere five feet in before another door. Once more we went through the process of showing our ID before we were let through into the room beyond.
A young man sat behind a desk, sipping at his cup of tea and tapping idly on the keyboard before him, his eyes fixed to the monitor. He glanced up, eyebrows rising as he quickly put his cup down and rose to his feet.
“Good morning, ma’am. Er, sir’s, how can I help you?”
“We’d like to speak with Doctor Cassidy,” I said, hiding my smile at his nervousness.
“Y-yes, of course.” He reached for the intercom button but stopped himself, fingering hovering above it. “Would you like her to come here?”
“No,” Admiral Stuart said, his stern expression doing little for the young man’s nerves. “We will go to her.”
“Ah, of course, sir.”
His finger pressed down on the button and he spoke rapidly into the intercom as I feigned interest in one of the ancient magazines set on the coffee table beside the waiting room chairs.
It wasn’t long before the door buzzed and swung open. A rough looking bruiser of a sergeant stepped through, hand on the handle of the sidearm on his belt. Several soldiers followed him through and one of them gestured for us to show our ID once more.
When he had confirmed each of us, he stepped back and saluted. The sergeant gave a small grunt and released his hold on his sidearm before performing a salute of his own.
“They take this seriously,” I said from the corner of my mouth. “That’s good.”
The admiral merely smiled in response. It was faint, but definitely there and I knew him well enough to know he was pleased. Something that I hadn’t seen from him since we had heard about the approaching fleet.
“Ma’am,” the sergeant said to me before turning to the Admiral. “Sir. If you would all follow me.”
He led the way down a short corridor made from the same materials as the exterior. It was cold and my breath misted before me as I walked. While I understood the reason for the cold, I still would have appreciated a little more warmth.
At the end of the corridor was another door with yet another electronic lock. I smiled grimly, pleased that they had indeed learnt from past mistakes. There would be no zombie escaping from that facility.
The sergeant remained beside the door with his squad as I led the others into the cavernous room. Lights had been set up around the four aluminium tables in the centre of the room. Desks and work areas ringed them, with whiteboards and monitors all around.
A server stack stood in one corner, lights blinking on its surface as it chugged away. Not far from it were the printers that they would use to ensure they had hard copies of any data. Those, plus the backup drives that were held offsite would be enough to ensure no knowledge was lost.
There were only two people working in the room, standing at either side of the same table and talking quietly as they discussed what lay upon it. My glance shied away from that. I had seen what it had done back at the medical centre and I had no real desire to remember that scene of utter horror.
“Lily!” Professor Ashcroft said as he became aware of our presence. “How are you?”
He gave a wide, absent-minded smile that lasted all of two seconds before it slipped and his attention returned to the creature on the table, our presence already forgotten. Despite his forgetful professor demeanour, he was one of the smartest men I had ever met.
“Ma’am,” Doctor Cassidy said in a voice that was only slightly warmer than the chill air around us.
“What do you have for us?” I asked without wasting more time on small talk. “What have you learnt?”
Vanessa Cassidy, a brilliant researcher and accomplished doctor, swept her dreadlocks back over her shoulder and smiled mirthlessly as she gestured down at the creature.
“This… thing is incredible.”
I distinctly disliked her tone but didn’t respond as I waited for her to continue. Once more she gestured down at the body, that of the Genpact prisoner we had been holding in the medical facility for questioning.
Her dislike of me was momentarily forgotten as she stared at the body and I forced myself to look, to watch as her hands moved over it.
“They have done something incredible,” she said, voice dropping low. “The parasite is active inside of them when they are alive, changing them. Here.”
She pointed at the bodies right arm. The skin had been split open and peeled back, revealing a thick red tentacle-like length of flesh with spiked growths that, after he had changed, had burst from his skin.
“The parasites growing alongside the human muscle, over it, making it stronger and anchoring it in place. This man was physically fit, but I would bet that due to this change he could lift twice as much weight as he could before.”
“Same with the legs,” Professor Ashcroft added, eagerly. “The muscles have been strengthened and enhanced. He could have run all day.”
“Up here.” Vanessa gestured to the head. “We can see some thickening of the bone of the skull.”
“And these hands…” Professor Ashcroft lifted one, revealing the dark bone growth at the end that so resembled claws. “It would have been painful as the changes happened but afterwards!”
I didn’t share his excitement.
“What you are saying then, is that these men were becoming as fast and strong as the Reapers but were still in control. How?”
“We almost managed it with our vaccine,” Vanessa said, brows drawing down and anger returning to her voice. “We were close.”
“Similar, yes indeed,” Professor Ashcroft agreed. “But different. These changes happened, yes, but it was only after death that the parasite took control of the brain.”
“Great! So Genpact are making better hum
an zombie hybrids than Briony. One’s with all the benefits and none of the downsides.”
“Oh, there are downsides,” the Professor said. “They would have needed a great deal of food while the changes were happening, and they still were ongoing. Look here.”
He pointed at the open abdomen and I steeled myself and peered inside. It only took a moment to understand what he wanted me to see. There was only one kidney and the appendix was already gone. Replaced by the same dark reddish muscles of the parasite. It had been slowly devouring them and replacing them with itself.
“In time, they would have been more like Briony,” Vanessa said. “Unable to feed because they had no stomach, but still feeling that urge. All their food being taken by the parasite instead as it grew stronger.”
“What new hell have Genpact created?” I whispered softly.
More to the point. What would Ryan be facing when he reached their base and realised we weren’t sending anyone to help him?
Chapter 3
I winced and glared at Gregg, not that he paid any attention as he focused on sewing shut the small cut above my eye. My minion had yet to wake up and I was pretty sure she wouldn’t be doing so, which left me with Isaac, Gregg and the bound Briony.
Not a great start for a group wanting to assault the city of London.
“Another bunch,” Isaac called, his voice carrying easily on the still air.
He stood over by the edge of the rooftop, watching the undead gathering below us. They had been moving non-stop for the past hour and I was pretty sure there would be many more by end of the day than the thousand or so already down there.
We had soon realised, in the light of day, that we were in the centre of the town and had been fortunate enough to land on top of a bingo hall. Beside that hall was a multi-storey carpark with the topmost level extending across the roof of that hall.
While that meant getting down wouldn’t be a problem, it did leave us pretty much stuck considering the large number of undead that were intent on following the noise we had made when we crashed.
So far, the zombies hadn’t seemed to find the entrance and make their way up to us, but it was only a matter of time.
“Are we sure the radio can’t be fixed?” Gregg asked for the third time.
“Aye, lad. Busted all to hell in the crash. We’re on our own.”
An unfortunate turn of events but not something that I was overly worried about. We knew that Lily would be sending her soldiers in as soon as they killed the last of the infiltrators. We had ensured that no more would be sent to the island, so she had no reason to dawdle.
We knew where they would be arriving, and we could make ourselves useful scouting out the city beforehand. Then, we would meet up with the troops and begin the assault. All being well, a week or two of effort and I would be back home with my family.
“What the hell do we do now then?” Gregg asked. He finished tying off my stitches and began stuffing his first aid kit back in his bag. “I mean, we’re pretty screwed, yeah?”
“Not doing well, no, lad.”
“We’re fine,” I said, eyeing the prone form of Briony. “We have our secret weapon.”
The two men turned to look at the still figure and I could read the doubt on their faces. Even for one so dense as I, it was plain to see.
“They hate her. For whatever reason, the zombies won’t go near the infected. We use her as a shield.”
“Yeah, but c’mon now, Clever Bastard. That might work with a couple of em, or a small group, but there’s more than a thousand down there and the numbers growing.”
“Then we better leave now,” I suggested with a grin.
I pushed myself to my feet and brushed the snow from my clothes before grabbing my backpack and swinging it onto my shoulders with a grunt. We’d divvied up as much of the food and supplies as we could carry with the three of us.
“What about…”
I glanced over at the minion that Gregg indicated and shrugged. She hadn’t woken and was unlikely to. There was a lump the size of a robin’s egg on her temple and clear fluid was leaking from her nose.
While not a doctor, even I knew that was a bad sign. My guess was that it was the fluid that should be sitting around the brain, which indicated more damage inside her head. I was confident she wouldn’t survive and would have already put her down if not for the sensibilities of my companions.
As it was, I crossed over to her once again, snow crunching beneath my boots. I knelt beside her and pulled off one glove before feeling for her pulse. It was weak and thready. Her skin was even paler than it had been before and more of the fluid was leaking from her nose. There was a tinge of pink to it, too.
“She’s going to die soon.”
“Then, shouldn’t you… you, know?”
I did indeed know what he meant but I had a better idea. One that they wouldn’t approve of.
“Grab Briony and start heading down. I’ll catch up.”
The two men shared a look but did as instructed without complaint. A belt had been attached to her bindings creating a leash of sorts and one of the dead minion’s hoods had been pulled over her head, effectively blinding her while her gag remained in place.
Isaac hauled her to her feet and keeping a tight grip on her leash, directed her towards the ramp that led down to the next level. I watched them go, waiting patiently.
As soon as they were out of sight, I lifted the dying minion in my arms and half dragged, half carried her towards the edge of the rooftop carpark. I glanced over at the undead bunched up beneath us in the snow and grinned.
The exit was at the other end of the building. I wanted the zombies to stay right where they were, near the helicopter.
I let out a grunt as I lifted the surprisingly heavy body of the minion. Her eyelids fluttered and I stopped for a moment, watching her. If she woke up, then I would be screwed. It would break my promise.
But she didn’t, so before she had a chance to possibly do so, I tossed her over the side. I leant out and watched her fall, right into the midst of a large group of the undead. They wasted no time in tearing at her body and I pushed back, away from the wall.
I turned to head over and join the others and stopped, meeting Gregg’s accusing gaze.
“What?”
“Why, mate?”
“She was dead anyway and we needed the distraction.”
“There was no need for that though. You could have given her peace first.”
“They’re more interested in living flesh than dead,” I answered with a shrug as I walked towards him. “Besides, what does it matter?”
“It does, mate. It really does.”
He turned and headed back down the ramp without another word and I followed him feeling… something. It was odd and disquieting, but definitely there and not something I had felt before. I had disappointed him, I knew that and normally I wouldn’t care, but for some reason I did.
That irritated me.
“All good, lads?” Isaac asked as he eyed us warily.
“Aye,” Gregg said. “Let’s just get going.”
I flashed Isaac a grin, but he just watched the two of us and then, with a shake of his head, pushed on down through the carpark.
It was quiet and fairly dry inside. Most of the parking spaces were empty and I doubted that anyone had been inside for a long time. Our footsteps echoed softly, and it was nice to be out of the snow.
“Where we going, anyway?” Isaac asked. “We can head south-west to London or…”
“Or what?”
“Twelve miles or so to the sough-east and we’re at the coast.”
“What’s your point?”
Genpact were in London and I had every intention of going straight there.
“There’s boats and boatyards. Marinas and docks. We take a couple of days to get to the coast and get a boat, then another day and we will be in the centre of London by heading up the Thames.” He lowered his voice as we approached the last ramp lea
ding to the ground floor. “Or we can spend a week walking fifty-odd miles to the city edge and another day or two walking through it.”
He had a point, but it would hinge on whether or not we could find a boat. It wasn’t impossible, the south fell so quickly that a lot of people didn’t have time to flee. There were just too many people all crammed together, tens of thousands were turned every few minutes.
If we walked though, it would be a week at the very least and we had limited food and water. There was only so much we could carry. Considering the snow and general conditions, it would be more likely to be double that.
“Fine, we’ll try the coast.”
And hope we don’t waste our time, I added silently.
A moan sounded from below us and Isaac held up one clenched fist. Military nonsense for telling us to hold back no doubt. I ignored him and pushed past, ducking down to look through the gap between the ramp and the floor we were on.
There was a handful of undead, all in various states of decomposition. Some still wore the clothes they had died in, dirty and torn, covered in all manner of stains. Others were half-naked or fully so.
It’s something you are not really warned about. I had nothing against seeing naked bodies, but naked bodies in serious decomposition were something else entirely. Flesh and muscle missing, skin rotting and beginning to slough off.
The stench, as always with the undead, was disgusting and even as used to it as we had become over the past couple of years, it was still deeply unpleasant.
“Take her down,” I instructed calmly as I pulled free my knives.
“You sure?”
“If it doesn’t work then she’s no use and we let them have her while we escape.”
Of course, if it did work then I knew my chances of getting to the Genpact base had improved dramatically.
Isaac placed one large hand against her back, pushing Briony slowly forward. She seemed inclined to resist until I pressed the blade of my knife against her ribs.
“Behave or I will remove your limbs one by one. You can heal, but you can’t regrow body parts.”
That seemed to be enough to motivate her and she ceased resisting and walked carefully down the ramp. The zombies at the bottom let out quite a racket as they saw us, turning and making their shambling way towards us.
Killing the Dead Season 3 Box Set | Books 13-18 Page 84