The Fall (Book 2): Dead Will Rise

by Guess, Joshua

  Scotty grunted a laugh. “If what you've been telling us is right, this...UAS? They're going to be a nightmare. If they're grabbing land and killing whole communities, it'll mean war. No one will let them get away with it.”

  “He's not wrong,” Chris added. “The numbers they must have, how can we face that?”

  “We face it,” Kate said. “You two don't. You and Scotty are the only two people in our group that know about this place for right now. You're the ones who will have to move between here and New Haven if the rest of us can't. So while we fight when we have to, you stay safe. We do our part for New Haven. But this is the end game.” Kate gestured at the basement. “Whether Will works with us or not, the goal is to survive whatever fight is coming so we can help John with his work.”

  “You two are going to be his lifeline,” Kell said. “While I'm trying to work out a cure in New Haven, John will need as much help as he can get.”

  Scotty put his hands to his heart in a fair impression of a swooning lady. “Oh, dear sir, you do so flatter me!”

  Kell took a halfhearted swipe at him. “I'm serious. You guys can handle yourselves. Kate and Laura won't be able to do all the work. A lot of it will be on you.”

  “We're up to it,” Chris said, a note of pride in his voice.

  “I know,” Kell said. “You guys managed a small miracle getting all this stuff up here unobserved. I trust you.”

  “For the record,” John said, “I do too.”

  As simple as that, it was settled.

  Later, as Kate took a last walk around the property with Kell.

  “...Tim took the Jeep and headed south. I looked like an idiot riding on the back of Juel's bike all the way up here.”

  “Don't step there,” Kate warned as they crossed the driveway. “Trap. We put them all over the place.”

  Kell chuckled. “Not willing to put all your faith in being far away from everything?”

  “Nope,” she said. “We even have a nice little hidey hole set up in case John has to run.”

  “What did you guys do to the bunker?” Kell asked. “Can the UAS get in there if they really try?”

  Kate smiled wickedly. “Sure. They'll have to deal with a couple zombies between the front and inner doors. And if they open the inner one, they're going to have bigger problems than a few dead people. We rigged it to set the whole place on fire if the trap isn't disabled.”

  They walked in comfortable silence for a little while.

  “You want to come back here,” Kate said. “Work with John.”

  He nodded. “We always did our best work together.”

  “I thought you were worried about having the two of you in one place.”

  The early spring wind picked up, dancing through his open coat. “I was. But the more I think about it, the less comfortable I am about staying in any place outside of our control. New Haven is nice, the people are good. Hell, I even trust Will not to treat me as a bargaining chip if it comes down to it.”

  “What's the problem, then?”

  “Those people, those big communities...they come with politics. Complications. Sometimes they have to do things that I just can't be a part of.”

  “Really?” Kate said, surprised. “You? Didn't you say you'd kill Laura and me if it would bring your family back? And you did kill that DARPA agent.”

  “I did,” Kell said. “What I did to Jones ate at me, changed me right along with this shitty world we're in. I thought I was something I wasn't. That I would go to any lengths to stay alive and find this cure.”

  Kate stopped and faced him. “It was driving you crazy, wasn't it? Thinking you were capable of those things.”

  “Yeah. Not just that, but knowing I'd already started doing them. That I felt they would be necessary, you know? I hardened myself to it. It was killing me.”

  “I know,” she said, looking up at him. “I was there, too. After what Laura and I went through, I almost lost it. I spent hours in that trailer thinking of all the things I'd do those men. I wanted to, Kell. I wanted to kill them a dozen times each just to watch them hurt.”

  “But that's understandable. What happened to you...”

  “Was terrible,” Kate said. “No one should have to endure it. My reaction might have been right, but is that a good thing? I spent months fucked up and crazy because of it. I thought I was the worst kind of person for the exact same reasons. Because I knew I could do it if I had to. Kill without hesitation, even in cold blood. I did it, too, remember? I killed Phillip without a second thought.”

  Kell was silent.

  “My point is, you should have talked to me,” Kate said. “The really funny thing is I started to even out eventually. I regret Phillip now, among other things. We've both done pretty monstrous things, Kell. But in the end we aren't monsters. We're just people. It's only when you don't regret that you should start to worry.”

  “That makes a lot of sense, actually.”

  Kate slapped him on the shoulder and got moving again, pulling him along. “And if you'd just talked to me, I might have been able to help. Remember that next time you start getting all dark.”

  “Is that a black joke?” Kell said, feigning indignity.

  “Nope,” Kate replied. “Just an offer.”

  “Thanks.”

  The trip back was relatively uneventful. There were no sightings of the UAS and only a few random swarms of zombies, none of which posed a serious threat.

  Kell was eager to get back. Despite his desire to get away from the dangers that came with living in a large community, he missed the place. The impending clash with the UAS aside, New Haven was a far cry from North Jackson or the desperate loneliness of his old cabin. Beyond the friends he brought with him, he had begun making new ones. As the last few miles home dwindled, he found himself profoundly relieved that he would see them again.

  It was a tired but happy group who passed through the north gate. There was Phil, waiting at the side to see if anyone was wounded. Down the road, Patrick was enjoying the weather with his nieces, tossing a football back and forth as best he could with one hand.

  People worked the earth on every street. Beads of sweat ran like rivers as people labored not to kill, but to raise up new life from the vanishing grip of winter.

  Kell smiled. It really did feel like home.

  Before any other consideration, Kell's group—including the scouts—had to meet with Will for a debriefing. He pushed aside his desire for food, a shower, and a long sleep somewhere safe. There would be time afterward.

  The meeting went about as well as expected.

  “You're telling me you found this man, John, and just left him out there on his own? Why the hell didn't you bring him back here?” Will said, his voice rising to a shout. “Don't you realize the risk you're putting him in?”

  “Actually, sir, he's safer where he is,” Nicole said. Kell gaped at her, but the woman's face gave away nothing. “The location of the bunker was chosen because of the area's low population. The house we put him in is far away from anywhere we've seen swarms move. If he were here, his presence would not only raise questions, but he would be in as much danger as any of us. And you know we suffer casualties.”

  Will chewed on that. “This is your professional assessment?”

  “Yes, sir,” Nicole said.

  “Fine. So, what, we just leave him out there to fend for himself?”

  “Ah, no,” Kell said. “We were hoping to get your help on that front. We want to send people out there to build a small community. There are already materials to use. We just need fuel. The idea is to slowly create a safe place where he and I can work. Until that happens, I plan on staying here.”

  “Sort of like a research outpost,” Will mused. “It's not a terrible idea. I can organize something, I think. I have a few people I trust to—”

  “Sorry, but again, no,” Kate said. “We would feel better if John's location stayed secret. Which means you don't know, nor anyone else outside this gr
oup. At least for now.”

  For the first time, Will grew angry. “Excuse me? I'm the one who runs this place. You do realize that, right? You can't honestly expect me to give you resources and let you dictate the terms. What's to keep the scouts from telling me where he is?”

  Nicole, ever the good soldier, didn't show a hint of reaction to Will's tone. “I'm sorry, sir, but none of us will give up that information. We agree that John is too valuable a resource. We can't risk letting the information get out.”

  Will looked from face to face, seeing no cracks in the team's armor. “I can't believe I'm saying this, but fine. I'll see what I can do.”

  “Thank you,” Kell said. “We aren't trying to upset you. We only want to keep John's work neutral, safe from everyone out here. We already know the UAS wants him. How many other groups would go looking for him, do you think?”

  Will rubbed a tired hand over his face. “I get it. Doesn't mean I have to like it.”

  The meeting took another thirty minutes, but Kell only paid attention when asked a question. Of course Kate had told the scouts everything. There was no way to hide what John was working on once the decision to move him had been made. Kate told them everything when they came back to the shelter with Tim.

  Relief was the best way to describe the floating sensation that held him up through the rest of the meeting. Nicole hadn't been thrilled to learn who Kell was, but once the scouts had a few minutes to process the information, they were happy to help. After all, who wouldn't want two men working on a cure simultaneously?

  “Thanks,” he said to Nicole as they walked from the meeting.

  “Just make sure you fix this thing,” she said before joining up with Juel and Emilia.

  Kate, Kell, Chris, and Scotty made their way through the inner east gate. When the thick doors opened, they were treated to the sight of their little corner outlined by the sun. As if they had left yesterday, Dan walked down to greet them.

  “Welcome back,” Dan said. “You're just in time for lunch.”

  Though they had only been gone a short while, the place looked more lived-in than ever, the most obvious sign being the long foundation set in the ground at one edge of their little settlement. Kell pointed at the flattened dirt crisscrossed with thick timbers where people worked.

  “What's that?” he asked.

  Dan smiled. “Laura said you might need a place to work,” he explained. “Didn't say why, but we figured since you've helped so many of us find a new home, the least we could do was give you a little space of your own.”

  “You're back!” a tiny voice shouted. Seconds later a girl-shaped cannonball hit him in the middle. “We missed you!”

  “Hi, Michelle,” Kell said, returning the hug. “Where's your mom?”

  In no time at all Kell found himself at the picnic table. Kate was there along with Chris and Scotty. They were joined by Laura and Andrea, who had bonded somewhat while Kell was gone. The two joked easily as they sat with the group. Michelle sat on Kell's lap, Evan hovering nearby, carefully balancing a plate on his hand while he ate.

  The food was amazing, as much for its taste as its improbability. The human animal can be a vicious, hateful beast when it desires. More than he wanted to admit, Kell had focused on that side of the equation lately. Sitting with his friends again, enjoying the familiar scene around him, he once more marveled at the idea that two years after the world ended, some enterprising people found the will to create all the pieces and parts to make hamburgers, for the sole purpose of giving others something to enjoy.

  It was dark.

  Many hours later, all the children had fallen asleep. Kell had asked for a meeting of the entire group, every adult member who had jokingly called themselves The Unit. Many of them had late duty, but hadn't complained when he asked them to stay up a little while after work. Others needed to get coverage for shifts they were supposed to have worked.

  Kell sat in the door of the RV. In front of him, a small metal trashcan held a fire. They sat and stood in close ranks. Kate and Laura framed him. Andrea sat against Laura's legs. His stomach rolled, but he wasn't as nervous as he had expected.

  Around him more than twenty faces looked on, patient and expectantly.

  “There's no way I can say any of this without sounding like a pretentious asshole,” Kell said. There was a round of laughter, low and gentle. “I can't thank all of you enough. Some of you act like what we did up north was all me. It wasn't. We took on those marauders together. Without you it would have been impossible. There are women with us right now who owe their lives and safety to you.

  “Many of you weren't in that fight. I've heard you say you wish you had been, that you had joined us. To that I can only suggest you be thankful you weren't.”

  He paused to take a breath, and noted he had their full attention.

  “I want to thank all of you for sticking together. The world is a hard place to live in now, but you haven't let it divide you. Those of you who fought haven't treated the people who didn't any differently for that choice. Those who didn't fight don't judge the actions of those who did, though I'm starting to wonder how far we should be willing to go. We killed a lot of men and they deserved it, but there aren't so many people left on the earth that we can waste them.

  “More than anything, I'm glad you're making this a home. A year ago I couldn't imagine living this way, with kids running around playing and community dinners. We drink beer together. That's a long way to come in a short time. You trust each other, and you've put trust in me. You've made me a leader whether I asked for it or not.”

  He looked at their faces, now curious.

  “I'm ashamed to admit I haven't trusted you nearly as much. For that I'm sorry, I truly am. I have to ask for your help with something, and I can't do it blind. There are facts you need to know going forward. I'm not just doing this because I need your help, though. You have the right to refuse. You don't have any obligation to make the same decision others already have.” He waved a hand toward Scotty and Chris, who nodded. “I'm telling you because you've put your trust in me, and I should do the same with you. Whether you pitch in with this project or not, you deserve that much.”

  He took another deep breath, and felt Laura's hand on his shoulder.

  “My name,” he said, “is Kelvin McDonald...”

  A note from the author:

  This has been a strange year for me. If you read the note at the end of Victim Zero, you're aware that back in March I quit my job. I'd have done so whether or not I had the slightest chance of making a go of this writing thing. It was just time. I had tax returns in hand, an IndieGoGo campaign rolling, and few expectations. My plan was to stay at home for a few months, write the book I wanted to write, and give in to the eventual need to go back to regular employment.

  You changed all that.

  While I still may need to get a job down the road, for the near future I'm doing better than I could have hoped for all those months ago. With the popularity of VZ, I've been able to stay full-time as a writer. With luck (and your help) I will continue doing this for as long as you let me. Victim Zero was a shot in the dark, the time I took writing it a chance to live my dream for a while. Dead Will Rise is a sort of proof-of-concept that I can maintain enough sales and growth to do this for as long as my fingers can type and my brain can create. That's the hope and plan, anyway.

  I have a few short stories planned for the near future. The third book in this series won't be my next novel, however. I plan on releasing Next, my first foray into the superhuman genre, before I tackle the next book in The Fall. You'll like it, I promise. About a third of it is already written, which means you'll see it sooner rather than later, assuming I don't have another series of unfortunate circumstances that put a halt to my ability to write.

  Some of you have been Living With the Dead readers for a long time, others haven't picked up the series. I designed The Fall to exist within the same universe and on the same world, sharing characters a
nd story, but not requiring one to enjoy the other. After reading this book, I can't help wondering how many LWtD fans out there figured out who Tim really is. The clues are all there. They're obvious to me, but then I've been planning this for a long, long time. If you did figure it out, don't spoil it for others. But I will say this: if his identity made you happy, you're really going to enjoy the next short story.

  Thanks for reading and supporting my work. You make this happen.

  Joshua Guess

  December 13th, 2013

  Frankfort, Kentucky

  PS—stay tuned for a preview of The Passenger, my collaboration with James Cook set in his Surviving The Dead universe. If you've read it or heard about it already and passed, feel free to ignore this. If you haven't, I suggest you read on.

  Please enjoy a short preview of The Passenger, by James Cook and Joshua Guess.

  ONE

  I've heard it said that dying is easy.

  Some philosophers liken it to being born again, and indeed, many religions state it in those terms explicitly. I'm not a philosopher myself, but I have an advantage over them—I've been there. As the old saw goes, dying is easy. Living is hard.

  Reanimating is a different ballgame altogether.

  You remember it. It's not like being born in the sense that your awareness develops over time, the memories of blind panic crushed into singularity by the years of consciousness that come later. I remember it all. I was a man, once. I had a job, a family. I had a mortgage, and a nice car, and a collection of ties that had taken years of curating to get just right.

  I had a name. I swear I did.

  The one blessing that came with my death was that it was quick. I remember trying to escape the violence, swarms of undead being cut down by men in uniforms behind me. My family made it through the barricade ahead of me. As I moved through, one of those things managed to snag my hand. There was pain. I looked back to see the last two fingers on my right hand gone.