Undead Series (Book 1): Blight of the Dead

by Breckenridge, Erin E.

  Raven laughed. “Good job,” she said, sarcastically patting his head. His hair sprang right back up. She turned, smiling, and walked into the kitchen.

  “I made coffee too,” Henry’s voice floated in from the living room.

  Raven smiled. “Hi, guys,” she said to Liz and Rocky.

  Liz turned to her shyly. “Hi,” she answered.

  “Did you sleep okay?” Raven asked, pouring herself some coffee and spooning oatmeal into a bowl. It was still warm from the stove and she added brown sugar, watching it melt.

  “Yes, thank you,” Liz responded.

  She wore her ratty sweatshirt that Raven had set to dry by the fire overnight. It looked dry despite the fire having gone out, but it was full of holes and that wouldn’t do. Her pants were ripped as well, leaving large swathes of her legs bare. Her feet were wrapped in a pair of Henry’s socks and that needed fixing too. They would have to make another trip to the Mom and Pop.

  “Good,” she answered, sitting down with her oatmeal and coffee at the table, opposite Liz. “Did you get enough to eat?”

  “Yes,” Liz answered, smiling shyly. She tucked her feet beneath her and wrapped the sweatshirt over her legs like a tent.

  Raven spooned her food mechanically, thinking. Their situation had changed that was for sure. They needed a plan but Raven was all out of ideas. It was fine to wait here for a little while but eventually they’d have to leave and things would get a whole lot more complicated. Raven frowned and sipped her coffee.

  Henry walked into the kitchen. “Here, Liz,” he said, handing her a sweater without holes and a pair of Raven’s sweat pants. “I didn’t think you’d mind, sis,” he said, looking at her.

  Rocky padded into the room, looking sleepy. He yawned and lay on the floor at Liz’s feet, placing his head on his paws.

  “Not at all,” Raven answered smiling at her dog. He must’ve kept vigil by Liz all night. “That’ll keep you warm until we can go out again and get something more fitting for you to wear.”

  Liz dropped the glass she was drinking from. It bounced off the table with a clatter and fell to the floor, shattering into tiny slivers. Her face was rigid with fright and her hands shook.

  “What’s wrong?” Raven asked, concerned. She moved to the girl’s side and took her small hands in hers. “What’s the matter, honey?”

  Henry got the broom and dustpan and cleaned up the glass, glancing from Raven to Liz with concern.

  “Y-you mean we have to g-go back out there?” Liz asked in a small and shaking voice.

  Raven frowned. “We can’t stay here forever,” she answered. She held Liz’s hands. They were cold and clammy.

  Liz licked her lips with a quick dart of her tongue. “Why not?” she asked.

  Henry dumped the broken glass in the trashcan and stowed the boom and dustpan back in the cupboard. He sat down opposite them at the table. “I know things have gotten really scary out there,” he spoke gently to Liz. “But we will have to go out and find more people. The water and the lights won’t stay on without anyone to maintain them and there’s no one picking up the garbage.” He put his larger hands on top of his sister’s. “We have to go out and form a group, form a society so we can keep the lights on and the water running.”

  She looked at him with large eyes, trusting eyes. “You can do it?” Liz asked in a voice so quiet Raven barely heard her.

  Henry smiled gently. “No, Liz,” he responded. “I don’t know how to do any of those things and it takes more than a couple of people to keep things running.”

  “Oh,” Liz answered, looking down. She pulled her hands free and Raven let go. Liz reached down and touched Rocky’s head, stroking his fur.

  “You could stay here with Rocky when we get clothes and shoes for you,” Raven offered, thinking that would work out better for everyone.

  “O-okay,” Liz agreed, nodding. She looked up suddenly, fearful again. “Are you going to come back?” she asked.

  Raven’s heart wrenched. “Oh, honey, of course.” She hugged the girl, pressing her head to her chest. “We’d never just leave you here. That would be very wrong.”

  Liz pulled away and looked Raven in the eye. “Do you promise?” she asked, bottom lip trembling.

  “We promise,” Raven said. Henry nodded his agreement, patting Liz on her back reassuringly.

  Liz nodded. “Can,” she began, taking the sweatpants and sweater from her lap. “Can I take a shower?”

  Raven realized for the first time just how dirty Liz was. She had mud matted in her hair and her skin was dusty with dirt and ash.

  “Oh,” Raven said. “I’m so sorry. Of course, just follow me upstairs. I’ll show you how to use it.” She looked back at Liz and smiled. “The tap sticks funny.” Raven tripped on the table leg and had to catch herself against the counter.

  Henry was making a funny face, pursing his lips together and grinning at the same time.

  “You look like a fucking monkey!” Raven exclaimed then clamped her hand over her mouth.

  Liz peered at her comically. “The world has kind of ended,” she spoke, losing some of her shyness. “I don’t think cussing is that big of a deal anymore.”

  Raven walked up the stairs, followed closely by Liz. The sound of Henry’s laughter echoed through the cabin.

  Riley and Zach

  “See, I told you,” Riley spoke, elbowing his cousin in the ribs. “There are people living there.” Riley wiped his nose on his sleeve, snotting up the wool of his coat.

  “I see ‘em,” Zach responded, pulling his beanie down over bright red hair.

  Zach was tall with pale, freckled skin. Riley had black hair and dark eyes, and skin the color of coffee with a little cream. They were cousins by marriage and had grown up together. As kids they’d been inseparable and they stayed that way into adulthood, working at the same gun shop, living in the same apartment complex and camping together. That last was fortuitous as that was how they ended up out here when the shit hit the fan.

  The two men were well armed and knew how to survive in the woods, but they were tired of roughing it every night, taking turns to keep watch for the undead.

  They lay on the ground at the top of a small rise, concealed within a blackberry bush. Riley plucked a berry off and popped it into his mouth. He chewed it and swallowed.

  “Too sweet,” he murmured and focused his binoculars on the small cabin in the clearing. It was two stories and had no windows on the ground floor, but smoke rose from the chimney and that meant someone was there.

  It was getting colder every day and Riley had decided it was time for a change. Zach could only agree. They’d stumbled on this cabin the day before and decided to watch and wait.

  The two men had approached the cabin from the south, where the land was low and they did not see Henry’s truck parked out back. If they had they might’ve taken their prize and left.

  “What do you want to do?” Zach asked. He wanted to go home but that was out of the question, not after what he’d had to do to his wife and their unborn baby. She had been in the last few weeks of her pregnancy, big as a house but glowing and happy. Kristen’s face flashed through his mind and he shut it out. He didn’t want to see. Zach gripped the stock of his rifle so he did not have to relive the way her bones broke beneath his hands.

  “We wait until night then attack,” Riley answered. His voice was hungry. Riley had always been violent, striking out at his girlfriend for the littlest things. He’d gotten kicked out of high school for hitting a teacher then expelled from the continuation school for bringing a live grenade to class. Riley had never returned to school after that.

  Zach had gotten into some fights as a kid but none that he’d instigated. He would defend himself without hesitation but he wasn’t a bully. Though without Riley he wouldn’t have had to so many times over the years.

  “How are we going to get inside?” Zach asked, focusing on the pertinent. That had always carried him through Riley’s crazy schemes in
the past. “We could just pick them off,” he suggested, touching the barrel of his rifle lightly.

  “No,” he answered. “The noise will attract the crazed. You remembered what happened last time.” Riley scowled.

  Zach grunted. He remembered all right. They’d shot one in the head and had to flee from six that appeared out of nowhere, drawn by the sound of gunfire. They’d barely escaped.

  Riley shifted on the ground, readjusting his rifle on his back. “They have a dog so we’ll have to watch that but I think we can break in while they sleep and take them out one by one.” He patted the hilt of his hunting knife. His rainproof jacket swished with the movement.

  Zach nodded. A small part of him thought they should just move on. There had to be more unoccupied cabins up here in the mountains. Why couldn’t they just pick one of those? He wouldn’t say anything like that to Riley though. Zach didn’t want to be branded a pussy.

  The rain intensified, soaking them in a sudden deluge. Zach cursed and pulled the hood of his camouflage slicker further down his face. Water ran down it and dripped off the tip of his nose, plopping onto the sodden ground. Zach wished vehemently for a dry day, just one damn day when it did not rain. He didn’t remember it raining so much in years.

  “Figures,” he whispered. “The freakin’ apocalypse would happen this year.”

  His words were lost to the wind and rain. It dumped from the heavens, soaking the ground and covering the trees and shrubbery with clear, cold droplets.

  They settled in to wait and Zach thought time had never moved so slowly. He’d been in the army briefly as a young man, many moons ago. Never saw any combat, but the waiting was the fucking worst. Sitting or lying in an uncomfortable ass spot, cold or hot or just damn wet, it was all the same special type of horrible. This was no different.

  “No rules, no cops,” Zach murmured, smiling beneath his hood. “I guess there’s a difference after all.”

  “Hand me an MRE, dude,” Riley said. “And make one for yourself. We’ll need our strength today.”

  Zach rummaged in his army green rucksack, pulling out two meals. He handed one to Riley. “Courtesy of your US military,” he said.

  Riley chortled. “Only good thing they left us,” he spoke, opening the plastic around his meal and pouring the salt water into the heating pouch. It began to warm immediately.

  Zach did the same and they ate without speaking, listening to the pattering of rain.

  Liz

  She sat in the couch watching the History channel, waiting for Raven and Henry to come back inside. Rocky had gone with them to run before it got too dark but Liz did not want to go. The mere thought of venturing outside the safety of the cabin turned her stomach.

  Liz blew out a breath and it fluffed her hair that used to be bangs but now had grown too much. She caught an errant curl and stretched it straight. It reached to her chin and Liz stuck her tongue out, dividing the hairs.

  “I need a haircut,” she spoke in a melodic whisper. Liz had always been afraid of talking too loudly; she avoided being noticed and that mattered now more than ever. Those things out there, the monsters that ate her dog and killed her father; she would like it if they never noticed her again. She shivered and turned the volume up, bringing the mellifluous tones of the British narrator into sharper focus. He stood in front of the Egyptian pyramids and talked endlessly about the pharaohs and the slaves that built the pyramids for them. His hair was windblown and his face was ruddy. The scene moved from the narrator to a diagram of the inner workings of the pharaoh’s tomb.

  A scraping noise reverberated through the walls and Liz’s heart shot into overdrive. She jumped off the couch, looking about wildly for the source of the sound. Liz stood on the balls of her feet, ready to dash upstairs. The window was unlocked over Henry’s balcony. She could climb out there and wait for her new friends to come and save her. The scraping sounded again. It was coming from just outside the front door. Liz shrieked and covered her mouth, catching most of the noise. Something hit the door, shaking it in its hinges. She bolted, flying up the stairs two at a time and scampering into Henry’s room — the blue room. Liz darted to the balcony and caught sight of a man silhouetted in the open window. She screamed long and ragged and the man turned. He wore a green poncho and had dark eyes. Liz race back down the stairs and skidded through the kitchen, crashing into Raven and knocking her off her feet.

  “Liz!” Raven exclaimed. “What the …?” She grasped Liz’s shoulders and held her still, looking into her frantic eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  Henry locked the door behind them and shooed Rocky into the kitchen. “Stay out of the way, buddy,” he commanded.

  For a moment Liz couldn’t speak, lips frozen with terror as her heartbeat raced. “A man,” she gasped finally. “There’s a man upstairs on the balcony!”

  Raven’s visage underwent a change, morphing from gentle concern to rage in an instant. Her hands seemed to burn with heat and she let go of Liz’s arms. Unsheathing her axe, she glanced at her brother.

  “Liz, hide under the couch. You’re small enough to fit. Don’t come out for any reason, not until Raven or I come get you. Okay?” His expression was serious but Liz could see the fear beneath like a wave about to crash. “Okay?” he asked again when she didn’t answer.

  Liz nodded, breathless and laid on the ground. Using her hands and feet, she slid her slim body beneath the couch, breathing hard.

  “Rocky, stay,” Raven spoke forcefully, shutting the kitchen door.

  Liz heard Raven’s footsteps, muffled on the carpet. Liz heard a faint creak as someone stepped on the noisy bottom stair. After that she heard nothing but the sound of her own frantic breathing.

  Raven

  She followed her brother up the stairs, heart tapping out an increasing rhythm.

  Henry stopped at the top of the stairs, indicating with his palm that she should stop. He peeked around the doorframe, body vibrating with adrenaline.

  “Do you see anybody?” Raven whispered, touching her brother’s back lightly.

  “No,” he murmured back. “I can see the curtains moving.”

  “I left that window shut,” Raven responded, heart fluttering in her throat.

  “I know,” Henry responded. “Come on.” He crept against the wall, glancing quickly to his right to make sure no one was there. Raven’s door was shut. She’d left it that way.

  Reaching the door to his room, Henry jumped around the corner, knife raised. He was nearly silent on the soft carpet and did not yell out.

  That’s always the mistake they make in movies, Raven thought absently. The victim calls out at the wrong time. She’d never been a horror movie buff but even she knew that.

  Raven followed just as quietly, creeping around the corner with her axe held ready. Henry’s shoulder’s slumped and Raven knew there was no danger. She entered Henry’s room and let out a sigh, axe hand falling limp at her side though she kept hold of her hatchet.

  The room was empty, sky blue curtains blowing in the breeze. Wind and rain whipped inside, dampening the navy carpet in spreading blotches.

  “Someone was in here all right,” Henry spoke, hunkering down in front of the damp carpet. “Look.” He pointed to large boot tracks that led from the puddle toward the dresser — bright blue with stencils of birds — and back to the window.

  “It looks like he hurried out,” Raven commented, gesturing to the footprints. “The ones going back toward the window are further apart than the ones coming in.”

  Henry touched the footprint with the tip of his finger as if he could get a sense of the man that left it. He sheathed his knife and stood, wiping his damp hand on his jeans.

  “We’ll have to secure this window from now on,” he said frowning. He shut the glass and closed the inner shutters that kept out the cold, running his hand down the wood.

  “I saw an old slide bolt in one of the kitchen drawers, along with screws and a hand-held Philips.” Raven turned to fetch them and te
ll Liz that all was safe. For now, she thought darkly. She glanced at Henry from the hallway. He stood in thought staring outside into the pouring rain. His expression was brooding.

  Raven sighed and trotted down the stairs. “Everything’s okay, Liz, Rocky,” she called.

  Rocky scratched at the kitchen door and Raven let him out. He bounded up the stairs, growling menacingly.

  Liz poked her face out from beneath the couch. “Is it safe?” she asked with a tremble. Her face was so innocent and lost-looking with her shock of curls that fell across her eyes that Raven’s throat constricted.

  “Yes, come on out,” she answered, clearing her throat. Please let us keep this girl safe, she thought, praying to everything and nothing.

  “Okay,” Liz responded and scooted from under the couch. Standing, she hitched up the too-big sweatpants and brushed dust and hair from them.

  We’ll have to go out soon and get her some proper winter clothes, Raven thought but didn’t say anything out loud. Liz was so frightened of the outside world — not that Raven could blame her. Nothing was safe these days.

  “Watch some TV, hon,” Raven spoke, patting Liz on her curly mop of a head. “I’m going to help Henry secure the upstairs window then I’ll start dinner.” She thought they would have the last of the frozen beef she’d thawed out yesterday, it had been in the cabin’s freezer when they arrived with a hand-written date on the side. She had plenty of dried garlic left, though her pasta and rice were getting low again. Raven had enough left for a week of meals and tonight she would make a good one. They deserved a filling supper.

  Walking into the kitchen to grab the slid bolt, she had the feeling that their time here was coming to an end. Clearly someone knew they were here and wouldn’t stop at one attempt to take what they had. The cabin was a nice safe place but she’d known it couldn’t last forever. She grabbed the bolt, screws and screwdriver from the drawer, pushing aside the wine opener — a remnant from a happier time — and headed upstairs. Raven thought they might have to leave the cabin for good when they went out to find clothes for Liz and resupply. She knew that man would come back and he probably wasn’t alone. The more it circled around in her head; she became sure that they should leave immediately. Sighing, Raven went into Henry’s room and dumped what she carried on the windowsill.