Killing The Dead | Book 21 | The Journey Home

by Murray, Richard

  Stout wooden timber doors, banded with iron, it looked like it would still be standing a century from then. I gave the cultist a shove to the back to start her moving and we headed inside.

  It was dry and surprisingly clean. The others went through the tower and into the main hall as I paused inside the entranceway. I gave my head a quick shake and then joined them.

  Wooden pews had been pushed together to form beds of sorts, and there was a small stove against the far wall with a stack of cut lumber beside it. A tin pipe led from that stove up and out through a window that had been broken, then sealed around the pipe with expandable foam.

  A couple of buckets were near the door, clean but still redolent of the human waste that had been carried in them, and the floor, while bearing a slight layer of dust, had clearly been swept at some point in the recent past.

  “You think someone lived here for a while?” Abigail asked, looking around, a little nervously.

  “Survivors probably,” Gregg replied. “I tell you what though. I reckon we get that stove going and have a hot meal. Don’t know when we’ll get our next one.”

  They both looked at me and I realised after a moments silence that they were seeking my approval. I jerked my thumb towards the entrance and said, “do as you please. I need to talk to our prisoner.”

  The sullen cultist didn’t speak as I grabbed her arm and pulled her back out through the door into the entrance chamber beyond. The carpet was stained and threadbare but there were benches on either side of the chamber for people to sit while they waited. I directed her to sit on one side while I took the other, facing her.

  “You know me?”

  She shook her head, lips pressed together, and I narrowed my eyes as I watched her.

  “When did you join?”

  “Two years ago.”

  “Before that?”

  “In the camps.”

  Ah, some progress then. If she were in the original refugee camp created by Admiral Stuart, then she would at least have some idea of what had happened and who the main players were. That was a start.

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small black bound book. It had a black and white Chinese symbol emblazoned on the front that I recognised from back before the fall of the world, but the story inside seemed to be all about me. I’d not had the chance to read much, but there was enough there to know that.

  “Why do you have the story of my life?”

  Her face showed no expression as she stared at me and I tossed the book gently in my hand.

  “Must have been, Lily. No one else knew how I met her.”

  Again, no reaction, so I pressed on.

  “I’m guessing it wasn’t Samuel who wrote it. I know him well enough, and he wouldn’t have done that, but he would have known about it. So, I’m guessing someone close to him.”

  I glanced down at that book, not stopping the frown that furrowed my brow as I added, “I’ll need to have words with him about that one day.”

  “You blaspheme!”

  “Ah, you do speak then,” I said, glancing back up to catch the anger on her face before she hid it behind her blank mask once more. “What do I blaspheme about, acolyte?”

  “The names of the Holy Prophet and The Lady are not to be spoken.”

  “A little ridiculous, do you not think? How then would I speak of them?”

  “By their titles.”

  “I think not.”

  “When our Lord Death returns, you shall be rent asunder by his wrath for such blasphemy!”

  My laughter filled the small room and I shook my head as her cheeks flushed. Whatever she had expected, it was not mockery. I wondered at how bad it had become to have such simple-minded members of the cult.

  “Do not mock me!”

  “I find it hard to believe Samuel did not beat this sort of stupidity out of you,” I said, leaning back against the cool stone wall. “At the very least he should have taught you some humility.”

  Her jaw clenched and her arms tensed as she tested the thin rope that bound her hands and I held back my smile as I pretended not to notice.

  “Back in Glasgow, we had the subway, which made it easier. Trapped down there, in the darkness, with just the rats and the undead for company. That tended to instil some humility after just a short time.”

  Her nose crinkled at that and I did smile then as I held up the book. “That bit not in here, huh?”

  “No.”

  The admission seemed to be wrenched from her and I caught something on her face that I thought might be doubt.

  “Five years ago,” I began and settled back as I related to her the story of what had happened after I left the island all those years ago. It didn’t take long, though my words held her attention throughout. Once I was finished, I waited for her to speak.

  “I do not believe you.”

  “Not that is a real quandary, isn’t it?” My laughter once again filled the room. “If I am telling the truth, then you are disobeying your vow and your ‘Lord death,’ but if I am lying, how did I come by so much information?”

  She licked dry lips and tugged at her ropes once more as I watched her in silence. It was amusing to see her struggle so, and I was fairly sure that I would end up killing her but to keep the promise I had made, I at least had to try.

  “Tell me,” I said. “Who is this Sebastian and why do so many of you follow him and not Samuel?”

  The cultist didn’t answer as she leapt to her feet and bolted for the door. I grinned to myself as I pulled free my axe and gave chase. I guessed I was going to have to kill her after all.

  I skidded to a stop on the stone path and gave a soft grunt to myself as I took in the tableaux.

  The cultist was on her knees on the ground, a rope wrapped tight around her neck, the other end held by one of the four men who sat on their horses at the end of the path.

  Hard faced, and in decent condition, they wore mismatched armour of twisted and bent steel that had clearly been hand made. A shoulder plate on one, breastplate on another. One wore a full helm with so many nails sticking out of it so that he looked for all the world like some demented apocalyptic hedgehog.

  They were exactly the sort of raiders I would have expected to see in an old eighties’ apocalypse movie. The type with lots of leather and steel, and over the top acting. I couldn’t help my giggle that brought a frown to the face of the one holding the rope.

  “What the fuck’re you laughing at?” he asked, and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing all the more.

  Chapter 16

  “You sure this is a good idea?”

  I ignored the question as I kept my gaze fixed on the bank of monitors in front of me. On them, were the multiple views of the sports centre that were provided by the circling drones and the cameras mounted on top of the combat helmets that Isaac had managed to dredge up from somewhere for his security team.

  Four hundred men and women, a quarter of them dressed in black, stood ready to enter the sports centre and finally bring an end to the standoff that had been going on for the past six weeks.

  Samuel’s cultists carried their knives, while Isaac’s security people had an assortment of axes, hammers and what looked to be short swords. How he had managed to find them, I did not know, but from the sheen of the steel, I suspected he had taken up manufacturing.

  That accounted for around a hundred and fifty of the warriors. They would be the assault force that led the way into the sports centre from multiple points. The other two hundred and fifty were volunteers who carried with them an assortment of knives and clubs that had been scrounged up for them.

  They would go in after, to provide support for the assaulting force, but mainly to ensure no one escaped from the sports centre.

  I hated the fact that I couldn’t be going in with them.

  A decision that had not been mine to make, as the council members reminded me just that very morning. It was my role to lead, to give the orders, and to keep myself safe so t
hat I could continue to do so.

  “He would have gone in,” I muttered, frowning at those screens.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” I said, not looking at my friend.

  Evie crossed her arms and leant back against the wall behind us, turning to look once more at my office where her son, entertained my children. Jinx sat patiently at the door, tongue lolling and growling menacingly at any tech who happened to come too close.

  She too took her care of my children seriously.

  “When will they start?” Cass asked, moving over to join us. “I hate all this waiting.”

  I nodded towards the screen on the bottom right. Isaac was there, shouting orders and directing people to different points. He looked every bit the confident commander as he stood with back straight, looking men and women in the eye as he spoke with the confidence and authority of one who had led people for some time.

  “As soon as he says so.”

  The two women shared a look that they thought I didn’t notice, and I barely avoided rolling my eyes as I waited for the comment that was sure to come.

  “He certainly looks very much in charge,” Cass said, a smile playing on her lips.

  “A very commanding presence,” Evie agreed, eyes shining with humour.

  “I hear that he has quite the number of admirers,” Cass continued. “They gather at the training fields to watch him train his security people.”

  Charlie, sitting nearby, snickered softly without looking around and I clenched my hands tightly into fists as I pressed them against my sides. I loved them to bits, but they just didn’t understand. The love I’d shared was something I had never expected to experience.

  It had caught me entirely by surprise and there had been good, and bad times, both. But in the end, it had resulted in both the greatest joy in my life, and the greatest sorrow. I could not bear to face such again.

  “Any word from the communities on the mainland?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

  “Nope.”

  “Nothing at all?”

  “Anything worth reporting is in that stack of papers on your desk,” Charlie said, still not looking away from her computer. “Been a bit quiet.”

  “Summarise what’s in those reports,” I said, avoiding looking at my friends. “Please.”

  Charlie did look around then, the smile she wore letting me know that she well understood the reason for my insistence. She was kind enough not to say it aloud though, even though Evie and Cass both were giggling softly together like a couple of schoolgirls.

  “There’s a few places still reporting Reapers, they skulk around the settlements and try to pick off anyone they can find alone.”

  Typical that they would have survived the longest as they were the strongest of the undead. Worrying though as they were the last stage before becoming parasites and there were already too many of those around.

  “Heard a number of communities talking about raiders. Small groups for the most part, with one large group that is becoming a serious problem.”

  “How serious?”

  “Dude in charge is setting himself up as warlord and grabbing land,” Charlie said. “Arrives at a community and tells them they can either submit or be wiped out.”

  “Christ!” Cass said. “Please tell me no one is buying that.”

  “Apparently one did at the beginning.” Charlie’s face was grim as she looked back at Cass. “After they’d finished, one person was left alive and dragged to the next settlement to tell them what had been done. After that, word spread, and people give him what they want.”

  “Animal!” Cass said, turning to me. “Tell me you aren’t going to let that continue!”

  “Of course not. Charlie, find out what you can about this group. Everything, including where they are based. Once we have resolved this current threat, we’ll deal with him.”

  “Will be hard,” Charlie said. “No one knows where they live, just that they turn up from time to time.”

  “Do what you can.”

  “Aye, will do.” She paused, then added, “Sebastian’s people have made their presence known.”

  Crap!

  “How?”

  “They’re busy searching for this new ‘Lord Death’ of theirs, and when they meet people, they offer two choices. Convert or be killed.”

  “Great.” I held back a sigh. “That’s all we need. Track their movements if you can and we will try and deal with them too.”

  “Sure thing, boss. No sign of Sebastian as of yet, but keeping my ears open. As for the parasites, there’s no real change in their status. Both remaining ones in England are growing slowly, but definitely growing.”

  “The one in Liverpool?”

  “It’s arms or whatever the hell they are, have gone into the sea. I have no idea how far they’ve spread but I have drones watching our shores.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes shut. That was all I needed, for that things limbs to reach us and begin spreading across the island with nowhere for us to flee to.

  “Okay, any good news?”

  “Final fishing boat has made it back.”

  “Yay,” I said, letting out that sigh. “I can’t believe how low my bar for good news is, but there we go.”

  “Are you sending people to London?” Cass asked, and I clenched my jaw, knowing the question had been coming but hating hearing it.

  “We need to, I know that…”

  “But?”

  “Anyone we send there might not be able to make it back.”

  “We need to know how that thing died!”

  “I know that! Don’t you think I don’t, but it’s not that easy-“

  “What do you mean?”

  I was all too aware of the technicians around us, silently listening as they pretended that they weren’t. Whatever was said, it was sure to spread around the island in a very short time and I had to choose my words carefully.

  “We have, perhaps, four people who are qualified to work on any data we can gather from that parasite,” I said, voice soft. “Four people, who have the hopes of our entire species on their shoulders as they try to find a cure for those of us still living.”

  “Those four, are the only ones who could possibly know what to look for. I have to decide whether to send one or two of the only people we have who can possibly make us a cure, or a way to stop the parasites, to a place where Sebastian has his own people.”

  “It’s a risk they’d be willing to take,” Evie said. “I’ve become close with Vanessa, and she would go in a heartbeat.”

  That was news to me. The prickly researcher that had been brought back from the bunker she’d been in since the fall of the world, was not someone interested in making friends. Her work was all she had seemed to care about.

  “What about Genpact?” Charlie asked, and we all turned to look at her.

  When Sebastian had imprisoned me, they had somehow managed to escape in the chaos of the power grab. We had tried to make contact with them again, but their response had been abrupt and quite cool. Apparently with no deal made with us, their situation had worsened greatly in the past year.

  “I’m not sure how much we could trust them, or if they would be willing to help, but we can ask.”

  “I’ll talk to them,” Cass said. “You have other things to focus on. Let me see what I can do with them.”

  “Sure, I’ll-“

  “It’s happening,” Charlie said, interrupting me and we turned our attention immediately to the screens as we fell silent.

  The order had been given and a small group of black-clad acolytes ran up to the front entrance. A heavy wooden battering ram that had been improvised from one of the nearby trees, was pulled back and slammed forward with tremendous force.

  I watched with bated breath as the action was repeated, the door slowly buckling beneath the heavy blows before finally, it burst open, the lock torn from the frame. Those carrying the ram stepped aside as Isaac led his pe
ople inside.

  All was dark and silent within as the camera mounted on his helmet gave us a clear view of whatever he was looking at. His torch flicked on, the beam shining around an empty reception chamber.

  Orders were spoken and a small group of his people peeled off to what had been the changing rooms as he set of along the main corridor. Another group broke away, heading up the stairs as they passed them, but Isaac was focused fully on the double doors that led into the main hall.

  That was where the cultists had gathered to hear Sebastian speak. Where my children had sat upon thrones of living wood and bone, as I was forced to listen to his mad rants and long to hold my children for just one moment.

  I sucked in a breath, wiping sweaty palms on my jeans as I leant forward. Isaac’s hand reached for the door handle and he turned, looking back at his team, and revealing to us a corridor almost packed full of security personnel and acolytes.

  He spoke to this people, and while we couldn’t hear his words, I could see their effect. The people listening stood a little straighter, faces determined and losing the fear as they readied themselves for what was to come.

  Isaac was a leader they would follow because they knew that he would never ask them to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself. He was the first through the breach, and it was he that pulled open the door and charged inside.

  Someone gasped, and I thought for a moment it might have been me as I stared wide-eyed at the screen. Isaac skidded to a stop, his charge ending as he coughed, twisting away, and waving his people back.

  Their faces bore looks of horror and disgust. One man turned and bent over, losing the contents of his stomach on the floor which doubtless didn’t help with the stench as Isaac looked out over the hall and the hundreds of people, lying dead on the floor.

  “What the hell happened?” Cass asked, face aghast.

  I didn’t reply, for I had no words to give her. How could anyone understand how two hundred men and women could lock themselves in a building and take their own lives. Not only that but do it in such a way that they would not return as that which they hated the most. A zombie.

  Most of them had been kneeling, I saw, as Isaac walked amongst them. Each of them knelt with head bowed towards the two thrones that sat upon a raised platform at the end of the hall. They had knelt their as one of their number came along behind them and one after another, shoved a knife into the back of their skulls.