One leant against the rear wall of the hangar at the end of the row, a spiked helmet on his head and the usual armour covering torso, shoulders, and lower arms. All places the zombie liked to try and bite you.
I kept low, moving as quietly as I could through the long grass, hoping that any sounds that he heard he would put down to the gentle wind that was blowing.
Sweat beaded my brow and an ache began in my lower back as I kept crawling forward. When I reached the edge of the hangar where he lounged, I paused. He was looking out over the open ground to the south, past the fence towards the main runways.
Clearly, he didn’t anticipate an enemy within the compound which, frankly, was a mistake and one he paid for as I leapt up and sprinted the short distance between us. He was turning, mouth open in surprise as I sank my axe head into the side of his knee and my hand over his mouth as he tried to scream, collapsing to the ground.
His fist connected with my jaw as he sank his teeth into my hand. With a curse, I dropped my axe and pulled free my knife as my ears rung from a heavy blow. His eyes went wide as I stabbed up into his armpit, behind the armour breastplate he wore.
I stabbed a second time and then a third, as his struggles began to slow, blood pooling beneath him. With a final thrust into his neck, he stopped fighting and I pushed myself away from him.
Two down, twenty-some to go.
I rounded the corner and kept close to the hangar wall as I hurried to the front. Time was against me, with two bodies ready to reanimate, I needed to move fast. There were sentries seated upon the roof of hangar one and hangar six, neither of them would be a major problem so long as I didn’t stand out in the open where they could see me.
The guard standing beside the door to hangar eight was though. He crouched beside the door, yawning, and tossing pebbles idly as he waited out his time on watch. Breastplate, pauldrons, tyre vambraces and a heavy blade on his hip.
Burly enough that I didn’t want to go toe to toe with him, especially since my jaw already ached from the last guards blow. Which meant that I needed to do something a little different.
I bent down to grab a handful of the same pebbles that he was throwing, from where they nestled beside the hangar wall. I tossed one high over his head and it landed with a light clatter on the tarmac.
Another followed the first and his attention was caught, he first looked that way and then, as I tossed another, turned fully, and took a step forward, letting one hand rest on the hilt of his sword.
He was dead before he knew it and I held him as he kicked in his death throes, blood spilling down the front of his ridiculous and entirely ineffectual breastplate. I dragged him around the corner of the hangar and lowered him to the ground.
There would be no guards inside that hangar, just the two children and one of the women chosen to watch over them. I made sure the door was unlocked and then moved on to the next hangar. The great doors were half open so that those inside weren’t in absolute darkness and that suited me well enough.
I slipped through those doors and moved on silent feet through the open space. A dozen bedrolls lay spread out and each with two people lying, bodies entwined. From the corner came a soft grunting that didn’t drown out the occasional sob.
He would be first.
There was no need to let him reanimate and silence was the watchword. He lay atop a woman, hips thrusting, and sweat coating his skin. He was engrossed in his own animalistic desires and didn’t notice my approach.
The woman he was raping did and I held up one finger to my hood, where my mouth would be, to indicate silence. Her eyes were wide with fear, but she jerked her head in a silent nod as I reached forward.
I gripped his hair tight and pulled back his head. He barely had time to acknowledge the pain before my knife broke through the back of his skull with a crack of bone that was over loud in the open space of the hangar.
He collapsed atop her and I pulled him aside, gesturing to her once more for silence before I moved to the next bed. Blood spurted high into the air and I forced myself down on top of him, holding his limbs in place to prevent thrashing about as I kept his mouth covered with my other hand.
Only when he was still did I move, barely glancing at the woman pulling the covers up over her naked torso. Her eyes followed me as I rose up to my full height, revelling in the acts of murder that I was committing.
The urge to laugh was overwhelming, and I wanted to dance amongst the raiders, as I killed with reckless abandon, but I could not. I had a promise to keep and people to free.
Five were dead and there were many more to go.
Two more died without a sound, but the third let out a scream and I laughed aloud as I realised the time for silence was over. Men and women were waking around me, pushing aside blankets and reaching for weapons.
It wouldn’t be enough. The darkness was my home, and while they had to hold back their blows for fear of hitting a friend, I was surrounded by enemies and all I need do was kill any I came across.
My blade thrust deep into a man’s guts as he spun about, blade in hand, he coughed out his last breath as I sent him to the ground with a crushing blow from my axe. Then I began to move, almost dancing amongst the bedrolls, slashing and hacking as I went.
I raised my axe and the shadowed form before me dropped to its knees, dropping their head to look at the ground as they held out their hands as though in supplication. I passed them by and smashed my axe into the face of a man calling for answers.
Ten were dead, but five more were on their feet, naked but for the weapons they carried in their hands. Those who were captives were scrambling to flee as voices raised in anger were calling the alarm. I grinned behind my mask as those five made a semi-circle before me.
“Who the hell are you!” One called, sword wavering as he realised how many of his friends I had killed.
I didn’t answer, just leapt forward, brushing aside the sword that was thrust my way and slicing my blade across the man’s eyes as I spun away, laughing. I parried the next swing and sank my knife into the wielders chest before jumping back, out of their reach.
Another dying and one that had dropped his sword as he held both hands to his face, blood seeping through his fingers. That left three. I eyed them as they approached me cautiously. They were not so foolish as to rush in one at a time.
They rushed me together and I deflected one blade, swept the legs out from another of the raiders and cursed as pain blossomed in my upper arm. A scream as I responded with my axe, crashing through his defensive swing, and breaking through the bones of his face.
Fresh pain burst like fire along my back and I spun once more, staggering a little as I lost my footing. With only my knife, I faced the remaining two, one with sword raised and the other pushing himself back to his feet.
“You’re bleeding lad,” the one rising said with a snarl. “I can smell your blood.”
“I can’t see how,” I retorted. “Not over all that of your friends that I have spilt.”
“Fucker!” he rushed in, heedless of his companion’s yelp of surprise.
My shoulder hit the floor first as I dived to my right, tucking into a roll, and coming back up to my feet with a wince and one of the dead men’s swords in my hand. I flashed a grin that he couldn’t see as I parried a clumsy thrust with my new sword, the clang of metal on metal filling the space as voices outside grew louder.
Another thrust, this one not so clumsy and I ignored the stinging pain in my side as I replied with a thrust of my own, sliding past his guard and sinking the blade into his chest. I pulled it back as I faced the last.
“More of my guys coming,” he spat. “Will fuck you up for this!”
“I don’t think so,” I said, as a shadowed form rose up behind him, sword clenched tight in both hands.
The younger woman brought it down on his skull with all of her strength and his eyes rolled back as he took a staggered step forward, then went down to his knees. I almost giggled at the gurgl
e that came from his throat, then I stepped in and hammered my knife through his eye.
“You decided to fight,” I said.
“Bastard deserved it,” she said with a snarl of anger in her voice.
Around us, the other women were knelt with their heads bowed and hands out. I could practically smell their fear. The younger woman noticed my look.
“Yeah, I told them what to do.”
“Good.”
“There’s more coming.”
“Fifteen are dead by my count,” I said, laughing. “Leaves, what? Six of them?”
“Seven.”
A scream sounded from outside and I shook my head, laughing softly as a moan followed the scream.
“No, I’m pretty sure it’s six,” I said as she looked back over her shoulder at the open doors. “Get dressed and stay in here. Anyone but me comes in, you kill them.”
“What are you going to do?”
I pulled free my axe and took a moment to make sure that all of those I had killed in the hangar would not return as a zombie. Then, I looked at her.
“There’s still some to kill out there. Once I’m done, be ready to leave.”
“To go where?”
“Anywhere but here. There’s a dozen raiders out there who will be headed back anytime now. You don’t want to be here when they get back.”
I didn’t wait for a reply as I headed out into the darkness, ignoring my wounds as I went to finish what I had begun.
For the first time in a long and boring apocalypse, I was having fun and I wasn’t about to let a few minor cuts stop me. With that in mind, I laughed as I set off to find my next victim.
Chapter 24
A raider was down, his limbs trembling and twitching as his lifeblood spurted out from the whole where his nose had been. The zombie that had bitten him was being hacked to pieces by two more raiders as another zombie made its slow, stumbling way from out between two of the hangars, drawn by the noise.
Coming fast, was another raider, half dressed in just jeans and socks, he barely paused as he swung his sword, cutting deep into the neck of the zombie that had just arrived. He kicked it away as he pulled free his sword and swung it once more, taking away a good portion of the creature’s jaw.
The other two had finally finished their, rather pathetic, fight with the other zombie and turned their attention to the newcomer.
“Anyone on the radio?” the, somewhat more skilled, raider asked the other two.
“Yeah, Baz is sorting it,” one called.
“What the fuck’s happening?” the other asked.
“Damned it I know, boys. A better bloody question is where the hell is everyone?”
The three of them turned to stare at the hangar, not seeming to notice me as deep into the shadows as I was. The leader of the group gestured and the other two began to jog over, right towards me, their swords hanging loose in their hands.
I almost snickered as they passed me by, slowing to a stop as they approached the open doors. They stopped and peered in, as one of them raised his voice to call out.
“Hello?”
My knife sank into the side of the neck of the closest to me as my right arm swung around to bury the axe head into the skull of the other. I pulled free my weapons as they collapsed and spun to face the leader of the raiders.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“All of your people seem to ask me that same question,” I said. “But does it really matter?”
“Guess not.” He hefted the blade in his hand, eyeing me and gauging his chances. “They all dead?”
“Yes.”
“No chance you’d let me live?”
I tilted my head as I looked at him and snickered.
“Guess not,” he said.
He swung his blade, cutting air as he rolled his shoulders. A large man with a fair amount of muscle, he was clearly more adept with the silly swords they all carried. He nodded at the dying man behind me, who lay with hand pressed against his neck in a vain attempt to stop the blood gushing out.
“Gonna come back as a zombie.”
“Gives me the chance to kill him again.”
“Who the fuck are you? At least tell me that before I kill you.”
Another snicker as I gauged the distance between us, then I replied, “I’m death.”
I leapt forward, and barely caught his striking blade with my axe, deflecting it away from me. He was fast, but not fast enough as I left a burning red line across his chest as I spun away, circling him.
He swore and lashed out, missing me and over-extending. A stinging cut on his forearm was his reward for that.
“You’re too used to wearing your armour,” I noted, filing that fact away in my mind as it may prove useful later. “You left yourself exposed.”
No response, just another series of slashes and thrusts that I parried with both my blade and axe. Sweat coated me and I was beginning to breathe heavily as I continued to circle him, parrying his attacks as I sought an opening.
Another swing, caught on my axe handle, and I darted in, knife sinking into his side. He grunted, then snarled as his head slammed forward against my own and pain exploded through my skull as I recoiled.
I wasn’t fast enough in moving away and his sword bit deep into my side. I let my axe drop and grabbed his arm, holding it in place and preventing him from pulling it back as I shook my head to clear the tears from my eyes as I tasted the blood that was gushing from my nose.
His foot caught the side of my knee and it was my turn to grunt as it gave way beneath me, and I dropped to the tarmac, still holding his arm to prevent him from pulling it back.
“Pretty piss poor death,” he mocked.
I didn’t reply, just launched myself up and forward, my shoulder hitting his stomach and doubling him over. He lost his hold on the sword as he collapsed on top of me, and we both scrambled to get away from one another.
Bleeding and seeing flashes of light that accompanied every damned pulse of pain from my broken nose. I rose to my feet, his sword in my hand as I kept most of my weight on my good leg.
“Fuck!” he snapped, sucking in a deep breath. “You got me good.”
My only response was to thrust that blade of his straight into his mouth, wiping away the mocking grin as I leant forward with all of my weight pushing it through the back of his mouth and into the skull.
For a moment, I stood, regaining my breath as I remembered that there was one left. My vision darkened when I bent over to collect my weapons and I shook my head as I limped over to the main building that had the radio antennae on the roof.
I pushed open the door and rebounded from the wall as I stumbled. Blood loss was likely worse than I thought, but I would have time enough to see to them when I was done.
There was a light on in one of the rooms inside the building and I headed straight to that, stopping in the doorway to peer in. A man leant forward speaking into a microphone before a stack of radio equipment.
Maps and sheets of paper were stuck to the walls and I almost snorted as I realised that they denoted the various territories of the raider group and their neighbouring rivals.
“Boss! Boss, that you?”
“I’m here.”
That voice, I recognised it, though I couldn’t quite place from where. I leant forward, listening intently.
“It’s gone to shit, boss! They’re being slaughtered!”
“Who are?”
“The men! Something’s killing them all.”
“Control yourself and tell me what is happening.”
“Something killed two of our guys on the road. A dozen men went out to search but it was already in here! I think they’re all dead.”
There was a moments silence and the man sat at the desk fiddled with the wires of the microphone, his nervousness clear.
“A zombie?”
“I don’t fucking know! It’s not human, whatever it is!” He paused, as his voice cracked. “Please, boss. You gotta send he
lp!”
“We have no one who will reach you in time.”
Growing bored and feeling a trembling in my limbs as darkness edged my vision, I raised the axe high above my head and took the two steps to close the distance between us. The poor fool never even realised I was there as I brought that axe down on the top of his skull.
“When is the hunting party due back?” the voice on the radio asked.
Good question, and one I should have waited to hear the answer for before I killed the raider. Ah well.
“Answer me. Adams, answer me!”
I leant forward, pressing the button on the side of the microphone.
“Adam’s isn’t here anymore,” I said, voice low and as cold as ice.
There was silence for a long, drawn out moment and then, “Who the fuck’re you?”
I couldn’t help my snicker. It was a question they all wanted the answer to it seemed. I couldn’t place his voice and it was beginning to annoy me.
“I’m the monster that just wiped out this compound,” I said, into the microphone.
“Yeah? Well, get ready to die, fucker. I’m coming for you!”
“No,” I said. “You don’t understand how this works. I’m coming for you. I will teach you what fear is as I kill each and every one of your raiders, before finally giving you the sweet release of death.”
A longer silence then and when the voice spoke again, I could hear the doubt and confusion there.
“I know you, don’t I?”
“You should,” I said. “I’m death, and I’m coming for you all.”
Epilogue
I awoke feeling stiff and sore, but alive. Abigail had a deft touch with a needle and had proven herself useful once again as she tended my wounds. A good night’s sleep, and I was almost feeling myself.
Though not so much that I could dress quickly, and I had a slight limp as I left the room where I had made my bed. I limped along the corridor and pushed open the doors as I stepped out into the crisp morning air.
They were all waiting for me, huddled together as they beheld the wonder of my creation. I almost laughed at their expressions as they stared at the pile of severed heads that stood beside the door to the flight school building.
Killing The Dead | Book 21 | The Journey Home Page 18