Killing The Dead 9 (Season 2 | Book 3): Family Matters

by Richard Murray

  “Aye, aye,” she said and the drone dropped down once more, music blaring from it.

  “Where are the Ferals?” I wondered as the fresh slaughter of the undead began again in the courtyard. I pushed myself up and away from the parapet and crossed to the other side.

  The crowd of undead that had filled the area around the walls of the castle had definitely thinned. Around the edges, the Ferals were moving. Running, occasionally on all fours, they snapped and snarled at the Shamblers, forcing them to move towards the bridge and into the castle.

  Why? I wondered as I spied a group of zombies, crouched at the back of the crowd. They weren’t moving, weren’t doing much of anything but watching as the trailing edges of the Shamblers headed towards the bridge.

  As I watched them, the music cut off and the drone shot back up into the air. I glanced at Charlie who shrugged at me. “Getting low on power. Can do this once more… maybe.”

  I nodded, not really listening as I puzzled over the strange behaviour of the undead. The ones that had been herding the others, had joined the silent crowd and they stood or crouched together, watching.

  Oh no! I thought as I realised what they were doing. Sending in the shamblers, forcing us to use all our energies fighting them until, near exhausted, the Ferals would come. Like a pack of jackals, they were waiting for the right moment, when we were at our weakest.

  “Drop the drone,” I yelled at Charlie as they began to move.

  She took her eyes from the controller and stared at me as she heard the near panic in my voice but she did as I said. The drone dropped low over the bridge, music blaring as the first of the Ferals set foot on the wooden planks.

  It didn’t stop, didn’t look at the drone, just kept straight on running and I pushed myself away from the parapet to rush across to the opposite side and scream down into the courtyard.

  “Ferals!”

  Chapter 24 – Ryan

  Another voice cried out, another of the sanctuary residents died and I stepped into the gap made and stabbed my knife blade through an eye socket before swinging my axe and almost severing the neck of a zombie.

  I stepped away, as those people to either side closed the gap between them and wiped at the mix of sweat and rainwater that ran down my face. The distant sound of music ended and I exhaled slowly as I looked to the gates.

  More undead were coming, less perhaps than the last two waves, but enough. We were running out of energy and the Ferals had yet to make an appearance. I caught Pat's eyes as he glanced my way and gestured.

  “You good?” he asked as he trotted up.

  “We may have to retreat inside,” I said and he blinked. Not what he’d expected me to say.

  “They barricaded themselves in.”

  “Head back to the doors and get their attention,” I said. “Make them clear a way so that if we need to we can get in.”

  “Sure,” he said as he ran back towards the large stone building.

  I looked along the line of people and saw Cass. She was using that same wooden club she’d brought from the island to good effect. A pile of bodies lay on the ground before her and I smiled as I jogged over to her.

  Jinx dashed past as I reached Cass and I watched the canine leap and tear out the throat of a zombie that had leaned over the barrier. It didn’t stop it but was enough of a distraction that the person next to it could stab a blade through its temple.

  “Go to the watchtower,” I said to Cass who looked at me in surprise.

  “What?”

  “Lily and Charlie are up there. Alone,” I said. “If we need to retreat…”

  A cry came from above and I looked up to see Lily, pale-faced, leaning over the parapet of the tower and pointing back beyond the castle. “Ferals!” she repeated and I resisted the urge to swear.

  “Get to that tower and secure the door from inside,” I snapped. “No time to argue, do it.”

  Cass didn’t hesitate, she ran for the door and I followed close behind. The Ferals were coming through the gate as I reached it and put Cass and Lily from my mind as the first one leapt at me.

  I dropped to one knee, axe sweeping up to catch it square in the gut. I followed through, the axe swing dragging the Feral to the ground where I could stab it in the head as it scrambled to free itself. Rising to my feet, I dragged free the axe and jumped to the side as two more came for me.

  Screams sounded as the Ferals bounded over the corpses, barely pausing. They leapt over the barricade, straight at the exhausted people. I swore as those closest to the gate died, each buried beneath a pile of Ferals.

  My axe cut the air as I swung around, catching a Feral square in the face. It dropped to the ground, dragging the axe from my hand as another collided with me. Claw-like hands raked my jacket as its teeth snapped at my face, foul breath making me gag.

  I stabbed repeatedly with my knife, the blade cutting through cheek, neck and finally skull, blood spurting from the wounds to cover me as it collapsed atop me. I heaved it off of me and rolled to the side before climbing to my feet.

  All around was chaos, the barricades forming the corridor had been deserted as the people ran full tilt to the main hall. A Feral leapt on the back of a woman, dragging her to the ground where it began to tear at her flesh, others joining it in its feast.

  A man I recognised as part of Caleb's group, swung wildly with his club and managed to crack the skull of one before another two leapt on him from either side. He screamed as they ripped into his flesh.

  Jinx snapped and snarled at a zombie that had managed to catch her by the tail and I ran towards her, my hand grasping the haft of my axe and dragging it clear of the dead zombie as I passed. I swung it overhead and brought it down on top of the Ferals skull. It shuddered and released its hold on her as it fell and I set one foot against its chest and pulled the axe free.

  We’d lost. I could see that clearly as I cast my gaze around. The courtyard was a charnel house with small clusters of the undead feasting on the fallen while the majority were attacking those trying to push their way through the tea room doors.

  “Behind you!” Lily screamed and I spun on my heel, the axe swinging up across my body to catch a Feral beneath the chin. Blood and bone flew fee as it was catapulted backwards, only to climb to its feet, the bottom half of its face missing.

  I grinned as it raced at me and swept the axe across its path, low, taking out its legs at the knees and I stabbed down with my knife and ended its life. Jinx growled and I turned to see four more approaching.

  So be it, I thought as I prepared to sell myself dearly.

  The drone swooped down before them, striking one in the face and knocking it to the ground at the feet of the others. Two stumbled as the final one hopped over and ran at me on all fours. It leapt as I side stepped, my axe swinging down to catch it across the centre of its back, severing the spine.

  It flopped on the floor, legs unmoving but arms scrabbling against the stone as it tried to pull its way towards me and I ignored it as I ran at the others.

  My first swing cut the head clean off the first of the three as it rose to its feet and I reversed the swing to bring it down on the next, catching its shoulder and almost severing an arm. Jinx leapt at the third and savaged its throat as it tore at her sides with its claws and I plunged my dagger through the skull of the one I’d damaged.

  As soon as I pulled back my knife I turned to the one attacking the dog and thrust the blade through its temple.

  Jinx released her hold on its neck and looked up at me with pain filled eyes. Time to go, I thought as I looked back to the main hall.

  The battle was over, the undead were trying to force their way in, the Ferals and remaining Shamblers gathered together there. Well, the ones that weren’t busy tearing strips of flesh from those they’d already killed at least.

  A nearby Feral looked up and caught my eye, blood and flesh hanging from its chin. Apparently, I was more appetizing as it rose to its feet and ran at me. It fell before my axe an
d with nowhere else to go, I ran for the watch towers.

  The door opened as I approached and Cass stood there, club held ready in case there were any undead near. I pushed past her and the door slammed shut behind us, barely missing the dog’s tail. She pulled the iron locking bolt across the door and looked at me in the dim light of the stairwell.

  “Where’s Pat and Gregg?”

  I shrugged, too weary to answer and her red-rimmed eyes narrowed. She nodded curtly, seeming to understand and turned to walk back up the stairs. I leaned back against the door as I regained my breath. We’d failed fairly spectacularly and the Sanctuary was dead.

  Chapter 25 – Lily

  The courtyard was quiet and almost still. The few remaining Shamblers had been herded into a group by the far wall and two Ferals stayed close by to snap and snarl if any tried to move. The barricades that had formed the corridor we’d funnelled the dead through were breached in several places and bodies were piled up along its length.

  I kept scanning those other bodies, the ones that hadn’t belonged to the undead, searching each face to see if it was someone I recognised. One of my friends.

  Behind me, Cass wept. She refused to look, lest she see the face of her brother or her lover, the father of her unborn child. Jinx sat beside her, alternating licking at her own still weeping wounds and nuzzling at Cass’s arm. Charlie ignored the rest of us and kept fiddling with the controller, hoping to get her drone back up into the air.

  “You need to stop looking,” Ryan said. He sat with his back against the wall beside me, his axe on the floor beside him and his eyes distant, much like his tone. He didn’t take well to failure.

  “I can’t,” I said.

  If I stopped, if I took my gaze from the courtyard then I might never know. The Ferals were feasting and here and there, a once still body began to twitch as it prepared to rise as one of the very creatures it had died fighting.

  “The tearoom doors have held,” I said and he grunted.

  A crescent of bodies lay before the doors and the Ferals were feasting well there. The survivors had made it inside and had killed a great many of the undead as they did so, but at a massive cost. Far too many of those bodies had belonged to the people of the Sanctuary and Caleb's group.

  Occasionally one or more of the Ferals would rise from its feast, blood smeared across its mouth and chin and take a swipe at the door. It had little real effect, but I suspected it was more than just testing the defences. It seemed almost like a reminder to those inside, to make them scared.

  They didn’t seem perturbed by the rain or the wind like the Shamblers were. They ignored it much as they’d ignored the drone that had worked so well to distract the slower ones. For the first time, I truly understood that irritating itch to know that Ryan talked about.

  Of course, he’d kept a captured a group of zombies and ‘experimented’ with them to test out his theories which was something I didn’t plan on doing. I really did want to know what made those Ferals so different though.

  I finished yet another sweep of the bodies and sighed. I couldn’t see any of my friends but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. The doors to the tea room held, but no one moved inside which could mean anything.

  The door to the well room was shut so someone could be hiding in there and we’d never know and on the far side of the courtyard, the green corsa that Ryan and Gregg had returned in sat untouched by the zombies up against the far wall.

  “Wait…” I said as I leaned further over the parapet, gritting my teeth against the pain in my stomach.

  “What?” Ryan asked, finally turning his head to look my way and the faintest spark of curiosity appearing in his eyes.

  “There’s someone in the car.”

  He pushed himself to his feet and leaned on the rough stone next to me, his eyes narrowed as he tried to focus on the car. There, just barely visible between the front seats, was a flash of colour.

  “That woman,” he said and I glanced at him.

  “Which woman?”

  “The one with the new age clothes, blonde, you were with her when I got here.”

  “Georgia,” Charlie said without looking up. “The chick you were flirting with.”

  “Flirting with?” I asked.

  “Apparently,” he grunted without looking at me. “She must have hidden in there when everyone ran.”

  “So how do we get her out?” He was flirting with someone?

  “Why would we need to?”

  “She’s stuck down there, all alone and at any moment if one of those Ferals goes past they might see her,” I said to him and he turned to me. A look of puzzlement on his face that he tended to wear when he couldn’t quite understand why he should be doing something, but would do it anyway. Because it pleased me.

  “Fine,” he said with a low sigh.

  He leaned out over the parapet, his feet rising from the floor as he stretched as far as he could without falling, his eyes following the wall from where it connected with the tower, all the way along to the south. It was barely two feet wide and looked to be crumbling in places.

  I knew he wouldn’t fall, I told myself he wouldn’t fall and I grabbed his belt anyway. He looked back and grinned, seeming to understand why I was holding on to him and amused by it. I almost let go.

  “Okay, I can probably make it along the wall to where the car is,” he said. “The problem is, they’ll see me and all I’ll end up doing is drawing their attention to her.”

  “So what do we do?”

  He looked to the car and down into the courtyard, then back at me and shook his head. “Do you really want to do this?”

  “Yes,” I said. But we’ll talk about this flirting later.

  “Right then. Great.” He crossed the watchtower to Cass and stopped beside her, she looked up and wiped at her eyes with her hands. “You done?”

  “Ryan!” I snapped and he waved me away as he looked down at Cass.

  “This isn’t the time to weep,” he said as she sniffed and wiped at her face. “I need your help.”

  “With what?” she asked.

  “No,” I said. “It’s fine Cass, you don’t need to.”

  “It’s okay,” she said and managed to force a faint smile. “I need to do something.”

  “Good. I’m going to go that way,” he pointed at the opposite watchtower and the wall that led to the south-east corner of the castle. It was mostly intact most of its length. “I should draw most of them with me which gives you a chance to go along the opposite wall and get to the car.”

  “How’re you getting across to the other watchtower?” I asked as Cass reached up to grasp the parapet and pulled herself to her feet.

  He shrugged and looked over the side of the tower. A far too slim bridge of stone connected the two towers several feet below the level of the parapet. He’d have to lower himself down to it, maintain his balance in the wind and rain as he crossed it and climb up the other side.

  “Looks, like I’m walking across that,” he said and I shook my head.

  “No. Too bloody dangerous.”

  “Not much choice if you want to help the woman in that car,” he said. “Besides, they’re going to stop eating soon and we’ll need to deal with them. The more people up here when they break down that door, the better.”

  He was right and I knew it. The only way for him not to risk himself was to not do it and that would leave Georgia in trouble. Not for the first time that day, I cursed myself for being so useless. I could barely walk though, let along climb down to the wall and make my way along its length.

  “Be careful,” I implored weakly.

  He flashed me a grin and picked up his axe before climbing onto the Parapet. He sat down and swung his legs out over the side before turning and slowly lowering himself. I held my breath as he dropped from view and then moments later, he jumped and caught the parapet of the opposite tower before pulling himself up.

  “My turn,” Cass murmured as she climbed onto the
parapet.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah I’m fine,” she said. “Probably hormones more than anything. I’m sure they’re both ok.”

  A piercing whistle sounded and I looked over to see Ryan walking along the wall, arms outstretched and axe in one hand, knife in the other. The wind ruffled his hair and the rain soaked his skin. I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

  Several of the Ferals took cautious steps towards him, heads cocked to one side as though listening. It occurred to me, that their eyesight wasn’t great at the best of times and they wouldn’t be able to smell much in the rain. That was an advantage.

  I looked the other way to see Cass crawling slowly along the wall. Every gust of wind made her wobble and she wore a grimace as she looked back at the watch tower.

  Back in the courtyard, more of the Ferals were moving away from their meal with each whistle leaving just a few before the tearoom doors. I watched them closely hoping for a glimpse of movement within and as Ryan whistled again, a face appeared.

  It was there for a second only and gone before the Ferals noticed, but it was Pat. I was sure of it and I turned to Cass, desperate to let her know he was alive. She didn’t look back though and I clenched my fists in desperation.

  Ryan whistled once more and I glanced his way. He’d gone as far as he could along the crumbled walls and stood above the Ferals, staring down at them fifteen feet below in the courtyard. He seemed to be talking to them, but I couldn’t hear the words.

  The closest Feral growled and pawed at the brickwork, actually managing to get a handhold and haul itself up a short way before falling back as the rest milled around. Ryan frowned and looked to his left, to the crumbling remains of the wall that was several feet lower than the part he stood on.

  At the same time, the Ferals seemed to notice too and several moved that way, hands reaching for the brickwork, seeking handholds.

  I swore and turned to Cass. She was barely half way and there was no movement in the car. I wanted to shout, to scream at her to move faster but it wouldn’t help. I looked helplessly over to Ryan and my stomach lurched.