Hounded | Book 3 | Hounded 3

by Douglas, Ellie

  “Look, it’s not that I don’t believe you… Okay, maybe I don’t fully, but at the same time, I do, otherwise we wouldn’t be down here. It’s just what you’re saying. What you’re suggesting is about as ludicrous as a cat flying a plane solo.”

  “Ever since I’ve known you, Millie, that’s been your biggest flaw. You don’t want to allow that brain of yours to accept anything new. I’m telling you that George is just the same as those damn zombie dogs, and you treat me as if I’m the insane one. You’ve been doing that to me since you married my brother. Well, I’m over it!”

  “What, like the time you called Nakos over to your house because you heard banging noises and believed someone was breaking in, when it just turned out to be two hedgehogs screwing against the side of your house? Or like the time you called Nakos because you were certain that someone was in your house? We all know how that turned out, right?”

  “Stop it, Millie, this isn’t fair. How was I to know that George had come home and made himself a coffee while I was sleeping off the worst flu ever? How? I really did think someone had broken in that day and was stalking me, making coffee as if to mock me.”

  “It didn’t stop there, though, Ankti. Ever since George took on the night job as head of security at the museum and wasn’t home, something changed in you, and every sound you heard twisted something inside your mind, convincing you that someone was there to harm you or God knows what. So yeah, forgive me if I find it hard to believe you now. I’m not entirely fobbing your story off. After all, there are zombie dogs, so what you’re saying could hold some truth. I just want to have Nakos here with me in case you’re right, so it should make you happy knowing that a small part of me actually does believe you.”

  “You’ll see. I’m not making this up.” Ankti fell onto a couch, folded her long legs across one another, twisted her hair between her fingers, and waited. Millie set Hope between the couch and a chair, tucked away and out of sight. Sitting down opposite Ankti, she crossed her legs. Uninterested in conversation, she sat with a magazine, flicking through the pages.

  Millie put that one down and grabbed another, then repeated this for an hour and a half before Nakos walked through the door. Instantly, Ankti bolted up, stood right in front of him and blurted out how she believed George was now a monster – a zombie!

  At one point, Millie squeezed Nakos’s arm, then retrieved Hope. She stood in the frame of light that cascaded from the curtainless window. The white dress she wore reflected the light in a way that cast an aura around her like an angel. Nakos couldn’t take his eyes off her. He ignored his sister’s rantings until she slapped him on the shoulder.

  “Nakos, are you listening to me?”

  “Sure, sure. What? Yes, of course, come on. Let’s go up and see what all the fuss is about.”

  “It’s not… Oh God, never mind. You’ll both see for yourselves soon enough.”

  Nakos stood at the bedroom door with his finger wrapped tightly around the trigger of his gun. He had no idea if she was over exaggerating again, like the many times she’d cried wolf before.

  But he knew one thing. The world as they’d known it was gone. Gone were the days of worrying about how to pay the next bill, where to park the car in the city, and what doctors were the best. Gone were what school to send your children to, what jobs were laying people off and which ones were hiring. All of that was gone – and now he had to face another, more terrifying world.

  This world was one where he had to be a protector of a much more ruthless nature, one that would see him as a killer in order to survive. His free hand encircled the doorknob. It was cool to the touch and fit snugly in his palm. He twisted it open.

  Ankti backed away from the door and retreated into the lounge area, looking wan and bleary-eyed. Millie was peering over Nakos’s shoulder. When he opened that door, the smell spewed out, hitting her insides like a rocket. She doubled over, holding back the bile that eroded the inside of her throat. Nakos closed the door, caught his breath, and shook the image from his mind.

  “Told you… I told you!” Ankti yelled from the lounge.

  Nakos could only nod as he faced having to kill George. Seeing him like that would forever torment his dreams. Those decaying arms, outstretched as though being controlled by a puppet master, with sores covering his entire body...

  “Oh Lord. His skin…” Nakos could be heard saying. His skin was charred as if he’d been inside a fire for days. Not the same color as truly charred skin, it was more brownish and blackish tinged with red flaming-hot areas, angry and weeping. “Dear God!” Nakos said again, bending over to catch his breath as though he’d just run fifty miles without stopping.

  “Shoot it!” cried Ankti. “Please, just shoot him before he eats us!”

  Nakos gathered his strength. Having to kill one of your own wasn’t easy. He looked over his shoulder at his wife, who was now in the lounge cradling the baby. It sparked the motivation he needed. His face turned purple with fury as he opened the door and shot zombie George in the face. As he spun around, the wound sprayed decaying teeth that peppered Nakos’s cheeks like shotgun pellets. Froth of curdled boils and blood went up into the air.

  Nakos quickly wiped the stuff from his face with the back of his muscular arm, leaving a long smear across it. Closing the door, he rushed to the bathroom, peeled off his blood-soaked clothing, and jumped straight into the shower without warming it up first.

  His body reacted with gooseflesh, prickling at his skin like a pincushion. He watched the blood pool go down the drain. He stayed under the water until every bit of putrid gunk had washed away. When he emerged into the lounge, Ankti was silently sitting on one of the bigger chairs. Millie was nursing Hope. No one knew what to say at first.

  “How did this happen?” Millie asked as she shifted Hope to her other breast.

  “I wish I knew… Bellamy said it could happen, but neither of us knew when. I had a fair bit of doubt. I should have listened to Bellamy. He said he’d seen a few, and I brushed it off after not seeing it happen to George. Then I completely forgot about it with everything that’s been going on around here. I blame myself. I should have taken George away. Jesus, he could have killed all of us.” Nakos shifted his eyes from Millie to the floor as they filled with liquid.

  “Oh, don’t blame yourself. Hell, if Bellamy had told me this, I’d be unbelieving for sure.” Millie said as she began to burp Hope.

  “That’s the problem with you, Millie. You never believe any damn new thing,” Ankti snorted.

  Nakos didn’t like his sister and wife fighting. They had always gotten along for his sake, but now with the world dying, it seemed that even he couldn’t stop them from bickering.

  Ankti was never convinced that Millie was a good enough wife for her brother, and Millie was threatened by Ankti’s constant in-your-face, overly protective older sister crap.

  “Okay, you two, enough! The world is screwed, and it don’t need you two fighting like spoiled teenagers, so get your shit together and stop it. We must band together, now more than ever.”

  Millie knew Nakos was right, and so did Ankti. It was something they’d have to work through. For now, they returned to being civil once more.

  Millie put Hope in her bassinet, and then sprawled out on the couch. She looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought. Ankti took herself to the kitchen. Putting the kettle on, she stood thinking with a very frustrated look on her face.

  “Where will I sleep now?” she called out.

  “Huh? You’ve been sleeping on the couch for the last three weeks.” That had made no sense to Nakos, what Ankti was rambling on about. He put it down to her being in shock. “I’ll get rid of the body, and you can move back in to that room,” Nakos said.

  “Yeah, but it’s going to stink. How will I sleep with that smell? And what if it’s infected, you know, like contagious?”

  “You can always move to another apartment,” Millie said, trying to be helpful in her tone rather than spiteful.
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br />   “How about we all move to another place to stay?” Nakos offered.

  “Sounds good to me. What will you do with George’s body?” Millie asked.

  “Leave it for now, and bury it tomorrow. Right now, though, it’s getting late and I’m already overtired, hungry, and sore.”

  “Sore?” Millie quizzed, with a look of concern spreading across her doll-like face.

  “Yeah, from the walking, shouldering that rifle, and climbing up and down the scaffolding. And mentally sore.”

  Nakos got up and began packing their things. Millie said no more. She helped pack up their stuff.

  “Why don’t you go find us somewhere to move to, while Millie and I finish packing?” Ankti suggested in a much calmer tone.

  “Okay.”

  Nakos left and returned half an hour later.

  “I’ve found an empty apartment at the end of this hall. It’s a three-bedroom, too, so plenty of room. Harry’s going to join us shortly with Keith, so we can get the stuff moved in quicker, and then we’ll take George’s body down. I thought it best before he stinks up the entire floor. Both Harry and Keith are keen on seeing what I told them about. Boy, are they in for a shock,” Nakos said as he began taking stuff to the new room.

  CHAPTER 15

  TIME TO GO!

  Abe pulled the bus in beside the truck. Not knowing what was going on, he cautiously exited the bus. A bunch of people rushed up to him and Stanley with outstretched arms, swamping them with hugs and kisses between the truck and bus.

  It was a good fifteen minutes before they departed and let them through. Introductions were made and Ethan shook Abe’s hand, congratulating him on his fine, fast thinking. He then went to shake Stanley’s hand. But Stanley brushed past him and angrily walked off.

  “Guess he don’t take too kindly to being thanked,” Ethan said despondently.

  “It’s more than that,” Abe said without enlightening him about what exactly he meant.

  All the commotion had stirred more zombie dogs that had found their way inside. Very quickly Oliver and Bellamy snuffed them out.

  “Best we make our way inside the school. We have much to discuss, and I can’t see a damn thing in the dark to access the damage,” Ethan said as he trotted off toward the school.

  Inside the school, a young woman by the name of Sara handed out bottles of water, some food, and blankets. Ethan had Rene fetch the remaining survivors to join them.

  Ethan was feeling lost. His little community of a hundred and thirty-three had dwindled down to fifty-three. After major discussions about their safety, it was decided that they’d all leave and make their new home in Sunset Valley. Bellamy had painted the picture so vividly that they were sold in the first ten minutes.

  “Sure, it needs some areas to be reinforced, but it’s safer than this town. No offense, Ethan.”

  “None taken, Bellamy. It would take a great deal to fix the damage done here, which I’ve yet to examine myself. Based on what I hear, they took out a massive chunk of wall.” Ethan smiled at Bellamy, sparking a new friendship that would blossom into the kind that only two brothers could relate to.

  The plan was complete. Come morning, everyone remaining would get on-board the truck and go to their new home. Ethan, Abe, Rene, Stanley, and five others would be driving the working vehicles and moveable equipment. Hank Phillips and Daren McFally, two men in their late forties and both ex-butchers, would be driving the two buses loaded with the sick and injured.

  They all worked fast. A few dogs entered and swiftly and permanently died. Milo consistently made odd noises, infuriating the rest and causing undue fear among the people.

  His mother constantly tried to distract him, but nothing worked until Ethan gave him two large boxes of clothespins. This kept Milo quiet on the trip to Sunset Valley and for the following four days, but then he ran out of pins.

  Ethan took Rene on a special trip to suss out more clothespins. Having learned from Nakos about Walmart, they arranged a trip there to gather more supplies. Harry and Nakos joined up with Ethan and Rene.

  They returned seven hours later. Ethan gave Milo twenty boxes filled with clothespins, keeping a further eighty boxes aside for when they were needed. He didn’t know what he’d do when all those were gone. He was hoping they could recycle the ones he’d already used.

  ***

  Over the course of two months, they reinforced the weak spots, holes, and rotten fencing around the town. Now it was more secure, and manned day and night by able watchmen.

  Timothy grew closer with Anya and soon their friendship grew into something more, though neither of them would advance on it. They just made eye contact, giggled, and tickled one another as they spent more and more time together.

  Often, they were seen sneaking off behind buildings. Calloway assumed they were making out like typical teenagers. He was just grateful that his son had found someone his own age to get along with.

  Julie was happy to see her son finding happiness in the darkness that their world had become. While her OCD and intrusive thoughts plagued her, she found solace in Callaway’s comforting words.

  Shadow kept to herself, though Lily had noticed her keenness to hang around Ethan. She literally shadowed him. Wherever he went, she’d follow. It had annoyed him at first.

  Lily soon learned that Ethan didn’t mind Shadow following him around now, and that he’d actually grown to like it. He confided in Bellamy, and told him he’d grown so accustomed to Shadow’s ways that he expected it and looked forward to her company.

  It made him feel needed. After losing his wife Rebecca, he was finally starting to come out of his shell. It was all thanks to Shadow and her behavior around him.

  Kara tried to mingle with the others, but she found it hard, having been suppressed by her former husband Pete. Kara had no previous friendships, as she hadn’t been allowed.

  With Pete gone, she was free to form friendships. But she struggled with it, so she was finding herself somewhat lost. Her son Ronan chummed up a friendship with Milo, though Ronan didn’t understand why Milo repeated whatever he said.

  Kara tried her best to explain, but he didn’t really understand. He’d go with Milo and pin up areas around the town, and then he’d run off and Milo would chase him.

  Some of the other little ones joined in, sparking a new happy sound that filtered through the town.

  CHAPTER 16

  THE UNDEAD ARE NOT THE ONLY ENEMY

  Hank Phillips and Daren McFally were manning the watchtowers up front, one on either side of the entrance to the town. A red light ran up the length of Daren’s body and settled on his head. Pop! Like a balloon, Daren’s head exploded backward, leaving a gaping hole and rendering him faceless and lifeless. He dropped like a suit off a hanger.

  Before Hank could sound the alarm, he was shot in the head by another silenced rifle. He toppled headfirst over the banister from his watchtower, hitting the dusty gravel like a sack of potatoes. Had anyone been close by, they would have heard his bones snapping like twigs. A Humvee shot through the entrance with a heavily armed man atop it, who took out the next pair of watchmen. Two more Humvees followed, all armed to the hilt.

  Harry was first to see them speeding through the center of town. Racing back on foot to the hotel, he rounded up Nakos, Bellamy, Calloway, and Keith. They armed themselves for a showdown. Hiding within the entrance of the hotel, they waited with guns ready.

  Keith’s mouth drew downward and gaped widely. Never in a million years did he imagine a dying world would be filled with madmen. The Humvee skidded to a halt right outside the entrance. The occupants had automatic weapons in hand.

  Three of them stepped out, leaving one atop like a crazed banshee, ready to shoot at anything moving. Four pissed-off faces on men wielding weapons Keith had only seen in movies. He automatically shot, skimming the arm of one of them.

  Clarke stepped ahead of the other two, a Colt Python revolver in each hand, with a stance like a professional shooter. Hi
s face was round with dark and dirty blond hair shaved at the sides, and he was wearing thick armor that Bellamy recognized as military.

  He spoke, or rather screamed, “Shoot at us again and I’ll burn you all to the ground! Hand over your leader! I want to talk trade.”

  Oliver had joined them and was looking at Bellamy for a signal to fire, but he never got one. Bellamy saw out of the corner of his eyes three more Humvees and several motorbikes, which had descended on other parts of the town. They were surrounded. It wouldn’t take much for this gang to annihilate them all. Bellamy pointed at the man’s chest. Oliver followed his sight and saw the bulging grenades.

  “We got no choice, these shitbags mean business. Get the women and children up to the fifth floor!” Bellamy ordered Nakos, Calloway, and Oliver to go, and gave them a minute before he spoke with the armed thug.

  “What is it you want?” Bellamy called out.

  “We want this here town and all your weapons, and leave your women here,” said the man known as Clarke, chuckling sardonically. He stood with the poised animal patience of a predator, watching the hotel with dark glaring eyes.

  “No exit out back, Clarke, just the forest,” Dale informed Clarke. Clarke gave Dale a nod and stood facing the hotel entrance wearing a depraved smirk.

  Bellamy’s heart jumped a feverish beat. He gripped his Glock so tightly it dug into his palm. His face had contorted into an angry scowl with a purplish glow. He was thinking, and apparently taking too long.

  “If ya don’t hand over yer leader, I’m coming in with guns blazing, ya hear me?” Clarke demanded in a rage, with a fierceness in his voice that matched that of a titan bellowing.

  “We’re getting him, asshole,” Harry called out, his eyes falling on Bellamy and giving him a What the fuck we gonna do? look.