Killing The Dead (Book 15): The Gathering Storm

by Murray, Richard

  The marines standing watch beside the door stood to full attention and saluted as we approached. The salutes were for me but the looks of respect were for my guards. One of them pulled open the door and Lisa increased her pace to ensure she went through first.

  She waved the rest of us forward as soon as she was inside and sure there was no immediate trap. A little too cautious for me, but it made her happy and I was in no real rush to attend the meeting.

  We followed her up the stairs and through the door at the top into the C&C room. In just a few days it had been slowly transforming from the drone control room it had been, into a full-blown command centre for the island.

  Desks had been set up with actual working computers on them and navy personnel seated before them, working away. Several desks had been placed together to form a large rectangle in the centre of the room on which dozens of maps had been laid out.

  Admiral Stuart was standing at one end, hands on the table as he leant over a map nodding his head now and again as an aide spoke quietly to him. The aide looked up as we approached and said something to the admiral before she stepped back, saluted and hurried away.

  “My Lady,” Admiral Stuart said in greeting and I let out a groan.

  “Not you too.”

  “I could refer to you as, your majesty, if you like.” There was a spark of humour in his eyes as he said that and I shook my head.

  “We need to sort that.”

  “People need a clear hierarchy,” he said with a shrug. “Everyone knows you’re in charge but without a title, they are starting to figure out one of their own.”

  There wasn’t much to say about that. I fully intended to step aside once everyone was safe. There would be democratic elections and everyone would be able to have their say in how we wanted to grow as a people.

  It was silly, but I couldn’t shake the thought that if I gave myself a title, it would become permanent. I would be Dictator Lily forever more and whoever came after me would fall into that same role.

  I didn’t want that. I wanted a world where people were free and while that meant I needed to be a bit of a dictator for the moment, I didn’t want that to last. The world was changing and it would be very easy to make mistakes that would affect generations to come.

  So, I would refuse all titles and be as impermanent as possible.

  “What do we have,” I said, changing the subject. Admiral Stuart smiled in a way that said he understood my sudden change and waved at the map before him.

  “This is the area where Ryan and Gregg currently are. According to the last contact, they found a community here.” His finger stabbed down on a small area near Loch Tay. “Now from what they have said, this community have cattle and sheep that they would be willing to trade.”

  “Which would be incredible,” I admitted. “If we have somewhere we can start breeding them anyway.”

  “Absolutely. It’s a start though and a good indication of what we will find when we encounter other survivor groups. These have animals, we can produce fuel and metal work, other groups might have goods or skills they trade us.”

  “It’s an exciting idea.” I moved around the table to stand beside him and look down at the map. “Can we get there to trade with them though?”

  There was Perth not too far to the south-east and further north-east from there was Dundee. Neither of which were insubstantial and that was a lot of zombies to deal with.

  “The airstrip, here.” His finger pressed down on an area just north and slightly east of Perth. “If we can secure it, then we will be able to possibly get more planes up and running. We can have people airlifted in and out as we please.”

  “What about the zombies?”

  “According to that strange man we have studying the Reapers, the Shamblers will die out in another year or so.”

  That was an interesting thought and I’d not been informed of that. Of course, I’d been so busy that I had a stack of reports in my room that I had yet to read.

  “Where is the location of this research facility?”

  “Here.”

  His pointed to a place north-west from the airport and I looked up in surprise. It wasn’t far at all if my reading of the map was right. The admiral nodded.

  “Barely 20 miles.”

  “If they find these researchers, in a couple of days they will be at the airport?”

  “All being well, yes.”

  “What about transport?”

  “If the runway is clear, and it is a big if, then we will be able to send the larger of our two planes.”

  “Which can hold, what?”

  “Sixty people, more if you are not so concerned about comfort.”

  “We need to send some soldiers then and supplies. We can start securing it now.”

  “I would recommend we send a few soldiers in case we need to defend the plane but it is a little premature to talk of securing it.”

  “Why?”

  “We need every available soldier for the attack on the Isle of Man and, to be frank, we have no idea how much attention the plane’s arrival will bring. If a horde of undead are drawn there by the sound, any soldiers we leave there will be overrun.”

  He had a point but, still, it rankled.

  “Fine. I see your point and I’ll accede to your expertise.”

  The admiral nodded his thanks, a slight smile playing on his lips. I was about to speak when Charlie called out.

  “Yo, boss lady. Got your man on the line.”

  “What? Ryan?”

  “Yeah, they’re close to their destination.”

  I hurried across to where she sat with the radio and reached out eagerly for the receiver. With the way things had been going of late, I had a desperate need to hear his voice, to speak with him.

  “Ryan? Hello?”

  “Hello, Lily.”

  My heart beat just a little faster at the sound of his voice. He was alive and safe enough to set up the radio. I closed my eyes and leant back against the desk.

  “We need to keep this short.” That killed me to say, but it was true. “Are you there?”

  “Almost. We’re in the general vicinity. You need to know, there are Damned in residence.”

  Damned. Not Scourge. That meant people, raiders most likely. For Ryan and his people, there were four classifications. The Living, those they needed to protect. The Dead, themselves, obviously. The Scourge were the undead and the Damned, were those people who preyed on the Living.

  That was a problem.

  “The targets should be secure,” I told him.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes. They took measures to hide their location. A false wall on the lowest level. Door code, nine-nine-eight-three.” They would still need to get to that bloody false door though. I chewed on my lip. “Contact us when you are close to the extraction point.”

  “Will do.”

  I hesitated and then said, ”Ryan?”

  “Yes?”

  “Be safe and come back to us.”

  “I always do.”

  So much confidence in his voice. I could have screamed at him for it. He was too confident and I was very much terrified that it would be the death of him.

  “Cocky bastard,” Charlie said and I laughed.

  Yes, he certainly was. But cockiness wouldn’t help if the airfield wasn’t usable.

  Chapter 17

  “You didn’t bother mentioning me then?” Gregg asked around a mouthful of beef sandwich that he had saved from the previous day's lunch.

  “Why would I mention you?”

  “So she knows that I’m still alive, maybe?”

  “If you had died then I would have mentioned that. Since I didn’t, it stands to reason you’re alive. Stating that would be redundant.”

  “Maybe she would like to hear that I’m alive though and not have to guess.”

  “If she wanted to know she would have asked.”

  He gave me a hurt look at that. “Ouch, mate. That was low.
”

  “It was?”

  He didn’t reply, just gave me another hurt look and went back to finishing his sandwich. I was impressed that he’d made it last so long. I’d eaten mine the day before as we rowed down the river. We’d spent an uncomfortable night on a small wooded island that was barely five feet wide and spent the morning rowing in the rain.

  With some sleep and a change of bandages I felt utterly miserable instead of In extreme agony and if not for the possibility of murder, would have just given up on the entire damned expedition.

  About a kilometre downstream and around a river bend was Dunkeld. We’d need to pass through to keep travelling south but that would come later. Before then, there was a secure compound full of raiders to kill.

  The horde of undead had followed the road out of Aberfeldy and since it seemed to be the only road, were not that far behind us. Any distance we had gained by using the river, we had lost by having to sleep while they didn’t.

  Not that it mattered. They would serve my purpose well enough. We were hidden by a screen of bushes so I wasn’t concerned about being seen but the raiders, if they had any sense, would have people watching the roads and would see the undead.

  It would stand to reason that they would then send a runner along the road to Dunkeld to warn any of the people they had there. Then, they could all hide away and let the horde carry on its merry way and come out once the zombies had gone past.

  What we needed to do then, was give the zombies a reason to head into the heavily wooded area that surrounded the compound and go straight up to its doors. The raiders could expend their ammunition on the zombies and with them distracted, we could sneak inside.

  Or so I hoped.

  “Heads up,” I said as I caught sight of a man headed our way.

  Gregg grunted and pulled free his knife and carefully parted the branches of the bush that we were hidden behind.

  “You sure about this mate?”

  “Yes.”

  “Bloody great.”

  The man jogging our way was young, perhaps mid-twenties and covered in tattoos. Clearly low down in the pecking order if he was the one sent to run between the town and base. His clothes were worn and filthy with all manner of stains.

  I grinned at Gregg.

  “Have fun.”

  He gave me a sour look in return and rose to a crouch, waiting and counting in his head, then he leapt. Through the bush and down onto the running man as he passed below us. The two went down hard and I almost laughed as I made a slower descent.

  Gregg and the man were scuffling, limbs flailing and neither in any position to do much more than throw ineffectual fists at each other. I shook my head and approached slowly. They didn’t seem to notice my approach.

  The raider hooked his leg around Gregg’s waist and twisted his body, throwing him to the side and rolling on top of him. He pulled back his fist, ready to strike and stopped as I pressed my bared blade against his neck.

  “Fuck.”

  “Yes,” I agreed. “Not get off my friend, slowly.”

  He did as instructed, raising his hands to either side to show they were empty. I took no chances and ensured my blade didn’t break contact with his skin for a moment. If he jerked away, kicked out or tried to attack me, he would slice his own throat open in the process.

  “You know who you’re fucking with?”

  “I don’t really care,” I replied as Gregg pushed himself to his feet and quickly divested our captive of his weapons.

  He lifted a long-bladed knife from the man's belt and a pair of bronze knuckledusters from a pocket. The man gave a grunt as a small packet of pills was taken from another pocket in his dirty jeans.

  “Those are mine, man!”

  “What are they?” Gregg asked looking at them.

  “Codeine. Just a little something to take the edge off. I fucking earned them!”

  “Oh, how?” I asked and he didn’t reply.

  I could guess but I wasn’t really that interested. In the far distance, I could see the first of the Shamblers moving towards us. Still a fair distance off, but coming closer.

  “Hands,” Gregg said curtly. There was a growing bruise on his cheek where the other man had got a good hit in.

  Our captive put his hands together in front of him and Gregg quickly tied them together. He probably thought he was being clever having his hands tied in front rather than behind, but he’d soon learn that it wouldn’t matter.

  I placed one hand on the back of his filth-encrusted jacket and made a moue of distaste as I pushed him forward.

  “What the hell! That’s towards the fucking zombies, man!”

  “And towards your base,” Gregg grunted.

  He gave me a sour look that I ignored. He knew the plan and didn’t agree with it but hadn’t a better idea. Besides, he knew the sort of men we were facing and had little real interest in their welfare.

  We walked a little way along the road until we approached the rough area where our captive had come out of the trees. There was a road that led away into them and turned away to the south. I suspected that was why he had come through the trees. Quicker than following the private road.

  “Tell us about your base,” I said as we stopped at the intersection.

  “Fuck you.”

  Gregg raised an eyebrow at that and shook his head. “I don’t want to see this. Do you need me?”

  “Yes.” I tightened my hold on the back of the captives filthy shirt and kicked the back of his legs. He went down to his knees with a grunt and looked up at me with wild eyes filling with terror. “Now, tell me about your base.”

  “N-no.”

  With a look of disgust, Gregg stepped up and pressed his hand over the man’s mouth to stifle his cries and I reached down with the blade and sliced open his cheek. He shrieked and thrashed around in our grasp.

  I waited for him to slow, keeping an eye on the approaching zombies and nodded for Gregg to remove his hand from the man's mouth.

  “Now,” I said in a conversational tone. “Feel free to cry out and alert your friends. I’m sure some of them will come running and I will slice your throat open and try again with them. You understand?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “Good. So, again, tell me about your base.”

  “What d-do you want to k-know?”

  “How many of you are there?”

  “T-twenty-six, no wait, twenty-seven.”

  Not a great number to face, but doable if I were careful.

  “Tell us about the layout.”

  “Stone wall all around it and a big building in the centre. There’s just grass there and nowhere to hide. You won’t get in.”

  “How high is the wall?”

  “Ten foot, maybe. Fuck man, my face hurts.”

  Okay, not ideal, but again, I could work with that.

  “Just the one gate?”

  “Y-yeah.”

  “This road lead to it?”

  He just nodded and I shared a look with Gregg who shrugged.

  “We can go around back and while they’re distracted, try climbing the wall.”

  The zombies were coming ever closer and it wouldn’t be long before they saw us. Hundreds of the damned things. I didn’t want to have too many head towards the base and I did want some to keep on walking to the town to wipe out any raiders there.

  “Move further up the road.”

  We pulled the captive to his feet and headed along the road, stopping before the turn-off and stepping into the shadows of the trees. Once again, I forced the man to his knees and held him there.

  “Tell me about the main building.”

  He began to talk and I half-listened as I watched the road. The moans were becoming louder and it wasn’t long before the first of them appeared in view. They didn’t so much as turn their heads; just kept shambling on along the road.

  I watched them, waiting as patiently as I could. There was no way for them to enter the trees as there was a slight rise to
climb to get in amongst them. That meant they were restricted to the road only and that made things a great deal easier for us.

  “Any more questions, mate?”

  “Yes.” I turned my attention back to the captive. “How many people have you killed or raped?”

  “W-what?”

  “A simple question. Do you have prisoners back at your base that you abuse? A band of men like yourself wouldn’t be content with pleasuring yourselves with your hands now, would you?”

  “I-I don’t, I mean, n-no. I haven’t…”

  My blow caught him solidly on the back of his head and he almost fell forward but for Gregg’s hands holding him in place.

  “Do not test my patience.”

  “Yeah! Fuck you, man. I’ll scream and let those zombies eat you.”

  “Be assured that you will die first. Your only chance at survival is to answer my questions. Now, tell me.”

  The captive glared balefully at me for a moment and then dropped his gaze, cheeks heating like those of a child would when caught doing something wrong.

  “Yes.”

  “There are captives?”

  “Yes, alright. We have some fucking people there we use for… for… you know.”

  “She’d want us to free them too, mate.”

  “I know.”

  That complicated matters but not too much. I looked thoughtfully at the captive and considered my options. I was still going to do as I had planned but it would be better to know for sure.

  “You have used these prisoners?”

  “Fuck you.”

  That was a yes then. Good enough for me. I looked up at Gregg and saw the hardening of his own features and knew that any concerns he’d had about my plans were almost gone.

  “Stand up.”

  We helped the man to his feet and walked him out to the centre of the road. Zombies were still walking past and by my rough estimate either half or two-thirds had already passed and were well on their way to Dunkeld.

  I gave a nod to Gregg who grimaced but lifted up the man’s shirt.

  “What the hell are you doing?” the captive asked as he struggled in our grip.

  “Thank you for answering my questions,” I said and sliced my blade across his stomach.

  His eyes widened as blood flowed and his intestines spilt out onto the road in a slippery pile. His mouth worked for a moment without sound and then he began to scream. I released him at the same time as Gregg did and we turned to watch the first of the zombie's heads turn out way before we headed into the trees.