“How long till dark?”
“About four hours.”
“Good. I’ll go out tonight and finish them off then we can head out.”
“Mate, you can’t be serious.”
I pressed my hand against my aching side, the place where the bullet had passed through me and I grinned at him.
“Very serious.”
I was in a killing mood and there was nothing that would stop me from finishing what I had started. I lifted myself back onto the table and lay down.
“Get everyone together and ready. They can sleep tonight but tomorrow, we leave.
Chapter 23
I hovered on the edge of wakefulness. That place where you are not quite asleep but not awake, yet conscious of what was going on around you. I could hear them talking, but it seemed an insurmountable task to open my eyes.
“He can’t really think he’s going to be doing anything?”
That was the doctor, I was pretty sure of that and it was Gregg who replied.
“Yeah, he is.”
There was a weary resignation in his voice and some part of me began to suspect they were speaking of me.
“But he was shot and I saw all the injuries that he has. Not just those made by the zombie he fought. He’ll be lucky if he can walk five paces let alone fight anyone.”
“Trust me. I’ve never met anyone else who has a fraction of his willpower. If he says he will walk out of here tonight, I believe him. Doesn’t matter about the pain or anything like that. He’ll die trying.”
There was some silence then and I strained to hear, feeling nothing but the cool metal of the table I laid upon.
“The things you’ve told us, about the world and what it’s like…”
“Yeah, I know. Will take some getting used to.”
“You think?”
“It’s bad. I won’t lie, but we’re gonna try and rebuild and do it better. To do that though, we need to be safe from the zombies.”
“I was just a doctor before all this,” Vanessa said. “I worked with infectious diseases and I was damned good at my job. It’s why they brought me here when they realised what was happening.”
“Who?”
“The government. They stashed a few of us down here with fuel to power our generators for half a decade along with food and water. We were instructed to remain here until we could find a way of protecting people from becoming zombies.”
“Why? I mean, don’t get me wrong, but why would they do that if they knew it would take you years? Most people would be dead before you could do anything to help them.”
“It might actually surprise you to realise that not everyone in the government was out for themselves. Some actually realised that it was bigger than them and while they might not benefit, some people would survive and it was our only chance of keeping the species alive.”
“Pretty noble of them. I’m honestly surprised.”
I could hear the humour in his voice and I struggled to bring myself to full wakefulness before their intolerable babbling could continue. It didn’t work.
“You and he have had a hard time I guess?”
“Yeah. We’ve been through a lot together. Met him just after things went to hell and been together since then for the most part.”
“Oh, you’re a couple?”
His laughter filled the small room. “God, no. We’re friends and he’s in love with, Lily, though it’s hard to get him to admit that sometimes.”
Okay, that was definitely enough and it was past time I woke up. My eyes fluttered open and I blinked at the dim light from the fluorescents in the ceiling above me. My mouth worked, but little emerged other than a groan.
“You okay, mate? If you died and became a zombie you gotta tell me now, yeah?”
“I-if I were a zombie, I would definitely bite you first just to stop you talking.”
“Ah, there’s that miserable bugger that we all know and love.”
I flashed a scowl at his grinning face as the doctor hid a smile behind her hand. I groaned again as I pushed myself up feeling each and every damned stitch pulling in my skin. Every movement was agony and I was very much aware that I was in no condition to fight anyone.
“Everyone ready?”
“Sleeping mate, it’s something like one in the morning.”
“Closer to two,” Vanessa added. “We keep odd hours.”
“Whatever. Where’s my knife?”
Gregg lifted my belt and sheathed knife from the table behind him and brought it across to me with a stack of clothing in his hand.
“These should fit you, mate.”
I took the clothes and gave them a critical look and raised one eyebrow at Gregg.
“Whose are these?”
“Mine,” Vanessa said. “I’m the only one close in size to you. Just jeans and a jumper so don’t worry, it won’t make you less of a man.”
“That really isn’t a concern of mine,” I said as I put them on the table beside me.
“It really isn’t,” Gregg agreed with a grin. “There’s one thing I can count on with you, mate, it’s that you don’t give a damn about most things. Makes it easier to like you despite some other habits.”
I shot him another glare at that and he clammed up, slamming his mouth shut. He’d become far too comfortable with the knowledge of my past and while he’d struggled when he first found out, he was a little too at ease with it now.
Despite the world having changed, I preferred to not let too many people know of my past. It affected how they reacted to me and since most people disliked me anyway; if they knew what I was, it made it harder to keep them alive.
I dressed in silence, moving slowly yet still feeling nothing but pain from every slight movement. The clothes fit, at least, even if they were a little tighter than I preferred. I pushed myself up with a grimace and a grunt and stood for a moment as I fought down the urge to vomit.
“You know,” Gregg said as he eyed me with a grin. “Technically, you’re now a crossdresser.”
Their laughter set my teeth on edge and I lifted the belt without a word and strapped it around my waist. The time for frivolity was over and I needed to focus on being the killer as I completed the task ahead.
And on not collapsing.
Each and every step was agony but I set my jaw and focused on moving across to the door. Gregg rushed ahead to open it for me and I nodded my thanks at him and then paused.
“Did it not occur to you to have me lie on my front considering the wounds were in my back?”
“Tried, mate. You wouldn’t have it. Even unconscious you were an intractable bugger.”
Yeah, well he had me there. I stepped out into the corridor and sucked in a deep breath of air. It was stale, recycled stuff and it reminded me of the bunker where I had been tortured for a week. That thought set the anger growing inside of me and I set off down the corridor.
Gregg and the doctor followed, neither talking other than to give directions as we traversed the narrow corridors of the hidden section of the building. It was surprisingly spacious, filled with endless labs and, judging by the heavy wires that ran along the side of the floor, had a server room somewhere.
Most likely they had adapted the place as best they could when they moved in and a lot of equipment had been brought in to be fitted into rooms not intended for them. It left the place with a messy, unfinished look.
I passed by a room where a rotund fellow was talking to the women that had escaped the raiders. His voice was deep and filled the room, dripping humour and joy. I knew I’d not get on with him straight away.
“You sure about this, mate?” Gregg asked as we turned into the corridor where I had first seen Briony.
“Yes.”
“Take this then,” Vanessa said and I turned, slowly, and blinked in surprise.
“You have a gun?”
It was matte black and rectangular. One of those types you tended to see on TV shows. If she had a gun then I was even more surprised at her will
ingness to stay hidden while the raiders did as they pleased above.
She seemed able to read my thoughts as her cheeks flushed and she lifted her chin, eyes not breaking contact with my own.
“Our work was too important to risk.”
“Whatever you say.”
I took the gun from her and weighed it in my hand. It would be useful if necessary but I would prefer to use my knife where possible.
Without another word, I spun on my heel and almost collapsed into the wall. Gregg reached out to steady me and I shrugged him off. It was about that time that I decided that some form of painkiller would have been useful.
“I’m coming with you,” Gregg said with a stern look. “Don’t even think to try and stop me. Lily would kill me if you got hurt.”
He paused and looked me up and down.
“Well, hurt more than you already are.”
Okay, he earned the smile I flashed him and I let him pull open the door. I didn’t look back as we stepped through, just drew my blade and took short, slow steps. Partly to minimise noise but mainly because I was in a hell of a lot of pain.
On the plus side, I wasn’t as bothered about my toes.
Gregg insisted on going first, scooting further along the corridors on silent feet and looking in each room we passed. There wasn’t much to see, just shadowed shapes in the darkness. It wasn’t helped by the fact that the bodies of the dead zombies still lay everywhere.
Room after room, down one corridor and then another. All we found were rotting bodies giving off a stink that was even fouler than the one they’d carried with them when still walking around.
I directed him towards the last room I’d seen them defending and we approached cautiously. The bodies were piled up before the door and it was clear that a determined effort had been made to get inside to little real avail.
There were no bodies inside the room other than those of the zombies that hung down over the overturned table that had been used to block the door. Gregg scratched at his head and I pushed the gun into the waistband of my jeans.
“Pass me your torch.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah, I don’t think it matters.”
He passed it over and I flicked it on, shining the thin beam through the door and into the room beyond. It confirmed my suspicion and I swore softly.
“What?”
“The foods gone. They’ve left.”
“You think?”
“Only four survived, you said, yes?”
“Yeah.”
“So there were four men here, surrounded by corpses and missing the women they had held captive. Now, it’s possible they considered the women escaped in the chaos but most likely they assumed they were all killed and didn’t bother checking all the bodies.”
“Right, so what?”
“Well. There’s nothing here for them so I’m guessing they went on towards the town to meet up with whoever they had stationed there.”
“That would be the town we need to pass through on the way south?”
“Yes.”
“Bugger.”
I banged my fist on the door frame and repeated it a moment later. The sound filled the corridor and I was pretty sure would be heard all through the building. Even so, I continued banging for several minutes.
No zombies came in search of food and no raiders either. We were alone.
“Might as well get everyone ready. We’re going to have to leave now.”
“In the dark?”
“It’s going to take me some time to walk to the town in my current condition and I really would prefer to sneak up on them in the darkness.”
“Fuck.”
That was all he said before he turned and headed back towards the lower level, leaving me in the darkness with just my thoughts.
Chapter 24
The riots spread out through the town. Clusters at first. Small groups giving vent to their anger with a lot of shouting and arm waving but no real violence. Then small groups merged, becoming bigger groups.
Windows were smashed and bottles thrown. The CDF soldiers were the target and on my orders, they fell back to defensive positions around the medical and command centres. That was a mistake.
It wasn’t long before they got into the warehouses that stored our food supplies and I was forced to send the CDF out in force. Without that food, we would all be screwed.
People began to die.
I gripped the back of the chair and stared at the monitor as Charlie sent the drone on another pass. Stones were thrown up at it but she was able to avoid them easily enough. What the camera revealed though was not good at all.
We had, in effect, lost complete control of three sections of the town. North, east and west. The southern part near the docks remained in our control and while most of our foodstuffs were stored there, too much of it had been sent out to the distribution points around the town.
I didn’t want to think about how much food had been wasted or spoiled in the fighting. Fires had sprung up around the town and at least two pockets of undead had been found and crushed by the CDF.
“Samuel is here.”
Cass held her baby, her face ashen as I looked over at her. She tilted her head towards the door where the tall man was being allowed through and I tried to offer her a smile but all I felt was emptiness and a smile seemed so very far out of my reach.
“How can we help?” he asked as he approached where I stood.
“You can’t.” It was true and I didn’t like that fact. “If you raise your hand against the people here then there’s no way they will ever trust you.”
If they didn’t trust them then I would be forced to send them away just to stave off more riots and protests. That would mean sending Ryan away and I wasn’t ready to do that.
“Do we know what this riot’s even about?” Cass asked. “Is it just the food rationing?”
“No.” Minister Shepherd said as she joined us. “There’s more to it than that. Those same miserable bastards that sent an attacking force while we were fighting the zombies last week. Has to be them.”
“Wells.”
The former minister had disappeared that night and while I was pretty sure he was hidden somewhere in the town, I had no way of actually rooting him out. It wasn’t like I had much to work with anyway.
“Dammit! Why the hell are people still listening to him?”
“Looks like they got into the north-west warehouse,” Charlie said and I hung my head, shaking it.
“How much does that put us down?”
“Fifteen per cent of our food stockpile had been looted,” Admiral Stuart said, his voice sombre.
I hit the back of the chair with the palm of my hand and swore. That was perhaps two weeks worth of food rations we had lost. Every warehouse they looted brought us a week or more closer to starvation.
“There’s movement near the medical centre.”
“Can’t you give me any bloody good news?” I snapped at Charlie and immediately waved my hand towards her. “Sorry. I don’t mean to take it out on you.”
“No worries, boss-lady.”
“Send your marines,” I told the admiral. “We need this shutting down, now!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Should we expect another attack here?” Cass asked with a worried glance at her gurgling child.
“No,” Samuel said. “I have a dozen acolytes at every entrance. No one will come in without your express permission.”
“Well done,” Shepherd told him with a touch of admiration. “I like a man that’s prepared.”
I gave her a sharp look at the tone I heard in her voice and had a moment to share an incredulous look with Cass before I turned back to the monitors.
“Okay,” I said quietly. “New plan.”
“What?”
“Let them riot. Pull back everyone to the places we hold with orders to kill anyone who attacks them. We’ll see how much fight they have in them when they realise they
have no food and no one helping them.”
“Lily,” Cass said with a warning in her voice. “We can’t do that. There are innocent people in there who aren’t rioting.”
“If they stay inside then they will be safe.”
“Not from men with their blood up,” Shepherd snapped.
“What do you want me to do?” I asked with a snarl. “We came this bloody close to being wiped out by zombies. How many people died to keep these idiots safe and they repay us by rioting? Damn them all!”
A hand gripped my arm and I looked up, surprised to see Shepherds face close to mine. She pulled me away from the others, hand like a vice.
Once sufficiently far away that the others wouldn’t overhear, she raised her hand and slapped me across the cheek. Hard.
“You’re beginning to sound like that prick of a boyfriend and not like the woman I agreed to follow.”
I held one hand to my cheek, the heat there wasn’t so much from the slap but the fact that I could see everyone making an effort to not be looking my way.
“What am I supposed to do? I can’t save people who don’t want to be saved.”
“But you can try.”
That was like a punch to the gut. Didn’t she realise I’d been doing nothing but try and keep everyone alive. Putting plans in place to try and actually find them a place where they could not only survive, but grow and prosper.
“I tried that. It didn’t bloody work.” She raised her hand once more and I grabbed it in my own. “Strike me again and I will kill you.”
“Hah! Good!”
I gave her a quizzical look at that but released my hold on her hand and she dropped it to her side.
“That is what I want from you, some bloody fight! In the past few days, ever since the zombies, you’ve been walking around like the world had ended.”
She smiled at her own joke and I couldn’t help but do the same. It was such an absurd image she conjured.
“The old world might have fallen but we are still here. Yes, people died to keep us alive but it was their sacrifice to make and we cannot waste it.”
“It’s too much,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “All of it. I thought I could do it. Could save everyone and I can’t.”
“Because you’re trying to do it alone. You have a government, you have people around you who are willing to help. So, use them!”
Killing The Dead (Book 15): The Gathering Storm Page 15