I folded the package up and tossed it towards her. It landed on the floor at her feet and she stared at it wide-eyed and then back at me as I tore off a chunk of the fish I held and made a show of chewing it.
Whatever her doubts about it, she was clearly hungry and she let go of her sister long enough to snatch the packet up. I nodded approvingly as she half-raised the gun towards me.
“Eat as much as you want,” I called back to them. “You’ll need some water though, it’ll make you thirsty.”
She licked her lips and held a piece of fish in her hand. She took a determined bite and chewed it carefully before swallowing. Her lips twisted at the taste but once she was sure that it wasn’t poisoned she passed a piece to her sister who took it eagerly.
“Do you have your canteen?” I asked and smiled as Jenny passed it over without hesitation.
I made a show of taking a sip, swishing the water around my mouth and swallowing before screwing the top back on and tossing it back towards the children. They took it eagerly, drinking deeply of the tepid water which I guessed was a damned sight cleaner than any they had drunk recently.
A call came from one of the black-clad minions. She was standing on a low rise and waving her arms frantically for our attention. I glanced at Jenny.
“Stay here with them, I’ll be back momentarily.”
She opened her mouth to speak but one hard look from me was enough to silence her and she just nodded.
I jogged over to the minion, sure that if there were an impending horde of the undead waiting to attack us, she wouldn’t have been standing waiting. While she was clearly agitated about something, shifting her weight from one leg to another and glancing back often, it wasn’t dangerous.
“What is it?” I asked as I came up beside her. She just pointed behind her and I looked that way. “Ah.”
The football field behind was hidden from view beneath a mass or bodies. Young, old, fat, thin, male and female and above all else, zombies. They had been slaughtered and piled up on the field before someone had tried to set them alight.
Thousands of zombies piled one atop another, their bodies bent, broken and burned. I shook my head as I stared out at them and couldn’t help but wonder who had killed them.
“Bullets,” the minion said and I looked at her. “Most were shot. In the head.”
To kill so many would either require a large number of people or a smaller group but with automatic weapons. Military perhaps, but if that were the case, they would have radios and been in contact with the fleet.
No, it was someone else and I suspected the only people nearby with any information would be those children. I headed back to the house.
Jenny had made some headway in my absence, chattering brightly to the children and lowering their defences enough that the eldest had lowered the gun once more.
“Hi,” I said and not for the first time, wished Lily were there with me. She was good with talking to people. “Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”
The eldest shook her head, mousy brown hair whipping through the air as she did so, while the youngest just stared at me with big, brown eyes.
“How long have you been here?”
“This is our house.”
Ok, so they had been there since the beginning.
“Where are your…”
“My Lord,” Jenny interrupted and I looked at her in surprise. “Forgive me, but maybe that question can wait.”
Fair enough. It was easy for me to forget how sensitive people sometimes were about such matters. I let that question drop and glanced over at the small rise and thought about what lay beyond.
“Do you go out, looking for food and things?”
The eldest nodded and then said, “it’s easier now that the monsters are gone.”
Ah.
“These monsters, do you know who killed them?”
The girl gave me a puzzled expression and shook her head once more before she said in a small voice, “No. The monsters aren’t dead. They left after they killed the dead people.”
Chapter 16
I stifled a yawn as I stepped out of my quarters and rubbed at my eyes. It had been a restless night and I was in no mood for any nonsense. The conversation with Cass and Gregg had been less than inspiring and no doubt contributed to my poor night's sleep.
“Oh for God's sake!” I snapped as three black-clad acolytes fell into place around me. “Is this really necessary?”
“Orders, My Lady,” the female acolyte said.
“Right, well enough of that right now. You can call me Lieutenant if you must but I prefer, Lily. If you keep trying to be all formal on me then I will make your job as difficult as possible. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Lily.”
I could hear the humour in her voice, hidden away behind the hood she wore and I rolled my eyes.
“What’s your name? Come on, all of you.”
“Lisa.”
“Ben.”
“Mark.”
“Right, good. Let’s keep this friendly then and we can go about our day without antagonizing one another. Agreed?”
Three fists hit their chests and I held back a sigh. There was nothing much I could do about it without requiring more energy than I cared to expend, so instead, I decided to make them useful.
“Where’s Samuel?”
“Entrance.”
“Let’s go there then.”
I led the way through the sports centre towards the front entrance. As I walked, I became aware of the growing sound of voices beyond the walls and as I arrived at the reception area, I found the source.
Samuel stood staring through the open doors at the small crowd gathered there. The CDF soldiers on guard duty were doing a fine job of keeping them at bay, but even so, I noted a large number of acolytes lounging around the entranceway.
“Morning,” I said as I moved to stand beside Samuel. “Some new friends I see.”
He grunted a response that raised a smile on my lips and I looked out at the crowd. Normal men and women who, it seemed, were less than pleased that the Dead were sharing their town. Or perhaps their island.
“Your minister has been busy.”
“Not my minister, buddy. I never voted for her. But, yeah, I think she is the most likely one behind this.”
A simple tactic. Get the townsfolk riled up enough that they demand the government move in and kick Ryan and his followers out of town. Judging by the thirty or so pissed off people outside the sports centre, it was starting to work. Not like those people had anything else to do but complain and protest anyway.
She certainly worked fast, I’d give her that. Still, it wouldn’t stop me from doing what I had to do. I glanced at Samuel and took a careful look around, noting how many people were close by and then lowered my voice as I spoke.
“Have you sent them out?”
“Yes,” he said, nodding absently as he watched the crowd outside the doors. “Several hours ago. No one should have noticed their departure.”
“Good. That’s good.”
I raised my hand, covering my mouth and stifling another yawn. He glanced at me, eyes narrowing in concern as he took in my pale skin and the dark rings around my eyes. I knew I looked a mess, I didn’t need him to remind me of whatever he was about to say.
“You are well?”
Sigh.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired and low on energy.”
“Have you eaten?”
“No, I don’t think I could stomach anything just now.”
He nodded sagely and raised his hand. Immediately an acolyte stepped forward and he turned and issued a quick command. The acolyte ran off and I shook my head, offering a wan smile for the older man.
“You don’t need to mother me. I’m fine, really.”
“Of course.”
Insufferable. I couldn’t hide my smile though. It was nice to have someone to care for me like that. Since my parents were no longer around and I had no family
to speak of that I knew were alive, just my friends and Ryan, it was really nice to have someone looking out for me.
Even if I didn’t feel I needed it. Strong, independent woman and all that.
The urge to laugh came along with that thought. I had once been so proud of declaring that to my boyfriends when they had said or done something particularly stupid of thoughtlessly sexist. That notion had quickly gone away when the dead started walking.
“My Lady,” the acolyte said as he returned, barely breathing heavily despite the way he had clearly run to the canteen.
He held out a slice of dry toast and a small pack of crackers, the type you used to get with your coffee in the café. I took them gratefully and smiled my thanks before taking a tentative bite.
“You need to take care of yourself.”
“Aye, you’ve said.”
I hated to admit it but the toast was helping to settle my churning stomach. I wasn’t going to immediately admit that to him though and have him proven right. Instead, I smiled and watched the crowd as I ate. It was growing slowly.
“Are you sure it is wise to do this?” he asked and I blinked up at him as I considered my words.
“Whether it is or not is immaterial. It’s necessary.”
“A confrontation though…”
“The Admiral and the government will need evidence before they will act,” I said with a shrug. “We can only learn so much from watching the facility.”
“And Gregg, he is okay with this idea?”
“It was his.”
There was no denying it was a bloody dangerous one too and a few months before I would have assumed it was an attempt to die without committing actual suicide. But of late, Gregg had seemed to, if not be fully comfortable with his injuries, accept them.
So, I didn’t think he was looking to die, but it was still a crazy bloody plan. Unfortunately, after half the night spent talking with the others, it was the best that we could come up with. I didn’t like it though.
“When will…”
“Early hours of this morning,” I said. “Graveyard shift and no one higher than a corporal to question them when Lou took him in. Cass should be here anytime now.”
“I can prepare a larger escort.”
That was new and welcome. The fact that he was asking me and not just deciding to add extra guards to my little retinue. I didn’t need it though and told him as much.
“No. We aren’t at war with the CDF forces here. We just need to find out what’s going on.”
“Very well.”
I could practically feel the exasperation in his voice and I reached out to give his arm a squeeze.
“It’ll be fine.”
“Of course.”
I wore my smile openly as I finished the toast and crackers. While I was well aware that at least part of his concern for me was because of how Ryan would react should anything happen, I believed that he did genuinely care.
“If,” he paused and lowered his voice, leaning in close so that no one would overhear. “If anything happens in there, we will not hesitate.”
Which was something I desperately wanted to avoid, but I nodded anyway. If it reached the point where he felt the need to intervene then I suspected that the ensuing conflict would be the least of my problems.
“Try and hold off on that though, yeah?”
“Of course. It is the last thing that we want. We are here to save them, after all.”
I was saved from any further talk by the arrival of Cass. She stood beside Lou on the edge of the crowd, far enough back so that no one could say she was with them or part of their demonstration. I lifted my hand in a wave and turned to Samuel one last time.
“He should be back today, or tomorrow at the latest. If anything does go wrong…”
“It won’t.”
“But, just in case.”
“I understand,” he said with a kind smile. “But it will not be necessary. No harm will come to you this day.”
His gaze swept the three acolytes he had set to guard me and their heads tilted the barest fraction beneath their hoods. Their orders were clear and I very much doubted that I would be able to find myself in danger while they were about.
“Come on then,” I said with a heavy sigh and a heavier heart. “Let’s do this.”
With that, I stepped out of the sports centre and into the morning sunlight. I lifted my face to the sun, enjoying the warmth for just a moment before heading past the crowd to meet Cass. Whatever would happen that day, I was sure of one thing. It would be revealing.
Chapter 17
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. It was disconcerting and at first, I had put it down to that need to kill that had not been truly sated by the death of my minion. But I soon realised it was something else.
There was a presence close by. I suspected it to be the Reaper that my minions had yet been unable to locate, let alone capture or kill. Another point of frustration to add to my increasing burden.
The girls had refused to leave their house and rather than invade their space, I had merely set guards around their house and made camp in their garden. Not the best place to spend the night with at least one zombie out there, but I hardly expected to be sleeping.
I waited as patiently as I could for Jenny to finish speaking with the children. I’d willingly stepped aside when she suggested it as I would be the first to admit that talking to people was difficult for me and children no less so.
Still, it was galling that I had to wait and all for the rather sparse information they were able to provide.
“Anything else?” I asked.
Jenny paused and glanced my way, lips pursed and eyes distant as she considered her words. She had one hand holding her bag open and the other had stopped halfway to it, the bag of travel rations still held.
“Not really, no. These ‘monsters’ took their parents after they killed all the Scourge in the area and they were only spared because their mother shoved them in their hiding place.”
I nodded thoughtfully, fingers scratching at the thick hair on my chin. No matter how often I asked her to repeat the conversation, it never really changed.
“Describe them.”
To her credit, she didn’t sigh or complain, just repeated what the children had told her.
“They came at night. Their eyes were big and round, and as black as the night itself. Their voices were rough and they growled often. They had thick hair over their bodies, like bristles and their heads were too large.”
She paused a moment, thinking.
“That’s pretty much it.”
“Where is their hiding place?”
“The sideboard cupboard in the living room.”
I thought back and considered the little I had seen of the house. If I closed my eyes and concentrated I could just about make out the sideboard she mentioned. It was made of walnut and covered in old newspapers and empty cans.
The cupboard doors themselves had panels set into them with a honeycomb-like pattern of holes that I assumed were decorative as they served no real purpose. It did mean that it would have obscured the vision of the children though.
“So. These monsters came, killed all of the zombies and took away any living people they could find. Right?”
“Yes, My Lord Death.”
I gave her an irritated glance at that and she had the good grace to blush, the colour heating her cheeks.
“Bullet holes in the bodies means they are men and not monsters.”
“Yes.”
“Big, round eyes are most likely goggles, perhaps night vision and large heads would be their helmets.”
“I guess…”
“While the thick hair that covered them…” I grasped a handful of the long grass strands and pulled them free of the earth, holding them in my hand for a moment before I looked at her. “Enough of these over your body would look like hair to a child.”
“You think that it was camouflage?”
The grass dropped from my hand as I rose to my feet, looking around at the gathered minions. Three fists had been left to provide guards and oversee the loading of the supplies, three were with me. The rest were out scouring the town for that damned Reaper.
“Take the kids back to the boat,” I said softly to one of the closest minions.
He slapped his fist against his chest and ran off towards the house. Two others followed him and the rest stared at me expectantly. There was still that feeling of being watched that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I didn’t stop my smile.
“How long ago?” I asked Jenny.
“My Lo… sorry. What?”
“Since the parents were taken?”
“The kids aren’t sure but think it was maybe a day or so.” She hesitated and then asked, “Are we going after them?”
“No. We have no idea where they will have gone and besides,” I paused as the minions came out of the house carrying two shrieking children. “I don’t think we’ll have to.”
“I don’t understand.”
“They killed all of those undead for a reason. It can’t have been just to take a couple of survivors.”
Jenny looked at the other black-clad minions as though hoping one of them would speak up but when no one did, she asked the question herself.
“Why?”
“They need the town,” I said softly. “The warehouses were untouched so it wasn’t for food. No. There’s something else here that they want, or perhaps need.”
But, the questions that brought to mind were, what was it and had they already found it? My instinctual response was no, they hadn’t. Which suggested that perhaps it wasn’t the Reaper causing me to feel on edge.
“You knew this place,” I said to Jenny. “What is there here that could be of use?”
She blinked, eyes widening at being put on the spot and I waved her to silence before she even attempted to answer the question.
“Ok, better question. Where can I find a directory of the town’s businesses?”
“There isn’t one I don’t think. Local council offices are in the next town over and they’d have all the local records.”
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