“I think that whoever was here, still is.” I said grimly as I pulled open the patio doors and stepped out once more into the cold.
“What happened to him?” Lily asked as I crouched beside the silent form that sat in a chair on the decking. It was only the patio canopy that had prevented him being covered entirely in snow.
“I’m not sure.” I said, “There’re no marks on him, he isn’t a zombie. It’s like he just sat out here and died.”
“I found a load of empty medicine packets in the bathroom.” Cass said quietly as though afraid to wake the dead man.
“Well if he was ill and required medicine, that’s likely what killed him.” I said, “I doubt he’s the only one this has happened to. A lot of people will have survived the zombies just to die from lack of their required medicine.”
“That’s so sad.” Cass said and I shrugged.
“It’s just the way the world is now.”
“Should we bury him?” She asked.
“With no shovel and in ground frozen solid?” I asked in amusement.
“We should do something.” Cass protested.
“What exactly?” I asked with a sudden surge of anger, “Waste the little energy we have trying to dig in the frozen ground? Try to find some dry wood to burn him on? Cover him with a blanket when we will need them just to keep warm during the night?”
I looked around at each of my friends and chose my next words with care, they needed to understand.
“The world has changed and sensitivities about these things are useless now. We need to use all of our time, energy and resources to stay alive as long as possible and wasting any of that is pointless.”
“He was still a person.” Cass said with a voice thick with emotion. “Someone loved him, would miss him and he deserves some dignity even in this hellish world.”
“We need to find a balance Ryan.” Lily said and I looked at her in surprise, I had expected her to understand. “We need to survive and all of us here will do what we must to stay alive, but we can’t do that at the loss of our humanity.”
I gazed at each in turn and saw agreement with Lily’s words writ plainly on their faces. With a sigh, I shook my head.
“Fine then.” I said with annoyance, “Let’s find some way to bury him.”
In the end we had to get a little creative but we found a way that satisfied the idiotic sensibilities of my companions.
The garden behind the cottage had two raised flower beds that were built out of natural stones with just a small amount of cement to hold them together. Pat put his lump hammer to good use and one of the flower beds was demolished leaving us with a large pile of stone.
I moved the stiff corpse to the end of the garden and did my best to straighten him out. When that didn’t work I had to settle for laying him on his side before we piled the stones over him.
By the time the makeshift cairn was completed and the dead body was covered, the sun had disappeared behind the horizon and the temperature had plummeted.
We trooped back into the house and locked all of the doors and windows before pulling closed the curtains. Gregg pulled a short candle from his pocket and lit it to provide at least a small amount of light for us as we sat together in the living room.
“No power or gas here.” Cass said from the kitchen, “Anything we eat is going to be cold.”
“Wonderful.” I muttered, “Just what we need after a lot of unnecessary work.”
“Hush.” Lily said with a nudge of her elbow to my ribs.
“Well we at least have some food we can take back to Phillip and then we can either stay with him or come back here.” Cass said as she walked back into the room with a plate of carrot sticks, biscuits and what looked to be trail mix. “Sorry this is the best I could do. The carrots were a bit old but seemed ok.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Lily assured her, “In the morning we can maybe see if we can find a way to make something hot to eat.”
“Are we going to stay here?” Gregg asked, “It’s out of the way, two bedrooms for you lot and a comfy looking couch for me.”
“I think we should stay close to the apartments.” I said before Lily could answer.
“Why?” She asked with a touch of suspicion that made me grin.
“Because I know you.” I said, “You’ll want to make sure the people there are safe, whether they want you to or not.” I said without adding that it would also give me a chance to get my revenge on a few people there.
“I do, but I know you too.” she said. “Despite them forcing you out, they aren’t bad people. Your promise to me still holds.”
“Of course.” I assured her, “I have no intention of killing them for that.”
She looked at me with a fair amount of suspicion and my grin faltered a little. I would have to be extra careful to make sure that their deaths could not be attributed to me.
“I don’t see the problem.” Cass said into the silence that followed, “They did steal the food we brought and kicked us out with nothing.”
“No, they kicked him out with nothing and we left of our own choice.” Lily said firmly. “We aren’t going to kill them for that. It would make us worse than them.”
I settled back and let the sound of their conversation wash over me as talk turned to more mundane things. I knew that killing certain people back at the apartments would be necessary to allow Lily to take the leadership role that she deserved.
Besides, it would also be a great deal of fun and I would take a lot of pleasure in killing Rachel, Candice and Matthew.
Chapter 7
After another night spent together with Lily in an intimacy that I had never before found with anyone I was beginning to realise how much I was enjoying it. It was a revelation and a sign of my deepening attachment to the woman beside me.
Lily stirred and rolled onto her side facing me as her eyes opened and she smiled sleepily at me in the dim light. The unfamiliar feelings that she had found within me stirred at that smile and I returned it.
“Morning.” She said before covering a yawn.
“Good morning.”
“What time is it?”
“I’ve no idea.” I said with a glance across to the window where no light showed around the edges of the curtains. “I think it’s still dark but getting lighter.”
“Eurgh... Definitely too early to get up then.” Lily said with a mischievous look.
“Well, I’m sure we can...” I began as a rapid but light knocking came from the door.
We both looked across towards the bedroom door in surprise as an apologetic Gregg poked his head around the side of the door.
“Sorry guys, you need to come and see this.” He said before ducking back behind the door.
“See what?” Lily asked as she threw off the covers.
“One way to find out.” I told her as I sorted through the pile of clothes we had left on the floor.
We dressed rapidly and were in the living room a minute or so before Pat and Cass.
“What’s going on?” Cass asked grumpily.
“Shhh” Gregg hissed as he indicated we join him by the window where he was peering through a crack in the curtains.
Curious now, I was the first to the window and looked out through the gap only to recoil in surprise as I drew my knife.
With growing alarm the others took their turns to look through the curtains and each reacted much as I had.
“What the hell do we do?” Pat whispered.
“We very quietly leave through the back.” I suggested.
“No good mate.” Gregg said, barely audible as he kept watch through the curtains.
“We are so screwed.” Cass added and I had to agree.
A thud came against the glass pain of the front door and we all stopped and stared at it as the squeak of something being brushed over the glass was heard clearly.
I gripped my knife handle tightly and looked ac
ross at Lily, she looked scared and I resolved then and there to ensure that if nothing else, she would be spared the return from death.
“We are so screwed.” Cass repeated to herself and I resisted the urge to tell her to shut up as I moved back to the curtain and looked out once more.
“How many do you think are out there?” Gregg whispered almost directly into my ear.
I shrugged as I stared out at the clearing before the cottage that was full of zombies, most of them making their slow way northwards.
As I watched those furthest from us disappearing into the trees, more of them were appearing from the trees to the south; a seemingly unending tide of the undead, tirelessly moving on in search of sustenance.
Few of them were paying much attention to our cottage which was something to be thankful for considering how lacking in defences it was.
The vast majority appeared to be the slow and stupid shamblers but here and there amongst the throng I caught sight of one of the faster ones. They were the ones moving seemingly with purpose as they brushed aside their slower brethren.
Then through the mass of moving dead I saw one turn its gaze towards the cottage and I felt sure that its eyes met my own. Whether they did or not, it changed direction and came straight towards us. I let the curtain fall closed as I stepped back.
“What’s up?” Lily whispered.
“One of them’s become curious about this place.” I whispered back as I thought furiously for a solution.
“Oh god.” Cass whimpered and Pat wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
I moved to the kitchen and looked out through the patio doors towards the back garden and recoiled once more as I found one pressing its face against the glass. If not for the curtains that covered the door, we would have been seen already.
Lily looked at me expectantly as I re-joined them in the living room and I shook my head. Her face fell and I felt a surge of anger at myself for letting her down. I should have known better than to not prepare an escape route, if I hadn’t spent so much time burying the corpse the night before I might have been able to prepare something.
Another bang came from the front doors as though something had swiped at the handle ineffectually trying to open it. Lily looked over at me in alarm and Cass started to cry quietly.
The situation was certainly dire. To the north and south were a seemingly endless amount of undead while to the east was the lake and to get back to the road to the west of the cottage, we would have to make it through the massed ranks of the undead.
We could try and sit it out in the cottage, perhaps hide under the beds or barricade a bedroom door, but I couldn’t see us surviving too long if all of those zombies realised we were in the cottage.
The lake was far too cold to swim, so even if we managed to make it that far we wouldn’t be able to get away from the zombies. The only way we could realistically go would be to make it to the road to the west and perhaps some form of safety. Of course we had no chance of doing that and even if we did the zombies were moving north, towards Phillip’s house and the apartments.
We couldn’t run for it through the snow, we wouldn’t get nearly far enough before they caught up with us. No matter how I looked at it, we were caught in a trap and unable to escape. I looked across at Lily and tried to raise a smile.
“I can’t think of a way out of this either.” Lily whispered as she took my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.
Several more loud bangs came from the front door and a low moan could be heard. It seemed our curious visitor had attracted some others. I kicked at the solid floor beneath us and silently cursed the builder of the cottage who hadn’t chosen to put a cellar in where we could conveniently hide.
Then inspiration struck and I looked upwards. If we couldn’t hide in the cellar then perhaps we could hide in the attic.
“Did you see a hatch in the ceiling?” I whispered to Lily who looked at me with confusion for a moment before shaking her head.
I moved silently from room to room, checking the ceilings in each and finished up in the bedroom I had shared with Lily just a short time before.
“Nothing.” I muttered as Lily followed me in.
“What?”
“There’s no hatch leading to an attic.” I said in frustration, “What sort of place doesn’t have an attic.”
“Somewhere that’s never needed one I guess.” Lily said with a sad smile.
“Get the others.” I said as I stared at the ceiling.
Lily looked at me as though she were about to ask a question but sensing my urgency, she just left the room to gather the others.
I climbed first onto the bed and then stepped across to the dresser that was set against the far wall. Standing on that I was able to reach up and tap gently on the ceiling. When I was as sure as I could be of where the ceiling beams were, I stabbed my knife through the plasterboard that made up the ceiling.
Moving as swiftly as I could while making as little noise as possible, I did the best I could to cut a hole in the ceiling. It wouldn’t be wide, perhaps two feet in width between each beam. I hoped it would be enough to get us through.
“What’s going on?” Pat asked as he came into the bedroom.
“Get everyone in and block the door.” I instructed as I kept cutting. “Then we’ll need your strength to boost everyone through this hole.”
Pat nodded, following my instruction without the need to ask any questions. He had herded everyone into the room and was closing the door as a horrendous crash came from the living room as the zombie smashed its way through.
With the hole cut, I gestured Lily to climb atop the dresser as I climbed down. Then as she reached up and grasped the beam, Pat joined her and gently placed his hands on her waist before lifting her. In a few short seconds she was through the hole and Cass scrambled onto the dresser.
Once Cass was through, it was Greggs turn and he was reaching up as the bedroom door shook with the impact of a heavy body. I looked over in alarm as the handle slowly turned as the zombie attempted to open it.
“Get up.” I hissed to Pat as I dashed to the door to grasp hold of the handle and push my weight against the door.
“What about you?” He whispered loudly.
“Just go.” I snarled as the door reverberated against my shoulder.
With little time to think or come up with a better plan I decided to act. As soon as the pressure on the door eased I pulled it open and stepped back. The zombie caught off guard barrelled into the room when it didn’t meet the expected resistance of the door.
I slammed it shut with the hope that any other zombies that followed it would be the type that were far too stupid to get through it quickly, then I turned my attention to the zombie that was regaining its feet.
It stared back at me as though it was assessing me and I did the same to it. The zombie was certainly one of the fresh ones, its clothes as tattered and stained as any other of the undead. One anomaly though seemed to be that the few wounds it bore were closing over. Not healing as such, but definitely closing up. It was another worrying development.
Blood crusted the dark matted beard that covered the lower part of its face and its teeth were blackened and broken. It stank to high heaven and I had the urge to spit to clear my mouth of the taste.
Without warning it moved, lunging at me with arms outstretched. I ducked beneath its arms and leapt to the side, lashing out with my knife and scoring a deep cut along its ribs. Hardly a debilitating wound for a zombie but perhaps a distraction.
It swung around to face me once again and snarled as it reached for me. I brushed aside its hands and jabbed my knife towards its eye only for the zombie to jerk its head to the side. I dodged back out of its way and grinned at the flap of skin that fell away from its face.
The next time it came at me I swayed back and kicked at its legs, my booted foot connecting with its left knee with a sickening crunch and it fell to the carpe
ted floor.
As another zombie slammed against the bedroom door, I struck down with my blade and plunged it through the creature’s skull as it struggled to rise. It fell still and I immediately jumped onto the bed and across to the dresser, reaching for the ceiling beam.
Strong hands caught me and pulled me through the gap and into the ceiling. I grinned triumphantly at Pat as he released his hold on me and he smiled back.
“Glad you made it, had me worried for a min.” He said and I let out a low chuckle.
“It’ll take more than a zombie to kill me.”
“Well they’re hundreds of the buggers out there willing to try.” He said and my grin faded a little as I moved away from the gap I had cut in the ceiling and crossed to where Lily sat on one of the beams.
I was careful to step only on the beams and avoid the fragile plasterboard of the ceiling and when I reached Lily I sank gratefully down beside her. She took my hand in hers and rested her head down on my shoulder and we sat in silence as the sounds of the undead filtered up from the house below us.
Chapter 8
We sat in silence for what seemed an eternity as we listened to the moans of the undead as they crashed about the house searching for the prey that they knew to be near. Even above the foul rot stench of the zombies rising from below us was the sour smell of fear from my companions.
I had seen each of them fight the undead without flinching yet sitting in the dark space above the ceiling while the zombies raged below was apparently too much for them. I soon grew bored.
“Where do you think they came from?” Lily asked, voice barely above a whisper.
“One of the towns along the coast or maybe the cities are finally spitting them out to infect the rest of the country.” I said, “Though it’s probably more important to wonder where they are going instead.”
“The apartments.” She said grimly.
“It’s directly on the route.” I agreed, “No matter how many guns they have, I doubt that they’ll manage to beat them back.”
“They could do the same thing we are.” Lily said with a touch more hope than realism, “Hide away in the apartments until they’ve gone past.”
Killing the Dead (Books 4-6) Page 32