Thirteen Roses Book Three: Beyond: A Paranormal Zombie Saga

by Cairns, Michael

  He turned away from the pew, narrowing his eyes. ‘Why are you here?’

  His voice was low but everyone in the church turned to look at him.

  ‘I’m sorry?’ Luke replied.

  ‘Why are you here? God chose me. So why are you here, taking charge?’

  He saw the look that passed between Alex and Luke and filed it away. There were lies here. They hadn’t had a moment to rest, save the time in the hospital, and that had been spent discussing what to do next. Only it hadn’t been a discussion. It had been Luke telling them what to do then giving them the chance to argue about it. Why hadn’t he spotted it before?

  Luke rubbed the side of his head. ‘You guys are all alive because of me. You were my last week’s subjects a—’

  ‘Subjects? Like you’re a king or something?’

  ‘No, of course not. In my old job, you were called subjects. It was my job to help you.’

  Jackson’s mouth dropped open. What the hell did he say to that? ‘You were helping me? When you tortured me for days, that was helping me?’

  ‘I was never going to succeed with you. You were put on my list to make me fail.’

  Jackson leapt across the space between them and slammed his fist into Luke’s jaw. The bastard staggered back and bounced off the machine. He stayed on his feet though. First thing he’d done well. Jackson breathed through his clenched teeth, standing above him. He’d beat him, he’d beat him into the floor.

  Luke put a hand out to stave off the next blow. ‘I did succeed. You found God and renounced your vile life. How isn’t that succeeding?’

  Jackson took a step back, pushing one fist into the other and squeezing it. He hadn’t found God, God had found him. But it was true. His time in the park with his children had brought him to God and that happened because of Luke. ‘But you didn’t mean for me to find God. That wasn’t your plan.’

  ‘Not everything happens like you plan it.’

  Jackson lowered his fists and took another step back. He could live with that. For now. ‘So we were your subjects. You were helping us. Why did that mean we survived? Still doesn’t answer why you’re here.’

  ‘The Father sent me to Earth to help. He gave me you to help me.’

  Alex’s eyes flickered just enough for Jackson to know it wasn’t the whole truth. Why would the Father send him here when Jackson was already in place? Luke could do things Jackson couldn’t, so maybe that was it. Or maybe Luke was sent to test him, to help him push himself and become worthy of his position. That was more likely. And Luke was plenty testing.

  ‘Fine. I’ll go with that for now. Any time you want to tell us the whole truth, I’ll listen.’

  He locked eyes with Luke, challenging him to deny it. The bastard didn’t, though. Which was just right. Jackson stalked out of the cathedral into the cavern. Why did they all follow him? Why did they take his word on everything and smile and agree all the damn time? He was a liar and didn’t bother to deny it. There were secrets hidden beneath secrets and they’d come out soon enough.

  They’d stay in there talking for hours, trying to decide who should go above and check things out. He could wait or he could do it himself. He headed for the stairs. It smelled in here, of rot and zombies. He spotted the tiny body of the creature Bayleigh had described. Krystal killed it.

  Maybe he should speak to her. She didn’t like him, not yet, but he could work his magic. He could bring her into the love of the Lord and she could help him. He would need the kids, going forward into the new world. God would need believers.

  He nodded as he reached the stairs. She would listen to him. She’d respect the authority and she’d respect the word of God. Particularly if he returned now with the hostages. He began to climb.

  It was further than it looked and he was huffing when he reached the top. He paused on the shelf for a moment, staring down on the cavern. They were still in the church, still bickering about who was going to do what Jackson was already halfway through getting done. Probably scared of climbing the steps. He sneered, turned away, and set off into the tunnel.

  He flicked his phone torch on and lit up the tunnel. A little way along he saw the carvings Bayleigh mentioned. They were incredible, so detailed and yet so simple, and he stopped, running his fingers over the lines. The figures moved and writhed. Someone screamed as spears were driven into his body again and again.

  Whoever made these was a genius. How did they do it? He knew that, though. They were commissioned by God. These carvings were a warning to all those who didn’t believe. The punishments were just and right, no more than non-believers deserved. He smiled, not seeing himself in the darkness, not seeing the smile he’d worn so many times while driving to the port with children in the back of the van.

  He crept along the tunnel, examining every carving, running his fingers lovingly over the shapes. And watching. It was like TV, one long snuff movie of deserved punishment. He shivered and rubbed himself. His hands were opening his trousers when he caught himself. There wasn’t time for that, not now. God had given him a mission. And the ladies were above. They were better than any carvings.

  He blinked and rubbed his eyes, then ran his palm over his head and grunted. He needed to shave. There was never an excuse for not grooming properly. He reached the point in the tunnel where the dust thickened and put his hand through the wall. He was in the right place. He looked further down the tunnel, his torch light illuminating the dust that lay inches thick. No one went in that direction. Why not?

  Something was down there. Something he needed to see. But not now. He pushed his face through the wall and into the cathedral. It was quiet, the tent darkened and only faintly visible. He waited, listening and watching. Satisfied, he crept out into the huge space.

  Andre’s body had been taken away. What had they done with it? Was he being given a proper burial or had they dumped his body outside for the zombies? He didn’t know why, but he had a suspicion it was the latter. These bastards followed God no more than Luke did. He sneaked across the church until he stood beside the tent.

  So far, so good. Why were the others so worried? He dropped to his knees and clambered beneath the tent awning, grunting as he lowered himself to the stone. The tent was quiet, the sheets like ghosts in the gloom. He chuckled. They were sheets, nothing more. But the quiet was making him edgy. It was too quiet.

  They had taken the ladies! They’d moved them somewhere while they were at the hospital. The thought of the ladies not being here brought sweat to his forehead and made his hands shake. He rushed through to the first bed and let out a long breath. She lay there, chest rising and falling slowly beneath the sheets. He thought of what else lay beneath and his breathing quickened.

  The gas mask was very much in place. Dammit. He would wake her up. She could get out through the tunnel and tell the others what he was doing. This was the best way, quiet and sneaky. Once the gas masks were off, the soldiers would be guarding them. It was now or never.

  He shook her, gently at first then more aggressively, holding her by the shoulders and making her hair flick back and forth. She didn’t stir.

  He hissed in her ear. ‘Wake up, damn you, wake up.’

  Nothing.

  He raised a clenched fist and stared at it, bathed in pale light that shone down through the top of the tent. What was he going to do?

  He would carry her. He could carry her down into the cavern. They could wake her there, away from the danger. He slipped his hands between her and the bed, feeling the warm skin covered by a thin layer of clothing. He resisted the urge to squeeze, and lifted her from the bed instead. A beeping sounded for a brief moment, then it exploded around him, howling like a fire alarm.

  He dropped her onto the bed, covering his head, but the sound continued. He grabbed her again and pushed through the sheets.

  ‘Put her back.’

  The voice was like something out of a movie trailer. Jackson stopped short and stared at the creature before him. He was huge, a coupl
e of feet taller than Jackson, and covered in thick red hair. His face looked like a bull had shacked up with a human and produced him. Horns sprouted from his head and, although everything in him screamed it wasn’t true, he knew he faced a demon.

  If God existed, then the devil did too, so maybe demons did.

  Who was he kidding, there was no maybe about it. This was a demon. The thing smiled at him, displaying a row of teeth the size of his fist, and Jackson took a step back.

  ‘Put her down.’

  ‘I’m taking her away.’

  ‘I wouldn’t advise that. They used this crazy shit when they put her under so she wouldn’t waste away. Apparently they need to inject something to wake her up again or she’ll die.’

  Jackson stared at eyes that were the colour of sunset. He had no way of knowing whether it was lying or not, no way at all. ‘You lying to me?’

  The demon chuckled. When he smiled this time he reminded Jackson of a politician. ‘Now why would you think I’d lie to you?’

  ‘You’re a demon.’ His voice shook. He snarled and gripped the woman tighter.

  ‘I am. My name is Az. And you’re Jackson. They don’t trust you, you know.’

  ‘Demons lie.’

  ‘Indeed we do. We also cheat and steal and kill people, often in horrible ways. However, this one time, I’m doing none of those things. And it might surprise you to know that I want every one of those women very much alive.’

  ‘Why? Why do you want anyone alive?’

  ‘Do you have any idea how bored I am? Has Luke told you what we do for a job? I get one person at a time to screw with, one person a day. Have you any idea how tiresome that is?’

  He was telling the truth. He was so blase with his evil, so unbothered by his own sin. Jackson didn’t know what to say. What do you say to an demon who’s complaining of being bored? Then something he’d said earlier sunk in.

  ‘What do you mean they don’t trust me?’

  ‘Luke and the others. None of them trust you. They think at any moment you could revert to your old self and start abusing children.’

  ‘I never abused them. It was a business. I never abused them.’

  ‘Sorry, my mistake.’ The demon looked vaguely contrite, in the same way he looked trustworthy. ‘You kidnapped children and sold them into slavery or abuse. A huge and vital difference.’

  He was taking the piss. A bloody demon was mocking him. He growled and took a step forwards, then stopped. He couldn’t punch him, he had the sodding hostage in his arms. The demon rocked back on his heels and folded his arms.

  ‘It’s not important. You think those goodie-two shoes will make the distinction? The point is, you’re hanging out with a bunch of people who don’t trust you and don’t like you.’

  ‘And you care because?’

  ‘I thought you might like to join me, instead.’

  Bayleigh

  She should be helping. She had the sword strapped to her waist. She’d killed zombies before and she could do it again. She looked down at the pale figure in her arms and all her brave thoughts trickled away. She pulled the bottle out of her pack and dribbled water over his lips. His tongue flicked out and gathered it in, just as he’d done for the last day. When was he going to wake up?

  She should help, but she couldn’t leave him. He was going to die if he didn’t eat something soon. She would leave and he’d wake up and there’d be no one here he trusted. Except Krystal was here and Bayleigh was being stupid. But she needed to look after him. She had to look after him. She leant down to listen to his chest, just as she’d done every five minutes since Jackson put him in her arms.

  Her eyes grew wet. She knew where this was coming from and she hated it. She hated that when she looked at Ed she saw Dad. Dad was dead twice over and there was no guilt in that. She glanced at Luke. He’d done it and she hadn’t ever thanked him. It wasn’t something you thanked someone for. Would Dad have had the chance to thank him, if he’d gone somewhere after he died? If there was a God then was there a Heaven as well? It made sense. It made her head spin. From atheism to complete faith in a fortnight. It was like she’d done the Alpha course.

  Dad would want to thank him, no doubt there. So why did she feel guilty?

  ‘Where’s Jackson?’

  Her head jerked up as Luke strode back into the cathedral. ‘Where’s Jackson?’

  She shook her head in time with Krystal and David. Alex was crouched beside the machine and showed no sign of having heard anything.

  ‘Dammit, he’s gone up there already.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ she asked.

  ‘Well, where else is he? He is the ‘Chosen One’ after all.’ The contempt lay heavy in his tone. ‘I better get up there.’

  ‘NO. No, I’ll go.’ What was she doing? Why was she stopping Luke from doing something he was obviously good at? ‘I’m quiet and I’ll be less of a threat.’

  Luke shook his head but she was already laying Ed on the pew beside her. Krystal scrambled to sit and put his head on her lap. Luke came over and looked down at him. ‘We need to do something.’

  ‘About him? I could have told you that yesterday.’ Bayleigh replied.

  ‘So why didn’t you?’

  ‘I was asleep, in case you didn’t notice. He’s going to die if he doesn’t wake up soon.’

  ‘Why is he asleep?’

  ‘How the hell am I supposed to know?’ She stopped just short of shouting. ‘I’m not a bloody doctor, none of us are.’

  ‘Fine, fine, alright. Sorry. What can we do?’

  ‘How old are you, Luke?’

  He looked at her, head cocked to one side. Either he’d never been asked or he didn’t remember.

  ‘I don’t know. Old, I suppose. Why?’

  ‘I just thought if you’d been alive for thousands of years you’d have a better idea of what’s wrong with him than we would, you know?’

  ‘I observe. But my observations are limited. I see only what’s relevant for my job. I don’t get to watch doctors working or read books. I see a snapshot, nothing more.’

  ‘Didn’t that get frustrating?’

  His brows came together. ‘It should have. It did before I fell. But not since he brought me back. I’ve been content to do my job as well as I can.’

  ‘Not any more.’

  ‘No. That’s strange, though.’ His frown grew deeper and he growled. ‘I’m beginning to wonder whether there’s anything about my past life I actually knew.’

  Bayleigh knelt beside Ed and stroked his face. A thought struck her but she hesitated. It wasn’t an idea she liked in any way. She stood and looked over at David and Alex. ‘None of us knows how to help him. But someone up there does.’

  She nodded to the ceiling and David immediately shook his head. ‘We don’t trust them, not ever. Believe me, they’re nutters.’

  She couldn’t help staring at him and realised the others were doing the same. He blushed. ‘Look, I know I’m a bit damaged, but they don’t. They think they’re doing the right thing. We don’t trust them.’

  ‘So what, we just let Ed die?’

  ‘I don’t know, I’m not saying that, I’m just saying…’ He threw his hands up and stomped away down one of the pews. Alex came closer and stared down at Ed. ‘It may the only thing we can do. We don’t have to trust them, just use their medical knowledge.’

  ‘But how do we do that without giving ourselves up?’

  ‘Maybe that’s what we should do.’ They both stared at Luke and he shrugged. ‘They won’t kill us. They want to find out why we’re alive and they won’t through science, because there’s no scientific reason. So they can prod and poke us and get nowhere. Meanwhile, they can be fixing Ed.’

  ‘Fixing?’

  ‘You know, making him better.’

  Alex shook his head. ‘What if they decide they don’t want to keep all of us alive?’

  ‘We tell them we know the reason we’re alive.’

  ‘That’s when the torture
starts.’ David stared at him coldly across the pews. ‘It’s almost like you want us to get killed. As soon as they think we know something, they’ll torture us until we tell them. Didn’t you listen to what I told you?’

  ‘Alright, so you stay down here with Krystal. The two of you can hide out for a day or two. Me, Bayleigh and Alex will go up with Ed.’

  ‘You can’t take Bayleigh up there, you can’t.’ Krystal stood, resting Ed’s head gently onto the bench. ‘I get taking Ed there, that makes sense. But you can’t take Bayleigh. She’s a woman.’

  Bayleigh joined the others in looking at her with a frown of confusion. Krystal sighed and shook her head. ‘There are a bunch of women up there, right?’

  They all nodded.

  ‘Why are they there?’

  ‘To begin a new human race…’ Luke trailed off. ‘Fair point. Fine, Bayleigh stays here.’

  ‘What, what?’

  ‘Bayleigh, without putting too fine a point on it, you’re good breeding stock.’

  She blushed as her face set on fire and turned away. They’d… she didn’t want to go there, but she couldn’t avoid it. They would use her and make her pregnant. She clenched her fist and bit her knuckles. ‘They won’t, not if we tell them I’m infected.’

  ‘But you’re not.’

  Her head sagged. There had to be a way round it. She didn’t want to stay down here. She wanted to go with Ed and look after him. She could deny her need to care as much as she liked, but she wanted to care for Ed. And she didn’t want him to be crippled or damaged. She wanted to take him to them and get him better. Alex interrupted her circling thoughts.

  ‘We need something. David’s right. If we just go up there like this, they’ll strap us down and torture us.’ His face broke out in a smile and he turned away. ‘I think I might… give me a minute.’

  Bayleigh skipped from foot to foot. Krystal sat back down and cradled Ed’s head, stroking his lank hair from his eyes. Bayleigh glanced up and saw Luke staring at her. It was the sort of intense look that had always made her squirm, even when it came from Ali. She dropped her eyes again, and when she looked up, he had a faint smile on his lips. Her cheeks heated up and she stared at the floor, trying not to scuff her shoe on the stone.