Refuge From The Dead | Book 3 | Dead Fall

by Masters, A. L.

  “Tasha!” he called through the trees. They were nowhere to be found.

  The dead were swarming the entire area now, and he could see them awkwardly lurching out onto the road as far as he could see.

  “Fuck!” he yelled and brought up his machete.

  He chopped halfway through the face of the nearest Z. The one that was currently about three seconds away from shoving it’s rotting, blackened fingers into his mouth.

  What the fuck.

  He pulled the weapon out and darted into the trees. He would need to be careful not to run straight into any of them in the dense thickets. He ran as straight as he could. He needed to keep his bearings, or he wouldn’t be helping anyone.

  “Tasha!” he called.

  He heard a shout and saw a flash toward his left. Tasha. She had tripped over an exposed root and fallen hard.

  He pumped his legs faster, sprinting toward her. There were two Z’s making their way over and he could see her attempting to stand. She screamed as one of the things fell to its knees beside her and grasped her hair, pulling her head back toward its mouth. Its other hand was clawing her back. It was bending…down…down…its teeth scraped her scalp as Jack reared back with his machete and aimed a careful blow to the back of the fucker’s neck.

  Thump!

  The blade buried itself between the vertebrate and into the base of the brain.

  It fell forward on top of her back, and she screamed. Jack couldn’t take the time to stop and help her. The other corpse was about to take out a chunk of her leg.

  She was kicking furiously, landing swift blows to the things face, but it didn’t deter the dead man from trying to gnaw on her leg.

  “Get it off!” she yelled shrilly, still flailing under the weight of the first corpse.

  Jack buried the machete in this one’s open mouth, nearly severing the top part of its head from the lower jaw. It flopped over on its side, fingers clawing the dirt with ragged nails.

  “Sweetheart, it’s okay now. You’re okay,” he said to the scared girl.

  He pulled her up from the ground and clasped her to his chest. She sobbed and clutched him hard. He pressed her head against him and let her cry.

  It had been her first up-close experience with the dead.

  “Shhh. Natasha, listen to me. We need to go find Sasha. She’s still out there and there are more of them coming,” Jack said.

  She sniffed and wiped her face. Jack patted her on the back.

  “Follow me. Watch our backs.”

  They made their way through the trees listening for noises. They heard rustling in the fallen leaves. It was coming from every direction. He had to force his thoughts away from Jessica back at the cabin. They were in more danger here than they were back there.

  He needed to get to Sasha.

  They jogged deeper into the woods, scanning carefully for signs that she had come this way. She had to be somewhere! He didn’t want to take a chance on calling out loud. There were too many Zulus out here hunting.

  He stopped and let Natasha rest while he turned in a full circle. Nothing.

  Where the hell had she gone?

  “Listen. We’re going to have to start calling out for her. It will draw more of those things in though. It will make us a target. We need to be ready, and that means I will need your help. Are you ready?”

  She nodded and he smiled a quick smile. “Good girl.”

  “SASHA!” he shouted, breaking the silence of the woods.

  He waited a few seconds and heard no reply. He tried again.

  They heard a faint whisper of sound coming from behind them and he turned. There was a Z coming for them. It was winding its way through the trees. A rotting, snarling smile greeted them as it rounded the last tree that stood between them and the corpse. One side of its mouth had decomposed badly, leaving half of its teeth exposed. They could see old blood and fur caked between its incisors.

  “Watch the back,” Jack said to Natasha.

  He feinted off to the side and when the corpse turned toward his false move, he spun and buried the machete in the back of its neck. It went down heavily, splattering drops of gristle and gore among the colorful decaying leaves.

  Natasha screeched as another came suddenly, almost silently, from the side. She pushed it away and it tripped and fell. Its gut busted open— its stomach muscles and skin having become badly decomposed throughout the summer months. The stench was horrific, and she covered her nose.

  It was still moving though, so Jack did what he had to do.

  “Jack! Over there!” she cried, pointing deeper into the woods.

  It was Sasha!

  Sasha was sprinting through the woods, with a crowd of zombies on her tail. She needed help fast. Jack could tell she was faltering.

  “This way!” he shouted to her.

  Her eyes widened in relief, and she veered toward him. Her face was covered in sweat, and she was pale.

  Jack heard yelling behind him and saw Bradley and Tanaka racing through the trees, rifles raised.

  “Get down!” Brad shouted.

  Jack, Tasha, and Sasha threw themselves to the dirt, burying their faces in Jack’s arms. He covered their heads as Bradley and Tanaka fired a volley of rounds over their heads into the oncoming Z hoard.

  Jack was glad Cam had insisted on training everyone up right away. Their accuracy had improved majorly since they first began and now Jack was only slightly worried about stray rounds finding them instead of the dead.

  The corpses fell under the onslaught and Jack could hear the wet bursting as the more decomposed ones smacked the ground. He even felt splashes of gore hitting the back of him, and that kind of creeped him out.

  He flinched as one fell particularly close, its arm hitting one of the girls on its descent.

  “Clear!” Tanaka shouted. Then he turned and watched their backs.

  “Sasha!” Bradley said, suddenly rushing forward and pulling her into his arms.

  He picked her up and hugged her tight. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. She didn’t look like she was letting go any time soon either. Jack watched as Bradley peeled her off and held her at arm’s length.

  “Are you injured?” he asked, scanning her body.

  “No, no. I’m okay. Just tired. I’m so tired,” she said panting.

  Jack could understand that. She had probably run fifteen miles today, and the adrenaline was wearing off now, leaving her extra worn out.

  “Let’s get back to the cabin. Mac was holding them off from the window while Tanaka and I made a run for it. They should be fine, but we need to hurry.”

  “Shit. Jess and Jonah!” Jack said and took off again.

  He heard the others following more slowly. He rushed ahead into the clearing and saw corpses milling around. Some were beating on the windows. Others were slinking among the vehicles, leaving trails of blood and other things along the sides. He heard frantic barking from inside the house.

  Damn.

  He looked up and saw Jonah in an upstairs window. Good, he was safe.

  He ran to the windows and hacked the filthy things into more pieces than was strictly necessary. He saw Jess run up to the window, she held up a hand when she saw him and disappeared to open the door.

  “Jess, no!” he cried out.

  There was a Z directly in front of the door, leaning on it, as if smelling the flesh inside the cabin. He raced up the steps as he heard the lock turn.

  “No, Jess!” he yelled again.

  The door opened a crack and the corpses arm snaked through the opening. He heard a high-pitched feminine scream as he sunk the blade into the back of the attacking corpse’s head. He pulled it back and it fell heavily, bouncing down the steps with a thud.

  “Jess! Open up!” he said, leaping to the door.

  He saw her tear-streaked face and she clasped her arm tightly with her hand. Jack rushed forward and held her face in his hands. He gave her arm a terrified look. He didn’t want to look.
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  God, he didn’t want to look!

  “Bradley!” he bellowed.

  Brad rushed forward and assessed the situation.

  “Jess, come sit down. Jack, sit her in your lap over here, in the sun.”

  Jack picked her up with a grunt, his workout and subsequent sprint back had left him drained. He sat on the glider with her in his lap. Jess was trembling and shivering. It was cold out and she was only wearing a sweater.

  “Cara, bring a blanket,” Jack called out to the women who appeared in the doorway.

  “The back is clear,” Mac said, coming around the side of the porch with Ed close behind.

  “Where’s Jean?” Jack heard Mac ask.

  “She’s upstairs taking a nap,” Jess said, voice subdued.

  “Jess, let me see your arm. I need to see it right now,” Brad said gently.

  She shook her head and covered it more tightly, then buried her face in Jack’s neck. Jack couldn’t take the suspense anymore. She was going to have to show them.

  Now.

  “Babe, show him your arm. Right. Now.” He pulled her hand away from her arm forcefully and she whimpered.

  He knew how she felt, but hiding a problem didn’t make it go away, it only made it fester. A very apt comparison in this situation.

  “It’s only a scrape. It’s pretty red, but I don’t see any blood. It didn’t draw blood, Jack.”

  Jack blew out a breath forcefully. He had just been confronted with his worst nightmare, and it hadn’t come true.

  He was so fucking relieved.

  “Better clean it anyway, just in case,” Brad suggested.

  “Sweetheart, come on. Let’s get you in bed for a rest,” he said to her.

  Honestly, he needed to rest too.

  “Tanaka, you and Mac clear up the bodies. Take them out to the furthest burn pile. Then do a patrol and take out the stragglers. I don’t think are many left in the woods, but I want to know for sure. Take the rifles. We’ve already made a racket; I don’t think it will hurt to sling some lead at a few more.”

  They nodded and took off, heading for the last known position of some of the wanderers. Brad picked up Sasha and took her into the living room. He was going to give her an electrolyte drink and something to eat. Natasha followed her.

  “Tasha. You guys did well out there,” Jack said and nodded once at her.

  She gave him a small grateful smile and followed Brad and her sister into the cabin. Jack gathered Jess into his arms and took her upstairs. He undressed and put on some fleece sweatpants, then bundled them both into bed.

  They slept for several peaceful hours.

  Chapter Twenty

  Domination

  Cam

  Cam woke the next morning already planning his next move.

  He was going to offer to head up the security team, including the guards. He was going to offer Jax all of his valuable training to get these guys into shape. He would determine who could be trusted, and who needed to go.

  He already knew of one possible issue. The big guy who seemed to know what he was doing, the one who tried to stare him down yesterday. He would be tricky.

  Cam’s first task was to get up to Jax’s office and get his formal “permission” to take on the leadership of the guards. He wasn’t expecting any difficulty there. Jax was desperate for loyalty and trust.

  After that, Cam’s plan could be put into place.

  He walked the halls, taking everything in. He saw a hallway, not as nice as his, but better than the cell blocks. It contained rooms with decorated doors. Each door had a woman’s name on it. He supposed this was where the men found companionship.

  He wondered if they were forced into doing it. Probably. He was disgusted.

  He went further, finally finding the hallway that would lead him to the stairwell. He passed the infirmary on the way and saw the door open. He peeked in and saw a man bandaging up a woman’s hand. He walked in and stopped in the doorway and breathed in the familiar antiseptic smell.

  “Doc?” he said gruffly.

  The doctor looked up fearfully.

  Cam grinned a little and motioned for the doctor to continue his task. He finished up and taped the bandage closed. The woman got up and Cam saw that she had a bruise on her face. He frowned at her and clenched his fists, though not for the reason she probably assumed.

  “Can I help you?” the doctor finally asked.

  Cam went back and shut the door. Turning, the doctor looked at him curiously and with more than a little concern.

  “Are you Doc Forsythe?” he asked in a low voice.

  The doc nodded his head.

  “And do you remember a patient you had here, several weeks back, by the name of Ed Cartwright?”

  “Yes,” he said, startled.

  “I need you to tell me what you know about him. It’s important,” Cam said.

  The doctor rubbed his jaw and considered the request. “Well, he had arthritis, fairly severe. I gave him some meds and then one day he was just gone. Escaped, they said.”

  “I think you’re leaving out a few details.”

  “No, that’s all,” he said, shooting a furtive glance at the door.

  “What did you find on him at his last appointment. Do you remember?” Cam asked, leading him.

  He only nodded.

  “And who do you suppose he was using that to communicate with?” Cam asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “You?” he asked hoarsely.

  Cam nodded once then went on. “I need to know where your loyalties lie. I need to know right now, before we go any further. Jax will believe anything I tell him, so if you think about going to him with any of this, then you should think again. He’d kill you.”

  “I’m not here by choice,” Doc whispered. “But I have nowhere else to go. No way to get out.”

  Cam looked back toward the door. It was still closed. He turned back to the doc.

  “I’m here to take them down. I need to know who I can trust here.”

  The doctor sat heavily on his stool and nodded. “Me, Beverly Barnes, Officer McDaniels, some people in maintenance, a few others. Most of the laborers here would welcome you. Some of the girls upstairs though, be careful of them. A few of them like their status here,” he warned.

  “Okay, that’s a start. I need a way to get messages to some of these people. I want you to coordinate with them. The first thing I want you to do is to get a headcount of everyone who is with us and find out who can shoot straight. Find me when you are finished. You have until tomorrow evening.”

  “How the hell am I going to do that?” the doctor asked angrily. “That will look suspicious as hell!”

  “Think about it. You’re a doctor. Why would a doctor need to see everyone that lives and works here? Vaccinations? Checkups? Just think of something and do it by tomorrow.”

  Cam made sure he understood and then he left to go upstairs. In the warden’s outer office, he strode to the inner door and rapped smartly three times.

  “Enter!” a voice said from inside.

  He walked in and was surprised to see Margot seated at the warden’s desk. She was doing some kind of paperwork and he leaned over to see better.

  “Where’s Jax?” he asked abruptly.

  “He’s over in the maintenance room. Some problems with a generator or something. What do you need?” she asked him suspiciously.

  “Nothing you can help me with, princess,” he smirked at the irritated look on her face.

  He wasn’t trying to irritate her, but he figured the kind of man who was really here to be Jax’s friend would either tease her or try and seduce her.

  He wasn’t about to cheat on Angie, and he figured she would cut off his dick if she ever found out he had tried out a seduction on another woman, even if it was just an act.

  Was that a double standard?

  He rejected that unfair thought. Cam didn’t consider her relationship with Jim to be cheating. It’s what he had wanted, and they had his
full consent and approval. He knew how she felt about them both, and while it still wasn’t easy sometimes, he didn’t feel nearly as upset about it as he used to when he first considered the notion.

  Jim was a good man, even if he did irritate the absolute shit out of Cam.

  “When’s he coming back?” he asked.

  “Do I look like I know?” she answered.

  “Where’s maintenance?” he said, finally pissed at her lack of helpfulness.

  “Lonnie can take you,” she said, pushing a button.

  A few minutes later a greasy, smarmy looking guy came in and looked at her expectantly.

  “You rang?” he said, attempting to be funny.

  It wasn’t.

  “Yeah. Take…”

  “Cam,” Cam supplied.

  “Take Cam down to maintenance. Find Warden Moran,” she ordered.

  “Right away, ma’am,” he said.

  Fucking ass kisser. Cam hated the man on sight.

  “Right this way, man,” he said.

  Cam glared at him, and the man looked away quickly and left the room. Cam glanced back at Margot once more. She had already returned to her work.

  He caught up to Lonnie and followed him back down the stairs.

  ◆◆◆

  A short time later they reached the women’s hallway again. Lonnie grinned nastily and pointed down there.

  “See that door at the end, with ‘Tina’ on it? You ever get lonely, you go knock on that bitch’s door. She likes it rough,” he said and winked.

  Cam wanted to kill him slowly.

  He grinned at Lonnie while envisioning the different ways he would gladly dismember his corpse…before he died.

  Lonnie didn’t realize that Cam’s grin wasn’t a grin of agreement. It would be his first, and last, mistake.

  They finally found Jax down at the very bottom of the maintenance room. He was conferring with an electrician or mechanic and looking at a machine part.

  “Jax, what brings you down here, man?” Cam said jovially.

  “Ah, you know. Shit breaks down, they want me to get them new parts,” he said, glaring at the mechanic.

  “What can I do for you, Cam?” he asked, putting his hands on his hips and looking down at the opened machine console.