I was certain that it would be fun, though dangerous. My only concern was Lily and I looked her over critically, as I would anyone I was about to take into battle.
She had grown softer over the years, though there was still that steel-hard strength and resilience inside of her. I had no doubt that she would fight with everything she had, but I had to wonder if that would be enough.
Too many years leading the island from a position of command. She had not had the need to maintain her stamina and combat skills, and that could be a problem. Still, she was determined to join me in the fight and I couldn’t help but admire that about her.
Once the parasite was done, I could turn my attention back to becoming a better father and partner for my family. As much as it pained me, I needed to push the killer far down inside of myself and keep it under complete control.
There was little else to say, though the others discussed various means of keeping the creature’s attention long after I had stopped listening. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter what they did, so long as they gave me the opportunity to get to the parasite’s main mass, I would kill it.
We filed out of the house and joined the group of men and women waiting in the garden beyond. A dozen of Isaac’s security personnel, thirty of my minions and the remaining Furies, that had seemed to grow in number.
“These are-“ Two began before I cut her off.
“I don’t care. Have they been training?”
“More than you have.”
Surly attitude and complete lack of fear when she looked at me. I liked that about her. The silent redhead behind her watched me with the sort of rapt attention usually reserved for a cat watching a mouse scuttle across the floor.
“You’ve not faced this threat before, be ready for anything.” I glanced at the newer women, both young, with faces twisted in frustrated anger at the world and what it had done to them. “If they survive, I will speak to them.”
“Whatever.”
I offered a brief smile before I surveyed the group. Instead of the usual knives and crossbows, they had all managed to find some kind of axe. Many of them looked fresh made and I grunted softly in approval.
“Load up!” Isaac called and his troops saluted before turning smartly on their heels and marching over to the waiting wagons.
“At least you taught them how to march.”
His look of irritation was more than enough for me as I set off to join Lily in the lead van. My Furies piled into the rear, while the minions were forced to climb into the rear wagon with more than a few sharp glances at those women.
I dismissed their hurt feelings from my mind. As long as they did as I told them then I really didn’t care if they liked one another. Besides, a little bit of rivalry was a good thing.
Lily’s eyes flicked towards me as I settled into the seat beside her, and the tip of her tongue touched her lips. Her right hand kept brushing the handle of the woodsman’s axe that was propped up beside her.
“You are afraid?”
“Of course.”
Gregg climbed into the driver’s seat beside me and pulled the door shut. I gave him a critical look, taking in the ravaged face and eyepatch that he wore over his ruined eye socket.
“Is it because we are letting the one-eyed man be the driver?”
“What! No!” Lily said, raising her hands and waving them before her as she looked over at Gregg. “It’s not that, I promise.”
Gregg, in turn, just laughed as he shook his head. “Think he was making a joke.”
“You were?”
I wasn’t, but she seemed to need the lie.
“Yes.”
“Not funny!”
Maybe not, but it seemed to have chased away her nerves as she slapped my arm in mock anger, lips pursed and a line forming between her eyebrows as her forehead creased.
She looked utterly beautiful in that moment and I just stared as Gregg started the van and set off, leading the convoy out onto the main road that led south along the coast.
The intention was to drive south, diverting only to avoid the leading tips of the parasites limbs, before reaching Chester. There, we would turn north-east and travel until we could swing to the north-west and straight to Liverpool.
It wouldn’t be that easy, of course. I fully expected the limbs to have extended across a great deal of the area around Liverpool, but as long as I could get close enough to reach it, I would kill it.
“Something up ahead,” Gregg said, drawing my attention away from Lily and back to the road.
“The parasite?” A problem if it were, a bare ten minutes drive from Mostyn.
“No, something... oh, Christ!”
He slammed on the brakes and came to a screeching halt. All three of us stared out through the window at the road ahead.
I narrowed my eyes and swept the road ahead. To the right was a barrier of trees and scrub brush that prevented me from seeing beyond, while to the left was an auto repair shop. Faded signage and weeds choking the open space beside the building.
Abandoned cars, mostly rusted hulks, dotted that open space, many almost hidden entirely by the weeds and tall grass that had sprouted through the gaps in the cracked concrete floor. There was no sign of movement, and I didn’t have the impression that we were being watched, though that meant little.
“What the hell?” Lily asked, breathless and full of worry.
I gestured for Gregg to get out of the van and I followed, clambering over his seat and jumping down to the road. I pulled my hand-axe free and kept a careful eye on the treeline as I walked to the front of the van.
“What’s going on?” Isaac yelled from the first open-backed wagon.
Gregg waved for him to join us and I put them both from my mind as I slowly walked forward. The van door opened behind me as Lily jumped out onto the road, hurrying around the front of the van to join Gregg and Isaac.
The smell of death hung heavy in the air and I slowed my pace, as the first of them noticed my presence. A moan escaped those torn lips, full of hunger, full of hate for the life that it no longer had.
A shell of what it had once been, it hung, suspended from the timber cross that had been erected in the centre of the road. Like some macabre attempt at crucifixion, its arms were spread wide and bound with thick rope to the rough-hewn wood.
Barbed wire had been wrapped around its head, blood running freely every time it moved. With each snap of its broken teeth, fresh rivulets ran down its chin, those metal spikes cutting deep into the rotting flesh.
Clothed in old blood, the scars told a tale of torment that likely went on for some time before the release of death was given. The fingers had been broken, the toes blackened and crushed with what I guessed had been a hammer or a rock.
I slowly walked around the zombie, hanging there like some rotten fruit ready to be plucked from the branch. Welts covered the creatures back, old blood that had not been wiped from the skin flaking as it twisted and pulled at its bonds.
He had been raped, multiple times, and those doing it had been especially brutal judging by the glimpses of the damage that I caught sight of as it twisted its body, pulling away and snarling its hunger.
“Christ!” Isaac said, mouth hanging open as he stared up at the zombie.
“Poor choice of words,” I said, no mockery in my tone as the ice there left no room for anything else. “You know him?”
“Yes.”
“Who is it?” Lily asked, looking away from the broken and torn torso.
“One of your missing soldiers,” I guessed before Isaac could reply. That ice in my voice seeming to fill my veins as a cold fury took hold. “A warning to us.”
“From who?”
“The raiders.”
Isaac was on me in an instant, grabbing my jacket with one meaty fist as he pulled back the other to strike me.
“This is your fault, you stupid bastard! They’re just doing the same bloody thing you did to them.”
“But not as
well as I did,” I replied, forcing the mockery into my voice.
“Bastard!”
“Enough!” Lily grabbed at his arm before he could throw his punch, which likely saved his life, though I may well decide to kill him later for that. “We have to get out of here.”
“Yeah.” Gregg had been watching the trees nervously. “They knew we would find this.”
“They’ve been watching us,” Lily gasped.
Realisation hit me at the same moment and I cursed, pulling free of Isaac’s grip as the first spear burst from the bushes, thrown with a great deal of force directly at me.
Chapter 10
Ryan hit the ground shoulder first and rolled to his feet, barely taking a moment to breathe before he dashed straight towards the treeline. More spears followed the first and at least Gregg and I, both had the good sense to duck behind the van.
“The hell is he doing?”
I couldn’t answer Gregg’s shouted question as I pressed myself back against the side of the transit van, a white-knuckled grip on my knife. A scream sounded from somewhere close followed by the clash of steel against steel.
Battle was joined.
They came out of the trees in a rush, too many to count and all wearing that now-familiar armour of the Riders, though each of them also sported a blank faceplate on their helm, hiding all but their eyes.
With sword and spear, they attacked, screaming their fury only to be met with a volley of crossbow bolts from Isaac’s security personnel and a silent assault from the Dead.
“Should we?” Gregg asked, voice wavering.
I didn’t reply, just sucked in a deep breath of cool morning air and raised my knife. A moment later I was running around the back of the van and straight at an armoured foe. He swung his sword and I barely managed to parry it, wishing that I had thought to bring the axe from the van instead of just my knife.
With greater reach, the raider had the advantage, but I had been trained by Ryan and even if I hadn’t had the need to fight for some time, I still remembered what he had taught me.
Duck below the wild swing, lunge to the left before spinning away to the right before he could recover his swing and stab! My blade glanced off of the hammered steel breastplate and I swore as I darted away, out of reach of the sword.
The raider followed me, hard eyes behind the metal faceplate, he towered over me and had muscles on his arms that were larger than my thighs. I was too rusty and a surge of panic swept through me.
Gregg hit him from the side, barrelling into the raider and knocking him off balance which gave me the chance to dart in and stab my blade up into his armpit. He grunted, then staggered as hot blood washed over my hand.
I pulled back the blade and moved out of his reach as Gregg pushed himself to his feet, lifting the raider’s sword from his weakening grip. All around, chaos raged as the battle was fought in earnest.
Men and women screamed, their cries of pain and victory rising and falling. The coppery scent of blood hung heavy on the air, mingled with the stench of opened bowels and death. I wanted to weep, to run and hide, to stay safe for my children.
The raiders seemed to be everywhere, with spears thrown they had charged in with swords and axes, cutting down far too many of our people. Those of Isaacs that still lived were using their crossbows to try and pick off the raiders, though the armour was proving to be a formidable defence.
Both the Dead and the Furies were fighting almost silently, those women displaying a level of rage that showed the reason for their name, while the cultists fought with a methodical approach as though it were a task that had to be done, and there was no care for their own casualties.
In the middle of it all was Ryan, and my fear lessened merely at the sight of him as he danced amongst the raiders, every movement placed with a precision that seemed almost graceful. There was no wasted movement as he swung his hand-axe with his right, and spun, whipping the long-bladed combat knife in his left hand across the bare throats of his opponents.
He was death incarnate, and everywhere he moved, the raiders died. For just a moment, I understood why Samuel believed as he did, and then I had no more time for thought as a raider ran straight at me, sword raised high above his head.
A scream cut the air as my blood sprayed the air before me, the raiders blade cutting deep into my wrist as my attempt to parry the strike failed.
I staggered back, my left hand gripping my right wrist as I attempted to stop the flow of blood through sheer force of will. The raider followed, sword rising once more and all I could do was think of my children, about to be left alone without their mother.
The raider’s head jerked to the side as the crossbow bolt slammed into the side of his helmet. Isaac tossed aside the crossbow and raced towards the stunned raider as Gregg attacked from the other side.
A cry went up as the raider fell and just like that, it was over. The remaining raiders breaking off their attack and vanishing back into the trees with a speed that was surprising. I just watched in dumbfounded surprise, barely noticing as Gregg dropped his axe and pulled me close.
“Get me the first aid kit!” he screamed as my vision blurred.
The blood running from the cut on my arm wouldn’t seem to stop and a wave of dizziness hit me as my legs trembled, giving way beneath me.
“Save her.”
That voice, as cold as ice and full of arrogant command. I loved that voice and the man that spoke that order. It wasn’t a question or a request, it was a command and I couldn’t believe that anyone would be able to resist it.
“What now?” Two asked, approaching. She eyed me curiously and I smiled at her.
“Make sure none of the dead will rise and take care of our wounded,” Ryan told her, eyes not leaving my face. “Then we head back to the village.”
We had no choice, he knew that. Too many had died and the raiders were out there, a threat for those back at home. He understood it almost instinctively but he wasn’t happy. Even after killing so many of the raiders.
Why wasn’t he happy? Why couldn’t he be content with just us, his family? Why did he always have to leave me to go and kill, again and again, and again.
“Hush,” Gregg said, glancing up at Ryan and I gave a start as I realised, I had spoken the last aloud. “It will be okay.”
“Always is,” I agreed and winced as someone tied a tourniquet around my arm, slowing the blood flow.
“We lost too bloody many,” Isaac said, looking around the road that had been a battlefield just minutes before. “How the hell did they manage to do this?”
“What do you mean?” Gregg asked.
“This!” Isaac waved his arm around. “A few rescued women, with you and Ryan and you were able to do a hell of a lot of damage. I thought they’d retreated to lick their wounds.”
“These are the elite,” Two said, cutting into the conversation. Blood coated her arms and face, her clothes dark with it. She had fought hard. “Spent most of their time on the eastern border.”
Her expression was troubled as she clenched her fists tightly and held her arms rigidly by her sides. She looked at the closest of the bodies, a woman whose helmet had been removed to allow the cultist beside her to stab a knife into her brain.
She looked normal, just a woman with pale skin and mousy brown hair. There were lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth that told me she had laughed often.
“I knew her.” Two’s voice held barely contained fury. “After she was done with me, I couldn’t walk for three days or work for more than a week. They were annoyed with her for that.”
“Done with you?” Isaac asked, looking back at her. “What do you mean.”
“His elite troops.” She sneered. “The absolute worst of the worst, there’s not a one of them that doesn’t delight in cruelty. Whenever they came through the outpost, there would always be one or two of the slaves that didn’t survive.”
She swallowed hard and looked away from us, unwilling to see the pity in o
ur eyes.
“The men were bad, but it was quick. They would hit us, some would use a leather belt on our backs, but they didn’t last too long. Once they had all had their turn, they were done for the night. But the women...”
A shudder ran through the younger woman and her face had grown pale beneath the blood that covered it.
“Becca died screaming when the bottle they were using to rape her broke. They didn’t stop, just kept on going with the broken glass cutting up her insides. They laughed as they did it and only stopped when she died.”
“Then they came for me.”
“You don’t have to-“ Gregg began but she waved him away.
“I know. Because of him.” She tilted her head towards Ryan who watched her impassively. “I never have to do anything I don’t choose to do. You can’t know what that’s like after so many years as a slave to these bastards.”
“Tell us about-“ I winced as the needle bit deep into my arm, the young trooper stitching me up smiled apologetically. “About these elites. Why weren’t they used against Ryan when he was in their territory?”
“Too far away.” Two shrugged. “Whatever’s out to the east is bad enough that they were kept there all the time. Likely only reached this area a while back.”
“Whatever the reason for the delay, they’re here now,” Ryan said. “We need to deal with them.”
“Aye, because you started a fucking war!” Isaac snapped. “You didn’t bloody think. You never do!”
“That doesn’t matter now,” I said, trying to sound stern while holding back a cry of pain from the damned needle plunging into my arm again. “Whatever the cause, they are attacking us and we need to stop them. There’ll be time enough for blame later.”
“Aye, for now, gather up whoever’s alive and let’s get the hell away from here,” Gregg said. “Before they come back.”
There was little argument to that and the survivors scrambled back to the trucks. The bodies would be left where they lay for we didn’t have time to bury them and, to be fair, we had long ago lost any sense of concern for the bodies of our dead.
Far too few people had survived the attack and we didn’t need all three vehicles to return. We took them anyway if only to keep them out of the hands of the enemy. Same with the weapons and even armour of the raiders.
Killing The Dead | Book 23 | Come The End Page 7