Dead & Alive (Book 2): Sacrifice (4 page)

A woman covered in tattoos joined Alina.

“So they are inside the house Boss?” she spoke to Alina.

“I want this to be memorable, no one leaves alive,” She replied.

The tattooed woman started to walk away when Alina grabbed her arm; she also called everyone else over to her.

“There is one man in there that none of you get to kill, he is big, he stands out. He has short hair and he beams out leadership, he will be the one taking charge,” she told everyone.

“He is mine,” Alina warned them in a tough very strict voice.

They all nodded in agreement and walked away to take up their posts. Alina watched as the tattooed woman got into the gray truck. She turned the truck and put it in reverse, the truck smashed through the garden fence and crashed straight into the front of the house.

RAGE

Lying there naked and each other’s arms, this was the moment they both dreamed off, Elle stared into the eyes of Jack, “No regrets,” she whispered to him.

Jack simply kissed her tenderly, holding each other tight and wanting this moment to last forever. (They were disturbed by a loud crash and what felt like an earthquake had shook the room around them! Both Jack and Elle jumped from the bed and rushed to dress themselves.

Downstairs Bray lay on the floor, covered in dust and rubble; he was dazed as he opened his eyes he was met with confusion. Bray looked to see Frank was attempting to get back to his feet and a gray truck had reversed into the house. Mark stood against the wall with Ryan trying to avoid the falling debris that down filled the room, the back door of the truck suddenly flew open and everyone watched in fear at what appeared.

Ryan rushed to Bray to help him to his feet, he looked on as the dead piled out of the truck and into the living room, Zoe rushed to Bray and grabbed his side arm, she started shooting towards the approaching Dead. Frank now on his feet also began to shoot, Mark tried to run to the back of the room when a rotting corpse grabbed him, he tripped on a brick and fell down with the zombie falling on top of him.  Mark held the zombie at arm’s length, as he pushed it away its decomposing arm collapsed and the zombie slumped down on him. Mark screamed in fear, Bray pulled the corpse off him and shot it in the head, “Move!” He shouted.

Jack and Elle, rushed from the bedroom, they were met by a waiting Paige, who sat on the stairs, Jack started to rush down when the front door burst open. Dragging its feet through the door Jack watched as a corpse was guided in with a long metal pole attached to a strap around its neck.

“What the fuck,” Elle uttered.

Jack quickly pulled his sidearm and with a single shot sent the zombies brains through the air. As they came down the stairs, gunshots began to echo out; bullets started hitting the wall and stairs around them. Jack grabbed Elle and threw himself holding her through the stairs bannister, as they both crashed to the ground Jack covered Elle as Paige jumped on top of him trying to avoid the bullets flying around them. Jack ushered Paige forward, he started to stand as he helped Elle up.

Touching her face, “You OK?” he asked her.

She looked towards the front door and noticed more Zombies appearing, “We have to go,” she told him.

Jack helped her to his feet, he began shooting again towards the door, Ryan appeared through the living room door holding Bray up, Elle grabbed Brays other arm to help, “Both of you get out now,” Jack, ordered them.

“Wait, we stay together,” she told him in a scared voice.

More shot began being shot through the front door, Jack pushed everyone against the wall trying to cover them with his own body, he looked round to Elle, “The furniture store we first took cover in when we got here, we all meet there,” he told her. He looked at the fear in her eyes, he suddenly kissed her, “Please go,” he whispered. Reluctantly, she helped Bray with Ryan’s help towards the back door; she took one last look to see Jack, rush into the living room.

Mark was back to his feet, as he lifted his head, he was shocked by a swinging machete flying over him, he turned to see another zombie fall to the ground with its head in half. Jack stood there holding his machete and grabbed Mark, “Out the back, follow the others,” he ordered him. Zoe looked over to Jack as he pushed Mark out of the room, “You too,” he pointed to her.

“I can help,” Zoe, told him, wanting to be part of the team.

Jack looked at the truck, as it began to move away from the window, “Help the others, myself and Frank will buy you time,” he told her. Zoe noticed the look in his eyes, it was one of desperation, she knew she had to go; she touched his shoulder and ran from the room.

Jack rushed to Frank’s side, picking up a rifle on the way; he took a knee and began to shoot out the huge hole in the wall.

A bright light burst through the hole in the side of the house illuminating the room and almost blinding Jack and Frank. The shooting stopped and an eerie silence followed, both men picked up what they could of their supplies, when a familiar voice came from the bright light.

At the back of the house, Elle and Ryan helped Bray headed for the back door when it smashed open, coming to a stop Elle looked at the large man standing in the doorway holding a gun. At that moment they believed it was over for them, the large man started to walk in when running through Ryan’s legs, Paige jumped into the air her teeth sinking into the man’s neck.

As the man screamed in pain, blood gushed from his throat, Zoe rushed and grabbed the man’s gun, “Good girl,” she said as she stroked Paige’s head. She handed the gun to Ryan, who looked confused as he looked at the gun.

They made their way out of the back of the house and along the alley. The darkness made it almost impossible to see anything; Zoe moved ahead of the others, she came to an abrupt stop noticing movement in front of them. The echoes of groans made it clear what was coming towards them, “This way,” Elle sounded out as she led them towards a small dark passage, leading away from the dead and disappearing into the darkness.

Frank looked in shock as a female voice shouted through the light, “TIME TO DIE!” followed by mass laughter.

Frank and Jack glanced at each other, “Great, the crazy bitch is still alive,” Jack, muttered.

Jack put on the backpack containing the supplies, “The others are out now we need to move,” he suggested to Frank.

“Let’s go,” he simply replied.

They both kept low when moving towards the living room door, Jack peeped round to the front door, to making sure, no one was coming and continued to move. They headed for the back door, but were met by a swarm of walking dead entering the house, they both backed up.

“We’re trapped,” Frank observed.

Jack looked to the front door, and then to the back door, “Choose, Zombies or a Crazy Bitch?” he asked.

Frank could not help but give out a laugh, he looked back and forth, “The Dead,” he replied firmly.

Jack swung his rifle round and handed it to Frank, he pulled his machete clear from his belt, “Let’s do it!” He shouted. Frank stood with the rifle and wasted no time in following Jack into the small army of the dead.

Blood sprayed across the air, the dead marched against them as Jack pushed back against them, his machete dripped with blood. Frank had placed the strap of the rifle over his shoulder and decided to use his sidearm in the fight instead, as his shot echoed out; Jack showed no fear by pushing the dead further back.  The decaying head split open like a melon, Jack pulled his blade back and kicked at the body, sending it flying back through the back door clearing the way for them.

Jack and Frank both emerged from the house, the dead fell to the ground as Jack and Frank pushed them back; this was about escape and not killing the dead so they were happy just to just creep passed the zombies. They found themselves clear of the zombies who continued to follow them; they both began to run at a pace, “Have you been bitten!” Jack shouted back to Frank.

“All good,” Frank simply replied, “You?” he asked.

Before Frank heard Jacks, reply a car appeared from nowhere, hitting Jack and sending him flying across the street they were running across.

“JACK,” a concerned Frank screamed out.

The black car braked hard, with no doors and a smashed windscreen, two large men exited the vehicle and ran towards Frank. He raised his gun, but before he could take a shot, he was hit across the face.

Frank hit the ground hard, his nose broken and pouring with blood, the two men stood over him before kicking him, kicking him in the ribs and then one kick across the head rendering him unconscious.

“STOP,” a female voice screamed out.

From the back of the car a woman appeared, she slowly walked towards them, she looked at the body on the ground, “Put him in the car and get the other one,” she told them.

“Yes, Boss,” one of the men, replied, before lifting Frank’s body and taking him to the car.

The second man walked across the street looking for Jack, he approached a still body lying in the street. He knelt down to grab the body, as he pulled at the body up, he felt a prick under his chin, before he could react a blade pierced through his lower jaw and was pushed up through his head and into his skull. The man fell to the ground, Jack also dropped to the ground, his face covered in blood, due to a gash across the top of his head. Jack pulled a small knife from the dead man’s head, he looked up to see Frank being placed into the car, in pain and barely able to stand he noticed the woman standing there.

“Alina,” he whispered under his breath.

Alina shouted out, “Hurry up!” As she looked across the street, she stared into the darkness to see a silhouette of someone standing there.               She approached slowly, the darkness cleared as she got closer, “Jack,” she uttered. He stood there saying nothing, he just glared at Alina, she rushed to pull a small gun she had in her pocket, before she could shoot Jack disappeared into the darkness.

Alina looked around, he was gone, she rushed back to the car, “Let’s go,” she told a large man, without argument they drove away. As the car pulled out of the street, it was followed by several other vehicles, including a gray truck.

Jack stood in the darkness watching them drive away, “You’re all dead,” he spoke out, with a look of hatred in his eyes. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed something move in the shadows; Jack moved back and rushed with a limp across the street. He watched as the dark figure continued to move slowly, Jack approached the figure from behind.

The dark figure came into the moonlight, it was Toby the companion of Alina, he stayed behind to keep lookout. He heard a noise behind him, “God dammit, you’re supposed to be heading back home!” he shouted out as he turned.

As he turned he came face to face with a bloodied mess, Toby stood in shock not knowing who it was, the man stared back at him, before he could speak to him the man head-butted Toby in the face. Toby hit the ground, Jack stood over him, Toby looked up, “Pray for death,” Jack told him as he kicked Toby in the head.

TALK

Traveling quietly through the night, Elle and the group travelled through a familiar car park, the journey was a quiet one, and they had barely seen a few zombies along the way.

They reached a familiar door; the exit of the furniture store was closed. Elle let go of Bray and pulled a small knife from her vest, she pushed the blade between the door lock and the frames, sliding the blade up the door opened. Pulling out her gun, she led them into the building that once served as a sanctuary for them.

As they walked into the store, Elle looked at the two bodies of her former teammates; Zoe came from behind looked at them and noticed a look on Elle’s face.

“Did you know them?” she asked her, noticing the uniform was the exact same as Elle.

“Michael and Andrew, they were part of the team, they never made it far,” she replied, taking a deep breath, “and outside is Sara, my friends who died moments after we came here,” she finished.

Zoe touched Elle’s shoulder to comfort her, Ryan still kept hold of Bray and joined them, Mark closed the door, but held back out of sight. He made sure he was not being watched as he pulled up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a bloodied bite mark, he had a flashback to the moment it happened.

‘He was in the living room; he tried to move clear of the truck that had just crashed through the front of the house. He was pushing a zombie away, before he fell to the ground the mutilated corpse took a bite of his arm, in that one moment he knew he was dead.’

He pulled down the sleeve of his shirt to hide the bite mark from everyone as he walked towards the others.

Bray settled down in a chair, Elle and Zoe looked around to make sure they were alone, “Do you think the others made it?” Zoe asked.

Elle found it hard to reply, “I am sure they have, besides Jack is too stubborn to die,” she laughed.

A laugh broke out; “They’re dead, we are all dead,” Mark spoke aloud.

Elle looked at Mark in disgust, Zoe touched her arm to comfort her, “Instead of sitting there how about helping,” Zoe told Mark, who simply rolled his eyes in response.

Ryan moved over to Bray, he handed him a bottle of water and never said a word, he turned to walk away when Bray spoke.

“Thank you,” he told him. Ryan simply smiled in response, “not just for the water, but getting me out of there,” Bray added.

Ryan looked like a scared child not knowing what to say when a parent shouts, “I just wanted to get out and helping you escape was my best chance of that,” he lied in reply.

Bray looked into Ryan’s eyes and knew he was lying, “Fair enough, thanks anyway,” he replied, allowing Ryan to walk away from this uncomfortable conversation.

As Mark sat there on his own, he rubbed the sleeve of his shirt that covered the bite; he looked around to see everyone just getting on with things unaware of his impending change. As he rubbed his arm, he was distracted by Paige, who was lying next to Bray; she was staring at Mark and began growling as if she knew what was happening.

Elle walked back to the fire exit door, opening the door just a crack so she could see outside, concerned for both her friends she stood watching for any sign of them.

An abandoned house stood empty, the front door suddenly smashed open, Jack appeared dragging a body behind him into the house. Dropping the body of Toby on the floor, he turned with a limp to close the door, taking a look outside making sure he was not followed first. Jack leaned against the door for a moment to catch his breath, he had a nasty cut on his head and his leg was sore from the car hitting him. He turned to look at Toby still unconscious on the ground, “Time to play,” he uttered.

Bray struggled to his feet, “You shouldn’t move,” Zoe warned him. Bray gave out a smile, “Don’t have the luxury of staying still,” he uttered in reply. He walked slowly across the room to the fire exit where Elle still stood looking outside, he walked up behind her, “They will be fine,” he comforted her. Elle looked around to Bray, “I know, nice to see you moving around,” she replied.

Bray placed his hand on her shoulder, “We both know Jack is a survivor, in fact, I sort of feel sorry for those who attacked us,” he told a worried looking Elle.

Elle snapped back, “He is not indestructible.”

Bray glanced to the floor, “I don’t know what his past is, but I do know when it comes to a fight I will always bet on Jack,” he replied, he was about to walk away when Elle grabbed his arm.

“He was SAS, but it didn’t end well for him and I am scared he is trying to make amends for that,” she told a shocked looking Bray.

“Well, that answers a few questions,” he uttered. He took a look around the room, making sure no one could hear him, “Jack’s a hero, he is the best kind of hero, one that does not consider himself to be one. He remained behind because inside, he wants to help people, so it will take much more than some inbreeds to stop him,” he finished saying.

Elle reacted immediately by throwing her arms around him, whispering, “Thank you,” in his ear.

Watching Bray cuddle Elle from a dark corner, Mark snarled at the sight.

In a kitchen, Toby opened his eyes to blurred vision, he tried to move, but soon realized he was tied to a chair, he shook his head noticing a blurred figure standing next to him. Jack stood there holding a towel to his head, trying to stop the bleeding from a cut; he looked at Toby and smiled.

“Sleeping beauty is finally awake,” Jack remarked.

Toby shuddered in fear, “You. You better let me go my friends will be looking for me,” he struggled to say, trying to intimidate Jack.

Breaking out in a loud laugh Jack dropped the towel to the floor, he moved forward and went face to face with Toby, “Can you smell that?” Jack asked.

Looking confused, he simply shook his head, Jack suddenly shouted, “FEAR!” Toby jumped.

Jack stood back and leaned against a kitchen cabinet he crossed his arms, “You are going to tell me where they took my friend, you are going to tell me everything,” Jack told him in a calm voice.

“I don’t know anything,” Toby snarled back in reply.

Jack’s eyes focused, “We will see about that,” he said while moving forward. He pulled a small knife from his vest, he smiled as he walked round Toby, once behind him, he grabbed him by the neck, “Last chance,” Jack warned him.

“Fuck you,” was his reply.

Jack remained silent, he let go of his neck and grabbed his ear slicing his knife down, removing his ear. Toby screamed in pain, the wetness of the blood trickling down the neck freaked him out; suddenly Jack appeared in front of him waving his ear in front of him. Jack laughed as he held it in front of Toby’s face; he tapped the ear and spoke into it like a microphone, “Hello is this thing on, where is my friend.”

“You’re fucking crazy,” Toby yelled at him.

“Shhh be quiet, remember the dead like the noise,” Jack replied.

Dropping the ear to the ground he stepped on it, he walked to the side and started opening drawers looking for something. “Have you ever heard the saying, speak no evil, hear no evil and, well you get the idea,” he told Toby. Jack pulled a spoon from the drawer, he turned and smiled at Toby again, he walked back over to him he pushed his head back.

“Last chance,” Jack uttered he heard no response.

Jack held Toby’s head, lifting the spoon he pushed it into his eye socket, blood dripped out as Jack scooped his eye out like a lump of ice cream. The eye quickly squeezed out from the socket, Toby screamed in agony as Jack dropped the spoon and his eye dangled out hanging down by his cheek, still attached Jack grabbed the eyeball and pulled it, tearing from the socket.

As Toby scream in pain, Jack joked around again, he started to juggle the eye like a ball, “Oh yes, now I remember, SEE NO EVIL,” he told him laughing. Jack held the eye closer to Toby’s face, holding the eye in the palm of his hand, he spoke, “Watch this,” he joked as he squeezed the eyeball, it popped like a cherry.

Wiping his hands, he pulled the knife from his vest again, “Now we are down to speak no evil,” Jack said seriously while pointing the knife at him.

As the blood dripped how his face, Toby sobbed in pain so close to passing out he finally spoke, “Please, please stop please,” he begged.

Jack lowered the knife, “It can stop whenever you want, all you have to do is tell me where they took my friend,” he told him calmly.