Family Matters: Season 2 Book 3 (Killing the Dead 9) (16 page)

I glanced down at the hound and noted the wound on her side. I gestured for her to stay, the Ferals were not as easy to kill as the other undead and I didn’t expect Lily would be pleased if I let the dog die in a fight with one. Charlie, of course, was little use in a fight with a normal zombie, so I dismissed her and took a deep breath.

Thud, thud, thud… pause then repeat. As it came closer to the corner it got louder, the sound echoing along the corridor and beneath it, a faint snuffling as though the Feral truly was hunting a scent.
That’s not disturbing at all.

It moved again and I stepped out in front of it, my arm lashing out with the claw blade, a distraction that made it sway to the side to meet my other hand that held the combat knife.

With more agility than I expected, it ducked the combat knife and jumped back, a low wail issuing from its mouth. I bit down on the urge to curse and stalked forward, weapons held before me. The damned backpack sitting like a boulder on my back.

The Feral darted forward, hands lashing out and I did swear as my coat received a new tear in its material. It swung its arm again and I raised my own to block it as I kicked at its legs to little effect. I was tired and it seemed to sense that as it toyed with me. Darting in and swiping with its clawed fingers and backing away.

I backed up, even with and then past the corridor where the others were. It followed without taking its eyes from me and I whistled, low and insistent. Without hesitation Jinx dashed from the corridor and leapt onto the hunched back of the Feral, powerful jaws seeking its neck.

It growled and stood upright, shaking from side to side as it reached up with its hands to try and reach the hound. I saw my chance and stepped into its range, combat knife plunging up beneath its chin and into the brain.

Without a sound, it fell to the ground and I heaved a deep sigh. Bone weary and limbs trembling, I pulled my knife free and patted the dog on the head. She’d been more than useful and I’d remember that. She’d certainly earned her place in my little group of trusted friends.

“Fuck me!” Charlie said as she joined me in heading towards the stairs. “What the fuck was that?”

“Feral,” I said. “Smarter, faster and harder to kill than the usual undead.”

“Those are what’re outside?”

“Yes.”

“Oh fuck me.”

I held back the grin as I pushed open the door to the stairwell. She’d proven herself less than useless in a fight and while I had no objection to her presence if she could keep up, I had no intention of saving her life if more of them came after us.

      
      
      
      
      
****

We were out of the doors and across the bridge without being seen. It was only while crossing the open landing field that a howl sounded behind us and I looked back to see a lone Feral crouched beside the stacked, tarpaulin covered bodies.

With an impressive litany of curses, Charlie gave up all pretence of stealth and redoubled her efforts to cross the field, following the path we had made earlier. Jinx looked at me and set off at a trot as I jogged along behind, the damn backpack a great deal heavier with every step.

I glanced back to see other Ferals gathering, the one that had sounded the alarm had moved forward a few paces and had settled into a crouch to wait for reinforcements. Another sign of them working together which made them even more dangerous.

The reasons we’d survived so often against the other undead was that they didn’t work together. They fought against one another to be the first to reach our flesh and as such got in each other's way. If the Ferals weren’t doing that, then we may well be in a great deal of trouble.

Charlie reached the fence and didn’t stop. I glanced back again as I reached the corner of the house and saw them set off, bounding along on hands and feet as they chased across the field. Rats and carrion birds that had ignored us scattered at their approach. I didn’t need to count them to see there were far too many for us and behind them, moving slowly, a herd of the Shamblers.

We raced through the garden and along the road. My legs aching and sweat streaming from me as I ran. The girl had put a fair bit of distance between us and it irked me that she was more likely to survive than I was, purely because I had done all of the work so far and exhausted myself in the process.

In the distance, Gregg was jumping up and down, waving for our attention. I really hoped he had a car as I glanced back and saw the Ferals burst from the garden and spread across the road. Faster than I’d expected, certainly faster than me and it was only the fact that I’d started so far ahead of them that had kept me from their reach.

At my best, most rested, I could have tried to stand my ground. Using the parked cars and the area around as protection as I attempted to kill them all. But exhausted, carrying a backpack I had overfilled with medicines and with little left to give… I wouldn’t have a chance.

Charlie had reached Gregg and with his aid, moved from her chair and into a deep green car. He attempted to fold her chair as Jinx leapt over it and straight into the backseat of the car.

“Leave it,” I shouted as I neared him.

I didn’t bother to try and take the backpack off but just climbed straight into the car as he stared wide-eyed at the mass of undead following me. He abandoned the wheelchair and practically jumped into the passenger's seat before Reece pressed down on the accelerator and set off with the roar of the engine drowned out by the sounds of the howling undead.

“What about my chair!” Charlie screamed at me and I purposefully sheathed the knife I held as I ignored her.

“You can get out and go back for it if you want,” Gregg said. “But I wouldn’t bloody recommend it. What the hell was that?”

“The Ferals followed us,” I said as I let my head fall back on the upholstered seat.

“Still following,” Reece commented and I looked back through the rear window to see a mass of undead racing down the road after us.

“Tell me this road doesn’t lead straight back to the sanctuary,” I said.

“According to the map I found in the glove compartment, this road leads most of the way there and then splits. One way towards Carlisle and the other, to the castle,” Gregg said.

“Castle?” Charlie and Reece both said at the same time.

“We better hope we reach the turn off well ahead of them so they don’t see which way we go,” I said, ignoring the question. “I doubt they’ll be happy if we bring so many right to them.”

“Speed up,” Gregg said to Reece.

As Reece concentrated on driving and Gregg watched the road attentively, Charlie stared down at her legs no doubt wondering what she’d do without any means of getting around. I was just glad for the silence. Jinx put her head on my leg and I scratched her idly behind the ear as I hoped we wouldn’t be too late to save Lily.

Chapter 17 – Lily

The pain was still there when I awoke. Not the deep, throbbing pain of the infection eating away at me in the wound in my stomach, the much deeper pain that seemed to start deep in my soul. I swiped at my eyes with one hand and felt at the dampness on my cheeks.

“You were crying in your sleep,” Evelyn said softly. I looked over to see her seated beside the window. Her eyes were red and I had no doubt she’d been weeping too.

“I have a lot to cry about I suppose,” I replied and her lips formed into a half smile before it faded away, all too soon.

“That you do.”

“What time is it?”

“As best I can tell, it’s about half six in the evening.”

“No watches,” I said with a sigh. “I keep forgetting that.”

“My dad has an old pocket watch, keeps it wound up so he always knows the time but the rest of us who had embraced the modern technology that needed batteries… we’ve no clue.”

She laughed. It was a low, full-throated sound with more than a little bitterness.

“Are you ok?”

“No,” she said and looked out the window, away from me. “I just spent the last two hours consoling my mum and dad who’ve found out their son killed two people.”

Evelyn turned back to me and her eyes were full of tears. “The worst part was, all the time I was trying to console them I knew that he’s likely killed a lot more than those two. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“No,” I said and her tears fell. “You suspected already though didn’t you?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve suspected for years. I’d watch the news and read the papers. Would you believe that I had a scrapbook at home full of newspaper clippings and reward posters for people who’d gone missing?”

I nodded slowly as I pushed myself to a sitting position. I was still dressed which was a bonus, but the pain didn’t lessen.

“For years, I’d sit on a night and try to figure out which ones were missing because of my brother.”

“Must have been hard.”

“Oh it was,” she said and pulled a tissue from her pocket to wipe at her nose, sniffling into it. “But not as hard as seeing him again after I thought he was dead and hoping for a moment that I was wrong. Then I met you.”

“Me?”

“Someone who knew exactly what he was and didn’t care.”

“I cared,” I said and it was my turn to laugh, a short, sharp burst of laughter that cut off as pain wracked me. “I cared right up until I realised that in this world, it was a benefit. He’s saved a lot of people.”

“And killed more,” she countered.

“Mostly ones who deserved it,” I said.

“Like those two young men who were just trying to protect their families?”

“Yes like them,” I snapped. “Whether he was fully justified in killing them or not it was done to help me, so their deaths are on my conscience.”

“And that hurts doesn’t it,” she said shrewdly. Her gaze fixed on me and her head began to nod slowly. “You’re feeling that guilt and questioning things.”

“Perhaps I am.”

“How do you think he’ll take it when he realises that?” she asked and I stiffened.

“That’s between me and him.”

“No, because from what I see, you’re the only thing keeping him from becoming a true monster. What do you think will happen if he doesn’t have you to do that?”

It was my turn to laugh and my laughter grew as I saw the confusion on her face. “Is that what you think is going to happen?” I asked. “That I’ll leave him?”

“You won’t?”

“Of course not,” I snapped. “For all his faults, and there are a few. I love him. What’s happened won’t change that and while I will be having a rather long and serious talk with him about his definitions, I have no intention of leaving him.”

“Even though he’s a killer, a murderer?”

“And he’s the man who saved my life. Cass, Pat, Gregg, and so many others. Even when he had no need to do so, he did it. That tells me there’s something in him trying to change.”

“You’re deluding yourself. He’s a psychopath who cares only for himself. Anything he feels for you is make believe. He might desire you, enjoy your company even, but he can never love you.”

“No,” I said and this I did know to be true. “You’re wrong.”

Before she could say anything else, there came a pounding on the door before it opened and Pat stuck his head in.

“There’s a car coming this way, everyone’s out in the courtyard.”

“Ryan?” I asked and he shrugged.

A thought occurred to me as I pushed aside the covers and I looked across at Evelyn whose face bore no surprise. “You’ve been talking as though he were alive this whole time.”

“I suspected my brother might have been wrong,” she said.

“Help me up,” I instructed Pat and he nodded and hurried over, picking me up in his large arms and cradling me as I gasped in pain. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” he replied with a smile.

“Get me to the courtyard.”

He hurried out of the room, Evelyn following behind us and along deserted corridors to the door that led outside.

People filled the courtyard and by the gate, giving instructions was Bryan. His clothes were rumpled and he looked tired and older than before, but still in control. Caleb was beside him and I realised how much trouble there might be if it was actually Ryan.

“Here’s Cass,” Pat said and pushed through a small cluster of people to join her. She nodded a greeting at our approach.

Becky and Georgia stood beside her and each gave their greeting as Pat let me down beside them, though he kept one arm carefully around my waist to keep me from falling.

“You think it’s him?” Cass asked and Becky snorted.

“Harder to kill than a cockroach, of course it’s him.”

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you too,” I said to her, perhaps a little snide but still…

“Yeah well, Gabe told me how he ended up with a bandaged neck, so I have to say I’m a little pissed with him.”

“Why? How?” I asked.

“He was going to kill another two of the people in the village,” she said as her voice dropped low and she looked around to make sure we wouldn’t be overheard. “Gabe disagreed and Ryan tried to kill him. It was only Gregg intervening that saved him.”

“C’mon,” Pat said. “If he wanted to kill him, he would have. Don’t get me wrong, I love Gregg like a brother but he isn’t a fighter.”

“Yeah, my brother’s got a lot of heart but he couldn’t stop Ryan unless Ryan wanted him to.”

“Well we may see for sure in a minute,” Becky said as the wide gates opened and a green Vauxhall Corsa drove slowly through.

“No security measures at all,” Pat muttered. “Could be anyone in that car and they just let them in.”

The car slowed to a stop as the crowd parted around it and the front and back doors open. Gregg was the first to emerge and a sob came from Cass who had her hands to her mouth and shining eyes fixed on her brother, who she perhaps had half believed was dead.

A younger man I didn’t know got out of the driver's side and then from the rear door came Ryan. He was haggard and covered almost head to toe in blood and other substances but it was undeniably him. His eyes swept the crowd, passing over his family without pause and resting finally on me, a smile forming on his lips.

“Bastard!” Caleb screamed as he ran at Ryan, fists raised high as he saw the look of recognition in Bryan’s face.