Search for Safety: Killing the Dead Book Two (12 page)

I made use of the urinals before washing my hands and face at one of the sinks. The water was cold but it was extremely pleasant to be able to wash away the muck and grime. I stared at my reflection for long moments as the water dripped from my chin.

It looked like I had lost weight and the dark smudges beneath my eyes bore testament to how little true rest I had been able to find lately. I badly needed a shave and perhaps even a haircut. My usual grooming routine had fallen by the wayside weeks ago.

With a shake of my head at the wretched state of affairs I had found myself in, I left the toilet facilities and decided to take a look around the golf club.

The function rooms were uniformly boring. Tables and chairs were stacked neatly along one wall, where they would wait until someone came along to set them out. Thick carpet with some pattern that was no doubt supposed to be pleasing covered the floor and the windows were all boarded up against intrusion.

I wondered where they had found all the plywood. The nails and tools too, come to think of it. With a shrug I moved on, limping slowly through the building and eventually up to the second floor.

A sign on the door told me that I was standing in front of the manager’s office, while the next door along was the staff room and beyond that some other office that had no nameplate. I pushed open the door to the manager’s office and went inside.

As offices go it wasn’t spectacular. Paintings and photos of people golfing covered the walls along with a number of plaques commemorating various tournament wins. The large wooden desk could have been found in any stationery store, as could the leather chair that sat behind it.

Filing cabinets lined one wall and in the corner behind the desk sat a safe, which was locked and would doubtless remain unopened for a long time. Irked that my curiosity about the safes contents would go unsatisfied I sat in the, admittedly comfortable leather chair and stared out of the window.

The manager’s window overlooked a great deal of the golf course. Long stretches of green grass, still wet from the morning dew and lit by the rising of the sun. Shallow holes filled with sand, small flags waving in the wind and small stands of trees set strategically around the course to give the golfers some semblance of privacy as they hit their balls.

It would have been a peaceful and pleasing sight if it hadn’t been marred by the small groups of zombies that were wandering across the course.

There weren’t too many zombies, nothing really to worry about. A small group off to one side would walk straight past the club house and into the woods we had arrived through. That’s if they could get past the fence anyway.

A few lone undead were wandering towards the club house or perhaps the car park beside it. It may be worth taking care of those before they noticed we were in here. As much as I would like to kill them, I would have to let the others do it. I couldn’t yet trust my mobility in a fight.

Something agitated the zombies on the course and I thought for a moment that someone had stepped outside. I was surprised a minute later to see a helicopter fly across the trees and golf course, headed in a roughly north-easterly direction.

That could change things. It would indicate that the military were still active somewhere and civilisation was still up and running. I debated whether or not I should tell the others. On the one hand, it would give them hope but on the other, well they may insist on finding the troops and I had no intention of putting myself in the hands of any authority.

Of course the chance to get some supplies could be useful. We were woefully short on effective weapons and I would happily kill for some camping equipment right about now. I was so lost in my quiet contemplation that I didn’t hear Gregg enter the room behind me.

“Hey mate” he said as he crossed over to the window to stare down at the shambling undead. “Thought I was the only one awake and checking this place out.” He added with a glance across at me.

“I like to rise early” I told him.

“Yeah me too.” He nodded amiably, “Comes from having to get up for early morning shifts at the factory.”

Once again I was stuck for something to say. Was I supposed to agree and ask him about his work? Was I supposed to tell him my own tale and share my own life experiences? I really hated social talk. I sat and stared through the window, sure that the silence was growing ever more uncomfortable.

“So what kind of work did you do?” Gregg asked finally.

“Office stuff.”

“Cool, yeah I was never any good at computers and stuff like that.” He said with a grin that seemed to show he was happy with his inability to master simple tasks.

“What do you think of these new guys?” he asked after another short silence.

“They seem pleasant enough. They are willing to share this place at least.” I said.

“Yeah that’s true.” He replied and we sat once more in silence.

I was considering leaving and finding another quiet space but the chair was very comfortable and was just far enough back from the window to allow me to raise my leg and rest my ankle on the window ledge.

“We staying here?” Gregg asked.

“You would be best served by asking Lily,” I told him, wondering why he insisted on talking with me.

“Yeah, maybe.” He said with a thoughtful expression. “You and her a thing?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, you guys together, like Rachel and Pat” Gregg said with a gesture in the general direction of the two members of our group who were definitely in a couple.

“No.”

“Oh right. I just thought. You know, because she talks with you a lot and stuff.” He had the grace to look embarrassed.

“I only met her a couple of weeks ago. We have helped each other out.” I told him.

Gregg nodded and went back to staring out of the window and I wondered about his questions. “Are you interested in her?” I asked him, for some reason I was concerned he would say yes.

“Nah mate. Not my type if you know what I mean.” He said with a laugh.

“I have no idea what you mean.” I told him.

“I’m gay.” He said with a glance across at me, “Is that a problem?”

“I don’t see why it would be.” I said with a strange feeling of relief.

“Cool, cool. Some people get... you know. Weird.” Gregg said.

“Why?” I was genuinely curious. It had always struck me that people were odd when it came to sex but I had never understood why it was a problem. It mattered not a bit to me who someone had sex with. They would all die the same way if I chose to end their lives.

That thought brought me back to the problem of this new group. My promise to Lily meant that I was not able to directly kill anyone who she would class as innocent, which was a pain but if I could find a way to indirectly kill them, well that would work.

I realised I had missed Greggs reply and rather than ask again I settled back into the chair and enjoyed the silence as I considered ways of getting rid of a few people.

“Hey guys” Cass called as she entered the room, “We were wondering where you are. Breakfast is ready if you’re interested.”

Gregg wasted no time and headed straight out of the room with his sister in tow. I decided to sit and enjoy the solitude a little bit longer. My ankle was resting comfortably, the view was not unpleasant and if I were totally honest with myself, the bar contained far too many people in such close confines for my taste.

The zombies had all moved away from the golf course by now, they had followed along after the helicopter, though they had no chance at all of actually catching it. It was at that moment a rather unpleasant thought occurred to me.

They would of course keep moving in the general direction the helicopter had gone and the helicopter hadn’t set off from this golf course, so somewhere along the way the helicopter had likely picked up quite a number of zombies who would be following along in its wake, which happened to include the place it had flown directly over. I began to swear as I pulled myself to my feet.

Chapter 12

I limped into the bar and without much preamble recounted what I had seen this morning and what I believed it would mean for us. Lily of course, grasped my meaning immediately and started explaining to those who didn’t understand.

“Are you sure they will be coming?” Eric asked.

“We have seen it before. They start moving and don’t stop unless they have a reason.” Lily told him.

“How secure is this place?” I asked Eric.

“The windows are covered and the doors will lock, but they are just wood. With enough of them out there, they will get through.”

“Is there access to the roof?” I asked.

“Yes. A ladder around back goes all the way to the roof.” Eric said pointing in the rough direction of the back wall.

“Someone needs to get up there and keep an eye out.”

“I’ll do it” said Rachel, “I can use the rifle scope.”

“Fine but no shooting” Lily told her sternly. “You see anything coming, you get down here and tell us.”

Rachel agreed and ran for the door, stopping only to pick up her rifle. Pat went with her after a gesture from Lily. He at least would keep her from doing something truly stupid and bringing all kinds of hell down on us.

“So what do the rest of us do?” Debbie asked, fear evident in her voice.

“We wait.” I said before turning my attention to Eric, “Do any of those cars out there work?”

“Yes they should all work.”

“What about keys?”

“We have the keys for a few of them” he said moving across to the bar and reaching beneath it. He pulled out several sets of keys and brought them across to me.

“What are you thinking?” Lily asked as she came over to stand beside me.

“These creatures keep moving unless they are distracted right?” I asked and she nodded, “Well if we do see some coming close, we can jump in a car and drive it past them and lead them away from here.”

“It will need to be someone familiar with the area” Lily said thoughtfully.

“I can do that” said Eric.

“So can I” John added as he joined us, “I delivered takeout all around this area, I know it like the back of my hand.”

“No. You aren’t going anywhere” said Debbie, her voice rising.

“It would probably be a good idea to have two cars, they can go in different directions and split any group they find.” I said to Lily as Eric moved away to placate the worried mother.

“Two people to a car,” she said “One to drive and the other to help navigate and add protection on the way back here.”

“Ok, that makes sense. I suppose I can go in one of the cars.” I told her, the familiar excitement rising at the thought of potential violence.

“No. Not you.” Lily said firmly.

“What. Why?” I asked.

“You need to rest your ankle. Anyone who goes in the cars will be walking back. If they drive back they will just bring the zombies with them.” Her tone was firm and brooked no argument. “I will go in one car and maybe Pat in the other.”

“No! That’s too dangerous.” I told her and she laughed.

“This whole world is too dangerous these days.” She said with a wide smile. “It’s nice to know you care though.” She added with a soft touch on my arm before she moved away to talk with the others.

I was confused by my own discomfort at the idea of her putting herself in danger and doubly so by how familiar her touch had become. I despised being touched by people and avoided it wherever possible. I had even killed someone once just because they had touched me, yet I found that I could tolerate her touch and in some cases even welcome it.

With a deep sigh I dismissed the troublesome thoughts and sat by the fireplace as I watched the people bustle around at their various tasks. I was annoyed that my ankle was preventing me from doing anything useful and if I were totally honest I resented being denied the chance to kill.

“Hi, Ryan isn’t it?” a pleasant voice asked from behind me. I looked around to see the pretty red headed nurse.

“Yes?”

“How’s your ankle doing?” she asked.

“It’s painful but I can get around on it.” I replied.

“Well how about I have a look at it anyway.” Louise said and added, “If you have any other injuries I can look at them too, I have some medicines here.” She indicated the bag that was hanging from her shoulder with a wide strap.

“Sure. Why not,” I said.

“Great, come with me then.” Louise said with a bright smile and a cheerful expression as she led the way to a more private room that had served as a dining room. She indicated that I should sit on the edge of one of the tables.

When I was seated she pulled up a chair and set it before me. She had me remove my shoe and sock before inspecting my ankle.

“Well the swelling seems to be minimal so it looks to be recovering.” She told me. “I have a compression bandage that will help support it and in a week or so you should be fine.”

I grunted and watched sullenly as she wrapped the bandage tightly around my ankle and up my calf. I was feeling sulky already for missing out on the excitement and the thought that I would be limited for a week or more was almost too depressing.

“Anything else I need to look at?” she asked after she had secured the bandage.

“A couple of things,” I told her as I pulled up my shirt to reveal the gauze that had been taped over the wound from where I had injured myself with a screwdriver just after this whole mess had begun.

“What happened here?” she asked, voice raised in concern. I explained how I had been forced to leap across an alleyway and landed badly with a screwdriver in my jacket pocket that had cut deeply into my flesh.

Louise tutted and poked at the raised red flesh around the edge of the gash. “Have you had anyone look at this?” she asked.

“Some army medic did back at a refuge centre. She gave me some antibiotics but they were lost about a week ago before I could finish them.”

“You have been incredibly lucky then.” Louise said with a shake of her head. “It looks like you avoided the worst but it doesn’t look right.” She sighed. “I am going to have to clean it out, this will hurt.”