Killing the Dead (Book 14): Enemies Unknown Read online

  Enemies Unknown

  Killing the Dead: Season Three Book Two

  By Richard Murray

  Copyright 2018 Richard Murray

  All Rights Reserved

  All Characters are a work of Fiction.

  Any resemblance to real persons

  Living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Some scenes are based on real locations that

  have been altered for the purposes of the story.

  Dedication

  There are people in this world who wear their joy like a cloak, carrying it with them and sharing fully of themselves with others. These people are special, perhaps even unique in a world full of darkness, and all the more so for that.

  This book is dedicated to one such person. She laughs freely, loves fully, and is a truly wonderful person. This books for you, Debbie.

  Chapter 1

  Samuel strode into the room and immediately, I could tell, the news wasn’t going to be anything I wanted to hear. My stomach lurched and I pressed a hand protectively against it, an instinctive movement to protect the life that was growing there.

  “Well?”

  My voice was shrill, demanding and almost hysterical. I wanted so very much to believe that he hadn’t decided to leave me but there was only so many lies a girl could tell herself before she realised she was living in a fantasy world.

  I’d told him I was pregnant and that very night, he’d disappeared. As much as I wanted to believe otherwise, I couldn’t escape that nagging feeling of doubt that he had shirked his responsibility to me, to us, to his family. Not that it was a stretch to believe that, he was after all, who he was.

  “I…”

  The hesitancy of Samuel’s voice was almost endearing and at any other time would have made me believe him to be more than the cultist he was.

  “My Lady.”

  That couldn’t be good, using the title he had chosen for me as the lover of his beloved leader, the man he believed to be the embodiment of death itself, sent to rid the world of the undead.

  “Just spit it out!”

  Yes, my voice was definitely bordering on hysterical.

  “He is gone.”

  Cass covered my hand with hers, fingers wrapping around and squeezing gently. She was, perhaps, my best friend and one of the few people who knew the truth of who Ryan was. More importantly, she didn’t care. I loved her for that.

  “Maybe there’s a reason,” she said and I gave her hand an answering squeeze.

  “No,” Gregg snapped.

  He unfolded his arms and stared defiantly at me as I looked his way. The horrendous scar that covered one side of his face was an angry crimson and the hollow socket where his eye had been seemed to suck in the surrounding light.

  The creature that had torn through the flesh of his face with its claws had been killed by Ryan, a man he called friend. A man he had once had a noticeable crush on, but who had become the best friend he had, after the death of Pat.

  “I don’t believe it!” he continued. “He wouldn’t do this!”

  “He’s done it before,” Cass said in a voice full of sorrow.

  “Not now,” I said. “Before… before, there was a reason. He thought he’d broken a promise I’d made him swear. Now… no, he wouldn’t walk out on us.”

  I needed to believe it. More than I could have ever imagined, the man had become such an important part of my life. Which, considering that he was a serial killer, was a hell of an achievement.

  Not that I had ever been one of those loonies calling for the death penalty or anything like that, but I’d respected life and looked down on those who so carelessly took it from others. I’d been one for female empowerment, for equality, for saving the world one fucking tree at a time.

  It hadn’t mattered in the long run. The dead had still risen to stalk the earth and the world had died. It had taken a serial killer to save me, to help guide me to my purpose. I wouldn’t give up on him and that meant believing that he wouldn’t walk out on me the very night I had told him I was pregnant with his child.

  “Search again,” I snapped.

  Samuel hesitated, his already round eyes seeming to become circles as they widened at my tone. To say he adored Ryan was an understatement. In his mind, if Ryan had chosen to leave, then it wasn’t up to him to chase after him. But, at the same time, I knew he had an affection for me, like that of a father to a daughter and that was something he was loath to deny.

  “As you command,” he said with a deep bow.

  The door opened before he could reach it and the admiral walked through, taking in the room with a glance and raising a hand, palm out, to stop Samuel from leaving.

  “Apologies for the interruption but I have news.”

  “It’s not an interruption,” I said and managed a weak smile of greeting for him.

  No matter what was happening between Ryan and me, I had effectively taken over control of the island’s government just a day ago and I was pretty sure the business to hand wouldn’t wait. Nor could I, in good conscience, shirk my responsibilities. No matter how badly beaten my heart might be.

  “We have some business to discuss but first,” he rubbed at his chin and glanced at the rest of the people crowded into what had once been the council chamber. “One of my patrol boats reported a fast-moving boat headed towards the mainland in the early hours of the morning.”

  “They were too far away for an intercept but they are reasonably sure it was headed back towards Oban.”

  “We didn’t send anyone out,” I said, excitement edging my voice. “That must have been him!”

  “Not unless there were two others with him,” Admiral Stuart said. “They couldn’t get close enough to ID anyone, but there were definitely three people in the boat.”

  “No one has been reported missing,” Samuel said softly, his eyes distant as he pondered the new information.

  “Can you check. Please?”

  “Of course,” he said with a low bow.

  He strode from the room and I settled back in the leather chair that was made for a much larger person leaving me looking like a child in their parent’s seat. Cass gave my hand another squeeze and offered a comforting smile of support.

  “As to the other matters,” Admiral Stuart said with a polite cough. “Shahid and her supporters are headed north, we suspect to the port village of Ness.”

  “You think they want to leave the island?” Cass asked and he nodded.

  “Little choice, I think.” He looked directly at me and tilted his head forward. “I gave the order to intercept any boats that leave the port. We have several ships close enough that we can blockade the port but the bigger problem then will be them digging in.”

  “So, what? Dig them out then!” Gregg snapped, anger heating his voice.

  “It will not be so easy. We have Colonel Smith in custody but we still don’t know which of his officers were loyal to him.”

  “Use Samuel then.”

  “Again, not so easy,” he said, eyes moving towards me for support.

  “If we send the Dead against the people of the island we will lose what little support we might have,” I told Gregg gently. “Despite what your sister said when we seized power, we are on shaky ground right now.”

  “Yeah, but if you leave her up there then people will start to wonder why. That bitch was feeding people to zombies to make Reapers! She can’t be allowed to go unpunished.”

  “She won’t,” I assured him. “But we need to be careful. Surround the village with troops you know are loyal for the moment. Then, as soon as I can, I’ll head up there and see if we can defuse the situation.”


  “No!” Gregg snapped. “I was sat there, in a cage waiting to be butchered and fed to the zombies. I heard the cries of the people she had killed! We can’t let her get away with it!”

  “We won’t,” I assured him gently. “But there are people living in that village that will be effectively hostages she can use as a shield or bargaining chip. We need to do this the right way.”

  “She can’t get away with this!”

  “And she won’t,” I promised. “She will face justice.”

  “While we are on the subject,” the admiral said with another soft cough. “They released all of the Ferals but the Reapers are still down there, in the basement of the facility.”

  “Burn that fucking place to the ground and them with it,” Gregg said angrily.

  “No,” I said and Gregg pushed himself to his feet, eyes burning with anger.

  A glance from his sister was enough for him to fall silent with a scowl as he clenched his fists and sat back down in the leather chair, eye dropping as he stared down at the polished wooden table.

  “I’m sorry,” I told him as gently as I could. “We won’t be allowing any more people to be fed to them but we have four Reapers down in that basement. Four of the most powerful of the undead and we have not only a chance to study them, but also to find out how best to kill them.”

  “She’s right,” Cass offered in support when her brother didn’t respond. “There’s a lot of zombies still out there and there’s still too few of us. We need to find a way to kill them without killing ourselves in the process.”

  “If it is okay with you,” Admiral Stuart said. “I have some people I trust. We can take over the facility and locate any data left by Shahid's people. They can also begin their investigation of the Reapers.”

  “Fine,” I said, eyes not leaving Gregg. “But I want complete transparency and frequent updates.”

  “Of course.”

  “Anything else?” Cass asked with a concerned look at me. “We all need rest, but you most of all.”

  I pressed a hand against my stomach, almost able to imagine that I could feel the life growing there. Our baby. Mine and Ryan’s.

  “A few more items but I shall be as quick as possible,” the admiral said.

  “Okay.”

  She gave him a stern look and even with everything that was going on, I couldn’t help but smile at her. She was being incredibly protective and if that was because she secretly believed Ryan had run out on me, she was a good enough friend not to press the issue too much.

  “All of the CDF troops in the town have been disarmed and taken to the airport to the east of town.”

  “We have an airport?” Gregg asked, finally lifting his head to look at the admiral.

  “Yes, small by most standards but it is clear and we have a few grounded planes there. I had some ideas of how to use them but the new, or perhaps the old, government decided they wanted to focus on just the island.”

  “We can discuss them later,” Cass said admonishingly.

  “Of course. The CDF troops are under guard and are being processed. Once we have weeded out any we believe were loyal to Colonel Smith, we shall assign the others to Samuel for training.”

  “Ramp up production of weapons,” I said with a nod to the poignard on the table before me. “I want as many of them and the steel bucklers as we can possibly make.”

  “We aren’t short of materials, but it is mainly manpower and facilities to manufacture them,” the admiral said. “How many are you wanting?”

  “Enough for every man and woman on this island.”

  His eyes widened at that and he nodded thoughtfully, moving his lips as he ticked off some list in his head.

  “It can be done, though I will need some time.”

  “Take the time you need to make sure they are well made,” I said. “Just get them done.”

  “Of course. Now, I have sent Captain Jennings on a tour of the island with a couple of squads of marines. He will ensure the outlying villages handle the transition of power smoothly.”

  “Word will have already reached them,” Cass said. “Having the radio network is all well and good but it means we are going to be chasing the news for a little while.”

  “Indeed, however, I don’t foresee any real resistance,” Admiral Stuart said. “He will also be seeking recruits.”

  “Good,” I said with a smile of thanks to him. “I was serious when I said we would be taking our war to the mainland.”

  “That pleases me more than you can know,” the admiral said softly.

  He was a man of duty and it was clear to any who spent just a little time with him that sitting on his ship anchored out to sea while there were people suffering and dying on the mainland was something that pained him greatly.

  While the government had decided not to utilise his fleet, I had other plans.

  “I want a comprehensive list of the locations of every single group we have been in contact with,” I said and he nodded, smile growing. “Once we have that, I would appreciate your tactical expertise in devising a plan of action to locate and retrieve those people.”

  “That will not be a problem. I have been working on them for some time.”

  “Excellent. When we are ready, we’ll speak with Samuel. I have no doubt that he will be eager to assign some of the acolytes to the task. We will send them with some of our own and finally do some good.”

  “One final thing,” he said with a widening smile. “I don’t think that I can keep calling you Lieutenant Morgan, not when you are now my boss.”

  “Lily will be fine,” I said with a smile of my own. “I have no need for a title.”

  “But you do,” Samuel said as he came back into the room. He bowed low before me. “Apologies, My Lady.”

  “Why does she need a title?” Gregg asked.

  “The people need a leader. Someone they can look up to, someone they can believe in. A title will give you their respect for they will know you are different from them.”

  “But I’m not.”

  “You are.” He said it firmly and looked me directly in the eye as he did. “You have taken control from an inept and corrupt group of politicians. No offence intended.”

  “None taken,” Cass said primly.

  She had, until just the day before, been one of those members of government.

  “The people will need to see that you are different and they will need a firm hierarchy to feel safe. You are going to be at the top of that hierarchy and you need to acknowledge that.”

  “More than that,” Admiral Stuart added. “You will need a council to help you run everything. You can’t do it alone.”

  “Well that at least is easy,” I said. “You are now the minister of war and Cass is…”

  “No,” she said. “I can’t be part of it because I was part of the last one. People need to see that you are different from them.”

  “I’m different because I believe in you,” I told her. “You’re going to be my second. There will be times when I cannot be somewhere or when I have to attend to… other things.”

  My hand pressed against my stomach and she smiled and nodded.

  “When I’m not there, I need someone I can trust to take the reins. That is, you.”

  “Very well then,” she said. “We’ll need others though. Even with so few of us left, there’s too much work for just three.”

  “Gregg…”

  “Not a chance,” he said. “I’m not suited to it, but if you need someone to talk to, I’m always here for you.”

  “You are perfectly suited to it,” I said firmly. “And it is exactly because you don’t want it.”

  I looked at each of them, making sure to meet their gazes squarely as I spoke. I wanted them to understand that I meant everything I said and that change, true change, was happening and necessary if we wanted to survive as a species.

  “Anyone who seeks office is not suited for it at this moment in time. We need people who see it as a dut
y and not as a career option or a way to improve their own lives. The people who will work with us will be those who, while not wanting it, will take on the responsibility because they want to make things better for everyone.”

  “There will be no corruption, no perks of power.” I set my jaw and lifted my chin as I imagined the life growing beneath my fingers. “Our children will inherit a world that is different from the one we had. That one died and what will come next will be something better.”

  “A fine goal,” Samuel said with a smile. “And one that I approve of.”

  “You will also have a part in this,” I said and held up a hand to forestall his protests. “No, I know you and your acolytes must be held apart, but you are still people and as such, must have a voice in the way forward.”

  “As you command,” he said with a bow. “But it will be only until My Lord Death returns.”

  “If he does,” I said with more than a little sorrow.

  “About that,” he said and cleared his throat as all eyes turned to him. “Two acolytes are missing and after some, polite, questioning of those who live in the area…”

  “What?”

  “A couple, dressed in the garb of the Dead, were seen carrying another towards the docks.”

  “You think it was Ryan?”

  “I think that he has been taken against his will and no follower would do such a thing,” Samuel said. “Two fists are gathering supplies and will set out immediately.”

  My heart beat faster as the implications of his words settled in. Abducted! Someone had taken him against his will and right from the heart of our island. A burning ember of fury sparked in my belly and I felt a scowl form and then fall away as realisation came.

  He hadn’t left us.

  “Whatever you need,” Admiral Stuart said. “A boat, supplies, weapons. Just name it.”

  “My thanks,” he said. “A boat will be enough.”

  “The fastest we have.”

  Samuel tilted his head towards the admiral, a slight bow showing his respect and thanks.

  “I’ll go too,” Gregg said.

  “What?” Cass scowled at him and he looked back without blinking.

  “You want me to take part and help you run this place, fine. I will. But first I need to go find my friend and as much as I know you want to, you can’t. I can.”