Killing The Dead (Book 16): Infected Read online

  Infected

  Killing the Dead: Season Three Book Four

  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.

  Chapter 1

  The sea pulled at me, it’s waves crashing against my legs as though it was trying to pull me back into its dark embrace. I could feel it’s hunger, it’s darkness, so very like my own. I admit that I was tempted.

  It wouldn’t take much. Just a few steps back and then fall, letting those icy cold waters of the Irish Sea take me into their embrace. One day, perhaps, but not then, not when there was so much death and destruction to come.

  I unsheathed my blades, the long knife in my right hand and the short one in my left. A savage grin crossing my face as I pulled myself free of the greedy embrace of the sea and strode onto the land.

  My darkness called to me, a ravenous hunger for death that could never be fully sated. It demanded sacrifice, sustenance for the emptiness within. I was happy to comply.

  A shambling zombie lurched towards me, its fear of the water washed away by the need to taste of my flesh. My blade crashed through the bone of its forehead and it fell without a sound.

  As if in response, a thousand other voices cried out, their moans rising all along the shore and my laughter echoed out in reply. I lifted my arm and pointed at the surging mass of undead as they made their way towards me, shuffling and stumbling on rotted limbs.

  My minions answered.

  Two hundred black-clad men and women, my followers, my soldiers, my army of the Dead. They pulled themselves from the sea, their voices rising as they gave out their cry to battle, their resounding call to arms.

  We are the Dead.

  They crashed into the ranks of the undead, their knives rising and black blood filling the air. The newest members, those most recently joined, they were the first to sink their blades into the undying enemy. They were the first to fall to their grasping hands and foul bite.

  It was no matter. The weak would die and the strong would continue the fight. There was no give, no surrender, no quarter. It was us or them and, We were the Dead, and battle was joined.

  We killed without emotion, without even conscious thought. Our arms rising and falling, blades sinking deep into half-rotted flesh. A hundred dead zombies soon became a thousand and then two. Our losses, minimal, the weak falling away and the strong growing only more powerful, more confident in their ability to kill the undead scourge.

  All too soon, it was over. Silence fell and I turned to my brethren, their faces hidden, but all eyes on me, and I raised my arm in victorious exultation. Their cries echoed across the beach, fists pumping the air.

  Behind us, the regular soldiers came ashore. Their faces showing fear, apprehension and more than a little awe. We were the head of the spear, the shock troops, the first into the breach and we were fearless.

  “My Lord Death,” a black-clad minion said as she knelt on the soiled sand beside my feet. “Your orders.”

  “Cleanse this town.”

  She rose to her feet, fist thumping against her breast and was gone. Gathering the other Righteous with her and relaying my order. I forced the condescending smirk from my face and watched them scurry about their tasks.

  Each of the Righteous commanded five fists. All eight of them gathered their commands and set off into the town, but not before each of them detailed one black-clad minion to head towards me.

  An honour guard.

  I didn’t hide my sneer. I knew what it was. They were terrified that something would happen to me, that I would be abducted again. It was no doubt Samuel’s idea and I would have words with him. It would be useless to send them away since that would be one of the few orders of mine that they would ignore.

  “Sir,” a voice said behind me and I turned about to see a familiar face.

  “Captain Jennings,” I said by way of greeting and gave a pointed look at his left hand.

  There was a finger missing there and he had cut it away himself at my command. Something that, judging by the crimson that heated his cheeks, still rankled.

  “We have orders to escort you back to the ship.”

  I flicked the blood from my blade and flashed him a grin. It would be interesting to see what he would do should I refuse to go.

  “She really was quite insistent.”

  My grin faded a little at that. He wasn’t wrong. When she had learnt of my plan to lead the assault on the Isle of Man, well, let’s just say that there were few in the town that hadn’t been speaking of it for days afterwards.

  I tilted my head and stared at him as columns of CDF soldiers moved past us, each of them trying their best not to look my way. They had all heard the stories and had just seen me in action and I was pretty sure it was safe to say they were impressed.

  “Sir, your wounds are not fully healed.”

  Bah, a week of laying around the town had given me ample time to recover. Besides, I knew what was waiting for me back at the island and I had no real desire to face that.

  “Very well.” If my voice were cold, then there was a good reason. I would sooner face the undead while still burdened by the wounds I had taken after leaving the bunker, than face what awaited me. “I shall return to the ship.”

  The captain saluted once more and I sheathed my blades with a final lingering look at the bodies that crowded the shore. He wasn’t wrong. The beach-head had been established and they would spend the next few days securing it.

  Only once secure would they consider moving out across the island fighting any pockets of undead that they could find. The idea being to cleanse it entirely of the undead before moving the majority of our current population across.

  It would be boring and the exciting part was done. For the moment at least.

  All along the beach, small inflatable boats were being pulled ashore and men and women, young and old, were climbing out. They each carried a pack and a poignard on their belt. Many of them had the newer spears that were being trialled.

  Five feet of machined wood with a foot long pointed steel tip on the end and a steel crossguard just below that. With the steel bucklers they all carried on their left arm, they could push away any zombie that came close and kill them from afar without needing to get in range of the teeth.

  Beyond them, out at sea, was the one destroyer the admiral had sent with the invasion force and the former cruise ship that had carried the three thousand CDF and my own two hundred Dead.

  I waded out towards the nearest inflatable boat and climbed aboard, salt water dripping from my soaked clothes. Even though it was midsummer, I would probably get a cold because of how chill it had been.

  Lily had explained that. Something to do with the radioactive fires and the junk they sent up into the air as nuclear power plants melted down, which was added to everything thrown up when some countries had tried to solve their zombie problem with nukes.

  It wasn’t going to be a full on nuclear winter, which would have probably wiped out all life on earth, but it had lowered the temperature by almost an entire degree and filled the sky with ominous grey clouds that didn’t seem to part.

  That would no doubt prove challenging as winter approached but I was confident Lily would find some solution to keep everyone alive. Especially our unborn children.

  To my surprise, that brought a smile to my face. My children, our children. Twins.

  N
ever in my life had I considered that I would have children and I found the prospect somewhat interesting, possibly even exciting. As someone who didn’t often get excited, that was a new and strange experience.

  With my guards huddled around me we made it back to one of the smaller support ships. A former pleasure craft, it had likely once been used for the odd fishing trip or small holiday. Since the end of the world, it had become a fast transport.

  My mood soured as I realised it had likely only been sent with the small invasion fleet so that I could use it to return to Lily all the sooner. She had outthought me and that irritated me greatly.

  I climbed aboard and without a word, the captain started the engines and turned us about. It wouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to make the return journey and I had no intention of sitting in wet clothing for its entirety.

  So, without a word to the other people on board, I went to the cabin below decks and stripped off. My bodyguards didn’t follow, instead taking up station outside the door. Though, to be fair, one did ensure the room was safe first.

  I settled onto the bed and pulled the covers over myself and let my head fall back onto the pillow. Just a week or so ago, I had been wandering the countryside with just a knife and some boots I had taken from a dead man.

  Zombies, raiders and even mercenaries had attacked me and I had survived them all. Since then, I had barely had a moment without several of my minions hovering protectively around me. They were terrified that something would happen to me again.

  It left me feeling trapped and that was a dangerous thing for me to feel. An animal in a trap would gnaw its own leg off to get free. A serial killer in a trap would play possum and then kill the one who set the trap when they came to check on it.

  I needed a little more freedom than I currently found myself with. If I didn’t get it, then it was entirely likely that people would die.

  It didn’t escape me that the problem was of my own making. I had been the one to create the death cult that surrounded me so cloyingly protectively. I had fallen in love with a woman who, apparently, wanted me to remain alive.

  Even so, I needed a little more alone time to be me.

  I was still pondering how I would get that when a knock came at the door and the muffled voice of a minion announced our imminent arrival back at the Isle of Lewis where we had made our home.

  My clothes were still wet and I pulled the jeans on with a grimace before heading back up onto deck. I arrived there in time to see the boat glide into a stop at the docks.

  There were a few people gathered there, nothing like the crowd that had seen the fleet off. I met the eyes of the woman I loved, seeing the concern in them as they searched my face for signs of injury.

  Gregg, beside her, leant in and whispered something that made her laugh and I nodded a greeting to him. His efforts were appreciated. He’d taken it upon himself to be a distraction for her in my absence and his friendship was unquestioned.

  My mood soured as I looked to the other side of her and caught sight of the older woman with the greying hair. I squared my shoulders and jumped over to the dock, my guards following me, even there.

  A short walk along the wooden dock to where the group waited, which seemed weirdly longer than it should be. Lily stepped forward as I approached, pulling me into her embrace. Her lips were warm against my cheek and her breath hot as she held me.

  “Have fun?”

  “I did,” I replied with a grin that soured as the eyes of the older woman remained fixed on me, a frown forming on her face. Lily noticed my expression.

  “Be nice,” she whispered.

  “I always am,” I said with a wicked grin that raised a laugh from her. I turned to the older woman and sucked in a breath. “Hello, mother.”

  “No more running,” my mother replied sourly. “It’s time to talk.”

  Chapter 2

  “How much do you think he will hate that?” Gregg asked with a short bark of laughter as we watched Ryan march off after his mother like a man walking to the gallows.

  “I think he’d rather be anywhere but there.” I agreed, a small smile growing on my own lips that soon faded. “Is it weird that I’d give anything to be receiving a talking to from my own mum?”

  Gregg pulled me close and looked at me with tears forming in his one eye that matched those in my own. He shook his head and smiled a little sadly.

  “I know exactly what you mean. That man’s lucky and he doesn’t realise it.”

  “Or care.”

  “True enough.”

  I wiped my eye and looked around. My small squad of bodyguards were stood just far enough away to give me the illusion of privacy, but close enough that they would be able to protect me at a moments notice.

  Lisa, the fist leader, noted my look and gently pressed her clenched fist to her breast in salute. I smiled in return and seemingly knowing what I needed, she snapped a quick order and one of the guards ran off towards the landrover that was parked a short distance away.

  “My Lady.”

  “Thank you,” I offered in reply and set off after the black-garbed bodyguard.

  They had been Samuels idea and I hadn’t been able to get him to stop assigning people to guard me. Well, I had once. It had been a blissful two minutes of alone time before a squad of Royal Navy marines had taken their place, sent by Admiral Stuart.

  Since then, they had been taking turns and I, apparently, had no real say in the matter. Both of them seemed determined to keep me safe whether I wanted that or not. It was somewhat understandable, I could admit.

  There had been the attack on the command centre during the zombie invasion of the island. Then the riots that had been orchestrated by the former first minister of the island. There was little doubt that there was a lot of anger on the island and most of it directed at me.

  I was trying my best to keep everyone alive and the way I had to do that meant that I was upsetting pretty much everyone. The religious groups had been slowly forming under one banner and becoming ever louder in their demands.

  The medical people were clamouring for more of everything, but mainly more trained personnel to help them. They had been really pissed at me when I had taken some of their few trained medics and sent them off with the invasion force.

  With the cholera outbreak, our resources were stretched thin and with every death, there was a new group of friends or family blaming me for it. As if I could do anything about that. What I could do, we were doing.

  It didn’t help that I’d cut the food rations.

  One of the bodyguards opened the rear door of the landrover and I nodded thanks as I climbed in then Gregg came after me. I stopped in the middle of the rear seat with Gregg on my left as the door on my right opened and Lisa climbed in.

  Nestled between the two of them, I pressed my hands against my stomach, sure that I could feel the growing life. The twins growing inside of me were the main reason I had stopped complaining about the guards.

  They weren’t just protecting me, but them too.

  An acolyte climbed into the passenger seat beside the driver and the other two climbed up onto the top of the vehicle. They would cling on to the racking on top, attaching themselves to it with the straps they had put up there for just that purpose.

  Once secured they would have an unpleasant journey but would be ready should any need arise for them. It wasn’t like we could go fast anyway.

  The landrover moved through the town at a snail's pace, the people milling about the streets aimlessly, moving out of our way too slowly. I settled back for the ride since it beat walking.

  I glanced down, a smile forming at the slight bulge beneath my thick coat. I’d started to show a couple of weeks back and at fifteen weeks, it had become noticeable to all that I was pregnant. According to Doctor Reed, my babies would be just starting to hear sounds.

  I’d found myself talking to them often.

  While I’d managed to avoid much of the usual symptoms associated w
ith pregnancy, with only a little morning sickness that had thankfully only lasted a few weeks. Even so, I felt tired and just drained, which I guessed was normal considering our poor diet.

  “We’re here,” Gregg said and I looked up. I’d not been paying attention at all.

  The research building was much the same as I remembered though there was a complement of CDF soldiers standing guard around the perimeter. They were new and I guessed had something to do with the new people who had taken up residence there.

  I waited as patiently as I could while my bodyguards did their usual quick circuit of the immediate area to check for danger before letting me out. Once they did, I headed straight towards the front doors with them crowding around me.

  Gregg walked alongside me with a thin smile on his face. He was constantly amused by their diligence in keeping me safe.

  The CDF soldiers saluted and the doors were opened immediately. Two of my guards rushed through the door ahead of the rest of us and I knew it was so they could be sure there was no ambush waiting.

  We moved through the building and I couldn’t help but notice that some of the offices had power with terminals in standby. The building was coming back to life and that was a good thing. It gave me hope that we were making progress and things had a hope of returning to normal.

  “You!”

  My guards reached for their knives and I looked towards the sound of the angry voice. An intimidatingly beautiful woman with thick dreadlocks hanging half-way down her back, and the healthy glow of someone who hadn’t been on starvation level rations for a year; was storming towards us as we entered the lower section.

  “You are in charge here, yes?” she demanded, stopping a few feet from my guards who watched her tensely.

  “I am, yes. You are… ah…”

  “Vanessa,” Gregg supplied helpfully with a nod of greeting for the woman.

  “Yes, Doctor Cassidy,” I said as I remembered her last name. “I am in charge. How can I help you?”

  “This is intolerable!”

  “What is?” I asked with a confused glance at Gregg.