Killing The Dead | Book 21 | The Journey Home Read online

  A lie, I suspected, but not one large enough to make an issue over. Most likely they stole what they could from those groups before they left.

  “Benny got sick just before the Riders found us. We were holed up in some shitty old house out in the middle of nowhere. Izzy thought we could maybe find seeds somewhere and set up there, but I knew it wasn’t safe. Too open, yeah?”

  I nodded, knowing that he likely feared others finding them and taking what they had, because it was the sort of thing he would have done.

  “They found us there, while we was waiting for Benny to get better.” His lips turned downwards at the corner and his eyes shone with tears. It was fascinating to watch those emotions play out. “Told us Benny was too sick to be worth anything, so they just killed him, man! Killed him!”

  “Too the rest of us outside and gave us a choice.”

  “What choice?”

  “The girls were told they either fucked them by choice, or they’d be raped by everyone and then killed.”

  “I assume they chose to voluntarily be assaulted?”

  “Izzy didn’t.” A tear ran down his cheek, mixing with the blood there. “So, fucking stupid, man! All she had to do was say yes, but she wouldn’t.”

  A sob escaped him, and I suspected what was about to come next. He clearly needed to unburden himself and as those great, sobs wracked his body, I made the decision to kill him as soon as he was no longer of use to me.

  “I didn’t want to, you believe me, yeah?”

  “Does it matter?” My voice was cold, and I had to force the killer back down. “That was your initiation?”

  “What?”

  “Into their group. You had to join in with them to become one of them.”

  “They would have killed me! They told us if we didn’t, then they’d do the same to us and cut our fucking throats, man!”

  “You could have fought them.”

  “I’d be dead if I did.”

  “Better dead than what you are now.”

  Disgust filled me. I could taste it in the back of my throat. The urge to kill him was almost overpowering. I detested rapists, but for those too pathetic to fight, to buckle at the first threat. Those I despised.

  “How many fighters in your group?”

  “Wha- ah, I dunno, a lot.”

  “How many in the smaller bases?”

  “Five to ten, usually.”

  He was shaking, his body trembling with the release of his confession and it was all I could do to hold myself back.

  “Where’s the last settlement you passed through?”

  As confused by the question as he was, he answered quickly, “About seven or eight miles east of here.”

  “Did you stop there?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “What did you do there?”

  His face went blank, and he shook his head from side to side as he refused to answer. Which told me all I needed to know, really.

  “Ryan.”

  I turned, irritated at the interruption and Abigail took a step back, lifting her hands before her as though warding away a vicious beast.

  “What?”

  “I just wanted to say.” She licked her lips, glancing at the young raider with such a look of disgust I could only assume she had heard his story. “Just… I’m not going to argue, yeah. I think I get it now. This world isn’t like it was. The rules are different.”

  Beside her, the black-garbed cultist stepped into view. A bandage had been wrapped around her left hand, and she held that arm rigidly at her side. She met my gaze though and there was no fear there, only faith.

  “Your command?” she said.

  I glanced at her and then back at the youth tied to the tree. I wanted so very badly to kill him that it was almost too much for me. The urge to strike with my knife was there, and I had to force myself to sheath it on my belt.

  “This one is yours to guard,” I said through clenched teeth. “Keep him silent and out of my way but keep him alive. You understand?”

  “Yes.”

  I scowled as I looked into that youth’s eyes, seeing the fear there and the brief surge of hope. He thought he would survive, which was amusing and as much as I wanted to kill him right then and there, what I had planned would be a great deal more fun.

  “Rest and eat, we have a long walk ahead of us tomorrow.”

  With that, I stalked back inside the chapel, leaving the others to clean up the mess I had made. There was much thinking to be done and I knew it would be a long night before I could finally sleep. The world I had returned to was in a mess and it needed fixing to ensure my family was safe.

  First would be the raiders, and then the errant Sebastian. I would ensure he saw the error of his ways before I was done. Until then, I was just pleased that the apocalypse was becoming a mite more interesting.

  Chapter 19

  We moved slowly, not feeling any real need to push ourselves as we had a considerable distance to go to reach Birmingham. The horses, as predicted, evaded Gregg for several hours and the last we had seen of them was as we were leaving the college grounds.

  The captured raider was kept gagged and bound, under the watchful eye of Emma, the cultist who followed me around like a lost sheep. It did not take long for me to regret revealing myself to her. It would have been easier, by far, to have just killed her.

  Four miles were made that first day, and we stopped for the night in a barn not far from the road. It was dry, which was all that could be said for it, but a far better option than the farmhouse that had been infested with rats for some years.

  The next day we continued on, walking slowly and not talking much. The prisoner tried to complain, once, and then remained silent after Emma broke two of his fingers. A fraction of the pain he doubtless had coming to him, but it amused me none the less.

  It was a long and incredibly dull walk, but at least the sky was clear. The few buildings we found were run down and overgrown, moss covering the tiles and any windows that weren’t broken, dirt streaked.

  With a little prompting, our prisoner admitted that they had been cleaned out some time ago by his raider companions. We didn’t bother doing our own search and instead pressed on.

  Late afternoon of that second day, we came to a place where the road split. Tall Elm trees overlooked the connecting road and with a grunt, our prisoner indicated we follow it.

  A short distance along, we stopped. A sturdy brick wall, hidden by bushes, surrounded a large property. The wall, a good six feet in height, was more than enough to keep any passing zombies at bay which is likely why those inside had survived.

  Wooden gates were closed, barring our entry, but an excited cry from within indicated that they were aware of our presence. We waited, with some patience, listening to the rustling of the bushes and trees caused by the local wildlife, and wondering at the reception we would find.

  Not a good one, it turned out.

  The gates opened and three women stood there, each holding farm implements. Behind them, several more were gathered with similar tools clutched in hands that shook. Young and old, they all wore their determination on their faces, and I glanced back at our captive.

  “Who are you?”

  A sturdy woman of advanced years. Her greying hair was braided and hung down over the front of her dress. Her left eye was swollen almost shut and a purple and black bruise clung to the corner of her mouth. When she spoke, it was hard to understand her clearly as she sounded like she had a mouthful of cotton wool.

  “Visitors,” I said, eyeing each in turn. “Merely passing through.”

  “We know him!” she snapped, lifting her chin towards our prisoner. “Where’s his friends?”

  “I killed them.”

  She lifted one eyebrow and tilted her head as she looked at me sceptically. I merely grinned as I grabbed the youth by the arm and forced him forward a step so that they could see he was bound.

  “The way I see it, he has wronged you.” The women behind he
r looked at one another and whispered about that, and I couldn’t help my smile. “Yes, he admitted to me his crimes and I am sure that they were visited upon you people, here.”

  “Claire will have a full belly, that’s for sure. He was… enthusiastic, with her,” the woman admitted. “But what would we do with him?”

  “Cutting his balls off would be a start,” Abigail muttered.

  “We’re not butchers,” the woman replied. “Nor would we want to face the vengeance of his friends.”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much about them,” Gregg offered.

  “Enough of this male bullshit!” The speaker, a rake thin woman holding a hoe gripped tight in her hands, spat on the ground. “All you men do is fight! We want none of it!”

  “Why did you bring him here?” The older woman said, waving back her friend. “What benefit did you think it would bring?”

  “Honestly, I was heading past this way anyway and thought you might like to kill him yourselves. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I’m happy to do it.”

  “No doubt,” she replied, heaving a sigh. “Women are always welcome here, but we have no desire to let men in. That always ends badly.”

  “We can sleep out here,” Gregg said. “It’s fine.”

  “It is?”

  “Yes,” he hissed. “Abi should go in and check you over. She’s had medical training and might be able to help.”

  “That would be appreciated,” the woman said. She hesitated, giving me a hard look which I responded to with a grin. “You can understand why we are reluctant to let you in.”

  “Please,” Abigail said, raising her hand as though asking for permission to speak. “I spent years with both of these men, trapped far from anyone else and neither of them ever so much as laid a finger on me.”

  “It is hard for us to believe that,” the older woman said, looking askance at the pretty younger woman beside me. “We have been hurt too many times before.”

  “Really,” Gregg said. “It’s fine, we can stay out here if it will make you feel more comfortable.”

  As much as it might have made them more comfortable, I was pretty sure that it would be a miserable night for me. As I looked at those women, though, I could well imagine what Lily would have to say on the subject and I had little real choice.

  I pulled the axe from its loop on my belt and before their horrified gazes, I swung it up and brought it crashing down on the back of the youth’s skull. He crumpled to the ground much like a puppet with its strings cut, and I held back my urge to giggle.

  The women moved back as I turned my gaze on them and I flashed them my warmest smile which only had them raising their weapons all the higher.

  “I have no interest in harming any of you and I can assure you, if I did, you couldn’t stop me. This pathetic excuse for a man was my gift to you.” I yanked back on the axe handle and it came free with a sucking sound that made those who heard it shudder. “You don’t want vengeance, that’s fine. I have no interest in dragging him along any further and I won’t leave him alive to hurt others.”

  Abigail was staring open mouthed at me as I looked her way.

  “Go inside and check on those who need your care. You have an hour and then I am leaving, with or without you.” I looked back at the older woman. “For what it’s worth, I made a promise to someone and I shall see that promise through. All being well, you will not see another of those raiders.”

  I glanced down at the corpse at my feet and added, “whether this lot or another group, I suggest you learn to kill, or someone will come along and hurt you again.”

  With that, I turned and crossed the road to stand beside the overgrown grass verge with my arms crossed as I waited. Gregg, with an apologetic shrug for the women, crossed over to join me.

  “Was that necessary?” he asked, as Abigail moved forward to talk with the women.

  “Probably not, but it did make me a little more cheerful,” I replied with a grin.

  “Yeah, I can see that.” He was silent for a moment as the two women of our group went through the gate that closed behind them. “What’s the plan here?”

  “No plan. We go to this raiders base and kill them all.”

  He gave me a look that I knew well, and I rolled my eyes, as I waited for the tongue lashing that was about to come my way.

  “Why don’t we just head straight to the island? We can give Lily the vaccine and the viral agent and get more of your cult buddies to come down and sort these raiders out. What will happen if we die trying to kill these pricks? How many more will suffer without this vaccine and a way to kill the parasites?”

  “Then go! Head to the north and hand over the vaccine. Then explain to them how you left people to suffer, to be raped and abused when you could have stopped them.” A flash of anger crossed his face and I grinned, knowing I had scored a hit. “It will take us months to reach the island. Then how long before we can return? How many will be hurt by then?”

  “Goddamnit!” He shook his head, avoiding looking at me. “Why does it always have to be so bloody difficult!”

  There was something like pain in his voice and I looked at him curiously, wondering at it.

  “I miss my sister,” he said, voice soft and low. “I miss Lily and Charlie and our friends, mate. Christ! It’s been five years. I just want to go home.”

  He brushed at his eye with the sleeve of his coat as I watched him in silence, unsure of what to actually say. I was smart enough to know that it certainly wasn’t the time to mention that he wouldn’t be returning to the island, but some part of me wanted to offer him reassurances.

  I just didn’t know how.

  Fortunately, I was saved from having to as the gates opened and the woman who had spoken before came out, a tray held before her. She crossed straight towards us and stopped, a few feet away.

  “There’s some food,” she said, lifting the tray that held plain white plates and a covered bowl. “Will warm your bones.”

  “How?”

  “What?”

  “How will it warm our bones?”

  “It’s a saying, mate. Haven’t you heard it before?”

  “No.”

  “Well it just means… well, it doesn’t matter. Just say thanks and take the food.”

  “Thanks,” I said, taking the tray from the woman who was staring at me with pursed lips.

  “I’m Willa.”

  “Okay.”

  “Christ!” Gregg lowered his head onto his hands as I set the tray down and seated myself cross-legged on the road. “Sorry, he’s not really a people person. I’m Gregg, this is Ryan.”

  I lifted the lid on the pot and inhaled the mouth-watering aroma of a vegetable stew. Even though I was quite literally salivating over it, I spooned out a bowl full for Gregg and passed it to him before putting the lid back on the pot.

  “Not eating?” Willa asked, seating herself opposite me on the road.

  “I’ll eat later.”

  Gregg took a large spoonful and smiled appreciatively. Willa smirked as she seemed to understand why I was waiting and lifted the lid to fill a bowl for herself. She lifted her spoon to me in mock salute and swallowed a mouthful.

  “How long have you been here?” I asked, ignoring her smirk.

  “Since the very beginning,” she said. “It’s secluded enough that we didn’t see much in the way of the undead for quite a while, and when they did come, the walls kept them out as we hid inside the house.”

  I could see part of the house from where I sat, and it was clear to see that it could hold a good number of people. The grounds around it were spacious and well kept, with what looked to be a tennis court a short distance away from the main house itself.

  “This was your house?”

  “Mine and my husbands, yes.”

  A large building with several acres of land and a large wall to keep the enemy at bay. They could grow their own food and, I was guessing, would have their own independent water supply too. I was surpris
ed that they had survived so long without it being taken from them.

  “He’s dead?”

  “Mate!”

  “Yes, six years now,” Willa said, waving away Gregg’s outrage at my asking. “In the beginning we allowed anyone in. If they had need, we opened our gates and our home to them.”

  I snickered at that. “Bet that ended well.”

  “It did not.” She dipped her spoon into the bowl and gave me a hard look. “It was a man that killed my husband, and all because he wanted more than we could spare. Later, it was a group of men who tried to take this place from us and killed more of my friends and family.”

  She shook her head, anger clouding her features.

  “Always, it was men who would come and hurt, steal or kill.”

  “So, you decided to stop men coming in at all?” Gregg said. “I can understand that and I’m sorry that happened to you.”

  “It is what it is,” she said. “But, yes. Men are no longer welcome, and we kept those few strangers away… until the Riders came.”

  “I imagine that they didn’t agree with your ‘no men’ policy.” I couldn’t help my laughter. “You’re incredibly naïve.”

  “Perhaps so.” If looks could kill, I would have been dead. “As it is, we have managed to survive their visits. They come here every other month and take some food and spend a night having their fun, then they are gone.”

  “What do you get in return for that?”

  “Protection,” she said, without hesitation. “At first they would keep the zombies away from us. Lately, they have kept other groups from taking what little we have.”

  “You really think it’s worth it?” Gregg asked, voice soft almost gentle as he nodded towards the bruise beside her mouth and the swollen eye. “For what they do to you?”

  “It is what it is,” she replied, lifting her chin. “This world is not safe for anyone and we are not fighters. We don’t kill.”

  “What will happen now?”

  I glanced at my friend, wondering at what he meant but, apparently, she understood.

  “When that group do not return, they will send others. They will follow the same route as that group took and ask any they meet if they know what happened.”