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

  Ah, I found myself understanding why she was so upset then. She feared retribution. Which was ridiculous as I had already stated my intention to kill the raiders.

  “Do you have a radio?” Gregg asked, and it was my turn to glare.

  “No.”

  “There’s a group, on the Isle of Mann,” he said, ignoring my scowl. “The leader there is a good woman and she will offer what protection she can.”

  “Too far to be of use to us.”

  “You’d be surprised,” he said. “With your permission, when I get the chance, I will ask her to reach out to you.”

  “That is acceptable, but I very much doubt we will still be here by the time she does so.”

  I rolled my eyes then, the melodramatic pity too much to put up with.

  “Where is the base of these raiders?” I pulled out my map and spread it out before her. With one finger I pointed at the areas I had marked that the young raider had claimed were bases. “Well?”

  “That one,” she said, pointing at a place not too far out of the way. “They are in control of this whole area.”

  She swept her hand over a large part of the map, and I let out a grunt. If each base had a similar sized area to patrol, then there would be a good number of communities out there in need of help.

  “Fine. When we leave here, I shall stop by and kill them all.”

  “Is he serious?” Willa asked, directing her question to my friend.

  “He is,” Gregg replied with a heavy sigh. “God help us, he really is.”

  “There are maybe thirty people there!” she said. “It’s not a small base.”

  “How would you know?” I didn’t even try to keep the suspicion from my voice.

  “Jed, the man who did this.” She lifted her hand to lightly touch the bruise beside her lip. “After he was done, he liked to talk. He told me all about his group.”

  I leant forward then, suddenly interested, “tell me what he said.”

  Willa recoiled from my wicked grin and licked dry lips before glancing at Gregg who nodded once. Then, in halting tones, she began to talk, and my smile grew wider as I listened.

  The apocalypse was about to get very interesting.

  Chapter 20.

  Six days and twenty-five miles later, I found myself lying on the damp grass of a slight hill as I watched the airfield a few hundred metres to the south of me. Rain drops made their way through the tree canopy above and made a pitter-patter against my already sodden clothes.

  Gregg crawled forward to come up beside me, the mud and old leaves of the forest floor sticking to his clothes as he pulled aside the branches of a fern and squinted down the hill.

  “Fuck.”

  An adequate summary, I thought with a grin as I kept my gaze on the airfield.

  It was, I guessed, at one time used for private owners and the students of the flight school that comprised of a single large building, and multiple hangars surrounding it. Each of those hangars could easily fit two of the small planes or gliders that dotted the overgrown grass between the runways.

  As a place to hole up, it wasn’t a bad choice. There was ample space to store your loot and prisoners, while also providing barracks and stabling for your horses. There was a chain-link fence already in place around the entire group of buildings, with razor-wire running along the top, and a wide open area surrounding the buildings that would allow the sentries posted on top of those hangars, to have a clear view of any one approaching.

  In the centre of the grouped buildings a bonfire blazed merrily, and I was sure there would be cookfires aplenty considering the number of women and even children who wandered the confines of the compound.

  “I count eighteen,” Gregg said after a while. “You?”

  “Same.”

  “There were four in that group you killed. Stands to reason, they send out all their groups with the same number of people.”

  “Aye, so three groups out, counting the one that won’t be returning.”

  “Radio antennae,” he said, pointing at the central building that I guessed had been the flight school. “Which makes sense with it being an airfield.”

  If that was in use then I needed to ensure they didn’t contact their main base, not until I was ready.

  “Runway looks good,” Gregg continued. “With a bit of work, we could probably clear them enough for a plane to land.”

  I closed my eyes and didn’t respond. I knew what he wanted, and it was past time we had that talk about returning to the island. But not just then, not while I was trying to figure out the best way to kill those raiders down below.

  “What do you think?” he pressed. “Eighteen raiders, no way of approaching unseen and a fairly secure compound. You still think it’s a good idea?”

  I didn’t immediately reply as I kept my gaze fixed on the compound. A woman in a grey dress came out of one of the hangars with her arms full of wood. Another came after with a bucket that required two hands to carry.

  Wood and water were stored in that one hangar then. Beside the gate were some trailers and I couldn’t say for sure, but I could guess they had been adapted so that a horse could pull them. Likely to the River Dorn, half a kilometre to the north. The wood they could cut from the trees in the small forest we were using for cover.

  That meant they weren’t entirely self-sufficient. Clearly, they weren’t planning on being under siege, so it didn’t matter if they had a water supply inside the compound. The question was, how often did they refill their water barrels and wood stores.

  “Yes,” I said, slowly as I began to form a plan of attack. “I do.”

  “Why?” he waved me back as I turned to speak. “No, I understand they are hurting people, but why do you have to do this now, with just us? Could it be that you just want to satisfy your need to kill?”

  He had a good point, and if anyone else had asked I would have given them some glib answer while ignoring them. But he was my friend, and he deserved an actual answer, so I took a moment to consider before speaking.

  “Since we left the bunker, I have been… disappointed, with how things are. I destroyed Genpact for a reason, yes?”

  “Because they were trying to kill us, yeah.”

  “Not just that.” It was hard for me to really put it into words for I did not truly understand my motivations myself, but I would try to frame it in a way he might. “I did it for Lily.”

  “To keep her safe?”

  “In part,” I agreed. I wiped some of the rainwater from my face and continued. “She had a dream, a vision of what she wanted the world to be. A place where people could live their lives without fear, without monsters preying upon them.”

  His face was neutral as he watched me, listening, and giving nothing away of his inner thoughts. I wondered for a moment if that was how I appeared to others. If so, I could well begin to understand why they found me so irritating.

  “From the very beginning she wanted to save people. The reason she is in charge of those survivors on the island is because they can see it too. She cares about them. She wants to make the world a better place and she will give all of herself to that.”

  “I can see that,” he agreed with a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “If anyone else ever said that, I wouldn’t believe them. I’d think they were out for themselves. Not her, though. No, she truly does want to make things better.”

  “Yes. I never admitted this to her, but it is part of why I created the Dead.”

  “It was?”

  “Yes. I needed others to watch my back, of course, but at the same time, I wanted an army around me that would dedicate themselves to saving others. To killing the monsters that preyed on the innocent.”

  He looked back over his shoulder to the sheltered place beside a large chestnut tree where the two women waited.

  “I guess they didn’t quite turn out to be the saviours you wanted.”

  “No.” I didn’t need to look back as I pushed down on that deep burnin
g anger that came with the thought of what had happened in my absence. “But I will deal with them next. They will be back on the correct path or they will die.”

  “Christ!” he said. “You’re so bloody casual about that. You’re talking about killing hundreds of people like it’s just some chore that needs doing.”

  “To me it is.”

  “That’s not right, is it?”

  I lifted my shoulders in a shrug. I truly didn’t care if it was right or not, but it was what I would do.

  “So, what has that to do with these?” He jerked his head towards the compound. “Why can’t they wait?”

  “Because they are the monsters that stalk this new world,” I said, voice growing cold. “They steal, they rape, and they murder because they think they can. The innocent, those who Lily would want to protect, they live in fear because of these raiders.”

  “And you think killing this group will make a difference?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  I could hear the doubt in his voice. He was a good friend and in his own way he was wanting to understand, wanting to know why we didn’t rush home to those we had left behind. But he couldn’t comprehend what I planned, not really.

  “Because I’m going to make them understand what fear truly is,” I said, voice an ice-cold whisper as the killer came fully to the fore, and the man was banished to the darkness within. “I’m going to show them what a real monster can do.”

  Chapter 21

  “Thank you,” I said, as Isaac topped up my wine glass. “I swear, this is the last glass though. I’ve had way too much considering how long it’s been since I last had a drink.”

  He flashed straight white teeth as he grinned, reaching up to stroke his well combed beard as he refilled his own glass too.

  Soft music was playing in the background and the only light in my apartment was from the handful of candles that had been set up around the room. The meal, a baked seabass, had been prepared by Isaac and, I had to admit, tasted delicious.

  Isaac sat back down opposite me, eyes sparkling with reflected candlelight as he cleared his throat. The usual gruff charm was absent, and he seemed almost nervous, which raised a smile on my face.

  “We should talk some business,” he said. “There’s not enough hours in the day to have an entire evening without any work talk.”

  “True.” I lifted my glass and took a sip, savouring the crisp, unoaked white sauvignon blanc that he had brought with him. “But to be honest, I am enjoying a break from it all.”

  “Aye, lass. I can understand that. Been a busy few weeks.”

  “For both of us.”

  “True enough.” He flashed his teeth in another grin.

  Weeks of pestering from Evie and Cass had led to the meal, alone in my apartment as Evie watched the twins one floor below. I’d been nervous for days.

  He wore a suit of blue, with a shirt that had been ironed and his unruly hair combed. He’d shined his shoes and been the very picture of a gentleman, as he pulled out my chair so that I could sit and served the meal he had prepared. He seemed very much at ease.

  I, on the other hand, was wearing a dress for the first time in years. Chosen with the help of Cass, it clung to my body in a way that I would have loved when I was younger and revealed a little more of my cleavage than I would have preferred.

  Black high heeled shoes and sheer tights, that covered freshly shaven legs. I had a light application of makeup and my hair had been curled and trimmed, so that it hung loose around my face.

  It all felt, wrong, somehow. Like I was a child playing dress up in someone else’s clothes. They were the trappings of another time, one of peace and plenty. Not suited for the apocalypse that we lived our daily lives in.

  “The plane’s ready,” he said, and I forced a smile as I realised, I had not been paying attention. “Some of my best people will go to protect the science team.”

  “That’s great, thank you.”

  “Do you think they will find anything? It’s been two months.”

  “The parasites are like the zombies. If they decay, they do it very slowly. Vanessa seems to think that there will be enough left for them to find something.”

  He nodded, sipping at his wine. I smiled as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. The mood had changed, I knew, and it was my fault.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “For what, lass?”

  “This.” I lifted my hands to gesture at myself. “I feel…”

  “Like you shouldn’t be enjoying yourself?” He laughed, pure joy in the sound. “I feel the same, lass. This is too much. It’s not our world anymore.”

  He was insightful, intelligent, and full of life. A fiercely loyal soldier who led by example and cared deeply about the survival of the people on the island. He was, on paper at least, the perfect guy for me.

  Why then did it feel wrong?

  “Perhaps you should go change, lass.”

  “Change?”

  “Aye. Something more comfortable and suitable for this new world of ours.” He reached up and pulled at his tie, loosening it. “Go on, now. I’ll get rid of this tie and jacket.”

  I offered a smile as I rose and hurried across to the bedroom. As I closed the door behind me, I leant back against it, drawing a deep breath. It was ridiculous that I felt the way I did. It had been more than five years since he had died, and I should be able to move on.

  But I couldn’t, and I didn’t know why.

  There was something broken inside of me. Like my heart had shattered as the missiles fell, burning away the love of my life in one incandescent burst of fire and fury. My life had stopped then, that day, and I couldn’t get it started again.

  I didn’t want to.

  He had been the father of my children. The man who had saved my life more times than I could count and the one person in all the world who had believed in me when I very badly needed someone to.

  There had been no games with him. No suspicion that his eye was wandering, or of whose bed he was sharing when he was not in mine. He didn’t dismiss my ideas or concerns, and he supported me whether I asked for it or not.

  If it hadn’t been for his being a serial killer, he would have been my perfect man.

  I smiled then, for even with that part of him, I had still loved him. It seemed that my heart could forgive a great deal when I was in love. Which I had been, deliriously so. It had been a great love, one that deserved to be immortalised in that idiotic book Sebastian had written. If nothing else, he had been right about that, about how we were two sides of the same coin.

  Almost as though we had been made for each other.

  Was it any wonder I couldn’t look at another man and consider anything more than friendship? I’d had that great love, I’d found my soul mate, everyone else paled in comparison.

  But Isaac deserved better, he deserved my attempt to try and move forward. So, I changed quickly into a loose shirt and jeans, and took a deep breath before heading back into my living room.

  “Hey!” I said, brow furrowing as I watched him putting the dishes away. “That can wait.”

  “Nay, lass.” His smile was not as wide as before. “I think it’s time I let you get some rest.”

  “What changed?”

  “I’m a good leader because I know when it is time to withdraw,” he said, smile fading. “I enjoyed our evening and I hope you did too, but I don’t think you are ready for more than a meal with a friend.”

  He had me there and I wished that I could have denied it, that I could have told him to stop being foolish and come join me on the sofa. But, I couldn’t, and I could see from his expression that he saw that too.

  “Thank you,” I said, instead. “For a lovely meal and great company.”

  “You are very welcome, lass.”

  He wiped his hands on the tea-towel and checked his pockets, then chuckled as he realised that was the action of the before times. When you would check for your wallet, phone,
and keys before leaving.

  “I’ll see you in the command centre tomorrow,” he said, crossing to the door. I followed slowly. “We have plenty of business to discuss then.”

  Up close, he smelt of citrus, spices, and wood. A subtle woodsy aroma that reminded me of warm summer nights beside an open fire. It was comforting and very much him.

  “Was a nice evening,” he said, placing his hand on the door handle. “A pleasant change from the everyday business.”

  “It was,” I agreed, biting down on my lower lip. He was undeniably handsome and very manly in that way I had always loved when looking for a partner when I was younger. “We should do it again.”

  “I’d like that.”

  My heart had shattered all those years ago. It died along with the man I loved, and I needed to move forward. It wasn’t a betrayal of his memory to find some comfort. To feel the touch of another once more, to find some small joy in a world filled with pain and misery.

  “Well, goodnight, lass.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close as my lips met his. The taste of wine on his breath, his lips firm against mine as his arms slipped around me, his large hand pressing against my lower back.

  My eyes closed as I tried, for just a moment, to lose myself in his embrace. Then he pulled away, as a tear ran down my cheek. His expression was kind as he lifted one finger to lightly touch the tear and his smile was full of sadness.

  “Ah, lass.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Nay, don’t be. Never be sorry, not for loving someone.”

  “I should be able to-“

  “No, you shouldn’t. You cannot force a broken heart to mend, lass.” He pulled me close and I rested my head against his broad chest as I stopped trying to hold back my tears. “Just know, lass. I’m here for you as a colleague, a friend or anything else you need.”

  “Thank you.” I lifted my head and wiped at my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Hah! Enough now. I’ll not have you feeling sorry this night.”

  “You’re a good man, Isaac.”

  “Aye, true enough.” He grinned then, some humour returning. “I’ll see myself out, lass. Goodnight.”