Killing The Dead (Book 15): The Gathering Storm Read online

  “What would that be?” Gregg muttered softly as he shook his head.

  I tuned him out and listened as Lily spoke, her voice soft yet insistent. Greggs' eye widened and he clenched his hands into fists. I understood, perhaps for the first time ever, and felt a little of the same myself.

  “So, that’s what we need. I-I’m sorry for asking this. I will understand if you say no and I, god, I really want you to just come home to me.”

  “But you need this,” I said softly with a smile forming on my lips.

  Of course, she did. She wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important to the safety of the island and the people there. To the safety of our children.

  There would be danger, but then the world was full of that and risk too. I wasn’t entirely sure it would be worth it but then I didn’t know what these new allies were offering in exchange. Knowing Lily as I did, it wouldn’t be something inconsequential.

  At the end of the day though, Lily needed it and there was little I wouldn’t do to make her happy. Besides, I thought with a growing smile, it could be interesting and provide me with some unique opportunities.

  “We’ll set out in the morning,” I said quietly as I ignored Gregg’s groan. “We won’t be in touch again until we reach the airfield.”

  “Why?”

  I could hear the fear in her voice, the worry that I was punishing her for what she had asked of me.

  “Because there are enemies that might be listening and we’ve already said too much. We’ll talk more when we can.”

  She was silent for so long that I thought she had left but the radio crackled once more and her voice sounded again.

  “I love you. Come back safe.”

  “Always do.” I tossed the radio back to Gregg who glared sullenly at me as he put it away. “What?”

  “Could have at least asked me if I wanted to come with you.”

  “Do you?”

  “Of course I do. I’m not gonna let you go off alone. Your ego is already way too big and coming back as a hero would just make it worse. I want to share that glory too.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “You could have asked.”

  “But you just said you would come anyway, so why would I need to?”

  He just glared and then lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Forget it.”

  I gave him a perplexed look and shook my own head before laying it back against the sofa’s headrest. Despite my words, I had some doubts that I could do what she wanted of me. What she needed.

  Didn’t mean I wouldn’t try though.

  “Hey, shouldn’t he have been back by now?”

  I glanced over to the back door and lifted an eyebrow quizzically. With a soft grunt, I pushed myself up and limped across to the door. I kept my knife in hand as I pulled it open and stepped out into the cold night air.

  The ground was covered in old leaves that squelched wetly beneath my feet and there was a clear trail visible in the moonlight. We didn’t have to follow it far before we found his body.

  “Fuck,” Gregg said, looking around wild-eyed.

  I crouched down beside the minion and placed a hand on his skin. It was still warm so he’d not died too long ago. The hairs on the back of my neck stuck up as I looked at the gouge marks in his chest where bloody chunks of flesh had been torn out by clawed hands.

  Clearly, something hadn’t bitten him and I suspected that was because the man’s killer had a broken jaw. It didn’t need to chew its food though so as long as it could get its hands on some flesh and feet it into its mouth, the parasite within would feast anyway, providing the energy to slowly heal the wounds.

  The Reaper wasn’t going to give up and it would make our journey a great deal more difficult.

  Chapter 4

  The evening air was chill and damp as the Dead gathered their fallen and placed them atop the large pyre they had built. Not far from them was the barricade where so many of their brothers and sisters had fallen, the piled corpses of the zombies still laying where they had fallen.

  A sense of loss washed over those of us watching, a deep feeling of guilt and remorse for the ones who had lost their lives defending a people who feared them. Tears filled many eyes and in the silence could be heard the soft weeping of those survivors.

  Samuel paused in the direction of his people and looked over to where I stood with Cass. His brow was furrowed and confusion plain to see as ever more people walked out of the town and gathered a short distance from where the Dead laboured.

  Cass squeezed my hand and I spared her a worried glance, my own eyes misting with tears. Not just for the sacrifice, those brave people had made, but for the one, I had asked of my lover and Cass's brother.

  One that might very well mean my children grew up without their father.

  She squeezed my hand again, as though reading my thoughts and I raised a hand to wipe away a tear before it fell.

  One hundred and sixty-seven brave individuals had stood atop that barricade of rusting cars and household furniture. They had faced a horde of zombies that numbered in the tens of thousands with just their knives in their hand and the unwavering belief in Ryan and the mission he had gifted, to shield them.

  I wasn’t the only one who stared past them and saw those piled corpses. The thousands of undead that had fallen before the barricade, their bodies stacked high as their brethren clambered over them in an effort to break through.

  The Dead had lost one hundred and sixty-seven of their people but those lives had not been sold cheaply. For every one that had died, perhaps twenty or thirty more zombies had fallen. It had been as stupendous effort but despite that, it wouldn’t have been enough.

  If not for the missiles fired from the sub of our new allies, we would likely all be dead.

  “My Lady,” Samuel intoned in that rough voice of his that I found oddly soothing. “Can we be of service?”

  “No.” I reached out and placed my hand upon his shoulder, looking him square in the eye. “It is our turn to be of service to you.”

  He looked at me and then Cass, then the gathering people behind us and his confusion only grew. I wiped away another tear and smiled at him.

  “We are here to give thanks to those who have fallen.”

  “But we need no thanks.”

  It was so like something that Ryan would have said that I almost laughed out loud. He had clearly been around Ryan for far too long.

  “You might not, my friend. But the people here, the Living, we honour the memories of the dead. We give thanks for their sacrifice and we mourn their loss. It is something you cannot do, so we will do it for you.”

  Samuel hesitated a moment, his eyes moving as he scanned the crowd once more and then he bowed, low. “As you wish, My Lady. We thank you.”

  With that, he spun on his heel and went back to join his people, watching over them like a mother hen would her chicks as they gathered the last of their fallen number.

  “Well said,” Cass whispered and I sniffed unashamedly and wiped at my cheeks.

  “I meant every word. They sacrifice their lives for us because they think they have nothing worth living for. The very least we can do is ensure each and every one of them is remembered for that.”

  Cass turned her head, looking out over the crowd, seeing something on the faces there that caused a shiver to run through her.

  “One day this will be written about in a holy book and people will argue over the meaning of your words. I just know it.”

  I shrugged, unsure exactly what to say to that. What had started as a way for Ryan to keep himself safe as he continued on his personal quest to kill… well, everything he could; was changing. From death cult to full-blown religion. I could see it happening and I had no idea how to stop it.

  Or even if I should.

  The world we had lost wasn’t ever coming back and I was okay with that. For all the things I had loved about it, there were a great many flaws. With those that remained, those that survived, we
had a chance of building something better, something greater.

  Who was to say that a religion full of people who believed it was their duty to serve and protect others, was a bad thing.

  I wasn’t going to.

  A flame was lit and what little sound there had been fell away as Samuel lifted the burning torch and approached the pyre. There were no words, no sermons, barely even a pause, before he set the wood upon which they lay, alight.

  But for all that I could feel the weight of that moment. It hung heavy around my shoulders and almost without meaning to, my head bowed. I’d never been particularly religious though I had respected others beliefs; but, right then, there, as the flames rose into the sky, I prayed for their souls to find peace.

  My tears didn’t stop for a long time.

  We stayed there as the clouds cleared from the sky and the moon rose high above us. Thousands of us, standing together, united in our grief for the men and women who had so willingly given their lives to protect us.

  I didn’t know if we were truly worthy of such sacrifice but I knew that I would work hard to ensure we were because there would be more sacrifices to be made.

  My hand pressed against my stomach, feeling for some trace of the life growing there, a connection to my distant love and the children we had made. Children that would grow in a world where they wouldn’t fear the undead or the bad people who would want to hurt them.

  A world that I would build but would never truly live in. I’d done too many terrible things and as I watched that pyre burn, I knew I would do a great many more before I was done.

  Sometime around midnight, Cass squeezed my hand breaking me from my reverie and I looked up to see her gesture with her head towards a small group that was approaching. I held back a sigh and turned to face them.

  “Ma’am,” Admiral Stuart said as he stopped and came to attention, performing a smart salute like the old navy man he was.

  “Admiral,” I said, a little coldly. I’d specifically requested not to be disturbed. “What can I do for you? I trust it is important.”

  His eyes flicked towards the burning pyre and he nodded slowly.

  “Apologies, ma’am, but it is.”

  “You go,” Cass said softly. “I’ll stay and keep watch for the both of us.”

  I knew I needed to but that didn’t make me feel any better about having to. I did sigh then and nodded once before leaning in and embracing my friend. She returned it warmly and then I pulled away and turned back to the duties I had no chance of evading.

  “Our new allies?”

  “Safely ensconced in the rooms we provided them,” the admiral said as he led the way back to the town.

  His marines made a square around us, their assault rifles held ready and their gazes fixed firmly on the crowd as they sought potential danger.

  “Then what is the problem?”

  “I understand you have spoken to your… to, Ryan.” He licked his lips and I nodded, unused to seeing such hesitation in the man.

  He was usually every bit the military man. Tall, rugged and in good shape with a no-nonsense attitude and a deep desire to save as many of the people he had sworn to protect as he could. Something had rattled him though.

  “Has he agreed?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “I think they are lying to us.”

  By they, he clearly meant our new allies and I couldn’t help the frown that formed. We’d only known them about a day and while they may have waited longer than I’d preferred before they had launched their missiles and saved our asses, they had done so.

  Their explanation that they had been assessing whether or not we were friendly had been a little too glib, but we’d just survived and I hadn’t been able to press for more details. I would though.

  “What makes you think that?”

  Again, he hesitated and I began to grow a little more alarmed than curious. He wasn’t a man who tended to hesitate that often.

  “It’s hard to define, ma’am. I guess the old hands would call it a gut instinct. There’s something … off about their story.”

  “You think they’re a threat?”

  He waited while the two marines ahead of us gestured a group of mourners to move aside and then we set off once again, back towards the town.

  “I don’t know. They used a large number of missiles to clear away the majority of the horde that was attacking us. I very much doubt they have many left, if any.”

  “Surely that means they are friendly. You wouldn’t waste your weapons just to try and gain trust. I mean, look at us, we’re barely surviving. What do we have that they could want?”

  “They said they needed our help,” he reminded me quietly. “Using those missiles was a flashy way of gaining our trust but clearly they are unable to get to…” he looked around and lowered his voice. “The target.”

  “As I understand it, they tried and failed. Lost a third of their crew.”

  “There’s not one person on this island who wouldn’t risk their life for that same thing. I just think that, well, I think it’s more than that.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know.” He clenched his fist and set his jaw before he turned to look directly at me for the first time. “I do know that the commander of that sub was navy. So are his crew, but as to where they have been since this started… they won’t say and I can’t guess.”

  “And their other claim?”

  “That I believe. Humans have always been rapacious bastards willing to take advantage of others. A pirate fleet raiding survivor enclaves. Yes, I can believe that.”

  It seemed like it was to be a night for sighing heavily and I let out another breath of air as I pushed my hands deep into the pockets of my coat. The night was chill, too chill for the summer month and that didn’t feel right.

  That was something else to worry about and it was on my list of things to inquire about, when or if I got the time. Until then, I had more immediate problems. Like a fucking pirate fleet of all things.

  “As the minister for war, what is your suggestion?”

  “We need data.” One balled fist hit his leg with a soft thump and he unclenched it slowly. “Our new allies are putting together a data pack of location sightings. We can try and extrapolate an area where they might be active but after that, there is little we can do.”

  “Our two destroyers haven’t the firepower left to do much against an organised foe, especially if they have some military ships as has been suggested. On top of that, if I send them off chasing after the fleet on some fool's errand, there would be no protection here.”

  “No protection, say, if our new allies turned out to be not so friendly and intentionally lured our fleet away so that these pirates could raid us,” I said and he nodded brusquely.

  “That has crossed my mind, yes.”

  “Wonderful.”

  We stopped outside the council chambers and I turned to face the admiral.

  “So, you have listed our many problems, now it is time to find some solutions. It is also time to tell me why you brought me here.”

  “Our new allies are waiting inside. With your permission we will seize their submarine, detain them and go through every bit of data they have with a fine tooth comb.”

  “That seems extreme.”

  “If we are wrong, we can apologise later. If we are right, we might just save ourselves from more lost lives.”

  I glanced up at the old building and my shoulders sagged. The weight of the world was upon them and it was my own damned fault for seizing control in the first place. Someone had to make the hard decisions and that someone was now me.

  “Do it,” I said. “But there’s to be no loss of life. Clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The admiral performed a perfect salute and strode quickly away. I watched him for a moment before gesturing for my escort to follow me inside. It was time to meet our new allies.

  Chapter 5

  The cabin had ju
st the one bedroom which suited us fine. Safety lay in keeping ourselves contained in one room. The tall wardrobe made of heavy wood was pushed in front of the one window and the matching dresser, equally as heavy, went in front of the door.

  While I was fully prepared to fight the damned thing to the death should the need arise, I was smart enough to know that I would need to be at full strength to have a chance of winning. Just then, I was far from that.

  “Remind me again why we brought him in with us,” Gregg said as he draped a cloth over the body of the dead minion.

  “It’s as reluctant to face us as we are it, for the same reasons,” I said with barely a glance at the body as I hobbled over to the bed. “It’s wounded and needs time to heal. For a Reaper, that means feeding and so…”

  “We take away its food source and spend the night tucked up in bed with a stinking corpse. Great.”

  “The alternative is worse.”

  “Yeah, I get that, mate.”

  I pulled back the covers and lay down on the bed with a sigh, the weariness of the past week seeming to settle on me, threatening to drag me into a deep slumber. Gregg lay down beside me and pulled the covers up over us both.

  “Sleep well, mate,” he said and I was asleep before I could bother to reply.

  When I next awoke, the sound of birds singing in the trees outside the cabin was a good indication that we were alone. If the zombie were close they would be entirely absent.

  There was a weight on my chest and I lifted my head to see Greggs' arm draped across me. When I turned my head, his face was right beside me, a thin line of drool running from his mouth to the pillow. I cleared my through, noisily.

  “Wha-“ He blinked several times as he woke up and took a moment to look around. Then his eye widened. “Shit! Damn, sorry, mate.”

  He jerked upright and wiped at his mouth, looking around a little wild-eyed as he realised how close he was to me and the colour in his cheeks deepened. I watched him curiously, amused to see the range of emotions pass across his face and couldn’t help but wonder what they were.

  “I’m sorry, mate. I didn’t mean to, shit, I didn’t.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ve known you long enough I can tolerate your touch though don’t get carried away. I still dislike being touched.”