Killing the Dead (Season 2 | Book 2): Dark and Deadly Land (23 page)

Chapter 26 - Lily

“He’s an ass,” Becky said for perhaps the hundredth time. I tended to agree but held back on saying so.

I glanced back to see him walking along behind us, hands in pockets and watching the world around us as though he hadn’t a care. It was infuriating and coming so soon after what we’d just seen him do at the factory, well, it was a little much. Even I could see that.
Show at least a little remorse at slaughtering everyone
.

Cass gripped my hand and I looked at her as she smiled. She nudged me with her shoulder in a way that said everything would be fine and I smiled back.
It wouldn’t though,
I thought. This was my life now.

“Has he always been like this?” Gregg asked and received a slap on the back of his head from his sister. “Hey!”

“None of our business,” she snapped back at him.

“Oh it’s fine lass,” Gabe said. “He was always a bit of an odd duck, even as a kid.”

“I can’t imagine him as a child,” I said.

“How is it you all know him?” Gabe asked and I felt everyone seem to look at me at the same time.

“We met right at the beginning,” I said. “I was running from zombies and he let me into his house. We stuck together and found ourselves at a refugee centre.”

“Which is where they met me,” Pat said. “I was there with some other friends and when the undead broke in, he led us to safety.”

“What about you two?” Gabe asked Cass and Gregg.

“Tied up and being beaten by some bastards on a farm,” Cass said. “Baby brother was unconscious and I thought I was done for. Ryan found us and saved us.”

Gabriel looked thoughtful as his eyes moved from one to the next of us. Finally, they settled on Becky. “He save you too pretty lady?”

“Yes,” she said with a slight blush colouring her cheeks. “Pulled me and someone I thought was a friend from the wreckage of a plane.”

“Seems like he’s saved all of you,” he said with an unreadable expression as he looked back at his brother.

“More than once,” I said. “You know I never really thought about it, but yeah, it’s weird that each of us is only here because of him.”

“That so,” Gabe said. “May be some hope for him after all.”

“I keep saying so,” I said and he smiled at me.

“You and he are something more than friends then?” he asked.

“Well, you could say that,” I said and it was my turn to blush as Gregg let out a laugh.

“Oh they’re definitely more than friends,” he said and ducked before his sister could clout him again.

“Perhaps you should meet the family then,” Gabe said. “I know mum never thought she’d see him with someone, let alone happy.”

I smiled at him and Cass changed the subject to inconsequential things as we neared the coast and turned south, back towards Silloth. I half listened and kept glancing back to Ryan before finally falling back to join him.

He looked up as I approached and his grin was fixed firmly in place though I noticed some tightening around his eyes that spoke of apprehension.

“Hello Ryan,” I said. The first part of our little ritual that was just for us alone.

“Hello Lily,” he replied and I smiled as he took hold of my hand.

“Your brother seems nice,” I said and his grin slipped a little.

“They’re all nice,” he said bitterly. “My whole family is nice.”

“That’s a bad thing to you?”

He snorted and looked away before back to me.

“Imagine growing up in a family that are all really nice. They do things for others, they work hard and contribute to their community. They are respected and liked by everyone.”

“Okay.”

“Then there’s me,” he said and his smile faded. “The strange boy who doesn’t understand the emotions he sees them taking such delight in. A boy filled with darkness rather than the light they all share.”

He let out a sigh and I squeezed his hand to let him know I understood.

“I was different to everyone, but more so to them. They couldn’t understand it, couldn’t understand me and they tried, oh so very hard.”

His eyes showed pain and I held my breath, afraid to say something that would take away this rare moment of understanding he was showing me.

“Part of me still resents them,” he said. “For having that basic understanding of life that I couldn’t… can’t, share.”

“You’re changing though,” I said and he looked at me, eyes of blue staring into mine. “I’ve seen those changes. Back there, at the factory…”

I held my gaze on his and paused as the darkness surged up behind his eyes. It wasn’t a real darkness, I couldn’t even explain it fully, but it was there. A change in him that I could see, when that cold killer came to the forefront.

“It affected you,” I said carefully. Afraid to make him retreat even further into himself. “That anger I saw… well, I’ve never seen you display that much. There was a reason for that, a good reason.”

“There was?”

“Yes,” I said. Quietly insistent. “You saw something in there, something that upset you badly. It could only have done so if you care.”

“You think?” he asked. The darkness was fading but it was still there.

“Honestly, I believe you have those emotions that you think you don’t. It’s just that they are buried way down deep, just waiting for you to dig down to reach them.”

“Maybe,” he said but his lips turned upwards into a smile and the man I knew returned to me.

“It was bad in there then?” I asked and he nodded. “I’m sorry you had to do that.”

“Oh I had some fun in the end,” he said with a wolfish grin that sent a shiver down my spine.

      
      
      
      
      
****

We arrived back at Silloth before dark and I was relieved to see that many of the undead had indeed left the area.

With cautious steps, we moved through the edges of the town and met no problems before we reached the gate. It was opened for us and we entered to find Ethan and Bess already making their way towards us, alerted by the sentries on the container wall.

“You did it,” Ethan said as he approached, arms spread wide as though to take us all in.

“It worked then,” Cass said and he nodded.

“We heard the blast from here and all those nasties outside the wall did too,” he said. “We kept quiet and hidden and a few started moving that way, then a few more and finally all of them went.”

“Any problems?” Bess asked as she took in Pat and Ryan’s blood-soaked clothing.

“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” I said.

“Excellent,” Ethan crowed. “You did a splendid job.”

“Now it’s time for your part,” Ryan said. “Passage across the bay.”

“Of course,” he said though his smile faltered a little. “First thing in the morning when the tide goes out, you’ll be on the first boat that goes with it.”

“Then if you don’t mind letting us stay the night, we could use the rest,” I said. “It’s been a long day.”

“I’ll take you to your tents,” Bess said.

“But don’t you want to celebrate with us?” Ethan asked.

“Thank you but no,” I told him. “Sleep is needed right now.”

“As you will,” he replied with a dismissive wave. “Be off with you then, I’ll arrange for your boat.”

He stalked away and Bess snorted. “He’s a prick but he means well.”

“I’m sorry we don’t want to celebrate, it’s just been a really long day.”

“I bet,” she said with another look at Ryan and Pat. “Come on then.”

She led the way through the compound towards the warehouse where we’d stayed the night before. Jinx was sitting beside the door and rose to her feet as we approached. She trotted over to nuzzle Ryan and I saw Gabe watching with bemusement.

You’ll see,
I thought,
he’s a better man that any of you think.

“How’s the girl?” Cass asked. “Emily.”

“Been crying a lot, seems to understand why you did it,” Bess said. “She’s sleeping in your tents.”

“I thought we’d have been the last people she wanted to be around,” I said and the older woman shrugged.

“None of our business, she can’t stay here anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Not much use to us,” Bess said and I felt the sudden urge to slap her. “Deaf kid won’t be much use as a guard.”

“Yeah but you can’t toss her out,” I said.

“We aren’t. She came with you and she’ll leave with you.”

I sighed as we entered the warehouse. The poor girl had been traumatised and they expected her to leave with the people who had killed her brother. It was idiotic.

Emily was in one of the tents and I ducked inside the flap and gestured her out when her eyes met mine. She came out and saw the rest of us. Her flinch when she saw Ryan and Pat was enough for me to shoo everyone away.

“Hey,” I said to her. “I hope you read lips.”

She nodded and I smiled. That was a good sign.

“We’re going to take you to a place where you’re safe, do you understand?” The girl nodded and I felt a growing confidence. “You’ll leave with us tomorrow, yes?”

Emily gestured me closer and I leant in, eyes searching her face for a sign of understanding. It’s how I caught it just before it happened and managed to jump back as the knife she held entered my stomach.

I landed on my back on the floor, hands pressed against the wound as pain filled me. I could feel the knife blade sticking out of my flesh and darkness closed in on my vision. I had just enough time to see Ryan leap at her with his own knife out.

“Don’t,” I screamed as everything went black.

Epilogue. - Ryan

I’ll kill her,
I thought. It will be slow and very, very painful. I would make every last minute of her life worse than the one before.
If Lily dies.

The boat rocked beneath us and I clenched my hands tight before me as I stared down at the still form that lay in the cabins only bunk.

She looked so pale, so weak, as she lay there. I was helpless to do anything to save her and all I could do, should she die, was burn the rest of the world down in my fury.

The cabin door opened and Cass poked her head through, she looked as though she’d been crying again with red-rimmed eyes and dark circles around them. Her gaze met mine and then went to Lily.

“Any change?” she asked and I shook my head.

She opened her mouth to speak but I turned away, not wanting to hear it. If she mentioned the girl’s name, I wasn’t sure I could hold myself back from taking my knife and heading out on deck to end her for good.

I should have killed her last night, at the warehouse. I’d wrapped one hand around her throat and raised my knife to stab through her defiant eyes when I’d heard Lily yell, a demand, and a plea for me not to. So I hadn’t. She lived but only so long as Lily did.

Beyond the wooden walls of the fishing boats cabin, gulls wheeled and circled the boat. Their cries were raised when scraps were thrown overboard and then they’d descend in a frenzy to feed. Far too similar to the zombies.

My hand enclosed hers, hating how limp it was, how cold the flesh as though she were already dead. The others were on deck, complaining about the people of Haven who had kicked us loose despite the injury she’d sustained.

Ethan had been adamant. Injured or not, we’d leave. He’d ignored the protests, the warning that moving her wouldn’t be safe. Of course, he’d promised me all manner of things when I found him in his office first thing that morning while everyone else was asleep. When I’d finished, I’d tossed away the empty syringe and closed the office door where he had a cot.

We’d left a short time later and no one had questioned his absence. No doubt they’d think he died in his sleep and turned.

Her hand twitched and my thoughts came back to the present. I stared down at her as her eyelids moved the barest fraction. A moan escaped her and she opened those beautiful eyes of hers and met my own.

“Hello Lily,” I said and she smiled.

Note from the Author.

The journey has begun and Lily and Ryan are well on their way to Scotland. The zombies are changing, as is the world. Dark times are upon them and as their journey continues, they will find themselves faced with challenges that even they cannot overcome. I hope you continue along with them.

Richard Murray

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