Family Matters: Season 2 Book 3 (Killing the Dead 9) (7 page)

The sound of their moans was rising around me. As ever more noticed and headed my way, I slashed the claw blade across the face of a zombie and used my elbow to smash the cheekbone of another, pushing it back enough for me to turn and stab my blade through its eye.

A zombie lurched towards me and collapsed as Jinx collided with its legs, her teeth tearing at the flesh and tendons at the back of its ankles. She glanced back at me, dark blood colouring her maw, before she leapt at the next zombie, dancing away from it when it reached clumsily for her. I followed her example.

Keep moving, always moving, don’t stop,
I kept repeating the words to myself as I ducked and weaved through the growing crowd. I kicked out the legs of a zombie and leapt its thrashing body to stab my knife down through the skull of the next.

I dropped my shoulder and caught the next below the ribs before pushing up and throwing it over my back. I ignored its attempts to grab my ankles as I threw a blow across the face of another. It did little to hurt it but threw it off balance enough for me to slide past it and plunge my combat knives blade into the temple of another.

My breath was coming fast, chest heaving as I pushed forward. Filth covered hands clawing at my clothing as I passed, ever more of them converging on me, blocking out the sight of my destination. My energy was running out and yet my enemies seemed to have an endless amount. Jinx was close by, her jaws snapping at any that tried to come too close to us.

Darkness closed in around me as I stabbed, slashed and kicked at the zombies. I’d stopped moving forward and had been forced to stand my ground, surrounded, a growing pile of corpses at my feet. We were holding them at bay, just barely.

Despite it all, I grinned. The mad grin of a man who knew death was coming close but one that contained a savage joy. It was these moments when the end was near that I felt truly alive. I had but one regret and that was failing Lily.

A rip sounded as the thick material of my coat was torn and I swung to lash out at the creature that had come too close. My blade found its mark and another corpse joined the pile, dark blood bursting from the wound to cover my already soiled clothing and hands.

I kicked out and a zombie fell away only to rebound from the zombies pushing from behind. I swore loudly and stabbed down with the knife before swinging back around to thrust my blade into another. The dog yelped as claw-like hands raked her side and she darted between my legs, almost overbalancing me.

Hands closed around my arms, decaying faces coming closer as rotted teeth stained with the blood of the dead sought my flesh. My knee caught one zombie in the hips and it was far enough gone that it collapsed. I pushed forward into the gap it had left, feet stamping down on its skull as I passed.

Cold blood sprayed across the back of my head and I risked a look back to see a second head burst open as a wooden bat crashed down on it. My smile remained fixed as something surged inside of me, some unfamiliar feeling that I would investigate fully later. For that moment though, I would keep killing.

With the pressure off my back, I was able to open a little more space and pull free of the hands that held me, weak withered things that they were. Renewed strength filled me and I struck out, sinking my blade into skull after skull.

“This way!” Gregg called and I glanced over my shoulder to see a gap form around him as he held the bat sideways and used it as a barrier to push away the zombies.

I needed no further urging and leapt through the gap that closed behind me as he Gregg ceased his pushing and followed. A quick glance down to see the strangely loyal hound following close beside me on just three legs, her fourth was held up and blood flowed from her paw.

The zombies that had formed a ring around me were slow to change direction but there were still many hundreds of zombies heading towards us across the open campus grounds.

We ran, weaving between the zombies, lashing out with our weapons at any that came close and headed for the edge of the campus. With little breath to spare for words I headed towards a two storey red brick building and assumed Gregg would follow.

A car park opposite the building didn’t bode well when I saw a blood-spattered sign that indicated it was a halls of residence. I just hoped the majority of the residents were out amongst the crowd trying to devour us and not stuck inside.

The entranceway was open, shattered glass across the dozen steps the only remains of the doors that had once been used to secure the lobby. I took the stairs two at a time and ran into the building without stopping.

I skidded to a stop on the tiled floor as the four zombies stood beside the far wall turned at my entrance. They lurched towards us, slightly faster than those outside which prompted a quiet thought about what effect exposure to the elements had on them before they were on me.

A step to the side as my knife entered an eye and went straight through to the brain, then duck beneath a swing, stumble and bang my shoulder painfully against the wall because I was beyond exhausted and then push upwards with knife aimed at the zombies jaw as Jinx leapt at the next closest, her jaws closing around its throat as the force of her leap knocked it to the floor.

My knife entered beneath the jaw of the third zombie at an odd angle and broke through its right cheek as I sighed and swung the claw blade across its eyes. Blinded it still had no problem pulling me close as I dragged free my combat knife and stabbed through its temple with all my remaining strength. As it died I looked up to see the fourth collapse beneath a swing of Greggs bat.

His eyes met mine and I smiled in a way that I hoped he would understand indicated my thanks and he nodded as he breathed heavily.

“Upstairs,” I said as I pointed at the door with the sign attached to the wall beside it to indicate a stairway.

We pulled the door closed behind us as the first undead stumbled into the lobby and climbed the stairs as fast as we could to the second floor. Through a second door and into a long hallway with doors set on either side. A quick look at the stairwell door was enough to see we had no way of securing it.

Many of the doors were open and books, clothes, and various other personal items lay scattered about the floor. The only light came from the windows set into each end of the hallway, but it was enough to illuminate the old stains on the walls. Signs of struggle and death.

We walked slowly along the hall, weapons ready and in truth, we were both shattered. Our energy needed to be conserved as best it could be for when the zombies made their way up the stairs. It would take them a little while at least since they had no skill at opening doors and their stair climbing was poor at best.

Still, they would make it up and then without a way out, we would fight and likely die. Even I could admit there were just too many for us to kill.

By the time we’d reached the end of the hall, no zombies had leapt out of the rooms and those we had been able to look into were empty. It was fair to say that we were as safe as we could be until they reached the top of the stairs.

“Well we’re fucked,” Gregg muttered as he leaned back against the wall and looked out the window at the zombies as they made their way towards the halls of residence in truly staggering numbers.

“More of them than I thought,” I admitted and he grunted.

We leant against the wall in companionable silence for a minute or two as we listened to the banging on the door below us. I looked at Gregg and even with my limited ability to recognise emotion, I could see that he was upset.
I think.

In truth though, I was quite cheerful. I’d survived longer than I’d expected, I’d got to kill quite a number of zombies and my friend hadn’t abandoned me. It would be nice to have some company when I died if nothing else.

“Thank you,” I said to him. He looked at me blankly for a moment and then nodded.

“No worries mate,” he said. “Couldn’t leave you to take all the glory yourself.”

“Glory?”

“You know,” he said with a laugh. “Kill the bad guys, get the medicine and save the girl.”

His laughter was infectious and I allowed a small smile as Jinx watched us both with a quizzical look to her eyes, perhaps curious about the reasons for the mirth.

My smile faded as I looked outside and saw that the crowd was growing and not thinning. I very much doubted that we would be saving ourselves, let alone Lily.

Chapter 9 - Lily

It was dark when I opened my eyes. Not the darkness that comes with being in a small room with a blanket over the window, which I was, but that darkness that I’d only really experienced since the end of the world. A darkness that came when night had fallen and no man made light existed in the world.

Heat radiated from the wound in my stomach and my mouth was dry, my body seemingly having sweated out all of the moisture in it, I needed something to replace it.

My thoughts were not quite as coherent as usual and I put that down to the combination of fever and incredible pain that went through me whenever I tried to move. Since I was alone in the office, in the dark, at least as far as I could tell, it was up to me to get something to drink.

A groan escaped me as I pushed aside the covers, the air cool on my bare skin, and heaved myself up to a sitting position with arms that trembled. I sat for a moment and drank in several deep breaths of air as what little strength I had seemed to leave me.

I felt around the floor beside the low cot and after several fumbling seconds I bumped against something.
Plastic, about the right shape for a cup and… yep definitely has something wet in it,
I smiled ruefully as I wiped my hand against the blankets and picked up the cup.

Go slow,
I reminded myself as I sipped at the water. It wasn’t particularly cold and tasted a little funky but it was the only drink I had. I finished it slowly and let the cup back down to the floor. I had no idea where everyone was, though considering the darkness I could only imagine that they were sleeping.

Still, I felt a pressing need to find somewhere to relieve the pressure on my bladder that was at least a small part of the discomfort and pain I was feeling.

With nothing to grip, I pressed one hand against the wall to steady myself as I slowly raised myself to my feet. A hiss of breath escaped and the trembling in my arms was as nothing compared to my legs but I held steady.

Pleased with myself for making it that far, I set off towards the door and had taken barely two steps before my legs gave way and I collapsed to the floor, darkness closing in around me.

      
      
      
      
      
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“That was very foolish,” a stern voice said as I was lifted bodily and deposited on the cot. A groan escaped me and the woman clucked her tongue. “Well, that serves you right. You would try and get out of bed.”

“Evelyn?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Now get yourself back under the covers.”

“I needed to pee.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you all cleaned up,” my lover's sister said after a moment's hesitation and my humiliation was complete.

“Sorry.”

“You wouldn’t be the first patient I’ve cleaned up,” she said and I could hear the humour in her voice. It helped.
A little.

“Thank you,” I said and meant it. “Throat hurts.”

“Drink this,” she said as refilled the cup from a jug and pressed it to my lips. It was only then that I realised I could see the jug she held and the faint outline of her body as the darkness receded.

“It’s morning already?”

“Yes,” she said but again, there was a slight hesitation before she said it.

“How long have I been asleep?” A horrible suspicion was slowly forming in my mind and I suspected I knew the answer.

“It’s been over a day,” Evelyn said and I saw her turn her face away.

“Ryan? Is he back then?” My stomach seemed to be doing cartwheels and a part of my mind was gibbering in fear at the answer I knew was coming.
If he was back, he’d be here. Where is he?

“No.”

“Something must have gone wrong,” I said as a new fear gripped me. “He wouldn’t have been gone so long otherwise.”

Evelyn stood and crossed the room to pick up a basin of water and a clean cloth. She returned a moment later and set it down beside the cot and dipped the cloth into it. She wrung it out and set about cleaning me as though I were a baby, incapable and helpless. Though at that moment, that’s exactly how I felt.

“Gabe returned,” she said finally and I didn’t try to stop the tears that formed. “He said… well, it doesn’t matter. They didn’t even make it to the hospital.”

My body shook as the tears fell and her arms went around me as she held me, silent but for the calming noises she made as I wept for the man I loved and one of the few true friends I had found since the fall of the world.

“Cass?” I managed to ask between great wracking sobs that did nothing to help ease the pain from my gut.

“Her boyfriend is with her,” Evelyn said. “Shh now, stop your tears. You’re still very sick and need to save your strength to recover.”

She didn’t need to add that the chances of that were severely lowered without the medicines Ryan had given his life trying to bring me. Not that it would even matter now. How could I face Cass knowing that her brother had died trying to get help for me.

“How?” I asked. The darkness was closing in around me and I very much wanted to know before it caught me in its embrace and dragged me back down to what could possibly be an eternal slumber. “Please… tell me.”

“Gabe. He said, well, he said that they were too many of the undead. Their only hope was to turn back but Ryan, he refused. He was always a stubborn child and I guess that didn’t change.” She paused and wiped at her own eyes and I was reminded that she had lost a brother she had only just found out had survived the apocalypse just a few days before.

“Ryan tried to get through but he was surrounded by them. Your friend Gregg, he ran off to help. The last Gabe saw of them, hundreds of zombies were around them, all reaching for them.”