Family Matters: Season 2 Book 3 (Killing the Dead 9) (22 page)

All along the corridor, on both sides, men and women were striking with their weapons. Blood sprayed and zombies died. Falling to the paving stones, forming a new uneven floor for their kind to scramble over to reach the living.

“Come on,” I murmured as Pat leapt forward, his spiked mace smashing down on first one, then another skull. Clearing a gap where the undead had pushed against the barrier. The tide of undead moved ever onwards.

In minutes, they’d reached the end and with terror writ clear on their faces, the three men raised their shields. Rounded on the top and tapered to the bottom, they were large enough that the men could duck their heads and raise the wooden shields to shoulder height.

The first zombies hit them with an almost perceptible force, the three men with legs braced for impact, were still pushed back, their feet scraping across the paving stones as cries of terror came from their throats.

Then spears thrust over them, long wooden poles with leaf-shaped iron blades on the end, wielded by Gregg and Reece. They stabbed at heads, aiming for eyes, mouths, any way that they could get through to the brain to end their faux lives.

It wasn’t enough. There were too many pressing forward, pushing from behind. The corridor was full of heaving bodies, too many to count and as each one fell another was there to take its place.

Minutes had passed and already arms were getting weary. The frenzied pummelling of our people was slowing and the line had begun to bow outwards in places.

Caleb ran forward, a steel bar in one hand and a butcher's knife in the other. He clubbed and hacked at the zombies as he cursed his people to push back. Hesitant at first then with growing confidence, they began to push back.

On the other side of the courtyard, Ryan and Pat were in constant movement. From one place on the line to the next, darting in to kill one zombie here, two there, they held the people in place through sheer force of will. None seeming to want to step back, to turn in fear while they were with them.

“It’s not enough,” I whispered. There were just too many of them and too few of us. I turned to Charlie who sat with her back against the parapet, the drone on her lap. “Do it now!”

“Not time yet,” she replied as she fiddled with the equipment. Her tongue stuck between her lips as she squinted down at what she was doing.

“You need to…” I began as a scream sounded from below and I looked down into the courtyard to see one of Caleb's people, stumbling back from the line, their hand held before their face. Several fingers were missing and blood ran freely. “Do it now!” I screamed at the girl.

She glared at me but lifted the drone and set it on the smooth floor of the watchtower beside her and picked up the controls. The whir of its four rotors spinning was almost louder than the shouting and moans of the fight below.

It shot up into the air and I followed its flight with my eyes. Charlie kept hers on the display screen on the controller she held, seeing through the drone's camera. It hovered over the courtyard before dropping low, raucous music blaring from the MP3 player she’d somehow managed to connect to it.

Undead faces raised towards the music as the drone swooped down to fly over the crowd. Not many, too much live flesh for most to take their attention from but enough to provide a moment's respite for the people at either side of the corridor.

Ryan and Pat leapt forward. Mace, axe, and knife falling amongst the undead and killing without pause as the combination of rain, music, and drone proved too much of a distraction for some of those zombies.

“It’s working!” I said as it zipped through the gates to hover over the bridge.

I crossed the watch tower to almost collapse against the opposite side, leaning against the rough stone parapet and watching the zombies slow their pace. The drone hovered just above them, out of reach.

LED lights beneath each of the arms that held the rotors began to flash almost in time with the music and I looked down at Charlie who grinned.

“They’ve slowed,” I said and she nodded as I turned back to watch the undead on the bridge.

Arms raised towards the noise and light, they weren’t pushing forwards as much as they had been and towards the gate, a gap appeared. It would give those in the courtyard space to breathe, to pause in their killing.

Another scream sounded and I winced. It was a woman's voice, high-pitched and full of fear. It cut off sharply and a roar of anger came from the other men and women around her. I didn’t need to see, to know how she’d just died.

I did need to keep watch on the courtyard though. I pushed away from the parapet and crossed the short distance back to the other side. Pain radiating from the wound in my stomach, but I refused to give in. Not when those I cared about were fighting for their lives.

The crowd of zombies had definitely thinned out. Small clusters of them were attacking various sections of the barrier, stumbling over the bodies of the dead as they tried to reach the living. Jinx was running along beside Ryan but had little to do as she couldn’t get through the barrier.

Occasionally an arm would reach through, past the people fighting there and she would leap to catch it in her powerful jaws, landing and pulling the zombie half over the barrier and holding it there until someone would crush its skull. Then she’d release the arm and race back to Ryan, eyes watching for the next opportunity.

A man yelled and I turned my face towards the sound to see one of Caleb's people. He’d overreached when he struck at a zombie and one of them had grasped hold of his arm, its head darting forward to sink its teeth into the flesh.

He screamed as another grabbed his shoulder and pulled him forward, the man and woman on either side of him, stopping their fight to grab him and try to pull him back.

“Fools,” I muttered. It was too late for him and I hated how easily that realisation came to me.

Caleb seemed to come to the same conclusion and was there in moments, haranguing his people until they released their hold on the dead man and returned to swinging their weapons.

“You can let more through,” I said to Charlie without turning.

“Will do,” she said and the music ceased as the drone shot up into the air.

The zombies below it, freed from its distracting presence, turned back towards the castle and pushed inwards. Joining the few remaining undead in the corridor and it began again.

“Tell me when to drop back down,” Charlie said as the first of the second wave of zombies fell at the leading edge of the corridor.

I nodded though she wasn’t watching me, and I kept my gaze fixed on the courtyard. The people there were flagging, their arms wearying from the fight. Ryan and Pat had slowed their pace, conserving energy.

How many have they killed?
I wondered as I looked down on them. The paving stones that formed the floor of the corridor we’d made were no longer visible between the piled bodies.
A hundred? More?

Not enough was the answer that came to me. It would never be enough, even if we killed all of these, then there would be more. An almost endless supply across the world.

I shook my head to clear it from the dark thoughts. That way led despair and that was something I refused to give in to. Instead, I called to Charlie, “Again!”

“Aye, aye,” she said and the drone dropped down once more, music blaring from it.

“Where are the Ferals?” I wondered as the fresh slaughter of the undead began again in the courtyard. I pushed myself up and away from the parapet and crossed to the other side.

The crowd of undead that had filled the area around the walls of the castle had definitely thinned. Around the edges, the Ferals were moving. Running, occasionally on all fours, they snapped and snarled at the Shamblers, forcing them to move towards the bridge and into the castle.

Why?
I wondered as I spied a group of zombies, crouched at the back of the crowd. They weren’t moving, weren’t doing much of anything but watching as the trailing edges of the Shamblers headed towards the bridge.

As I watched them, the music cut off and the drone shot back up into the air. I glanced at Charlie who shrugged at me. “Getting low on power. Can do this once more… maybe.”

I nodded, not really listening as I puzzled over the strange behaviour of the undead. The ones that had been herding the others, had joined the silent crowd and they stood or crouched together, watching.

Oh no!
I thought as I realised what they were doing. Sending in the shamblers, forcing us to use all our energies fighting them until, near exhausted, the Ferals would come. Like a pack of jackals, they were waiting for the right moment, when we were at our weakest.

“Drop the drone,” I yelled at Charlie as they began to move.

She took her eyes from the controller and stared at me as she heard the near panic in my voice but she did as I said. The drone dropped low over the bridge, music blaring as the first of the Ferals set foot on the wooden planks.

It didn’t stop, didn’t look at the drone, just kept straight on running and I pushed myself away from the parapet to rush across to the opposite side and scream down into the courtyard.

“Ferals!”

Chapter 24 – Ryan

Another voice cried out, another of the sanctuary residents died and I stepped into the gap made and stabbed my knife blade through an eye socket before swinging my axe and almost severing the neck of a zombie.

I stepped away, as those people to either side closed the gap between them and wiped at the mix of sweat and rainwater that ran down my face. The distant sound of music ended and I exhaled slowly as I looked to the gates.

More undead were coming, less perhaps than the last two waves, but enough. We were running out of energy and the Ferals had yet to make an appearance. I caught Pat's eyes as he glanced my way and gestured.

“You good?” he asked as he trotted up.

“We may have to retreat inside,” I said and he blinked. Not what he’d expected me to say.

“They barricaded themselves in.”

“Head back to the doors and get their attention,” I said. “Make them clear a way so that if we need to we can get in.”

“Sure,” he said as he ran back towards the large stone building.

I looked along the line of people and saw Cass. She was using that same wooden club she’d brought from the island to good effect. A pile of bodies lay on the ground before her and I smiled as I jogged over to her.

Jinx dashed past as I reached Cass and I watched the canine leap and tear out the throat of a zombie that had leaned over the barrier. It didn’t stop it but was enough of a distraction that the person next to it could stab a blade through its temple.

“Go to the watchtower,” I said to Cass who looked at me in surprise.

“What?”

“Lily and Charlie are up there. Alone,” I said. “If we need to retreat…”

A cry came from above and I looked up to see Lily, pale-faced, leaning over the parapet of the tower and pointing back beyond the castle. “Ferals!” she repeated and I resisted the urge to swear.

“Get to that tower and secure the door from inside,” I snapped. “No time to argue, do it.”

Cass didn’t hesitate, she ran for the door and I followed close behind. The Ferals were coming through the gate as I reached it and put Cass and Lily from my mind as the first one leapt at me.

I dropped to one knee, axe sweeping up to catch it square in the gut. I followed through, the axe swing dragging the Feral to the ground where I could stab it in the head as it scrambled to free itself. Rising to my feet, I dragged free the axe and jumped to the side as two more came for me.

Screams sounded as the Ferals bounded over the corpses, barely pausing. They leapt over the barricade, straight at the exhausted people. I swore as those closest to the gate died, each buried beneath a pile of Ferals.

My axe cut the air as I swung around, catching a Feral square in the face. It dropped to the ground, dragging the axe from my hand as another collided with me. Claw-like hands raked my jacket as its teeth snapped at my face, foul breath making me gag.

I stabbed repeatedly with my knife, the blade cutting through cheek, neck and finally skull, blood spurting from the wounds to cover me as it collapsed atop me. I heaved it off of me and rolled to the side before climbing to my feet.

All around was chaos, the barricades forming the corridor had been deserted as the people ran full tilt to the main hall. A Feral leapt on the back of a woman, dragging her to the ground where it began to tear at her flesh, others joining it in its feast.

A man I recognised as part of Caleb's group, swung wildly with his club and managed to crack the skull of one before another two leapt on him from either side. He screamed as they ripped into his flesh.

Jinx snapped and snarled at a zombie that had managed to catch her by the tail and I ran towards her, my hand grasping the haft of my axe and dragging it clear of the dead zombie as I passed. I swung it overhead and brought it down on top of the Ferals skull. It shuddered and released its hold on her as it fell and I set one foot against its chest and pulled the axe free.

We’d lost. I could see that clearly as I cast my gaze around. The courtyard was a charnel house with small clusters of the undead feasting on the fallen while the majority were attacking those trying to push their way through the tea room doors.

“Behind you!” Lily screamed and I spun on my heel, the axe swinging up across my body to catch a Feral beneath the chin. Blood and bone flew fee as it was catapulted backwards, only to climb to its feet, the bottom half of its face missing.

I grinned as it raced at me and swept the axe across its path, low, taking out its legs at the knees and I stabbed down with my knife and ended its life. Jinx growled and I turned to see four more approaching.

So be it,
I thought as I prepared to sell myself dearly.

The drone swooped down before them, striking one in the face and knocking it to the ground at the feet of the others. Two stumbled as the final one hopped over and ran at me on all fours. It leapt as I side stepped, my axe swinging down to catch it across the centre of its back, severing the spine.