Search for Safety: Killing the Dead Book Two (2 page)

“I didn’t mean that Ryan.” Lily said indignantly.

“Whatever, let’s get going.”

“No. Stop!” called Lily as I started down the hill. I paused, angry at myself for getting upset. I had never cared about being included and I couldn’t explain why I did now.

“We don’t just need you for killing them” she said, “You saved us! You are part of this group and none of us would be here without you.” I turned to her, surprised to see tears in her eyes.

“You were there for me when I was alone and scared, when...when my boyfriend had just been killed. You’re my friend and I don’t care what you did before, but I saw what it did to you at the farm.”

“The only thing that it did was show me that I was right to do it in secret.” I snapped in reply.

“No. I saw. You were scared. How many people have you killed in total? How many have you killed since this started? Too many is my guess.” She wiped a hand across her eyes angrily. “If you lose control and hurt someone innocent, we will lose you. I don’t want that.”

I gazed at her for a long moment confused. She was worried about that, as if I were some junkie who would need a greater and greater fix each time. I considered her words, would I need to kill more and more people just to get those feelings that I craved? It was a disturbing thought and one that I would need some time to consider.

“I don’t know what will happen. All I can promise is that if it ever gets to that stage, I will tell you. For now, we have no choice. Someone needs to do the killing and I am the one best suited for it.” I said.

We walked in silence back to the van. Lily was wiping at her eyes and I was lost in thought. The one thing I could say for certain was that we had a population of sixty million potential zombies on our island and, that was enough to fill even the greatest need for death.

Lily woke the others as she started the van and answered the few questions before setting off. The journey around the reservoir only took ten minutes in the van and Lily parked outside the first of the three houses. With the exception of Rachel who remained sitting in the back of the van, the rest of us all crowded towards the front to stare out of the windshield at the houses.

“So what do you think?” Lily asked the group.

“Looks quiet, no cars around” said Pat.

“No obvious zombies which means I am willing to take a look.” I said, before heading to the back of the van and opening the door.

We had pulled up outside three houses all sat in a neat row alongside the road. They were all two storey affairs made of old stone. I could see immediately that one of the houses was empty of anything we would have a use for, as the doors and windows were missing along with a good number of the stone roof tiles. A variety of building materials were stacked around the small garden and I resolved to check through them later.

The remaining two houses were neat and well kept. The nearest had its curtains drawn and the white PVC door was closed. I walked over to the door and knocked. When no answer came after a minute, I tried the door handle only to find it locked. I moved to the next house.

When I knocked on this door it was opened by an elderly man. He supported himself with an aluminium walking stick that looked like it came from a hospital. He wore brown trousers and a cream shirt beneath a dark blue woollen cardigan. He peered down at me through his thick glasses and asked “What do you want?”

“We were passing through and thought we may find some supplies here.” I told him.

“What made you think that? This isn’t a shop.”

“We know that sir” said Lily as she walked to stand beside me. “We were running from the zombies and we have very little with us.”
      
“Zombies! What are you talking about?” he asked voice rising.

“The dead people. They have been coming back to life and killing others. It’s been on the news for a week.” Lily said with more patience than I would have.

“Don’t watch the news. Full of bad news, too depressing. Now move on before I call the police.”

“Good luck with that” I said which earned me an exasperated look from Lily. I gave her a grin and walked back to the other house. She could deal with the old man while I found us a way inside. I gestured for Pat to join me and waited by the door as he trotted over.

“What’s up?” he asked nodding towards Lily as she continued to speak with the elderly gent.

“This door is locked and we could do with getting through it without breaking it. The old guy doesn’t seem to know what’s been going on. I think Lily is filling him in now.”

“So what do we do?”

“I am going to have a look around the back and you could see if you can find any tools next door, where they are doing the building work.” I told him.

Pat nodded and headed straight across to the empty house. He was definitely happier when he had some instructions. I wasn’t sure how well he would do if he had to think for himself. Another glance at Lily saw her gesturing as she spoke rapidly, trying to convince the old man of what was happening. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of how much easier it had been for me to believe her, considering the zombies were actually chasing her.

The back of the house had a large fenced area for a garden. Unfortunately the only plants I could see were decorative flowers. I hadn’t really been hopeful of finding an allotment sized vegetable patch but it would have been nice.

The back door was the same material as the front and also locked. The windows to either side were double glazed and resisted my attempts at opening them. It was frustrating to know that we could find a place to rest and recover from our recent ordeal and actually plan ahead, but we were blocked by a locked door.

“No tools in the empty house” said Pat as he rounded the corner.

“Just great.” I said as I looked around the garden, hoping for some inspiration. With a sigh I gestured Pat back and swung the hatchet at the smaller of the windows. The sound of the glass shattering was much louder than I had anticipated. I realised I was standing still, tense and alert for a zombie to appear, attracted by the noise.

“What the hell are you doing?” shouted Lilly as she ran around the house to join us.

“We needed to get in” I said.

“And if you had waited five minutes you would have known that the nice old man next door has a spare key.” She said glaring at me from beneath a frown.

“Oh.” I said as I looked from Lilly to the shattered glass and back again. “So you have a key then?”

Lily continued to glare while Pat wisely kept silent. “I’ll go and let the others know what’s happening. You two idiots can make sure the house is clear and then find some way to board that window up. Am I making myself clear?”

Both Pat and I had enough sense to nod our agreement without saying anything. Lily passed the key over to me and then stormed off towards the front of the house. Pat looked at me, “That was bloody scary.”

I had to agree, it seemed Lily was a force to be reckoned with when angry. That would be something to bear in mind for the future. I unlocked the door and readied my hatchet, it was unlikely anything was in there but just in case there were, I would be ready.

Inside the house all was dark. The curtains on all the windows were closed and a flick of the switch revealed the house had no power. I was standing in the kitchen of the house. A number of household appliances and cupboards filled the space along with a table and four chairs. Two doors – both closed – led from the room. I pulled back the curtains on the window and left the door open to allow some light in.

“So how do you want to do this?” asked Pat from the open doorway.

“We go slow, taking a room at a time and hope we don’t find anything in the dark.” I flashed him a grin. I was feeling a rising excitement at the prospect of more violence. “Have a quick look and see if you can find a weapon.”

While Pat rooted through the kitchen I pulled open the door set in the wall opposite the back door. I struck the frame a couple of times with the blunt edge of my hatchet and waited to see if anything stirred.

What looked to be the living room of the house was quiet and empty of people living or dead. I could see enough to make my way across to the curtains which I pulled open, flooding the room with light. I could see the girls gathered by the van, the elderly man was standing by his garden wall speaking once more with Lily.

Pat now armed with a heavy looking butcher knife had pulled open the second door and was just poking his head through the doorway as I looked back. “You see anything?” I asked.

“Hallway to the front door and some stairs that lead up,” he called back.

The living room had a door set into the same wall as the doorway Pat was looking through. I opened it cautiously and found myself looking at the entranceway to the house. “Let the others in while I check upstairs” I told Pat. He grunted and moved to the backdoor to retrieve the key as I headed up the stairs.

Three bedrooms and a bathroom were all I could find. The house was empty. I stopped in the bathroom and turned the taps at the sink. The sight of running water, even cold was a pleasure. I rejoined the group on the ground floor to let them know all was well.

In the living room, Rachel was curled up on the couch while Maggie was engulfed by a large comfortable looking armchair as she sat reading a book, with several more stacked on the floor beside her. Someone had obviously thought to bring in some of the children’s books that we had taken from the mobile library.

Pat was in the kitchen looking at the broken window, brow furrowed as he tried to think of some way to fix it. Claire and Lily were rooting through the cupboards. “The upstairs rooms are clear” I said as I joined them.

“Good” said Lily, “we have water here but no gas or power. It looks like we will be eating cold food today.”

“Anything we can use in the rooms upstairs?” asked Claire.

“Well we have some blankets and clothes in the bedrooms. Nothing Maggie’s size, but the rest of us may be able to fit in something. I think the people who lived here were a bit larger than the rest of us.”

“Well that’s something at least. Does the bathroom have a shower?” Lily asked looking over at me.

“Yes.”

“Then I suggest you go and find some clothes and get a shower.” She said, wrinkling her nose. Pat and Claire quickly agreed that I should be the first to shower. With no desire to argue I left my hatchet by the back door and headed up the stairs to search the rooms for clothes.

I shivered my way through the cold shower scrubbing at the grime and blood that covered my body. I was careful to wash around the still healing gash above my ribs. A hot shower would have done so much more for my aching body, but at least I would be clean.

Whoever had previously lived in this house had kept it neat and well organised. I had found plenty of clean towels folded and stacked neatly in the airing cupboard. I rubbed myself dry and dressed in some dark blue jeans and a flannel shirt that I had taken from one of the bedrooms. I wasn’t quite ready to wear another man’s underwear so I was forced to go without.

A rummage through the medicine cabinet above the sink resulted in a pack of toothbrushes. I eagerly ripped them open and took the opportunity to use one to clean my teeth for the first time in a week.

My soiled clothing was left in a large wicker laundry basket in one corner of the bathroom and I spent a few minutes cleaning away the mess I had made. I tended to be fairly neat and orderly by nature and I disliked leaving a mess for others.

I had been cooped up with the others for so long that I wasn’t quite ready to head back downstairs. I was solitary by nature and being in close proximity with too many people for extended periods of time was unpleasant and exhausting. I decided to have a rummage through the bedrooms of this house and see what I could find.

The master bedroom was dominated by a king size bed that sat in the centre of the room with the headboard pressed against the rear wall. At each side of the bed stood a bedside table with a lamp sat atop. A number of pillows and a thick duvet implied that the previous residents had liked to be comfortable. Two wardrobes, a chest of drawers and a vanity unit completed the furniture in the room.

I started with the bedside tables, first the one and then the other. These contained little of value, just some magazines and books along with the various bits and pieces that indicated a healthy sex life. Aside from the number of spare batteries that would be useful, the rest of the items were of no use.

The wardrobes and the chest of drawers contained clothing and shoes which would come in useful. The vanity held a number of creams, lotions and a variety of makeup products. A jewellery box sat in front of the mirror and had some expensive looking rings and necklaces.

After an hour of searching the room, I had found little that would be useful. I couldn’t help but remember the various zombie movies I had seen where every house was a treasure trove of weapons and survival gear. It was more than a little irritating that in reality the majority of houses would likely contain plenty of things that would only be useful in a world that wasn’t undergoing an apocalypse.

A gentle tapping on the window caught my attention. I glanced over to see heavy drops of rain had started to fall against the glass. I walked across to the window and looked out at the thick black clouds that covered the sky. It looked like we were in for a storm which would mean a cold and miserable day stuck inside.

From this window that overlooked the front of the house I could see quite a distance. The small waves on the reservoir water had grown larger as the wind arrived with the rain. Just below the horizon was the faint outline of a road and I could see a car moving along at a rapid pace. I wondered briefly where they were going before deciding it didn’t matter. There were few safe places at the moment.

I looked down at the van we had arrived in. It contained the rest of the books that I had taken from the mobile library, I would need to bring them inside and start looking through them. I hoped they would provide some useful information on how to survive this crisis. Movement on the road caught my eye as I was about to turn away. I swore loudly before dashing from the room.