Safety Lost (Killing the Dead Book 3) (2 page)

High stone walls surrounded the yard on three sides, with the cheaper wire mesh fencing on the side that faced the river. The steel gates had buckled inwards and were held in place solely by the presence of the truck that I had seen the night before.

In one corner of the yard, sturdy wooden pallets were stacked alongside some metal barrels. A large container for fuel stood beside the main warehouse. My search of the offices had found little of use as a weapon but I had found a set of keys. I hoped at least one of them would open the warehouse.

The loose gravel crunched beneath my feet, the sound overly loud in the crisp morning air. In the far distance I could hear the moans of the undead but for the moment it seemed that I had managed to evade them.

I ignored the metal roller doors and headed around the side of the warehouse. About half way down the side of the building I found a door that was securely locked. I began trying keys and was rewarded with the click of the lock as the fourth key turned. I pulled open the door and peered inside.

Darkness filled the warehouse except for the small area by the door that was lit by the sunlight that shone weakly through the opened doorway. I turned on the lamp and stepped inside.

Heavy duty industrial racks rose almost to the ceiling and filled the warehouse from one end to the other. Pallets of goods sat on the racks waiting to be taken down and loaded onto the trucks, to be shipped to stores.

I walked along each rack, using the lamp to illuminate the labels as I searched for anything that I could use in this new world of the undead. I was disappointed. The racks contained pallet after pallet of electronic goods. Toasters, microwaves, hair dryers and radios were all around me and I could use none of them.

Beside each set of roller doors I found workstations. Each of these workstations had the usual items you would expect to find in a warehouse loading bay, rolls of tape, scraps of paper, pens and Stanley knives.

      
Two of the knives were pocketed and I felt immediately a great deal happier. They would be no use against the undead, but I was well aware that the zombies were not my only problem at the moment.

With little else of use in the warehouse I left it and returned to the offices. I made my way across the yard and considered what I would do next. The world was wide open to me. All I had to do was avoid the rampaging hordes of undead and I would be fine, I could do as I pleased.

I could go in search of the military that seemed to be still operative somewhere close by, judging by the helicopter that I had watched fly over the golf course just days ago, or I could go in search of other survivors. Perhaps I would head to the coast and find a boat that could take me away from the UK.

Any decision would have to wait until after I had finished my mornings work. I paused at the door and watched with amusement as Alex tried to climb to his feet with his hands tied securely behind his back. I unlocked the door and went inside.

Alex started to whimper as the door opened and I strode straight towards him and kicked him in the side, knocking him to the floor where he lay gasping for breath.

“Why...” he began to say as I reached down and rolled him onto his back before resting one foot on his chest.

“I will tell you why I am about to kill you Alex” I said and watched as his eyes widened with fear. “I had something very important to do last night. It was something that I was stopped from doing when you drugged me.”

Alex gasped and shook his head from side to side as he tried to deny what he had done. “Had to keep you from going out.” He whined, “Dangerous, you would have brought them here.”

“Because of your actions a friend of mine is likely dead and as I have had so few friends in my life, you will understand why I take that personally” I told him calmly as I knelt down beside him. I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of the Stanley knives.

The blade of the knife was only an inch long which would be useless when stabbing someone, but was more than enough for slicing through flesh. I placed the blade beneath his jaw and savoured the terror that engulfed him.

“Please, don’t...” Alex began to say as I pushed his head back and then with one swift motion I drew the blade across his throat, cutting cleanly through the skin and muscle beneath. I was glad that my short blade would not cut deep enough to reach the carotid artery.

Alex died slowly, the blood flowed from the wound and he made a number of gurgling noises as he tried to breathe. I sat and watched as his eyes grew dim and revelled in his death. He had drugged me and forced me to lose the one person I actually cared about. His actions made him far from innocent and I could enjoy his death, knowing that I had not broken Lily’s rules.

I stayed there for some time, sat with the corpse of Alex and waiting for some idea of where to go next appear to me. Nothing came and I was left feeling for the first time in my life, alone. It was not a pleasant feeling at all.

With a sigh I pushed myself to my feet and left the office. No matter where I went, I would have to do something. I couldn’t just sit in one place and hope for the best. I had no map and only a rough idea of where the golf course lay, but it would be as good a place as any to begin my journey.

The truck that sat in front of the gates was unlocked and I pulled open the door and climbed onto the roof of the cab. From that vantage point I could see the area around the yard. It was not a reassuring sight.

I was definitely on the wrong side of the river and another bridge lay some distance from the front gates. The land between the bridge and the yard was made up of industrial buildings and a small number of zombies walked along the roads. The bridge itself was blocked by cars and teeming with the undead.

It seemed that I was going to have to swim across the river as the bridge was out of the question. My concern was the number of undead that may still be in the water. I had a very real fear that I would set off across the river only to be dragged under and devoured.

The easiest place to cross would be where I climbed out during the night. I approached the wire mesh fence and after a glance through to ensure I would encounter no zombies, I climbed over and dropped down to the river bank.

Weeds, mud and rotting leaves made up the ground and I had to force my way through to the waters’ edge. I stood on the banking and gazed across the dark waters. The roar of the waterfall somewhere downriver wasn’t too much of a concern, it wouldn’t be very large and the current wasn’t too strong to swim across.

A branch sticking out of the water started to move and I realised that it was in actual fact the mud covered arm of a zombie, likely one of the ones that had followed me into the water from the bridge. I really didn’t want to try and swim across the river after seeing that.

With little choice I decided the best option was to swim across as quickly as possible and as soon as possible. I could see that the other side of the river had a fairly gentle slope and some trees that were devoid of leaves. I would have no trouble making it up to the road, as long as I made it across the river alive.

Heaving a great sigh I stepped into the water. The cold shot straight up my legs and I had to force myself to keep going. I was soon up to my knees in the water and I kept moving forward, slowly, trying to keep alert for anything moving in the water.

When I was submerged to the waist I let myself slowly fall forward into the water and kicked out towards the opposite bank. I was not the strongest swimmer in the world but I could manage well enough. With broad strokes I crossed the river and was soon able to place my feet on the bottom with the water reaching my chest.

I searched the bank to find the easiest place to climb out and spying a suitable spot between two trees I made my way towards it. The water was around my waist when something touched my leg and I froze in place. Another touch came and then something gripped my leg and pulled, I was dragged under the water with a startled cry.

Water filled my mouth and I had no air to breathe. I was close to panic and kicked out wildly at whatever had hold of my leg as I tried to raise my head out of the river. Whatever had hold of me wasn’t letting go.

The pressure on my leg wouldn’t give up and my lungs were starting to burn from lack of oxygen. In desperation I pulled the Stanley knife out of my pocket and reached towards my leg. With hands rapidly becoming numb from the cold water I stabbed down against whatever had hold of me.

I stabbed several times before I realised that it wouldn’t work. The zombie wouldn’t feel the pain and if I accidently cut into my own flesh I would be infected. I changed tactics and began running the blade across the back of the wrist. I kept cutting until I severed the tendons and the hand released its grip on my leg.

With desperate kicks I pushed away from the zombie that had taken hold of me and dragged myself from the water and onto the bank. I lay coughing up water and gasping for breath while I tried to keep a watchful gaze on the water. Whatever zombie lurked beneath the waves couldn’t seem to follow me, which I was deeply thankful for.

An inspection of my leg revealed bruising but no broken skin. Once again I had survived a close encounter without becoming infected. If I had believed in any deity I would be offering prayers of thanks. I tried not to think of what I could have swallowed along with all the water and just hoped any bacteria I did pick up, wouldn’t harm me.

I slowly pushed myself to my feet and began making my way up the banking towards the road that passed along the top. I paused behind a tree at the road edge and peered up and down the road. A great many cars and other vehicles filled the road, personal items and blood covered the tarmac and a number of undead wandered around. Fortunately none close to where I hid.

Soaking wet, cold and hungry I had no intention of waiting around for long. I crept between the cars keeping an eye out for any zombies and anything that I could use as a weapon and soon
reached the opposite side of the wide road. With a quick clamber over a fence, I was concealed in the bushes and tall grass.

My passing had gone unnoticed and I moved away from the road. The bushes and scrub grass quickly gave way to muddy fields bordered by trees. I felt a great deal more secure away from the town centre and with nothing else to do I set off across the fields in the general direction of the golf course.

Chapter 3

I arrived at the golf course sometime in the afternoon I guessed. I still hadn’t become used to not having a watch or a device that let me know the time. It was irritating not knowing the time or even the date.

The golf course itself was fairly quiet. A few zombies wandered around, mainly by the club house itself. The huge number of undead we had seen heading in this direction were not around and I had some hope that they had moved past, which meant that Lily may have warned them in time.

Of course I would still need to go into the club house to confirm that they had managed to either escape or hide away. For that I would need a weapon of some sort. I really missed my hatchet. I hadn’t encountered any problems on the journey across country to reach the golf course, but I hadn’t found anything I could use as a weapon either.

Most of the zombies were gathered around the club house which allowed me a great deal of freedom to move around the grounds. I used that freedom to make my way unnoticed towards the car park that sat behind the clubhouse.

When I arrived at the car park I paused. I was sure that it had contained more cars when I had been last here and I allowed myself a faint hope that Lily had arrived and made use of the cars to escape. I kept low and dashed across the open area towards the nearest car.

I arrived unnoticed and when I tried the car door it was locked. Undeterred I moved to the next car and then the next. With just two cars left to check a door finally opened and I climbed inside. I frowned when I saw the keys in the ignition and when I lifted my gaze I saw a small bundle on the dashboard with a piece of paper attached.

Ryan,

If you read this then please know that we managed to get away before the undead arrived. We couldn’t wait for you but we left a bottle of water and some food. The car should work. We left another letter and package for you in the clubhouse in case you went in there first, so if it is safe to do so, you may want to go in and get that if you haven’t already. We can’t go north yet so are heading west. We will try to make it to Claire’s family place in the Lake District. I hope to see you there.

Lily

The smile that came was genuine. Lily was safe and had escaped the undead. More to the point she had taken the time to leave messages for me where I might find them to let me know where she was going. It was admittedly about a hundred miles of zombie infested country but it was better than sitting here doing nothing.

Without a map it would be a difficult journey. Many of the roads would be blocked and you couldn’t get far without driving through some built up area or other. I would need weapons and supplies and a change of clothing. Pre-apocalypse I could probably have driven the distance in a few hours. Now, it would likely be days of slow travel. I turned the key and the engine roared to life.

Zombies appeared from around the corner of the building as the noise of the engine alerted them to my presence. I checked the fuel gauge and saw that I had a little less than a full tank of petrol. Not great, but enough to get me started. I reversed out of the parking spot and then drove out of the car park, clipping the closest zombie with the corner of the bumper and grinning as it was thrown to the ground.

My first problem would be the main roads. I would need to leave them and follow the smaller country roads. It would take longer but I had less chance of being noticed. I followed the main road for a short distance, taking my time and slowly manoeuvring around the abandoned cars that filled the road.

I had no need to rush and until I did, I would be careful. I had had enough of walking. My ankle was still tender from the sprain that still hadn’t fully healed and the zombie grip hadn’t helped it at all.