Safety Lost (Killing the Dead Book 3) (7 page)

Several more swings missed and I was really starting to miss my hatchet when I ran out of space to retreat as I bumped into the edge of the raised area and with one last swing at a zombie I turned and scrambled quickly to the top.

Most of the undead had followed me across the loading bay but two were trying to claw their way up the stairs, each getting in the others way. Candice with one look towards the threat heading her way dropped Emma and ran to the far end of the bay, as far from the approaching zombies as she could possible get.

I struck viciously at the head of the zombie closest to me as it tried to grab a hold of my leg, before running around the edge of the raised area. I reached the top of the stairs just as the first zombie made it to the top and I kicked out.

Bone crunched and the creature was knocked backwards into the second and I had a momentary respite before the rest of the zombies reached the bottom of the stairs. I kicked at another zombie as it tried to climb the stairs and struck the next with my hammer.
      

It wasn’t enough to stop them. I wasn’t able to do enough damage with one swing of the hammer and the zombies were coming closer. Arms were reaching over to grab at my ankles and I was rapidly running out of energy to give my blows any real strength.

“Get in quick!” a voice called from behind. I risked a look back over my shoulder towards the voice I had heard.

A bearded man stood holding open the door as Candice ducked through. A young woman was picking up the sobbing and hysterical Emma. The man gestured towards me as the woman brushed past with Emma in her arms.

I needed no further urging and I ran for the door, almost knocking the man down in my haste. It seemed that I wasn’t yet dead.

Chapter 9

The door slammed shut behind us and we were left in darkness. Emma was still sobbing and the young lady who held her was trying in vain to get her to stop. A torch, held by the bearded fellow was switched on and provided a narrow beam of light, revealing rows of shelving stacked high with pallets and cardboard boxes.

“Follow me” Bearded man said and led the way through what I could only assume to be the main stores department for the building.

Another door opened and we stepped out into a reasonably well lit concourse. Large windows set high into the walls and several artfully placed skylights allowed in a great deal of sunlight.

“What is this place?” Candice asked bearded man.

“It was an outlet store before all this began” he said.

“It’s safe at the moment” the young woman added as she struggled to hold a squirming and noisy child who seemed determined to escape her grasp. With a sigh she gave in and released her hold. Emma ran straight to me and wrapped her arms around my leg.

I awkwardly patted her on the head, glad for the moment her crying was muffled against my leg. I shrugged apologetically at the young woman.

“I guess I should say thanks for the timely rescue” I said to the man and woman.

“Yeah, no worries. You’re just lucky we were close enough to hear you.” Bearded man said.

“Come on, you can come and meet the others.” The young woman said before adding, “My name’s Julie and this is Akhtar.”

“Ryan and the little one is Emma” I told her and ignored her questioning look when I didn’t mention Candice who, after a pause introduced herself without looking at me.

Akhtar led the way and I let the others pass by as I pretended to fuss with Emma. When I was happily and safely behind everyone else, I picked the child up and carried her along. She seemed to be calming down a little at least.

The outlet store had one main corridor that ran the length of the building, ending with a large expanse of glass that formed the front entrance. Someone had thoughtfully built a barricade against the entrance, out of everything that hadn’t been nailed down.

Several departments were separated from each other by walls, giving each the appearance of being a separate store in a shopping centre. Various pieces of art adorned the walls, too high up to have been pulled down and added to the barricade alongside the potted plants and benches.

We were led into a part of the building that had been used as a cafe at one time. Most of the chairs and tables had been taken out and added to the barricade. Two more men and a woman were sat at the one remaining table. They turned as we entered the room.

The first man to stand up to greet us was tall and well built with dark hair and thick stubble on an otherwise pleasant face. He introduced himself as Alan. The other man who called himself John was skinny and his overlong nose and beady eyes reminded me of a rodent. Beth was the name of the woman with auburn hair who was still wearing makeup despite the fact that the world had ended.

After the introductions were made, Beth offered to make Emma something to eat and disappeared into the kitchen. John followed along behind and we joined Alan at the table.

“So where are you from and what brings you here?” Alan asked after Akhtar had explained how he had found us.

“We are headed west to meet up with some friends” I said cautiously. I didn’t want to give out too much information to strangers. “How about yourselves?”

“When the proverbial brown stuff hit the fan, we found ourselves in here with a great many of the undead outside.” Alan said with a glance at his companions. “There were a lot more of us at the beginning.”

“It’s too dangerous to leave at the moment” Akhtar added.

“Yes it certainly is, though you would know that already wouldn’t you?” Alan said with a chuckle.

“Well it does seem to be getting worse out there.” I admitted.

“You can stay here with us if you want” Julie said, “No need to leave here. We have food and it’s safe.”

“No thanks. I think I shall keep going, though if you don’t mind I will spend the night here” I told her with a smile at Julie who looked crestfallen at my desire to leave.

“Sure thing, just pick a place to sleep. You might want to have a look around after you have eaten. This place is full of clothes and you look like you need some new ones.” Alan said jovially. He was beginning to irritate me. His good cheer seemed overly forced though I could of course just be being paranoid.

“That sounds pleasant actually” I said with a false smile of my own, “As soon as Emma has eaten we shall see what we can find.”

Alan nodded and turned his attention to Candice who had chosen to sit as far from me as possible. He was using all of his charm in an effort to persuade her to stay. He was wasting his energy, she certainly wouldn’t be leaving with me and I doubted she would leave on her own.

My thoughts turned to what I would need to continue my journey. Clothes for both Emma and me of course, along with a thick jacket each. A new weapon would be useful. The hammer wasn’t as much use as I had originally hoped. I knew the chances of finding a new hatchet here was small but I still hoped that I would.

Beth returned with food and placed it before each of us. Plain rice and peas, not the most appetizing food ever but it was hot and filling.

“You still have gas for cooking?” I asked around a mouthful of rice.

“Yes, no electric though and water pressure is way down.” Beth said she had a bruise on her shoulder that I could see whenever her baggy top slipped. She didn’t seem to meet anyone’s eyes either. I was becoming increasingly sure that something was off.

I sat quietly through the rest of the meal alternating watching the other people around the table and trying to persuade a much calmer Emma to eat. When the meal was finished Beth cleared away the plates with John once again following along with her.

“Well then, if you will excuse us I think I shall go and find some new clothes for us” I said with forced cheer and a smile.

“I’ll show you where the clothes shops are” Julie said and stood after a glance towards Alan and his nod of approval.

Emma once more took a firm grip of my hand as I followed Julie out of the cafe. Candice stayed behind, still clutching her bag and seemingly enjoying the attention of the two men at the table.

I followed behind Julie silently as she led us to the back of the store. “You can find general clothes in there” She said with a gesture to a door on the left “Though if you come this way I can show you the outdoor section.”

“Outdoor? You mean camping and walking gear?” I asked hopefully.

“Well hiking stuff and mainly ski gear.” Julie said, “With the forest of Bowland so close by, most shops stock hiking and cold weather gear.”

“For a forest?”

“Well it’s not an actual forest, more moorland and bogs along with high hills and deep valleys.” Julie said with a laugh. “The name is misleading I guess.”

“Yes I guess it is. We will certainly need hiking and cold weather gear then.” I said with a deep sigh.

“Is that where you are meeting your friends?” Julie asked.

“No, beyond that. I just thought it would be easier to cross that, rather than try the roads around it.”

“Yes makes sense I guess.” She stopped by the open door to a shop and waved her arm towards the opening.”Have a look in here, you should find plenty of stuff.”

I thanked her and brushed past her into the dim interior, but not before I noticed the several bruises on her arm. She stood by the door and watched as I moved amongst the racks of clothes looking for something suitable.

The shop was full of useful items for us. I picked a large rucksack for myself and a much smaller one for Emma. Sturdy cargo trousers for both of us as well as thick vests and t-shirts, several pairs of socks and underpants each. Gloves, scarves and hooded ski jackets that the tag claimed to be waterproof, windproof and breathable.

All were in dark colours to better blend in and avoid notice. Emma of course had decided that the bright pink ski jacket was the one for her and I spent ten minutes trying to convince her otherwise, much to the merriment of Julie.

Fur lined snow boots for Emma and a pair of sturdy walking boots for me and I was happy with my selections. Emma went into the changing room to get dressed.

“You have everything you need?” Julie asked.

“Well clothes wise sure,” I said. “We could use some other equipment, you know torches and maps. Maybe a weapon or two.”

“There are no maps here though you can probably find some closer to the area” she said.

“What about weapons?”

“Alan has anything like that locked away” she said.

“Why? I would have thought you would all be armed in case those zombies got in here.”

Julie shook her head and kept her gaze down.

“What’s going on?” I asked. I was beginning to think that my paranoia was justified.

“It’s nothing, just go as soon as you can.” She said and turned to walk away.

“Wait” I said, “You can tell me what’s going on. Is there a danger to the child here?” I asked in the hope of prompting some maternal response.

Julie paused and stood with head bowed as she considered what she was going to say. With a look towards the changing rooms and Emma she finally spoke. “There are more people in our group. Not here at the moment, they went outside to gather supplies and survivors.”

“Ok...” I began.

“No it’s not ok. When they come back tomorrow that will mean there will be six men and two women here unless your friend stays or they find some more people.” Julie said with a fierce glare. “So far it’s just been the six of them and two of us and it’s all been very civil. Alan made a schedule and they each have to wait their turn.” She said her voice full of bitterness and disgust.

“Oh” I said as understanding came. “So they will be happy to see me leave but want to keep Candice.”

“Yes and if the others come back empty handed they may want to keep Emma too.” Julie said, her arms wrapped around her body and she refused to look towards me.

“Well then, that will not happen” I said coldly. “I am responsible for the child and I told her I would take her to my friend. Anyone who gets in my way will regret it.”

“There’s nothing you can do.” Julie said quietly.

“We shall see about that.” I said. My thoughts were still and calm. I was responsible for the child and I would take that responsibility seriously. “When are the others due back?”

“We expect them late tomorrow, why?” Julie asked.

“I shall be leaving in the morning. Do you think Alan and the others will try and stop me?”

“Not if it’s just you, no.”

“And Emma?”

“I’m not sure.”

With a glance to the changing rooms to make sure Emma was still occupied I stepped close to Julie. “I will not leave her here. Will you warn me if they are going to try and keep her?” I asked.

“If you take me with you.” Julie said.

“They will certainly try and stop me if I take you with me.”

“Please” She pleaded. “I know the area and I hiked in the Forest of Bowland many times. I can show you the way through.”

I thought it through for several long minutes before coming to a decision. “We will need to leave early before they wake up and I will need a knife from the kitchen.”

“I can’t, the only times we go in the kitchen is to make one of them food and then someone is always with us.”

That certainly explained why John had followed Beth into the kitchen earlier. “You will need to try if you want to come with me. What about Beth?”

“She won’t come. She doesn’t like the situation but she was Alan’s girlfriend before all this and she gave up trying to leave him a long time ago.”

“Ok then, show me where I can spend the night and when they are asleep come and join us. You may need to watch Emma for a little while. Get me the knife if you can.” I instructed and stepped back as Emma left the changing rooms.

“Well you certainly look better prepared for the cold” I said as she bounded over to me, her earlier upset forgotten. I left her with Julie as I quickly changed into the new clothes myself. The feeling of putting on underwear and clean clothing for the first time in days was incredible.

Taking Julie along would be useful. Someone to help watch Emma and show me the way through unfamiliar terrain would be invaluable. Candice had proven she couldn’t be trusted and I was fine with leaving her behind.