Zombiekill (22 page)

Charlie’s eyes were drawn to the knife on the bed. Rilla was crawling up against the headboard, and her movement had exposed the knife. Verity saw it too and was nearer to it than Charlie.

“Let me take Rilla out of here, and I’ll let you live,” said Charlie. She was beginning to regain her breath now, but her stomach hurt, and the cut on her face was bleeding again. “I’ll give you that much. One chance. Take it.”

Verity laughed until it descended into a cackle. Thirty years of smoking meant she had little energy for fighting. “I don’t think so, darling. We’re going to feed you to the fucking wolves.”

As Verity lunged for the knife on the bed Charlie turned to the ironing board next to her. She had been inching ever closer to the hot iron the whole time they had been talking, and as Verity turned her back, Charlie seized her chance. She grabbed the iron and brought it down on Verity’s back, the clothes sizzling beneath it. Verity screamed in pain and whirled around.

“You fucking bitch.” Verity had grabbed the knife and intended to use it. “You fucking—”

Charlie smashed the iron across Verity’s face, and the woman went down, stunned. Verity still held the knife in her hand, but a large red bruise was blossoming on the left side of her face. The skin was red raw, and Verity was shaking.

“Wait—” said Verity, but Charlie had no intention of waiting or giving her that one chance anymore.

Charlie got to her knees and bent over the old woman. There was still malevolence in her eyes, and Charlie saw the woman bring her hand up with the intention of using the knife. Charlie easily knocked the knife from her grasp and smashed the iron across the old woman’s face again. She couldn’t afford the woman to get away, and Charlie straddled her, pinning the woman’s arm beneath her knees.

“You know how my father died? You know how Rilla’s parents died?”

Verity shook her head feebly, her energy sapped and her nose broken. “Please, I don’t know anything about that. It wasn’t me.”

Charlie put her face close to Verity’s. “Fucking liar,” she spat. “You know
exactly
what’s going on here. You killed them. They died in agony, just like you.”

“What?”

Charlie plunged the hot iron down onto Verity’s face and held it there. The skin immediately began to burn, and though Verity tried to turn away she couldn’t free herself from underneath Charlie. The burning flesh began to sizzle and steam reached Charlie’s nostrils. She lifted the iron up, bringing with it large chunks of flesh from Verity’s face. Much of the searing skin had stuck to the plate of the iron including Verity’s lips.

Beneath her knees, Charlie could feel the old woman’s body trembling. One of her eyes had exploded, and the other looked up at Charlie with something approaching fear. The old woman’s mouth tried to form words, but blood spilled over her raw lips as she tried to speak.

“P-p-please. My son—”

“Pathetic.” Charlie plunged the iron down again, thrusting it down onto Verity’s face and holding it there with both hands. The smell of cooking flesh reminded Charlie of summer BBQ’s in the back yard and Kyler sizzling steaks for them all.

‘
I want to kiss your mouth, hold your hand, and all I feel is the distant wind as you turn your back on me
.’

No, I can’t block this out, thought Charlie. The old woman’s screams were muffled beneath the iron, and the song that erupted into Charlie’s head was not required anymore. It had been a defense mechanism once, something she did when she wanted to lose herself in the old world when there were no zombies. Those days were gone, and so was the old Charlie. She dismissed the song and pressed down harder. The old woman was still wriggling even though Charlie had all her weight on the iron. The iron slipped slightly as Charlie felt the woman’s jaw collapse. Several teeth spilled out amongst the blood pouring from the woman’s face, and Charlie smelt piss as the old woman’s bowels loosened just before she stopped moving.

Finally, Charlie let go of the iron and sat back. Her arms ached from the effort of holding it in place but it was over now. The woman was dead. She didn’t feel particularly happy or relieved, but it was something that had to be done. Just like snapping a bird’s neck, sometimes things just had to end.

“Charlie?”

Charlie looked up and saw Rilla at the end of the bed. She was staring at the old woman through red eyes.

“Is she dead?”

Charlie nodded.

“Good.” Rilla looked at Charlie and smiled. She leant forward and brushed Charlie’s cheek. “Is it really you? What happened? I thought you were dead.”

“Me too.” Charlie left the iron sizzling on Verity’s corpse and got to her feet. She found the knife on the bed and cut Rilla’s hands free before sinking down onto the bed, grateful for the rest. She just needed a moment to gather her thoughts. If the others had heard the shouting and screaming, then she wouldn’t have long.

Rilla put her arms around Charlie’s neck and began sobbing, unable to stem the flow.

“It’s okay,” whispered Charlie. “It’s all right now.”

CHAPTER 14

Scared to let go, Rilla kept her arms around Charlie but brought her face around so she could look into Charlie’s eyes. “They killed her. Vicky was only ten. They killed her for no good reason just so they could have a laugh. It was just a game to them.”

Charlie suspected as much. The burnt remains had looked small, and she figured Victoria wouldn’t have as much use as Rilla.

“I’m guessing they didn’t treat you too good.” Charlie pushed a lock of hair out of Rilla’s eyes. “Look, Vicky was just a plaything to them. If they’d kept her here, they would be doing to her exactly what they’ve done to you. No one should go through that. Vicky seemed like a sweet girl, and I wish I could have got to know her a bit better. But maybe she’s better off out of this.”

Rilla shrugged. “It’s not fair, Charlie. Why did they have to do this? Why couldn’t they just...”

As Rilla broke down again, Charlie felt a lump in her throat. She didn’t have time to get sentimental now. There was a fight to be won. Seeing what they had done to Rilla and guessing what they had done to Victoria was more horrible than she had imagined. What kind of men were they? And this woman had helped them. Somehow that was even worse.

“How did you find me?” asked Rilla. “How did you make it? I thought you were dead. They said everyone was dead. When we came in... Did my parents...?”

Charlie kissed Rilla’s forehead. “I’m sorry, but nobody else made it. They set a pack of dogs on us. It was nasty, dead nasty. Your father got me out. He fought back and killed one of the dogs. It bought me enough time to get out of there. Getting out of the property wasn’t easy, but I guess I realized that giving up wasn’t an option. When your father helped me, when he saved me from being ripped apart by those dogs, he asked me to get you. He wanted me to get you out of here, Rilla, and that’s what I’m going to do. They’re not going to touch you again.”

Rilla sighed deeply. She traced her index finger gently across Charlie’s cut cheek, making the skin tingle. There were some basic stitches holding her skin together that looked painful and raw. “What did they do to you? How did you survive?” Rilla looked at Charlie’s hands. There were several cuts on her right hand, and her left hand was bandaged up completely. Dark blood had soaked through the bandage.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Charlie. “I can’t go back and undo it. I wish I could’ve done more for the others, for my father, for yours... I’m sorry I couldn’t get here any quicker. This time yesterday I was walking through the streets just trying to get back home.”

“You walked?” Rilla wiped her eyes. “Past the corpses?”

Charlie nodded and took Rilla’s hand. “I just walked. I think they thought I was like them. My face was cut, and I was covered in blood. One of the dogs ripped me open like a box of tissues. Anyway, when I got home I just crawled into bed. I found some painkillers and took a shit-load of them. I managed to sleep a while, and when I woke up it was day. I knew I had to come back. I wasn’t going to leave you here no matter what happened to me. If it wasn’t for Schafer, I’d be dead. So I found a first aid kit and set to work cleaning myself up. I’m not much of a nurse and stitching my face back together was even harder than it looks. I’ve got more painkillers flowing around my body than blood, but I’m not complaining. I brought some things with me to help us. Most importantly, I’ve got something I didn’t have before, something that my father was trying to instill in me over the last few weeks that I couldn’t see before. He taught me how to survive. He taught me to have belief in myself, and that’s something they can’t defeat. They can cut me, kick me, and throw me to the dogs. But I’m
alive
, Rilla. I’m alive, and I’m not going to waste what life I’ve got left. I’m shattered, but that’s not going to stop me. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

“So what now?” Rilla brought Charlie’s hand up to her face and held it against her cheek. The touch of someone other than Butcher and Tad was reassuring. Charlie’s skin was soft and warm, and Rilla wanted to feel safe again. She hadn’t felt safe in a long time and was certain she would die that night. Now that Charlie was here it felt different. She felt protected. Charlie was only a few years older than her, yet she had felt a bond with her from the moment they had met. Even back at Kyler’s house Charlie had looked out for her.

“Rilla, we don’t have much time,” said Charlie, getting off the bed. “I have to do more work. I need you to stay safe. I need you to stay in the house and hide, and let me take care of this.”

“No,” said Rilla quickly, jumping up off the bed too. “I want to stay with you. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Tough. You’re staying put. You’re in no condition to help me do what I have to do.” Charlie looked at the skimpy green dress that Rilla wore and her bare feet. There was no way she was letting her come along. “No, you’re staying here. I need you to trust me, Rilla. I’ve got this far, and I need you to trust me just a little bit longer. I promise you, this will end tonight.”

“Here.” Rilla held out the knife to Charlie. “I guess you’d better take this then.”

Charlie refused it. “Keep it. I don’t need it. Follow me back downstairs and get to the sedan parked out front. Stay there until I come get you. Come on, we don’t have much time.”

Leaving the room behind, the two girls hurried back into the dark corridor. Charlie listened carefully in case the men had been alerted to her presence by the dying screams of the old woman, yet nobody came rushing up the stairs to meet her. As they got back to the front door, Charlie heard noises still coming from deeper in the house somewhere. The house was so large that it had hidden the woman’s cries. So much the better for them. Charlie carefully opened the front door and checked the area was clear. There was no sign of anyone.

“Let’s go.”

Leading Rilla by the hand back to the sedan, Charlie knew she had to get to the annex next and quickly. As Rilla climbed into the back of the sedan, Charlie took a length of cord from her knapsack and instructed Rilla to keep her head down and stay out of sight.

“You’re coming back, right?” asked Rilla as she lay on the back seat of the car. “You’re coming back?”

Charlie nodded and patted Rilla’s bare foot as she closed the door. The girl looked half scared to death. It was the safest place for her right now. Charlie couldn’t worry about looking after her when she had to concentrate on finding the others.

With Rilla safely hidden, Charlie jogged quietly through the dark evening to the annex. It was quiet, but as the large building loomed up out of the darkness, she saw a faint light on inside. She had hoped to beat the man to it, wanting to be able to surprise him, but she was going to have to change tack. She looked back at Attwood’s house. To all intents and purposes it was deserted. There was Butcher and Conan to deal with, probably still within the bowels of the house, but right now she had one to take care of right here: the one who had been told to clean up the zombies, Todd or Tad. Charlie stealthily made her way to the annex and the open door. She cautiously peered inside.

Tad lifted the fishing cap from his head, wiped the sweat away from his brow, and sighed. He straightened up to stretch his back and threw the long-handled broom down in disgust. Why did Butcher think he could order him around like this? It wasn’t his fault the zombies had got in. It was just an accident. He had managed to sweep up most of the remains, but it was the death of the dogs that sickened him. The zombies had managed to kill one, and there was something particularly sad about it. It was just an animal doing what it had to do. It was protecting its master. That would mean they were going to have to get more dogs, and Butcher wouldn’t be happy about it. Tad hadn’t even heard any noise coming from the kennels and knew that if the last dog had been injured he was going to have to check on it.

“Fuck this.” Tad wanted to get back to the house and enjoy some time with Rilla. Butcher always bossed him about and talked to him like an idiot. It really had looked like someone had knocked on the door. How was he to know he was only letting in a few corpses? Anyone could have made the same mistake in the darkness. Tad turned back to the doorway, determined to leave and go back to Rilla. If Butcher didn’t like it he could clean this shit up himself. There was nothing here that wouldn’t wait until morning.

In the open doorway Tad saw a figure. They were standing outside in the dark, and Tad raised a hand to his eyes. “Butcher, that you?”

“I’m not Butcher.”

The voice was female, but all Tad saw was a shadowy figure. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at the doorway. “Get in here. Verity?”

“I’m not Verity.”

Tad was sweating, but it wasn’t just from the exertion of cleaning up the dead zombies. Whoever this was, they were calm and just standing there watching him as if this were an everyday occurrence. Suddenly it dawned on Tad that it must be Rilla. There was no one else it could possibly be. He hoped there wasn’t going to be any trouble as the gun he had was useless. It was just for show. The only weapon he had on him was the knife tucked into his boots.

“Rilla? What the fuck are you doing out here? How did you get out?” Tad knew that there was no way Butcher would just let her go.

“I slipped past him when he wasn’t looking. I couldn’t wait anymore. It’s you I want. It’s always been you.”

Tad couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. “You got past Butcher to come and find
me
? Far out.” Tad could see the outline of the mansion behind the girl, and wondered if this wasn’t some sort of test or trick the others were playing. “Bullshit. I bet Butcher put you up to this.”

“Well, if you don’t want me.” Charlie turned and began walking away from the annex. She kept to the shadows and headed for the protective canopy of an old oak tree.

“Wait, hold on,” said Tad. If he did what Butcher had told him to do, then he would spend the next hour wiping up blood and bits of dead bodies. Rilla had come to him. To
him
. She was cute, and Butcher would never know. Tad could just say he found her out here and take her back to the house when he was through with her. Tad rushed outside and saw the girl standing beneath the tree. “Just hold on a moment.”

Tad raced to the upper floor and control panel from where he turned out the lights and locked the doors. Then he quickly jogged back down and headed straight for his prize. It was dark under the tree, far too dark to see properly, and he kept his gun in his hand just in case this was a trick. Park of him couldn’t believe it yet he wanted to. There was no sign of the others, and he didn’t know how long he would have before they came looking for her. The girl held nothing in her hands and was offering herself to him. Perhaps this wouldn’t be such a bad evening after all.

“Rilla?”

The girl was facing the tree, her back to him. He put a hand on her shoulder and slid it down to her hip.

Charlie shuddered inwardly. She had half expected to be dragged in to face Butcher, but it looked as if this man was either drunk or stupid. It was almost too easy. When she felt his hand on her hip she knew she didn’t have long. She could try to grab the gun off him but it was too risky, plus she didn’t want to make too much noise, not just yet. She flexed her neck.

“Take me. Now.”

The gun in her back disappeared, and then she felt his warm breath on her neck. Both his hands cupped her breasts and his mouth kissed her bare shoulder. Charlie smiled as she let the cord unravel from her left hand. It had been coiled up, hidden from view, and as the man began to squeeze her breasts she gasped.

“Wait.”

Charlie stepped out of Tad’s embrace and turned around. She stepped forward, and a tiny sliver of faint light from the house hit her face.

Tad saw the red lips and blue eyes, but it didn’t register in his brain that it wasn’t Rilla until he caught a glimpse of the short blonde hair. “Wait, you’re—”

Knowing that he was off guard and the gun was tucked into his pants, Charlie swiftly wrapped the cord around Tad’s neck and jumped around to stand behind him. Both ends of the cord were wrapped around her wrists so there was no chance she might lose her grip, and she pulled it together tightly.

Tad tried to slip his fingers underneath the cord around his neck, but he was too slow, and couldn’t even get a single finger underneath. He gurgled and stumbled forward. Charlie went with him, all the while pulling the cord tighter and tighter. Tad fell to his knees and continued to try to get the cord away from his neck, but it was strangling him, taking away all of his breath. He tried to get more air into his lungs but it was impossible.

Charlie leant over Tad, her warm breath on the back of his neck. “The only thing that’s going to be
fucked
around here is you.” Charlie gritted her teeth and pulled the cord so it was completely tense. She could feel Tad’s body trembling as he fought her, and even though her arms ached she was not about to let go. The length of cord that she had brought with her from Kyler’s garage was strong and wouldn’t break. It was like an anaconda wrapped around the man’s neck, and there was no way out for him. He had killed for the last time. He was fighting, and Charlie struggled to stay on her feet, but the more he fought her, the harder she pulled the cord. In the darkness, she could do whatever she wanted to.

Tad’s eyes bulged out, and as his body went limp, Charlie kept hold of the cord. She could feel spit and blood dripping from his mouth over her fingers, but she wanted to make sure he was dead. She wanted to know he wasn’t going to get up again, and so she let the cord begin to cut into his skin until it felt like she was going to pull his head off. The man’s legs kicked feebly and then there was nothing. When she finally let go, Tad’s body slumped forward against the oak tree. Charlie stood there panting, staring at him. She dropped the cord and bent over the body. There was no breath coming from his mouth, and she retrieved the gun from his belt. It was still too early to use it. Soon the man would be back up and walking around, but she would deal with that later. The living were far more dangerous. She plucked the hat from his head and put it on her own.