Dead Days Zombie Apocalypse Series (Season 5) Read online

  He saw something in the eyes of the Orion on the right. A dimming, that was all he could describe it as. Or a softening. A humanising of eyes that were already staggeringly human.

  Then he saw it in the eyes of the Orion in the middle.

  And …

  No.

  The Orion on the left was looking at its fallen comrade.

  The one Ivan had taken down.

  And soon after, the other two were looking at the fallen Orion too.

  Walking over to it.

  Letting out little wheezing noises. High-pitched wheezing noises, like dogs begging to be let outside.

  And Ivan felt that moment could be the perfect one to get the hell out of this place. To make a break for it, escape.

  But something touched him about the Orions gathering around their fallen friend.

  Emotion.

  Emotion that the zombies couldn’t experience.

  Emotion and understanding that set them aside from everything else in this world—except humans.

  Ivan stopped walking. Watched the three Orions stroke the dead one; watched black tears drip from their glowing eyes.

  “It—it doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to—to be this way anymore.”

  The Orions didn’t seem to notice him.

  “We can—we can move on from this. All of us. Together. We can—”

  All three Orions lifted their heads.

  The compassion had gone from their eyes.

  All Ivan saw was hatred.

  Anger.

  “We can—”

  He didn’t finish what he was saying because the Orion in the middle let out a deafening screech and hurtled towards him.

  Knocked him onto his back.

  Pinned him down.

  And then the second one joined, stretched Ivan’s right arm out.

  The third one stuck its long nails into the bitemark in Ivan’s shoulder, made him scream.

  He swore he wouldn’t feel afraid.

  He swore he wouldn’t feel fear because they couldn’t differentiate between him and the other Orions.

  He swore he had the advantage.

  So he opened his mouth.

  Went to bite the neck of the Orion on the left, the one sticking its fingers into his wound, deepening and stretching his flesh.

  Then he felt a crack.

  A crack that caused an explosion in his mind.

  Like bombs in Iraq.

  He heard a crack and then he felt the warmth in his mouth.

  The warmth and the sharpness.

  Blood.

  It was only when he tried to bite the Orions again that he realised one of them had punched his teeth out.

  And as they all surrounded him, blotting out the sky above, Ivan swore he saw amusement in their eyes.

  Now, at last, he felt fear.

  CHAPTER SIX

  RILEY

  Riley told himself time and time again that he couldn’t watch another companion die.

  But as the Orions gathered around Ivan, he couldn’t look anywhere else.

  He lay down by the upstairs bedroom window of the cottage and peeked outside. First he heard the crunch. The crunching of teeth. Teeth cracking.

  Ivan’s teeth.

  Then he saw blood.

  Blood spurting from Ivan’s mouth.

  A look of fear in his eyes as the Orions surrounded him.

  Opened their mouths.

  Moved in towards his belly.

  Riley grabbed his gun. Lifted it. Tried to point at Ivan’s head to put him out of his misery, silence him, but he was just out of sight.

  So he aimed at the back of the Orions’ heads.

  Then Jordanna put her hand on his wrist.

  Looked at him with wide, red eyes.

  “It’s over,” she said.

  But no. It couldn’t be over. It—

  The next thing he heard was Ivan’s scream.

  It shocked Riley. Shocked him to the core. Made his body go completely cold.

  Ivan, so strong. So tough. So emotionless.

  Squealing a high-pitched scream.

  Like a little girl.

  He turned—couldn’t help himself turning—and he saw exactly why Ivan was screaming.

  The Orions were dragging Ivan’s intestines out of his body. Pulling them out and sinking their teeth into them like they were nothing more than spaghetti Bolognese.

  Another of the Orions held Ivan’s right arm down.

  Chewed at his shoulder.

  Pulled at his arm until the skin split away.

  Until the muscles stretched.

  The tendons snapped.

  The bone cracked.

  And then blood pooled out of the stump where Ivan’s arm once was.

  Still alive.

  Still screaming.

  Pale faced, covered in blood, but still screaming.

  “We should … we should get out of here,” Jordanna said, her voice shaky. “While we still can.”

  And Riley knew she was right. That was the hardest part about all of this. Watching Ivan die. Watching the Orions butcher him. Feast on his insides.

  Listening to his bones crack.

  His gargling screams.

  He hadn’t had any particular affinity to Ivan. Probably never could after what happened back at the Barracks. After what he did to Ted.

  But he’d redeemed himself.

  He’d proved himself loyal.

  He’d stood by Riley’s side on more than one occasion and he’d helped him.

  Now he was nothing but meat.

  And soon, at the rate the Orions were devouring his flesh, a red cloud of blood forming above him, he’d be nothing but bone.

  Riley stood up. Backed away. In the corner of the darkened bedroom, Doctor Ottoman was throwing up. Chloë stared blankly out of the window, the bruises on her neck still prominent. Tamara, Jordanna and James all waited by the door, tears rolling down Tamara’s pale cheeks, James shaking his head, Jordanna holding the door, preparing to exit.

  Riley heard Ivan scream again, and again, he looked around. Couldn’t help himself.

  He saw one of the Orions sticking its sharp thumbs into Ivan’s eyes.

  Saw it pushing down on his eyeballs.

  Gradually.

  Gradually …

  And then he saw black gunk burst from Ivan’s eyeballs.

  Ivan, who was still screaming.

  Ivan, who was covered in his own partly devoured guts.

  Ivan, who was missing his arms.

  “Come on, Riley,” Jordanna said. “We—we don’t need to see this.”

  The Orion pulled its thumbs out of Ivan’s eyes.

  Revealed the bloodied, mashed up jelly where his eyeballs once were.

  Then another Orion stepped in and pushed a little further.

  Made Ivan scream some more.

  Yanked at his guts.

  Ivan still howling.

  Still crying tears of blood and eye fluid.

  Toying with him. That’s what they were doing. Torturing him.

  Vomit filled Riley’s mouth. He swallowed it down. Forced it down and turned around as Ivan’s screams muffled, as one of the Orions grabbed his tongue and pulled it, stretched it out of his mouth, yanked it so far out of his throat that it looked impossibly long, snakelike.

  Then stripped it away.

  More blood pooling down Ivan’s face.

  Screams giving way to gargling.

  “Riley, we—”

  “I know. I know.”

  Riley turned away.

  Followed Jordanna and the rest of the group out of the cottage.

  Out through the front door.

  Out through the grass, towards the woods, sunlight just starting to peek through the clouds.

  Nobody said anything as they walked. Nobody said anything as Ivan continued to cry, continued to gargle.

  Riley looked back. Looked back at the Orions in the distance.

  The third Orion pressed its
hands down on Ivan’s head.

  Broke his nose.

  Ivan still crying.

  Flattened his face.

  Still crying.

  And then—

  A crack. Like an egg splitting. Or a balloon bursting.

  Ivan stopped crying.

  He stopped crying when his head split open.

  When his skull gave way.

  “It’s over now,” Jordanna said, grabbing Riley’s hand. “His suffering. It’s—it’s over now.”

  The Orions continued to battle over Ivan’s remains.

  Played with his insides.

  Mashed around his brains.

  No. His suffering wasn’t over now.

  Because he’d died in pure agony.

  He’d died in pure agony, which meant his suffering was eternal.

  Riley turned away and followed the rest of the group into the woods.

  Followed them through the trees, through the high grass and into the darkness.

  He was so fixated—all of them were so fixated—that they didn’t see the dismembered bodies hanging from the trees.

  Flies dancing around them.

  CoY etched onto their chests.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Three hours of walking and Riley still hadn’t got the sound of Ivan’s skull splitting out of his mind.

  The sun was high in the sky. Midday, or maybe sometime after that. Riley wasn’t sure. Not even sure it mattered anymore. He didn’t have a watch. Didn’t see much point. They moved in the daylight and camped in the darkness.

  That was all that mattered on the road.

  The only real order of events.

  The trees thickened with every step they took. Every now and then, branches rustled, a lone creature would stagger out looking as exhausted as they were.

  And every time, they’d put it down, move forward.

  Move into more trees.

  Into more creatures.

  Further into the unknown.

  “About time we just admitted we’re lost,” James said.

  Riley couldn’t argue with him. He could’ve sworn they’d already walked this stretch of the woods at some stage. Maybe they had. Maybe they’d just walked in one or two mighty circles. Maybe they were heading right back to the Orions. Right back to the cottage, to Ivan’s corpse. Whatever was left of it.

  Or maybe the Orions were stalking.

  Waiting until their guard dropped completely.

  Waiting to torture each and every one of them, just like they’d tortured Ivan, one by one …

  “Even if we are, we’ve no choice but to push on,” Jordanna said.

  “For what?” James asked.

  “What d’you mean ‘for what’?”

  James stopped. Planted his hands on his knees. His white shirt was covered in sweat, his hair greasy as he panted, caught his breath. “What’s the point in any of this anymore? Any of this Manchester business?”

  “Not sure I follow,” Jordanna said.

  James glanced over at Doctor Ottoman and then at Riley. “Well it’s just … what the doc said. About this Jim Hall character. Sending Riley and you lot out to Birmingham. Lying to you all about … well, everything. If he runs this Living Zone, then what’s the damned point even goin’ back there?”

  Riley saw heads turn. Saw the rest of the group look at him. Look at him like he was supposed to give some kind of answer. Like he was expected to explain himself.

  “We’re going back there,” Riley said.

  “But why—”

  “’Cause we’re going to take it. The MLZ. We’re going to take it and we’re going to use it as our home.”

  A silence followed. Silence not even interrupted by the tree branches rustling together.

  “And how exactly are we supposed to ‘take it’?” Doctor Ottoman asked.

  Riley half-smiled. “We kill Jim Hall. Kill anyone who stands with him. Give people the option to live with us. If not, we kill them too.”

  He turned away from the rest of the group and carried on walking.

  It was a few seconds before Jordanna joined him.

  “What you said. About killing the people at the—”

  “I know what I’ve said in the past,” Riley said, continuing to walk through the tall grass. “About … about giving people a chance. About humanity sticking together. About all that. But that was before I found out Jim Hall lied to me. Lied to all of us.”

  “Maybe there’s a good reason he—”

  “Pedro died, Jordanna,” Riley said, stopping and facing her. “He died because Jim sent me out here. He died because I asked him to follow. Asked all of you to follow. He died because of me.”

  Jordanna didn’t argue.

  And that was the most painful part of it all.

  She just looked back at Riley as the guilt built up inside him.

  “You didn’t ask any of us to follow you.”

  A voice from just behind Jordanna.

  A voice he hadn’t heard in a while.

  Chloë’s voice.

  “Chloë, I—”

  “Tiffany’s gone,” she said, scratching at her arms. “I … I don’t like that she’s gone and I want her back but—but it’s not your fault. We … we came with you because we’re friends. Because we’re family. And we’ll … I’ll keep on following you.”

  She flushed a little, redness creeping into her pale face.

  And then she nodded at Riley.

  Riley smiled at her. Felt warmth inside. “Thanks, Chloë. Thanks.”

  He turned around. Turned and faced the rest of the group.

  “I don’t know why Jim Hall sent me out here. I don’t know what his motives were. How about you, Doc?”

  Eyes turned to Doctor Ottoman. He looked around twitchily at the group. “I—All I know is Mr Fletch and Jim Hall were friends. And—and that you aren’t infected. And—”

  “Maybe you’re telling the truth. No reason to believe you’re lying. You’re out here with us after all. Surviving with us.”

  Riley stepped up to him. Smelled the perspiration pouring from his body.

  “I don’t know why you kept the truth from me for so long.”

  “I—I was scared. Scared you might—you might misunderstand and—”

  “But if I find out you had anything to do with this or if you’re lying in any way, I’ll kill you. You understand that? I’ll kill you.”

  Doctor Ottoman nodded fast. His lips were shaking.

  Riley stayed inches away from him for a few seconds.

  Then he backed off. “Good,” he said. “Now we push on. To Manchester. One way or another, we get inside the MLZ. We find Jim Hall. We ask him a few questions. And then we—”

  “Company. Up ahead.”

  Tamara’s words made Riley spin around.

  He didn’t see where she was looking. Not at first.

  And then he caught a glimpse of movement.

  Movement through the trees.

  He lifted his hammer.

  The rest of the group raised their weapons and formed into their natural position like Roman troops heading for battle.

  Riley walked towards the evergreen bush ahead.

  Moved some of the leaves aside.

  Through the opening, he saw creatures.

  Lots of them. Ten, twenty, probably more.

  But it was what was beyond the creatures that interested him.

  The building beyond the creatures.

  “Loop around ’um,” James said. “Could do without the hassle.”

  He started to walk to the left, and so too did the rest of the group.

  “No,” Riley said.

  He lifted his hand. Stopped James progressing.

  “What d’you mean ‘no’? You’ve seen ’ow many of them there are. Ain’t in the best shape to be dealin’ with them right now.”

  “The building. Look closely. The sign.”

  “I don’t see a—”

  “Behind the scaffolding. Through the leaves.�
�

  James squinted. “I still don’t … Oh.”

  “Oh, indeed,” Riley said.

  Kensington’s Mechanics dangled from a rusty sign above the building.

  “If we’re lucky, there’ll be some kind of vehicle in there. And petrol, too.”

  “And if we’re not?” James said.

  Riley edged forward. Smiled at James. “Then at least we’ve put a few creatures out of their misery.”

  He pulled aside the hedge.

  The first of the creatures saw him.

  Then the second.

  Then the third.

  He held his breath.

  Lifted his hammer.

  “Come on,” he said.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Riley had spent so much of the last couple of days fixated by the Orions that it was almost a relief to face off against some standard creatures.

  Almost a relief.

  He stormed through the bushes, hammer raised. Launched himself at the first of the creatures surrounding the mechanics. Plunged his hammer into its skull.

  The cracking sound of softened bone splitting reminded him of Ivan.

  The way Ivan’s skull crumbled under the force of the three Orions’ hands.

  No.

  He couldn’t think about that right now. Couldn’t let himself get drawn into the past. Couldn’t dwell on what had happened. Nothing he could do about it now.

  Just had to get through this crowd of creatures.

  Get into the mechanics.

  Search for a car, for a vehicle, for something that’d make their trip to Manchester just that little bit easier—or possible, at least.

  Another creature lunged at Riley from the right as the rest of the group fought creatures of their own. He saw the greying skin of someone who was a woman a long, long time ago. Saw her cracked, yellow teeth. The bite wound in the centre of her chest. A wound with a story. A story that he couldn’t possibly know, but a story that he understood.

  They’d lost out. All of these creatures had lost out.

  They’d drawn the short straw.

  They were just walking silhouettes.

  Ghosts of lives once lived.

  Of people who would never walk again.

  “Bitten off a bit fuckin’ more than we can chew here,” James called, as he rammed a shard of glass between the eyes of a bald man, blue mechanic’s outfit still dangling from his forlorn body. From behind him, another creature approached. A skinny man with a long black moustache.