Wake the Dead 2 (Wake The Dead Series) (2 page)

“And why is that?” asked Bryan from the seat beside her.

“I want to contribute,” she said in a calmer demeanor, staring at the man and smiling.

“Well, that’s admirable,” Bryan responded, returning the grin and wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Yeah,“ Liz muttered, though only Alex and Nick seemed to hear her. Nick gave her a glance and a shrug and then shoved aside his bowl to stare at Alexis.

“You do your share around here. But, if you really wanna go into town, I don’t have a problem with that.”

“Don’t worry…I’ll protect you,” Bryan said with an even wider smile.

“Who says I need protectin’?” countered the woman, standing and puffing out her chest. She held Bryan’s stare and then strode out of the room, purposely walking as though she were striding along a catwalk, staring back as she exited to make sure she had the attention of everyone in the room.

Bryan stood and removed a cigarette and stared back at them. “What? I'm gonna go have a smoke,” he said, disappearing right after Alexis and then poking his head back into the room. “I'm definitely goin’ tomorrow. I need another carton of these,” he said, holding up the cigarette.

“I guess he’s addicted?”

Alex felt a smack on the back of his head before anyone could answer. He spun to stare at Selina, her eyebrows raised in judgment of him.

“What?! Jeez!”

“You know
what
, Lancelot,” she said, referring to him with the name she had called him before the two of them were an item. It stung Alex more than he cared to admit.

“She
does
have a nice ass. Ya gotta admit that,” Phil commented jokingly, looking up from his bowl to stare at Alex and then Selina, who stared daggers back at him. “Well, she does.”

Selina stood and exited the massive hall in silence and disappeared around a corner.

“Great. Now look what you did,” Alex teased Phil, standing and taking both his and Selina’s bowls and forks to the plastic tub and gently placing them in there

“You’re the one in the relationship. I can do and say whatever I want,” he said with a laugh, knowing he made things tough on Alex. “I was just trying to be real is all.”

“All relationships are works in progress,” Nick said, staring back at Liz and seeing the roll of her eyes. Then she laughed as he held her stare and the two of them walked out of the room next, Nick’s arm around her.

“At least
they
seem to have figured it out,” Alex said.

“Yeah, they’re pretty good that way.”

“You good?” Alex asked Phil, about to take his leave.

“I can handle the cleanup,” Phil replied, standing up. ”Go be with your woman.” As Alex started to walk away, Phil called back to him. “Oh, and there are a few more sleeping bags for you on the bench in the hall. Nick said you can have ‘em. Might make sleeping on the ground a bit easier on ya.”

Alex followed to where Phil was pointing and found a trio of rolled sleeping bags on a bench in the hall, just like he said. He gathered them all up, and made his way out toward the outer courtyard.

As he exited the inner square and crossed the drawbridge, he stared down into the dark recesses of the pit and wondered how long it took them to get it that far. As he considered that, he thought of poor Ben, who was one of the workers responsible for the digging of the trench. He hadn’t deserved his fate. No one had, really, when it came right down to it. Even the most heinous of criminals didn’t deserve the fate of being turned into a walking corpse that would forever wander the earth.

“Penny for your thoughts?” asked Selina, standing not ten paces from him. Engrossed in his thoughts, he hadn’t even heard her coming.

“Just thinking about Ben is all. He dug this moat,” answered Alex, staring up into Selina’s eyes. “I still feel terrible about…about letting him go.” Her green eyes were so full of warmth in that instant, so full of empathy at Alex’s sadness that he connected with her on a whole new level. She had gone from anger and frustration to full-scale empathy upon hearing his words and staring into his eyes, clearly presenting vulnerability.

“Whatcha got there?”

“Sleeping bags for the floor. They want us to be comfortable, I guess.”

“You guess? Of course they do! They are kind people, Alex. Kinder than most you’d meet…even before the world turned upside down,”

“You got a point,” he answered. She took him, arm in arm, Alex still carrying the sleeping bags, and led him into the chapel. As Alex stood at the threshold to their impromptu ‘home’, he felt a chilling cold inside, despite the heat outside. It was comforting. But, before he entered, he took note of Shadow pacing in front of the gate to the outer courtyard. He seemed agitated, despite having recently eaten.

Wonder why he’s acting squirrelly?

“Alex! Come.” Selina’s voice forced his attention on her. In the waning light that shone through the chapel’s window, Alex took note of Selina’s figure as she slowly unbuttoned her pants, shook her hips side to side, allowing her shorts to drop straight to the floor. She stepped out of them and gestured for Alex to enter. “Why don’t you drop those blankets on the floor so we can make sure you keep that promise you made earlier?”

Alex knew she wore a grin even though he couldn’t see it in the darkness. Selina slowly strode over to the altar in the rear of the chapel and lit a few candles while Alex laid the trio of sleeping bags over the other two. He hoped it would aid in his sleep. He hadn’t slept more than a few hours straight since they made this place their own.

He glanced up as he heard her approaching again. When he caught sight of her, he admitted that her beauty was breathtaking. She dropped her panties, and then slowly unhooked her bra, exposing her shapely breasts.

She didn’t speak a word, but pulled him up off the ground, unbuttoned his waistband and removed his pants. She shoved him hard and as Alex landed on the hard floor, she flinched ever so slightly before lowering herself onto him. She kissed him, owning him in the moment. She was in control now, kissing him deeply and he felt that she wanted to be in charge here. He was firm in an instant as she wrapped her fingers around him.

“Good boy,” she teased in that briefest instant that she removed her lips from his and adjusting her positioning atop him. And then she was there again, kissing him and guiding him inside her all at the same time.

She rolled her hips up and then down on him, slowly, and then quickly, changing speeds as it pleased her, and he did not protest in the slightest. He grabbed her hips tightly as she arched her back and he kissed her stomach during a brief pause. She began again, Alex guiding her back and forth, aiding the movement any way he could. They were one in that moment. She leaned in and grabbed him by his neck, rolling backward and pulling him onto her. He wasted no time finding the mark again as he climbed atop her. She placed her legs over his shoulders, affording him a deeper push, and she moaned and cupped his backside, pulling him in tighter until she climaxed.

“Did you…?” she asked kindly a moment after she caught her breath,

“I sure did,” he said, falling backward.

She climbed into the crook of his arm and was fast asleep. He felt deeply for Selina, he quite possibly even
loved
her. But something was preventing his descent wholly into that purest of emotions. It was the lingering and constant memory of Sara that gave him that slightest pause. He wasn’t sure if it was the closeness that they shared, or the devastation he felt, when he had to put Sara down those many months ago.

That thought-process brought the memory of Olivia to mind and the image of her bleeding to death right in front of him, and him helpless to prevent it.

Those memories seemed like yesterday in his mind as the emotion and self-loathing washed over him in the moment. It brought so many questions to mind, too.

Would he ever want to let someone in again? Would he be okay with letting someone get that close? Maybe that was what it was that wouldn’t allow him to take that last step?

He needed to discuss Sara and his uncommitted feelings for Selina to her attention sometime in the near future.

It was one of many things which he needed to discuss with Selina—when the time was right, he decided, not now.

Chapter 2

Alex was awakened by the feeling of soft lips upon his forehead and cheek. As he opened his eyes, pools of green stared back at him, and their sunburst accents around the pupils adding to the exceptionality and wonder of Selina’s beauty.

“Time to get up, sleepy head,” Selina said, shoving him harder and pushing him onto his side. She slapped his bare ass and stood, tossing his clothing at him. Alex quickly dressed and rinsed his mouth out with some mouthwash from his backpack—something he’d acquired recently from the last supply run—and then gathered his gear and weapons.

“We ready to go get the others? What time is it?”

“Daytime,” Selina said with a smile. “I dunno. Probably really early.” She pointed out the window toward the sun that was barely cresting on the horizon. “But Nick said he wanted to get an early start for this run.”

Alex went outside and was met with the distinct sound of an animal growling. He stared off in the direction of that snarl and saw Shadow in a menacing stance in front of the gate. He was snapping at hands that penetrated the steel bars, causing Alex to swallow hard and his heart must have skipped a beat as the adrenaline flooded through his veins. He saw a multitude of hands flailing at Shadow, trying desperately to get at him. As he got closer, he heard the moaning and grunting of the undead. Their swipes were vicious and their lunges quick.

“Shit,” he whispered.

“What is it?” asked Selina, standing right behind him. “Is Shadow—?”

She didn’t finish her sentence as she witnessed the chaos that stood at the castle gate.

“Shit,” Alex whispered again.

“I sure hope that gate is strong enough,” she commented as she wrapped her arms around Alex.

“Seems as solid as anything I’ve ever seen.”

He stared back at her, her gear on and the sword that had once belonged to Tom, which was gifted to her by Nick not all that long ago, was scabbarded at her hip.

He tapped his bow and then nodded at her blade. “These might be getting a workout soon.” She nodded slightly and frowned, clearly not looking forward to the mayhem that was soon to ensue.

“Shadow, come,” Alex called. He waited a moment until Shadow eventually regarded him and padded over to where he stood.

Alex and Selina made their way toward the castle and crossed the drawbridge again, Shadow following behind until they got to the inner courtyard, where the wolf began to sniff around.

“You get them, I’ll stay here with him,” Alex said to her.

“No need,” said a voice behind them.

Bryan, Alexis, and Phil were heading toward them. Nick stood behind them, his hands folded over his chest, a smile planted on his face that was clear to see from across the twenty paces that separated them. That smile was stirring to Alex, who believed the man’s charisma to know no bounds.

“We were coming to get you,” continued the voice, which Alex now recognized as belonging to Phil. The three of them stopped and stood around each other. Alex shook his head reluctantly, not wanting to say anything, and gestured for Nick to join them, which he did.

“Bad news, man,” Alex said as Nick got to within a comfortable distance to hear him clearly.

“Well, what kind of bad news is it?” Nick asked him, unfolding his arms and scratching his goatee.

“Zombies are at the gate. They’ve made it inside the fairgrounds. We can’t even get outside the castle grounds here to get to my van without clearing what’s out there,” Alex explained grimly.

“How many?” Nick asked.

“Not sure, the gate is caked with ‘em though,” he said dejectedly.

“We can start by jamming spears through their heads until we can clear an opening,” he said to Alex. “You know the drill, people, cleanse the gate! Stab ‘em, pile ‘em up, and then burn ‘em! Rinse and repeat as necessary,” Nick instructed, more loudly this time, addressing Bryan, Alexis and Phil. “Alex, get on top of that wall and use that bow o’ yours to start clearing the grounds as best you can.”

Alex didn’t even think twice about it, but merely followed the others out toward the outer grounds. He ran ten paces ahead before looking back to make sure Selina and Shadow followed, which they did.

Alex ran to the steps leading up to the wall-walk atop the outer edges, removed an arrow and nocked it. And then he froze and his heart sank.

There are so many of them.

For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing short of a horde of the living dead outside the castle walls. He could see past the parapets as he made his way along the walkway, taking note that the wall which they had repaired was torn down, and that perhaps even more of the wall crumbled under the stampede that had followed.

Alex couldn’t believe he hadn’t heard it collapse. But Shadow had. Shadow certainly and inexplicably seemed on edge when Alex had seen the wolf last night, albeit briefly.

He must have sense them.

Alex felt a hand on his shoulder and nearly leaped over the parapets to his doom. “Shit!” he said reflexively as he turned to regard Selina behind him. Then he watched her as she gazed out into the mass of undead flesh that gathered below them and her eyes widened and teared up all in the same instant.

“I think we’re gonna need a better plan,” Alex mumbled hypnotically as he too turned to stare at the horde gathered below. He ran back down the steps to the grass below and joined the others at the gate. They stabbed and jabbed the zombies for a long while until the bodies piled up in such a way as that nothing could get past the fallen corpses.

“What are you doing?” Phil asked, continuing to jab at bodies with his blade.

“There’s too many of them, man. I’d just be wasting arrows. Is there another way, maybe?”

“Like?” Bryan interjected this time, running a hand through his graying curly mop of hair.

“I dunno. Burning them? Blowing them up? Do you have a Gatling gun?” he finished with sarcasm.

“We don’t have a gat, but we certainly might be able to burn them,” called a voice from behind them. It was Nick, this time dressed in his police riot gear, the helm under the crook of his right arm. Liz and Kelly stood at either side of him and the others all gathered around.

“We have a decision to make. We can gather the fuel we have left and take the chance of using it up to burn the undead, and the surrounding area along with it. That would mean having to gather up more fuel too once this is all over,” he explained, shifting from one foot to the other. “And we will be burning mostly everything out there, including the ground on which we planned to grow crops next spring, which may be good anyway. I’ve hear that is actually good for the soil. We’ll also be taking a chance that if we don’t find fuel to power the generators; we could be in for a long, harsh winter. No electric heat, no hot food and no hot showers in our future.”

They all nodded in unison as he spoke, remaining silent.

Alex looked down and was surprised to see that Shadow sat beside him to his right and that he hadn’t even noticed the wolf until now. He looked back up to Nick who paused.

“This decision includes you two, all right? You’re part of us now,” he added, looking both Selina and Alex in the eye. “You guys have to weigh in on it.”

“I'm for whatever you think is the right thing,” Selina agreed. Alex said nothing and nodded.

“It was kind of my idea,” he said, adjusting the large bow to a better resting spot in his shoulder and adjusting his pants. It was hot and humid already, and the fires that they were about to set would only make things worse. “How you plannin’ on getting’ the fuel spread?”

“That’s gonna be the hard part. We need bait to draw ‘em away again so that we can dump the fuel,” Nick explained. “And Alex, I know you blame yourself for Ben’s death, but it wasn’t your fault. Everyone here has acknowledged it to me, too. So I don’t need you volunteerin’ for this just to prove you’re some kinda’ hero, where you go and get yourself killed just to prove somethin’ that doesn’t need provin’. Capisce?” Again, Alex nodded in silence, stealing his thoughts to that end straight away.

Damn, he’s sure as shit good at reading me.

“So there’s that, there ya go. Now…let’s figure out a way to get outta here. Safely,” Nick said, taking a seat in the grass. He nodded to a pile of Shadow’s droppings right next to him and stood again. “Maybe over there,” he said with a nod and a smile, rubbing Shadow’s head. The wolf, to Alex’s continuing wonder, did not snarl or make any type of aggressive move. He shrugged and stared back at Shadow before following the others. Again, they sat in a circle. Silence ensued for a few long moments, until Bryan spoke.

“We can go out the back,” he said cryptically.

“Down the back of the castle walls and into the river,” Nick said, reasoning it aloud.

“And I know it’s been done, but we can blare the car horn or…,” he paused, and then removed a cassette from a pocket in his pants, “I can play some music.”

“You carry that thing everywhere?” Liz asked. Bryan smiled and nodded. “It’s one of the only things I was able to salvage, woman,” he sarcastically scolded her.

“Well, that’s certainly a better idea than going out the front door,” Alex chimed in. “So, hotwire a car, and ring the dinner bell, eh? That sure as shit works.”

“Yep,” Bryan said, wearing a satisfied grin.

“Okay, but I don’t know if you guys remember or not, but when they first turn, them zombies are faster than hell.”

“We remember,” Phil said, his countenance exhibiting as serious an expression as Alex had ever seen from the man.

“So, I’ll go,” Bryan said bravely. “And I know it’s dangerous. I'm not stupid—nor do I have a death wish. I just know someone needs to do it.” He paused and looked around at everyone’s faces. “And I have the cassette!”

“Then I’m going too,” Alexis chimed in, to everyone’s surprise, especially Bryan.

“You don’t have to—“

“I want to,” Alexis interrupted Nick’s rebuttal. “It’s time I took some chances here. Besides, I'm sure he can use the company. Right?”

“I'm not gonna say no,” Bryan said with a half-smile.

“All right. It’s settled then,” Nick agreed. “You guys go over the wall, around the river bank, to a car, and try to lead these shit-sticks out of the fairgrounds. When you do, we go out in small groups, pour the gasoline and torch the grounds.”

“We have rope, I assume?” Alex asked.

“We got plenty of it,” Kelly said, walking off and leading the others back into the castle.

“You two and the wolf stay here,” Nick ordered, and he said it with such conviction that there wasn’t room for debate. “We’re gonna stack cans of fuel on the drawbridge, you and Selina take ‘em to the gate. We’ll be back.”

You need help lowering them?” Alex asked. “I’m a pretty good handyman, in case you need….”

“We’ll be fine. Had a plan in place for something like this a little while back. We just have to execute it.”

Alex, Selina and Shadow stayed in the outer courtyard in utter silence, and waited for them to return. It wasn’t ten minutes later when Alex saw the first few cans of fuel appear from the shadows of the inner courtyard.

The two of them began gathering them up and not long after, there were a dozen cans of gasoline cluttering the area, mostly in two-gallon sizes, though a pair of five-gallon containers was mixed among them. They walked the dozen or so cans over to the gate, and as they finished setting down the last of them, more took their place.

“So, all good?” Selina asked, hands on hips.

“All good,” Nick answered, as Phil, Hannah and Liz climbed atop the wall-walk facing the parking lot and waited. “We lowered them into the river easily enough and kept an eye on them as long as we could. Bryan has a short-range, walkie-talkie and we stayed in contact most of the time.”

“How’s he carryin’ a walkie? It waterproof?” Alex asked.

“Nah, he’s got all his supplies in a watertight canvas bag for just such an occasion,” Nick said, waggling his eyebrows, which seemed oddly out of place to Alex. “And we know he found a vehicle, so we should be hearing some kind of commotion soon.”

As if on cue, the distinct sound of a horn blaring broke the relative silence, followed by the sounds of the song, ‘Who Are You’, by
The Who
, in between the sporadic honking.