Dead Days: Season 8 Part 21

They were lying flat on what was left of their faces.

A mist of blood hovered above them.

"Now," Mattius said pointing over at Riley. "Get him. And this time, don't let him slip away."

Chapter Three.

Ricky had always had difficulty killing people, as hard as that may be to believe.

In the early days of the infection, he'd struggled to adapt to the new ways of the world. He'd failed to face up to the reality of the things he was going to have to do if he wanted to further his own existence. It was a harsh world, to say the least. And sure, it'd always been a harsh world to some extent. But now, it was extreme.

Dispatching the zombies was never easy. He'd been convinced since day one that he could see something in them. See the humans behind their eyes. But the fact that they were so base-level in terms of their actions-so predatory, and in a way, so innocent because of being totally honest about what they wanted, what they craved-it made them more like animals. Ricky found dispatching animals even more difficult than people. He'd always loved animals. Which was why he'd struggled even more when his Alsatian, Stevie, had dropped dead of starvation a few weeks into the outbreak.

That was a long time ago now, though. A lot of time had pa.s.sed. A lot of things had happened. He'd spent a lot of those early days drifting, sure. Drifting from place to place, from group to group.

Mattius' group was different.

He'd been there a long time now.

He held on to his rifle and watched the man called Riley struggle to fight his way back down the side of that wall. He saw him struggling to descend. He saw the people-the two women-below, fighting off the zombies surrounding them. And behind the walls, he knew that Mattius' people would be approaching. Not to take out Riley. Because Mattius didn't want to take out Riley. Not yet.

But for another reason.

To capture him. To make him his.

Ricky knew what his orders were. He had eyes on Riley. He could go down there and stop him from moving anywhere else right now.

He could shut this nonsense down.

But something pulled back at Ricky.

Something told him not to go after Riley.

He wasn't sure what it was. Mostly just a feeling. A feeling that'd been growing over the last few weeks. h.e.l.l, the last few months, in all truth.

He'd seen the change in Mattius. He used to be a good leader. A strong man who listened to his people. But gradually, as his grip on power got tighter, he started using more and more ruthless methods. He started growing paranoid. He started killing more freely, and a part of him looked like he actually enjoyed it.

He knew what'd caused the major s.h.i.+ft in Mattius. The attack by Riley's people on their own camp, and Riley's slaughtering of their people before then. And don't make any mistake, Ricky felt a whole lot of venom towards Riley and his people for what they'd done, and for the people he'd taken away.

And when Mattius had taken Kesha, he'd understood it. He really thought it was the right call. Kesha was safer with them. They were a stronger group, and they could look after her better. He'd seen the miracles Kesha was capable of. Her ability to cure. He knew the power and the influence she held.

He hadn't liked what Mattius did to the girl, Chlo, and the woman, Jordanna. That was a turning point for him. But he'd got on board with the taking of Kesha.

Then Kane came along.

Kane had only been prisoner a week but already, Ricky was growing concerned about the time Mattius was spending with him. Kane was supposed to be a prisoner, but he was getting special treatment.

Ricky had seen Kane, though. The true Kane. He'd seen the look in his eyes. And in them, he'd seen nothing but a dark, gaping void. A longing for destruction. A contentment with the world as it was; the new world order.

Ricky had seen that. But he wasn't sure Mattius had.

And he'd grown especially worried when he heard Kane talking about Kesha to Mattius.

About the best way to get back at Riley.

Ricky watched Riley descend even more, the small group of zombies still proving a tough nut to crack. He'd been convinced Mattius wouldn't listen to Kane. After all, the suggestions were bulls.h.i.+t.

But he'd seen the look on Mattius' face changing. He'd seen him standing over Kesha's cot as she lay there crying. He'd seen that connection they'd formed break. A distance wedged between them.

He'd seen it, and it scared him.

Ricky's walkie-talkie buzzed. He looked down at it, broken from his trance.

"Ricky? You got eyes on Riley?"

Part of Ricky wanted to tell Bob, one of Mattius' most gullible goons, to f.u.c.k off. Another part of him wanted to just leave that walkie-talkie and disappear into the woods.

But he couldn't, because he knew the hold Mattius had on him.

He had a hold on him, just like he had a hold on everyone.

And the thing holding Ricky to this place was his mum, Barb.

She was old, and she wasn't getting any better. Her confusion was getting worse by the day. She was locked in one of the rooms on the eighth floor. Which meant that if Ricky wanted to get away, he had to get to his mum and he had to leave with her.

"Ricky? I asked you a question. You got eyes on Riley?"

Ricky looked at Riley as his feet landed on the ground, and he swallowed a lump in his throat.

Then he looked back up at the hotel building, onto the eighth, where he swore he saw his mother ballroom dancing, not a care in the world.

"Ricky, I won't-"

"I've got eyes on Riley," he said.

He lowered the walkie-talkie and lifted his gun.

"I'm bringing him in."

Chapter Four.

Riley landed on the ground below and saw the creatures approaching.

They were heading down the slope just in front of him. Not as many as they'd had to deal with a week ago-those kinds of numbers were unimaginable now. But still enough to cause problems. Enough to provide an obstacle.

Amy was to his left. Melissa, to his right.

"What happened over there?" Amy asked.

Riley felt his skin crawl in the moment's respite from the creature attack. Behind, he could hear footsteps and shouts as Mattius' people headed outside, towards their position. In his mind's eye, he kept on seeing Rosa, Annabelle, and Natasha's heads explode.

"Riley," Amy said, grabbing his arm. "Rosa. The others. Did he-"

"Yes," Riley said. "Yes, he did."

He saw Amy's face change colour in the s.p.a.ce of a second. He saw it age, somewhat, and turn grey. More people lost. More of her group ripped apart. Just four of them left now, including her and not including Riley.

"We mourn later," Melissa said. Riley looked at her and saw she had her bow lifted. "Right now, we fight."

She fired a couple of arrows at the creatures closest. There weren't many, but they were approaching from different directions, which made dealing with them more difficult.

Shaking free of his urge to get on with intercepting Mattius' camp, Riley swung his knife at the creature approaching him. He split its skull, then yanked the knife out and drove it through the temple of the next creature.

He kept on going, kept on fighting through them, but he knew they didn't have much time. Soon, Mattius' people would be onto them. They had to be quick.

"What about Carly and Siobhan?" Amy asked.

Riley diverted his attention to those trees at the top of the slope, where Carly and Siobhan were stationed. He couldn't see them up there. He couldn't see anyone up there. "They weren't inside. So that's something."

Amy fired an arrow right between the eyes of a creature just inches from her. Blood spurted out of its head, and it fell to its knees, then to the ground. "It's something," she said. "But it's not enough. Not until we find them alive."

"Hey!"

Riley heard the voice to his left and his skin crawled.

Three of Mattius' people had turned the corner. One of them was holding a gun. He was pointing it in Riley, Amy, and Melissa's direction.

"What do we-"

"Lower your weapons," the man shouted. He had long, dark hair and a thick black beard. "Put 'em down. Or we'll shoot. I swear we'll shoot."

Part of Riley wanted to lower his knife. He wanted to take the bow off his back and put it down.

But he had an idea.

"Don't drop your bows," Riley whispered.

"What?" Amy asked.

"Your bows. Don't drop them. When I nod, fire."

"But-"

"Just trust me," Riley said.

The man shook his pistol, tightening his grip. "I won't ask you again. Put the weapons down and walk this way with your hands above your head."

"Okay," Riley said.

He dropped his knife. He looked at the other two, raised his eyebrows.

They dropped their melee weapons.

"Good," the man said, nodding and smiling. "And now the bows."

Riley took a deep breath. He knew this wasn't going to be easy. He knew it was going to be a full-blown gamble. But still, he reached for the bow on his back, which he hadn't taken to like the others. After all, he didn't have the kind of training they had.

"Good," the man echoed. He was totally fixated on Riley. "Very good. Now just drop them right on the ground there, and we can..."

Those might've been the last words the man spoke.

Riley couldn't be sure.

He nodded and muttered "now" under his breath.

Right on cue, with all three of Mattius' people still looking right at him, Amy and Melissa pulled back their arrows and fired in their direction.

It happened in the s.p.a.ce of a second.

Three throats, all of them pierced by these custom-made metal arrows.

He saw the men clutching their necks. He saw the blood spurting out of the gunman's Adam's apple.

He saw them falling, and then he turned away from the wall and back towards the trees, as much as he wanted to stay here, as much as he wanted to fight for Kesha.

"Run," he shouted.

They ran up the hill and back towards the woods. Riley couldn't be certain, but he was sure that more of Mattius' people were onto him, closing in behind him. Maybe that was just paranoia, though. But it wouldn't be paranoia for long. Soon, it would be a certainty. He had to be quick. He had to act fast.

He ran faster and faster back towards those trees where he'd come from. He still couldn't see Siobhan or Carly. He worried for them then, as he remembered the feeling he'd got when he first got here, like someone was watching him.

Everything was going okay until Melissa toppled over and fell to the ground.