Books of the Dead (Book 3): Dead Man's Land Read Free

“They’ll make things easier for a bit.”
    “I don’t want them,” Travis said in a petulant tone.
    “Take them anyway,” Doc Wilson said, holding out two pills.
    Like a child, Travis obeyed.  He looked up; his eyes were red and rimmed with tears.
    I searched for more words, magic words to make things all better, but there were none to be had. If there were any magic left in this world, it was only black magic and voodoo.
    As much as it felt as if life had stopped for Travis, it was really still going on, non-stop and full-tilt. There was no stopping it. It was relentless and remorseless that way. 
    I detailed a couple of our guards to remove Hub’s body while someone else cleaned up the mess. The gloom floating around us was palpable while they went about their grisly task.  
    “How is Jason?” I asked Doc Wilson, once we got out of the room and into the corridor.
    “The bite’s nasty,” he said keeping his voice low, “but if all of what he’s said is true, his immunity should protect him. Infection is whole other thing. His body is so depleted, so I’ll keep a close eye on him.”
    “Do you have what you need to treat him?”
              “We have a decent supply of antibiotics, but those aren’t going to last forever.” 
    I started to say something, but the sound of footsteps from behind us caught my attention. I turned and saw Brother Ed steaming our way; his normally dour look stretched to the height of displeasure. His election to the leadership team seemed to have empowered him, though. It was a rare occurrence at the Manor in which wasn’t on the scene, giving his usually unsolicited advice.
    “What happened down here?” he asked, snapping off the question.             
    “Hub turned,” I said, feeling the weight of each word. “Travis put him down.”
    “What’s this I hear about this Jason-boy being bitten?”
    “News travels fast,” I said.
    “Is this a time for your smart remarks?” Brother Ed asked with one of his trademarked scowls.
    “He was bitten, but Doc said he should be fine.”
    “There’s no guarantee of that,” Brother Ed said.
    “What are you saying?” I asked.
    “Just like the Bible has rules, we have rules,” he said. “Rules to live by.  Anyone bitten needs to be taken care of or else exiled.”
    “He’s immune to the effects of the virus,” Doc said.
    “Does that matter?” Brother Ed said. “The rules are the rules.”
    “If you hadn’t noticed, we allowed Hub to stay here after he was bitten,” I said.
    “But that was an experiment, and the leadership team approved that. It seems that the experiment has failed. There’s been no vote on letting this boy live.”
    “If you haven’t noticed, this just happened, and it is the middle of the night,” I said, trying not to sound irritated, but doing a bad job of it.
    “I’m going to take this to the team,” he said.
    “Not right now,” I said.  He started to say something, but I leaned into his face. “We’ll meet about it in the morning. Okay?”
    “At least he needs quarantined,” Brother Ed said.
    I rubbed a hand across my face, hoping to wipe away the fatigue, but found it did nothing.  I agreed, saying, “Okay, we’ll do that. Doc, can you take care of that?”
    Doc agreed and started making the arrangements to move Jason as Brother Ed and I stood in awkward silence, dancing around what was unsaid. I thought he was a total asshole, but since Brother Ed was the new leader, tact seemed to be required, so I kept my thoughts to myself.
    I could tell Brother Ed wasn’t entirely satisfied, but accepted my compromise before walking away. I’m not sure what he really wanted, but it surely seemed as if he wanted a little more blood spilled. Nothing like a little bloodlust to end your day.
    Still, I wasn’t sure that he wouldn’t start rousing people right away, but it would be his problem if he did. I’m sure I had the votes to keep Jason safe and