Killing the Dead Read Free Page A

home when one of those things stepped out in front of me. I swerved without even thinking and drove straight into a parked car. I had to get out and run, then some of those things started chasing me. I arrived here looking for somewhere safe from them.” She laughed a little bitterly at that. “Ironic huh? Running for my life from the undead and I end up in the cellar of a murderer.” I had to agree that it was somewhat ironic. I started to laugh at that and after a moment she joined in.
    “Well this place certainly isn’t safe anymore.” I said after the laughter subsided, “and by the sounds of it, we will find more of these creatures all over the place. I think the first thing we need to do is get some transport. Before we go though, you still haven’t given me your name.”
    “Lily. My name is Lily.” She said.
    “Hello Lily, my name is Ryan.” I smiled, happier now. I don’t know why but I have always hated not knowing a name, whether that is the name of an object or a person, without the name I can find no way for this thing to fit into place in my world. It is more than a little irksome.
    “Ok then, beyond this wall is an alleyway that runs between the rows of houses. At the far end - unfortunately the end furthest from us - are the garages for these houses. We may find at least one car there, though it won’t be much use without a key” I said.
    “Don’t worry too much about that.” Lilly said with a smile that transformed her face from pretty to truly beautiful. “I had a bit of a reckless youth. I can possibly hotwire a car if we need to.”
    This was the first good news I had received since she had arrived at my door. While I could drive a car, the mechanics of them were a complete mystery. I had always preferred the inner workings of the human body over those of the machine.
    With a firm plan in mind, we climbed to the top of the wall, Lily with a great deal more grace than I managed. From the top, as we sat on the cold stone we could see towards either end of the alleyway. All was clear along its length. The long stretch of cracked pavement had weeds growing through the gaps. It was filled with broken bottles, food wrappings and the general detritus that people felt the need to dump over the walls. Along each side of the pavement were the garden walls much like my own, occasionally broken with the shadowed recess that indicated a gate set into the wall. With a final look back at my house, we dropped down into the alley.
    By unspoken agreement we stayed close to the wall. It seemed imprudent to walk out in the open. I let Lily lead the way as she was the only one with anything resembling a weapon.
    As we cautiously made our way along the alley stepping through the puddles of what I could only hope was remnants of the last nights rainfall, I couldn’t help but look behind us. The hairs were rising on my neck and I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. I would look up at the houses around us but could see nothing to indicate anything was different today. It was an unpleasant feeling that I wasn’t at all familiar with.
    We paused as we reached the end of the alleyway. A cautious look showed a row of garages in an overgrown area of dirt. The simple structures were just boxes made of concrete with a metal door that opened outwards, though all were closed. Aside from the alley entrance you could only leave by the single wide ramp down onto the main road. Two cars sat silent and ready to be stolen by Lily and myself.
    We cautiously moved along the front of the garages towards the closest car. This was a grime encrusted black rectangle on wheels. Perhaps some alpha male type would have been able to give you the car’s make, model and engine specifications. I could simply tell you that it had four wheels, four doors and was fairly small.
    Lily gestured for me to step closer as we reached the car. The stress of remaining undetected must have been getting to her as when she spoke it