Killing the Dead (Season 2 | Book 2): Dark and Deadly Land Read Free Page B

something.”
    “You won’t like it,” he said and I could feel a frown forming. He was likely right. “We go up there and if they are unwilling to help, we take what we need and come back.”
    “That won’t happen,” I said firmly. He just smiled and I swore quietly. “We’ll figure something out. There’s a long way to go before we get there anyway.”
    “Weeks of hiking and sleeping rough even before this,” Gregg said. “My mate did it once. Decided he wanted to do a walking trip. It was either down to Cornwall or up to Scotland. He chose Scotland.”
    “How did it go?”
    “A couple of weeks of constant walking and sleeping in a tent. He gave up around Glasgow but to be fair I think he got lost for part of it.”
    “Helpful,” Ryan said quietly and Gregg’s cheeks darkened.
    “It’s going to be around three hundred miles,” I said before Gregg could respond. “Rough terrain with only the food and water we can carry. We aren’t exactly well nourished after the winter and each day we’ll need to take the time to find somewhere safe to rest. Most days we’ll need to scavenge food and find water too. I would be surprised if we managed five miles a day.”
    “You’re joking,” Gregg said. His expression was the same look of shock I’d worn when it had been explained to me.
    “It took us nearly five days for the last round trip to Coniston,” Ryan said. “That village is around twelve miles away, though we went a little further up into the mountains and the return journey was well out of our way.”
    “Crap! What about cars?”
    “Roads packed with abandoned vehicles and the undead, the noise alone would draw them in their hundreds and that’s if you can find one in working condition,” Ryan said.
    “Petrol will be going bad by now if it hasn’t already,” I added. “Diesel will last longer but unless it’s treated the fuel will be useless.”
    “Then why the hell are we going?” He said as he threw his hands in the air. A touch dramatic I thought but understandable.
    “Your sister needs a doctor,” I said softly. “A pregnancy is risky enough under normal conditions and these aren’t that. Not to mention she is immune to the zombie infection and we need to find out if they can use her blood to either find a cure or at least make a test so we know who else could be.”
    “Shouldn’t be too bad,” Ryan said. “A small group who knows what they’re doing. We can find some maps on the way. I know the area around Dumfries so if we can make it there I know a few places that will have maps.”
    “You know the area?” I said. He’d never mentioned that.
    “My grandparents lived in the area and I was required to visit quite often,” he said and I blinked.
    “I didn’t know that. Do you have other family there?”
    “Probably,” he said. “My brother worked in Dumfries. He moved up there with my parents when they went to look after my grandparents.”
    “You have family up there? We can check on them, see if they survived,” I said with rising excitement.
    “Why?” he asked with a genuinely curious expression. It was another reminder of how different he was and I was taken aback for a moment, rendered speechless as I struggled to express why it was important in a way he would understand.
    “Because… well, because…” I looked to Gregg for support but he just shook his head and looked away. “We just will okay.”
    “If you want to,” he said before he gestured back towards the house. “Toby’s back, let’s grab the pigs and head back to the island.”
    Gregg patted me gently on the shoulder as he walked past me and I knew that I likely looked a fool. Stood there with my mouth open and nothing coming out. He could have family who survived. The chances were low admittedly but still, how could he not be excited by the chance?
    More to the point, Dumfries was only about ninety miles from the island. Hardly far but he’d not once mentioned that his family might be