Dead South | Book 2 | Dead Lies Read online

  16

  “We’ve been looking at that goddamn prison for months,” Raylon said. “It’s time we finally try to take it.”

  Jon stood in the middle of the living room with his arms crossed as he watched Raylon plead his case to Lennox. The leader of Freedom Ridge listened intently from his recliner.

  Outside, the sun had started to go down. The storm had mostly passed, with only a light rain now pattering against the roof. Jon and the others stood several feet back from Raylon, observing the situation and allowing him to speak to his cousin. Jon never took his eyes off of Lennox. He studied the leader’s face as Raylon tried to convince his cousin why they needed to go into the prison. But Lennox didn’t budge, holding a stoic expression.

  Raylon pointed back at the three guests. “They want to help us. There’s never been a better time to do this.”

  Lennox moved his hands off of the armrests and clasped them together as he pondered his cousin’s proposal. He looked at Jon, then back at his cousin, and shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s just so risky.”

  “Nothing in life worth having comes easy,” Jon said.

  “I’m not only talking about the dangers of getting past those creatures at the prison,” Lennox said. “There are other matters we have to consider. People we have to protect, and certain others that we don’t want to piss off.”

  Jon remembered Malcolm’s name from the previous conversation with Lennox and assumed that’s who he was talking about. He wasn’t sure who that was or if he cared. All he wanted was Lennox’s blessing, and hopefully some assistance from his people.

  “If the people you’re worried about want that prison, maybe they should have taken it by now,” Jon said.

  “It’s more complicated than that. You don’t know how hard we’ve worked to keep things civil.”

  Brooke put her hands on her hips. “Don’t talk to us about civility and struggle. You don’t know a damn thing about what we’ve been through.”

  “No,” Lennox said, “I don’t. And I don’t plan on finding out firsthand what that was like. That said, there are ways that I can keep things kosher between us and the people at Black Hill.”

  Jon had never heard of Black Hill. He’d never seen the place, and no one in Hope’s Dawn had spoken of it.

  “And how is that?” Terrence asked.

  “I’ll agree to let you take the prison, and we will help you do it. But in exchange, we need sixty percent of what we find in there.”

  “For what?” Jon asked.

  “I’ll want to give twenty percent to Malcolm as a peace offering.”

  “No way,” Brooke said. “We’re done being slaves to others.”

  “If not for us, you wouldn’t even know the prison was there,” Lennox said. “An extra ten percent finder’s fee seems fair.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Terrence said. “If you have to fork twenty percent over to them, you can do that out of your own pocket. Hope’s Dawn should get half of what we find since we’re going to do half the work.”

  Sighing, Lennox glanced at Raylon. “Are you sure we can do this?”

  “We will,” Jon said, answering the question himself. “We’ll get into that prison. And whatever’s in there, we’ll get it.”

  Lennox raised an eyebrow. “Cocky, are we?”

  “Confident,” Jon said. “Maybe you should pull your head out of this Malcolm guy’s ass and try it.”

  Lennox shot up, his nostrils flaring as he advanced toward Jon. Raylon stepped between his cousin and Jon, but he wasn’t the one who prevented the two from coming to blows.

  Jon had about had enough. As far as he was concerned, Hope’s Dawn could go take the prison themselves. It would be far riskier, and it would be tricky to talk Garrett and Hugo into it, but they could do it. Having the help of Freedom Ridge wasn’t worth the hassle.

  Before Jon could encourage Brooke and Terrence to leave with him, though, a girl who appeared to be around eight years old entered the room. She wore a tattered purple t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans with holes in the knees and dirt stains pocked all over. Everyone went quiet as she entered the room, and Lennox turned to face her, his expression now returned to a smile.

  “Who are these people, Daddy?” the girl asked.

  “Just some new friends, sweetie,” Lennox said. “New friends, meet Sarina.”

  The little girl waved, and the visitors from Hope’s Dawn found a way to smile and tell the girl hello.

  “When are you going to be done, Daddy? I want you to come read with me.”

  Lennox put his hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “In just a few minutes. Why don’t you go ahead to your room and wait for me? I’ll come as soon as I’m done.”

  The young girl briefly looked up at the guests again before bowing her head and scurrying off to her room. Jon watched as she disappeared, then turned back to Lennox.

  “That’s why I have to be cautious,” Lennox said, shaking his head. “I’m all she has.”

  “I understand,” Brooke said. “I have a son. He’s seven, around the same age as your little girl. And he’s the main reason I’m here. The reason that we had to fight off the Vultures. I couldn’t let him live in a world like that.”

  “That’s the risk you take if you keep playing games and buying time with this Malcolm fellow,” Jon said.

  Lennox narrowed his eyes. “You don’t know a damn thing about what you’re talking about. You have kids?”

  Jon hesitated before nodding his head. “I did. A boy. But he was taken from me by someone who thought they could control the world.”

  Lennox didn’t say anything. He scanned the faces of the three guests before lowering his head and rubbing his eyes in frustration.

  “Assuming we are to split the labor and each provide the same amount of resourced to do the job, you can have half of what’s found in there,” he finally said. “You shouldn’t have to sacrifice your fair share because of my problems.”

  “And neither should you,” Terrence said.

  “Yeah, well, that’ll be my own problem to figure out later. The problem I want to figure out now is how the hell we’re going to get into that prison.”

  Jon smirked. “I think I’ve got an idea for that.”

  17

  The group agreed to meet half-an-hour later at a house in the camp which was used for group meetings. Daylight had faded, and Jon knew they wouldn’t be going back to Hope’s Dawn that night. He wished they had a way of contacting the camp to let them know they were okay, though, specifically to inform Lucas that his mom was fine. Brooke hadn’t expressed a worry about that, but Jon knew it had to be weighing on her mind.

  With nothing else to do and nowhere to go, the crew from Hope’s Dawn showed up at the house early. They’d spent the half-hour break at the truck—talking some about their experiences that day, but mostly being quiet and resting. Jon didn’t want to reflect much on the incident earlier in the pharmacy. He’d had his fair share of close calls, but nothing quite like that one. And most other times, it had only been him who’d been in danger. That, he could deal with and accept. He couldn’t handle allowing others to get hurt with him, especially when it came to a single mother.

  Raylon arrived at the meeting spot only a few minutes after Jon and the others. He shook their hands and led them to a room with a large table in the middle of it. Sprawled across the top of the table was a map of the area. It had been marked up, apparently to show all the places they’d checked for supplies. Jon was impressed to see they hadn’t been exaggerating by much when they’d said they’d checked everywhere.

  “Thanks for convincing Lennox to help us,” Brooke said to Raylon.

  “Hey, don’t think I did this only for you. I do want to help you folks out, but I also want to know what’s inside that prison.”

  “You think Lennox is going to stick to his decision and let you do this?” Terrence asked.

  “For sure,” Raylon said, tilting his head back. “If there’s one t
hing Lennox is, he’s a man of his word. He always has been, and honesty and loyalty are two things he’s working to instill in his daughter. They seem tough to come by in this shit new world we’re living in.” Raylon looked at Jon. “I just hope you really have a plan. You’ve had run-ins with these dead bastards before?”

  Jon hesitated. “A few.”

  “We’ve held our own out there,” Brooke added. “We’ll be fine. You won’t have to worry about us putting you or your people in danger.”

  Jon stood up straight. “You said that you and Lennox were the only people who came from that family reunion. You didn’t mention a child.”

  Raylon glanced down. “That little girl has had a rough go of it.” He looked back up and shook his head. “I’m just doing my part to help her live as normal a life as possible.”

  The door to the room opened, and Lennox walked in, his long dreads swinging as he turned to shut the door behind him. He approached the table, acknowledging the others in the room with a nod. Raylon then wasted no time, putting his finger on the map where the prison was located.

  Everyone in the room turned their attention to Jon. He leaned forward onto the table.

  “Have you checked the entire perimeter of the place?” Jon asked Raylon.

  “We drove around it one time, but it’s been a while.”

  “Were there any compromised spots in the fence?”

  Raylon shook his head. “Not from what I could see. And there were zombies everywhere inside of that fence. If there was a hole somewhere, they’d have gotten out by now.”

  “That’s a good start,” Jon said. “We’ve got a solid barrier between us and them. And I can’t see those bastards being able to break through it.”

  “You’re sure?” Brooke asked. “If we start making a bunch of noise, then it’s going to draw the attention of all of them surrounding the place. You think that fence can withstand that sort of weight?”

  “The fence will hold,” Terrence assured her.

  “So, are you thinking we should pick them off one by one from outside the fence with rifles and shotguns?” Raylon asked.

  “I hope not,” Lennox said. “Unless you all have a barracks stocked full of ammo back at your camp.”

  “I don’t wanna shoot ‘em,” Jon said. “I wanna burn ‘em.”

  Brooke grinned. “With Molotovs?”

  “Exactly.”

  Raylon raised an eyebrow. “You want to start a fire there before we stroll inside?”

  “The yard out in the front of that prison is huge,” Jon said. “If we can lure as many of the zombies over to the far corner of the yard as we can, then that should put them, and the fire, far enough away from the front gates and the prison itself.”

  “How are you so sure we can funnel them all to one spot and burn them?” Terrence asked.

  “I’m not. But if we can get most of them, then I think with the right-sized crew and enough ammo, we can handle the leftovers and get inside.”

  “This seems like a pretty thrown-together plan,” Lennox said.

  “You got any better ideas?” Jon asked. There was silence as Lennox stared down at the table. “As you said, we can’t afford to sit outside the gates and shoot them. Even if we had any explosives, that would be way too risky. If we blow up that fence, it’s game over. Molotovs are easy to make, and I think we can contain the horde enough to keep the fire from spreading and lighting up the prison.”

  “They might be easy to make,” Lennox said. “But gasoline and motor oil are valuable resources. I’m not sure I’m willing to let any of that go, even for a few explosives.”

  “We’ll bring the fuel and the motor oil,” Brooke said, glancing at her friends. “I think we might even have some kerosene back at the camp, which we can use as an alternative. But we used up all of our bottles in the fight with the Vultures, and would appreciate it if you would provide the rags, as well.”

  Lennox swallowed, staring at Jon, who continued to hold back his frustration. “I think we can wrangle up some bottles and rags. I’ll also provide half the crew and some ammunition, and even let you borrow some weapons if need be. We’ve been fortunate so far and haven’t had to use many bullets, but gas is just something we can’t let go of.”

  “That works,” Brooke said, then again turned to her friends. “Right?”

  “Works for me,” Terrence said.

  Jon bit his lip harder, then nodded.

  “Good,” Raylon said. “So, when should we go?”

  “I’ll wake up early and head back to Hope’s Dawn,” Jon said. “I’ll fill them in on what’s going on, pick up the fuel we need, and collect the people who are going to help us. If the weather cooperates with us, then I don’t see any reason why we can’t go do this tomorrow afternoon.”

  “That’s pretty soon,” Lennox said.

  “We don’t have a choice,” Brooke replied. “There are people at our camp depending on us.”

  Raylon shrugged. “It’s fine with me. I’m ready to see what’s in that place.”

  With everyone agreeing on the plan, Lennox said, “Good. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, then. There are still preparations to make, but we should first eat. And we’re all going to need rest.”

  18

  Jon sat outside alone and ate. The new-construction subdivision had a clubhouse that had been converted into a cafeteria. Jon had been invited to sit with Raylon and his friends, but he’d politely declined. Instead, he’d stepped outside after getting his plate, avoiding eye contact with anyone so as not to make things awkward.

  The camp had an impressive vegetable garden with tomatoes, potatoes, and plenty of leafy greens. That was what filled Jon’s plate, along with some black beans. He sat on a curb, his elbows resting on his knees as he scooped his food into his mouth.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  Jon turned around to see Brooke standing there, holding her own plate. Smiling and giving her a shrug, Jon gestured to the spot on the curb next to him.

  “You sure it’s okay? I understand if you want to be alone.”

  “It’s fine. I just didn’t want to be around the large crowd in there. You’re welcome to join me any time.”

  Brooke smiled and sat on the curb next to him. “Thanks. Terrence caught the eye of some girl in there and bailed on me. Figured it would probably would hurt his chances if I tagged along.”

  Jon laughed. “What a great friend you are.”

  “I’m just glad to see him having a good time. He deserves it.”

  “So do you,” Jon said.

  Brooke blushed, swiping her hair from her face and averting her gaze. “It’s nice to have found good people here. I didn’t think we’d come across decent people, but then we found you, and now Raylon and the folks here.”

  “I’m not a good person,” Jon said.

  Brooke rolled her eyes. “Stop it. That tough-guy stuff isn’t going to work on me anymore.”

  “I’ve done horrible things.”

  Brooke shook her head. “We all have since the world changed. That doesn’t make you a bad person. Trust me.”

  Jon knew she wasn’t only talking about the Vultures, and before he could think, he slipped and said, “Like your ex-husband?”

  Brook stared at him, her face blank and her blush now gone, replaced with a shocked paleness. Jon swallowed, shaking his head.

  “I’m so sorry. It slipped. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “No, it’s fine.”

  “It’s not. It’s not my place to say something like that.”

  Brooke put her hand on his shoulder. “It really is okay.”

  Jon looked at her hand and then down at his plate, not wanting to look into her eyes. He was embarrassed about what he’d said. To try to make things less awkward, he shoveled another scoop of food into his mouth.

  “Peter wasn’t always a bad person,” Brooke said, revealing her ex’s name to Jon for the first time. “But it also wasn’t the end of the world that changed him.”


  “You really don’t have to talk about him if you don’t want to. It’s none of my business.”

  “It’s fine,” Brooke said. “If you’re willing to listen.”

  “Of course.”

  “Things started out totally fine, like in any marriage,” Brooke began. “We were happy, and I thought I was in love. Well, I was in love. But I learned that love can quickly fade.

  “Everything started to shift around the time Lucas was born. It had always been my dream to be a mom, but Peter never really wanted to have kids. That should have been a red flag for me before I told him I’d marry him. I remember how awkward it was when I told him I was pregnant. Any emotion he showed was strictly out of courtesy. He pretended to care for about ten minutes, and then he said he had an errand he had to run and left. I think that, until the moment Lucas was born, Peter tried to convince himself that it wasn’t real. And when that moment came, I thought it was what would finally change Peter’s mind at being a father. He held his son and cried, and I saw the look in his eyes that he was proud to be a father. But that feeling didn’t last.”

  Brooke took a deep breath, lowering her head as her shoulders slumped.

  “You don’t have to talk about this,” Jon said.

  “I just need a moment. I promise this is good for me. I need to tell you.” She closed her eyes for a moment and then exhaled. “It’s not that he was a bad father. He wasn’t when he was around. But being present was his biggest downfall. He started having to ‘work late’ a lot more often. Maybe I’m naive, but I don’t think he was sleeping with another woman or anything like that. I think he was probably just sitting in his office or driving around to waste time, so he didn’t have to be home. Then, when he got home, he’d want to wind down. By the time that all happened, Lucas was usually in bed, and I’d be too exhausted to even spend any quality time with Peter. But he didn’t seem to care too much. He’d become so disconnected.”