Live Another Day by Baileigh Higgins (reading in the dark .txt) 📗

was not easy to kill a human being, no matter how cruel or brutal.

She continued to hold Ruby while leading her away from the body and back to the schoolroom. There she found a worried-looking Michelle, Tumi, and Erica.

“Ruby insisted on leaving,” Michelle said. “She wouldn’t listen to me at all.”

“She kept saying someone needed her, over and over again,” Erica said.

“Very strange,” Tumi agreed.

“Well, she’s safe now, and she was right about one thing. Someone did need her.”

Lisa cupped Ruby’s face in her palms. “Will you be all right here for a while? I need to help out on the wall, but I’ll be back soon.”

Ruby managed a shaky smile. “I’ll be okay.”

“Good. I’ll see you soon then. Lock behind me, it's dangerous out there.”

“Will do.”

As Lisa turned to leave, Ruby touched her hand. “Oh, and Lisa?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not sorry I did it.”

Lisa left the warmth of the schoolroom and stepped outside only to bump into a hulking shape. She gasped, and her hand flew to her side for her gun. A hand gripped hers, and a voice soothed her fears.

“Relax, Lisa, it’s only me.”

“Michael?”

“Yeah.”

“Where did you come from?”

“I’ve been searching the grounds, checking on everyone and flushing out rats.”

“Rats?”

His teeth gleamed in a smile. “Ke Tau’s men, the ones who got in.”

“Did you get them all?” she asked as he directed her toward the main gate.

“I think so, but a last thorough sweep would be best.”

“Good idea. I guess Carlito bit the dust then?”

“He did.” Michael walked for a few steps in silence. “I see someone did for Ke Tau. Was it you?”

“No, not me.” She shook her head in amazement. “It was Ruby.”

“Ruby?” He stopped in shocked surprise then burst out laughing. “Now isn’t that what I call poetic justice?”

“What about Hiran?”

Michael shook his head. “I haven’t seen so much as a hair on his head. He’s clever, though. Like a fox. He’d run at the first sign of trouble.”

“I hope he never comes back.” Lisa rubbed her arms as a sudden chill overcame her.

“If he does, I’ll kill him.”

The bright floodlights that lit the gates came into view, and they met a tired but exultant Max. The area was a hive of activity as people bustled around.

“What’s going on?” Lisa asked.

“We won, plain and simple.”

“Yeah?” While Lisa understood what he was saying, the words didn’t feel real to her yet. Guess it’s a delayed reaction.

“We killed all the undead, and Ke tau’s men have pulled back. Those that survived, at least.” Max grinned. “We’ll take a team tomorrow to smoke him and the last of his men out and rescue Rebecca and her people.”

“I’d like to go with you and so would Mpho,” Michael replied.

“Fine by me.”

“You don’t have to worry about Ke Tau, though. His corpse is over there.”Michael jerked his head in Ke Tau’s direction.

“You got him?” Max asked.

“Nope. Ruby did.”

“Ruby?” Max’s face registered the same surprise Michael’s had initially. “My God.”

“You’re telling me.”

Max shook his head. “Martin is out sweeping the grounds and clearing away any bodies, though we’ll stick inside until daylight. He’ll take care of it.”

“Good,” Michael said. “What about casualties on our side?”

Max’s face darkened. “There’s a few. They’re all in the infirmary. I’m still waiting on a final report from Jonathan.”

Lisa sensed Max was reluctant to discuss it and was putting the issue off. She couldn’t blame him. They’d just won a significant battle. The death or injury of someone near and dear was the last thing anyone wanted to think about.

“I’m posting a guard at the schoolroom and another at the clinic. The rest of us will sleep in the common room tonight, except for rotating four-man teams on the walls. Food and water will be distributed, but I want no one wandering about on their own in case of trouble,” Max continued.

“I’ll get Mpho and see you at the common room,” Michael said before vanishing into the night.

“And I’ll go check on Lonny if you don’t mind,” Lisa said. “After that, I’ll stick with Ruby. She’ll want news of her brother.”

“Perfect. See you in the morning then,” Max replied. “Oh, and Lisa? Would you mind showing these three where the common room is? They’ve come a long way.”

He indicated two teen girls and a slightly older guy, all of whom came in with Logan and Martin’s party. They looked battle weary, and she smiled to show her gratitude for their help in defending her home. “Sure, no problem.”

Chapter 22 - Logan

In the aftermath of the battle, Logan joined Martin as they swept the grounds for signs of either Ke Tau’s men or infected. It had been a long day, filled with excitement aplenty, but he didn’t think he could sleep and wanted to keep busy.

They walked in silence at first, flanked on either side by Jed and Josh. With slow care, they combed both the walls and grounds, even checking inside all of the buildings, no matter how small.

They found nothing except a few bodies, all of them from the enemy. These they dumped over the walls to be dealt with in the morning. After Michael sent Mpho to alert them to the breach, Max and several others had rushed over to stop the gap. Ke Tau’s men had fallen like dead leaves in a high wind before their assault.

Afterward, they’d escorted a shocked Elise to the infirmary along with the injured Sean, and Ben’s body. That had saddened Logan no end. Both to say goodbye to Ben and to see Elise in such a state.

“So Bloemfontein,” Martin said, distracting him from his morbid thoughts. “What did you guys think of that?”

“I don’t know,” Logan admitted.

He thought back to earlier that day. It now felt like an eternity ago instead of just a few hours. They’d broken camp and set off with the full intention of bypassing Bloemfontein if the highways proved impossible to navigate. None of them were keen on getting trapped between a quarter of a million zombies, after all.

But instead of clogged streets