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  Dead to Rights

  Red Rises Book 2

  By: Marty Brockschmidt

  &

  Bella

  © 2018 Marty Brockschmidt

  Preface

  Dead to Rights is the fourth installment of the Heartland Zombie Apocalypse series and the second book of the Red Rises collection. The world continues to get larger as survivor groups run across each other.

  Tired of being on the road Red and the group she has thrown in with, find a place to make a secure home. However, their security is threatened by a fanatical religious cult that use the dead as a weapon. Dead to Rights continues to explore the choices people make to survive in the post apocalypse. The lies they will tell to others and themselves to justify those choices.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1 - Wounds

  Chapter 2 - Turk

  Chapter 3 - Kids

  Chapter 4 - Concoction

  Chapter 5 - Opening

  Chapter 6 - Trials

  Chapter 7 - Rituals

  Chapter 8 - Interlopers

  Chapter 9 - Siege

  Chapter 10 - Continuation

  Chapter 11 - Can-opener

  Chapter 12 - Knight’s Tour

  Chapter 13 - Endgame

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  It was dark inside the tiny chapel. The congregation sat silently praying, waiting for the sun to rise. The morning slowly crested the horizon, sending shafts of light through the stained glass. The creatures, bound to the first three pews, rose, straining against their bonds. The organist began, leading the congregation in the Gospel hymn, 'Bringing in the sheaves'.

  The preacher approached the pulpit, as the song ended. He was a severe looking man, tall and gaunt. He was well into his sixties, but the stride of his long thin legs, was quick and confident. His long gray hair, parted on the side and neatly combed back. On his feet, polished black boots with silver toe tips. His slacks and waistcoat, were as black as his boots. Under the waistcoat, a pressed white shirt, the collar buttoned and surrounded by a bolo tie, with silver tips and a simple clasp. Over all of this, he wore a long black woolen coat, with an odd, crusty appearance.

  The preacher raised his hands, beckoning for attention, arthritis curving his long thin fingers into hooks. He glared at the congregation, with his cold, clear, gray eyes and began to speak. His voice, was a loud resonant baritone. “Thank you sister, very inspirational. The fallen, these creatures in front of me, have been judged by our heavenly Father, to be pathetic souls. They are cursed to walk the earth forever and their hunger knows no bounds.”

  The congregation burst into chants of 'Amen' and 'Hallelujah', causing the preacher to raise his hands higher, to silence the crowd. “When our Father takes your soul, will you be rejoicing for having followed the path of true belief, or are you like the fallen?”

  Once again, the congregation burst into the refrain. “We shall come rejoicing...”

  When the congregation was again quiet, the preacher opened a book to a marked passage and began to read. “ And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children, which God hath graciously given thy servant. Through the praise of children and infants, you have established a stronghold against our enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”

  A group of a half dozen women, entered and stood near the preacher. They were all dressed in long drab brown, or gray dresses, their hair pulled back, into tight buns. Following after, an older, diminutive woman, also dressed plainly, took a position in front of the other women. A final woman, younger than all the rest, came out and stood protectively next to the older woman. Unlike the other women, who were plain in dress and appearance, she was radiantly beautiful. Her long blonde hair, cascaded down to her shoulders. She wore a brilliant white blouse, open at the collar and bright white slacks. On her feet, pure white shoes.

  Once the women had assembled, the preacher continued reading. “He called a little child to him and he said: Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name, welcomes me. If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone, hung around their neck and to be drowned, in the depths of the sea. Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

  The preacher looked up to scan the congregation. “Is there any that petition to have their child taught the path of true belief?”

  A young couple came forward, just short of the dead, lining the front pews, carrying a young boy, of about three years. “His mother and I, ask for the honor of having our son properly educated.”

  The preacher came forward. “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And Jesus said unto them, he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth in me, shall never thirst.”

  The preacher walked to the family, the fallen dead, barely reacting to his passing. He took the young boy and lifted him high, for the congregation to see. “And these signs, shall follow them that believe: In my name, shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up the fallen and not be hurt by them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on the fallen, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

  The preacher carried the boy back, past the fallen. The child raised a hand, towards one of the more curious fallen. The preacher, gently pushed the boys hand back down. Stopping in front of the diminutive women, he handed the boy over to her blonde companion. “Mother, this boy requests your instruction, in the way of true belief.”

  The older woman gave the preacher a glimmer of a smile. “Thank you Josiah, it would be my privilege.”

  Josiah concluded the morning service as the group of women exited with the young boy. The congregation exited out the back. Josiah waited at the pulpit until the last had left. Once the chapel was empty he scanned the fallen, focused on the sounds slowly fading from the back of the church. Josiah emitted a heavy sigh and his shoulders slumped, once he was alone with the fallen.

  A few moments later he straightened, went to the door at the rear of the pulpit and entered the small office. Seated at a small side table was a younger man, reading a book. “How are your studies coming Brother Zachary?”

  “I got this Josiah. Let me join you in the chapel.” Zachary pleaded.

  Josiah inhaled and let it out slow. “It's not just saying words, can you inspire our people?”

  Zachary nodded. “I can.”

  “Can you petition the Mother to let you prove, you can spread the word of truth?” Josiah pressed.

  “I can.” Zachary responded firmly.

  Josiah slipped off his long coat and held it out. “Can you put on the coat and walk among the fallen? You flinch, you shrink away, not only do the fallen see you lack faith, the zealots see your lack of faith. If you believe, take the coat, show the fallen the strength of your faith.”

  Zachary gave Josiah an angry glare, before turning back to his studies. Josiah hung up the top coat. “See that the coats bladders are filled with fresh essence of the fallen, before the next service. If you need help, enlist the aid of Delilah.”

  Zachary kept his head down. “Yes sir.”

  “Do not think to test my faith. However, if a petitioner were
to get a bite from the fallen, because of your failure, I will have Delilah unleash the fury of the zealots, against you.” Josiah said slowly, in an attempt to curb his anger.

  Zachary shrunk away. “Sir, I would never question your faith.”

  Josiah waved away Zachary's protests and changed the subject. “Has there been any word, on brother Cain?”

  Zachary's face showed relief, that the sparring was over. “ No, Cain was scheduled to return two days ago.”

  Josiah pursed his lips and nodded. “Cain is a highly zealous and motivated individual. His pursuit of new children to bring as petitioners, is a crusade he takes very personally. Still, he knows, the Mother expects timetables to be kept. She needs to know where enclaves of survivors exist, so she can spread the word of the True Believers. Make a request of the Mother, to allow you to assemble a team to pick up Cain's trail.”

  “Yes sir, I'll make a request for an audience, at the earliest opportunity.” Zachary replied.

  Josiah placed his simple, black stockman hat on his head. “See that you do, I'll work with Silas to outfit a team.”

  Silas Rigby, a large and rotund man, in his sixties, sat behind the behind the window of the True Believers warehouse. On the other side of the window, an angry man, holding up a worn pair of boots. “Damn it Silas, just give me some new boots.”

  Silas shook his head. “Jeb, you been here long enough to know, how this works. Take your boots to Cooper, he either fixes them, or signs off that they are not repairable. If Coop can't fix em, you take his note to Mother's assistant and get a requisition for new boots.”

  Josiah came in as Jeb countered. “Silas, you can see these are retreads already. You know Coop is going to sign off. I don't want to go begging to the Sisters for a pair of damn shoes.”

  “Everything okay here gents?” Josiah queried.

  Jeb slipped the worn boots onto his feet. “Yeah, guess I'm going to see Cooper.”

  “Preacher Josiah, what can I do for you?” Silas greeted.

  “I need to requisition some supplies for a search team. I'm hoping you can assist me, in filling out the paperwork.” Josiah replied.

  Silas waited for Jeb to exit ,before responding. “Who are you searching for?”

  Josiah kept on eye on the door of the warehouse. “Cain is late returning, I need to know what the source of that delay is.”

  Silas considered, the look on Josiah's face. “What do you think old friend, is this what we've been hoping for, or more specifically, who we've been hoping for?”

  Josiah shrugged. “No telling at this point. If it is, it will be one elaborate game of chess, we'll need to play.”

  Chapter 1 - Wounds

  The Tellico ranger station, was a large and welcoming building. The events of the previous couple of days, had left Tom’s group physically and emotionally drained. Knowing they needed time to rest and grieve, Tom made a suggestion. “This place seems safe, lets hang here for a few days, add as much to our supplies as we can.”

  The following morning, Pete dutifully began on breakfast, before being stopped by Sue. “Not today, let Miri and I give you a break.”

  Pete gave her a half-hearted smile, before going to the group of younger children, looking at some tourist flyers. Pete took a seat on the floor and Mitchell crawled in his lap. “Are we really going to live here?”

  Pete looked at the flyer, the boy held, detailing the amusement park, Great Smoky Playland. “That is the plan.”

  “Will we get to go on the rides, to?” Lizzie asked.

  “Well, that might be a bit of a tall order, but maybe in time.” Pete answered.

  “I don’t care about the rides, just as long as nobody is trying to hurt us.” Arianna said quietly, her eyes downcast.

  Pete shifted Mitchell off his lap, rose to his knees and hugged the young girl. “You know, I can’t promise you that. It’s just not like that anymore, but I do promise we will all do everything we can, to take care of each other.”

  “Everyone had enough?” Sue asked, as the group finished up a light breakfast.

  “Good breakfast hon.” Tom kissed his wife’s cheek. “Ok folks, I think this place may be good for replenishing some supplies, I bet there’s good fishing around here.”

  “Hunting too, I’m sure.” Jeff spoke up.

  “We need to get over to Tellico Plains and get some gas, but hey take your time.” Tim stated, with no attempt to veil his sarcasm.

  “How about Red and I take the kids fishing?” Pete looked at Red, who was a little surprised by the invite.

  “Sure…” Red agreed.

  “I’ll get the poles.” Mitchell ran to the van, to retrieve the equipment. Pete smiled, it was good to see Mitchell acting like a little boy, especially, with what they had just been through.

  “Jimmy, Jackson, you two want to go with Jeff and I, try our hand at hunting?” Tom asked.

  “Tracey and me will stick around here, we won’t be letting our guards down again.” Tim said flatly.

  “Ok, I want everyone back here within three hours, like Tim said, we always need to be vigilant.” Tom added.

  Pete grabbed a walkie, as he, Red and the kids headed out. Red did her usual weapons check, before heading out. Her Glock 45 holstered on her right hip, knife on the left, in the back, her hatchet. The pouches of her jacket, holding spare magazines and basic survival gear. Over her shoulder, a custom hunting rifle, given to her so many months ago.

  Red checked the map, recovered from the information desk. “Looks to be, about a fifteen minute walk?”

  “We should get busy clearing this place out, if we’re gonna stay a few nights.” Miri declared. Sam had stayed back, to help Sue and Miri, allowing Caleb to go fishing, with the rest.

  Tim and Tracey stayed on watch, they had taken the bulk of the perimeter patrols over the night, but each had their own reasons, refusing to relinquish security of the group, to another.

  “You think the Inferno, is still lookin for us?” Tracey asked.

  “You and Red put a serious dent in that bunch of cutthroats, but I am sure they are still around.” Tim said solemnly. “It ain’t just them, it’s the zeds and everyone else, who wants what we have.” Tim put a hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “And who we have.

  Tracey could see, Tim was getting upset. “Tim, it wasn’t your fault.” Tracey said, as she and Tim walked the perimeter.

  Tim turned abruptly, toward Tracey. “It was my fault! We lost Sheila and Hap, because I wasn’t on my toes. Lucas had tried to warn me, but I let them down, I let everyone down.” Tim walked ahead, his anger getting the best of him. Tracey staying back, giving Tim his space.

  Miri, Sue and Sam got busy, making the ranger station a temporary home. There was still a workable lock on the main door and they had a good view of the immediate area, outside the front windows. “Let's clear out the main building, make more room for the sleeping bags.” Miri directed.

  Sam busied himself, rearranging the racks of tourist flyers to form cubicles, making for, somewhat, private sleep areas. Miri and Sue, found brooms and cloths to help with the cleaning. As they worked on sweeping and dusting the room, Sue broached a conversation. “How you holding up Miri?”

  Miri shook her head. “It’s a mixed bag. Relieved, hopeful, sad, worried, all at the same time. The worst part, is how Jeff is taking it. It is eating him alive, that prick had his hands on me and he couldn’t stop him. Yeah, it made my skin crawl, but these puppies popped up when I was fourteen and they’ve been getting me attention, ever since. If Jeff had tried to do more to that guy, he could of been killed. I can handle getting my tits squeezed, if it means keeping my husband alive.”

  Sue hugged her friend. “He’ll come out of it, he loves you. I’m just so grateful for those children.”

  Pete, Red and the kids had reached their destination. The sign read Citico Creek. It was a rather large body of water and would hopefully provide, a lot of fish for the larder. There looked to be a large camping ground,
nearby, but everything seemed quiet.

  “Mitchell, Caleb and I will dig for worms, shouldn’t take long.” Pete declared. Red and the girls, walked over to the creek bank.

  “Don’t go to far.” Red called to Pete. The older man waved, acknowledging the warning.

  “You think we’ll catch anything?” Arianna asked.

  “I hope so.” Red answered. Lizzie had been quiet, the whole walk over. Now she sat by the creek, face in hands. Red took out her binoculars, doing a quick scan of the area, including glances towards Pete and the boys. Once they returned, the group began to fish. Pete had a few poles and Red used the fishing line, she lept in her vest pocket. Red sat next to Lizzie, hoping to get the young girl talking.

  Lizzie cast her line, into the water. “Hey you’re pretty good at that.” Red said.

  “Hap taught me.” Lizzie replied, never taking her eye off the line, in the water.