Dying Days 5 Read Online Free

locked her fingers so her hands would stop shaking. She’d wandered around the Ocean Center for the last twenty minutes, trying to get the nerve to enter unannounced. Usually, if she wanted an audience with The Lich Lord, she’d tell Jeff and wait a couple of days. But she knew what she had to say couldn’t wait, even if it meant being punished or killed by their leader. She couldn’t go another day without speaking her mind.
    Gathering her courage and wondering if it was stupidity, Vee entered the door to the building and was surprised to see the lights were on in the hallway leading to the arena itself.
    She circled the hallway, wasting time, knowing she needed to knock.
    “Can I help you?” The Lich Lord’s voice came from the door to the arena, which Vee didn’t think had been open a second ago. “Come in.”
    “Um, I’m sorry for not making an appointment,” Vee said.
    “Nonsense. You’re one of the leaders of this community. You’re always welcome to see me and voice your concerns.” The Lich Lord’s red eyes moved back into the darkness. “There is a flashlight on the table to your left. Feel free to turn it on but don’t shine it at me. It won’t kill me but it is really annoying to have a light shined in your eyes.”
    Vee found the flashlight and turned it on, shining the light on the floor around her feet. She took a few steps and lit up a solitary chair in the center of the arena.
    “Please, have a seat. Can I get you anything? A cold beverage, perhaps?”
    “I’m fine. I’ll stand,” Vee said.
    “I suggest you sit.”
    Vee sat down.
    “Now, what can I help you with today?”
    Vee wondered if The Lich Lord ever slept. If he even needed to. She knew he didn’t eat or drink. Not food, anyway… before she freaked herself out she sighed and then spoke. “I have a few things I’d love to address with you. Important things for the community.”
    “Of course. It’s the reason you’re in the position you’re in. I want you to lead these people and protect them with laws and rules, while men like Jeff go outside these walls and fight for that freedom. I think we’re almost ready to go to the next phase of our living arrangements,” The Lich Lord said. He was standing about thirty feet away from Vee in the darkness.
    “Speaking of Jeff…” Vee said and sat up in the chair. She figured she might as well get Jeff out of the way. “He is…”
    “Barbaric,” The Lich Lord said. “I was just telling a good friend of mine what I thought of Jeff a little while ago. How funny is that? Don’t worry about Jeff. He’s going to be gone more and more as we expand. He’s already been issued new orders. He’s currently sleeping because each night he’ll be needed to venture forth and find new members. I already know how precariously low our numbers are. While quite a few have left, and I allowed them to, too many are being picked off by the zombies and my brethren. We’re surrounded by the enemy.”
    “What are we going to do about it?”
    “As soon as we find enough help, we’re going to move the walls and fences back one block at a time. We’re going to form a team to begin the construction of a walled city.”
    Vee shook her head. “We don’t have nearly enough help as it is, tending the garden and making sure the food and supplies are found and stocked.”
    “This is the reason for our nightly excursions. Trust me. We’ll be adding many strong men and women soon enough. Talk to Claude. He’ll be handling the incoming to make sure no one is infected or one of my kin trying to sneak in. Within a couple of weeks, we’ll have most of the area under control. Right to the ocean to the east, so we can fish and monitor the water for an attack. A mile to the north and a mile to the south. Plenty of housing and gardens and storage as well. As we add more and more people we add more and more land. We have the raw materials. We’ll begin pulling down houses and buildings to use the