Killing the Dead

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Book: Read Killing the Dead for Free Online
Authors: Richard Murray
first. I was loath to disturb Lily if she was within. When no one answered I went in and used the facilities myself.
    When I had finished my business and dutifully washed my hands I went looking for Lily. I found her in the main gallery standing lost in thought as she gazed at a painting of a seascape. I quietly walked across the room to join her, careful not to startle her.
    “It’s beautiful isn’t it” said Lily with a gesture to the painting, as I stopped beside her. I gave a noncommittal grunt and we stood in silence once more.
    “How many people have you killed?” she asked suddenly, taking me by surprise.
    “This morning was my sixth. Seventh if you want to count the second time I killed him.” I said, raising a small smile from Lily.
    “Why do you do it?”
    I thought about how to answer this for a little while. Lily was apparently willing to wait patiently. “I do it because I enjoy it.” I said finally. “No other reason.”
    Lily turned her gaze from the painting and gazed intently at me. “How did you know you would enjoy it? What made you kill your first person?”
    “He annoyed me.” I chuckled as I thought back to that day two years ago when I had made my first kill. “That is why I chose him. He annoyed me with some small matter of no importance now“.
    “That’s all?”
    “Yes. I had been thinking of doing it for a while. I had decided I wanted to do it. Killing someone I mean. I had planned how I was going to do it and where. The only remaining question was who.” My memories were surfacing of that day, bright with remembered joy.
    “That seems a terrible reason to kill someone” said Lily, frowning.
    I needed to choose my words carefully now. I realised that what I said next could scare her away and in just one short afternoon I had demonstrated a remarkable lack of skills for dealing with a zombie apocalypse alone.
    “You have to understand. The people I chose to kill were not people anyone would miss. I ensured they were people without close ties, people with no children or relationships. The first man was a drug addict. I had seen him rob some old lady. He just snatched her handbag right there in the street. I was doing the world a favour removing him from it.”
    “So you only kill bad people, like that guy from the TV show” said Lily brow furrowed in thought.
    “Something like that” I said. My thoughts went back to the drug addict. He had knocked the old lady over as he stole her bag. She had the misfortune to fall into me, knocking my cup of tea from out of my hand. It irked me, so I had given chase and eventually cornered him. He had died not for stealing from the old lady but for annoying me. If it helped Lily though, I wouldn’t complain.
    “I won’t tell anyone” Lily told me finally. “Hell I don’t even think it matters anymore. For what it’s worth though, I won’t tell anyone. When we get somewhere safe though, we split up.”
    “Sure. Whatever you think is best. Provided we can find somewhere safe. I was serious though, earlier today. I won’t hurt you.”
    Lily nodded and moved to the next painting on the wall. “Where do we go next do you think?” she asked.
    “Well my idea was a bit of a disaster but the reasoning is sound. We could do with some food and supplies though first I think.”
    “Can we even leave here with those things outside?”
    “Sure we can. This place has an emergency exit which should take us out onto a fire escape. Not sure how Brian will do though we should be fine.” I said.
    “He comes with us. It’s your fault he will struggle, so you owe it to him to help.” She said sternly.
    I just nodded. Brian was going to be a dead weight. The time was coming when I would have to get rid of him. I said goodnight to Lily and went back to try and get some more sleep, confident that in the morning I would think of a way to solve the problem of Brian.
    The sound of a radio woke me. I sat up and stretched in an attempt to relieve the

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