Read The Undead Day Nineteen for Free Online Page A

magazine.’
    ‘Will he?’ Anne says, dropping down to gently roll Maddox as she feels the outline of his pockets, ‘yep, got it, here.’
    ‘Thanks,’ Lilly takes the magazine, pressing the top and feeling the pressure. The actions harden her resolve. She picks the pistol up, slams the magazine in, yanks the slide back and holds it out to Lenski, ‘Loaded made ready, safety on.’
    Lenski blinks. An almost imperceptible nod. ‘You keep. We go quick.’
    ‘Lenski, I don’t know what you mean,’ Lilly says, lowering her hand holding the weapon.
    ‘They see…they see Maddox and…’
    ‘Who?’ Lilly asks.
    ‘Crews, they see. They see Maddox go down. They see Howie leave. There no number one now…’
    The implication hangs heavy. The realisation hitting Lenski as the weight of the situation grows heavier.
    ‘What?’ Andrew asks, his voice showing irritation at the garbled almost coded way Lenski speaks.
    ‘The crews,’ Lenski whispers, ‘They no have number one now…Maddox is number one…Darius number two. Maddox is…is here…Darius is dead…Jagger is dead, Mo Mo gone with Howie. Howie not here…I not number one. They no see me as number one. They see Maddox as number one…They take the guns…they see who number one now…’
    ‘They’ll take over?’ Anne asks, a disbelieving tone in her voice. ‘Tell them Maddox is fine and just needs a rest.’
    ‘They see,’ Lenski says louder, ‘They not stupid. They see him…his hands do this,’ she shakes her own hands imitating Maddox’s tremble. ‘They see him shit in pants…they see Lani do this…they see weak and they take…we go quick,’ she says, switching her gaze to Lilly. ‘We get gun for me and we go quick. We strong. We no be weak now.’
    ‘Lenski, what…’ Lilly falters, trying to understand what Lenski is trying to say.
    The Polish woman curses softly. The intricacies of the crews, the way they are, the hierarchy, the power vacuum created and the need for one of them to take control…she can see it, feel it, she knows it but she cannot translate it.
    ‘Kurcze,’ she purses her lips, thinking hard, ‘Maddox he see the Bossman and…’
    ‘Who is the Bossman?’ Andrew asks.
    ‘Stop interrupting, Andrew,’ Anne says with a warning tone to her voice.
    ‘The Bossman he make kids like this. He sell the drugs yes? He make the drugs and he sell the drugs…he make kids be this way…Maddox was number two to Bossman yes? Bossman attack Maddox. Maddox kill Bossman. Maddox number one now. Maddox strong. He clever. He clean. He no use drugs. He think smart yes? He see kids and crews and bad way and he know to change but he smart and he know to do it…slow…yes? He change and make better. The dogs in desert yes? What you call these…’
    ‘Dogs?’ Anne asks.
    ‘The dogs that do laughing. They take weak and…’
    ‘Hyenas?’ Andrew says.
    ‘Yes. These. Crews, they these animals. They no have…they no go school….they no loyal or…they no Howie! Yes? They young and what they know is bad…the Bossman he make them this way…’
    ‘They’re all bloody dead,’ Andrew points out. ‘Or lying back there cut to bits…’
    ‘No. Many they left. Many older that quick and run when Lani blow up. Sierra. She out there. She see Maddox go down. She see Darius head shot open. They get guns. They take over. We go quick. We no weak,’ she looks to Lilly, nodding rapidly with the fierce determination of knowing what must be done. ‘You shoot them…like Lani…yes?’
    ‘What? No!’ Lilly steps back with disgust evident on her face.
    ‘Yes! We do this. We strong. We no weak. They see weak they take. They dogs laughing. They take weak.’
    ‘They’re just children,’ Anne says.
    ‘No. One on own is children. They together they not children. They kill many times. We go quick. I get gun. We no let them have gun. We wait for Maddox to be awake yes?’
    ‘Lenski,’ Andrew says, closing his eyes as every minute of this new day