Raven's Hell (Savage World 2)

Rebecca could see a doe standing between two thick oaks, her ears twitching, and her big black eyes taking in the three infected moving toward her.

For whatever reason, when someone turned into these disgusting walking corpses that fed on human flesh, that was all they fed on. They didn’t go after animals, and Rebecca was sure there was a reason behind it, but she never heard details. After everything crashed in on itself, the government and the scientists who had been working on all this seemed to drop off the planet.

They hadn’t been prepared, that was for sure, and the idea they survived, maybe bunkered down in a hole somewhere, was totally plausible.

But it didn’t matter one way or another, because a lot of time passed since the infection spread, and there was no more civilization. If the government or the scientists were alive, they were probably suffering as much as everyone else was.

But the movement kept the infected occupied, had them curious maybe, so when the doe ran off into the woods, they followed her—slowly, but they still followed.

And then she and Collin were moving through the forest again, toward the lake and that white structure in the distance. Rebecca just hoped there weren’t any more surprises for them in the near future, because as it was since meeting up with Collin, it had felt like one thing after another.

15

Collin stayed in the tree line, watching their surroundings, and only when he felt it was safe to move forward did he take a step out of the protection of the trees. He had a firm hold on Rebecca’s hand, pulled her behind him, and this wave of possession filled him when she squeezed his hand tighter.

The body of water looked to be a manmade pond, and the small white building across from it was a church. The cross atop it was large, but the church itself only had two levels. The single front door was open and hanging off the hinges. A gray shutter was banging against the window.

“It’s a church, but there isn’t a parking lot or anything, and it’s out in the middle of nowhere?” Rebecca questioned, almost as if she was speaking to herself.

“Have your weapon ready,” he said low, keeping his voice soft enough that only she could hear. He looked at the structure, scanned the property, and when he moved up the wooden steps to the front door and looked inside, the sight of a dead body was what greeted him.

The person was draped over the podium that was on the altar, his body nearly rotted to the bone. Clearly the man had died shortly after the infection hit nearly two years ago, judging by the state of decomposition.

“Stay close,” Collin said to her, pulled her forward with him, and stepped inside the church.

“Uh, yeah, I have no plans to go anywhere,” she said just as softly, and he chuckled lightly.

There were two sets of pews, with three rows each. “Looks like this was a private congregation, maybe even a backwater church or something.” Collin wasn’t familiar with happenings out in the boonies. He lived in New York all his life, where it was busy with nonstop action and where everything was out in the open.

This could have been a cult, possibly, although right now it didn’t matter. The pews were weathered and worn, but the only other windows in this building, aside from the small one by the front door, were ones about twenty feet high. They were stained glass and let in plenty of light, but what really caught his attention was the second story.

It was open, with beams running parallel. It was very similar to the loft back at the warehouse, and he assumed it was for storage.

“You think someone is up there?” she whispered.

“I don’t know.” He pointed at the corner toward the front doors. “Stay over there, because although I know you can handle yourself, my mind will be at ease if I know where you are and that you aren’t trying to hold your own.” Collin stared at her, and pleasure moved through him that she gazed at him with her wide green eyes full of trust.

And she didn’t argue, just nodded, looked back at the loft area, and moved over to the corner. It was shadowed, and the back of the door blocked her from prying eyes. Collin moved over to the stairs that he could see behind the altar.

He stopped when he was close to the man slouched over the podium. There was a handgun beside the corpse’s feet and a bullet hole in the side of his head.

Collin knew enough to see that the wound was self-inflicted. He’d have to clear the body out, use the podium and pews as firewood if need be, and as long as this place was secure, he could see them staying here. Moving away from the corpse, he walked over to the ladder, with his knife in hand, and slowly climbed.