Books of the Dead (Book 8): The Living Dead Girl

by Spears, R. J.

  The Living Dead Girl

  Books of the Dead 8

  By

  R.J. Spears

  Other Books by R.J. Spears

  Books of the Dead

  Sanctuary from the Dead

  Lord of the Dead

  Dead Man’s Land

  Into the Deadlands

  The Living and the Dead

  Dead Run

  Dead End

  The Deadland Chronicles

  Running from the Dead

  The Undead Horde

  Chapter 1

  Marooned

  We might as well have been on the moon. Well, the moon if the moon was filled with zombies.

  Our little “moon” happened to be a hospital complex located in Columbus, Ohio, situated at the south end of the sprawling Ohio State University campus. Years ago, I wanted to attend the campus with its throngs of students, but that was a long-dead dream. The only throngs roaming the school these days were the undead.

  We just happened to be in one of the hospital’s research buildings, nestled in with several other similar buildings. When we entered the building a few weeks ago, it had been relatively intact. Not so much anymore.

  It had been a month since my final showdown with Colonel Kilgore. I had won that little face off, but it wasn’t without a huge cost. It was a price that still daily tore at my heart.

  I was at one of the windows acting as a lookout, watching zombies stream in and out of our building and roam around the complex when Kara walked up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder.

  “Anything new?” She asked.

  “Only that zombie in the red shirt down there,” I said, pointing to a tall, gangly zombie walking in a broken gait across the small plaza in front of our building. Something must have happened to one of his legs because he moved in such a way it looked as if he were trying to dance. “I think he’s trying to do the Fandango or something. If he keeps doing that I’ll start selling tickets.”

  “Now, Joel,” she said, “I know humor is your go-to defense mechanism, but I can tell something’s bothering you.”

  “Well, besides the fact we might have a few weeks’ worth of water and food up here with us. Then I look down there and see enough zombies to fill a small stadium.”

  “No, besides that,” she said as she slowly spun me around and looked deeply into my eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes were almost enough to make me forget about the zombies, our perilous situation, and the fact, I had no idea how our friends were doing in the southern part of the state. But they couldn’t make me forget about Jason.

  She was close to a full recovery from the injuries she had suffered when the hospital was attacked and she now looked no worse for the wear. Other than a small white line of a scar that ran along her hairline on her forehead, I would rate her at ninety percent. It also looked like her emotional equilibrium had finally been restored after her brutal treatment by the leader of a rogue biker gang down south.

  “You can’t hide it from me. I know what’s bothering you, Joel Hendricks,” she said, and I could see the shared sadness in her eyes. “I miss him, too.”

  During my face off with the demonically powered Colonel Kilgore, we had lost Jason. While he couldn’t speak, he was the true heart of our little fearless zombie fighting gang. And he was the lynchpin in the cosmic play we had been cast which pit good versus evil.

  It wasn’t a play in which any of us wanted to be in, but he took his role with grace and humility. Because he was immune to the zombie virus, his blood was the key to finding a vaccine. He had sacrificed himself for all the rest of us, but not before he provided Doctor M and Lori the foundational groundwork for a vaccine against the zombie virus. A lot of good that did us, though. When Kilgore and his men attacked, they destroyed the lab and basically killed any chance to make more doses.

  The vaccine did work. Naveen had been the first unintentional test subject. Not long after Doctor M had administered that first dose, Kilgore and his men attacked. In the chaos, zombies streamed into the building. Naveen got separated from us and was bitten, but she survived and did not turn. She was a test subject and patient number one all in the same package.

  With that lab destroyed, that left us with just enough doses of the vaccine for four people. Really, three. Doctor M took one of the doses because, well, if something terrible happened (i.e. he got infected), he was the only one smart enough to replicate it. That’s how he sold it to us, but, of course, that little theory discounted Lori who most likely had enough head knowledge to do it, too.

  Since the deed was done, we gave Doctor M a pass.

  So, in truth, we had three doses. No one in our group had taken those, because while danger lurked outside in the form of a few thousand zombies, we were safely ensconced in our own little cocoon on the fifth floor of the hospital. At least, for now.

  One of the other downsides of the soldier’s attack was the fact that zombies now roamed the first and second floors of our building. It just so happened that a large portion of our food and water supplies were on the first floor at the back dock. Eventually, we would have to clear the zombies out because our supplies were running dangerously low.

  Kara put out her arms and said, “Bring it on in, big man.”

  “How can I refuse that?” I said as I embraced her, and we kissed. After a few seconds, I pulled back and looked down at her abdomen. “Did I feel a little something down there?”

  Her brow furrowed, and she asked, “Are you saying I’m getting fat?”

  I was an idiot. I had fallen into a trap I had set for myself. “Well, no. It’s just that I think you might be showing.”

  She blushed a little then looked down and ran a hand over her abdomen. She did have a little baby bump there. “With all that’s happened, I sometimes forget that our child is in there.”

  In the midst of all the horrors we had been through, it had become all too easy to push the essential things to the background. Of course, running for our lives and surviving forced us to live in the here and now. A child was something in the future, and up until the last few weeks, thinking about the future was a luxury we couldn’t afford. Hell, at times, I wasn’t even sure we had a future.

  “Do you think it’s safe here?” Kara asked.

  It was such a loaded question. In effect, she was asking if the hospital was safe enough to raise a child in. It was safe for now, but a month or two from now, we’d be out of food and water. So, we had starvation and desperation to look forward to.

  I looked into her eyes and said, “We’ll make it safe.”

  She leaned into me again and wrapped her arms around me. It was the best feeling in the world, but I knew the words I had just spoken were most likely empty. I couldn’t guarantee that we’d live out the day, but I knew I would die trying to make my little piece of the world safe.

  I was beginning to think this little hug thing we had going on might lead somewhere when my walkie-talkie squawked to life.

  “Joel, Doctor M is talking with the Cincy team. You’ll want to hear this.” It was Alex, and she was with the rest of our people in what was left of the lab. Alex had served as a university police officer before the world went down the drain and the closest thing to the Lady Terminator I had ever seen. As my dad used to say, Alex was one tough customer.

  The ‘Cincy team’ was a group of researchers located in Cincinnati, Ohio.

  Surprise, surprise. As it turned out, when the world went to hell in a handbasket, researchers from around the world had a plan. Somehow the Cincy team made it to safety when the dead rose and had holed up inside a research facility. Like Doctor M, they were seeking some sort of
way to address the problem of the dead with science. (Go science!)

  I’m glad someone held their shit together because when the undead made their debut, I was pissing my pants and crying like a baby.

  Apparently, there were several teams around the country, still alive, and communicating through satellite phones. Thank God, those satellites were still flying up in space and operational.

  I pulled the walkie-talkie from my pocket and lifted it to my face. Once in place, I thumbed the talk button and said, “On our way. Captain Kirk, over and out.”

  I knew that would only annoy Alex, but you had to have a little fun, right?

  Chapter 2

  The Doctors Talk

  Where Jason had been the apple of Doctor M’s eye before, Naveen had become his new test subject. Only Kara and I had limits on how far we’d allow Doctor M to make her his little pin cushion. At times, it seemed like he took gallons of blood from Jason for his unending tests. We set the limit at four vials a day with Naveen and this frustrated Doctor M to no end.

  Too bad.

  While we weren’t Naveen’s real parents, we had practically adopted her after she came into our midst. She had been instrumental in guiding us to the hospital because her father had been on a research team at the complex and knew Doctor M. Her knowledge of the complex allowed us to navigate around the streets filled with zombies and got us safely to the right building.

  The other thing that had guided us -- no, more driven us here, were visions we received from God. That’s right, from God above. They were cryptic messages filled with dark portent or guidance. Sometimes it was one and the same.

  I had been blessed to be the initial recipient of these visions, even though I was the most unlikely candidate for them. At the time, I was ambivalent about God, teetering toward agnosticism. Now, I knew He was real, but I didn’t always like His ways. Had I been in charge, there’d be no zombies and Jason along with my family and friends would still be alive.

  It both puzzled and frustrated me that God seemed to sit back and watch the chaos unfolding down here on planet Earth. I was no closer to solving that existential question on why He didn’t just deliver us from evil or some other Old Testament shit. So, we suffered and struggled on because there was no other choice.

  Ultimately, for me, it came down to not questioning why, only doing or dying. Or not dying in my case. I truly hope that long string of days of not dying continued. It would be nice to put up a sign that read, ‘30 days since our last workplace death.’

  Sorry, my morbid sense of humor is not always appropriate.

  When we walked into the new lab space where Doctor M and Lori had taken up residence, we saw Naveen lying in a bed with Doctor M and Lori standing beside her. They were huddled around a satellite phone sitting on a table just a few feet from Naveen.

  “It is my opinion that you should abandon your search for a cure and work toward replicating my vaccine,” Doctor M said, speaking more loudly than he needed to. He had a flamboyant way of talking when it came to science and spoke with exaggerated hand gestures, reminding me of the fluttering of a bird’s wings.

  A voice spoke via the small speaker on the satellite phone, “Doctor Methasashamasakeran, we respect the progress you have made--”

  Doctor M cut them off, “It’s not progress. My vaccine works. And please call me Doctor M. I know my last name is a mouthful.”

  We had never met the Cincy team in person because they were a hundred miles away across a vast deadland. I recognized the man speaking as Doctor Richter. I didn’t know an atom from a molecule, but he seemed like a smart man. Plus he had one of those deep, commanding voices. He was no Darth Vader, but he had the vibe.

  “Okay, Doctor M, we respect you and your vaccine, but we see it as a…” I could tell he was searching for a word, “a half measure.”

  “A half measure!” Doctor M said, nearly exploding out of his shoes. “I will have you know that I have the living proof right here in front of me.” He turned his attention toward Naveen who lay under a white sheet in a bed just a few feet away from the lab bench. “Tell them, Naveen. Tell them what you experienced.”

  Naveen’s expression told of her reluctance to speak, but it was hard to ignore Doctor M when he got wound up. She looked to me for guidance, but I just nodded my head. There was no denying Doctor M when he got on his high horse.

  Naveen pushed herself onto her elbows and cleared her throat before talking. “My name is Naveen…” She stumbled with her words for a moment, then said, “and I was given the doctor’s vaccine. One of the...I was later bitten by one of them...and I did not turn.”

  Doctor M leaned down close to the sat-phone and said, “There you have it. My vaccine does work. Not only is this little girl living proof, but I have several witnesses.”

  Richter audibly sighed, then said, “I do see your point, and it is a good first step, but there are too many of those things out there roaming around. Even if someone is immune with your vaccine, they can’t survive in a world where those creatures will just kill them. We need to push to a cure. That is the only thing that will save humanity.”

  Doctor M crossed his arms, and it was his turn to sigh. “We have been down that path, and I don’t see it as being viable. We need to use my vaccine on as many of the living as we can.”

  A light static came over the tiny speaker on the sat-phone for a few seconds. It went on so long that Doctor M leaned in toward it and asked, “Are you still there?”

  “Yes, yes, doctor, we’re still here,” Richter responded. “Your work up there is valuable, but we have made significant progress--”

  Doctor M broke in, “But do you have anything that works?”

  Richter responded quickly, “No, but we have some promising trials.” He paused, and I thought I heard him whisper to someone on the other side of the call. “We have examined what you were able to share with us earlier regarding your vaccine. What we saw really piqued our curiosity, but we want to continue to work on our solution.”

  Doctor M sighed, then said, “My vaccine does work. What you have does not.”

  “Not yet,” Doctor Richter said.

  “Have you forwarded my information onto the team in Indianapolis?” Doctor M asked.

  There was a pause and I thought I heard whispering coming through the tiny speaker on the satellite phone. I leaned in close to Lori and whispered, “Team in Indianapolis?”

  She whispered back, “There’s a team of researchers at the Wells Center in Indy and they been collaborating with Dr. Richter.”

  All I could say in response was, “Oh.”

  Doctor Richter said, “Yes.”

  That was a very succinct answer, and it must have gotten under Doctor M’s skin because he asked, “What did they say?” as he threw his hands up and rolled his eyes.

  “Well, they were quite excited,” Richter replied. “They said they had been going down a similar path and found your work to be...useful.”

  Doctor M leaned in over the satellite phone, and his expression had changed from exasperated to concerned. “In what way is that?”

  “They didn’t really elaborate,” Richter said. “They just shared that they had made some wrong turns early in their work, but what you’re doing validated some of their recent efforts.” Richter paused then shifted gears. “Listen, we would love to get our hands on your vaccine and see how it can benefit our explorations here.”

  There was the rub, as they say.

  “Yeah, I don’t see that happening,” I said, breaking in.

  “Who is talking now?” Doctor Richter asked, sounding a little confused.

  “My name is Joel, and I’m no fancy doctor, but I’ve been surviving out there among these zombies for a long time. You and your team are over a hundred miles away. Both Columbus and Cincinnati are major population centers. That means they are teeming with the undead. We barely survived our trip getting to this hospital. Getting out of the city looks like a nearly impossible task. Making our wa
y into Cincinnati doubles our risk. I don’t like it.”

  “Well, Joel, I do see your point,” Richter said. “That does offer some challenges.”

  “Challenges!” I said. “Getting mauled and eaten by zombies isn’t a challenge. It is a reality. Have you been outside the safe confines of your lab?”

  “Well, not me, but members of our team have been outside,” Richter said. “They need to collect specimens and also gather supplies.” He stopped to clear his throat and asked, “Doctor M, how have your efforts to create more of your vaccine been going?”

  It was Doctor M’s turn to be embarrassed. “As you know, our lab was destroyed in an attack along with almost all of our data. We have been able to get some of our equipment up and working, but our power situation is tenuous. Our solar array was also damaged and--”

  “Yes, yes, doctor,” Richter said, breaking into Doctor M’s list of excuses. “For now, I don’t see that we have much to discuss. Once you get your power fully restored and production of your vaccine back on track, perhaps we can talk then. Or, if your team plans to make a trip in our direction, maybe then we can move forward with our discussion. Why don’t we plan on talking later in the week?”

  Doctor M didn’t look like he wanted to say anything, so Lori took the lead. “This is Lori, Doctor Richter. Yes, let’s plan on that. Thanks so much for communicating with us. We truly hope that you are able to make progress with a cure.”

  “I’m sure we will,” Richter said. “We’ll talk later, then.”

  A slight electronic click came from the sat-phone, and Doctor M tossed his hands into the air. “What a pompous ass! Putting all that effort into a cure is a fool’s errand. They need to listen to me about my vaccine.”

  Lori spoke next, “I think Doctor Richter has a valid point about the cure being the ultimate end game.”

  Doctor M’s face immediately reddened, and he slammed his hand down onto the table next to Naveen’s bed, causing her to jump. “We have something that works and, simply, he does not.” He turned on his heels and walked out of the room.