The Wilder Side of Z

by S A Ison

  Through the trees they saw a light and moved toward it. It was more than likely the neighboring farm. From the edge of the forest, they saw three staggering figures. They were walking around the front of the house, drawn to the light like moths. He and Zahara stepped through the trees and underbrush. Quietly, they walked up to the zombies and shot each one in the head. Then Xander called out to the house.

  “Hello the house? Anyone home?” He looked down at Zahara who was looking around them. Xander searched the windows but didn’t see any movement within.

  “Let’s go knock on the door. If someone’s alive, we can let them know we killed the zombies out here.” They heard barking from within but didn’t hear any voices. Carefully, Xander climbed the steps, looking around him. On the side of the porch a fat man came lumbering around the corner. His face had started the process of decomposing. Xander lifted his weapon and fired and the man tumbled off the porch, taking part of the balustrade with him, causing a loud crack of broken wood. Xander winced at the loud sound and it set the dog to barking harder.

  Both heard a thump and Xander called out once more.

  “Hello? Anyone home? We’re going to open the door. We are just checking to make sure there aren’t any zombies in there. If there isn’t, let us know and we’ll be on our way.” They waited but heard nothing. Zahara jerked when a shadow moved passed a window that was obscured with a curtain.

  “I don’t fucking like this,” she hissed.

  “Yeah, I got a feelin’ there are zombies in there. I’m going to open the door and we’ll see what comes out. Let whatever is in there come fully out. This house is nice and might be used in the future by someone who might need it.”

  “Like Reggie?” Zahara said, a wide grin on her face. He snorted and then laughed, thinking that Ethan would definitely want Reggie here rather than at Rose’s house. Reaching forward, Xander tried the doorknob and the door was unlocked. The dog was still barking and they waited for someone or something to come out. Nothing happened and Zahara was about to walk in when a man came at her and she fell back, her arms raised. The man was lightning fast and was snarling. Xander was having a hard time getting a clear shot as the man and Zahara fell back and down the stairs. Then there was a soft pftt and the man dropped and Zahara rolled him off, snarling. Her eyes were glowing bright gold.

  “Fucking zombies!” she snarled, her voice deep with the wolf trying to surface.

  “You okay, did it bite you?” His heart was in his throat and it had scared the shit out of him.

  “No, no bites. Fucker.” She lifted her hand and he helped her up, looking back over his shoulder in the open door.

  “Let’s proceed carefully, there might be more,” he said unnecessarily.

  “No shit, Sherlock,” she hissed, her eyes narrowed to slits.

  Moving through the house they checked each room. They could hear the dog barking and it appeared the owner had locked the dog in a room. Xander knocked on the door and the dog barked frantically and scratched at the door. He opened the door cautiously and the dog shot out. It was a medium sized mutt. It ran through the house and Xander figured the dog ran out into the night. He flipped the switch in the room and saw nothing else there. They moved systematically through the house and shut lights off as they went. There were no more zombies or the living in this house.

  “Head back to Rose’s?” he asked, looking at his watch. It was just after midnight and he was tired. They could head in a different direction and check for zombies on the way back.

  “Yeah, I’m dead dog tired,” Zahara said, a soft laugh in her voice.

  Ž

  Bobby sat on the front porch smoking a cigar. It was late and he was tired but couldn’t sleep. He and Avery had gathered up supplies and had brought them back to his home. He’d then ordered Avery to get rid of the bodies off his lawn while he kept guard. Avery had bitched and moaned but eventually did what he was told. It really didn’t matter, the whole street stunk of rotting corpses.

  After leaving the store he’d driven to Reggie’s house. He was hoping to talk to him about that werewolf. If he could capture that thing, he’d have one hell of a guard dog. He’d passed by fields of burned ground and chard lumps of bodies. He’d nearly missed Reggie’s house when he drove by the rubble. It seemed that Reggie had either set fire to the neighborhood or a wildfire had gotten out of control. He’d seen a heap of blackened bodies in a large mass outside the burned bones of his house. Avery had vomited outside of his window. That boy was weak as a day-old kitten.

  He really wanted that werewolf woman but he had no idea where Reggie would have gone. If he’d have known the man had burned down his home, he’d have followed him from the store. Bobby took a deep drag of the cigar and held it in his mouth and then let the smoke blend into the warm night. He cocked his head when he heard gunshots. They had been able to pick up more ammunition and a few more guns. He was pleased about that. This whole take over the world scheme hadn’t quite worked out like he’d hoped.

  He now had to reassess his plans. Did he really want to go to Avery’s cousin’s place or did he want to find his own? He was fairly sure there were plenty of places out there, nice places that he could take over. Hell, he had the weapons now to do an effective job of defending himself. There had to be easy pickings out there. It only took a determined man and he was that man. There were very few things that got in his way when his mind was set on a course of action. In the morning, he had one thing he needed to do before he left Huntsville. Then he and Avery could hit the road with their supplies and find someplace to sit this thing out in comfort.

  He grunted with satisfaction and leaned over and put the cigar out. He took one last drink of his beer and threw the bottle out onto the lawn. He stood and looked around his neighborhood and saw several bodies wavering in the distance. He wished he had a Gatling gun; he could make a mess of things then. He chuckled to himself as he went into the house and shut the door softly behind. He walked through the familiar spaces and heard Avery’s snores in the guest bedroom. He’d insisted the man grow a pair of balls and sleep by himself. He sighed, he really wished he could find Reggie and that she-bitch. Man, oh man, to have a dog like that.

  SEVEN

  Rose sat at the large wooden kitchen table and watched her new friends eat. She had gone out early and collected eggs. Ethan had accompanied her out to the chicken coop just before dawn; he’d insisted on sleeping in the chair by her bed. She was touched that he was such a sweet man and that he worried for her. She was so used to caring for others, treating others. It was rare that it was reciprocated. Her scratches were sore but seemed to be healing. Her heart twisted once more at the thought of her uncle. He’d been a sweet man and would have been horrified to think that he’d inflicted harm on her or anyone else. It tore at her heart that he was dead, but she was profoundly grateful he wasn’t walking around like the rest of the poor souls out there, the zombies. Her mind still reeled at the notion of animated dead people.

  She and Ethan had sat on the porch, late into the night talking quietly. He was a shy man, but he was beginning to open up. She thought he wasn’t used to talking to women, he seemed unsure of what to say. He told her of his job with the CIA and she was both horrified and fascinated, a sanctioned assassin. No wonder he’d been so good at putting the creatures down. She’d thought him military or police at first.

  She moved the salt across the table to Reggie while she watched Xander and Zahara and still marveled that they were werewolves. If she’d not seen Zahara transform, she’d not have believed it. To also know that the sweet little girl, Shay, would someday become one of those creatures was mind boggling. Ethan said Xander and Zahara were also CIA agents. She wondered if that was why the government had hired them? As weapons? She thought about their conversation as she refilled coffee around the table. At least the children had good appetites. Even Lauren was eating, though she’d shoved her pancake around the plate at first. But then after the first couple of bites, she be
gan to eat in earnest.

  Last night in the dark, she had asked Ethan if he knew how this terrible virus struck. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know or not.

  “Xander and I’ve speculated, but really, that’s all it is. We have no idea, just as you, about how this all got started. We only know the world we knew has ended.”

  “Will you continue to work for the government?” she asked and couldn’t see his expression in the dark, but his words were solemn.

  “No. I’m done. I’d been tasked to execute Zahara and I did not like that assignment at all. I felt it was a betrayal. Our people go into harm’s way to protect the United States. We want to believe that we are doing right, but when our own government wants one of us put down, I just had a hard time with that. Not to mention that more than likely, Zahara would have killed me for the trying,” he said softly and laughed. She’d not thought it was funny and thought maybe it was a private joke between Ethan and Zahara.

  “Can I have more pancakes?” Mike asked, his sweet face smeared with syrup.

  “I’ll get it,” Reggie said, holding up a hand to stay her in her seat. Ethan said the man was associated with the KKK or had been before the disaster. She knew there were many such groups in Alabama and had seen incidents of their violence on two occasions. Reggie seemed to have changed, he mentioned his wife and boys having been turned into zombies. He wouldn’t say much more than that and she’d not pushed. They each now carried sorrows and scars. He seemed to genuinely care for the orphans. In her book, that was enough. Their lives depended on each other. There was no telling how long this zombie apocalypse would last or if it would ever end. Her eyes began to droop and she felt sleep pulling at her.

  “I’m going to go lay down for a moment. Please eat as much as you want,” she said and waved Ethan back to his chair when he started to rise. She’d had more frequent episodes of falling asleep since all this insanity had started. She thought that stress was a big trigger. She just needed her world to calm for a minute or two and let her catch her breath and also not be so damned terrified. With Ethan, he brought that sense of calm in the middle of the storm. She smiled as she climbed the stairs.

  The children were at the old tire swing that hung from a massive moss-covered oak in the front yard. Reggie thought the children were trying to play, but it was difficult and too soon, their tragedies so raw. Shay was sitting in the tire and Lauren was pushing her, her pale face wan. Shay’s eyes watched Zahara, who stood near, guarding the children like a mother hen or mother wolf, he thought. Mike and Luke had sticks and were drawing in the dirt by the tree. There was no laughter and Reggie hoped that one day, the children could find their joy again. His heart squeezed as he thought of his boys. He turned back around and thrust the shovel into the dirt once more. He was digging the grave for Rose’s uncle while Ethan and Xander were loading the other bodies into the back of the Chevy. He’d taken over for Ethan so Ethan could help Xander. They had talked about it and decided to take the bodies and dump them some miles from the house and property. Xander and he had gone out earlier and brought back the bodies from the woods and from behind the barn. Trying to bury all the bodies would be an enormous backbreaking task.

  “There are bodies at the adjoining property and I’d like to gather them as well,” Xander had explained after breakfast.

  There were flies starting to buzz over the dead and Reggie was just as glad not to dig a larger grave. Rose and Zahara had wrapped Richard in a sheet shroud. Trying to build a coffin would take time and they wanted to put her uncle to rest quickly. Reggie hadn’t buried his wife or his boys. He’d burned them to ash and his eyes teared up for a moment. Would the hurt ever ease? Would he ever heal? He turned when Mike came over and yanked on his shirt. The wide blue eyes looked up trustingly and his heart squeezed. Maybe he would heal or at least part of him.

  Ž

  The Chevy bumped over the dirt road and the bodies in the back shifted. Ethan looked back and Xander lifted a questioning eyebrow.

  “They’re still dead and haven’t fallen out,” Ethan said, a slight grin on his face.

  “Good, I really don’t want to deal with them more than I have to. I also want to rinse out the back of my truck when we get back. Zombies stink to hell and back,” he grouched. That did bring a laugh from Ethan.

  “You’re in a good mood,” Xander said, slowing down. Ahead of them were two zombies. A woman and a child and the smile left his face.

  “I was until now. I’ll shoot and then we can load them into the back. We’re going to have to drive a bit farther, these things are going to stink once the rotting really sets in,” Ethan said, raising his weapon. There was the soft pftt, pftt and both zombies hit the ground. Xander pulled up beside them and they got out. The woman was slender build and wasn’t too bad to put into the bed of the truck, the child was perhaps nine and more decomposed. Xander put on the rubber gloves he’d taken from the ambulance and he and Ethan put the child into the bed gently. An arm fell off and he picked it up and placed it beside the body.

  “This really sucks,” Ethan said, getting back into the truck.

  Neither man spoke as Xander pulled away. He sped up, wanting to dump his load of grisly things. Twenty minutes later Xander saw a good spot to place the bodies. It looked like a gravel quarry and there were several deep pits.

  “Let’s put the bodies there. If we come across more zombies, we can put them in there as well. It looks like a pretty good dumping place. I’ll let Reggie know about it,” Xander said.

  “I’m gonna stay here, with Rose,” Ethan blurted and Xander looked over and tried not to smile.

  “I kind of thought you might.” Backing the truck up to the pit, Xander turned off the engine and got out.

  “You don’t seem surprised,” Ethan said, coming around and lowered the tailgate.

  “I saw how you looked at Rose at the hospital. Doesn’t take a lot of guesswork to see how you feel about her and I’m actually glad, because she’s going to need a lot of help on that farm and I think that having you there with her will make her feel safe. I also noticed that she was eyeing you as well this morning,” Xander said, grunting as he slid the bodies forward. Ethan helped and they swung the bodies into the hole like sacks of grain.

  “Really, she was looking at me?” Ethan asked with hope lighting up his face. Xander chuckled and shook his head.

  “I’ll make sure I pass her a note when we get back,” Xander said with a snigger.

  “Asshole. I think Zahara is rubbing off on you.”

  “I hope so,” Xander said, his mouth twitching.

  “Fuck-stain. Let’s get these things in the pit and get out of here. Oh, shit, look,” Ethan said, pointing up the road. Xander followed his direction and coming around the corner was a large group of about twenty zombies.

  “Well, shit. What should we do? I don’t want to waste ammo on these things. They are far away from the farm but letting them roam, that’ll be someone else’s problem,” Xander said.

  “Zahara left her sword in the truck and she even sharpened it. There’s a machete in the storage box. We could just decapitate them. They’re spread out enough, what do you think?”

  Xander looked at Ethan and then back at the zombies. It was possible.

  “Okay, if we look like we’re getting into trouble, we can use our weapons or run for it,” Xander said.

  “Or, you could, you know, turn into the wolf,” Ethan said.

  “Yeah…no. We don’t have any water on us other than drinking water and I don’t want to get blood and gore all over my upholstery.”

  Xander unlocked the storage box and retrieved the machete as Ethan got the samurai sword. They spread out and walked toward the oncoming horde. Xander knew he needed to be careful in human form. Shay’s mother had died or rather been turned into a zombie. He walked to the first and swung hard and the head left the shoulders of the zombie. The sound of metal on bone filled the air and he moved to the next zombie. It was a large man and he was
coming fast, having realized Xander was there. Xander kicked out and hit the big man’s knees and toppled him to the ground and he brought the blade down, severing the head. He knew that after a few more decapitations, the blade would begin to dull.

  Ethan seemed to be holding his own, then three came at him in a rush and Ethan pulled his Walther PPQ and began shooting and swinging the sword.

  “Back up, damnit. Don’t let them get on you!” Xander snarled, he could feel the wolf trying to surface. Ethan was backing up and tripped and fell on his ass. The gun bounced out of his hand and skittered across the road. He was scrambling to get onto his feet as two zombies were nearly on top of him. Xander pulled his own weapon and shot the two creatures in the head. It wasn’t worth trying to save ammo if they got bit. Ethan awkwardly staggered up and retrieved his weapon, looking chagrinned.

  “Best laid fucking plans,” Ethan said as he turned and shot another zombie. He was breathing hard and his face covered with sweat and road dust. They’d done it, killed the zombies and Xander walked back to the truck.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here and get to the other property. We see any more groups and I say leave them the fuck alone,” Xander said.

  “Shit, got that right. No good deed goes unpunished.” Ethan spat onto the ground and walked over to the truck and threw the bloody samurai sword in the bed of the truck. He used his shirt sleeve to wipe at the sweat and grime on his face.

  “When we get back, I want you to turn me into a werewolf,” Ethan said, slamming his door closed.

  “I told you that is just some fairytale bullshit. I was born this way.”