by Javan Bonds
Panic seemed to silence the crying. That’s perplexing if you think about it. The group of humans inside quieted as death drew nearer. Unexpectedly, a shotgun started exploding and the screams of terror rang out. It seemed like the shooter inside the store had a few more shells. Once everything grew quiet, and we finished off the last few blunatics still outside the gate, we headed for the opening.
☠☠☠
Rounding the corner, my copilot stepped in, and then relaxed. Over to one side a young boy holding a shotgun came into view. Not knowing why, the kid was screaming at a dazed geriatric across the room. Devin clicked his tongue at the exact moment the boy began rotating in our direction. Before he could turn to face us, a peevie filled his vision and his pump shotgun boomed.
Muzzle already extended, the shot looked pretty tight. Everything above the lower jaw disappeared into a thick, reddish vapor. The body continued charging for a few more heartbeats before finally collapsing into a bleeding pile.
Along with the body, the fragments of cranium were pushed forward with explosive momentum. Losing connection to the brain, muscles continue to fire at random. A cloud of infected juice had no limitations as it pushed forward hitting the boy in the face just as he inhaled. There was nothing he could do.
He knew.
Blood was the taste in his mouth, and he smacked disgustedly.
We also knew it. His face was covered in what had once been an infected brain. Wiping his face with the tale of his shirt, he sat down. Looking at us, he placed the shotgun wisely over his knees. There would be no more friendly fire from him.
The third and final insane cannibal came around a chair, rushing at Neal. At this short distance and angle, neither myself nor Ghost Rider were able to use ranged weapons. Neal lifted the bowie knife from his hip, preparing to go hand to hand. The beast leaped into the air and spear-tackled the survivor before he could bring his blade to bear. The knife went flying when he impacted the floor.
Fighting with nothing but his gloved hands, holding the emaciated revenant off was more difficult than he assumed. In such close proximity of quenching its thirst for blood, the peevie’s strength was magnified. Getting both of Neal’s hands in its own, the monster began pushing his arms apart. Smiling with insane glee, it knew what was happening.
Pulling my combat knife, I turned to step over to save Neal. Devin turned casually to watch, hands in his pockets. I was still a few feet away when the animal rose up with its gaping maw. Before it could bring its fangs down on the man, three stakes stuck through the roof of its mouth. Blinking, I looked over to see Amy walking in our direction. One sai remained in her left hand while the other was in the zombie’s head.
The peevie collapsed and Neal again received a fresh slathering of sludge on his pants. He couldn’t even wear them near my plane now! He pushed the truly dead reanimant to the side and looked up at my girlfriend. “Thanks!”
She smirked. “Like, totally my pleasure!”
Landers again proved everything’s always as it’s supposed to be. This brought innumerable existential questions to mind. I needed a few moments to contemplate all that had happened here so far today.
☠☠☠
Neal explained later what happened while I was off pondering the answer to life, the universe, and everything.
“With another dead zombie having just loosened its bowels on me, I attempted to brush myself off as I stood. Amy made her way over and yanked the sai from the thing’s bleeding mouth. Mumbled profanities were all she offered to the recently departed as she sauntered over to where you and Devin were standing.
Walking over to the closest survivor, Old Man Hughes, I put my hands on his shoulders and spoke loudly. As usual, it seemed he wasn’t all there. ‘Are you okay, sir? What do you need?’
Tim, the teenager, sat a little further away and spoke calmly. ‘He’s infected.’
Looking up at the kid, I was about to ask a question when Old Man Hughes frantically reached up and somehow grabbed the pistol from my holster. Placing the muzzle at his chin, he squeezed the trigger. In a single instant, his face caved in and seemed to invert itself, with the chin as a base. After that horrific image, the mush that made up the geriatric cranium rocketed in every direction. The wall, ceiling, chair, and of course myself were all drenched in bloody goop. Even though his heart was still probably beating, there was no way we could do anything for him, he was clearly brain-dead.
A question mark appeared on my face, as I stared at the body. ‘Why?’
Tim answered for him. ‘I guess Old Man Hughes was just making sure there was no way he would see tomorrow. He licked up some infected blood a few minutes ago and he must’ve been making sure he was dead when he saw your pistol.’
That was kind of sad. Old Man Hughes seriously wanted to die, I suppose. Never having spent much time around him, this was news to me. Had he been suicidal before? Infecting himself must have been plan A, taking my pistol must have just been a spur of the moment idea; a plan B. I guess I’d rather shoot myself then wait to become a cannibal. But shit, I wouldn’t make such a fucking mess! I guess even if I did, who cares? It's not like I’d be cleaning it!
Out of nowhere, the boy moaned loudly, ‘I’m infected too!’
Though we had been around each other since I came to the mall, we had never grown close. However, I was still empathetic. How could you not feel a pang for someone that knew they only had a few hours left on this earth? There was no comforting him. Telling him it might be okay would just be a lie.
Hanging my head, I walked to the boy. No clue how to handle it, I knelt down to face the doomed teenager. ‘So what do you want to do?’
Thank God he didn’t shout, ‘watch this!’ and put the barrel of the pump action in his own mouth. That would have sent me over the edge. Tim sighed and fell back in his chair. ‘I don’t know.’ Closing his eyes, he took a long breath and let it out slowly. Tears welled up in his eyes as he seemed to make some kind of decision. ‘Well, at least let me tell you what happened here.’
That’s when I got the story from the infected survivor in the store. This is the final story of a brave fifteen-year-old boy that refused to return with to Guntersville.”
☠☠☠
“As I was reloading the shotgun, three of the blue monsters jumped through the hole in the gate. They all started hopping around like maniacs. I started shooting, focusing hard at whichever one was at the closest, trying not to miss. Before I knew it I had fired five shells and I hadn’t even scratched a damn one of them. That’s when I realized what I had scratched. My sisters, Nyobi, and Arya, and even my little brother– my mother fucking brother– all had giant holes through them!
Nyobi’s head looked like a half moon. She was plastered against the wall for a few seconds, arms spread, like some kind of twisted angel of death. My shell blew a gaping hole through Mitchell, sending him flat on his back. The wound wasn’t even noticeable until I moved to stand over him. Blood ran from his heart so fast, the coat he was laying on was sopping wet.
My little brother screamed out my name. ‘Tim!’ Happy that he was in his bed, I turned to face him. From his bottom rib to just above his hip and nearly to the center of his belly button, there was nothing. He was leaning, and his insides were falling out of the missing half circle of his stomach. It was horrible! I lifted him up, “Mitchell, can you hear me?’
My name was the last thing he said. He blinked back at me with the question of Why on his face. Mitchell fell over to his left, eyes still open. Turning to look away I saw Arya sitting slumped against the far wall. The bottom half of her face was gone leaving only her blank dead blue eyes staring out at me. Hearing her screeching about Dora the Explorer from outside my room would never happen again. There was no way I will ever forget the accusatory stares of murdered loved ones gazing at me from forever.
I was so fucking mad! I spun to face one of the blue beast that I blamed for all this. It was now coming right at me and I squeezed my trigger before I co
uld put my sights on it. From the middle of the pelvic bone, a big circle made up the spot where its dick used to be. Blood poured from the body, meaning this monster would suffer before it died.
I had two more rounds, and there were two more blues. One of them lunged at Old Man Hughes. He was the only elderly person willing to stay protected with the children. He was really fucking old, probably should’ve been dead a long time ago. It was doubtful he knew what was going on and I’d be surprised if he would even react if bitten.
When the monster went airborne, I hit it in the shoulder with a spray of pellets. A few tiny pieces of lead ripped into the side of its neck, ripping out the veins that went to the brain. It fell dead onto the floor near Old Man Hughes. I was ready to congratulate myself for saving the old man. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, he looked down and noticed where the infected’s blood had splashed onto the back of his hand. For some reason, he brought his liver-spotted hand up to his mouth and began licking the back of it.
I yelled, ‘What the fuck is wrong with you, you crazy old coot?’ Like every time before when someone had spoken to him, he ignored me and continued staring off into space. Maybe he was just tired of living and was making sure he would never see another sunrise.”
☠☠☠
Amy dressed as Elektra, Devin looking like Ghost Rider, and I, in the Indiana Jones getup, walked over to where Neal was with the other mall resident. The teenager, Tim, was just finishing telling Neal his story of what happened before we pushed our way through the security gate. He was aware he had been infected. He also refused to go back to Guntersville with us and decided he would never be blue. Such a young life, I admired his courage.
He added, “There’s not much worth taking in the mall, but you should send some people to raid the grocery store.” Could I really be so calm and forward thinking if I was either going to blow my own head off in a few hours or turn into a fucking peevie? This kid had some balls!
We said our farewells and made a quick search through the carnival of carnage. We were assured that the mall was now empty of any other living people. The only thing left for this heroic trio to do was return to the island with one fucking survivor out of over thirty souls. No amount of money you could pay me would ever make me return to The Crossroads Mall.
☠☠☠
On our trek across the parking lot, Neal attempted to see the silver lining. “You know, if you ignore the losses, that was a pretty good haul. Guns with ammo, a grocery store full of food, and a bunch of dead peevies.” I tried to smile, to see anything good from the shit we just went through. Then back up on the hill there was a single hollow thud echoing through the halls of the now truly dead mall. We all knew it to be Tim’s shotgun.
Maybe Neal would prove to be worth what it cost.
I tipped my wide-brimmed fedora back on my head and squinted my eyes. Doing my best to soldier on, I put my mind elsewhere. Sniffing, I turned to our new friend. “I don’t say this to many guys, so you should feel privileged. You’re taking your pants off before you get near the plane!” Amy chortled and all Neal could do was shrug.
As the three of us made stupid jokes to try and keep from crying, I glanced over at Devin. He walked silently and stone-faced, a thousand-yard stare in his eyes. My copilot carried himself as if he journeyed alone. How far into the future could he see? Was he preparing himself mentally for what was coming? What else would be lost?
19
House of Cards
These people, the Hamric’s, had become nearly as blindly faithful as that Jones dude and his stupid bitch of a wife. What's best, they haven’t even eaten supper with me and Lauren! They’re just sheep, looking for a respectable shepherd. As long as they want to keep coming to the church after every salvaging mission to be my slaves, let them keep thinking on their connection to Jesus Fucking Christ!
Plus, that succulent little blonde thing they let run around the damn church all night looks pretty appetizing. I need to give some sort of subtle signal to Lauren, making sure she knows this is the one. The two of us are on the same wavelength. I’m sure it won’t be hard to make her understand! She always knows exactly what I want.
“So you got anything good to eat, preacher?”
Goddamn! Jones is always right behind me. Brother Brown was rudely jerked out of his thoughts but tried to speak calmly. “I was just thinking about making up some tacos. I’m pretty sure it won’t be hard to find all the ingredients, especially with the gardens all over the island.”
Hamric turned around upon hearing the conversation. “Did somebody say ‘tacos’?”
Motherfucker, fuck! Well, it can’t hurt to have another test subject. “You bet! Lauren’s going to mix up some more meat... Freeze-dried meat. Wanna join us?”
Hamric didn’t even have to think about it. “Dang straight! We’ll be there. Just tell me what time and where at?”
This might turn out to be a good thing. Another one of these stupid shit -for -brains consuming his own flesh and blood. “Tonight. My place.”
Both men’s mouths watered.
Hamric turned and started walking away, “Let me tell Angela.”
The Wolf masquerading as The Man of God smiled. He had to go find Lauren.
☠☠☠
Some of the rooms off the sides of the Fellowship Hall had been converted into storerooms for the shelves of scavenged food. The church had become well stocked as of late, and Mike’s plans would extend the goods even longer. These people will like some of my homemade cooking. I just need to get a hold of some fresh meat!
Lauren Brown was broken away from her thoughts when Angela Hamric started speaking. “I sure do miss citrus! Sure, there is preserved stuff, but nothing compares to a fresh orange or lime.”
“We’ve got some lime seasoning at home. Who’s up for some tacos?” Mike abruptly walked around the corner, jarring both women. He pointed at Angela. “Sonny already volunteered your family.” He looked over at Lauren. “The Joneses and the Hamric’s will be coming over for supper tonight!”
Give me some fucking time, you bastard! We have to catch it and I have to prepare it! Lauren put up a hand and glared at her husband before turning to smile at her friend. “Let’s hold off till tomorrow night, shall we? I need to spruce up before we have company.” Her eyes bored holes through Brother Brown. We don’t have any meat, dumbass!
Just before he could open his mouth to speak, a few children came dashing around the corner playing hide and go seek. Or maybe it was Tag, or some other time wasting children's game. The preacher put his hand on a young paunchy blonde girl’s head, pretending to twist her scalp. “I got you!”
Stopping, she looked up and giggled. He continued talking sweetly to the child. “I could just eat you up! Your parents are coming over for tacos tomorrow. Want to be a dinner guest?” The little blonde girl nodded vigorously before again bounding off with her friends.
He didn’t even have to point at her and basically say “Here! Cook this one up so we can eat it.” Mike and I have a near psychic connection. Plus, I knew he’d go for another blonde. And he’s picked out the best of the litter. This one would have just the right amount of fat trimmings around some delectable pinkish meat. It was perfect!
Lauren gave a slight wink at her husband. “I think I can have something ready for everybody by tomorrow night.”
The Wolf smiled.
“Sounds great, I’m starving! I guess we’ll see all of you tomorrow night.” Angela Hamric gave Lauren a warm hug, thanked the pastor, and finally nodded her consent as Brother Brown started moving to the door.
He might be the butcher that portioned each quarter, tenderloin, back strap, and chop, but Lauren would be the Huntress. Mike wouldn’t be slaughtering anything if it wasn’t for her. He wouldn’t be able to bite into a still pumping liver if she didn’t bring it to him. The Alpha was just as much a predator as The Wolf. Though he was fully capable of capturing his own game, she often chose to take part in that which was most dangerou
s. Sure, it’s fun to be waited on like a queen. But occasionally, even monarchs enjoy getting their hands dirty
☠☠☠
Lauren looked down at her wristwatch that only recently died, becoming nothing more than a paperweight. There would no longer be watch batteries made and she didn’t want to appear frivolous, spending time looking for batteries just for her watch. Turning her head 180 degrees, she spoke to the Hamric’s daughter, holding on to her other hand. “Your mom and dad told me you could spend the night with me! All we have to do is wait in here for Brother Brown and we’ll be ready to go.” The still innocent young girl bobbed her curls up and down, anticipating the fun they would have.
Lauren fished in her pocket. “Want a piece of candy?”
☠☠☠
20
In the Valley of Elah
This is the best taco I’ve ever had, preacher! You sure know how to bring out the flavor.” Sonny Hamric said around a juicy mouthful of food. “You could’ve told me this was fresh. What’s your secret?”
Your brat was pretty much like corn-fed beef. Thanks go to you, dumbass. Brother Brown laid his taco on the plate and goofily shrugged. “Ah, just the mix of spices.”
The faux temporary replacement for The Man of God grew somber and spoke low as if he was afraid his house was bugged. “And what do y’all think about what I said the other night about the mayor? He’s getting shadier and shadier. With every one of these kids going missing, he conveniently isn’t part of our congregation.” The assembled sheeple could only nod and agree with whatever their leader told them. The shepherd was beaming; his prideful smile was barely hidden as he again lifted his taco taking a juicy bite.
When the small gathering finished agreeing with the gospel of Mike Brown, Hamric spoke on another subject. “You know, Brother Mike, you should really share some of this bounty with the membership of the church. That is if you can spare it.”
