father said.” I said prudently.
“My father?” Richard asked confounded.
“I met him briefly the other day.” I said, “Remember? I came over to your house?”
Something felt off. I was getting the feeling Richard knew what I was talking about, but was pretending not to know. Why?
“Oh.” He said strident, “What else did he say?”
What was Richard getting at? It felt like he wanted me to admit to something he already knew the answer to.
“What do you mean?” I asked titillated.
“What did you talk about when you met him?” Richard asked.
“He told me that zombies were real.” I confessed, “That they were not simply monsters from movies.”
“Did he?” Richard asked.
He did not sound very surprised. I bet he knew all about my conversation with his dad. Richard turned around and started walking away.
“I’ve got to go.” I said bluntly.
“Wait.” I called out.
He seemed a bit upset. I ran up to him and grabbed his arm to pull him back.
“Richard, wait.” I said.
His arm was cold to the touch. Confused I stared down at his arm. His skin felt clammy against my palm. I looked up at his eyes – they were dark and completely empty of a soul. His corneas shifted and regained their color.
It was only then that I realized his skin hung from his bones like an oversized blanket. He grinned and then with lightning speed he grabbed me by the throat and pushed me up against a nearby tree.
I clawed at his hands around my neck as he choked me, trying not to suffocate.
“So you are the new slayer?” Richard asked, “I knew if I stuck around James long enough he would expose the new slayer.”
I could not concentrate. My head started getting dizzy and throbbed with every heartbeat that pulsated blood through my body. Gasping for air was no use. I could not pry his hands from my neck, so I started clawing at his face and scraped away a large chunk of skin; exposing black, rotten skin.
Oh my word. He was one of the undead. He had to be a Class One.
“The end is coming.” Richard said, “I am here to make sure of that.”
With those words survival mode kicked in. My mind went blank and serine. I could think clearer and was able to pry his dead claws from my neck. I punched him in his stomach as hard as I could, but he did not budge. This one was strong – almost as strong as me.
He swung his fist at me and I leaped out of the way. I rolled across the lawn and landed on my hands and feet. And then in true hero style, I stretched my one arm out behind me and then slowly looked up – Richard was already gone. I was fast, but he was faster it seemed.
I jumped to my feet and scrutinized my surroundings, but saw no sign of him. I still could not believe it. Mild mannered Richard was one of the undead – a Class one no less. I wondered whether James knew?
7
I could not believe it. Richard was one of the undead. When did he turn? If he was a Class one, he had to be ancient. It made no sense.
I ran down the street in the direction of James’ house as fast as I could. When I was about a block away, I saw a couple of police cars parked outside the house. I slowed down, wondering what might be happening.
Detective Black came out through the front door.
Damn I thought, just what I need. I wanted to dart behind a bush or something – anything to avoid being seen by him, but it was too late. He spotted me and walked over with his hands resting on his hips. He did not seem very surprised to see me.
“Well, who do we have here?” He asked with a smirk, “Why am I not surprised to run into you at yet another murder scene?”
Murder? Did I hear that correct? Did he just say murder?
“What?” I asked confused.
The coroners brought out a body bag and carried it over to the van. From the size of the body inside I could tell it was someone young. Richard? But how? What happened?
“Mister Williams,” Detective Black asked suggestively, “Where have you been since we last saw each other?”
“You mean since you saw me an hour ago?” I asked snappy.
I knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to put the blame on me for some reason. Why did he suspect me of being a murderer?
“Don’t get canny with me.” Detective Black warned, “It seems wherever you go, death is sure to follow.”
“What are you implying?” I asked annoyed.
I was not about to let him get to me. I stared at him without budging. I wanted to show him that I was not afraid of him. He did not intimidate me. Detective Black lowered his arms and smiled as if trying to hide the fact that he was defeated.
“Just don’t leave town.” He said before walking to his car.
Don’t leave town? What a cliché. I watched him get into his car and drive away. What was his problem? Did he have a vendetta against me? Why did he suggest I had anything to do with whatever happened here?
“Zac.” I heard James’s broken voice say behind me.
I turned around and faced James as he stepped out through the front door. His face was stained with dry tears and he seemed completely broken. It was Richard.
“What happened?” I asked horrified.
“They got to Richard.” James said snickering, “Probably a Class one. They removed his skin.”
His skin? Oh my word! That is so gruesome. Why would anyone do such a thing?
I tried to be brave, but found it hard to hide the fact that I was horrified at the thought of Richard without skin.
Wait a minute… It made sense now. That’s why Richard was acting strange. It was not him. It was an undead wearing his skin like a Halloween costume. Poor Richard. Can you imagine all that pain from having your skin removed? It is a violent way to die.
I lowered my head and stared down at the floor, as I figured out what had happened.
“What is it?” James asked, “You’re hiding something.”
“It came to me.” I said, “Wearing Richard’s skin.”
“What did it want?” James asked concerned.
“It told me that I could not stop the end of days.” I replied, “I tried to kill it, but it was too fast.”
James gasped and grabbed me by the arms with urgency.
“Did it touch you?” James demanded.
“It had me by the throat at one stage, why?” I asked confused.
James let out a disappointed sigh and let go of my arms.
“What?” I asked worried.
“If a Class one undead touches you,” James said defeated, “It gains your memories. That’s how it knew where to find you. It gained Richard’s memories.”
With those words my entire body went cold and numb. I could not concentrate on what James was saying – every word that came out of his mouth sounded muffled. I could only think of one thing; if that creature gained my memories it knew where I lived. It knew about my mother.
I had to get home and fast!
“I’ve got to go.” I gasped.
Without saying another word, I turned around and ran. I ran as fast as I possibly could. I had to get home. I had to protect my mother. I had to stop that horrid creature from doing something unspeakable.
I passed the few houses between James’s house and mine and swung open our front gate; nearly breaking it off. I ran up to the house and burst in through the front door. My heart was racing and I struggled to catch my breath. There was no time to waste. I could catch my breath later. I just had to find my mother first.
“Mom!” I called out heaving.
She did not answer. I ran into the living room. It was empty. Where was she? It was her day off. She had to be in the house somewhere. I ran into the dining room, but she was not there either.
“Mom!” I called out again.
I was getting worried. What if something happened to her? What if I was too late? What if that creature murdered my mother in my own house?
I ran into the kitchen and stopped dead in my tracks at the doorway. Richard stood a few feet away and had my mother by the throat. Her legs were dangling a few feet from the ground and she was clenching onto his hand, trying to free herself.
Richard’s skin was falling off in bits and pieces; revealing the decaying corpse beneath. What did it want with my mother? I had to be extremely cautious. He was very powerful and could snap her neck with a simple twist of his wrist.
Richard looked over at me and smiled, not that it was much of a smile with all the missing flesh.
“Slayer of the undead.” He announced, “So glad you could join us.”
“Let her go.” I said carefully, “She has nothing to do with this.”
Richard shook his head and his left ear fell off.
“I don’t think so.” Richard said, “As long as her life hangs in my hand I’ve got your attention.”
“What do you want?” I asked.
“I’m giving you an ultimatum.” Richard said, “You can kill me and save your mother, or you can save the world.”
What the hell did that mean?
Richard’s one eyelid hung loosely and he picked at it until it tore off - never loosening his grip around my mother’s neck. She seemed terrified. I had to do something. Instantaneously I grabbed a nearby plate and threw it at Richard like a Frisbee. It flew across the room and decapitated him. His grip around my mother’s neck loosened and she fell to the ground gasping for air.
I stood watching as James’s lifeless body dropped to the floor. I rushed over to my mother and helped her to her feet.
Ominous laughter echoing through the kitchen made me look down. Richard’s severed head was laughing as it lay on its side.
“You made your choice.” He said, “Now you have to live with the consequences. I am Clairvius.”
I felt so angry I could kill him all over again. When he started laughing again I wanted to destroy every part of him.
I walked over to the laughing head and stomped on it, smashing it into smithereens. The laughing stopped and a portentous cloud of black vapour ascended from the skull fragments. My mother and I watched concerned as the vapour ascended towards the ceiling and then disappeared.
What the hell just happened?
8
It might not have been the best idea at the time, but I decided to call the one person who seemed to know a lot about the undead. Despite being in mourning about the loss of his son, James came right over. I covered Richard’s remains with a table cloth before James arrived – there was no need for him to see his son die twice in one day.
James came around just before seven. When I opened the door he could see from the expression on my face that something calamitous happened. I really hoped he was strong enough to handle more bad news.
“What happened?” He asked on my doorstep.
I peered at the empty street behind him. Though the street was quiet, I felt it best not to discuss the dead out in the open.
“You’d better step inside.” I said.
James entered and I closed the door. I led him to the living room where my mother sat on the couch drinking some chamomile tea. She always said it helped to calm the nerves, but it tasted horrible to me. I could never stomach the taste.
James looked at me perplexed as to why my mother was there. I told her everything before James arrived. I had to. I could not simply dismiss the fact that a semi-decaying corpse tried to kill my mother and then vanished into a cloud of dark vapour. I had to tell her everything I knew.
“She knows.” I told James.
He did not seem at ease knowing that she knew, but he sat down on the couch next to her while I sat down on the coffee table. My mom gave me a stern look – she never really liked me sitting on the coffee table, but I paid no attention to her – we had more important things going on.
“He came for my mother.” I said.
James did not seem to follow.
“Who?” He asked confused.
“Richard.” I said, “Or at least some thing that looked like him.”
James shifted uneasy in his seat. I could tell he was worried – it was written all over his face.
“What happened?” James asked.
“Well,” I said, “Where to start…
Zac Zombie: Slayer of the undead Page 6
