Still Alive Series Box Set, Vol. 2 | Books 5-6

by Bonds, Javan

  ☠☠☠

  This was amazing. That entire shoot out had taken no more than a few seconds. The mayor couldn't understand how three humans could have so easily blown each other away. He could only stare in stupefied silence, watching Travis and wrapping his mind around what had just happened.

  That’s when he looked down his right arm and noticed a bloody stump where his hand used to be. What the hell? The pain was only now coming to him, now that he was focusing on the missing appendage. When did I lose my hand? It must have been when JB shot Travis.

  Wait. Travis was infected. If any of his blood had splattered wrong... He was unwilling to think about it. Main protagonists, replacements for main protagonists, don’t get infected. I’m safe. And if I’m not, I guess I’ll know in a few hours.

  The mayor used his other hand to pull up the body condom from his ragged wrist to try and slow the blood loss. Reaching around he pulled a tourniquet from his EDC and began to tie off the arm. He would have to call on the walkie-talkie and let the others know he needed some medical attention.

  As he walked back to the SUV, Randy almost laughed bitterly. He now remembered that in The Walking Dead graphic novel, Rick Grimes had a similar missing appendage.

  Maybe it was a SIGN.

  ☠☠☠

  6

  Lonesome Dove

  Prophecy from The Book of Smokes:

  THE WOLF IS a human antagonist, who is a disgusting, sick, twisted sadist that preys on innocents unable to defend themselves. The Wolf often wears sheep’s clothing, appearing to simply organize and do what’s best for the community of survivors as a whole. Main protagonists will see through the lies of this character from the beginning and The Wolf’s villainy will be uncovered just in the nick of time. That is, for the core survivors but possibly not for members of the general community. The Wolf may be subservient to another antagonist, The Alpha.

  ☠☠☠

  Tommi Lea Jones. She hated her name. It had always sounded like a boy’s name to her. Especially now, in her seventh year of life, people began teasing her about some old male actor. He was an old man, pretended to be a cowboy, and had a stupid, twangy voice. Nobody could ever think he was cool.

  That was what Tommi had always thought until she got a new neighbor. All her friends, their parents, and even her dumb daycare teacher had become sick people, started turning blue, and running around with no clothes on.

  Tommi’s mother made her stay inside so she wouldn’t have to witness the nudity. She wasn’t sure what kind of cold these people were getting. Someone on TV called them played victims.

  Her parents were somehow able to keep all the blue people from getting into the house. Her daddy had cases of bottled water and a bunch of dried up food in bags. He said he had been preparing for an ergonomic collapse or something and he was glad, even though he wasn’t expecting this type of Cyclops-a-lips, to have his pepper supplies.

  Tommi was glad her mama had been staying home from work and she didn’t have to go to daycare, almost like every day was a sick day. They stayed home for four forevers and now she didn’t have anyone to play with. They would go down into the storm shelter when it started getting dark and spend the night in there. It was nearly like camping! The strangest thing was they never saw any animals. There were no dogs, raccoons, or even a single squirrel that Tommi saw on most camping trips. There were definitely no chirping birds every morning when they woke up.

  It had seemed like a year before they spotted somebody walking down the road. Daddy went out on the porch and pointed his gun at the stranger and yelled at him. They talked back and forth and the short little man explained he was headed to Guntersville. He had a funny voice, daddy called it “Spanglish”. The man eventually offered to travel with the whole family down the mountain. After a long discussion between Daddy and Mama, it was decided they would take a hike with the homeless guy. That was okay. Tommi hadn't seen anyone for a long time and she was ready to make new friends!

  They were able to walk down the middle of the road most of the way. Daddy had crammed all of their backpacks full of food and water before they left. Tommi couldn’t figure out why. They could always stop at a gas station if they got thirsty! Or McDonald's if they were hungry! Before they got all the way down the mountain, the man traveling with them suggested the family wait at the fire hall while he went further and did some looking around. Daddy agreed they would wait until he came back for them. When their new friend got halfway down the mountain, the sick people started coming out in the daytime. She heard from TV that the played victims didn’t like the light because they must not have had enough sunscreen! So she didn’t know why they would start coming out now. Maybe they found some.

  The man dashed into an apartment building near the road. Tommi briefly wondered if that was where he lived. They made themselves comfortable in the fire station and waited for the rest of the day. It was morning and they woke to their new friend knocking on the door. He said that he would go down to the bridge and talk to the people there to see if they were anemones. Her daddy agreed to wait and watch before they made any moves.

  Daddy watched through a pair of bone-ocular’s for their chubby friend to give the thumbs up. The okay sign was not obvious so they continued to wait at the fire station. After what seemed like hours, some people in funny outfits came to the fire hall. A man talking over a speaker asked, “Are you still alive? Roberto asked us to come get you and take you to Guntersville, and safety.”

  Mama and Daddy were ordered to lay down their weapons. Other than that, the people were all very nice. After driving over a boat bridge, the family exited the vehicles just past the small shed. Tommi could see their new friend was talking into what looked like a boxy cell phone. The man in some kind of astronaut suit led them to another vehicle. Next, they were driven to the county courthouse. Tommi found it strange the lights were on when she entered.

  Her parents went into a room and talked to a man that looked really old; he had to be her grandfather’s age. She sat in an office with a nice lady who played tic-tac-toe on a small chalkboard. Tommi wasn’t going to complain, but she knew the lady had to be letting her win most of the time. She was having so much fun; she let the time slip away. Her parents could've been in there for an hour.

  “... It’s a nice little two-bedroom on Sunset Drive, right across from the water. And no, I haven’t been in it myself, but I hear it’s in pretty good shape, pretty clean. You can come by tomorrow after y’all get settled in and we can talk about what your job will be.” The older guy led her parents out of the room as he was explaining a house to them. “We should have both your IDs ready tomorrow. If you have the keys to your house–” he caught himself and smiled, “– former house, we can send a salvage team to try and retrieve anything precious to you.” He pointed over to the lady that had been playing games with her. The lady and Mama exchanged the key to their house for another key. The nice lady asked the question as she handed over the key. “You know the address?”

  Tommi’s parents seemed excited. More excited than she was when she got to go see Frozen the movie. As they walked out of the building, they talked about how this refuse was unbelievable. They would soon be going to their new home and wanted to do everything they could to forward the community chest.

  A long while later they walked into a dark but clean house. Tommi had seen that most places before they got to Guntersville were full of nasty baby poop! But everything around here seemed perfect. It was nearly like Disney World!

  ☠☠☠

  Tommi was playing out in the yard of their new home one day when the neighbor that had just moved in next door came outside. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt with snaps, a pair of really tight jeans, cowboy boots, and a big, black, cowboy hat. Walking over into the Jones’s yard he looked down at the little blonde girl. “So you’re the Jones’s kid. I saw you this morning when we made the scavenger run at the Baptist Campground but didn’t realize who your parents were. What’s was
your name again?” He seemed curious and friendly.

  She answered shyly. “Tommi.”

  The neighbor thumbed up his hat as he looked on in amazement. “Tommi Jones. What’s your middle name?”

  She hated when people got around to that. It wasn’t expected so soon from the neighbor she had just met. She dropped her head and spoke with shame. “Lea.”

  The neighbor took a step back in shock. “Tommi Lea Jones? You’re kidding?” She sighed and nodded.

  “Wow. Like Tommy Lee Jones. That’s a beautiful name. I wish I had such an awesome name.” He smiled and kicked his boot in the grass. “I’m just plain old Mike Brown.”

  She had heard her parents talking about this guy at the campground but didn’t see him. Something about him being a preacher and that he was going to be a great sheep herd for the entire conflagration.

  The preacher got down on his knees to be at Tommi’s level. He started telling her all about Tommy Lee Jones and his prophylactic acting career. He kept talking about how pretty she was and that she shouldn’t be bothered by her name. He loved the way her blonde hair curled. He said it was cute. After they talked for a while, he invited her over to his house and said he had some board games she never heard of. That and he had candy.

  She cocked her head and thought about it. Mama always told her never to go to a stranger’s house alone. But this guy was a preacher and my parents like him! He seemed nice, he liked her name, and he said he had a Chinese checkerboard. “Well, Brother Brown–“

  He put a hand up. “No, call me Mike.”

  She giggled. “Okay, Mike. I’ve never played Chinese checkers before. You’d have to teach me.”

  He clicked his tongue and smiled. Rising from the ground he dusted the knees and turned to walk toward his house. Tommie hesitated as the preacher held his hand out to her. “Come on! I can teach you a lot of things.” Taking his hand, she followed him as they headed away from her new home. As Mike took a quick look around, he whispered to himself, “This is gonna be so much fun.”

  The Wolf could barely hold back a wicked SMILE.

  ☠☠☠

  7

  Too Risky

  IT COULD NOT be a living creature. The bipedal animals that got on and off the water born monster treated it as an inanimate object. The peevie understood that it was just some type of unnatural construct created by the pale ones. Nothing living would allow them into its maw, regurgitate them whenever they saw reason to leave, swallow them back up, and repeat the process indefinitely.

  The former warden squatted on the grass just beyond the tree line, waiting and watching for the one it so rabidly yearned to sink its teeth into, to come out into the open. The female monster watched three of the pale ones exit a cave with a covering over the entry and walk to the waterborne construct. A long diatribe of babbling was exchanged between one of the shiny creatures on the ground and another on the construct.

  The one on the ground sat and began removing its outer covering. The peevie couldn’t fathom why anything would constrict itself in such an unnatural way. Why is the extremely pale one removing what looked like a shell, exposing itself to predators like this one?

  Though it would provide a meal, the female chose not to take down the unknowing game before it. This thing looked just as tasty as any of the pale ones, but it was too risky. This is not the prey. This is only one member of the pack with Ezekiel Collins.

  The pale ones do not yet need to know they are being followed. An opportunity would arise and the female would enjoy destroying the prey. The determined animal couldn’t wait to get its hands on the large, hairless pale one and slowly rip it apart, devouring it inch by inch! Victory, would be SWEET.

  ☠☠☠

  8

  No Country For Old Men

  “WELL,” HE STARTED as he walked in the room. “I should probably tell you how I got here.”

  She pulled her chained hands forward to the limit. It wasn’t too uncomfortable; she could sit down and drop her hands to the floor. The young girl didn’t feel that she had been physically hurt other than being drugged and chained up wherever she was. Tommi decided there must’ve been something in that candy corn Brother Brown gave her. She remembered taking a handful while he explained Chinese checkers and that was the last thing she remembered. Her next thought was that she should open her eyes.

  When she did she was in this dark, musky room. This had to be a basement or cellar, it felt as if she was underground but there was still natural light coming from somewhere. For some reason, the girl knew that Brother Brown did this intentionally.

  He continued, not waiting for her to speak. “I was working my way north from Birmingham. There’s a fairly large horse community down there, so they were accepting of a cowboy preacher.” He pulled up a chair and sat, only a couple feet away from her. “Especially a cowboy preacher from Texas. See, that’s where I’m from. I grew up in a gang. I was in and out of jail for my entire life. Then, I finally got caught doing something a little beyond petty, and they sent me to prison.”

  Brother Brown removed his hat and set it to the side. “When I got out, I figured playing the whole reformed criminal; Born Again Christian would work to my benefit. And I’ll tell you what; you can bet your sweet little ass it did. Everyone started trusting me. They started showering me with money and even letting me work with their youth. I could come out and tell people I had been in prison and they would still let me have alone time with their young daughters! It was amazing. I eventually came across a girl just out of high school and she was perfect for me. Not only was she a sweet young thing, but she was also just as devious as I was. She was happy to conspire with me on robbing all these stupid Christians blind. On top of that, she was okay with my fetishes.”

  He spoke of his wife, Lauren, with wistful nostalgia. “She liked being bad. It turned her on that I was bad and she was okay that I did some really bad stuff. She even helped me with some of my jobs.” He walked over to a cabinet and brought out a few knives, setting them on a white cloth laid on a stainless steel table. “See, I had played all my cards in Texas and I was a suspect when Tia went missing; a little girl, a few years older than you. She was the best I ever had but I imagine you’ll be even better.” Tommi had nearly forgotten that the island received electricity days ago and she nearly screamed when he turned the light on.

  The faux pastor stepped through a doorway, turning on some kind of loud motor. Lawnmower? Chainsaw? She had no idea. Reentering, he stood straight and faced her. “I made my way from Birmingham and had just pulled my last job there before May Day. I was going to start heading north when people began getting sick. Now I don’t have to worry about any kind of paper trail or law enforcement. I can see myself staying here for a long time. Well, at least until I start running out of friends like you.” He laughed and leaned over to pick up a canister attached to a hose. The small thing on the end looked like it shot something out.

  The Wolf looked down at the device he was holding then lifted it up so Tommi could see it better.

  “Interesting looking device isn’t it? “It’s called a captive bolt gun; they’re used in the cattle processing industry all the time. Coincidentally your namesake and my favorite actor would know what this is. There was one of these in a movie he played in one time.” Brother Brown turned a small wheel at the top of the tall, chrome canister. A low hissing noise sounded. He put his finger on the trigger of the projector at the end of the hose and moved toward Tommi.

  “Now. Let me show you how it WORKS.”

  ☠☠☠

  9

  Mo Journal Entry 2

  IT SEEMS LIKE we’ve been around the world and been through every single fucking dam on the planet, twice! That’s what it feels like but in all honesty, we probably aren’t even in central Alabama yet. According to my brother and every other member of the crew, there have been almost no peevies anywhere.

  Well, except when I go clear a dam. It’s like they all got together at their Blu
natics Anonymous meeting and one of them said, “Hey, let’s all conspire to only mass in every dam that the most unfit person on that floating thing goes to. We need to make things more difficult for him!” I never get a fucking break.

  On second thought, I should take that back. It’s not really a break, but I was finally paired with one of the more muscular crew members that had skills using one of those shooty thingies. Finally, I was partnered with Sanjay Patel to accompany Aka through this particular lock and dam.

  Akambiya Ngona Collins was my brother’s new wife. In her home country of Zambia, when she was younger, she frequently visited with her brother at the hydroelectric dam where he was employed. She was the only survivor we had access to with the knowledge to operate a dam and she was only on the boat now because Easy was here; the ebony beauty wouldn’t feel safe alone in close quarters with a pervert like me. She treated me like a deviant and I guess she was justified in believing that, considering our first meeting at the prison.

  Easy only agreed to come on this journey because I agreed to take him to the closest port to Tuscaloosa. All so he could get a football trophy. My plan had been to drop his ass off, on this fool's errand, after we had been to the Gulf. But of course, nothing ever happens the way I plan it. He basically forced me to go down the Tennessee River which will most likely add another decade or three on to the journey. Oh, almost forgot, the whole point of our trip is to find a supposed cure. The person with this cure will be long dead from old age before we even get to the fucking ocean!

  Anyway, Sanjay is one of The Phantoms, some kind of Indian Special Forces, black-ops-super-soldier with more experience points than I could ever achieve. Dr. Philip George, The Medicine Man, was a cardiologist at the local hospital who just so happened to be the commander of a group of Indian Navy SEALs, called NSG Phantom HITs. Sanjay has since been outfitted in a Clone Trooper suit of armor, by Gene, and he carries some kind of badass submachine gun.