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

by Bonds, Javan

  With his free hand, the hooded detective reached to his side, inside the coat. Sako unsheathed Ebony, Ivory’s little sister, which was half the length of a regular katana. The perfectly honed and razor-sharp tip of the wakizashi blade whizzed up, melding into the flesh of the Queen. At the apex of its swing, Ebony cleanly separated the elbow and tricep from the right arm. The reanimated corpse stopped what it was doing, and its eyes grew wide. Its head slowly turned to take in the gushing wound.

  As if understanding the pain, The Queen, for lack of a better term, went ape-shit. It raised both arms and began flailing wildly. The severing of one arm made no difference in its furious gesticulations. The arm simply dangled and shook before the other arm finally reached over, in an attempt to put some kind of pressure on the fresh wound and staunch the blood flow. There was no stemming of the tide without a fully equipped medical team. After a few seconds, of paralyzed shock, the peevie seemed to realize this was its last few moments. Revenge was the only thing it had left.

  Reaching its left hand to Sako’s neck, it attempted to raise his mask. This animal is going to try to infect me! Rorschach battled the grasping hand with his free hand and slammed his tonto into the right side of the burgeoning belly.

  Like butter, the razor-sharp steel effortlessly sliced through skin, muscle, guts, and a developing fetus before exiting out the other side. Steaming entrails and amniotic fluid poured onto the hero’s coat with the killing blow. The Queen understood, and its spawn was no more. Its purpose to exist now lost.

  Hirotaro effortlessly flung the defeated demon aside. It landed on its lacerated and draining belly; weeping remains oozed onto the soft floor beneath it. The blackened filth under it turned to a sloppy paste as the hero rose. As Sako walked on filth covered ground to his defeated enemy, something caught his eye. In a monstrous display of grotesque abomination, he could see the blue hand, of a never-to-be-born baby peevie among the guts of its mother. He ran his blade deeply along the base of the Queen’s skull. “We can’t all be winners,” Rorschach spoke to the now truly dead vile monster. The bloody pile was once the pride of this blue brood. Now the next generation will not see the light of day. The hive was defeated today, no members remained. This house is clear.

  ☠☠☠

  Sako looked over to his armored and exhausted comrades. Other than the fact both their suits of armor sported fresh coatings of body fluid; they appeared no worse for wear. He approached as The Phantoms stood, ramrod straight. They saluted, and he tiredly reciprocated. “Sir!” the HITS spoke in unison.

  The former Marine wiped the blade of his tonto on a silk handkerchief that would never again be useful for anything. “Did either of you see any evidence of our missing child here?”

  They answered with what he expected, “Sir, no sir!”

  Hirotaro’s shoulders fell, and he exhaled, regretfully. “Well, I guess we have to report the mission was the opposite of success. Let’s go home.”

  “It's not ours to question why just to do or die,” the HITs responded. Sergeant Sako caught a hint of snark but let it pass.

  ☠☠☠

  9

  The Package

  “Whatcha got there, Preacher?” Brother Brown’s heart skipped a beat at his neighbor’s excited and surprising question. The next door neighbor appeared from seemingly nowhere and just started talking.

  On the preacher’s barbecue grill sat a beautiful rack of ribs. “You been hiding a pig in your basement?” The neighbor could tell it wasn’t beef. It was much too small. It certainly wasn’t chicken. The meat had a marbled, pinkish look to it.

  Brother Brown smiled and tried to come off casually. “Naw. It was freeze-dried, and I figured I’d top it off with some barbecue sauce.” Never mind that a whole pig wouldn’t be freeze-dried. Even if it were, it would’ve been cooked already.

  The supposed temporary replacement for The Man of God grinned wickedly. It would appear in character to be neighborly. “You wanna share?” What was this guy’s name? Jones!

  The neighbor, Jones, vigorously shook his head. “You bet, Brother Brown. Mind if I go get my wife?”

  Brother Brown could barely contain the maniacal chuckle. “Surely, brother. What’s mine is yours.” And what’s yours is mine! Once this dumbass partakes of some of this barbecue, he’s behind me forever. And if he does somehow find out what the mystery meat is, he’ll be too disgusted with himself not to be loyal.

  Jones looked at his feet. “She’s been kind of down for the past couple of days... Since, you know...”

  The faux preacher saw an opportunity. “I understand. I mean, I’ve never been in that situation, but it’s completely understandable that she’s having a hard time with your sweet little daughter missing. Some good food and Christian Fellowship will cheer her right up!”

  Jones smiled, “You’re right Brother Brown,” jogging back toward his house. “That barbecue will cheer me up enough for the both of us!”

  Mike Brown smirked. “I’ll be sure to tell Lauren to get some extra plates ready.”

  ☠☠☠

  Interlude 1

  My radio buzzed at the expected time. “Mo. Gray Fox here. You read?”

  “Ten-four, good buddy.” I could tell my dad had a question on his lips. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

  It was almost as if a weight lifted every time he dropped into a casual tone. “You remember I told you the other night that a child went missing? Well, she’s still missing, for nearly a week now. And still no sign.”

  “Did she just wander off? How did she get off the island unnoticed?”

  “She didn’t.” He trusted his guards impeccably to keep a watch out. You know, since two of the really observant bastards got their throats slit by The Betrayer, in my third journal.

  All of this sounded perplexing. “So, somebody on the island has kidnapped a kid?” That sounded okay when I said it, but now that it’s on paper, it just looks weird. A kidnapper should nap kids, “kidnapper” is kind of self-explanatory.

  He had an edge to his voice. “I think so. There’ve been people searching with nothing found so far. We’ve started an official investigation. But I am concerned Mo. The parents of the missing child aren’t suspects but they are pretty calm about their child being missing.”

  “Wait. Do you think they did something to their own child?” That would be some sick fuckers.

  “No I don’t. There’s something else happening. I think those of us that have survived the apocalypse have grown accustomed to loss and death."

  That’s not good either. Too bad The Oracle and I are not there. Our Sherlock Holmes skills would have the mystery solved in just a few chapters. Wait, am I Sherlock, or is he? Well, he does call me Watson sometimes.

  My father continued. “And this preacher might be bad news. Martin Williamson is a lawyer, and he said he remembered hearing this guy’s name concerning bad checks and other legal issues down in Birmingham. It’s a common name, so maybe he heard about somebody else, but we should probably ask him for clarification.”

  He could’ve been a bank robber, but that is the last crime that would matter nowadays. Well, he’d still be a criminal nonetheless, and I don’t think I’d trust him with much. If he were a bank robber, he probably wouldn’t have any money from his heists. What good would it be?

  I was jumping to conclusions. “So this preacher is a thief and a child molester?”

  He chuckled. “That’s a little hasty. As I said, he might not even be the guy Martin heard about. And there’s no reason to suspect he had anything to do with the kidnapping. Why do you think that?”

  Oh, because it just seems like something the fucked-up bastard that is The Screenwriter would put into play.

  “No reason.”

  My brother came onto the deck to join in the conversation. “So has Benji made any flyovers?”

  My father answered. “Yeah. He’s actually picked up a few survivors. Unless they’re hiding underground, there do
n’t seem to be a lot of zombies left.”

  Does that mean they’re dying off? Maybe they’re migrating north. It would be great if we could one day soon repopulate areas besides just islands. Maybe I could just move somewhere far away. The revenants are apparently only following me.

  “How are things on that end?” He added.

  Oh, just peachy! I’ve been almost killed more than once, and I’ve eaten nothing but fish since I left the island. God, I miss TEOTWAWKI restaurant. Easy cut in before I could start complaining.

  “Everything’s okay here. We’ve been running into fewer and fewer peevies the further we go.” Says the man who doesn’t have to go into nearly every fucking dam on the river! He made sure to tack on, “Well, at least on the trips Mo doesn’t go on.”

  The other end of the radio signaled the conversation was drawing to a close. “Well, your mama got Ruby Sparks on DVD. I guess we’re about to go watch it.”

  Thanks, Daddy, just brush off your only children, the ones that you're almost guaranteed never to see again. For a stupid romantic comedy. And Ruby Sparks? At least put on Tin Cup!

  Mr. “Easy” Clean spoke before I could, “Tell Mama I love her!” You know, I might’ve been about to say the same thing. Now if I say anything, I'll just look like I'm sucking up after my brother.

  “Will do. Gray Fox over and out.”

  ☠☠☠

  10

  Sweet Home

  Zombies

  “Amy Rice...” Mayor Collins glanced up from his paperwork. “You used to live on Guntersville Island?”

  Sitting in his office, she threw a thumb over her shoulder. “Yes, sir. My house is back there, just behind Publix.” Looking down at her lap she softly said, “I… like don’t really want to...go...”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it! There are plenty of other places you can stay.” Randy mentally kicked himself for letting her think she would be forced to live in a place, which would remind her of her lost loved ones.

  Attempting to lighten the mood, he cocked his head. “Home, sweet home, right?”

  With a quick laugh, she smiled. “Something like that.”

  He clumsily set the folder of papers on the desk with his left hand.

  It was still a challenge to do an everyday task with his “off” hand when his right hand was now the “off” hand...literally. The severed right hand had been initially cleaned up days ago by Lauren Brown. She was the replacement for The Medicine Man and wife of the voted-in temporary replacement for the Man Of God. She told the mayor over the following days that the wound was healing nicely. Still painfully sensitive to even sunlight, the nub needed to remain bandaged for a time. Randy kept it in his front pocket most of the time.

  The phantom pains would forever be a nagging reminder of the blind ferocity of dying men. Before May Day, civilized people wouldn’t think of treating each other in such a manner. Over a month spent surviving amidst chaos has almost devolved most human societal structures back to nomadic tribesmen. Survival of the fittest. How about something with more gravitas, like “An eye for an eye.” That law of nature had quickly become the given rule; Even if the eye is already turning yellow. Mayor Collins could only laugh.

  Randy could’ve sworn he met this girl before. “We’ve met before, haven’t we? But where do I know you from?” Nearly able to qualify for his AARP card, he was starting to become worse with putting faces to names and vice versa. At least, that was his excuse now. Remembering things like that had never really been his strong suit. Governing a post-apocalyptic society had however been keeping his mind pretty busy.

  Amy smiled. “Yes, sir! You’re Mo’s dad. Me and Sarah used to come over to your house, like a totally long time ago.”

  He clicked his tongue and nodded. That was it! “So you’ve been here–“

  The young woman was excited to rekindle any connection from before that didn't involve her family. “So how is Mo? I know he’s not here, but you’ve been talking to him over the radio. And Sarah?” Her friend’s betrayal would be overlooked, at least for the moment. As soon as I see her… well, I’ll just cross that bridge when I get to it.

  Randy sighed. “He’s still Mo.” Pausing, he thought about it for a second. “Wait. How do you know so much, anyway? How long have you been here? And for that matter, who are you staying with?”

  Until she stood and waved in the general direction of the airport, he hadn’t paid attention to her clothing. She was wearing a pair of shorts accented with a very familiar bomber jacket. “I’ve been here for a few days. Like, Benji saved me. I’d... like to stay with him. If that’s okay?”

  So, Amy was the female Benji had told me he rescued from Kmart. Maybe the two are in some kind of romantic relationship already. Good for him.

  It was great that the second cousin, who had been like a nephew to him, was getting some joy after watching so many of his friends die. Coming home and not be able to find any of his immediate family was terrible. At least now the boy had reason to smile. Who knows? The baby boom could go on for years, Nothin’ else to do!

  “Well then, it looks like we’ve got all the paperwork in order.” He raised his eyebrows and smiled. “And I guess you already know where you’ll be staying.”

  Backing to the door, she cheerfully returned a, “Yes sir, I think I got it! Thanks so much. I’m sure I’ll see you around. Oh, and tell Mo I said Hi when you talk to him again.”

  She’s such a polite girl; unlike some other people her age. It was still only a pipe dream that most young people, especially his eldest son, would be respectful. Maybe she could teach Hunter how to behave. Couldn't be any worse than Mo.

  ☠☠☠

  11

  Natural Born Killers

  Prophecy from The Book of Smokes

  The role is not definitely required to be filled, but The Alpha may be discovered to be the superior of The Wolf. Just as sick and twisted as the subordinate, this character is somewhat better at deceiving any authorities and deflecting suspicion from themselves. The Alpha’s downfall may often come at the hand of the subordinate or proxies.

  ☠☠☠

  “The Non-Denominational Salvaging Team.” James Peters answered with pride in his voice when asked who he had been with, at a local chicken feed mill earlier today. Brother Brown and his faithful group of church members have been performing secondary scavenging trips on locations previously scouted and searched by initial reclamation teams.

  “So what happened?” The nurse in blue scrubs asked. Her eyes darted between James and his screaming, crying daughter.

  James had to speak loudly over the wails of his child. “Sabrina and her friends were playing with some of the equipment in the building. I told her that’s what she gets for playing in the dark.”

  Sabrina was holding an ice pack over her chin. No one knew how it happened, and it was impossible to get the story from the inconsolable, frantic little girl. Apparently, she had fallen, or banged her chin on something and tore it open. When she had briefly removed the ice pack, it was clear the chin was split, requiring stitches. Lauren Brown, The Medicine Man’s temporary replacement would sew her right up.

  The nurse came to the door and took Sabrina’s hand to lead her to a patient room to wait for the nurse practitioner. As they turned, James spoke. “Me and Allison are going down to the church to help Brother Brown unload the scavenged supplies.” He shrugged; the Lord’s work must be done. “It will probably be a couple of hours. If she feels up to it, Sabrina ought to be able to walk to the house.” He gestured in the direction of Highway 431. “We live just across the four-lane.”

  All the instructions were given and accepted. Sabrina waved goodbye to her parents; who entirely believed in the ability of their daughter to leave on time.

  What they didn't know was she wouldn’t be leaving this building by her own will.

  ☠☠☠

  Lauren Brown looked over the curly haired girl as she gave a final snip to the stitches. Well, he has always ha
d a thing for blondes. I guess that’s why he hooked up with me.

  This one’s around the usual age. Plus, it’s kind of chubby. The meat will be nice and marbled!

  “There you go, all done! You were so brave!” She pulled a piece of candy from her lab coat. “Want a sucker?”

  Sabrina was gleeful. “Red, is my favorite, You bet!” The girl snatched the lollipop from her hand.

  Sabrina stood, not really sure what to do now. The Alpha looked down at the girl and smiled. “So where are your parents, sweet thing?”

  Pointing childishly, the adolescent girl responded with, “They went to the church to help Brother Brown unload savaged supplements.”

  Intriguing! Mike has its parents occupied. That means he must have sent it here for me to inspect. Well, I certainly approve! “What do you plan to do until they get back?”

  “My chin is kind of sore, but I think I can make it up to the house.” She again pointed, this time in the general direction of her home, “I live right up there!”

  Lauren’s mouth was nearly salivating, almost shaking with excitement. “Just wait here, and I’ll be back with a shot so you won’t have to worry about it being sore.”

  After giving her the injection, The Alpha led Sabrina out through the rear exit. “The easiest way to get home is right out back here.” The walk to that backdoor was the last thing the little girl would remember.

  ☠☠☠

  “Me and James just unloaded the last drum!” Jones is unreasonably excited. As usual.

  Putting up with these goddamn retards all day will be worth it though. I’ll be eating well tonight! It might be a good idea to go ahead and start casting blame with someone else. That way, they’ll never suspect me. As if a “man of God” could hurt anyone.