by Zoë Archer
Mariana dialed Simon’s number and prayed while the phone rang. He picked up on the second ring.
“Simon, he’s here! The Marine. He just walked out of the woods and he’s heading for the house.”
“Hold tight, Mari. I’m on my way. The mailman was a diversion. I got him, but he led me on quite a chase. I’m out past Webster Road and will have to double back. Stay hidden if you can.”
She heard a scratching sound against the side of the house and saw the Marine round the corner. He was heading for the front.
“He’s going around front,” she whispered, desperate fear edging into her voice.
“Stay out of sight, Mari.” It sounded like he was running and his voice was breathy.
She headed for the front of the house, wanting to keep tabs on where the zombie was, so she could avoid him. She heard a bang and her heart leapt into her throat.
As she entered the living room, the small window nearest her smashed and a fist opened just feet from her head. Long, yellow claws tipped the fingers on a hand that had once been human. She still didn’t really understand what it was about the contagion that made their nails grow to hard claws after death, but thought it was probably as part of the semipetrifaction process. The thought came out of the part of her mind that could still reason, the part that observed the unfolding events in a sort of calm horror.
The rest of her was scared shitless and trembling in fear.
She screamed as the clawed hand rent the air in front of her face.
“What’s going on?” Simon demanded, his voice a tinny shout from the tiny speaker in the phone.
“He broke through the window in the living room, but it’s too small. He can’t get in that way.”
Apparently the zombie realized that at around the same time. The arm retreated from the broken window and the creature moved to the front door. Running, Mariana threw whatever furniture she could in front of it, barring the way. The couch, the small bookcase, a chair, and whatever else she could scrounge went in front of the wooden door.
Just in time, as it turned out. The creature began pounding against the door. It sounded like he was throwing all his weight against it and she watched in terror as the pile of furniture began to move—just slightly—inward.
“Hold on, Mari. I’m—”
The call disconnected. She’d lost contact with Simon!
The phone was dead in her hand and she didn’t dare spare the time to redial. She had to take care of herself until he could get here. She had the pistol and if she could get a clear shot, she’d take it.
Maneuvering around to the side, she watched the gap between the broken door and the pile of furniture widen by slow degrees. When the arm reached through again she aimed and fired. She tried to hit the fleshy part of his upper arm, but missed. This one was faster than the others she’d seen. He’d pulled his arm back hastily when the pistol went off, ruining her shot.
She still had five darts loaded and a few more in the kitchen if it came to that. The eerie sort of moaning sound the others had made transformed into loud groaning and grunting sounds with this one. He was stronger, too. He looked as if he had been in the prime of life when he’d died, at the peak of his physical strength and stamina.
Mariana was in trouble. This one wouldn’t go down as easy as Becky Sue. He was no soft civilian. This was a highly trained soldier. She wasn’t sure if it made any difference, but this guy had to be one of the first zombies created in the lab. His face was still intact from what she’d seen, though oddly discolored, as was the rest of his skin.
He was probably responsible for making others like him—for killing innocent civilians, including Becky Sue, her grandmother, and the poor postman. This was a killing machine spawning horror in its wake.
He shouldered through the widening opening in the door and she fired again.
“Shit!” She missed again as he jerked back. She was down to four rounds in her pistol. She had to make them count.
The pile of furniture moved again; the gap between door and barricade widened an inch more. Mariana eyed the furniture pile. In another two or three inches, the couch would wedge up against where the closet wall jutted out from the far wall. It would be nearly impossible to move after that unless something in the pile of furniture shifted or broke under the creature’s weight.
But he would also be a few more inches into the house. Would that be enough for him to squeeze inside? She said a quick prayer that it wouldn’t.
Just in case, she backed toward the kitchen door. She could barricade herself in there if she had to and still be able to flee through the back door if he managed to get into the living room and made inroads on the door leading from there into the kitchen. It was a sound plan. Too bad she was shaking like a leaf contemplating her retreat.
She just had to buy time until Simon could get here. He had been after this creature for weeks now. He would put an end to this thing once and for all, as was only fitting.
Unless she got a clear shot in the meantime, of course. The zombie shouldered farther into her living room and she took another shot. Another miss. She cursed herself. She was better than this but panic was making her take chances she shouldn’t be taking.
Three darts left in the pistol. The couch bumped up against the closet wall and stuck. Ominous snapping sounds told her some of the furniture pile wasn’t holding up and the barricade moved a lot farther inward than she expected. Time to retreat.
Mariana saw the creature. He actually made eye contact. His eyes were narrowed as if in anger, but otherwise blank. He saw her, but there wasn’t any real sign of life in his gaze, only a vapid intentness that sent chills down her spine.
She fired one last shot and retreated through the kitchen door. He flinched, but she couldn’t be sure if it was from being hit by her dart, or a quick move that saved him from it. Either way, he was too close. She had to retreat.
She scrambled into the kitchen and moved the refrigerator, table, chairs, and anything else she could in front of the door that led from the living room to the kitchen. The zombie might get into the living room. She had conceded that ground. If he tried to get in here, though, she would be able to retreat through the door leading to her backyard. It was locked, of course, but she could flip the dead bolt and be through it in a matter of seconds, if necessary.
Increasingly loud noises from the other room told her he had gained entrance to the living room. Loud crashes made her cringe and shiver in fear as she heard things being thrown around and breaking. Then it got quiet. These creatures didn’t make a whole lot of sound unless they were pounding on something or making those pathetic moaning sounds that were almost subvocal. You had to be close to hear them.
“Come on, Simon,” she whispered, urging him to get here soon.
She needed help. She wasn’t afraid to admit it. She was a doctor, not a highly trained special ops warrior used to dealing with the worst of the worst although she had been getting plenty of real world experience the last few days. More than she had ever expected and certainly more than she’d ever wanted. She would gladly trade in all this excitement for a nice, normal, hectic day treating patients. She wouldn’t have wanted to give up her time with Simon, but she would happily trade in the zombies for a bunch of unruly patients any day.
The sounds from the other room died down, and she tiptoed toward the back door to see if she could find out what was going on. Where the heck was Simon?
Mariana approached the window in the back door from an oblique angle, just in case, but she couldn’t see much. Little by little, she edged more fully toward the small window. Everything looked clear, so she faced the small pane fully—and came face to face with the zombie.
She screamed and lunged away from the window, back toward the countertop where she had left the extra darts. She still had two in her pistol and she intended to make them count.
Her close-up look at the Marine’s face gave her details she wished she hadn’t seen. His flesh was gray. Th
e area all around his mouth and between his yellowed teeth was stained brown with dried blood. Simon had told her they liked to bite and undoubtedly this one had done his share of chewing on his victims.
The man reared back and then his fist punched inward, breaking through the thick security glass of the little window as if it were nothing. When she saw him reaching inward, looking for the doorknob, she knew she was in serious trouble. This one was way smarter than the others.
His fingers found the knob for the dead bolt and turned it. Then he reached farther down toward the small dimpled lever on the doorknob itself. If he turned that, the door would be fully unlocked and all he would have to do then…
Mariana steadied her shaking arm as best she could and took careful aim. Firing, she hit the thing’s arm, up near the biceps. The dart stuck and held, but the creature didn’t slow. He turned the final lock and then the doorknob, dragging his arm out of the small window, dislodging the dart as he pulled it through the tight space.
She watched the dart clatter to the floor with a sinking heart. Had he gotten enough of the toxin? Had the dart been stuck in him long enough to deliver its full dose? How long before the toxin took full effect? Would she have enough time before he cornered her?
Her thoughts raced as she backed as far away as she could. She pulled the kitchen table and chairs off the pile barricading the inner door and threw them between herself and the zombie at the back door. She could never get everything moved out of the way in time, but she preferred to die fighting if she had to, not fleeing, her back to the danger. No, she would face it head on.
She only wished Simon knew what he truly meant to her. She wished she had told him how much she loved him. How much she always had…and always would.
Regrets. She had so many where he was concerned. Through the fear that rode her, she knew her regrets were best saved for another time. Now was the time for action. Her fate would be decided in the next few minutes.
The door opened, slamming back against its frame as the Marine pushed inside. He moved faster than the other zombies she’d seen, but she wouldn’t give up without a fight. Mariana squeezed off her remaining round, lodging it squarely in his chest.
She knew the toxin took time to work. Would she make it? Did she have enough time? She pulled out two darts from the spares—one for each hand. She would stab the son of a bitch with them if he got too close. She would go down fighting if it was the last thing she did.
He stalked closer, moving quickly now, picking up her kitchen chairs and throwing them aside. Only the table stood between her and the zombie.
And then he began to dissolve.
His legs fell out from under him, stopping his forward motion, then his torso disintegrated, falling to the floor in a shower of organic matter. Then she saw the large darts from Simon’s rifle.
He had to have shot the zombie in the back while it was still out in the yard. His rifle had a much longer range than her small pistol. He’d taken the shots from far out, maybe while running to her rescue. Her darts hadn’t had enough time to work. Simon’s darts had been there first, in the creature’s back, doing their job in the nick of time. Thank heaven.
A second later, Simon burst through her back door. She was never more grateful to see him. He’d saved her life.
“Mari? Did he touch you?”
“No, Simon. Oh, God, it’s so good to see you.”
She flew into his arms, climbing over the table and jumping the pile of debris that had been the zombie. She almost knocked Simon backward, but he steadied her, his powerful arms coming around her and holding her tight while he rained kisses down over her face.
“God, baby, I thought I’d lost you. I can’t, Mari. I can’t ever lose you.” His whispered words were music to her ears.
“I love you, Simon. I wanted you to know. My one regret when I thought I was going to die was that I’d never told you. I’ve loved you for a long time. Since we were first dating. And I never stopped loving you, even when you left.”
“Oh, Mari. I need you so much.” He kissed her then, a long, lingering kiss. Mariana was beside herself with relief and joy. She had finally admitted the love that had never waned in her heart for him.
She wrapped herself around him in both delight and relief. He’d saved her life, no doubt about that. There hadn’t been enough time for her darts to do the job. Simon’s longer-range rifle darts had saved her.
Now that the danger was past, she was free to let her emotions take over. Tears mixed with the joy in her heart, sliding down her face and into their kiss. Simon pulled back, concern in his gaze. His expression was completely open to her for the first time and she could see the love shining in his eyes, the care in every beloved line of his face.
“You’re all right, Mari. You’re safe.”
“I know. I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed. That’s the last one, right? You’re through with hunting them?”
“As far as I know, he was the last and the most difficult to catch. He’s been evading me for months.”
“He seemed smarter than the others.”
“He was. He set the mailman up as a distraction, near as I can tell. He waited for me to go after that poor soul before attacking you here. None of the others showed that much initiative or cognitive ability.”
“I’ll freely admit, he scared the bejeezus out of me. I don’t ever want to go through anything remotely like that again.”
He hugged her close, stroking her back. “It’s over, Mari. I think that’s the last of them, but I’ll probably be prowling around for the next few nights, just to make sure.”
“And where will you be spending your days?” She challenged him, daring to hope his declaration meant he would be willing to stay with her this time, to see where their relationship might lead.
“I’ll spend my days making love with you, if you’re available.” He winked at her, a devilish grin on his face.
“I’ll see what I can arrange,” she teased back. “I do have a bit of leave left that I really should use up.”
“I’d be honored to help you find something to do with all your free time, Doctor.” He lowered his head again and kissed her deeply, but all too briefly. He straightened. “Hold that thought. I need to report this to Sykes so he can get containment on Webster Road before any civilians go through there. Then I’m taking you to the nearest hotel so they can scrub this place and put it back to rights. Go pack a few things while I make the call.”
She did as he asked, glad to have a task to occupy her hands and her mind. She was still dizzy from fright and from the amazing turn of events. Simon had saved her life and he’d admitted some pretty deep feelings for her. She didn’t know which event was more amazing.
She had gone from stark terror to utter despair to grim resolution and then to blessed relief, all in the space of an hour or two. Her emotions were definitely on overload and spending what was left of the night at a hotel sounded like an awesome idea.
Chapter Nine
“Let me get that for you.” Simon made short work of moving the refrigerator and other pieces of her make-shift barricade out of the way so she could get into the rest of the house.
He preceded her into the living room, to assess the damage and make certain everything was truly safe. He hated seeing the devastation on her pretty face when she looked at the ruin of her living room.
“Oh, boy.” She sighed sadly. “This place is a disaster.”
The monster had trashed the living room. Many of her ornaments and knickknacks were broken, as was a lot of her furniture. Otherwise, it was safe enough. The zombie hadn’t left any nasty surprises that he could find.
“Let’s check out the rest of the house before I make my call.”
“Thanks, Simon.” She tugged on his sleeve, her little hand stealing into his for a quick squeeze.
He leaned down to place a quick, reassuring kiss on her lips. He wanted to make love to her, but safety, duty, and security had to come first. There wo
uld be plenty of time to get her mind off the horrific events of the night. The rest of their lives, if he had his way.
“Come on, sweetheart. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can get out of here.”
She seemed to gather herself before turning to the small hallway that led to the rest of the house. She had locked her bedroom, bathroom, and the door to the spare room. All were still locked. The creature hadn’t even ventured down the hall from what Simon could see.
She unlocked all three doors one at a time at his signal and he checked each of the rooms out before he would let her enter. They were untouched, thankfully, and he watched as she grabbed a satchel and began tossing things in. He grabbed his bag, which he had left by the door to her bedroom, and went into the living room to make his call. Despite the late hour, Matt Sykes picked up on the first ring.
“It’s done. We just got the last one at Mari’s house. It was close. Bastard came right for her. That’s the third time she’s been in the line of fire with these things, Matt.”
“She okay?” Sykes asked. Simon heard the concern in his buddy’s voice. Matt Sykes was a good guy who truly cared about the people under his command, even if he seemed tough as nails on the outside.
“She’s shaken, but she’s a trouper. I want to get her out of here though. The guy trashed her living room and cornered her in the kitchen. What’s left of him is in there. I’ll tag it on the way out. There’s also another down on Webster Road. The mailman. The one that attacked Mari set the mailman up as a distraction.”
Matt Sykes whistled on the other end of the line. “I didn’t think they were capable of that kind of forethought and planning.”
“Neither did I. This last one’s been a thorn in my side for weeks. He was a lot cannier than the others.”
“You got him. That’s all that matters. Good work, Si. By the numbers, that should be the end of it, but I want you to stay in position for another week or two, just to be sure.”
