Janus (Zombies versus Dinosaurs Book 2)

by James Livingood

  CHAPTER THIRTY:

  To Continue

  Hesh ran through the labyrinth of tunnels within the mountain. She had already stashed away a number of supplies on this route. She hope that she never had to use this, but it became apparent to her that she needed a back exit should something go wrong. Today, something had gone horrible wrong. She felt sorry for the man who had betrayed them. He was trying to survive in a rough world. She knew though, that you never make a deal with zombies. Zombies want to eat the world and that’s it. She was surprised that they were smarter than what she expected. Luckily, over the course of a month, he had changed her view. He showed her how the zombies kept testing the parameter. Hesh went near the back cave opening and peeked out. She didn’t see any signs of movement. Still, without Paul around or her birds, she felt exposed and scared. Even one zombie would be able to take her, let alone a whole army of them.

  She moved silently outside the cave and gathered a few of the caterpillars from the branches. She spotted a nearby bird and kept waving, then hiding a caterpillar at it. It followed her for awhile, then took off in another direction. Hesh decided that she wasn’t going to be able to lure another one all the way between here and her next base of operations. Hopefully, this next one would have enough time to experiment. She was so close to her goal. She wanted these flying dinosaurs for more than carrying messages and eating bugs. Her last thing to teach was the most important. While she taught the lesson, she would increase the size dramatically. The hope was that the size would clinch her goal. However, if her teaching did not go according to plan, it would be extremely dangerous. Hesh knew that she would probably lose her life if the tricky experiment went wrong. Still she was willing to try. She had to try. This experiment had to succeed at all costs.

  Days went by at her new location. She had been able to trick a dinosaur bird in that was not as robust as her previous specimens. Still, it had a hearty appetite for caterpillars, which was crucial to her needs. Everyday the size of the dinosaur increased. That meant more and more food had to be prepared. However, Janus had learned her lesson about having a finite food source. Instead, she concentrated on grinding up bits of powder and other ingredients with the caterpillar paste. She hoped that it would be enough to get the dinosaur bird to switch to a new food source. She knew the nutritional needs of the animal. It should be a good match.

  Hesh also increased the neck and arm strength of the dinosaur bird. As the wings grew harder, the neck and arms had to support the weight. It continued to grow in size and she sliced in some bat genetics to try and make the beast a night hunter. The genetics did not work the way she intended. Instead of growing ears and a keen sense of supersonic noises, the ears grew into little stubs. The stubs began to harden and that frustrated Hesh. She hated when an experiment went wrong. She also loved it when an experiment went wrong. That often meant that she was going to learn something new.

  She petted the creature affectionately and continued her work. Tomorrow was a big day. They would work on an important task. The dinosaur bird would start to hunt on its own again. The hope was that Hesh would be able to call the beast back. Just in case, she tied a vine rope around its neck and made sure it had plenty of slack.

  The next morning, when freed from the cave and its makeshift cage, the dinosaur bird darted up into the sky. Hesh realized her mistake when she was about nine feet off the ground. She had made this thing too large and powerful. She climbed up the rope quickly an held onto the dinosaur bird. The feathers were now small and hard. They held fast and it was hard to get a good grip. Still, Hesh dug in and found a place for her hands to hold onto. She soared with the creature for a long time before both darted down at something. The dinosaur bird snatched it from the ground and threw it into the air. Its giant razor sharp jaws cut the being in half. After eating both halves, the bird dinosaur burped some powder. That also surprised Hesh. She didn’t think the chemical reaction would be quick enough to produce powder immediately. She had anticipated that organic material wouldn’t break down in that carbon dust for at least a few days.

  The flying bird dinosaur landed on the ground and Hesh jumped off, leading the creature back into the impromptu lab. There were surprises to think about. She had not anticipated the strength or the chemical reactions. However, she was pleased with the overall direction of her work. She would be able to show it off soon.

  What Hesh did not expect was another visitor that arrived later that day.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE:

  Rocks

  Paul looked around for his daughter. Although he knew instantly that she wasn’t here, he checked again. He asked about her, but everyone was extra quiet. He didn’t like what that meant. Finally, a woman he had never met came up to him. She told him about how that “weird zombie” had dragged a little girl out of the building. When he “weird zombie” came back, there was blood all over it.

  If Paul was a pool, that information was a hole in the bottom. He slowly sunk down to the floor and laid there. Others around him gave him room. Their expressions looked of fear and they stunk of desperation. He knew that with his legend they probably thought he was going to do some wild crazy stunt and save them all. Probably escape off into the night and live to fight another day. He didn’t care anymore. His daughter was probably dead, according to these people. He wasn’t sure what else he had to live for. He then felt the knife wound in his arm. It was all he needed. He would destroy that calm zombie. The rest of the world could be destroyed in a fireball for all he cared. He just wanted that one thing out of this world: Vengeance.

  Paul did not have to wait long. The next morning the building opened and Paul thrust his shoulder against the door. It opened suddenly and twisted quickly around the door and behind a zombie of some type. He broke its neck and took off. The calm zombie chuckled nearby and gave chase. Paul would slowly wound and destroy this abomination. Not out of some sense of moral duty. This was pure and simple blood lust to kill those who harmed his family. As he ran, each foot fall saw less color in Paul’s face. Each foot fall saw the smile on his face grow wider. Paul was going to turn into the hunter and trap this calm zombie. He would then dispatch it at all costs.

  Paul grabbed a rock off the ground and threw it at the eyes of the deer the calm zombie was riding. It hit the deer in the eyes and bounced off. The deer barely moved at all. Paul cursed under his breath and kept moving. Of course they would have infected the deer. He had to start thinking more and figure a way to knock this zombie off his perch. Paul got a few feet when a small stone hit him in the back. It felt like being punched in the ribs. He saw the calm zombie holding a stone in its hands. Apparently it thought hurting Paul was extremely funny as it had a large smile on its face.

  He saw several other zombies nearby smiling. They weren’t running after him and were letting the calm one toy with him. That was fine with Paul. He didn’t want the others interfering in his destruction. Paul twisted his body and started running toward the calm zombie. Its smile grew even wider and threatened to match Paul’s half crazed smile. At the last moment Paul jumped on the ground and rolled towards the deer’s feet. The beast was quick and agile. It jumped over Paul with a refined and practice grace. What it didn’t anticipate was Paul grabbing one of its legs and pulling. The dinosaur crashed into the ground with the calm zombie crashing as well. The deer had not even full finished rolling by the time the calm zombie got up with a knife in its hand. For a brief moment, Paul wondered if this blue brain had raided an armory. It always seemed to have a knife on it. It threw the knife at Paul’s head. Paul shifted his body in the other direction and was able to catch the knife. He then twisted the knife in his fingers, ready to go to work. The calm zombie also found another knife and they started to circle each other.

  This time there would be no burning buildings to help Paul make an escape. The group of zombies around them howled on occasion. Luckily for Paul, none of them lurched forward and started an unfair fight. That was very odd behavior for a group
of zombies, though Paul did not have time to analyze it. Instead he tried for several quick slashes to test the defenses of the calm zombie. The zombie easily dodged the cuts and gave Paul a small cut on his forearm near where the previous knife had struck.

  Paul decided to try another tactic. If he could gain enough control and present an opening… Paul continued to have a knife fight with the calm zombie. He slashed and stabbed with a difficult precision. However, each time he swung he intentionally dropped his right arm a little low. He was hoping to send off signals that his right arm was weaker than his left. The moment came and Paul tried a full swing, leaving his supposed “weak” arm open for attack. The calm zombie saw the opportunity and tried a forward stab. Paul pushed into the stab lodging the knife into his arm. Paul then used his other arm to take his knife and stab upward into the side of the zombie. It was a tricky shot, and in a normal fight Paul would have been the clear winner. However, he was fighting with a zombie. Blood did not pour from the wound on the zombie’s side. It twisted and broke the blade off in its own body. It then kicked Paul back and into the dirt. It smiled wider and dug its hands into the wound. Seconds later a flash of metal came out, without more than a few drops of blood on it.

  Paul needed to find another way to win this fight. It was obvious that fighting the zombie like a regular human wasn’t going to work. Small cuts and finishing moves probably wouldn’t work on this thing. Paul looked at the smiling zombie and tried to think of a way to kill this thing.

  He could try and start a fire. Then perhaps push this thing in. The idea of a zombie waiting around while he built a fire made Paul laugh. He could not imagine this creature waiting around only to fall into its demise. Paul also knew that he wouldn’t have any luck blowing this thing up. Explosives were in short supply and he had used up most during his original escape. That meant that he had to use a different resource around him. One that might try to kill him. Paul looked at one of the nearby infected dinosaurs and jumped on.

  It tried to bite him several times. Paul smashed his fist against its skull to get it to stop. The dinosaur bit its tongue and then started to move the way Paul wanted. The smile began to fade on the calm zombies face. It realized that it needed a new mount. It threw its knife at one of its own, killing the zombie instantly. Paul was surprised that the creature had so easily taken a fellow zombies life. The calm zombie jumped up on its mount and the creature instantly obeyed. While Paul’s mount was trying to buck him off and bite him; the calm zombie looked like he had been training the animal for years.

  Paul continued to punch the creature in the head until it calmed and then slapped it’s butt. The dinosaur took off toward the calm zombie. The zombie snorted and lifted its hand. The moment the infected dinosaur saw its hand it stopped. Some kind of base communication had just happened, and Paul was not aware of it. Paul jumped off the dinosaur and it ran away. The moment Paul’s feet touched the ground the calm zombie began to ride its beast toward Paul. The beast lowered its head, ready to punt Paul across the town and into the tree line. Paul had to think fast to get out of this. Paul waited as the animal got closer and closer. This had to be timed just right. The beast got close enough and Paul jumped. Paul’s feet struck the dinosaur’s head and the beast flicked its head up. The result was Paul flipping over and onto the dinosaur’s back. The calm zombie was surprised and Paul used the moment to try and kick it off the dinosaur. The calm zombie released the reins and turned around, blocking the kick. The dinosaur continued to run through the town, looking for where it had thrown me. It did appear to suspect I was fighting on its back. Hopefully the confused beast would stay that way and keep running around. Paul needed all the advantage he could get in this fight. Perhaps some unstable footing would be enough to help him succeed in his goal.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO:

  A Name

  When it came to true freedom the same could be said. Understand your base instincts and you could have freedom. What's what Janus was all about. Liberating men from instincts that had become layered in to-do lists, committees, and buildings.

  Janus made a hand motion towards the animal and it started walking towards him a lumbering step. The other alpha did not realize that this animal, this infected beast, was truly under Janus's control. If he had then he would have jumped off the beast. The dinosaur brought the other alpha right back to Janus. The other alpha realized what was going on and did try to escape several times. However, he was unable to fully disengage. The beast started shaking side to side to make make sure the other alpha clenched on tightly. The dinosaurs also stomped its feet in a threatening way to ensure that the other alpha would keep on.

  Many times the other alpha would try this side or that. He even tried to climb underneath the undercarriage of the animal and move the feet in an odd kicking manner. However, Janus laughed at the motion. He knew that this animal would not stop. He commanded the creature's base instincts, and that meant its sense of intimidation. Janus knew that this animal was truly his. He could command each and every step that this animal made. That included the steps toward him. As the animal got closer, it kicked up dust and skidded to a stop in front of Janus. Dust and small pebbles flashed in Janus's direction.

  The defiant other alpha looked at his better. "What are you? How are you commanding these things?"

  Janus looked at him and said one word. It didn't make sense to waste words. "Janus"

  The other alpha did not believe him. You could tell in the way his body moved slowly toward Janus. It was not a posture of being frightened. It was a posture of trying to get to the bottom of the muster.

  The other alpha continued talking, "Janus was killed ages ago. I've seen the history articles. There is no chance you are patient zero."

  "Patient zero?" Janus asked. He shrugged and did not care what this other alpha believed. He got a knife out of his belt and pointed it toward the building. It was obvious what he wanted the other alpha to do.

  He wanted to humiliate the other alpha, and that included penning him. In subduing him. Janus knew that if this man were wise to his instincts that wouldn't be possible. However, he gambled that the man would be frustrated at his situation and go back into the building.

  Janus was rewarded with seeing the other alpha's back as he moved back in the structure. Janus raised his foot and kicked the man in the back. This sent the other alpha to topple to the floor. Those within the building rushed to his side to pick him off the ground. Those in Janus's tribe snorted and howled slightly. They needed to see that Janus was the strongest.

  Janus locked the door and started walking away. Something troubled him when he looked at the beta. The beta was not snorting or laughing. He had a deep look of concentration on his face. This beta had been a problem to Janus for a long time. However, Janus felt confident that this one could lead if something happened to him. If he decided that the other alpha's pack looked more enticing, it would be a tremendous blow to the pack's morale. Janus did not want this under any circumstances.

  Janus walked up to the beta and gave him the knife he used to lead the other alpha into the enclosure. Janus then started to walk away, his back turned to the beta. It was not meant as an insult, but rather to help ensure the beta saw him as strong. He needed this Beta to view him as positively as possible.

  If this beta did not carry on for him, when Janus eventually fell, then the whole pack could be lost. That would be a serious cataclysmic event. The pack would not longer be a single whole unit, hunting for food. Instead they would become petty things chewing on each other's scraps. The things he had worked so hard to perfect, his kiss that now infected dinosaurs, could be lost if he didn't teach them to future generations. He needed to ensure that men would not let freedom be wasted. One needed to be free of their instincts and that included the need for raw food. That's one instinct that he had yet to free his tribe from. He still needed to provide as much meat as possible to the tribe.

  This beta was his true prize. The beta would continue on for h
im. This beta would design new ways to free the instincts of men. The beta was the key and was also out to kill him. The beta knew its place was to lead, and the moment would only be right when Janus was dead.

  Janus stomped in the mud. He felt the dirt and grime squish between his toes. Something was troubling him today. It wasn't that the other alpha was smarter or better. I twas just the way that his pack reacted to him. He knew that this other alpha's pack didn't have full knowledge of their instinct. It should have made Janus feel more reassured that this decision was right. Instead he felt insecure about his aim. He needed to figure out why the other alpha's decision to not use instinct was making him uncomfortable.

  Foot steps came up behind him and broke the alpha out of the trance for a moment. It was the beta.

  Janus did not like the beta coming up behind him. It meant that he was weak and distracted. Janus did his best to hide the flinch cause by hearing the beta approach. He decided the best way to distract from weakness was to show strength. This is what Janus knew from his instinct. He punched out at the beta. The punch went wide and missed the beta by quite a bit. The weakness was shown and the beta snorted, dismissing the gesture. The two watched each other for a moment.