by Tristan Vick
Suddenly she realized there was something breathing down her neck. Jen slowly stood up and turned around to find a large black woman with a massive canopy of frizzy hair staring at her with whitewashed eyes. “Grrrr,” the woman growled.
“Love the hair, darling,” Jen said, smiling. Then she slung the duffel bag over her shoulder and turned back toward the car.
The zombie stood watching her curiously. Jen tossed the bag in through the open driver’s side door into the passenger seat and then looked back at the woman once more. Without saying another word Jen got back in the car and slammed the door shut.
Hitting the start button, the engine roared to life. The noise drew the attention of more Biters but they were slow in their approach.
Throwing her arm across the passenger seat, Jen looked over her shoulder and backed up. She got a safe distance away and then grabbed the wheel and shifted the automatic sports car into drive. She was heading south to Vegas, to where her home was.
After Levi bit the big one, it all became hers. All three mansions, the yacht, the private jet, and all the resources of his company, TechCore, a vast information server designed to secure and backup everyone’s personal data, including their deepest and darkest secrets. Private corporations used it, governments used it, and she knew that somewhere in the depths of that digital vault, underneath all the layers of encryption, there would be an answer to who or what caused the apocalypse. But all in good time, she mused. All in good time.
A devious smile spread across her thin red lips. “Vegas, here I come!” Before she could hit the gas and peel out, however, the big black woman with her gravity-defying Afro stepped in front of the car and snarled.
“You’re in my way, hon,” Jen said.
Staring intensely at the zombie woman, Jen’s eyes narrowed. Reaching down, she placed her hand up her mini skirt and her fingers between her thighs. Searching for it, she found her slit and gently rubbed her fingers along herself until they slipped beneath the folds. After a couple minutes of playing with herself, she felt a tingling sensation. Suddenly she orgasmed and she let out a deep, penetrating moan.
Slowly, Jen put both hands on the steering wheel of the car and stared straight at the zombie woman. “Step aside, hon,” she ordered.
The Afro-laden zombie ceased her snarling and then stepped aside, just as Jen had asked. “That’s better,” she whispered to herself. She turned off the traction control, slammed down on the gas, and spun the tires. She burned a set of elevens into the road, tires squealing and smoking, the uproar drawing Biters from all around. Not that it mattered though, she wasn’t hanging around.
Finally, after a lot of pomp and circumstance of getting the show on the road, the eighteen-inch alloy wheels bit down on the asphalt and the 420-horse-power engine rocketed the car forward like a missile. The sensation was exhilarating, especially coming off the high of her recent orgasm.
She didn’t quite understand how her power worked. But it seemed to her that it must only work when she felt danger was near and when her adrenaline was pumping like all six cylinders of her turbo-charged Caddy. That’s when she was extra-focused on the moment like being “in the zone” that athletes always talked about.
It also probably helped that she was a raging nymphomaniac. Without her licentious proclivities, she wasn’t sure she’d even be able to control the power as well as she could. After all, she knew that she needed to release tons of pheromones for it to even work.
Even then the range wasn’t all that great, as she had painfully discovered with the security officer back at the sports shop. It seemed to be limited to a radius of no more than ten or twelve feet. Maybe she could get it up to twenty with practice or with a satisfying fuck that flooded the area with her pheromones. Either way, she knew that for her power to work effectively she needed to expand her pheromone cloud, to call it that, to its maximum radius. Then, like a love potion, she’d infect the undead with her pheromones, as ironic as that seemed, and then she could influence them via what seemed like hypnotic suggestion.
She didn’t fully understand why she had gained this power or how it even worked. All she knew was that, just as Rachael Ramirez could resurrect from the dead, now she had been gifted a special power too. And she knew just what she’d use it for.
As Jen tore away from the gathering she looked in the rear-view mirror and thought she saw a familiar couple shambling toward her from the direction of the bridge she’d just passed beneath. It looked like… Nah. Impossible, she told herself. Rachael had ensured they’d gotten out. Unless they were the unluckiest kids on the planet, it couldn’t be them. But then again, maybe it was. “Ha!” Jenn laughed. “Ha-ha-ha!”
The little girl in the mirror asked her, “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. It was just a random thought. I was just thinking, if it was them…then…that sure as hell would bite.”
The little girl gave a wry smile and turned her gaze back toward the scenery passing by outside her window. “That’s a stupid joke.”
Arms folded across her large breasts, the beautiful blonde with sparkling blue eyes just looked annoyed, as per usual. Jennifer crossed her slender legs and let out a pent-up sigh. “The kid spoke my mind,” she said, sounding vexed as usual.
Jen ignored her present company and went back to driving. “Everybody is a critic,” she said.
Flying down the highway, Jen opened the windows of her glossy red Caddy and let her hand dance on the wind. “Woo-ha!” she shouted out with glee. Life was great. And she felt unstoppable. Because, factually speaking, she was.
PART 10
JAPAN
AOKIGAHARA VILLAGE
NEAR MOUNT FUJI
50
Aokigahara
Aokigahara Village, Near Mount Fuji, Japan
Deep within the valley at the foot of Mount Fuji sat a secluded village that had gone seemingly untouched for ages. It was a virtual oasis protected by the dense growth of the bordering forest and filled with tiered rice paddies that climbed the valley hillsides like stairs leading to some mystical glimmering land that reached beyond the clouds.
A series of shallow freshwater streams suffused with aquamarine glistened in the sunlight as they wound their way around the small village at the heart of the valley. Small translucent fish could be seen swimming in schools within the clear water, while the babbling sound of the creek was soothing to the weary travelers’ ears. Fanning his hand across the majestic landscape, the old man grinned from ear to ear and said, “Welcome to Aokigahara!”
There were about two kilometers of land between the forest’s end and where the village began in the valley. Most of the ground that stretched between the perimeter of the forest and the village consisted of wet rice fields. It was little more than a barren patch of fallow crops and muddy pools. Just beyond that, on the other side of the village, Fuji’s mountainside grew green and lush with autumn rice.
Noticing the group’s puzzled looks at the sight of nothing but a murky quagmire on one side of the village and green agriculture on the other, the old man explained, “We use these muddy fields as a barrier to help safeguard the village. The mud acts like fly paper to the monsters, which easily get stuck in the thick of it. If any of the undead should happen to get through, our guardians usually take care of them before they can reach the village walls. For the winter, we plan to plant stakes, spikes, and spears along with a full network of barbed trip wire.”
The monk tipped back his hat and pointed at the large bamboo barrier around the entire perimeter of the village. The green fence blended so naturally into the scenery that most would probably miss it if they weren’t looking for it. It was the perfect camouflage to protect the village from the brain-dead monsters.
“So that’s the village, then?” Kevin asked, rubbing the back of his head.
“You would be correct.” The old man’s eyes sparkled as he answered with a proud grin. Stroking his beard, he added, “It took us four months of hard labor to com
plete the fence. Just in time too. A large swarm of the creatures came out of the forest just as we were putting the finishing touches on it.
“It’s impressive,” Saeko stated.
“It looks safe,” Kana added with a smile. She was pleased that Kevin’s vision of a safe-haven beyond the city wasn’t just all in his mind. Now they could raise their child in this peaceful countryside village.
The old man looked back at the two ladies and winked at them. With a smile, he said, “Oh, it is safe. Very safe. Apart from the pesky mosquitoes in the summer, there’s nothing to worry about. We have food, clean water, and supplies.”
Continuing, the old man informed them about the security of Aokigahara, reassuring the group that they rarely ever had any sort of real trouble. Just minor incidents with a roaming pack, but he assured them that the village guard always handle matters quickly and efficiently.
“What about after dark?” Saeko inquired.
“We have night patrols. Those on night detail are expected to stay in pairs. Two patrols handle the village while two others take the perimeter. Every two hours the groups switch with one another. We have guards manning the main gate at all times, day and night. In the morning, just after dawn, we open the gates back up and the farmers set to work in the fields. Our guardians patrol the fields to ensure the safety of all. At the same time a lookout watches the forest for signs of trouble during the daylight hours. Inside the community the women, children, and elderly attend to domestic duties. Come curfew, the village guard accompanies the farmers back inside the gates, and we lock up tight.”
“Sounds like heaven to me,” Kevin said. His stomach grumbled and he looked at everyone with a twinge of embarrassment.
The old monk smiled at him. “You are all more than welcome to stay. But if you do, I must inform you that there are three simple rules you must abide by in this village. One, everybody does their fair share. Second, no harming the living or anyone of your neighbors within the wall of this village. Quarrels and other disputes will be taken up before a tribunal. Third, no eating meat.”
“No meat?” Kevin echoed. “That’s an odd rule, isn’t it?”
The old man stopped, turned, and said, “The way we figure it, the moment the dead rose out of their graves and then proceeded to eat every living thing in sight, well, everything became an endangered species. You will respect that fact, or you’ll find yourself on the other side of these walls to fend for yourself.”
Kevin threw up his hands. “No, sir! I wasn’t questioning your rules.”
“Good,” the old man stated in a firm voice. Grinning, he flashed a haphazard assortment of teeth to let them know he wasn’t as cruel of a dictator as he sounded and stroked his beard again.
Arriving in the village by the late afternoon, they marched past a gathering of watchful eyes and were ushered into the old man’s house. He laid down some futons out and placed them onto an old tatami floor and allowed the weary travelers to nap the afternoon away in the womb of the village. It was the first real deep sleep any of them had truly had since the epidemic of resurrecting corpses began.
A few hours later, Kana awoke to the scent of fresh miso soup. Shaking Kevin awake, she said, “Wake up, sleepyhead. There’s food!”
Saeko sat up too and they all smiled at one another. They had made it. Made it out of the hungry city. Made it through the mist of hidden terrors. And made it through the forest alive. Now they could finally catch their breath, maybe even find leisure time to do something other than scavenge for food or fend of the walking dead all day.
There was just one little problem nagging at Kana’s conscience. Ever since Kevin’s ex-girlfriend had returned, Kana couldn’t help but grow more and more jealous. Even though Saeko made a show of not being interested in Kevin, Kana couldn’t shake the idea that it used to be Saeko’s athletic body pressed against his, making love to him. Kana was an old woman compared to Saeko’s taut eighteen-year-old figure, and she felt bloated with Kevin’s child. Worse still, her whole life she felt ugly. A mammoth female beast with the grotesque figure of a hippopotamus that did not compare well when placed next to the endless offerings of skinny Japanese women. Kana knew that eventually Kevin would be tempted back into Saeko’s arms. It was only a matter of time.
Entering the kitchen, they all sat down together at the square table in the middle of the room. The old man served them miso soup with real tofu and fresh vegetables from his own personal garden. Kevin and Kana sipped the bowls of soup with tears streaming down their faces, but Saeko just nibbled on a raw carrot. For some reason, she didn’t have much of an appetite.
In fact, apart from some bread she had eaten a few days ago, Saeko hadn’t eaten much of anything at all. The strange thing was that she didn’t feel hungry or weak. She didn’t feel light-headed or moody. She felt perfectly fine. Maybe whatever this infection did to her, maybe it changed her basic physiology as well.
“Now that your stomachs are full,” the old man said, “how about a hot bath?”
“Are you kidding me?” Kana asked, an ear-to-ear grin spreading across her mud-sullied face.
“Of course,” he laughed. “In the center of town we have a fully functioning onsen with a naturally fed hot spring.”
“That’s almost better than a hot meal,” Kevin said. “Almost.”
Excited, the group gathered their things and followed their guide to the bathhouse. In the empty lobby, the old man was about to usher Kevin to a separate pool, but Kana faked a baby-related cramp and winked at Kevin, letting him know she wanted the child’s father close by her side. After all, she was still undecided about this Saeko woman, and she didn’t want to be alone with her. Besides, Kana had noticed that Saeko hardly ever ate. About the only thing she consumed on a regular basis were cigarettes, and that wasn’t exactly food.
“All three of you together?” The man raised a suspicious eyebrow.
“We’ve all grown really close,” Kana said. “We’ve come to depend on one another. Besides, he’s the father of my child,” she said, rubbing her belly to help emphasize the point. “So I think it’s only fair for him to be with me at all times.”
“You’re with child?” the old man asked, seeming entirely thrilled by the prospect.
“Yes,” Kana chirped happily as she rubbed her belly.
“Congratulations! This is wonderful news. I must tell the midwives about this.” The old man turned toward Kevin and added, “Because you’re the father, I will allow it. But only if it’s okay with this lady here.” He turned to Saeko.
Saeko shrugged, as if it was no big deal, and said “Sure.”
“Well, then! That settles it,” and the monk left them to it.
Turning toward Saeko, Kana asked, “It is all right with you, isn’t it?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Saeko turned around, unbuttoned her white shirt, and unfastened her skirt.
Well, she wastes no time, Kana thought to herself.
Glancing at Kana, Kevin shrugged, then began taking his clothes off too. Finally, Kana did the same. Even if she wasn’t technically a slender woman, she could at least put Saeko to shame with her giant G-cup breasts.
Kevin and Kana disrobed and then rinsed each other off with a nearby bucket. Kana gave Kevin a little neck massage and eyed Saeko as she did, shooting her a fake smile. Saeko smiled back then turned away. After washing they waded into the pool, the size of a kid’s pool but much deeper, together.
Saeko used a bucket to rinse herself clean as well then walked past them and climbed into the far end of pool opposite the couple. Turning her back toward them, she cupped her hand, drew up some water, and washed her face. Then she took a breath and sank below the surface. She held her breath for a long time, at least forty seconds or more, then slowly rose out of the water. Once she breached the surface she pulled the wet strands of her dark silky hair back over her shoulder then leaned up against the side of the rock wall and let out a deep sigh.
“I think I’m going to li
ke it here,” Kana said, in an attempt to break up the unusually long silence.
“Me too,” Kevin agreed, nodding his head in affirmation. They both looked over at Saeko, but she didn’t respond. She was off in her own little world just watching ripples dance on the surface of the water.
“I apologize,” Kana said, addressing Saeko. “With everything that’s happened we still haven’t been properly introduced yet. My name is Kana Fujiwara. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Kana took a slight bow, lowering her head and trying to be as polite as possible to Saeko, even though it was Saeko who was technically her junior, her kohai. Even so, the fact remained that Saeko had saved her life and Kana owed her a debt of gratitude.
Without turning around, Saeko scowled, and although she knew it was horribly rude, she chose not to dignify Kana’s sudden politeness with a response. She didn’t even know why she was trying to be nice to her. All Saeko knew was that she didn’t want to socialize right now, she just wanted to soak in the soothing water until her skin became prune-like and then she’d go back to bed.
Unable to understand why Saeko refused to respond to her, Kana shot Kevin a hurt glance, but he looked just as puzzled as she was and shook his head that he didn’t know. Looking back at Saeko, Kana tried to spark up the conversation one more time. “I don’t mean to pry, but will you be staying with us here? Or do you have plans of your own?”
It wasn’t a question Saeko wanted to think about right now. Standing up, she turned toward them and stood staring at them with a hard gaze as water dripped down her naked body. Kana’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the sight of Saeko’s firm body and bushy pubic hair below and turned her head away, while Kevin just continued to stare in awe, his mouth agape.
For the life of him, Kevin couldn’t figure out how she had survived. Or for that matter, how she was able to piece herself together. He wasn’t even sure if she was real or just a ghost. Nothing made sense, and he certainly couldn’t wrap his mind around it. People just didn’t come back from the dead. Not like that at any rate.
