by Gayle Katz
Yesterday Yields
Jane Zombie Chronicles
Book 3
Gayle Katz
In Your Face Publishers
Blue Bell, PA
Copyright © 2018 Gayle Katz
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission from the author. For permissions contact:
[email protected]
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead, or undead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Visit the author’s website at GayleKatz.com
Table of Contents
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Chapter 1
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“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I hear from the other side of the bathroom door. Not only that, I hear barking and scratching sounds too. They’re close. As I try to detect the source of the sounds, I look around and see lines of light blazing to my right. They’re so bright. I can’t look away. Except for the cracks of light, I can’t see anything else in the room. My eyes won’t adapt. My vision is failing. The darkness surrounds me.
All of a sudden, light floods the room. I’m blinded by the brightness and cover my face out of instinct. Immediately, I remove my hands from my face to give my eyes time to adapt. That’s when I hear a voice. It’s loud.
“C’mon, Rocky! Get in here! Now!”
I see a small blur dart toward the light source and then quickly leave my field of vision.
“Good boy!”
I hear an ear-piercing, slamming sound and then the light is replaced with darkness. The room is pitch black again. I wander aimlessly away from the mirror and move through the darkness. Without being able to see what’s in front of me, it’s like walking in a minefield of objects just waiting to trip me. Instead, I head toward the glowing cracks outlining the door. I stare at them. They’re mesmerizing. The light isn’t the only thing catching my attention. The air wafting from the other side of the door has a sweet aroma making me salivate. I inhale deeply. Ah. Yes. The smell is intoxicating. I touch my mouth and it feels wet. I wipe it with the back of my wrist and my face sticks to it. The feeling is tacky, but it smells oh so good.
As I enjoy the scent of something wonderful, I feel shivers run up and down my spine. Did it get cold in here?
I can hear something on the other side mumbling and making noises. Whatever it is smells delicious. Unfortunately, no matter how I bang myself against the barrier, I can’t open it.
After a few minutes of trying to gain access to the other side, I hear the voice again. This time I concentrate on the words.
“What’s happening to you?”
What’s happening to me? I don’t understand what the voice is saying. I feel fine. I’m just hungry, ravenous actually. I need to eat something. I hesitate for a moment. Nah. It can’t be. I got the inoculant.
“Speak to me.”
I am speaking.
“Don’t just grunt and moan and bang into the door. Answer me!”
Still up against the door, trying to get to the tasty-smelling treat on the other side, my fingers explore the line of light closest to the floor. Something soft and wet touches them. That’s when I hear strange beeping sounds and more noise.
“Rocky, stop licking that! Hello? Chris? Chris? Is that you?”
There’s a pause.
“I’m so happy to hear your voice, man. We need you. The cure didn’t work. Jane turned and bit me. I’m standing here bleeding like a motherfucker in our bathroom on our wedding night. You gotta help us.”
There’s another a pause.
“She’s in the bedroom on the second floor. She’s trying to claw through the bathroom door to get us. She’s outta her mind. She’s also throwing herself into the door trying to break it down. That should keep her busy so you have the element of surprise. The bedroom door is closed so she’s definitely stuck in here for now, but I can’t say for how long.”
A third pause.
“The dog is with me in the bathroom. He was under the bed when she lost it. You don’t need to worry about him.”
One last pause.
“Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Please hurry. We really need you.”
Then silence. The lines of light vanish. No more noise. No more chatter. Alone in the darkness. Can’t get to the food. My hand still smells appetizing. I lick it as I amble aimlessly around the room, tripping over random objects, falling to the floor and slowly getting up again. Sometimes I stop and stare at nothing. Can’t get out of this room. Can’t see anything, but I can hear. I stop and listen.
There’s a crashing sound coming from below. The mysterious noise draws me to the other side of the room. Footsteps approach rapidly and they’re getting closer. Suddenly, I hear a smashing sound, like wood cracking. Then another blindingly bright light is shining right in my face. I still can’t see. What’s happening? I put my hands over my eyes in an effort to block out the brilliant light searing through my eyeballs and cutting through my brain.
“My god. Jane? Is that you?”
Despite the pain of the light hurting my eyes, I pull my hands away from my face. I open my eyes, but still can’t see anything. My vision is crowded with hazy, partial images that make no sense.
“Yes. It’s me,” I try to respond.
“Can you communicate?”
“Dammit. I am communicating. Can’t you understand me?”
“Jack wasn’t kidding. You’re completely out of it. Running around covered in Jack’s blood, I assume. If you can understand me, don’t worry about anything. I’m here to help.”
“Huh?” Unable to process what he’s saying and barely being able to see, I feel a pair of hands grab me, turn me around, and force me down to the ground. Before I can react, someone sits on my back, tapes my mouth shut, secures my wrists, and then my ankles together. I can’t move. Right now I can barely breathe. The carpet fibers are going up my nose and in my mouth. It’s suffocating.
“Sorry about this, Jane. I’m so sorry.”
It’s then that I feel a sharp pain in my arm.
“There. That should help.”
The bright lights flip back on, illuminating the entire room. My eyes are still having trouble adjusting to the constantly changing light and darkness, but I can see right in front of me. My face is buried in a patch of slimy, red-stained carpet. I manage to look up and I see the door with the deliciousness behind it finally opens. A man and a dog walk out. They greet the one who I assume did this to me. I struggle against my restraints.
“You OK?” the man asks.
“Not really,” he shows the man his bloodied neck.
“Geez. That doesn’t look good. She really tore into you. Sit down.”
The dog comes closer and growls in my ear.
“Rocky, come here. Stay!” the dog runs back to the bloodied man and sits by his side.
“What are we gonna do?”
“First things
first. You need an injection,” he pulls something pointy out of his bag and sticks it in his arm.
“Will this help? Prevent me from turning?”
“It should, at least for a little while. I brought extra with me. I have a feeling we’re gonna need it. Lemme patch you up. You and Jane have been through a lot. For now, just relax...”
“Relax?”
“Yeah, relax. Let the serum do its job, and get some sleep. We’ll continue this in the morning.”
“I won’t try to bite you?”
“No. I don’t think so, at least not yet.”
“What about Jane? Is she going to be OK?”
“After I incapacitated her, I gave her another shot. The best thing for her and for us right now is to keep her tied up until she regains her faculties. And we need to get some rest.”
“What happened to her? Why didn’t the cure work?”
“I don’t know, man. I don’t know, but we’re gonna have to find out. Can you tell me what happened?”
“I don’t know. One minute we were having a nice night together and the next she ripped a chunk of flesh outta my neck.”
“No warning? She just freaked out and bit you?”
“No warning. None. She just attacked. I thought we were past this crap. My first mistake was letting my guard down. I knew she was having some issues, but I didn’t think we would end up like this.”
“Wait. She was having issues? What kinda issues?”
“I noticed a few times that her hands would shake. Nothing crazy, she would grab them and put them in her pockets so I wouldn’t worry about her. I guess we both figured it was a side effect of the medication—nothing to be alarmed about. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters now is making her better. She’s my wife. I have to protect her. I can’t lose her.”
“I promise you, you won’t, but... you’re crazy, man. She bit you. Aren’t you the least bit mad? She’s got your blood in her mouth, dripping down her face, and on her hands. Now you’re infected and you’re still only worried about her. That’s love right there.”
“It is love. That’s how I know that she didn’t bite me. It’s the sickness inside of her. Plus getting angry won’t help us fix this mess, right?”
“Yeah. I hear you. I understand.”
“So what are we gonna do?”
“Well, I’m gonna start to plan our next steps. You and Jane Zombie over there are gonna get some shut eye and let the injections do their work.”
Grappling with my restraints takes all of my strength. With so little to feed on, fighting zaps all of my energy. After a while, I lose consciousness and fall victim to the darkness again.
***
As my eyes blink open, my face is still buried in the disgustingly bloody carpet. My only comfort is the warmth of the sun hitting my face and body as I wake up. I try to lift my head to see what’s going on, but it’s no use. I can, however, smell the stale stench of blood stuck in my nostrils. The cracked, dried blood all over the bottom half of my face makes my skin tight and uncomfortable, but there’s something else. I try to pucker my lips, but can’t speak. There’s duct tape covering my mouth. Then the pain comes. It’s overwhelming. Ow. My arms, my shoulders, and my legs all ache like they’ve been strung up for a week. I can wiggle my fingers, but my arms are restrained behind me and my legs are secured together. I try to move, but I can’t. I try again, but my attempts are fruitless. I start to panic. Where’s Jack? I worry. I pray he’s OK. At least I’m still in our bedroom.
I make noise through my gag in order to get someone’s attention. Nothing. I make more noise.
From the floor I can see two sets of feet walk over to me. I also see four dog paws and hear their pitter patter on the floor. I still can’t see faces. My head can only look up so far because of the way I’m tied up.
Rocky is the first one to introduce himself. He circles me a couple of times before he decides to come closer and lick my face. Someone else stoops down to my level. It’s Jack!
“How are you feeling?”
I mumble something.
“I can’t understand her. Can I remove the tape?” Jack looks over at the other person.
The other person kneels down in front of me. It’s Chris. What’s Chris, the military guy, doing in our bedroom the morning after our wedding night?
“Are you going to be good and not try to bite us? Nod or say uh-huh if you agree.”
I do both.
“OK. Take it off. She looks like she’s doing better.”
Jack touches my cheek and then removes the tape from my mouth carefully. It stings.
“Sorry!”
“What happened last night?”
“You turned and bit me.”
“What? Oh no! I’m so sorry, Jack. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“I know. I know. I don’t blame you. I love you.”
“I love you too, Jack. I’m so sorry.”
I pause for a second.
Jack and Chris cut me loose from my wrist restraints. Once my hands are free, I touch my mouth and see Jack’s blood on my fingers. “I guess that answers my question about how all the blood got onto my face. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s OK.”
Skeptical about his words, I stare at him.
“It’s OK, really. The important thing is that you’re yourself again.”
“I’m me again alright. Can you answer another question?”
“Sure. Shoot.”
“Why are the tips of my fingers not bloody?”
“You were sticking your fingers underneath the bathroom door. Rocky was licking them.”
“Ugh. Yuck. Can you tell me exactly what happened last night?”
“We were getting intimate. It was our wedding night after all and then you bit me. No warning. No nothing. You scared the crap outta me. You wouldn’t let go after you clamped down on me, but then I managed to slowly pry your teeth off of my neck. I made it to the bathroom, locked myself and Rocky inside so you couldn’t get to us.”
“And how did Chris know we were in trouble? How did he get here?”
“I called him. I didn’t know what else to do. I’m not sure the emergency room has a procedure in place for dealing with the sickness yet. Chris made it here in record time and he injected both of us with... what did you call it again?” Jack looks at Chris for additional details.
“Inoculant 481,” Chris responds.
“Didn’t you already inject me with an inoculant before? Wasn’t that one supposed to kill the sickness? I’m so confused,” I say, reeling from the recent turn of events. I still can’t believe I bit Jack.
“Ideally, yes, but after more careful study, it looks like these shots are more like suppressants, not cures. It appears to work, but when the person undergoes extreme emotion, something kicks the sickness back on and, well, you see what happens,” Chris gestures to their current situation.
“Last night was our first night together as husband and wife and emotionally overwhelming to say the least,” Jack admits.
“I got it,” Chris nods.
“But I feel fine right now, except for the pain coming from being tied up. By the way, can you cut my legs free too? My whole body aches,” I say as I continue to struggle against my restraints.
“Sure thing,” Chris slices the duct tape restraints on my ankles. “We just had to be sure you’re you before cutting you loose.”
“I understand,” as I pull the rest of the duct tape from my body. I knead my wrists and ankles as I sit on the floor in order to get the feeling back in them. My whole body is stiff from being tied up for hours. Jack comes over and massages my shoulders to help alleviate my fatigue.
“Thanks,” I put my hand on top of his and smile at him. “And I’m so sorry. I know it wasn’t the perfect wedding night we envisioned.”
“You got that right, but everything is better now.”
“Not really. Let me see what I did to you.”
“Yo
u don’t need to see it. Don’t torture yourself. Like I said, you weren’t yourself last night.”
“Let me see it. Please.”
Reluctantly, Jack unbuttons his shirt. I look at his neck and see teeth marks lining the side of his collar. I can feel my heart beat faster as I realize the truth. I bit him. I made those marks. I infected him. A bloody scab is starting to form, but the wound is still fresh. Now the zombie sickness is in the man I love and it’s all my fault. Shaking, I put my hands over my face and start to cry. The sadness is devastating.
Jack gently pulls my hands away from my face and tries to lighten the mood.
“We don’t have time for tears right now. Let’s focus on the good.”
“The good?”
“Yeah, the good. We love each other and we’ll get through this together. Plus, you certainly know how to keep things interesting,“ Jack makes fun. He continues to massage my shoulders.
“So what do we do now?” I ask as both Jack and I look at Chris.
“Well, first you might want to wash your face. You have my blood all over it,” Jack comments. I get up and run into the bathroom. I look at myself in the mirror and can’t believe what I’m seeing. Jack’s blood is covering about three-quarters of my face. I also have blood in my mouth, on my teeth. My stomach gets queasy. I cup my hands over my mouth and struggle not to throw up. No luck. That sick to my stomach feeling gets stronger and more intense. I move over to the toilet and get on my knees just in time. Whatever I ingested isn’t sitting well and I begin to purge the contents of my gut. I don’t want to think about what I did or ate last night.
I grab some toilet paper, wipe my mouth, and flush to make all the bad stuff go away. Sweating, I stand up and go back to the sink. I turn on the water and splash some on my face. After giving myself a moment to breathe, I grab the soap, lather up, and begin to clean the dried blood from my face. I dry my face on one of our white towels hanging by the shower and it turns pink. Before I rejoin Jack and Chris in the bedroom, I floss and brush my teeth.
