Zombie Apocalypse Series Box Set, Vol. 2 [Books 4-7]

by DeGordick, Jeff

  It looked like they were late to the party, because everyone was already there. Glass sat on his desk and faced the rest of the room. He watched her come in, the frightening skull on his mask giving her a chilling reception. Four soldiers, all armed, stood behind his desk and watched. Wayne was kneeling down at the side of the room with an armed guard standing behind him. She saw the damage that Glass had already done to him, and she became angry. Then she turned her gaze and noticed the final person standing in the room.

  The killer stood next to Glass's desk, his eyes lighting up as he saw her and his demented grin crawling over his face at unnatural angles.

  Sarah gasped and dug her heels into the ground, trying to backpedal away from him, but Jeb kicked out the back of her knees and shoved her onto the floor. She trembled with fear as she looked up at him, expecting him to suddenly lunge out and attack her. But he just stood there, and for the first time since she'd crossed paths with him, he just calmly remained on the spot, like he was well controlled.

  Glass turned his head suddenly and looked at the doorway. "Bring him in," he said.

  Sarah twisted her head to the side to see who he was talking to.

  Ron walked into the room, ushering David in front of him.

  Sarah nearly had a heart attack and tears immediately streamed down her face.

  19

  Ultimatum

  David's eyes wandered around the room, not seeming to pay too much attention to anyone around him.

  Sarah instinctively leaned forward on her knees toward her baby. "David, honey! It's me! It's your mama!" She was almost whimpering now as the tears streamed over her chin.

  David's head slowly turned toward her as his milky white eyes appraised her. He had the same level of intelligence as Kenny and the killer did as zombies; still retaining some of their old personality, but some of it likely hidden behind a layer of inhuman, animal instinct.

  The slightest bit of recognition flashed in David's eyes as he looked at his mother, and the corners of his mouth tipped downward ever so slightly, then he turned his head away. He elected not to speak at all or make any kind of sounds, keeping mostly to himself.

  Sarah was beside herself, not able to cope with the fact that David didn't recognize her, that he didn't run over and throw his arms around her. She felt like it was a slap to the face, a personal affront to her and what they had been through together, but she tried to remind herself that the real David was still there. It was just like he was trapped under a layer of ice that he had to break through to come back to the surface. But she had the cure now, and if she could find a way out of here with her son, she would be able to talk to him again and hug him and kiss him again, and he would be able to live as normal of a life as he had before.

  Glass found himself amused at this loving display. "A touching reunion," he said. "Do you miss your dear son, Sarah?"

  She just knelt there and sobbed, refusing to take her eyes off of David, who still looked around at any odd direction in the room.

  "He wasn't easy to find," Glass said. "But once we started to get readings on someone with your ability, we began to measure some anomalies in the area. When we investigated further, we found little David here, and even when he was among the dead he exhibited strange properties on the other zombies around him. He proved to be very useful. Not on his own, at first. All he could do for us was give us the basis of how to repel zombies like he did. But once we studied that ability in him, we were able to unlock it in me."

  Sarah thought about the time she saw him gracefully making his way through a crowd of undead as they seemed to pay no attention to him.

  "But we needed his mother, the true progenitor of his ability, to gain full control over the undead," he continued.

  Sarah knew that wasn't true; Ron had told her that he lied to Glass, telling him they were only able to get so much out of David and pretended that they needed Sarah to complete the mind control project, when in actuality David had every aspect of that already written in his genes. This told Sarah that there was still hope for their plan; there were still things Glass didn't know, and if they could pull this off, they just may have been able to take him out. He was so close to them, and if Sarah hadn't been chained like an animal, she might have been able to affect a more direct outcome. But with his armed entourage and the indestructible killer next to him, that would have been a steep feat. And that wasn't even mentioning Glass in all his formidable glory.

  "Once we got your son under our control, we put him to work, employing your precious Eden Project. The ability to dominate the pliable mind of the zombie... a very useful power. It's what your son could do, and now it's what I can do. So I experimented on your son, subjecting him to all manner of murderous tests and tribulations." A devilish smile spread across his face. "That's right, Sarah. I made your son kill like an animal. After all was said and done, he's really not so different from this fellow here that I know you're well acquainted with," he said, motioning to the killer.

  Sarah felt her whole body shudder as more tears rolled out. The killer just kept staring at her with his demented and waxy smile. She could feel his eyes running all over her, and she knew it must have been killing him not to try to kill her or run his tongue all over her body.

  "You monster," Sarah uttered. "I'll kill you. I'll kill you for what you did to him."

  "But here's the best part," he said. "I just got through using your son like the piece of meat he is. He has an amazing ability to control large portions of the undead when he sets his mind to it, so I used him as an amplifier to spread out my latest breed as quickly and as widely as possible, infecting as many old zombies and straggling survivors as possible. A very exhausting effect on young David, here. Ron tells me it put such a strain on him that he's not sure the little guy's heart can take it. A few more sessions of that and it may just give out entirely." He saw the tortured look on her face, so he twisted the knife further. "I think maybe I'll keep him around and do a few more sessions with him. Really push him past the brink. Isn't that right, David?" Glass looked over at him and suddenly David's eyes rolled up in his head and then he mindlessly nodded his head up and down in an exaggerated fashion.

  A burst of anger coursed through her, and she wanted to lash out and choke him to death with the chain around her waist for using her son as a ridiculous demonstration of his insanity.

  "But on second thought," Glass said, "I think I might have a better idea."

  Sandra walked in the room, carrying a tray with glasses of water on it. She slipped around the edge of the room, keeping her head down and acting like there wasn't a hugely intense confrontation going on. She walked to the back of the room across from Glass and set the tray down on the table where she hid the pill that Ron had made for her.

  "Your son has outlived his usefulness to me," Glass said. "Anything he could do, I can do now, even if only on a smaller scale. But as you know from the completion of the so-called Eden Project, you know very well what I like to do with people I no longer have a use for."

  The shocked and tortured faces of the scientists flashed in her mind as Glass had them gunned down in cold blood. The thought of him doing the same to her son created a very icy dagger that stabbed her right in the heart.

  "Don't you dare!" Sarah snarled.

  "I'll leave the choice up to you," he said. "Either I can kill your son right now and I'll let you go, free to live out the rest of your miserable life however you want, knowing in your heart every waking moment of every day that you are solely responsible for his death. Or... I will give David a comfortable life, bestowing upon him every creature comfort a growing zombie could need. Of course, it will never be the same as his boyhood used to be, but it's the best I can offer. Ron here is taking quite a shine to the boy, and I'm sure he'll take good care of him. The only price you have to pay is to give up your own life."

  "I'll do it," Sarah said, hard and wretched sobs shaking her body. If she was forced into a corner and those were the only opti
ons she had, she would make that decision in a heartbeat. She couldn't bear to see anything happen to David, even if he was a zombie; she lost her son once, and even though he wasn't his normal self anymore, she knew that the real David was hidden somewhere in that body, and any torture inflicted upon it was torture inflicted upon her true son.

  "Not so fast," Glass said. "The catch is that your son has to watch you die. You watched him die; it's only fitting that he is forced to watch you die. After that, he will be pampered and taken care of for life, and while there are many things I am, a promise breaker is not one of them." Glass looked at the killer standing next to him, whose eyes were just gleaming and hoping for a chance to get in on the action. "I'm sure he would be happy to oblige."

  Sarah gulped. As she looked at the maniacal countenance of the killer, she had second thoughts, as being killed by him had been one of her biggest fears ever since she first crossed paths with him.

  Sandra walked around the room holding a glass of water in each hand. She handed one to Ron and the other to Glass. Ron took his and started drinking, and Glass held his in his hand, peeling off the bottom of his mask and revealing his mouth. As he waited for Sarah's answer, he raised the glass to his hideous and melted lips. Sarah paused and watched him carefully, waiting to see what would happen. As the rim of the glass touched his bottom lip and he held it there, there seemed to be an air of great tension in the room as everyone watched him.

  Then he let go of it and it shattered on the floor. He looked at one of the soldiers lined up behind him and nodded his head. The soldier turned his weapon on Ron and fired. He shot Ron twice in his midsection, blood splattering out from the wounds. He cried in agony and collapsed to the ground.

  Glass smirked. "Do you think I'm stupid?" he asked. "I know you poisoned my drink, and I know you've been working against me this whole time!" He turned his head to Sandra and pointed at her. "Grab that whore!" Another one of the guards from behind his desk crossed the room and seized her. Sandra started to cry, trying to pull away from the guard, but she eventually acquiesced and stood on the spot, terrified.

  Ron groaned on the floor, fresh blood seeping out of his gut.

  Sarah watched the chaotic scene in shock. Their plan had already gone off the rails, and she didn't know if it could be recovered. But she tried to think on her feet and adapt the plan as necessary. Everyone who was a part of it silently collaborated together in that moment and tried to make it work. She saw out the corner of her eye that Jeb had slowly sidled away from her for the table at the back. He stood there like a statue with his hands behind his back and his shoulders moving ever so slightly, like he was trying to reach for something.

  Sarah saw the same opportunity that he did and she played off of it. She pushed herself up to her feet and charged at Glass, hurling a string of threats at him. But before she could get too far, Jeb lurched forward and grabbed her by the back of the collar, yanking her down and sending her crashing to the floor. When she lay on her back with her arm pinned under her, he knelt down and punched her in the face. Then he put his hand on her mouth and gave her head a hard shove before picking her up and pushing her back down to her knees.

  She twisted her face in pain, working her tongue around the sugar cube-shaped pill that Ron had manufactured and letting it dissolve.

  Wayne listened from the sidelines, concerned about what was happening, but he suspected he understood what she was doing.

  Glass turned his attention back to her. "Ron I'll deal with later, but you have a decision to make. You give up your life right here for your son, and he will never want for anything again. Or you forfeit your son's life and go free, yourself. But you get to watch, and I promise I won't make his death quick or pleasant.

  Fresh hot tears ran down her face, and she tried to milk every emotion she had to be convincing. "Okay," she said, her will appearing to have been broken, "I'll do it. Kill me, just don't hurt my son."

  Glass smiled. "A wise choice, and the one I was personally hoping for." He turned his head and looked at the killer, and like he was giving the maniac the best Christmas present he had ever received, Glass simply nodded his head.

  The killer's head swiveled back to Sarah and his grin stretched so wide he was like a bizarre caricature of himself. He slowly walked toward her, knowing she finally had no recourse, no chance of getting away. He could do what he pleased with her, and he could enjoy it.

  When the killer stood right in front of her and reached out his grimy hands to touch her, Glass added, "Oh, by the way, I'm going to kill your son, anyway."

  Sarah's eyes widened in horror as she looked from Glass to the killer lowering himself over her like a cold blanket. His hands met her chest and ran over the contours of her breasts. He squeezed them and pulled on them, then he began trying to slip a hand down her pants. He leaned his head forward and licked the side of her face as his putrid breath rolled over her. Sarah cringed very hard as she was absolutely disgusted by what was happening. Glass smiled in delight in the background, he too enjoying what was going on.

  And then in a final act that took all of the courage she had, Sarah took a deep breath and steeled herself against what she was about to do.

  She turned her head and looked directly into the killer's eyes and placed her hand under his chin. She guided his face until it was square with hers, then she leaned in and started kissing him. She plunged her tongue into the zombie's mouth, making out with the foul creature. The killer's eyes bulged, as did Glass's, both of them shocked at what was occurring.

  Ron propped himself up, still working through the pain of his gunshot wounds. "We didn't poison your water," he said. "We poisoned the zombie."

  Sarah pulled away from her kiss, trying to ignore the foulness of it, and a smile spread across her face as she stared into the killer's eyes. "Go get him, Tiger," she said.

  She relaxed and concentrated her mind, and then the killer's eyes suddenly spaced out. He stood straight up and turned around, marching toward Glass.

  The soldiers guarding him from behind the desk stepped out and raised their rifles. Everyone in the room hit the deck as gunfire erupted and they lit up the killer. But their bullets were very ineffective as the killer just grinned at them. Suddenly, with the speed and grace of a cheetah, the killer skirted around the desk and began his gruesome parade. He tore throats out, ripped faces apart, and pulled at their armor until he could get his hands underneath and claw through their stomachs to get to their intestines. Blood sprayed across the room as Glass backed up toward the balcony. Before long, his men were dead and the killer set in on him again.

  A group of soldiers suddenly ran to the entrance of his office, hearing the gunfire and not knowing what was going on. But Jeb aimed his gun at them and told them not to move a muscle. The soldiers looked from him to the brutal scene going on behind him as they watched in amazement.

  The killer threw himself at Glass, and Glass backhanded him, hitting him so hard that he flung the killer clear across the room. The killer crashed into the desk and rolled over the top of it, landing on the floor on the other side. But he got back to his feet and came at him again. Glass tried to kick him away, but the killer sidestepped it, ducked under a big swinging right hook, and leapt up into the air, latching onto him like a tick. The killer sank his teeth into Glass's neck and tore off a big strip of flesh. Glass howled in agony, trying to shake him off, but unable to. The killer raked his fingernails across his cheek, tearing more flesh, then he chomped down on the other side of Glass's neck and dug into his veins. Eventually, Glass started to weaken as the killer viciously attacked him, and then the strength in his legs gave out and he tipped over like a tall and mighty tree and crashed on the floor, shaking the whole office.

  The guards waiting out in the hallway and watching grew increasingly concerned, and some of them considered going for their guns. But Sarah made the killer get off Glass and march over to the doorway, blocking it and staring the soldiers down. They all turned and ran away, leavin
g Sarah in total control of what was happening in the office.

  Jack Glass lay on the floor, bleeding and gasping for air. They watched as his breathing became more labored and scratchy, until he began to grunt. He suddenly sat up, the bleeding on his neck abating, then he pushed himself up to his feet. The bottom of his face was still exposed under his mask, and through the blood, they could see that his flesh had turned pale.

  He prowled toward them like a zombie would, and Sarah was about to start concentrating on him, when suddenly he stood bolt upright. She gazed at him in confusion, not understanding what was going on, but then when her eyes drifted over to David and saw him with his eyes squeezed shut like she remembered him doing so many times before, she understood.

  Glass stumbled one way, and then he changed direction and ran himself into a wall, hitting it with a hard smack. Then he stumbled away from the wall and charged into it again, hitting his face on it. He stood in the middle of the room now, and David made him grab himself by the lips, using all of his strength to peel them off. In a disgusting display, the flesh on his face was ripped apart, revealing muscle and bone underneath. Then David made his hands go deeper into his own mouth, getting a good grip. And with one jerky motion, he broke his own jaw, twisting it and wrenching it until he ripped it off completely and dropped it on the floor in a bloody mess.

  He stumbled over to his big desk made of solid ironwood and began bashing his head against it. He flung his torso up and down furiously, hitting the desk with so much force that even his now incredibly durable skull shattered. Glass backed up toward the balcony doors, his huge body wobbling like a drunkard. He walked right through them and they shattered while he stumbled against the railing. He gained his balance slightly as he leaned against it, then with a final burst of concentration, David forced him to snake his hand up through the hole in the bottom of his head where his jaw used to be until he managed to work his fingers around his brain. And in a final feat of incredible strength, he squeezed his fist shut and crushed his own brain.