DEAD: Reborn

by TW Brown

  “Bring it to the next meeting…What was your name again?” Jake scratched his head with an over-dramatic look of confusion on his face. It was a crock. He knew Erik’s name, he was just trying to entrench the idea that he was a dimwitted hillbilly to this kid for some reason.

  Erik smiled and trotted in to help Carol. I did not like the vibe that he was giving off. It was sort of like the kid who starts off okay in the scary movie…until he turns into the chainsaw wielding lunatic bent on killing everybody who ever “did him wrong” when he was little.

  Jake glanced Erik’s way and shook his head. In a low voice he said, “You keep your eyes on that little weirdo. He creeps me out.”

  I nodded. “I am heading in to help search the place. I didn’t see any women, so I am actually a bit worried about what we might find inside.”

  “That is only half of your problem,” Jake said and waved a young man over who was standing against a tree with possibly the largest sword strapped to his back that I had ever seen in my life. This thing stuck up over his left shoulder and hung all the way down to his knees.

  “Yes, sir?” the man said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

  “Lauren, tell Billy here what you told me when we were scouting up on the hill.”

  “At least three of those trailers are housing meth labs,” Lauren said.

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  “The stuff they got stacked out back for one.”

  “What stuff?”

  “Cases of matches and gallon bottles of iodine tincture,” Lauren had a drawl that was deeper and even more relaxed than the one Jake affected.

  I didn’t know anything about meth; not the use or the making of it. I’d heard stories, which probably explained the missing teeth. I was also even more impressed with his ability to be a fat slob. Not so much the slob part, but this guy had maintained his gut through meth and a zombie apocalypse. That was dedication.

  “When we go in and search, it would be best to absolutely avoid the trailers housing meth labs,” Lauren added.

  And with that, we headed in after pairing up. Somehow, I ended up with Granny Rambo. I think I saw Jake snicker as we went off on our individual searches.

  “You did good facing down that jerk,” Carol said as we climbed the steps to the first trailer.

  “Thanks.” I really wasn’t good with taking compliments. They embarrassed the hell out of me. Just slap me on the shoulder or the butt and say “good game” and I’m fine…really.

  “I had a grandson about your age.”

  Carol was speaking, but I wasn’t sure that it was really intended for me. There was a quality to her voice that made her sound far away, like she was visiting someplace else in her mind. I felt sorry for her, but this was not the time or the place for that sort of thing.

  “Hey, I need you with me,” I said with a snap of my fingers to get her focus back to where it needed to be.

  She shook her head and I was half-expecting her to snap at me. She actually looked a little embarrassed for a moment before pursing her lips tight and nodding.

  I moved down the length of the trailer, stopping at each door and peeking inside. The place was a dump and there were porno magazines everywhere. I was really trying hard not to blush. It wasn’t that I hadn’t looked at a few my own self; but not with my grandmother staring over my shoulder.

  We reached the rear of the trailer and what I assumed had to be the master bedroom. It was possibly one of the vilest things I have ever witnessed. There were graphic porn pages taped or stapled to every inch of space on the walls and the ceiling. But if that were the worst of it, I would have just been a bit mortified and called it good.

  Secured to the bed was a naked female zombie. Her death had come from a bite on the left arm just above the elbow. She had a ball gag securely fastened in place to prevent any biting. Beside the bed was a huge cardboard box with cases of condoms. Scattered about the room was an assortment of lubricants.

  “Oh, my…” was all Carol managed behind a muffled gag and then a sob.

  I stepped forward and spiked the zombie, ending its torment. I think it was the first time that I had ever put a zombie down where I did so out of mercy. I turned and walked out of the room. If there was anything here worth salvaging, I didn’t care. This whole place made me feel filthy. And not just on the outside…my insides were twisted in knots and I wasn’t sure if the revulsion was stronger…or the anger.

  Once I was outside again, I took a deep breath and tried to get my head back on straight. We still had four more trailers to search and I needed to be sharp. Screwing up out here was not something where you could just ask for a “do over” if things went poorly.

  The second trailer was apparently not being lived in at the moment, but it was clear that it had been at some point. There was the same filthy conditions, the same porn scattered everywhere, but it looked like a lot of it had been picked through and there were even some blank spots on the walls where it was obvious that somebody had torn down whatever was once there.

  As we entered the third trailer, I heard a noise. Right away, Carol was back in the game and had her weapon up to her shoulder. We could see down the hallway. The only door that was shut was the one at the end where the master bedroom would be. Still, we made a slow methodical approach, stopping at each open door with me down low and Carol high to give us both a clear field of fire if we needed it.

  At last, we reached the door. I was down on my haunches and put my hand on the knob. Carol gave my back a gentle nudge with her knee to let me know that she was ready. I turned the knob and threw the door open, bringing my weapon up a heartbeat later.

  On the bed was another female; only, this one was not dead…yet. Her body was covered with bruises and I had to look twice before I could make sense of the mess between her legs. There was really no other way to put it. Between the dried blood and what I had to assume was severe bruising, she was a wreck.

  Carol pushed past me and grabbed the first thing she could to drape it over the girl’s middle. I took a step forward and her eyes opened. She saw me and began to thrash wildly, shaking her head back and forth.

  “”Get out, Billy,” Carol said in a firm voice that had me leaving the room before I even realized what was going on.

  The door shut in my face and I heard Carol speaking in hushed tones and a soothing voice. The girl, who I could really not even begin to guess an age of, was sobbing hysterically. The volume changed when Carol removed the gag, and for a moment I was tempted to rush back in. However, I understood that this poor woman had suffered unspeakable trauma. I went back to the front of the trailer and stepped outside to take a look around. A few heads had turned our way, but folks went right back to work checking out all the other trailers in the place. I considered moving to the next by myself, but realized that it would be just that sort of careless behavior that would get me killed.

  “Okay, Billy,” Carol said, coming up behind me a few moments later, “she is not going anywhere. Let’s get the rest of our stuff checked and then I told her that I would come back for her.”

  “You sure?”

  “She isn’t going anywhere. I am not sure that she believes we are here to help, but at least she has settled down. I moved her off the bed and she is wrapped in blankets in the hallway. They are filthy, but it beats nothing.”

  I shook my head. It still was not something that I could come to grips with in this new world. How could people turn in to such animals in such a relatively quick time? For crying out loud, it hadn’t even been a full year. These guys were despicable animals…and that was the best that I could say about them.

  It made me wonder just what else was out there. This was only one case. There had to be others, and…there could be worse. I guess the glue that held our society together was pretty fragile stuff.

  As we searched the remaining trailers, I could not help but let one corner of my mind consider the situation a bit more deeply. In those first days, I i
magine most of the first responders suffered huge losses. So what did that leave?

  Us.

  I was never one to watch the news, but even in passing, it was always full of horrible stories about terrible people doing terrible things. With nobody around to protect the weak or the vulnerable…what did that leave?

  Us.

  As things unfolded, I imagine all the “good” guys took quite a beating saving others or risking their lives to help those around them. Meanwhile, those who preyed on others sat in the corners or in the dark. I bet they smiled as they heard the unanswered calls for help. Eventually, they realized that they could have free reign…nobody would come when their victims cried for help. Who did that leave now to ensure that monsters like that did not become the new order in this world?

  Us.

  As we cleared the final trailer and I spiked yet another female zombie strapped to a bed, my mind was made up. I had a role in this new world. I had a purpose. Somebody had to step forward and be a protector. Just making our base and securing a home for ourselves was not going to be good enough. Somebody needed to be out there finding those who were being victimized.

  Me.

  ***

  As we headed back to camp, I found myself walking beside Erik. I kept glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. He seemed like he was just out for an afternoon stroll. There was no indication on his face about the horrors that we had uncovered at that hellish trailer park.

  In total, three female survivors were discovered. They were being kept together and all of the women that had come on this mission from the two teams were with them. One was unable to walk and a cart had been rigged for her to ride in. Another dozen female zombies had been discovered…as well as nine corpses.

  Recently, I had been feeling pretty sorry for myself in the whole “lack of sex” department. Suddenly, I was no longer in a state of constant hormonal chaos. In fact, I wondered if I would be able to react if a woman were to stand before me naked right now. For the first time since I had discovered the physical joy of sex…I was not in the mood.

  As for Erik, he looked…fine. Everybody else had a look of revulsion or fatigue on his or her face. Not Erik. He was simply walking along, every so often pausing to pick up a piece of debris that caught his eye, or maybe a rock that he would toss casually.

  To put it mildly…he was creeping me out. I had to at least see what was up.

  “How you doing, man?” I asked as casually as I could.

  “I’ve never been on a run before,” he said with a twinge of what sounded like excitement in his voice. “That was amazing.”

  “Pretty nasty scene at that trailer park.” I was hoping that I could find a train of thought to hop on.

  “Yeah…you really faced that piece of crap down back there.” Erik’s voice became breathy.

  “Just did what I had to do until the cavalry showed up with the big guns.”

  “Yeah, but I bet you could have totally kicked his butt.”

  “I’m just glad I didn’t have to.”

  “But you sure didn’t have any problem sticking your knife in his face. I woulda let him suffer. Maybe chain him to a tree and spend eternity starving.”

  Okay.

  “I noticed that you were pretty fast yourself going in and making sure that everybody was down for the count,” I said, taking a new approach. There was something here that was not exactly right, and I wanted to find out what it might be before somebody got hurt.

  “Yeah…those guys weren’t so tough with a knee blown out or a bullet in the gut. Just like any other bully…give ‘em a dose of their own medicine and they don’t much like it.”

  Ah-ha!

  “Get bullied much when you were younger?” I asked.

  “Younger?” Erik laughed sardonically. “Have you taken a good look at me?”

  I glanced at him, trying my best to really take him in. I would figure him to be in his twenties. I knew his type in school. Really smart, but probably socially awkward. Not that all of the “geek” types were, just most of the ones that I knew.

  I walked in silence with him for a bit longer. He seemed fine now. Still, I had to wonder how close to the edge he might be. I would be keeping my eye on him for a while. It was always a guy like Erik in the movies…they always turned into a lunatic and killed everybody off in the end. The last thing we needed was for him to go bonkers one day and open the gates to let in a herd.

  By the time we got back to the walls, I was ready for a good celebration. It was just what everybody needed. It might have been announced as a celebration for the birth of Steven James Hobart, but I think that everybody was finding their own reason to cut loose.

  It was almost a year ago that this nightmare began. Now, we are rebuilding. The first birth in our community is certainly cause for celebration, but it is also a reminder that, if life is to go on, we need to create a safe place for that to happen.

  I reached my home. It was in a run-down single-story apartment complex. When I had been given the slip of paper from Dr. Zahn, I really did not know what to expect. In the past year I had slept in grocery stores, under trees, in sewer pipes, and a bunch of less-than-comfortable places. Our last home was a giant log cabin forestry center that had morphed into a dorm.

  As I walked across the litter-strewn parking lot, I was surprised to find that only one other unit was currently occupied. Carol was standing in her doorway with a broom in her hand and a machete on her hip.

  “Howdy, neighbor!” she called with a smile and a wave. “And don’t be blaring your music all hours of the night or we are gonna have a problem.” She chuckled at her own joke and returned to sweeping the area in front of her door.

  I opened the door to my new home and looked around in amazement. The living room was empty except for a single love seat against one wall. I bet there was a time in my life when this place would have seemed tiny, but at the moment…it was a palace.

  I stepped inside the door and dropped my bag. All the weapons clanked and banged. I slipped the M4 from my shoulder and leaned it in the corner by what I assumed had to be the entry hall closet. I could see my empty kitchen with its useless stove and refrigerator. There was a hall that revealed a door on the left. That was the bathroom. Somebody had already put a large bucket inside the door.

  The door at the end of the hall was shut. I imagined that was my bedroom. I opened it and stopped in my tracks.

  “Welcome home,” Katrina said with a smile from my bed.

  A smile. Nothing more.

  17

  Vignettes XLII

  “This way!” Harold barked.

  Vix continued to stand…rooted in place as the wave of undead approached, sufficient in numbers to eliminate any trace of her existence. Why had she fought so hard? What had she really thought to accomplish by coming to London? Did she really believe that she was going to don a suit of old armor and rid the British Isles of the scourge that had destroyed everything that she knew?

  Her mind reeled as the losses all fought for purchase in the forefront of her memory. Standing amidst that sea of pain was her beloved husband. In the flash of her vision, he was surrounded by a nimbus of gold and had that crooked smile that was truly the essence of his soul. It was a smile that she realized now he had only shared with her.

  “You come this far, my dove,” Ivor’s voice rang in her ears like a crystal bell. “Would you simply quit because you have grown a bit weary? You have always had more strength than you gave yourself credit. Now move your arse!”

  She was certain that she heard an audible ‘pop’ in her ears as the vision vanished. She was still in the middle of the road. The mob of rotten flesh was about seven meters away and she could see each face in the first few rows; the eyes all clearly fixated on her.

  “Please, Vix!” Gemma’s voice pleaded. “Run!”

  Pushing off with her feet, Vix got her bicycle moving; and just in time as one of the horde broke free and lunged. Vix caught a glimpse of a very tatter
ed Harlequin costume.

  “A clown!” Gemma shrieked, turning her bicycle and fleeing, no longer seeming to care if Vix escaped death.

  She turned right at the first corner and vanished from view.

  Harold seemed confused and kept looking in the direction the young girl had fled, and then back to Vix. She knew exactly what he was feeling at that moment.

  “Go after her, you muppet!” Vix urged as she started her pedals moving and began to open the distance between her and death.

  They went down a long narrow street and Vix stifled a laugh as she passed a window with the sign still visible announcing “Rabbi Daniel’s Circumcision Clinic” with a “Temporarily Closed” strip fluttering across the door. Gemma had abandoned her bicycle at a multi-vehicle smash up and was scaling the fence that separated the neighborhood from the train tracks.

  “Gemma!” Vix snapped,

  The girl spun, her eyes wild with a terror that Vix had never seen in them before at any time during their travels. Tears had etched streaks on her cheeks and her body was trembling, visibly even from a distance.

  “Clown,” Gemma repeated. This time her voice was less of a shriek and more of a whimper.

  “It is down the road, hun,” Vix said with as much tenderness in her voice as she could muster. “We left it behind.”

  The younger girl craned her neck to look past Vix and Harold as if she thought perhaps it would suddenly materialize. Very slowly, she climbed down from the fence. Normal color began to filter back into her face, but no flush of embarrassment.

  “I hate clowns,” Gemma explained needlessly.

  “Fairly obvious, that,” Harold muttered.

  “Straight from the devil,” Gemma insisted.

  “Yes, well it is gone now.” Vix could not help but glance over her own shoulder. It was true that they had left that mob of walkers behind, but they would eventually come stumbling around the corner. It might be best if they were on the move.