Dying Days 3

by Armand Rosamilia

  The four of them stood, uncomfortably, in the direct sunlight before Darlene threw up her hands, walked over to John, and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him close to her. She kissed him full on the lips. He struggled at first but then gave in and relaxed, kissing her back.

  Darlene pushed him away and smiled at Eric. "Happy?"

  "I was hoping to see some tongue," Eric said with a grin.

  "Damn perv. If there is someone inside, they've had quite the show. Mind if we go inside and kill something now?" Darlene asked.

  "After you, ma'am." Eric winked at John. "You're welcome."

  John was blushing and put his head down as they started moving up the ramp, Darlene in the lead, followed by Eric and then Abby. John took up the rear, not even bothering to watch behind them.

  Inside, Darlene aimed her Desert Eagle at every shadow, mentally checking them off the list of things to shoot. The inside of Java Joint was clearly being used, or had, at least, been searched recently. She pointed to the high counter as she moved to her far right, lining up with the two open bathroom doors and trying to get a better view into the back.

  John swept to his left, stepping up onto a rotting booth chair, one foot on the rickety table, and peering over the counter with an arrow notched.

  Eric, down to a crouch with rifle in hand, slid around the counter. "Clear," he said quietly.

  Abby stepped past him, gun drawn, and angled to see the kitchen. "Clear."

  "Someone is living here," Darlene said. There was a pile of seat cushions, blankets, pillows and clothing on the floor. The kitchen smelled funky.

  "There's quite a bit of dried blood on everything," John said.

  "Maybe it's the way they found it," Abby said.

  "To me, it looks like they were all bloody and slept on the pile." Eric knelt down and pushed the blankets with the barrel of his rifle. "I guess beggars can't be choosers."

  "They might not come back," Darlene said as she looked around. "There's no food."

  John nodded. "I don’t see any discarded food, either. No empty cans, boxes, even crumbs. None of the pots and pans look like they've been used in forever, and the same with the few utensils left. They might be sleeping here, but they are dining at another establishment."

  "Are we going to do a building search? Even though Flagler Beach is only two or three blocks deep between the Atlantic and the Intracoastal Waterway, there are way too many houses and businesses to search." Eric leaned against the dirty kitchen sink. "Even if we separate into two groups, we'd be hard pressed to cover much ground before it starts getting dark and we have to return."

  "The good thing is the lack of zombies here," Darlene said. "I'm not getting it. But imagine doing a door to door search and having to fight your way down each street. What choice do we have? It's not like we have something coming up in our lives. We search as many streets as we can today, and we keep coming back until we're sure it's clear, or we find out the person or persons responsible for what's going on."

  "I still need to show you the piles of bodies on the beach, too. We can probably take a buggy down the sand," Eric said. "Unless you think we need to start our search. We might need to start back around the bend at the corner, too. Coming into Flagler."

  Darlene looked at her three companions. They all looked to her for leadership, and she was more and more comfortable with it as time passed. She looked to John for him to take the lead, but lately he'd been deferring to her more and more. She didn't know why, and was afraid to ask him.

  She hoped his feelings for her weren't interfering with his decision making. It seemed really high school if he was doing it to get in her pants, but she didn't understand what the change was. The dynamic between them and everyone else at the stilt houses had subtly changed. Maybe it was as simple as losing more and more allies, the food and supplies getting harder and harder to find, and a sense of desperation hovering above them.

  Why were they fighting to survive? What was the payoff? There wasn't going to be a safer world in their future. The likelihood they'd see a convoy of military trucks, laden with hamburgers and bandages, was a million to one. There were no safe zones and no cities getting put back together without the threat of zombies.

  Darlene looked at John. She loved this man. If it wasn't for the world crumbling around them, she'd still be far away from Florida on the East Coast, wasting her life in a mall, selling mascara to bitchy old women and their entitled daughters. John would be in another mall, a world apart in the Panhandle, chasing kids on skateboards.

  The thought of him doing it made her smile.

  "What's so funny?" John asked.

  "She's thinking of you naked," Eric said.

  "You are so rude for an old man," Abby said.

  "I can't help it. I turned my filter off years ago. There's just not enough time to hold in what you really want to say." Eric stretched his arms and grinned. "Besides, it's all true. I am the voice of reason."

  "No wonder the world is in this shape," Darlene said. "Let's go check on some bodies."

  As they moved down the front ramp of the business, Eric lifted his rifle and put an eye to the sight. "We have an actual zombie in the surf," he said with a laugh. "Watch this shot."

  They all stood silent, waiting for him to pull the trigger.

  "Well? Chicken? Want to bet on it? I need to win my weapon back from you," John said.

  Eric slowly lowered the rifle. "She saw me… and moved."

  "Huh?" Abby asked.

  Eric turned to them, his face pale. "It was definitely a zombie. Her arms and nose were missing. She looked right at me, her eyes went wide, and she slipped under the water. Holy shit."

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jeff smiled, casually leaning on the railing and admiring a seagull gliding on the wind. He kept his body language easy, not making any sudden moves. He didn’t want to freak the girl out. Brianna.

  "Where are you going after this?" she asked.

  He shrugged. "Eventually, I need to get home. You know you can't be caught out here in the dark. Besides, my family will be worried."

  "I can imagine."

  "Where is your family?" Jeff looked south, past the Matanzas Inlet. "Do you live here?"

  "Yes," she said but hesitated. "I don’t have family, but there are people who take care of me."

  "That's nice." He didn't want to ask her how many or anything to spook her. It was better to act disinterested. He wasn't worried about luring her away or kidnapping her. Despite the 9mm she held in her hand, she wasn't going to be a problem. "Too bad I live all the way in Daytona Beach. My son would love to meet someone his age, and my daughter."

  He saw her eyes light up. He had her.

  "My son is seventeen and my daughter is thirteen. They are always bored, since they have no one their ages to talk to. Without the internet, they are driving me crazy."

  They both laughed.

  "Luckily, we have power, and the videogames and movies. They'll never be able to watch every show or play every game, but they look like they are going to try."

  "Do you have books?"

  "Of course. We took over two local libraries and the Books A Million, so there are thousands of books for them to read. You like to read?"

  "Yes, very much. I only have a handful of books, and I've read them all twice."

  "Too bad." Jeff looked at his watch. "It was nice to meet you, Brianna."

  "My friends call me Bri."

  "Can I call you Bri?"

  She smiled. "Yes. I'd love to meet your children. What are their names?"

  Jeff thought fast. "My son is also Jeff, I call him J.R. My daughter is Marrah. I can't wait to let them know I met you."

  "Can they come here?"

  Jeff shook his head and frowned. "I don’t let them out of the safety of our home. There aren't zombies where we live, and they have free run of the place. I'd hate to bring them up here and get them into a dangerous situation. I'm sure you understand."

  She looked
disappointed.

  "I wish you could come meet them now, but I understand you can't. We're having hamburgers and fries for dinner."

  "Really?"

  "Yes," he said and thought quickly. "There is a McDonalds on the property, so we grill up burgers and have anything on the menu we want."

  "Maybe I could visit soon?"

  "Maybe." Jeff had been inching closer on the rail, and was within five feet of her. He'd make his move soon, taking the gun from her.

  "Can you really bring me there to meet them now?"

  Jeff smiled. "Of course, I can. It would be my pleasure." If she was willing, it would be so much easier to transport her all the way back to Daytona Beach. "I'll take you back for dinner, you can hang out for a bit, and then I'll drive you back home."

  "I’d like that." Bri frowned.

  "What's the matter?"

  She was looking back over the bridge. "Um… nothing. We should go."

  Jeff waved his hand. "After you. We need to ride out, if we want to get you back before dark."

  "This is going to be fun."

  Jeff grinned. "You have no idea."

  Chapter Eighteen

  "What the fuck?" Eric asked incredulously. "Did you just see her slip under the water?" He handed the rifle to John.

  "I didn't see her. Are you sure she didn't just fall or get caught in the undertow?" Abby asked. "Maybe the way she was moving in the waves made it look like she was making a face at you."

  John looked through the sight. "I don’t see her."

  Eric ran across the street and stood at the edge of the dunes, looking down at the beach. The others joined him.

  "Remember when the zombie ducked, coming up the stairs? There's something going on." Darlene scanned the waves but didn’t see anything. "It's like Azrael showed me, too. They are regenerating. What if their minds are also coming back?"

  "If that's the case, we are royally fucked," John said. He pointed south, toward the pier. "I think I see her."

  Darlene could see a head bobbing in the waves, about a hundred feet off the shore and moving away from them.

  "Let's cut her off," Eric said. He began running down A1A with Abby on his heels. Darlene and John went to the buggy and took off to the pier, parking and heading down the wooden steps to cut the zombie off if it got further away and Eric couldn't get there.

  "Do you really think she's trying to get away from us? Is this even possible?"

  "It looks like it. We need to have another meeting when we get back," Darlene said. "I hope Eric doesn't panic and shoot her before we see if she really is cognizant."

  Darlene and John went to the water's edge, ignoring the piles of bodies and stench of rot around them. There would be time to survey the area once this piece of the puzzle was figured out.

  "I think she's coming to us," John said. "Shit, she is swimming with her one arm."

  As the zombie got closer, Darlene could see the zombie was definitely focused on them, but there was no facial expression, except for the normal hunger.

  "I've never seen them swim before. If they learn how to use weapons and drive cars…" Darlene let the horrible thought trail off. She could only imagine hundreds or thousands of zombies, suddenly aware, and attacking them in their supposed safe haven stilt houses. They wouldn't last long.

  The zombie got to a spot where she could walk, and she headed straight at them. Eric and Abby were coming down the beach at a run.

  "Don’t shoot yet," John said to Eric when Eric raised the rifle. "We need to see how much she understands."

  The four stood on the beach, taking turns gagging with the smell permeating around them, as she stumbled through the water, directly at them.

  "Hello? Can you understand me?" John stepped forward and waved his arms at the zombie. "If you understand me, stop walking."

  "Holy shit." Darlene couldn't believe her eyes, but the zombie stopped walking for a beat before heading on her path. Her face hadn't changed.

  "What do we do now?" John asked. "There is something going on, some intelligence behind her eyes, even if it is fleeting."

  "We step up killing them, and thank God for whoever is doing it in Flagler Beach. If they get smarter as time goes by, or maybe these are newer ones or older ones… who knows, and I don’t care. We just need to stop them."

  "I'm scared," Abby said quietly.

  Eric raised the rifle. "We take care of this one and do our search, like we planned. Hopefully, we don't encounter more of them. Before dark, we head back home and think this through. We need to get everyone together yet again, and come up with some solutions."

  "We don't even know what's really going on," Abby said.

  "I have a good idea, and it isn't comforting. I think we're in trouble." Darlene shook her head. She pictured sentient zombies, intent on feasting and able to dodge bullets and hide behind things, shooting guns at them and driving, climbing up and over the decks of the stilt houses and killing all of them as they slept or tried to fight back. Was this really as hopeless as it sounded?

  "There, see?" Eric pointed with the rifle. "Her eyes flashed. She looks scared."

  The zombie put her only hand up and twisted her mouth in what looked like fear, her eyes going wide. She stopped walking, ankle-deep in the water.

  "Can you understand me?" Abby asked and took a step forward.

  "Don't go any further." John put a hand on Abby's shoulder. "This could be a trick."

  The zombie's eyes clouded over again and the snarling mouth returned. She began moving at the group again, oblivious to the rifle aimed at her head.

  "I've definitely seen enough," Eric said and pulled the trigger. The zombie's head exploded and she fell into the surf. He pointed the rifle at the sand and turned to the others. "We need to finish this search and then get back. We need to get busy and not think about what just happened, or else we might panic or go insane."

  "John and I will see if we can make sense of the bodies stacked here, and then find you up top and we can do house to house, as teams, side by side. No sense in getting split up," Darlene said.

  "Good luck." Eric glanced at the rotting flesh. "We'll get some fresh air." He looked at Abby and smiled. "Ma'am, care to join me?"

  "I hope I get lunch on this date," Abby said. The two walked off down the beach.

  "Where do we begin? Search pockets for loose change, or just collect some watches? This isn't going to yield us much." John toed a body at the outskirts of the pile. "I don't see gunshot wounds or sharp cuts that are fresh on any of them. They might have been killed that way the first time, but all I see are broken necks."

  Darlene covered her nose and stooped down. "I agree. Twisted necks galore. How is that possible? There's no way to kill so many zombies with your bare hands and not have a crowd of them overwhelm you. The only way is with superior numbers, but I don't see the footprints to warrant it." She stood and looked around. "I see a few in the sand but there would need to be dozens of unarmed people breaking necks."

  "This is getting weirder and weirder," John said. "Just when you thought the dead rising and eating us wasn't crazy enough. Now we have another threat? And we don't know if it is even related to the zombies."

  "Are you thinking sea monsters? Space aliens make as much sense right now as zombies." Darlene pointed at the female zombie bobbing in the surf. "We need to explain that, as well. She definitely had a moment of clarity, where she saw Eric. I know he wasn't lying and he didn't see things. She proved it when she came at us, but then her face changed."

  "Yes, I saw the same thing. She was able to control it, or snap out of it, whatever you want to call it. But then she went back to being a zombie and trying to attack us. Does this mean they are coming back? If they are slowly changing into their former selves… we've killed so many of them since this began. What if the population reverts back, like this is some flu or virus and the body eventually shakes it off or becomes immune." John pointed at Darlene's ankle. "You've been bitten, yet you never changed."<
br />
  Darlene looked away. She remembered the attack, in the snow in Baltimore, when a zombie bit her leg. She thought she was going to change into a zombie and die. But she never did. Darlene had no idea why. "I wish Azrael was still alive. He was experimenting on zombies and trying to find out what was actually going on. I bet he had data we could find and maybe complete what he started."

  "Do you remember where this high school is?"

  Darlene shrugged. "I know it was in Palm Coast, so it has to be somewhere over the bridge, right? We need to be more proactive. Look what I did with the gas station: I left it alone and out of my mind for weeks, even though it was an easy place to get back to and stock up. Why didn't I do it? It's really the same thing with the high school. Azrael… damn, his name was Russ… he had a stockpile of weapons and food. The school was fortified. If it hasn’t been run over by zombies or scavengers, we could feed our community for a few weeks."

  Azrael had saved Darlene on her return visit to the gas station, when she'd been overwhelmed by zombies. He'd taken her to safety at the Flagler Palm Coast High School, and shown her his research on the undead. Russ had helped her get to Saint Augustine but he'd died in the assault by Doug Conrad and his cronies. Darlene turned back to John. "Did anyone ever bury him?"

  "Azrael? Darlene, we left and went back home. I imagine someone in town buried him with the rest of the dead."

  "I hope so. He was a good man." Darlene sighed. "This is a waste of time here. I say we meet up with Eric and Abby and do the search before heading home."

  John pointed at the steps. "After you, ma'am."

  "You just want to stare at my ass when I go up the stairs."

  John grinned. "Pretty much."

  Chapter Nineteen

  Frank stood over the zombies tied down to the tables and sighed. What had this world come to, when innocent people (dead or undead) were tied up and used like guinea pigs, experimented on and poked and prodded?