Hungry Series: Tomes 1 & 2

by Tide, Lawrence Herbert

  "Dad!"

  Mei's voice made him turn towards her.

  She was pointing an index finger to the bodies of the two baseball-zombies she had slaughtered and she said, "Look what they have in their mouths!"

  The old Japanese shook slightly because of the surprise when he saw a bloody chicken leg, still protruding out of the mouth of one creature, and a rabbit's head torn from the jaws of the other.

  "Poultry and rabbits... This means that the agro-building has also been attacked!" exclaimed Hiroto, who toddled off as fast as he could toward the half-open door, Johnny, his daughter and granddaughter on his trail.

  ***

  Voracity

  "Larry!" Johnny called, as the sliding doors of the agro-building slid open.

  His old master, Hiroto, breathless, came up behind him with his saber brandished, followed by Mei and Red.

  Worrying grunts were heard everywhere, while they all walked as fast as possible in an alley of trees, shrubs, and bushes, standing on guard. They saw before them, in the distance, an open door and, as they approached, plaintive groans and cries of rage.

  When Johnny, standing on his guard with his large wooden sword, walked through the door, he saw a spectacle that made him feel sick.

  Two male zombies were pulling on the arms of a bloodied and decapitated, stripped naked human trunk, each one trying to take advantage on its side. The trunk was dark-skinned, and Johnny, who was looking at the scene, murmured, "Oh, no… Poor Larry!"

  One of the creatures, to the left of Johnny, was taller than the other on his right. The bigger thing, obviously a former American footballer according to its ragged clothes, was pulling hard on the arm on its side, winning the battle over the other which, according to its short dress, must have been a cheerleader. The latter moaned, pulling on the other arm with all its might to retain the bloody trunk with its hanging viscera, devoid of any pelvis. Pulled more and more strongly with the trunk towards the big zombie despite its efforts, the female one shouted hoarsely.

  The arm on its side detached and the great undead, carried away by its own strength, fell on its back on the ground, with the trunk and the remaining arm it was pulling on its side.

  Johnny, Red and Mei, who witnessed all this, were pouting, disgusted, while Hiroto remained stolid. And it was with an impassive air that he approached the two creatures, his sabre drawn.

  The zombie cheerleader, its back to him, was chewing the pulled-off arm when suddenly it turned around toward him. Bits of bloody flesh flowed from its mouth when it opened it to grumble, as the old man quietly approached.

  A brief whirling movement of the man's saber blew the creature's head into the air. It rolled a few yards further down to a bush while the decapitated body trembled, immobilized. It finally fell to its knees then on its chest, still holding the torn arm in its hands, in which could be seen a gaping bloody wound.

  A roar was heard coming from the level of the ground. It was the other zombie lying on it with the trunk that had witnessed the scene. It stood up awkwardly and looked at Hiroto with its glowing eyes. The thing and the human being looked at each other for many seconds.

  Then the creature roared again while staggering towards him.

  Red was surprised at the behavior of the creature. It was as if it was furious because of what Hiroto had done, as if, unlike usual zombies, it wasn't just in it for itself. Had there been something between these two beings, before their transformation? Some part of that relationship that remained?

  The answer seemed to be 'yes' when the big footballer zombie angrily flung the maimed trunk in the old man's face.

  He had tried to avoid the bloody mass but it had arrived on him in a flash due to the Herculean force of the zombie. He had received the trunk in the face and, under the impulse, fell back on the hard floor, striking it with the back of his head. The old man fell unconscious, his face covered with the blood of the trunk that had fallen beside him.

  "Grandfather"! Red yelled, while Mei and Johnny were about to intervene.

  But they stopped, to the surprise of the red-haired girl... Who understood, turning around as they did, that there was something wrong. A dozen undead had entered behind them through the open door.

  Then the door shut all at once, slamming, shutting them all up with the creatures.

  A metallic noise made the three conscious humans jump. They looked at the door, from whence came the noise. And they all became conscious that it had been a key that had been spinning inside the lock. All the remaining conscious human beings became tense.

  These zombies were particularly decomposed, practically skeletons, with small quantities of rotten flesh on their bones. But despite being much affected by the degradations, they were also, by experience for many persons, the worst kind of living dead.

  The reason was that, because of their extreme lightness, this more than compensated for their awkwardness, and one always had to expect blows of their deadly claws. These had bony phalanges, each becoming, with time, sharpened like the razor of a blade. They surrounded the group of humans, placing themselves in a circle more and more tightened around them with slow, but surprisingly calculated gestures.

  They looked like wild beasts standing on the alert, ready to melt on their prey, at the slightest gesture.

  A deafening roar filled the room.

  The standing human beings had been startled but miraculously remained immobile, and looked to where the cry had come.

  The zombie-footballer had uttered this roar which sounded like one of victory, when it leaned over Hiroto, still lifeless, and it took his head in its hands, starting to raise it toward its ugly, bony face.

  Red opened wide, horrified eyes and said to herself that the undead was preparing to snatch the head of the father of her adoptive mother whom she had learned to love so much.

  Mei was obviously also afraid of the same thing happening because she jumped towards the big zombie while spinning her naginata in the air.

  This sharp gesture signaled the emaciated undead to launch and they leapt upon the group of humans.

  ***

  End of Volume 1 – HUNGRY – Origins of Red

  Discover BESIEGED, volume 2 of the HUNGRY series on the following page

  BESIEGED

  Book 2 of the HUNGRY Series

  by Lawrence Herbert Tide

  All rights reserved © 2018

  ________________

  BESIEGED

  Reactivity

  Red had the impression of seeing a bunch of wild beasts jumping on them as the largely decomposed zombies attacked them.

  While she saw Mei leap on the American football zombie she felt abandoned in front of one of the undead. It had a whitened skull and peculiarly impressive red eyes. As the creature leapt toward her and put its bony hands on her shoulders, she felt lonely. Lonely like during that cursed day when, perched on the branch of a tree, she had witnessed the horrible end of her mother.

  But the sensation coming from the contact of the sharp, icy hands, initiated her acquired reflexes coming from her long time at the dojo.

  Reflexes that made her fall on her back, dragging in her fall the living skeleton that already sketched a grinning victory smile.

  The rotten jawbone of the creature opened because of the surprise when, rolling with the teen who placed her two feet on its whitened pelvis, it was jettisoned over her.

  The disgusting thing was thrown forward in the air thanks to the perfect judo flip of the young red-haired girl.

  The creature was violently propelled towards the nearest wall like a rocket.

  It crashed with a BAM, so much had it been swept away by its momentum.

  Its skull literally exploded like a crushed nut and the thing finally collapsed on the ground.

  Red did not have time to enjoy her victory, as she was horrified to see the zombie footballer jostling her adoptive mother. The thing had an amazing reflex reaction, maybe coming from its sporty past as a human being.

 
Terrified, the girl saw Mei collapse on her back, seemingly in shock, while her naginata slipped out of her hand, falling a few meters away on the floor.

  The mass of the big zombie fell on the young woman who screamed in surprise while farther, another zombie slowly knelt near the immobile body of Hiroto.

  The dazzled teenager, now sitting on the floor, now had very dark thoughts, and said to herself that the old Japanese was somehow lucky: unconscious, he was fortunately not aware that his lineage was, soon, going to disappear with him.

  A warrior-like shout startled Red as she saw Johnny running towards the big zombie which had its back to him.

  The young man swiftly snapped the back of the creature with his wooden sword.

  Seeming to feel nothing, the creature, its ugly head above Mei's, literally drooled over her.

  Disgusted, she moaned and winced. Completely aware now, the young woman was lying on her back and had raised her feet, pressing them against the belly of the footballer.

  Thanks to her foot pressure, she prevented the undead, leaning towards her, from moving towards her and catching her. Thus, she began retreating as the monster, grimacing because of the frustration, was advancing.

  The now infuriated zombie continued to be hit from behind by Johnny, who was beating down with all his might, without the creature reacting to his attacks.

  The stressed young man gave a big blow to the side of the creature's face which burst its cheek.

  This provoked the spreading of a big sheaf of black blood.

  The zombie immobilized the wooden sword that had just hit it with a single stroke of its big hand.

  Carried away by the momentum of his move the young colored man, surprised by the reactivity of the monster, lost his balance and fell on the back of the zombie footballer.

  The creature turned its nightmarish head toward him and, glaring at him, roared with a furious look, while pulling violently on the wooden saber.

  More than ever carried away, Johnny lost his balance, and falling along the side of the zombie, he fell on his stomach and hit the ground with his chin.

  Vaguely conscious despite the severity of the shock, Johnny saw the ground within the limits of his field of vision, and, also, one of the dirty sneakers on the feet of the creature.

  The shoes disappeared from his field of view while, being groggy, he was lifted from the ground, his arms and legs hanging as if he was a disjointed puppet. The powerful hand that held him by the neck turned him around with ease, like a light toy.

  The face of the frightened young man now faced the decomposed and grimacing one of the zombie-footballer, which observed him with gleaming, furious, red eyes.

  Johnny was horrified to see the red and cold eyes disappear from his field of vision, then seeing them replaced by the gaping jaws of the rotten-toothed creature.

  The young man panicked when, still feeling numb, he felt the teeth settle on his forehead and the jaw of the thing begin to tighten. This monster will bite my skull as if it were a common apple!

  A very brief noise was heard, like the hissing of an object quickly cutting through the air like a whip.

  Johnny dropped suddenly to the floor before having time to shout in surprise when he crushed his nose against the hard ground.

  He raised his head painfully, blood flowing profusely from his nose, and saw, lying on his back near him, his old master, who was beginning to open his eyes. He watched him, clearly in a daze.

  Further away, Mei, obviously stunned by the brutality of her own fall, lay on her side, her eyes closed. The skeletal zombies squatted around her, but hadn't yet touched her, quarreling with each other like wild dogs fighting over a bone.

  Then the old man's gaze went upwards, staring at something. Johnny followed his gaze and saw that the zombie footballer was still squatting above them both, immobile.

  The undead looked at the stump of one of his cut hands. A stream of dark blood was flowing from it, while a horrible scent of rot pervaded the air.

  A pain ran through Johnny's neck, like a throbbing.

  Putting his hand on his neck, the young man realized that the creature's hand was still attached to it, and pressed intermittently, always animated by a form of life.

  Disgusted, the young man tugged on the hand and pulled it away, involuntarily pinching his neck painfully by doing so.

  He angrily threw away the hand and its trembling fingers, which, when it fell on the floor, rolled further over itself. It had a strange erratic movement because of the moving fingers.

  The big zombie emitted a deafening roar and closed its other hand on Johnny's throat, who began to choke, his face becoming red.

  Another whistling sound, and that hand came off the wrist of the creature, which, wincing, turned its ugly head to look in another direction.

  Johnny snatched that second throbbing hand away from his throat, rejecting it in turn, and then focused on what the zombie was watching. He saw that it was looking with its angry eyes at Red, who was standing near them, her mother's naginata in her hands.

  She was breathing quickly while firmly holding the long stick of the weapon. Looks between the girl and the creature slowly crossed. The glance of the thing rested on the blade, on which still flowed, slowly, the red-dark liquid of its blood. Then it lowered its head, looking in turn at the two stumps where its hands had been.

  The zombie then uttered an animal roar, reminiscent of a mixture of lion and panther, as it was obviously full of rage. It slowly stood up.

  The huge ex quarter-back then leapt towards her, the reflexes due to its former athletic training seeming to coming back, and in a few quick steps it was near Red.

  The stumps in front of the zombie-footballer were avoided at the last moment by the girl, who was well trained to dodge.

  Not only did she let the thing go, but in addition she interposed the stick of the naginata, tripping the creature up.

  The huge roaring mass fell forward and swept away the skeletal zombies quarreling over Mei, who was opening her eyes.

  The giant zombie and the skeletal-looking one who roared in frustration crashed together in a loud thud against a nearby wall.

  The skeletal zombies were literally pulverized because of the huge clash between the wall and the colossus, which hit the wall very hard, then fell suddenly on its back.

  All the dust of the skeletal zombies fell like a gray cloud on the huge undead, which, growling, remained groggy-like on the ground.

  As Johnny began to get up, he helped Hiroto to stand. The old man, slowly and painfully, looked at her, while Red focused her attention on the creature lying on the floor.

  She walked toward the thing, which, turning its horrible head as it saw her approach, stopped moaning and groaned.

  Red raised the naginata...

  ... and was surprised to see it escape from her hands to find it in other hands, bigger and thinner.

  Fixating the latter, the girl turned around and saw that Mei was now standing behind her, the long weapon in her hand, and was smiling at her.

  The zombie ex footballer player, pushing on its stumps while trying to adopt a sitting position, roared loudly, and startled both.

  The beautiful face of Mei changed right under her daughter’s eyes. Her beautiful face, normally quiet and cheerful, was almost frightening because of her anger. This unusual thing surprised the young girl.

  The blade of the naginata cut off in a dash the head of the still sitting big zombie.

  Jumping up in the air because of the shock, the head fell on the floor and then rolled away. It hit a door, bouncing against it, and then stopped moving. Red was almost fascinated by the grimacing face of the creature, which seemed to be watching her.

  An angry glare that soon gave way to what seemed like misunderstanding, then sadness, and, finally, tranquility, when the eyes closed, definitely.

  The sound of a big thump startled the red-haired teenager.

  Turning around she saw that it was the decapitated and handless
body of the zombie that had just collapsed on the ground near her. The body was trembling and impressed Red.

  Finally, it froze completely...

  ... not without a flow of black blood from its sliced neck, a casting literally making one think of a little black stream. A nauseating smell that made the girl feel nauseous, it was so pungent.

  As she watched the stream of rottenness finally dry up, much to her relief, she heard new hisses in the air. She knew that her mother was "clearing" the room of the last remaining living dead.

  Then, silence returned to the room, while the young red-haired teen contemplated the massive human body which was now motionless, lying on its back. This reminded her of the recumbent statues, those lying statues from the Middle Ages. Statues that her father had shown her in educational photos on his old computer, during their rare moments of quietness, during her family’s never-ending getaway.

  The memory of her lost beloved ones, such a powerful souvenir now, made a tear begin to flow down one of her cheeks.

  She swiftly and discreetly wiped her face. It was the time for action now, not for sadness.

  "Are you OK?" Mei asked anxiously, having stopped just behind her. She still held the naginata in her hand, the wooden bottom of its vertically positioned stick touching the ground.

  "Yes, thank you," Red replied with a smile, a smile to which her warm-hearted adoptive mother replied.

  Another smile appeared in her field of vision, one which she had seen very rarely. It was the one of Hiroto, who was slowly walking towards her, supported by Johnny.

  "You've definitely proven yourself as a fighter, Red," the old man said tiredly, quavering, but soft.

  Noticeably softer than what she was accustomed to ...

  "I'm genuinely proud of you!"

  These words said with strong conviction filled the girl with joy. It was as if she felt a heat wave pervade her.