Zombified (Book 1): The Head Hunter

by Sowder, Kindra

  He took a few cautious steps toward Douglas’s lifeless form and grimaced, covering his mouth with one hand as nausea crept up his throat from his gut.

  “Ugh,” he moaned. “Douglas, you idiot.”

  He sighed and kneeled down beside his fallen friend, wishing Douglas would’ve been more careful considering what the world had become in the last couple of days, even in the perceived safety of the office. Douglas had always been smart, but lacking common sense in certain areas that made Caesar question him every now and then, but that was over. Douglas was dead. Caesar’s eyes began to fill with tears as he took in his friend’s mangled face and neck and the bent frames of his broken glasses. With a slick wetness, Caesar heard his friend’s eyes shift underneath his closed eyelids, and he bolted to his feet. Was Douglas dead or was he one of those things? Had he been somehow turned into something both living and dead? Was that even possible?

  Douglas’s eyes opened and, as soon as he registered that Caesar was there, shot up to a sitting position, crying out loud and guttural as he attempted to grip Caesar and pull him down to the ground with him. His gnashing teeth were stained with blood, threatening to tear him apart without a second thought. There was an intense hunger that Caesar had never seen in Douglas before, causing him to take a step back out of his grasp, knowing that evil lived there now even if it looked like an old friend. Sorrow filled Caesar’s heart, threatening to tear him apart from the inside out just like those gritting choppers. His chin trembled as Douglas began to scramble toward him, his fingers scraping at Caesar’s shoes as if he were pleading with him to save him, but Caesar knew he couldn’t.

  He took a shaky breath and aimed the gun at his friend, aiming directly between his eyes and above the bridge of his horn-rimmed glasses, and said, “I’m sorry.”

  He fired off two rounds, making sure that Douglas was indeed dead and stood there holding the gun in that same position as he watched the body slump to the floor. Caesar retreated from the still form and backed into the wall, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor, and stared off into the distant silence of the stairwell. Tears of pure terror and sadness flowed down his cheeks, staining his bloodied face that was covered in the splatter of the friend and creatures he had had to murder in a quest to survive. He felt sorry for himself, and he knew it and decided, right then and there, that he would do all he could to make things right again. In one form or fashion, no matter what it took. He was being selfish, only thinking of what he had lost instead of what he could gain and how he could grow from this. He could do this for his wife and his daughter and for those left behind who were now suffering because of what Area 51 had known but refused to acknowledge. He could fight for the world.

  ***

  Caesar rose to his feet again and began to take the remaining flights of stairs until he came to the sign at one door that said ‘Basement’ in bold white letters against black without another incident. Gratitude ran through him as relief also flooded his mind. He leaned against the door and rested his tired head on the fresh black paint. Air filtered in and out of his burning and exhausted lungs, knowing he had to continue to move forward even though his body and mind were both weary and tired. He was in decent enough shape, but taking four to five flights of stairs would wear on anyone, even if you were heading down them. He pulled away from the door and placed his hand on the push bar that would open it, taking a deep breath and tensing his muscles so he would be ready just in case more of those foul creatures came stampeding through the door looking for human flesh to feast upon.

  Without another second’s hesitation, Caesar pushed the solid door open and was greeted by two handguns held by men in military dress just like the other two. He raised his hands instantly raised into the air, knowing that if he didn’t lower the weapon or at least show surrender that he would be shot right in that very spot with no questions asked.

  “Wow, wow!” he exclaimed as the two men bore down on him like he was a criminal. “Jumping the gun aren’t we, gentlemen?”

  “Name and station, sir, or we will be forced to shoot. This sector of Area 51’s Memphis field office is extremely classified,” the one soldier with freckles and bright red hair said, reminding Caesar of Scott Farkus from ‘A Christmas Story.’ Caesar looked from one soldier to the other, swallowing down the lump that had formed in his throat. He had been through worse. He had to remember that.

  He carefully reached into his pocket and removed his wallet, which held his government identification, saying, “Caesar Meldano, lead scientist of the Floor X lab, reporting.”

  The other soldier took his ID, his blond hair falling over his blue eyes as he studied the identification skeptically, looking from it to Caesar multiple times before nodding in confirmation.

  “Yup, it’s him. We’ve been waiting for you, sir. Please come this way,” the soldier rushed as he began to lead Caesar down the hall and toward his lab. Toward possible salvation.

  Chapter 5

  Nashville, Tennessee

  May 2020

  Area 51 Field Office – Floor X

  Caesar had been escorted to the conference room of Floor X, the lab not even five feet to the right of the room where at least another four people were housed, waiting for Caesar and Douglas’s arrival so they could formulate a plan of action. Little did they know that Douglas wouldn’t be joining them, having become food for the creatures Caesar didn’t even know what to call at the moment. Were they dead? Were they alive? Or a mixture of both? There was no telling until he could effectively study them, which could happen now that he was in his lab as long as someone was all right with dragging one of the bodies in from the stairwell. Once he saw those around the large table, he knew that wasn’t going to be happening unless he did it himself. There was a military colonel, an older gentleman who seemed to be around Caesar’s age but had aged relatively well considering his rough and tumble lifestyle. The others either worked in the office at a desk or were civilians, but he couldn’t be certain until introductions were made. He had a feeling that wouldn’t be happening either, unless it was from the colonel who he was certain would make sure his presence there was known.

  Two other men and one woman sat around the round conference table, fear making their eyes wide and wild as they rubbed their faces, stared at empty or nearly empty coffee cups, and ran their hands through their hair with anxiety. The woman’s blond hair was especially in disarray, being pulled into a messy bun and trying to look professional all at the same time. She had worked here before the meteorite shower. That much he could tell from the wrinkled pantsuit that had certainly once been pressed. One man was a civilian, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with tennis shoes and the other man was in dress slacks and a button-down shirt, his once shiny dress shoes scuffed and covered in some type of organic filth. Something that had belonged inside of a human body once, but had congealed and blackened on the pristine surface.

  “Who is this and why did you bring him into my debriefing, soldier?” the older man in military fatigues asked, his eyes focusing on Caesar with scrutiny and suspicion, taking in Caesar’s run-down appearance even though he had attempted to keep up the air of a government employee.

  Caesar took a step forward and saluted to the best of his ability, putting out his hand toward the man as he said, “Caesar Meldano of the Nashville Area 51 Field Office, head of the lab here on Floor X, Colonel.”

  The man smirked and nodded, showing appreciation for the fact that Caesar could tell what rank within the military he held and that he still managed to show respect toward authority figures, especially at this time.

  “I’m Colonel Jenkins, and we’ve been waiting for you. Where are the men I sent to retrieve you? And what about the other scientist?” he asked as he took in the fact that Caesar had arrived without any companions.

  “They’re dead, sir. In the stairwell on the way here to Floor X. We were attacked,” Caesar replied, only stating the facts and nothing more.

  The colonel didn’t seem
like the kind of man who liked to be spoken to unless he had asked a direct question, but that was just a guess. Colonel Jenkins looked shocked as if he didn’t believe

  that anything had made it into the building, and Caesar had told him a lie, but he would have no reason to do so. Not in these circumstances.

  “Attacked by what?”

  “I don’t know, sir. They looked like long-dead humans. I don’t know what to call them. When I shot one, this thing came out of its skull that looked like a kind of spider. It may be a parasite, but I can’t be sure until I can study it in the lab.”

  Colonel Jenkins shook his head. “We can’t do that. So far, this area of the office and the lab are contained, and we want to keep it that way and will not be leaving it unless that changes. Do you understand?”

  Caesar nodded in reply and was directed by a pointing gesture from the colonel to take a seat in the empty chair next to the blond woman. Everyone fell silent, the only person seeming to speak for the group being the colonel. He pointed to the soldiers and silently requested that they stand at the door. They moved stiffly to their positions, standing like sentinels at one of two doors that separated Caesar from his lab. The doors were made of solid panes of bullet-proof glass, just like all of the glass in the field offices. Because of people’s propensity not to trust the government, especially after Area 51 was confirmed to the public, shootings and vigilantes became common on government offices. They had slowed down swiftly after the last event two years ago, but people were still anxious about coming to work.

  “Meldano, were you outside when the meteorites struck?” Colonel Jenkins asked as he searched Caesar’s eyes and body language for any kind of deception. He wouldn’t find any.

  “Yes, Colonel, I was.”

  “And what did you see out there?”

  Caesar’s eyes shifted to those around him, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably, rolling his chair closer to the table and placing his hands on the table’s smooth surface.

  “When the meteorites crashed they destroyed everything, even killing my wife and daughter. One thing I did find strange was the red fog that they released once they came into contact with the Earth’s surface. Other than that and the strange creatures I saw in the stairwell, I don’t know much. But I can say that it seems to be a parasite of some kind, and it takes over the host’s body within moments, if not a little longer for full integration.”

  “Full integration?” the man in the business attire asked, leaning forward with his eyebrows raised in interest. The man’s dark eyes pierced into Caesar, causing him to shiver with the anxiety of having to explain all of this when he had only seen so little. All of this was an educated guess at this point. Nothing more.

  Caesar cleared his throat again and rubbed his hand over his face. “Yes. From what I directly observed, this parasite is able to burrow into the skulls of its victims, but I’m not sure how just yet. It takes over their nervous system and uses them to find food as well as a new host. But this is all guesswork, which is why I need to study the ones I killed in the stairwell.”

  “You don’t seem to understand what I’m telling you, Mr. Meldano. We are not bringing a parasite-infected body into this lab with the few survivors we have left. End of story,” Colonel Jenkins shouted at Caesar, slamming his closed fist onto the solid wood table.

  All Caesar did was stare straight into the eyes of the colonel, showing him that he would not be backing down when it came to getting answers. Good thing Caesar had something else up his sleeve that only Douglas and those working within Area 51 knew about. Something he thought may help with all of this and bring back the world that they had known, that had been ripped apart and scattered since the meteorite bombardment and the crimson fog.

  “I can see the gears turning up there, Mr. Meldano,” Colonel Jenkins stated as he tapped his index finger against his temple. “What do you have that I don’t know about?”

  Caesar paused, looking at each person in turn. He was aware that the woman worked for Area 51 and knew exactly what he and Douglas had been up to down here on Floor X, but the rest were civilians who were already tired of the government’s secrets and lies. The woman nodded, prompting Caesar to continue.

  “Well, Douglas and I have been working on something for the last couple of years that may help us, but we haven’t been able to run it through human trials yet. It’s in the lab if you will allow me to go get it.” Caesar knew he was going out on the limb here, but he had to at least try.

  Colonel Jenkins nodded, signaling that Caesar could go into the lab to retrieve what he needed. Caesar didn’t have to be told twice. He rose from his chair, it rolling just enough so it lightly tapped the wall behind him, and he walked to the clear glass, bulletproof door that led into the laboratory where he and Douglas had worked. There was a partition in the back where they had everything set up for this special pet project and Area 51 let them do it because they wanted their hands on it, just in case. Well, now was as good a time as any.

  Caesar made his way to the back of the lab, past all the microscopes and massive lab equipment, most of which no one but Douglas and him could pronounce the name, raising the transparent partition that separated this section of the lab from the rest. Past even more lab equipment and metal tables and rolling chairs was a large incubator as well as a refrigerator, the refrigerator being his destination. This was where his secret had been kept for almost a year, and it was his best work yet. It worked well in animals but, as he had told the colonel, it had not yet gone through human trials which everyone knew was the real test. And Caesar didn’t mind getting his hands dirty in the name of science. He had done so plenty of times working for the government and their secret sector, and he wasn’t about to stop just because his family was dead. If anything, he should because of that fact.

  He opened the frosted glass door of the laboratory fridge and scanned the top shelf where they kept this secret concoction, continuing to work with it until they found something that laboratory rats could stand up to. Now there it was, sitting up front in a small glass bottle, the clear liquid inside of it swooshing around as he picked it up and rubbed condensation off the label which read ‘Faith’ in large, emboldened letters with a barcode underneath. The barcode was to keep track of dosages used in animal testing and, from the look of it, this was the last remaining bottle of what could be their only hope. He just had to have a little faith.

  He chuckled at the thought and closed the door with his foot, making his way to the shelves that held the only syringes that could carry the liquid without being eaten away. Yes, this stuff was dangerous, but what was outside was even more so than what he held in his hands. Even the tiny bottle containing it was made out a specialized glass that could hold up to what it held, and the syringe was no different. There was a case on a metal desk that was home to a proton microscope. He pulled the case toward him and opened it, the glass and stainless steel syringe twinkling at him from within the black felt covering inside of it. Without a moment’s hesitation, he took it out of the case and prepped the injection, knowing he only had one shot at this and knowing he was too afraid to use it on himself because of the possible after effects.

  Once the entire vial of liquid was pulled into the syringe, he walked back into the conference room with the syringe in plain sight, each person in the chamber taking a long look at what he had. There was fear in their eyes that could be felt in the room at the sight of the intimidating needle.

  “What is that?” Colonel Jenkins asked, pointing at the large syringe in Caesar’s hand, his eyes wide with fear at the sight of it.

  Caesar looked at it with pride, turning it in his hand as he watched the liquid move with its confines. “Just a little faith,” he answered. “It is a cure.”

  “For what?” the man who had remained quiet until now finally asked. “What have you been working on up here? I knew you government folk were all the same. Lies and secrets. All of you are liars.”

  “That’s enough, sir,�
� Colonel Jenkins said, and then turned back to Caesar. “Meldano, in all seriousness, what is that a cure for?”

  “It’s a cure for everything,” Caesar responded as he took a couple of steps toward Jenkins, who was none the wiser.

  There was a perfect large muscle right within grasp, and before Jenkins could react, he pushed the needle into the bicep of Jenkins’s arm and had barely pushed down the plunger when Jenkins pushed him away. Caesar fell to the ground and against the far wall, watching as the colonel ripped the needle from his arm and tossed it on the floor, his eyes meeting Caesar’s with anger.

  “You,” he said as he pointed at Caesar, promising revenge.

  Caesar had been able to inject a small amount of the ‘Faith’ serum into the colonel, and so far, there had been no change. Maybe it took an entire dose in a human being. He wasn’t sure, but he needed to be able to test that theory out, and he was willing to sacrifice himself to do it. He had already screwed up his chance with Jenkins, and this was all he had left.

  Jenkins saw him eye the syringe and moved toward it. He was going to shatter the needle underneath his massive foot, and Caesar knew it. He saw it in his eyes. Caesar lunged for it and grabbed it up before Jenkins had a chance to act on his plan and jabbed it into his own bicep, pushing down on the plunger as quickly as he could before he had the opportunity to change his mind. He stood up and Jenkins stalked up to him, nearly chest to chest in an attempt to show that he was the alpha, and he should be feared.