Zombified (Book 1): The Head Hunter

by Sowder, Kindra

  “I’m not saying you have to, but soon enough, when you finally see him again, you’ll believe every word I said. And, because I know Caesar isn’t a liar, he’ll tell you everything himself. That I can assure you.”

  Jenkins leaned down in front of her and placed his hands on his thighs, his cold and sour breath on her face as she refused to look away this time. If ever again. She wanted to memorize his face, memorize everything about him so that later on in life, she could warn others of the torturous ways of the Revenants. That was if she made of out of this alive, whatever this was. She wasn’t certain whether this was reality or the product of the dopamine-deprived mind of the Revenant seeing as they suffered from underproduction of the neurotransmitter once they turned. No one was sure what caused this, but it happened every time, making them even more aggressive and more prone to fits of insanity than the other rates of Syc infection. Or was it a product of the ‘Faith’ serum he claimed her father had injected into him when she believed him to be dead, running for her life alone because she had no one left. Could it be true?

  “Just so you know I have no reason to lie to you. Not now. Not ever. Your father deserves retribution for what he did to me seven years ago, and there’s no doubting that. His blood created the Revenant, combined with the Sycophant infection. So here we are.” He stood up and placed his hands on his hips, looking down at her with an incredulous stare. “One of three things will happen here. G.O.D. will produce your father, he will blast through those doors on his own, or he won’t show up at all. In that case, you are mine to do with what I want, and I will turn you myself like I did your friend.”

  Jenkins turned away from her then and began to make his way to the closed door, his gait sure and proud of what he had accomplished. Even Jenny knew that this man might be crazed, but he was proud of everything he had done after his infection. Now it was up to him to prove to her who or what had changed him into the monster he was. No one else. Once he got to the door, he turned his head, staring at her through his peripheral vision instead of directly.

  “If G.O.D. doesn’t come through, you won’t be the only one to suffer the consequences. Your friends at the Station will, too, and the one I turned will come back with me to live out her life as a Rev. So you’d better start praying.”

  With that, he was gone. He closed the door behind him and left Jenny all alone in the darkened room. She hung her head and thought about her options. It was obvious she had no control over what would happen next, but it didn’t stop her from believing that those in control over her fate would do what needed to be done, even if it was impossible. According to Jenkins, her father was the Head Hunter and had been alive this entire time. The stories said that he lived in the Smokies all by himself in old bunkers that had been built before the meteorites struck. Long before.

  She just prayed the stories were true.

  Chapter 14

  Near the Kentucky Dam

  July 2027

  Station Four – Isolation Chamber

  Fatigue weighed down Misty’s bones and muscles. Her eyes opened slowly, the burn of tiredness making her close them again. The light was entirely too bright, only adding to the burn she felt in her retinas. With a groan, she rolled over onto her back, coming to realize she was lying on a cot. Nothing to offer her comfort for her aching body. She was still dressed in her night clothes, a white tank and white cotton pants with a pair of soft socks. Her tank top was soaked in the blood that had poured from her neck after she had been bitten by that man whose name she couldn’t remember to save her life.

  She opened her eyes again and squinted against the lights that were too bright for her to leave them open. Another groan as her head began to pound. The fatigue was no help, either way. She hadn’t expected to be alive even though she knew that the infection that would turn her into a Rev would happen within minutes to hours. Apparently, it hadn’t taken her body long to become infected with the Syc parasite and whatever else caused the Revenant’s condition to begin with. She recognized the symptoms she was experiencing.

  Her situation felt hopeless as depression set in, not only because of what she had become but because of what her new condition caused. Low dopamine levels that were the sign of Revenant infection had taken hold, the change damaging the part of the brain that caused some of the behaviors of these creatures.

  Misty covered her closed eyes with her hand and rolled back over onto her side.

  “I do apologize. We will turn the lights down for you,” an extremely high-pitched female voice came from the speakers situated around the room.

  It was extremely loud to her then, her senses changing so that she could now live within the near darkness. Not only did this particular infection cause the damage to the brain as well as low dopamine levels to start, but it enhanced senses. Later, there would be a spike in dopamine that caused a number of symptoms she didn’t even want to begin to think about, including hallucinations and aggression. That was the part that worried her the most. The reason for the spike was that the damage would be healed by the change triggered by infection, but that healing would cause the spike, causing further damage that could lead to another gamut of problems that no one had ever thought of until recently.

  “All right, you may now open your eyes without discomfort.”

  This voice was different, deep and masculine. The name of Xavier Jackson popped into her fuzzy mind. She couldn’t even begin to think of why he was there, only that it had something to do with Jenny. Something had happened, but she couldn’t bring the memories to the surface, as if something was blocking her from recalling them. Frustration and grief surfaced as she attempted to bring the memory forward, and failed yet again. She shook her head.

  Her eyes snapped open, and saw that Xavier had told the truth. The lights had turned from the bright yellow fluorescence to cool, soft blue that made it a lot easier for her eyes to adjust to them. She couldn’t say that she was shocked by what she saw. She was in one of the few isolation chambers deep within the Station built just in case. Just in case of what was beyond her before, but now she knew. She knew that the reason for the room was so that anyone infected with the Syc parasite could be held no matter which type of infection they had. For what reason, she wasn’t aware. She was certain they hadn’t had to hold a newly turned Revenant before that very moment. Before her.

  The room was empty besides a metal toilet and sink and the cot she lay on, the walls bare except for what she was confident was a bulletproof and shatterproof two-way mirror used to observe her without having to interact directly with her. The walls and floor were compiled of large slabs of concrete that had to be reinforced in some way to keep her from just breaking her way out. Regular concrete was brittle and easy enough for a Rev to break through if they truly wanted freedom. She had no desire for it and not just because of the sunlight she was certain filled the atmosphere outside the Station’s walls, but because she had no idea how to survive on her own in this new existence. Or if she even wanted to.

  Her entire body ached like she had the flu, but she moved to a sitting position regardless, looking around the sparse room that held nothing for her but the basics of what a human being needed. All except for food, and it didn’t hold anything a Rev would need. The toilet was useless and their bodies no longer required water. She had a feeling they wouldn’t be feeding her blood to keep her sustained within the Station, either. She would starve to death before they would even give her a drop of the life force or let her go to fend for herself.

  Her feet touched the stone floor, the cold seeping through her socks and causing a shiver to run up her spine. She ignored her chilled bones and rose to move toward the two-way mirror. The closer she got to it, the more she could sense something. No, smell something. And hear something. A rapid thumping sound came from beyond the glass, as well as the smell of iron with a slight sweetness that shouldn’t have been attractive to her in any way if it weren’t for the Rev infection flooding her system. She approached the gl
ass and reached out toward it, her fingers barely grazing it as she inhaled the intoxicating scent.

  “Please step away from the glass, miss,” Xavier’s voice came from the speakers again.

  Her hand jerked back on instinct and she took a few steps backward, nearly stumbling all over her own feet with fear and exhaustion. Tears burned her eyes as the alienation took hold, making her see that she was indeed alone in this no matter what anyone may say to her. Would she see Jenny ever again? Would G.O.D. do what it took to save her? Would she see Mark and Joshua after this? She doubted it as her mind ran rampant with doubt.

  “Please, I’m so scared,” she admitted. “I don’t know what’s happening and I’m so alone.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself and watched her reflection, the only thing she could see that gave her any comfort. She watched herself in the two-way mirror and would’ve gasped at her appearance if any of it had been surprising to her at all. Her red hair hung in strands caked with rust-colored dirt and a crimson crust. The gray tank she wore was ruined far beyond repair, and her skin was so pale and deathly she was nearly the same shade as her clothes. There was only one thing she hadn’t been prepared for. Her eyes had gone from the pale blue they had been to a gray that mirrored the same silver of the mirror in front of her. Along the rims of her eyes, there wasn’t the fine shimmer of tears of her humanity. They were lined with bright red and terror finally struck her. She reached up and wiped her right eye, smearing the blood she was now crying down her cheek. As she stared at herself, one single red tear streaked down her other cheek.

  “Oh my God,” she nearly shrieked. “Please, help me.”

  Her knees shook, causing her to collapse on the cold floor. She knew she wouldn’t make it to the cot on the other side of the room no matter how hard she tried. Anxiety rippled through her entire body and weakened her as she stared at the red liquid that was smeared on her fingers. The airlock on the other side of the door opened with a hiss and the large metal door creaked on its barely used hinges. When she turned her face up to see who had entered, she met the stare of Xavier Jackson, who was dressed to the gills in protective clothing just in case. Just in case she turned feral and bit him. She felt the hunger curl in her belly, but swallowed it down, telling herself she would not feed on him. That she wouldn’t feed on anyone and would rather starve. She was not a violent person, but she knew that would change within the coming days. Right now, all she felt was the fear and despair of life forever changed because she valued the friendships she had been able to form in a place where everyone was out for themselves.

  His body was covered in all black. That was when she realized she had never seen him in anything but a pristine suit. His throat was covered in a special Kevlar invented by the scientists who worked for G.O.D. to keep a Rev that may bite from puncturing flesh and infecting anyone else. The Kevlar shield reached from his neck all the way down to the pulse points in his wrists and then to his groin, covering anywhere a Rev was most likely to attack. She smiled and chuckled, feeling as if she was already going mad.

  “I’m not a threat,” she stated matter-of-factly, but the implication that she could very well be hung in the air between them.

  “We can never be too sure,” Xavier admitted as he took a few more steps inside.

  The large door closed behind him with another hiss and then they were alone, closed inside together and both of them with survival on their minds. She laughed again, looking down at her crimson fingers and the few drops that had landed on her encrusted shirt. There was a stark difference between the bright red of her tears and the dried cruddy brown of the old blood, both more vibrant than they used to be. Her body was adjusting quickly to the infection. More quickly than she suspected those who watched her had anticipated. But this development, her crimson sadness, was something she didn’t know about, which made her wonder if they knew.

  “Yes, this is a sign of Revenant infection. One of the signs just twenty-four hours before the spike of dopamine as your brain heals from the change,” Xavier explained without her having to utter a single word.

  “I take it I’m moving through this a lot faster than most?” she asked.

  He nodded and came to kneel down beside her.

  “Looks like you know more about this than we originally thought. If you don’t mind me asking, how is that?”

  “Living in the Dead Zone for a while you pick up on things. Only ran into a couple of Revs while I was out there, but that was enough for me to learn. Plus . . .” She paused and turned to look at him, “the Stations teach us a lot, and I was told I should become a scientist within G.O.D. working specifically with the different types of infection so we can learn as much as we can. You know, try to find a cure before it’s too late.”

  Xavier sighed as he stared at her. “I have a feeling it already is.”

  “Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. And I would’ve never said that before now. I was kind of still holding onto hope like everyone else,” Misty replied as she continued to sit on the cold floor. She barely noticed the cold anymore, only the constant thrum of Xavier’s heart racing faster and faster behind his ribcage.

  His warm hand came to rest on her shoulder, nearly warming her chilled and dying body.

  “Hold onto it. We can still hope for survival.”

  She laughed again, this time with anger. “I don’t think there’s any coming back from this, Officer Jackson. Not even a little bit.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  Misty turned to look at him and attempted not to focus on the speedy rhythm of his heart pumping blood through his arteries. She was trying to hold onto humanity for as long as she could, knowing that once she was hungry enough, she would become the animal that Jenkins had intended when he changed her. And she didn’t want Jackson, who seemed so understanding of her situation despite his fear, to be her first victim. Who knew what G.O.D. would do to him if he were to be infected?

  “Survival is a gut reaction, Officer Jackson. It’s what we do even if we wanna die. We fight against our own death because of instinct but, just because we fight for it, it doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of what our world is like now. Take me for instance . . .” She turned and looked at him again. “Right now I wanna die, but if you were to come in and attempt to take my life, I would fight. Because of instinct. That doesn’t mean I’ll win. See what I mean?”

  Xavier went silent and looked at the floor, refusing to look her in the eyes any more than he had to to avoid the guilt he felt. It rolled off him like smoke and burned her nostrils.

  “Just because we want our race to come back from this and we fight for it, it doesn’t guarantee anythin’. Especially if all we have to hold onto is hope. Hope is invisible and immaterial and can’t save us. I hoped to die peacefully in my bed at a ripe old age, but that was taken from me. It means nothin’ to me so, please, keep it to yourself.”

  She knew it was the low dopamine talking as much as Xavier did, but she couldn’t stop the words. She felt utter hopelessness and the hope he tried to push down her throat wasn’t something she was willing to swallow.

  “This isn’t you talking, Misty,” he stated.

  Misty flinched at the use of her name. He had never once called her by her name before, and it shocked her. Her name coming from him was slathered with guilt and sadness and that same hope she had just stated she had lost all faith in.

  “I may be a little depressed about my change in status here, Officer, but you couldn’t be more wrong.”

  His hand squeezed Misty’s shoulder, and she jerked away from him, standing only to stumble and fall back down onto the hard and unforgiving floor beneath her. Pain radiated through her entire spine when she landed, but she barely registered it as Xavier stood and held his hand out to help her.

  “Don’t. I don’t need your help,” she shouted as she rose to her feet swiftly, backing away from his touch. “Just don’t.”

  The massive metal door swung open again and sold
iers outfitted with guns and stun batons made their way in, coming to surround Xavier like she would attack him at any moment. Every soldier with a rifle aimed it in her direction, their laser sights red on her shirt pointed dead center at her heart.

  “Stand down,” Xavier ordered.

  Misty met the eyes of one soldier, his cold military stare unwavering. She took a step toward him and gripped the barrel of his rifle, placing it against her forehead.

  “Do it,” she dared him. She just wanted it to be over. When he didn’t pull the trigger, she yelled, “Do it, ya coward!”

  “That is enough. Stand down, men,” Xavier cried over her shouts.

  “Please,” Misty practically begged, “or you won’t leave this room alive.”

  “Misty stop,” Xavier ordered as he watched her past the men in front of him. “Stand down now, soldiers, or face the consequences of your disobedience.”

  Each soldier lowered his rifle and stun baton and the soldier in front of her watched her carefully. His deep brown eyes reminded her of her friend who was now in the clutches of the man who turned her. And here she was, wallowing in self-pity because the universe had dealt her a losing hand.

  “Get outta here. I wanna be alone,” she snapped with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m tired.”

  Each soldier looked nervously to Xavier for a command. After what felt like an eternity but was truly only about half a second, he nodded and gestured toward the open door with two fingers.

  “Clear out, boys.”

  They filtered out as ordered and Xavier followed behind them. When he reached the door, he looked back at Misty.

  “Get some rest. The change is difficult on the brain and body. And let me know if you need anything.”

  He turned and left the room, the door closing behind him with a metallic groan of protest. Now she was alone with her sorrow but the loneliness, the need for human contact, left her with that brief interaction.