by Brown, TW
“You can’t think that,” Mike said.
Heather had been talking, and suddenly stopped, realizing that she was suddenly non-existant to the two men she stood between. They both had the saddest expressions she’d ever seen.
“How can I not?” Kevin’s voice was barely a whisper.
“We couldn’t possibly have known. And this,” Mike gestured to Heather, “could be a fluke.”
“In any case,” Kevin’s voice grew stronger and more resolved, “I’m not leaving anybody behind anymore.”
“But Shaw and his men—” Mike began.
“Are big, dumb animals,” Kevin cut him off. “Just like that Meyers kid back in high school. A dumb jock that had no muscle from the neck up. We always wanted to do that piece of shit in, and knew that most of our ideas woulda landed us in juvie hall. Well…rules are out the window.”
“You have a plan?” Mike asked.
“Not yet,” Kevin replied. “Up to this point I’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. But, given time, I bet we could think of something that will take care of Shaw and his men…and rescue Angela, Ruth, Shari, and Erin.”
“Excuse me,” Heather finally built up the nerve to speak. “Can we get out of this room? I can’t look at my friends like that anymore.”
“Jeez,” Mike literally slapped his forehead, “I’m so sorry, Heather.”
Kevin led the way and took them to the hall. “Take her to the top floor and wait for me.”
For a moment, Mike considered protesting. He knew what Kevin had in mind. At least he thought he did. Part of him wanted to be involved. But deep down, an even bigger part didn’t. This was going to be unpleasant, and there was plenty of time in the future for him to do things that would tug at his conscience.
They climbed the stairs, emerging into the mostly sunlit corridor. Kevin and Mike traded a look, then, Mike led Heather up the stairs that would likely take them to classrooms, and hopefully some supplies.
They reached the second floor, layers of undisturbed dust in either direction indicated there would be nothing found here. Continuing up, Mike realized that he no longer smelled the sourness of death and rot. Instead, it was…
“Pine-Sol,” Heather inhaled deeply. “I never thought that could smell so good.”
“Crazy how the little things can be so huge.” Mike joined her in a few deep, cleansing breaths.
The floor was clear, and all the doors were open to the classrooms. Directly across from them was a room full of cardboard boxes. Mike led the way. Together, he and Heather started peeking in or opening tops to discover packaged foods, along with all manner of clothing—skewed towards the more promiscuous fashions that were once so popular on the teen-oriented television and music celebrities—as well as a box that Mike took pains to ensure Heather wouldn’t see. A box of assorted sexual lubricants.
A quick walk up and down the hallway revealed that all but one of the rooms were similarly full. The one that was not full of boxes was obviously Mister Abernathy’s sleeping quarters. There was an unpleasant smell not quite maskable by the pine-scented cleaning products that had been used with such apparent vigor. Mike closed that door and hung a towel from a pair of small hooks that were attached just above the window. As he was finishing, a scream echoed through the building from below.
***
Kevin walked into the office without hesitation. He slapped the face of Mister Abernathy repeatedly until the man’s eyes opened and his muffled cries came through the windbreaker sleeve that had been used to gag him.
“You are one sick fucker.” Kevin sat on the edge of the large desk and folded his arms across his chest.
Abernathy’s eyes, which were squeezed shut in pain, flew open. He tried desperately to speak through the gag, but Kevin wasn’t ready to hear him talk just yet.
“Found your little stash of zombie sex-slaves,” Kevin spat. “I’m not sure if it is just the idea that you were having sex with zombie girls or, if it’s that you chose underage girls exclusively.”
Abernathy made more muffled pleas, but Kevin didn’t care. “Were you a sick freakin’ pedophile before, who just hadn’t been caught yet? Or is this a crime of opportunity? I mean…I’m guessing that, since the girls knew you, you were a teacher here. So…did you walk the halls doing your best to hide your hard-on while you gawked? Somebody doesn’t just magically become a sick piece of shit like you overnight. Do they?”
More muffled words and whimpers.
“But,” Kevin stood up and moved behind Mister Abernathy and began pushing the chair out of the office and to the stairs, “I must say that I owe you in a way. See, we found poor Heather in your little room. Seems she was bitten. And I bet you were surprised when she didn’t turn into one of those things. So, did that save her? I mean, can you still get it up if they’re breathin’?”
They reached the stairs. Kevin briefly considered pushing the chair and letting the man get busted up good and proper. Only, he didn’t want to risk the chance the bastard’s neck would break. Turning the chair around and tipping it back, he worked his way down the stairs to the dark hallway.
“I really would’ve never believed in just how sick a person could be till you.” Kevin had to fight his impulse to scream, to just let the chair fall. “I mean, I just lost a few friends to some wannabe mercenaries. And while I was concerned for their well-being…I wasn’t truly terrified. Until now anyways. So,” he spun the chair around to face him, and even in the darkness, he could see the fear in Abernathy’s eyes, “if I do manage to save my friends…they’ll sorta owe it to you in a sick way.”
Kevin pushed the chair to the room and situated it in the doorway. He leaned down and whispered in the man’s ear, “I’d like you to know that you will rot in this chair. I’m going to let one of those poor creatures take a few more good bites out of you before I put them all out of their misery. Then, I’m gonna shove you in that room and let you die tied to this chair and come back as one of those things. And you’ll never be able to feed. I don’t have any idea if those things feel pain or hunger. But I’ll sleep good thinking that they do, and knowing that you’ll feel that forever with no way to satisfy it.”
Kevin saw something flash in the man’s eyes for a second. Something that was stronger than the fear. No way, he thought. Kevin ripped the man’s shirt off and stood up, stunned.
“You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kidding me!” Kevin felt sick.
Finding Heather had sent his beliefs spiraling. One person immune to the bite was a terrible, wonderful thing. The possibility that a bite was not a one hundred-percent guarantee of death and undeath was amazing. But Cary…that was terrible. Had he awoke to find himself alone and defenseless? What sort of hellish nightmare had his inability to pull the trigger condemned Cary to? It would have been better to have killed him and discovered the possibility of immunity than to have left him alive and alone, surrounded by zombies in a disabled car.
The bite scar on Abernathy’s shoulder was bright pink. Two people immune in such a small town? Of course the odds were slim, but who knew what factors led to immunity. There were certainly enough zombies walking about to remind Kevin that this was much more of a fluke than the norm. Add in that many of the attacks were vicious enough to be fatal in and of themselves.
“Well then,” Kevin leaned down into the man’s profusely sweating face, “let’s test another theory.”
Kevin looked around the room at the girls. Three were collared and kept in place by a long lead that was attached to an eyebolt in the wall. Taking a deep breath, he drew his long blade and walked up to the first girl tied into a desk. He drove the blade into the temple and then, carefully and methodically went around the room dispatching all but those three.
Next, he moved all the ones that he’d finished off over to one corner. He looked at the three that were collared. Their eyes followed him during his task. They had stopped trying to get at him at some point. Now, all three were almost with their back to
the wall.
“Well,” Kevin stood with his hands on his hips, looking from one girl to the other, “perhaps there is at least a minimal understanding. Like the ability to comprehend the most basic aspect of being endangered. So let’s see what happens here.”
Kevin walked to the doorway and grabbed the chair by the armrest and pulled it into the room. He heard movement instantly and spun around to insure he wasn’t within reach. Looking at each of the three zombies, he noticed immediately that they were no longer paying him any attention. Instead, they were fixated on the man in the chair.
“Looks like some friends of yours would like to say hello.” Kevin watched how all three came for the terrified man tied to the chair.
Kevin pushed the chair back out of the room. He turned and watched for the reaction of the schoolgirl-zombies. They just stopped. It was like a switch. All three went to standing, swaying in place, or shambling back a few steps to ease the tension on their leads.
“Okay, one more test,” Kevin whispered to Abernathy, “then I’ll be done here.”
He walked into the room. Would they still equate him with danger? Their heads turned his direction almost in unison. Each began moving towards him, arms out. “Kinda like goldfish,” Kevin mumbled. Then, over his shoulder he called, “But they sure have you imprinted in their minds, because, even though they want to get at me, it’s not nearly as spirited as when I drag your ass in here.”
Kevin didn’t relish his next task. One of the three was totally naked. Stringy blonde hair hung down just above her breasts. Her one bite was on the left hand in between the thumb and index finger. Kevin walked up just out of the range of her outstretched, grasping hands. He feinted left and it followed. In a quick lunge to the right, he ducked under the hands and swept the feet out from underneath. Quickly wrestling it onto its stomach, Kevin yanked the clasp free on the ball gag and moved away quickly. A soft moan filled the room and made the hair on his arms stand up. He stood, sizing up the other two, one was wearing a cheerleader’s outfit, the other one was in lingerie that looked even more obscene due to the girl not possibly being older than fourteen. With similar tactics, he managed to remove the ball-gags. Now all three were mewling and moaning.
“Now,” Kevin walked back out to where Mister Abernathy still sat, pleased to see that the man was renewing his struggles, “let’s go say hi.” Kevin pushed the chair back into the room. The low sounds instantly changed to a hissing and the clicking of teeth as all three strained to the limits of their leads, snapping their jaws and clawing at the air.
“I want Heather to know she’ll never have to worry about you again.” Kevin yanked the gag from the man’s mouth.
“Please! I don’t think you understand,” Abernathy pleaded.
“Understand what?” Kevin snapped. “That you’re a sick fuck that preyed on children? Or is it that I don’t understand that you simultaneously turned them into fucking zombies so you could live out your fantasies? In either case, you’re right. I don’t understand. And what’s more, I hope I never do.”
“You have no idea what it’s like watching them day after day. Every year their skirts get shorter, they grind on every boy they can in plain view. They—”
“Shut the fuck up!” Kevin punched the man squarely in the face. “They’re kids, and you’re a sick motherfucker who doesn’t deserve to live.”
Kevin drew his knife and circled wide of the naked zombie. She didn’t even seem to register his presence—so intent on getting the man in the center of the room who was blubbering with a mixture of tears, snot, and blood running down his face.
“Sic ‘em!” Kevin cut the lead and the zombie sprawled face down on the floor. He quickly cut the other two loose, watching them flop face first as well, and then begin scrambling awkwardly to their feet.
One by one they rose and began their slow, lurching walk toward their intended prey. Kevin moved to the doorway, no longer surprised that none of them even glanced his direction. Abernathy continued to squirm and blubber, “Julie, Sasha, Sara…no…no…” over and over.
The naked one arrived first and leaned over like she was about to whisper a secret. Abernathy screamed as she came away with the right ear and a strip of flesh from the neck. Blood poured and splattered the cheerleader who now latched onto the right arm. Finally, the lingerie-clad one reached its target, still on its hands and knees. It reared up, and then plunged down, mouth clamping on the left leg. The thin, khaki pants tore away, exposing a white slab of upper thigh. Again it leaned in, this time finding the loose flesh of Abernathy’s flabby leg.
Another scream filled the room.
“I’ll leave you to get reacquainted,” Kevin said, although he was pretty sure he was drowned out by the screams. He closed the door and listened as the shrieks rose in pitch and volume.
***
“Is that…?” Heather clasped on to Mike’s arm like a lifeline.
“I don’t think Mister Abernathy will ever bother you again.” He hugged the trembling girl.
Together, the two stood, listening to the muffled screams. They seemed to ooze through the vacant school. Mike glanced outside, noticing a couple of nearby zombies turn in the direction of the building. Not too many, he observed. The combination of a small town, and a good number of the undead already put down was a definite bonus. Still, he didn’t want the numbers surrounding the building to grow. Currently he guessed there to be no more than thirty in sight. Of course, the stairs leading up to the main doors might explain the lack of zombies trying to get at them. He watched as one zombie in particular—a youngster who hadn’t been more than five—struggle with the first two steps, falling a couple times before finally shambling away. What had once been an elderly, white-haired old lady had the same problems and also gave up.
Still, almost a dozen made it up the stairs. He could hear them slapping at the entry doors. Heather clung to his side, also watching the zombies come and go. Occassionally she would whisper a name.
“Mike,” Kevin’s voice made both of them jump. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya. Let’s go down and see if we can zonk the ones gathered at the doors.”
“Then what?” Mike asked. Yeah, he decided, somebody needed to be the leader and make decisions. He’d speak up if he felt the urge, but for right now, he was perfectly fine with Kevin making the choices.
“We should be able to hole up here for a bit,” Kevin replied. Mike noticed that he was spattered in quite a lot of blood.
“What about Angela and the others?” Mike asked. “Shaw and his men?”
“It will take some planning.” Kevin flipped open the flap of a box next to him, peeking at the contents. “Before we do anything, I’ll want to check out their place and see if it is even feasible. Also, I am guessing they send out patrols for supplies as well as to maintain their claim. I’ll bet it is pretty easy to figure out any schedule they keep.”
“Mister?” Heather spoke up.
“Just Kevin.” Kevin turned his attention to the girl.
“Kevin,” her voice was small and hesitant, “what happened to my friends?”
“They’re at peace.” Kevin struggled to maintain eye contact, but he figured it would be best to just tell the truth.
“Good.” Heather sighed deeply. A weight seemed to visibly come off the girl. “And Mister Abernathy?”
“No longer anything to worry about,” Kevin answered.
“So let’s do this before things outside get any thicker.” Mike produced a long, steel-tipped poker perfect for jabbing into heads.
“Heather,” Kevin said to the girl, putting up his hands to keep her from following, “you wait up here and we’ll be back shortly. Watch from the window if you like, but stay up here.”
“Okay.” Her voice sounded relieved and tired.
“Once we’re done, we can rest, eat, and clean ourselves up a bit,” Kevin said over his shoulder as he and Mike left the room and headed for the stairs.
***
Eyes op
ened. The creature’s head hung awkwardly to one side. It struggled to stand, but couldn’t free itself from the cords lashing it to the big, blood-soaked chair. It tried to work its jaw, but something hard and round was wedged in its mouth.
Much of its entrails were clumped in its lap, but the creature had no awareness of such things. It was oblivious to the three creatures laying in a row just a few feet away. All it knew was hunger. A hunger that drove it to struggle at its bonds so that it could search for something to satisfy that hunger…even though the creature possessed no concept of satisfaction.
It really and truly only knew one thing.
Hunger.
Revelations
(Book two of the DEAD series)
Written by: TW Brown
Dedication
This book is dedicated to Michael ‘Happy’ DeNoma
(August 10, 1983 to February 22, 2011)
You were wrong.
The world is NOT a better place without you!
Author’s Note:
Welcome back.
When I set out to write the DEAD series, I’d spent about the previous five years reading every title in the zombie genre I could get my hands on. I found some absolute gems: Eden, The Rising (and its sequel), Monster Island (the trilogy), and of course World War Z. I also discovered a lot of really bad offerings. (No sense listing them…that would be rude, but fans of the zombie genre know what I’m saying.)
Since DEAD: The Ugly Beginning was released, so much has happened. For the most part, the first book was well received. Sure, there have been those who didn’t care for it. Any writer who doesn’t expect that is delusional. I listen to the good and the bad for anything helpful that readers might have to say. (I’m religious about checking Amazon.com for the most recent review. Yes, I do listen…I do read…I do pay attention.)
