Devouring The Dead (Book 2): Nemesis

by Watts, Russ

  David managed to roll over and get on top of it. He sat astride the zombie with his knife plunged firmly into its head. As the woman finally stopped moving, David pulled the knife from her skull and he wiped it on his boxers. He turned to face his son, his face red and sweaty. He spat on the floor and Jimmy noticed his saliva was thick and red.

  “Jimmy, what the fuck have you done? What the fuck have you done, you idiot?!”

  Jimmy felt sick. Perhaps he should’ve tried talking to his father first. “Dad, I...”

  Another zombie suddenly appeared in the doorway, a boy that Jimmy recognised from school. It literally jumped on David’s back and sank its teeth into his shoulder, ripping out flesh and tissue. It bit him again, ravaging his neck, drinking in David’s sweet warm blood. David tried to throw the boy off, but it was holding him firmly. Exhausted, David sunk to his knees.

  “Jimmy,” he rasped, “get out of here. Go!” David’s eyes were locked on his son. His knuckles were white as he made fists and hit the zombie biting him. He tried to shake the monster off his back, but it was too strong.

  “Dad, I can’t, I...”

  David felt himself weakening. He was acutely aware that he was losing a lot of blood and the pain was overwhelming. The dead boy on his back refused to give up and continued digging its teeth into him.

  “Please, Jimmy, I love you, son.”

  Jimmy watched as his father dribbled blood from his mouth and sank to the floor. The zombie continued its relentless attack, gorging on the rare fresh meat it had suddenly found. Jimmy picked up the large screwdriver from the table with which he had unscrewed the nails earlier and approached the zombie. It was so intent on eating his father, who was now unconscious, that it was oblivious to Jimmy.

  The screwdriver entered the zombie’s head through one ear and the tip came out the other side. Jimmy held onto it as the zombie keeled over onto the floor. When he was sure the zombie was dead, Jimmy pulled the screwdriver out.

  “Dad?” he whispered. It was too late though. David was already dead. Jimmy bent down and touched his father’s wrist. There was no pulse. Should he run, like his father had said, or try to board the door up again? What about his father? He couldn’t leave him like this. Jimmy stood up again, staring at his father, unable to believe he was really dead. As Jimmy stared at his father’s bloody corpse, David’s left leg twitched. Jimmmy flinched and stepped back. Surely his father wasn’t going to come back? He wouldn’t, would he?

  Jimmy heard the roar of an engine outside and turned to the doorway. The noise was growing louder and he peered around the door carefully, but saw no more of the dead. Tentatively, he stepped outside clutching the screwdriver and saw a van coming down the street. It was being followed by hundreds of zombies. Jimmy recognised it as being the same van that he had seen last night and ran out into the road to flag it down.

  * * * *

  Harry shouted at Tom to stop, but there was no time to avoid the figure in the road. It had run right out in front of them yet Tom instinctively knew it wasn’t one of the dead. The figure was waving its hands above its head and holding a weapon of some sort. Tom saw the boy’s eyes and knew he was alive. He yanked the wheel down hard and the van careered over the pavement and crashed into a parked car. It missed Jimmy by an inch and he felt the air rush past him as the van whisked by his head.

  Harry coughed and looked across at Tom who was conscious but had a bleeding nose. The van had no airbags and they had both smashed into the front of the vehicle. Luckily, they had been wearing their seatbelts.

  “Is anyone hurt?” said Harry turning slowly in his seat. He felt like a ton of bricks had been thrown at him. There were murmurs and groans from the back seat, but nobody spoke. He looked in the mirror and saw the army of dead advancing.

  “Tom, can you start it?”

  Tom wiped his bleeding nose on his sleeve and turned the key. The van did not even turn over. He tried again and again, but the van stayed silent.

  “It’s dead,” Tom said slapping the steering wheel in frustration.

  A face appeared by his window and Tom pressed himself back in his seat. He felt down the side of the driver’s seat and curled his fingers around a tyre iron. The face at the window stared at Tom in amazement before speaking.

  “Please, you’ve got to help me, my dad...” said Jimmy. Seeing the blood on Tom’s face, Jimmy’s amazement turned to concern. “Are you all right? I didn’t mean to...”

  Tom unclipped his belt and opened the door. Jimmy stepped away and Tom got out, still holding the tyre iron.

  “We’ve got to help you? Are you fucking kidding?” shouted Tom.

  Harry got out of the van too and helped the others. They were dazed, but otherwise unhurt.

  “Tom, we’ve got to go. Leave him be, he’s just a boy,” said Jackson. “Those things will be on us in a minute.”

  “Shit, Tom, what do we do now?” said Jessica looking down the street at the numerous zombies running and lurching toward them.

  “We have to run for it. Come on.”

  Tom ran down the road and everyone followed, heading away from the walking corpses coming for them. Jimmy hesitated and looked back at his home. His father David was stood in the doorway, his near naked body covered in blood. Jimmy ran after the others leaving his dead father chasing after him.

  Tom turned a corner and let the others catch up. Harry and Heidi reached him first.

  “We’re going to have to find somewhere to hide, try to give them the slip. When they’ve dispersed, we’ll try to find a working vehicle and go get the others.”

  “I don’t like the look of any of these houses, Tom,” said Harry. “There’s no cover, no safety. We don’t know what’s in them.”

  “We should go down there,” said Heidi panting. “Godolphin Road leads to the main road out of town. There’s a mini shopping complex there. You know, like a supermarket and some warehouses and stuff. Maybe that would be safer?”

  Moira and Jessica caught up and heard the conversation.

  “Let’s keep moving. I’m not dying out here today,” said Moira. She had managed to grab a rucksack and rifled through it quickly only to find it was full of books. Right now, a weapon would have proven far more useful than a well-read paperback.

  Jackson and Christina appeared from around the corner with Caterina. Her normally pale face was almost purple. Christina had managed to grab a bag too and Tom guessed it would have Caterina’s things in it, mostly medicines and vitamins.

  “Heidi, lead on, quickly,” said Tom.

  As Heidi ran, they all followed. Jackson ran up to Tom.

  “Where’s Lenny? We can’t leave him.”

  “I don’t like it either, Jackson, but what choice do we have?”

  “I’m going to look for him. We didn’t leave Benzo behind, did we? I can’t do it. When I’ve got him I’ll meet you at the petrol station.”

  Tom opened his mouth to argue, but Jackson suddenly ran off to the left, down a small residential street, his oversized shirt flapping in the wind. Within seconds, he was gone.

  “Damn it, Jackson,” Tom said hurrying after Heidi. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the dead in the distance. Between him and the dead was the boy who had run out into the street. Tom saw he was crying and slowed down to let him catch up.

  “What’s your name?” said Tom as the boy approached him.

  “Jimmy.”

  The boy was still clutching the screwdriver and looked terrified.

  “Jimmy, stick with us, we’re going to find somewhere safe, okay? Don’t worry about before, it was an accident. Come on.”

  Tom saw the complex that Heidi had been talking about. She was running across a deserted car park headed to a series of low-rise buildings. He saw a supermarket, but the front windows had all been smashed in. It looked as if someone had rammed them with a truck of some sort. The shop was decimated and rubbish blew around the storefront. Next to the supermarket was the entrance to a mall. It was dark insi
de, but Tom could see that the shops had been looted and the entrance to the mall had been destroyed. Tom guessed that someone had driven a truck or large van into the mall, probably the same one that had ram-raided the supermarket. The large metal grill that should’ve been in place was on the ground. There was no way of shutting the doorway and the mall would be useless.

  Heidi had obviously noticed the same thing and was running around it, down the side, past a burnt out coffee cart. She paused and waved for everyone to follow her. There was a garden centre next to the mall and a tall fence surrounded it. Tom could see a huge array of plants, trees, shrubs and flowers through the fencing, but wondered how Heidi was planning on getting in, if that was her plan. They would need a ladder twenty feet high to get over the fencing. Taking a look over his shoulder he saw the zombies giving chase. He hoped that Jackson had made himself scarce and quickly.

  Tom and Jimmy ran past the coffee cart and down the side of the mall. They were sandwiched between the back wall of the shopping centre and the tall fence. Everybody stopped where Heidi had and Caterina and Christina were on their knees gasping for breath. Tom looked around and they were out of sight of the road. They had a few precious seconds out of sight of the dead before they were found. He ran up to Heidi.

  “Any ideas?” he asked hopefully.

  Heidi’s face was flushed. “I thought maybe the shopping complex would be safe, but it’s been trashed. I can’t believe it!”

  Tom looked around. The mall would offer little protection from the horde that was only sixty seconds away. Like the supermarket, there was nowhere to hide and nothing to barricade themselves in with. He looked at the garden centre. The building looked intact, but the fence around it looked insurmountable. Tom scanned around looking for inspiration.

  “Hey you, let us in!” Harry shouted.

  “What? Who’s there?” said Tom.

  “I see them too,” said Jessica. “Look, behind those rose bushes, there’s someone there.”

  “Hey, you, we’re not infected. We need help!” shouted Harry again.

  The rose bush rustled and then a man stepped out from behind it. He jogged up to the fence and looked at Harry. The man was dressed in overalls and apparently worked there. His face and hands were covered in dirt, but he seemed healthy otherwise. Despite all the dirt he was covered with, his white eyes sparkled brightly. He looked African and had a round cherub-like face and short dark hair.

  “Who are you? Where did you come from? Are you with them?” asked the stranger in a deep and urgent tone.

  “Please,” said Tom approaching the fence, “please let us in. They’re coming. We just need somewhere to shelter for a while. We’re no trouble, I promise.”

  The man’s brown eyes looked Tom up and down and then settled on Caterina. “She pregnant?”

  “Yes, she is. Can you help us?” pleaded Christina as she helped Caterina to her feet.

  “Over there, there’s a gate in the fence.” The man pointed to one corner and then raced over to open it.

  Tom and Heidi ran to it and the man was there already unlocking it. He pushed the gate open and let them in. When the last of them was inside he shut it and locked it again.

  “Better get inside then. No one knows I’m here and I’d prefer it to stay that way. Follow me and keep quiet.”

  The man led them down an aisle of tall shrubs and Tom saw that many of them were dying. Looking around at the other plants, many of them had dead leaves and the soil was dry. Evidently the occasional storm wasn’t enough to keep them alive. Tom wondered if this man had any water and how he had managed to survive in here on his own.

  They walked into the garden centre through another door that the man locked behind them. Inside it was cool and dark. It smelt like fertiliser and the air was bad. They were quiet, as he had asked, and followed the man past well-stocked rows of gardening equipment: forks and spades, lawnmowers, hedge trimmers, trellis, and even an array of outdoor furniture. The man led them into a back office, not locked, and then through into another room. It appeared to be the worker’s restroom. There were two vending machines in the corner, a couple of sofas and a small kitchen area with a microwave, kettle and assorted dishes.

  As they all settled down into the seats, Tom approached the man who stood by the door watching them all. “Thanks. I’m Tom.”

  “Macklin. But call me Mac.”

  “Thanks, Mac. Is there anyone else here or..?”

  “Just me.” Mac ran his grubby hands over his head. “Shit, I’m just...I thought I was the only one left around these parts. Where the hell did you lot come from?”

  “That’s a long story, Mac,” said Tom. “I’ll fill you in later, but right now, I’ve got to figure how we’re going to get out of town. We’ve more people out there and they’re relying on me. I can’t leave them out there.”

  “More people?”

  “Hey, Tom, are we good?” said Harry. He shook hands with Mac and introduced himself.

  “Yeah, they can’t get in, don’t worry,” said Mac. “I haven’t had any trouble in here - not from those dead fuckers anyway.”

  “You asked if we were ‘with them’ when we were outside. Who were you talking about?” asked Tom. “Is there someone else in Longrock we should know about?”

  “I suppose you’ve not been here long then? You don’t sound like you come from here and I don’t recognise any of you. Well, that blonde chick looks vaguely familiar actually. Anyway, I wasn’t always on my own in this dump. I only moved to this town recently. Man, how much would I love to be kicking back with my friends in Jo’berg right now? Assuming they’re not zombies of course.

  “When it all kicked off, there was me, Sally and Keisha. We all worked here and it seemed the safest thing to do was stay put. There wasn’t much choice, outside was...well, you know, how it is. We wouldn’t have lasted two minutes. We managed to get a shit load of food and drink from the supermarket before it was cleared out completely. We just locked up and stayed put. I haven’t been outside since.

  “Over the past couple of weeks we saw these creeps come around. There was always two or three of them and they’d come and check out the mall, take stuff and leave. They drive an ambulance, but I’m pretty sure they’re not ambulance-men. They didn’t look like it to me. Sally reckoned we should join them. She thought they must have somewhere safe nearby. I told her not to go, but she wanted to leave and she convinced Keisha to go with her. I think they probably got cabin-fever being cooped up in here with me.

  “A few days ago, Sally and Keisha left. I watched them approach the ambulance and a guy came out the back. He was a short, ugly looking bloke. They talked for a minute or two then they got in the back, drove off, and I haven’t seen them since.”

  “These men driving the ambulance, you don’t think they’re on the level?” said Harry.

  “I didn’t like the look of them one bit. I hope the girls are all right, but…” Mac shrugged his shoulders. “What could I do, I couldn’t force them to stay, could I.”

  “Mac, we were on our way out of here when we had a bit of an accident. We’ve got friends out there. I don’t suppose you know where that ambulance went? Maybe we can find your friends? You helped us, we’ll help you, right?” said Tom.

  “I hope your friends are okay, but if they’re outside...I heard them talking once, the ugly bloke and another one with a funny accent. Reckon he was Australian or something. They drove around the garden centre and must’ve figured it wasn’t worth it because they stopped and had a look but left us alone. One of them said they had to get back to the boss, but if you’re thinking of joining them, I’d think again. You’ll never get there anyway. The ugly bloke said they had to get back to the Mount. I think that’s where they are, on the Mount.”

  * * * *

  Laurent kicked open the door and ran into the petrol station foyer. Rosa was right behind him. The station’s glass doors were shut, but they found a back door which took them inside. It was quiet inside
and they were exhausted from running. The plan had worked well so far. The pack of zombies trailing them had largely turned around, once Tom had brought the van onto the street. Some were still following them, but they had managed to keep well ahead of them.

  “Hurry up,” shouted Laurent.

  Daniel and Glenda were not far behind, but were finding the run hard. Laurent could see that there was still about twenty or thirty dead behind them. Glenda pulled ahead and reached the station. Rosa grabbed her hand and Glenda gratefully took it, letting Rosa lead her into the station. She looked back through the large glass frontage and saw Daniel straining to reach the station.

  Laurent watched on, worried that Daniel might have a heart attack as he stood in the doorway urging Daniel on. “Come on, Daniel, you’re almost there. Hurry!”

  Overgrown fields bordered either side of the road, and from the undergrowth, a dog suddenly bounded out. Laurent saw it was already dead. Its mangy body was covered in sores and much of its fur had rotted off. It chased after Daniel and nipped at his heels. Daniel stopped, no more than ten feet from the station, and kicked out at the dog.

  “Get away, get out of here,” he said, repeatedly kicking the dog in the head.

  Suddenly, another dog appeared, then another and another. Laurent counted six in total, all very large, powerful dogs, and all very dead. There was a variety of breeds: Labradors, Alsatians and some he didn’t recognise. They were in various stages of decay. Their teeth were still razor sharp though and their senses keen. Laurent watched, his stomach churning, as the pack of dogs circled Daniel and pounced on him. Laurent faintly heard Glenda scream and was aware of a struggle behind him as Rosa held Daniel’s distraught wife back.

  Daniel was dragged to the floor and the dogs tore into him, muscular jaws clamping around his arms, legs, and face. Laurent picked up the door he had kicked down and placed it in the doorway. It wouldn’t hold much back, but it might help keep them out of sight of the dead. Daniel screamed and pleaded for help, but there was nothing they could do now. From inside the station, Laurent heard the sounds of Daniel’s bones crunching as the dead dogs ate him alive.