The zombie hordes had destroyed Demi's world. The undead were looked upon as the greatest curse to ever plague mankind. What would they call her if they learned what she had done? She had harbored one of the undead and then murdered her friend and a child by giving them over to that same zombie. What possible punishment would be enough for such a heinous crime?
"Demi, wait." It was Charlie's voice. Demi turned a corner and increased her pace. Maybe he would think she hadn't heard.
She heard pounding feet behind her and knew that she couldn't escape.
"Demi, please." Charlie's hand landed on her shoulder bringing her to a halt.
She turned to face Charlie and recoiled; he looked as bad as one of the undead. Charlie's skin was pale and large black bags weighed down each eye. His eyes were so bloodshot that the sclera was almost totally red. His hair was wild and he hadn't groomed his beard for days. She could feel the tremors in his hand where it rested on her shoulder.
"Charlie, oh my God, you look terrible."
"I can't eat. I can't sleep. First Linda and now my baby didn't come home last night. She never does that. She knows the rules about sundown."
"I'm so sorry Charlie."
"Where could she have gone?"
"I wouldn't know."
"Look, I know you had plans with Linda but what about Tracy? Did she come by to see Seffie?"
"She tried to visit like four days ago but I sent her home; that was before Linda went missing."
"Could she maybe have gotten in to see Seffie while you were out? Maybe she's sick now and curled up somewhere."
"Charlie, there's no way that could have happened. She must be either lost or maybe she fell and hurt herself and is waiting to be found."
"Oh God, what do I do? She could be dying somewhere."
"Just go home Charlie, I'm sure she'll be back soon. Or go searching with the security team. Just leave me alone, I don't know how to help you."
"What? I thought you were our friend. You just expect me to wait at home and hope?"
"Charlie, that's not what I mean. Look, I've got things I have to do."
"Things to do? Like what? What's more important than your neighbor, your friend, going missing? Now our little girl, Seffie's best friend, is missing too. Why are you refusing to help me?"
"I'm not; look it's just that I don't think I can be of any help."
"Well try," he shouted.
Demi recoiled from the force of Charlie's shout. She'd never seen him this wild. He was normally a calm, easy going man. Worry had transformed him into a raving lunatic.
"I need to go, Charlie."
"So you're just going to walk away? What kind of friend are you?"
"Charlie, you're scaring me. You're acting irrational."
"Irrational? Irrational," Charlie barked laughter. "I'm so far past that it's not even funny. Don't you get it? My wife and baby are gone."
"I'm leaving now. Leave me alone Charlie."
Demi took a step back but Charlie surged forward. His eyes were wild as he grabbed her by both shoulders with bruising force.
"You must have heard something." He was almost shouting again. "Anything. Give me some clue Demi; some hope."
Demi struggled free of his manic grip and backed away.
"I can't Charlie; I'm sorry."
"Oh my God," His eyes were now like saucers. "You do know something."
She spun on her heel and took off at a run wanting as much distance between herself and the frantic man as possible.
"You know something," Charlie screamed behind her. "I'll find out what you did. You can't hide them from me."
Demi ran onward blind from tears until she could no longer hear Charlie's accusing shouts.
###
The next day, Demi sat brooding in her living room. She still had no ideas to escape this horror she had created. A knock at the door brought her head up. She opened the door slowly, afraid that it was Charlie.
"Oh, hi Phil," she said as she recognized the security man from last night. "What can I do for you?"
Phil shifted from foot to foot and chewed his lip before speaking. He looked like a child who got caught doing something naughty.
"I'm really sorry to bother you Demi but I'm here in an official capacity. Can I come in and talk?"
Demi looked toward the hallway and than back at Phil. There was no way to refuse him without arousing suspicion.
"Of course Phil. Come in but please be quiet, Seffie is asleep in the back room. I just gave her some pain killers."
"Alright," he said softly. "I'll try to be quick. We don't want to bother your baby."
Demi led Phil to a chair and sat on the couch facing him.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
"No thanks. I'm here because of Charlie's family."
Demi felt as if her heart stopped. She swallowed past the sudden tightness in her throat.
"That's such a sad thing. Has there been any sign of Linda or Tracy?"
A thump echoed through the house. If Linda and Seffie weren't quiet they'd be discovered.
"No but Charlie has been voicing some, well, I guess you could say concerns. It's a little crazy. I think he's just distraught but I have to follow up on every lead, you understand."
"Of course."
More thumping erupted. This time the sounds came in pairs like an enormous heartbeat. Phil didn't react. Was he purposefully baiting her?
"Charlie says that Tracy was coming by here trying to see your little girl. Is that right?"
"Yes, but I've been sending her right back home. Seffie is contagious and I don't want to risk another child. I actually caught Tracy in my yard a few days ago and sent her right home."
Was that a rattle of chains?
"The last time I saw Linda must have been almost a week ago. We actually had plans on the day she disappeared. I told Charlie that I'd ask around at the other enclaves to see if anyone saw her."
"That fits."
A scratching sound drifted down the hall; it was the sound of sharp talons shredding fragile wooden panel. Were they about to escape?
A second scratching noise soon joined it; this one was more like fingernails on a chalkboard. Demi began to sweat. Phil sat placidly, still wearing his sheepish little boy look.
"Look Demi, it's just that Charlie is upset; hell he's starting to lose it. He hasn't been sleeping. Since you seem to be the last person who saw both his wife and daughter he's convinced that you somehow know something."
"Phil if I knew anything else do you honestly think I wouldn't tell you?"
A low growl reached Demi's ears. Couldn't they be quiet?
"Of course not." How could Phil ignore the sounds that were coming down the hallway? Surely he must hear them.
“Quiet,” she whispered.
“Pardon?”
Demi blinked rapidly; she didn’t realize she had spoken aloud.
“Nothing, just thinking out loud. I swear to you Phil, the last time I saw Linda was when she left my house after we planned to go get the girls new dresses. I haven't seen Tracy since I chased her out of my yard. If I learn anything, I will come to you."
Demi's voice cracked as she continued speaking.
"Linda was, is my best friend. She's like a sister to me and I love Tracy as much as my Seffie. I'd do anything for them."
Phil looked like he wanted to run away and hide in a corner. He sprang up and crossed to Demi's side and sat, wrapping her in a comforting hug. He gently patted her back as tears poured down her cheeks.
"I understand, I understand. I'm so sorry I've upset you. This was stupid. Look, I'm going to go and leave you in peace. I'm sorry."
Phil rose and crossed to the door accompanied by a fresh chorus of moans and scratching.
"Stop it," Demi muttered.
"What?"
"What? Nothing Phil, just trying to stop crying."
A pounding sound like a fist beating on a wall echoed through the house. Phil appeared oblivious to it all
. He apologized once more and left with tears welling in his own eyes.
Demi went to a window and made sure that Phil was gone and then stomped down the hallway. The scratching and moaning sounds rose to a cacophony as she came closer.
"Stop it."
The moaning rose in volume.
"Stop it, they'll hear." Her voice was shrill and cracking with emotion.
Chains rang like bells and the scratching returned. The scratching was so intense that Demi expected rotting talons to burst through the door.
"Stop it. Stop it. Be quiet." Demi shrieked at the door until her voice broke.
She dug out the key and unlocked the door still screaming for her prisoners to be quiet. The door swung open revealing Seffie sitting silent on the bed. Linda rocked mutely back and forth in the center of the room. No damage marred the walls or door; it had all been in her head.
"Oh God, I'm going insane."
###
The sun was setting and Demi sat in her living room alternating between fits of weeping and blind panic. Charlie was suspicious of her. Security was suspicious of her. Neighbors probably heard the commotion earlier. Security would be back and then it was all over. She had failed to protect Seffie. Her inept attempts at secrecy had ended two lives and returned the zombie plague to the world.
She had to end this, even if security locked her away forever. Even if they killed her, she couldn't let the creatures in the back room continue to exist. Too many people had died in The Troubles. Too many more had sacrificed everything to rid the world of the zombies. She couldn't unleash them on humanity again.
Demi swung out the cylinder of her pistol. Six bullets stared back at her. She flipped it back into place and marched down the hallway gripping the pistol so hard that her knuckles were white.
The open door revealed Seffie sitting quietly on her bed as usual. Linda turned and shambled toward Demi until the chain stopped her. Tracy was still lying on the floor in a dried pool of blood. Her skin had changed to the tell-tale colors of the undead. Demi noticed minute twitching motions in her arms and legs; she was about to rise. Demi needed to end this fast.
Linda growled and moaned as she strained against the chain. Black fluid oozed over her lower teeth and dripped to the floor. The stench of the room burned Demi's eyes and nose. She lifted the pistol and pointed it at the center of Linda's forehead.
"You just couldn't leave well enough alone could you?"
Her voice was calm but quickly rose in pitch and volume as she spoke.
"You were always pushing your nose into other people's business. Why didn't you just take my word about my daughter?"
She cocked the hammer of the pistol; this time her hand was not shaking.
"It's all your fault Linda," her voice rose to a shout. "Everything is your fault. You're both dead because of your choices. Why Linda? Why?"
Demi screamed the last word and pulled the trigger. The pistol bucked in her hand, emitting a plume of flame. A hole sprang into existence on Linda's forehead and the rear of her skull exploded, painting the wall with blood and brain matter. Linda crumpled to the ground, dead once more.
Demi's ears were still ringing from the gunshot in the small room but she heard banging behind her. A familiar voice was shouting frantically.
"Linda, Tracy, I know you're in there. Let me in damn it."
Charlie punctuated each word with a powerful blow to the front door. Demi didn't have much time.
She turned the pistol toward Tracy just as the girl's tar black eyes snapped open. She centered the barrel on the girl's head. She knew Tracy her entire short life. She watched her splash in the community pool and make mud pies with Seffie. The girls always smeared mud on their clothing much to their mothers' consternation. The girls had so much life ahead of them and now it was gone. They grew up together and now would die together, it only seemed fair.
"I'm sorry Tracy," her voice was a mere whisper. "You didn't deserve this, none of us did. I hope you and Seffie meet in Heaven."
Demi's finger tightened on the trigger. In the distance she could hear incoherent shouting and a loud cracking sound. She stared into the dead, black eyes of her daughter's best friend and released the trigger.
"Forgive me, I can't do it."
Tracy sat up and began to struggle to her feet.
"Tracy." Charlie's shout echoed down the hallway.
Tracy stood and faced the doorway. Father and child saw each other across the gloom of the dark hall.
"Baby, Daddy's here."
Charlie dropped to one knee and held his arms open in invitation. All he could see was a child in his daughter's dress. Tracy made a bubbling sound, the closest to a growl that her savaged throat could manage. She walked toward the kneeling man.
Demi turned the pistol toward her daughter. She felt no more desire to shoot her child than she had for Tracy. When she was pregnant it was the happiest time of her life. She didn't have a hard pregnancy like other women she knew. Every day was a joy, planning for the new life to come into her world. When Seffie was born she had smiled at Demi. Doc said that newborn babies couldn't consciously smile but Demi knew better. Every day with her daughter had been a joy, a blessing. It made living in a wasteland bearable. When Seffie became sick Demi couldn't believe that God would take such a joy from the world. That was why she refused to believe that the virus which had almost wiped out humanity had returned.
Demi put the pistol down and pulled a key from her pocket. She knelt in front of Seffie and unlocked the chain from her waist.
"I can't kill you honey, you're my baby." She sniffed as fresh tears began to pour down her face.
"You deserve to run free and play. I know you're not like those others, you're special just like you've always been."
A scream echoed down the hallway. It was a man's scream, almost as high pitched as a woman's in the extremity of his suffering. The scream ended in a gurgle and silence returned to the house.
"Go ahead honey, you and your friend just go out and play."
Seffie stood and took several steps toward the door. She stopped at the threshold and turned to look at her mother. Demi imagined an expression of sadness mixed with joy on the slack face. The black eyes glittered with mischief. Demi had been right; her daughter was still alive in there.
Seffie walked back to Demi with arms outstretched. Demi sobbed with joy and threw her arms open; her baby was coming home to her.
Seffie grabbed Demi's head and wrenched it to the side. Something snapped inside and then Seffie's teeth tore into her throat.
The zombie girl stood up from her mother's cooling corpse. She turned and walked past Charlie's corpse and into the night with Tracy. Charlie and Demi and so many others would be joining them soon enough.
- End -
About the author
Thank you for reading, friend. If you’ve enjoyed this book, please remember to leave feedback where you purchased it. Every little bit helps.
Some say Edmund de Wight was found wandering the desert as a baby, others say his mother won him playing craps, yet others say that aliens were spotted near Vegas on the night he was brought into the world. Draw your own conclusions.
Edmund has always had a thirst to learn new things. He’s pursued such diverse careers as a carnival barker, a cryptologist and linguist in military intelligence, a computer technician and bartender.
He’s traveled the world and managed to see the entire USA with the exception of two states. Equally intrigued by science, religion, and mysticism Ed brings a wide worldview to his writing. For hobbies Ed has undertaken pursuits as varied as wood carving, book binding and sword fighting and of course, never ending efforts at home remodeling.
Edmund writes stories that are often dark in nature and that can be classified as either Horror, Fantasy or Sci-Fi, depending on the tale.
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The Tell-Tale Zombie Page 3
