In the moonlight, with a few people holding lanterns or lighters up to see, Mimzie realized just how many survivors there were. Maybe close to three hundred. In the tunnels and side rooms of the stadium they’d been spread out. Rumors of the initial group Eve had tucked away going insane and behind the chained doors at the end of the hall abounded. The fear anyone around you could kill you and take your stuff was all too real, as well.
Mimzie had kept to herself. Even though she’d lived in Jacksonville for many years and had owned a successful business, she didn’t know anyone else in the stadium.
Even in the zombie apocalypse, everyone kept migrating to Florida, she thought.
A couple of men were trying to get the crowd in the same area, everyone crowding on the fifty yard line in the center of the field.
“Is she really going to let us leave?” someone asked.
“What if we just walked out now?”
“Is this some trick?”
“Will she let us take all of the food and supplies left, too?”
“I haven’t eaten in two days.”
“Silence,” one of the men yelled. He had his hands in the air. “Eve, our Infinite Ruler, is coming. She wants everyone to sit down and relax so she can talk.”
Mimzie thought the many titles she forced them to use about her was ridiculous but she guessed if she ever became a zombie and had hundreds of people living in fear of her she’d become a megalomaniac as well.
Eve walked out of her own tunnel and was smiling.
Mimzie was a little disappointed there wasn’t fireworks going off over the stadium and music playing, which would have fit perfectly with the ego of their Infinite Ruler.
Everyone was beginning to sit but Mimzie decided to stand. She had a really bad feeling about what was going on and she felt trapped with all of these people surrounding her.
She casually picked up her backpack, smiled and nodded at a few people around her, and started heading towards the back of the mob.
“Stop. Where are you going?” Eve asked loudly, and Mimzie knew she’d fucked up. She’d made a target of herself.
Mimzie turned and smiled, shrugging her shoulders. “I was just going to sit in the back and listen.”
Eve shook her head and motioned with her hand. “No. Please. Come up front so you don’t miss anything. I want you to help me lead everyone to their release.”
Mimzie wanted to run but she knew she wouldn’t get far. She thought again about her husband, children and grandchildren. She wanted to live and see them but in her heart she knew Eve was never going to let anyone walk out of the stadium alive.
By the looks of those around her, she wasn’t the only one who thought it.
Mimzie walked to the front, all eyes upon her. She put her backpack down and went to sit but Eve waved her hands.
“No. Remain standing. I want you to witness all of this. You’ll get to leave last. How does that sound?” Eve asked.
“Can’t I just walk out and never look back? I have family out there somewhere,” Mimzie said. “I need to look for them.”
Eve got close to Mimzie, who was too afraid to move away.
“Tell me who you are looking for and I’ll help you to find them,” Eve said.
Was this a trick? It felt like it to Mimzie but she didn’t think she had a choice but to answer truthfully and see what the monster did with the information.
“Tom is my husband. My daughters are…”
Eve put a finger to Mimzie’s lips and smiled.
“Let me find him first,” Eve said and closed her eyes.
A few people murmured but Mimzie didn’t dare so much as flinch while the zombie still had her cold finger touching her lips.
Eve snapped her eyes open and frowned.
“I’m sorry, Mimzie. So sad and tragic. Your husband and children and even your grandchildren are all dead. Mindless zombies biting and violating anyone they come in contact with. They’ll be destroyed soon, too. All does not end well,” Eve said.
Mimzie wanted to scream. This couldn’t be happening. She’d been promised the chance to leave and search for her family but now the zombie was telling her it was too late.
“When… when did they turn?” Mimzie asked, tears in her eyes. She heard a few people behind her who’d heard what she said begin to cry, sharing her pain and thinking of their own families.
“Yesterday.” Eve looked up at the dark sky. “Only a few miles from where we stand. I’d called out, letting them know you were safe and you’d be joining them soon. But they were attacked, not by zombies, but by other humans who are evil. You all fear me yet the real danger is once you leave these four secure walls. It is so safe in the stadium I don’t even post guards. The zombies can’t get in and the living are dealt with swiftly and given a choice: join us or die.”
“Please tell me you’re lying,” Mimzie said.
Eve took a step back and smiled, staring at Mimzie.
“I wish they were still alive. I really do. How glorious would it be to rejoin your family?” Eve suddenly frowned and squinted her eyes, staring behind Mimzie.
“Eve is lying. Your family is safe in Daytona Beach. They got there three weeks ago,” Darlene said as she approached behind the gathered crowd.
“Not that it matters anyway. All of these wretched people are going to die. I would’ve let them go free but you’re interfering,” Eve said.
“More lies,” Darlene said.
“Welcome, Zombie Killer. Once I’m done destroying you, I’ll take my time ripping each person apart and letting them remember it was your fault,” Eve said.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Darlene knew the others were in position. The plan she’d come up with was rudimentary at best but given the logistics and the time crunch it was the best they had to work with.
“Let them go. This is between you and me,” Darlene said as she walked towards Eve and the survivors.
Eve laughed and clapped her hands as the humans stood and began to move, making a path for Darlene.
“This is like Moses parting the Red Sea,” Eve said. “I am your pharaoh and you’ve come to free the slaves. You can’t write this. It just falls into place, right?”
Darlene couldn’t help it. She smiled as well. Shit, the zombie’s name was Eve. There were too many coincidences to make this a coincidence.
“Let my people go,” Darlene said, playing along. If she could distract Eve, the plan just might work.
A few people laughed uncomfortably, not knowing what was going on but praying they weren’t about to die.
“Oh, but these aren’t your people,” Eve said. She put an arm around Mimzie’s neck and pulled her close. “I’m more your people than this bag of bones and blood. I could twist off her neck right now and you wouldn’t feel a thing. You no longer have feelings, do you, Zombie Killer? You’re more zombie than anything else. I can see and feel it. You have immense power but you’re going to waste it trying to save a handful of weaklings who are already extinct. Let’s kill them all together and then march off to find your son.”
“Don’t bring my family into this.”
Eve pressed her face against Mimzie, who looked repulsed. Her hand stroked Mimzie on the cheek.
“But we have a common goal: to find the boy. To exploit the power he obviously possesses. You’ll need me to find him. You know you can’t do it alone, Zombie Killer.”
Mimzie was crying, struggling in vain to escape from Eve, who looked like she barely noticed the human.
Darlene saw Bernie in position in the stands behind Eve, aiming her rifle.
Pull the trigger, Darlene projected at Bernie.
I can’t while she’s holding the woman, Bernie thought back.
Shoot her in the head.
Darlene maintained eye contact with Eve but she needed to see her head blown off of her shoulders. The human wasn’t important. Killing the zombie was.
“You’re stalling,” Eve said. She spun around, still holding
onto Mimzie. “Ahh. Now I see. You think mortal weapons can harm me?”
“It’s worth a shot,” Darlene said and screamed at Bernie in her mind to shoot this fucking bitch but the anger from Darlene forced Bernie to drop the rifle and hold onto her head.
“You cannot defeat me. I can control my powers,” Eve said. “Watch.”
She threw Mimzie to the ground but instead of attacking her she turned and pointed at the group of survivors to her left. Half a dozen of them clutched their throats and fell to their knees, choking.
Darlene ran forward but Eve held up her hand and Darlene felt the grip on her own neck. It wasn’t going to choke her out but it was holding her back and uncomfortable, enough to keep Darlene from concentrating.
Shoot her in the head. Now.
Bernie was still reeling from the mental attack Darlene had inadvertently used against her.
“Is that the best you can do?” Darlene asked, forcing the invisible pressure off of her body and pushing it back. “I thought you’d be a challenge when we faced off in person.”
“You can’t hide behind these puny humans anymore,” Eve said.
The six survivors Eve had been choking stopped struggling and fell to the ground. Another six were immediately grabbed.
Darlene wondered why they weren’t running away but a glance in their direction and she saw what was holding them back: a scintillating wall of energy was circling the football field. It crackled and moved closer as people tried to move away from Eve.
She was more powerful than Darlene thought she’d be and it scared her.
Or was she scared? Darlene knew her mortal former self would have shrunk back from this massive setback, but now…
Darlene laughed and used her own mind to grip Eve by the shoulders and lift her off of the ground. She used her will to slam the zombie to the hard surface, expecting to shatter her bones.
“Nice try,” Eve said, hovering inches from the turf. She turned her head and smiled at Darlene. “I don’t think you have really mastered any of this yet. What a shame. I wasn’t lying when I said we could look for your boy together. I want to drain him of his precious blood while you watch. Unfortunately I’ll have to kill you now.”
“I don’t think so, stupid bitch,” Tosha said, appearing from the crowd and driving a sharpened stake into Eve’s torso.
It came as such a surprise Eve didn’t have time to fight back and she was forced to the ground and pinned down.
Eve waved her hand and Tosha shot fifteen feet away from her, slamming into a couple of humans and collapsing to the ground.
“Is this your plan? Have a bunch of ragtag humans do your bidding? You can’t defeat me on your own?” Eve asked. She gripped the stake in both hands.
I have the shot, Bernie said to Darlene.
Then take it. Damn. Take it.
Darlene heard the rifle firing but Eve turned her head and swung her hand, which incredibly deflected the bullet.
The shot slammed into the head of a man nearby and he fell dead to the ground.
“Keep shooting. It will be easier to kill everyone,” Eve yelled and turned back to Darlene.
Bri was behind Eve with a chain in hand. Before Eve knew what was happening, Bri wrapped it around Eve’s neck and pulled as hard as she could.
Darlene charged but by the time she reached Eve the chain was snapped, links like butter, falling to the turf.
Eve swung around and grabbed Bri by the neck.
“Leave her be. It’s me you want to fight,” Darlene said.
“Very true.” Eve tossed Bri at least ten yards downfield.
Darlene punched at Eve, who caught her hand right before it connected with her face.
“Are we really going to battle with our physical bodies? Isn’t it much easier to get inside the other’s mind?” Eve asked.
The pair locked hands and set their feet but the real fight was going to be psionically.
You’re weaker than I thought, Eve said inside Darlene’s head.
Darlene felt fear but did her best to push it down. This would be the last time she’d feel such an inferior feeling. If she survived this fight, she’d be completely gone to the other side.
You won’t survive, Eve said.
Darlene shut her mind off briefly, blocking Eve but knowing by doing it she’d also be opening herself up to an easier attack if what she suddenly planned didn’t work.
Eve grinned when Darlene made her move, going in for the kill.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Darlene begged and pleaded her case and gave up more than she wanted to, but under the circumstances she had no choice.
She made a deal with a devil.
When she turned her mind back on and tried to brace for the attack, she had a second of clarity and surprised Eve by letting her fully inside.
You’ve made the ultimate mistake. Do you think your sacrifice will save anyone? I’m going to kill them all, Eve said.
You can try, Darlene said, fighting back. One on one I might not be a match for you. I don’t have the discipline nor had the time to grow and learn my powers. You have at least a year of using your skills and updating them. Becoming familiar with what you’re working with. You’ve truly become one of the Alpha Zombies. I respect you for it.
Why are you telling me all of this? Surrendering so soon? Eve asked.
Darlene smiled despite the pain in her head.
Eve frowned and stared at Darlene, confused.
She was just wasting time until I could adjust into her head and combine her power with mine, The Lich Lord said.
Eve was shocked mentally and physically.
Darlene concentrated on using the surprise and momentum to pull Eve closer to her and then head butted the bitch in the face.
She swept the legs out from under Eve but held on, driving a knee into her chest as Eve went down.
“Help me destroy the body before she recovers,” Darlene yelled to whoever was nearby. Eve needed to be taken down completely.
You can’t do this, Eve said.
Yet… here we are. It’s Chosen Ones like you that give the rest of us a bad name, The Lich Lord said. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to try this part of the power out. It’s easier than I thought. For instance… I can crush each little part of your brain all at once. Like this.
Darlene held Eve down as she struggled.
Mimzie appeared next to Darlene with the stake and plunged it into the zombie’s chest.
Tosha put her .22 to Eve’s head and pulled the trigger until she was empty.
There goes the last of your brains, The Lich Lord said. Darlene, I’d step back now. Just one more thing to do.
Darlene jumped up and pushed Mimzie away just as Bernie and Bri and others came over.
“Everyone run. Get away from Eve as fast as you can,” Darlene said.
Eve? You still in there somewhere? I’d hate to end you so completely without you feeling it. Remember when your heart stopped and you became a zombie? I’m going to restart your heart. Think your rotting body can handle it? The Lich Lord asked.
“Run,” Darlene yelled. She was trying to move but her head hurt from being used as a conduit for The Lich Lord.
Everyone scattered.
Don’t go anywhere, Darlene. After this is over the fun will truly begin, The Lich Lord said.
Eve managed to rise to one knee and pull the stake from her chest. She threw it on the ground and stared at Darlene, who’d stopped running.
“This isn’t over. You are not one of us. You’ll be hunted down and destroyed as the true monster,” Eve said.
How very dramatic. Bye bye, The Lich Lord said.
One second Eve was attempting to stand and the next…
Darlene heard the single beat of Eve’s heart before it exploded.
Eve exploded.
Chunks of her flesh and a fountain of blood rose into the air, splashing onto the field and dousing everyone within twenty yards with gore.
A
pile of bloody meat was left in Eve’s place.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Darlene felt like every atom in her body had been assaulted. She knew if she were still mortal she’d be dead. She fell to the turf and wiped the blood off of her arms and face.
The survivors were milling about not knowing what to do.
The energy field had died with Eve but no one was in a rush to leave.
Mimzie put her hands up and addressed the survivors. “We need to stay together. If we scatter, the zombies outside will pick us off.”
“It’s bad out there,” Tosha said as she approached Darlene.
Bernie and Bri had recovered as well.
“What’s the plan?” Tosha asked Darlene.
Darlene put up a finger. “Give me a second to figure it out. No one leaves just yet.”
I haven’t had that much fun in years, The Lich Lord said to Darlene. We should do this more often.
I need you to get out of my head. You’re no longer welcome. This was a once in a lifetime event and only because I needed your help, Darlene thought.
First things first before you kick me out. We struck a deal. I honored my end of the bargain. Now it is your turn, The Lich Lord said.
Darlene took a deep breath and sighed. She’d really need to sell this; although, she didn’t think The Lich Lord was anything but genuine in wanting to do this.
“I have a safe haven for everyone to get to but it is a long journey,” Darlene said.
“Where?” Tosha asked.
“Daytona Beach. With The Lich Lord,” Darlene said.
“No fucking way. That dude is worse than this bitch,” Bri said.
Darlene shook her head. “He’s the one who helped me defeat Eve. He’s… changed. I can’t explain it. I’ve been inside his head and he sees the big picture now. He’s been expanding the compound and setting up housing and food. The Lich Lord is protecting everyone down there. Please trust me.”
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