However in truth he was an unfeeling, capricious scumbag and master manipulator...A chess player par excellence with the people under his command as his pawns.
What he hadn't figured on was anyone surviving the attack – Dead men tell no tales – But Dickerson had. He would have arranged for an 'accident' while Dickerson was transported back home if not for what he was about to view...what he saw changed everything.
From: Lt. Commander J.T. Dickerson, 1st Navy, USS O' Bannon, Wake Island Security Flotilla
To: Cpt. Stewart E.P. Dickerson, Close Marines, Bravo company, Fire Base Snyder Romero
VIDEO COMMS SECURED CHANNEL
***FOR YOUR EYES ONLY***
The video feed crackles into life and a Naval Officer possibly in his late 20s/early 30s comes into view. He is bleeding from several areas on his face and body. He looks crazed and keeps looking back over his shoulder
“Stew it’s me, Johnny...I want to tell you I love you brother...and that this is my last stand...
“Fuck my oath to keep national security secrets... and fuck the United States government...and fuck the armed forces top brass. They green lighted this shambles and its now went beyond FUBAR....
“It won’t be long before they come for me...and I become... I become....”
The naval officer bows his head like he’s going to cry as his words become mouthed rather than spoken. Suddenly he fights back his tears and he snarls into the camera.”
“One of them!”
“This is going to sound fucking insane....” Sounds of metallic banging and a crash...
“Jesus, Fuck! They're coming through the doors....”
The Naval officer runs into the background and we hear him shouting at an unseen force.
“Go fuck yourselves you maggot-ridden…” The sounds of assault rifle gunfire echo in the background. “Yeah come on and fucking eat me!! I hope I give you the shits!”
More sounds of gunfire as the Naval Officer returns to the recording device
“Stew. my time is short, listen for the love of God, listen...They went ahead with it..... I can't believe they actually fucking finally done it. Project Lazarus Marching is happening now....
“The Project was to never have casualties on the battlefield again, Stew. That's the main aim, Bringing seriously wounded or dead soldiers back to full combat efficiency, so they can fight and fight again. But there was another to kill and use enemy forces against their own nation.
“I heard from a source they were going to use Bravo Company to test it...Watch your ass brother...
“These stupid bastards are using alien life forms in their experiments....Using samples of alien microbes found in the Tunguska meteor of 1911, the Russians did the first tests on cellular reanimation of the dead way back when....Their test subject was one Gregori Rasputin who seemed almost impossible to kill until they finally drowned him... The reanimated dead proved uncontrollable and contact with water puts the microbes into stasis....It was abandoned for other methods of warfare when the A-bomb was deemed more viable...
“God help us fucking all, we resumed research on it after the Cold war ended... and improved on the serum....The new batch is resistant to water has advanced microbes within it that can communicate with us and follow orders. Or so we thought...We have also managed to weaponize it into a gas....The first few tests were rudimentary reanimation of dead tissue these “tinkerer” alien microbes act almost like organic nanobots…” More crashing sounds are heard in the background.
“Ohhh God....Oh Jesus Christ no....They're nearly on my six....Fuck
“The Microbes, Stewart... Repair the brain functions sufficiently enough to jump start life again in dead tissue....But now they've evolved....They now can affect advanced repairs if the soldier has extreme structural damage.... They will bond any molecules in the environment with living flesh... Wood, stone, metal, even other dead tissue....Anything that will give the soldiers maximum combat efficiency to get the fuck back up and fight....
“But the alien microbe virus has got smart....now it’s not taking orders from us anymore....
“We've been running Security flotilla around Wake Island for 18 months now. Making sure if anything left the compound that wasn't friendly, we would bombard the facility from the sea if the auto-destruct never took effect....Sons of bitches....
A collective groan is heard that doesn't sound human....Hazy dark shambling forms are seen in the background. They’re eyes give off an eerie green glow. The officer on screen turns round and engages the enemy with an underslung grenade launcher...the video feed cuts out here for a while before coming back on and the place is filled with water...The Naval Officer is badly wounded…
“I-I'm dying Stew... I love you man, I'm going down with the ship....I've blown a hole in the hull trying to blow these things up... The bastards can burrow now, Stew....They killed everyone in that compound on Wake and then the whole fucking Island.... The village...The school....” He sobs and starts crying again “...Oh those poor fucking kids...”
“They burrowed through the floor of the compound and some headed straight for us underwater...They're already dead...They just walked the fucking sea bed and stormed the ship...”
The Naval officer’s eyes are glassy with fear and he looks like he’s gone insane.
“They'll reanimate soon again...The microbes will use parts of the ship to repair them or the ones that have been washed out into the ocean will use fish, rock whatever they can to rebuild and renew...They've killed us Stewart....The scientists, The president, the Joint Chiefs whoever greenlit this fucking thing....They've killed the world... Aaaargghhh!”
Suddenly, a dark figure appears behind the Naval officer and bites a large chunk out his neck and drags him down to the floor disappearing from view along with the officer. Screams are heard then nothing...Only sounds of what sounds like eating...Then the officer stands up along with his assailant and both shamble towards the pouring water in the background. The recording device goes dead.
On pausing the video and forward frame advancing, General Wilson sees clearly that the assailant is a dead marine with metal, rock, wood and seas creatures fused to it...It also seems to have multiple heads, some of which are child's snapping heads on its hands...
His career is over and he knows it...even if they can stop the Lazarus Corps from marching, destroying and eating every human and creature on the planet, someone in high command will cover their own ass and make him a scapegoat...There's only one honorable way out for him...Fall on his sword like an ancient General of Rome or Samurai warrior. Except for him that sword would be his service .45...
500 miles from Fire Base Snyder Romero and closing, a 10,000 strong army of walking corpses of men, women and children. Military and Civilians slowly march stoically and inexorably across the sea bed to their target with a single purpose. The alien microbes in their heads are giving the commands. That is the only chain of command as they march.
All are equal in the Lazarus Corps as they share a hoard of mind intelligence, all have the same mission. To wipe the earth clean of all life...so the microbe's masters can reclaim the earth from the human squatters once and for all.
All are equal except Lt. Commander Johnny T Dickerson who marches among them. For even in the depths of his control by the alien microbes, he still holds onto the memory of a strongly held desire. To go home and be together with his brother.
Johnny will come marching home again....
Authors Section
Richard A. Becker is a native of Los Angeles, California. His fiction has previously been published in anthologies edited by Jay Lake and Nick Mamatas, Robert Hood, and elsewhere. His micro-budget feature film, SHADOWS, was completed in 2012. His current projects include the horror feature film screenplay HANDFUL OF DUST.
Shane DeMink and Ginny Bowman firmly believe that a couple needs time by themselves to function. Which is why they write, cosplay, and co-run a film production company together. No, that doesn't
make sense to them either.... “Ashes” has been adapted as a short film from 1134 Productions staring Ginny's eldest daughter and Shane.
Paul ‘Deadeye’ Dick is a one-eyed ‘Jock-Of-All-Trades” – Artist / Writer / Scupltor husband and father from Scotland. Despite suffering from debilitating fibromyalgia, and half his sight is gone, he strives to live an active live. Paul’s 3D figurine artwork can be seen at figurerealm.com under the name “Deadeye”. His artwork also features on the cover of Black Petals Editor, Anne Stickel's Horror/Fantasy book ‘Next Stop: Napper's Holler’ — Cindy Rosmus' Noir short story collection " Death Takes A Snow Day" - Kenneth James Crist's upcoming four books - the zombie saga " Groaning For Burial" - the short story collection "Dreaming Of Mirages" - the ghost story " Joshua" - and a reworked front cover for " The Gazing Ball" He is currently writing his first full length novel based on the hardboiled 50s version of Dick Dyce called "The Wages of Sin." It spans nearly50 years of 20th Century War and crime with Dyce meta-fictionally being involved with some very famous and infamous individuals. Like a Ronin Samurai of old, Paul's available for any paid freelance work. His speed, precision and execution in his artwork the equal of any katana strike. Contact him at:
[email protected]
T. Fox Dunham resides outside of Philadelphia PA—author and historian. He’s published in nearly 200 international journals and anthologies. His first novel, The Street Martyr was published by Gutter Books this October, followed Professional Detachment, a literary erotica from Bitten Press and followed by Searching for Andy Kaufman from PMMP in 2014. He’s a cancer survivor. His friends call him fox, being his totem animal, and his motto is: Wrecking civilization one story at a time. Site: www.tfoxdunham.com.
Blog:http://tfoxdunham.blogspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/tfoxdunham
Twitter: @TFoxDunham
Ryan Neil Falcone’s short stories have been published by horror-themed print publications such as Hungur, Dark Eclipse Magazine and Macabre Cadaver. His short fiction has also been featured in numerous print anthologies commercially available at book stores and on Amazon.com. He currently serves as a story editor for Dark Moon Books and Dark Moon Digest, and is an active member of Cornell University’s Irving Literary Society. His platform of work is summarized at: www.ryanneilfalcone.com
Dave Fragments retired to the countryside of Western Pennsylvania amid the deer and squirrels to write short stories and an occasional poem. He has published over 40 short stories in online publications and print anthologies plus poetry. For many years he did research into coal liquefaction and heterogeneous catalysis.
Matthew Howe is a full-time cinematographer part-time writer with a dozen Discovery Channel and History Channel scripts to his credit. He's also published a number of short stories as well as a comedic memoir Film is Hell. He's currently a staff writer for ImWithgeek.com
Kameryn James lives with her husband and son in Massachusetts, where she is a mental health therapist. “May Day World” is based upon a zombie dream she had in 2012. She believes she will survive the zombie apocalypse, at least for a little while.
Kenneth James Crist is Editor Emeritus of Black Petals Horror/Science Fiction Magazine. He has published about 200 short stories in the small press and online in venues raging from Skin and Bones to The Edge, to Kudzu Monthly. He has self-published two books of short stories, Dreaming of Mirages and The Gazing Ball, both still available from Fossil Publications. Kenny has been an avid motorcyclist for over 40 years and is very active with the American Legion Riders and the Patriot Guard. He is also a retired Wichita, Kansas police officer. Email comments are welcomed at [email protected] and his website is at www.blackpetals.net
John X Grey is the pen name of Edwin Ray Haney, published in story anthologies or poetry collections, many from Static Movement, five different novels and one story collection from CreateSpace or Dark Moon Press. For more about Gray, please visit either his Weebly page (http://themanyworldsofjohnxgrey.weebly.com/) or Amazon.com page ((http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004E5AHE6).
Chris Limb is a writer based in Brighton, UK. In 2011 he self-published the nonfiction memoir "I WAS A TEENAGE TOYAH FAN" (as eBook and paperback). This has a core-audience with all of whom it went down very well and has continued to sell at a steady rate since release. Chris also writes short stories, one of which was recently published in THE ROOT CELLAR AND OTHER STORIES anthology from eKhaya (June 2013).
Selene MacLeod holds a BA from Wilfrid Laurier University and works nights in customer service. Her work has appeared in a number of anthologies, including Long Distance Drunks: A Tribute to Charles Bukowski (Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing), Axes of Evil (ChupaCabra House), Writings on the Wall (Seven Archons Press), and the e-zines Geek Force Five and Luna Station Quarterly. She is working on a novel, but keeps getting distracted by all the short stories.
Greg McWhorter is a pop-culture historian and teacher who resides in Southern California. Since the 1980s, he has worked for newspapers, radio, television, and film. He has been a guest speaker at several universities and the San Diego Comic-Con. Today, McWhorter owns a highly acclaimed record label that specializes in vintage punk rock. He is also the host of a cable TV show titled Rock ’n’ Roll High School 101. Most of his published writings to-date are nonfiction pieces related to pop-culture and music. McWhorter's love of classic horror and detective stories has been his main influences in writing fiction.
Jordan Mierek can be contacted via her website, JordanElizabethMierek.com, or her facebook page. Her short stories and poetry are published in Wagonbridge Publishing’s anthology 13 Haunting Tales, Short Story Me, Danse Macabre, Bewildering Stories, Writing Raw, Dark and Dreary Magazine, Storyhouse, the Magical Library, RiverSedge, and AboutTeens. Her work has won awards in The XPress and Utica Writers Club, and she writes for New Hartford Life magazine. She is the current president of the Utica Writers Club.
G K (or Gary) Murphy, born 29th January, 1969, in Whitehaven, lives in Egremont, Cumbria, UK, where he works as a full-time author, and fantasizes constantly about the day one of his stories, or books, gets adapted for TV or film. He is the author of novellas, 'BloodZone' (currently being translated into Italian, perhaps others), 'A Twisted Love Story', and the upcoming pirate/horror novella, 'Hellish Redcap'. He is also the author of the horror anthologies 'Wide Awake and Dead' volumes, 1 to 5. Evading the authorities, who constantly threaten to incarcerate him indefinitely in the local mental asylum, he will continue to write horror for as long as he is allowed!
David S. Pointer currently resides in Murfreesboro, TN. He has new work included in “Indiana Horror 2013” anthology.
Essel Pratt has spent his life exploring his imagination and dreams. As a Husband and a Father, he doesn't always have as much time to write as he would like. However, his mind is always plotting out his next story and manipulating the plot. Someday he hopes to quit the 9-5 grind and focus on writing full time. Currently, Essel is building his catalog by contributing to various anthologies as he works on his first novel. He also contributes to www.nerdzy.com and www.infendo.com on an (almost) daily basis. Essel focuses his writings on mostly Horror/Sci-Fi, however is known to add a bit of other genres into his writings as well. You can follow Essel at: facebook.com/esselprattwriting and Esselpratt.blogspot.com and on twitter @EsselPratt
Cindy Rosmus is a Jersey girl who looks like a Mob Wife and who talks like Anybody’s from West Side Story. She works out 5-6 days a week, so needs no excuse to drink or do whatever the hell she wants. She loves peanut butter, blood-rare meat, Jack Daniels, and Starbucks coffee (though not usually all at once). She’s been published in the usual places, such as Hardboiled; A Twist of Noir; Beat to a Pulp; Pulp Metal; Thrillers, Killers, n’ Chillers; Mysterical-E; and Powder Burn Flash. She is the editor of the ezine, Yellow Mama. She’s also a Gemini and a Christian. Four of her short story collections (Angel of Manslaughter, Gutter Balls, Calpurnia’s Window, and No Place Like Home) are available from Fossil Publications: www.blackpetals
.net/id17.html
Joseph Rubas is the author of over 150 short stories, a novel, several novellas, and a nonfiction book on zombies. His work has appeared in an eclectic assortment of outlets, including literary magazines and anthologies. He currently resides in Massachusetts with his fiancé, Brenda, who is also a writer.
M. Leon Smith is an author from North East England who has a love of all dark and fantastic literature. You can read more on mleonsmith.com or follow him on Twitter @GeordieWriter
John L. Thompson currently lives in New Mexico. When he is not searching the badlands for old western ghost towns, he can be found writing short stories, poems and novels. His work can be found at Shotgun Honey, Yellow Mama and Out of the Gutter to name a few.
Tim Tobin holds a degree in mathematics from LaSalle University and is retired from L-3 Communications. Fifty of his short stories and poems are published. He is a member of the South Jersey Writer’s Group and of the Dead Poets Society of Camden County College.
Matthew Wilson, 30, is a UK resident who has been writing since small. Recently these stories have appeared in Beyond Centauri, Starline Poets Association and Carillon magazine.
Undead War (Dead Guns Press) Page 27
