by Aline Riva
“I can't wait to see you again, Greg,” he murmured in a low voice, “You and Cleo...” an evil smile played about his lips as he pictured what a terrible shock it would be when they believed him harmless and he won their trust, they would realise too late they had let a monster into their home... if they thought he was a beast before, how wrong they were. He was certainly a beast now, there was another version of him buried deep inside - Zombie Flint was starting to hunger for the taste of human flesh...
Over at the hotel in the conference hall, Parsons was sat at the head of the table as he listened to all that Christian explained. Then John took up from the point where he had visited Flint and had indeed found him to be a vastly changed man.
“...And as you are the one in charge of community relations, I thought it best to put this to you,” John added as he looked across the table, “How the fuck are we going to reintroduce this guy back into the community?”
Before Parsons could answer, Christian added his own thoughts.
“If not for the serum, we could have dumped him outside the boundary. Left him to the wilds and the hordes. But he could be the answer to defeating the virus – maybe in time his altered bloodstream will be the source of a vaccine. This wouldn't protect against zombie attack but it would destroy the risk of bite virus infection.”
Parsons thought about it.
“What about the purpose the serum was made for? You said it was intended to reverse those already infected, we could certainly save lives and reduce horde sizes if that was possible.”
“There would still be a vast number of living dead,” Christian explained, “It only works on those recently turned. The rotting dead would be unaffected. Most of the hordes out there consist of apocalyptic - era corpses, those who were changed by the virus when it first struck. There won't be many freshly infected out there now.”
“And recent victims don't deserve a chance?” demanded Parsons.
“We have to think of the many, not the few,” Christian reasoned, “Resources are in short supply. Humanity is struggling in every pocket of civilisation we managed to claw back. It's so fragile out there. We have to put the living, the uninfected, first.”
Parsons gave a deep sigh. Trying to bind this serum hope to the whole of the population was a tough task – but surely it ought to benefit the living as well as those recent victims who could be restored...
“You're telling me this serum could be the hope of humanity,” Parsons added, “If you can create a vaccine, that's great. But if it can be done, we need to start mass production and find a way to spread the world. Once our town is protected other surviving places need to know about this.”
“And possibly one day I will be able to create that vaccine,” Christian replied, “But that doesn't solve the problem of what to do with Flint.”
“I'm not sure if announcing this to the community is such a good idea,” John said, “I mean, I can tell key people who run things around here, my head of security and those who hold similar positions, but it's not going to stop every person in this town from looking at him, remembering what he did in the past and taking a shot at him. Someone will do it.”
“I need my experiment alive,” Christian told Parsons, “As I said, he could possibly be the source of the vaccine.”
Parsons considered all that had been said, then he looked to Christian then John.
“Warn your relevant people to be aware he needs protection. Then let's keep this low key. I shall inform others who are prominent in the community, I'll make sure it only becomes known by those who are trusted, those dedicated to keeping this town orderly and harmonious. It will mean very few knowing his secret. Then I suggest we move him out of the medical centre and into a secure form of accommodation where he can be comfortable. We have to keep him happy if you're going to keep studying him, Christian.”
“He wanted to go back to the fair!” the doctor exclaimed.
“He can't do that,” added John, “Leave that part to me... I'll find some suitable accommodation in town for him. It should be close to you, Doctor Wells, for practical reasons. He might have a relapse, suddenly remember too much and then he could be trouble. And I really do think Greg should be informed of the facts. Flint doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body right now – but that could change. We don't even know the full story behind the serum – it was created to beat the virus, but five years back. The people who created it died before they got a chance to try it out. Or maybe they abandoned it. Maybe it's not the miracle you think it is, Christian. Only time will tell, we have to go carefully.”
Parsons nodded.
“Agreed. Nothing is predictable. So, I shall leave his future accommodation to you, John. His care is in your hands, Christian – and I shall carefully inform a few trusted community pillars of this altered situation. I think we should work together on all decisions involving Flint.”
“Sounds good to me,” John said, rising from his seat as Christian did the same and Parsons stood up and shook hands with both men.
“Together, I believe we can handle this situation,” said John, and Parsons nodded in agreement.
“We certainly can,” he said, “I believe we have everything under control.”
Alex Casper was on the floor of his cell on board the Apocalypse Queen, weeping as he wrapped the blanket about his body. As the door to the cell opened he tensed, curling tightly on his side, drawing his legs up as pain throbbed in his chest and burned between his legs.
“No, no, please! I told you everything!” he wept, trembling hard.
“Shh...”
He raised his head from beneath the blanket to see Serena leaning over him.
“Hazlewood was sleeping, I stole the key. The guard won't say a word, I bribed him with the captain's best brandy. Let me help you up.”
He reached for her hand, staggering to his feet. His balls throbbed as blood tricked down his thigh, then another trickle ran from his left nipple. The needles were still in place. Serena had caught a glimpse as he had got up. Blood and needles were hard to miss, and now she understood why he was in such a wretched state. She helped him over to the hard bench and as he laid back, she kept her voice low.
“I'm going to take the needles out. I can give you something for the pain.”
She handed him two white pills and he grabbed them, chewing on them and swallowing hard as a foul taste filled his mouth.
“Don't scream or we're both dead,” she warned him, then she clamped a hand over his mouth and reached down, swiftly tugging at the needles as he gave a muffled cry against her hand, his eyes filling with tears. By the time the fourth needle was out, she had encouraged him to stuff a corner of the blanket into his mouth. Taking out the needles that had been forced through his nipples caused even greater pain, he was yelling but the sound was muffled by the blanket as he shook violently. He was weak and his eyes were closed as she went over to a table and grabbed a sponge and a bowl of water. She didn't know how long it had been there, but it looked clean. Touching him between his legs with that sponge made him whimper, his chest was worse as his right nipple leaked more blood but finally, he was cleaned up. He was breathless for a moment, on his back with his legs still parted as he tried to fight off giving in to the throbbing pain that felt like fire in the worst places he could possibly feel that kind of agony.
“I told them about Circus!” he wept, “I told them, Serena!”
“He tortured you. I'd say that's a natural reaction to such terrible pain. But he doesn't know that we know each other – we're both fellow survivors, Casper. We can get through this together. I'm planning to poison Hazlewood.”
His eyes widened.
“And then another shall take his place, another fucking brute of a man, there's so many psychos around here, take your pick from one of two hundred of the bastards!”
“Alex, this town of yours... is it safe? I know you're in pain and conversation between us is rare and hard to come by, but now is the time to tell m
e everything! Could your people help us?”
His previous meetings with Serena had been rare, snatched windows of opportunity where she had passed him food, extra water... conversation, until now, had been almost impossible. His eyes widened as he realised he could now share news she had been waiting for.
“Parsons is in Circus. Your husband is alive!”
Her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. Pain was searing through his body and he shivered and closed his eyes, waiting for the painkillers to kick in.
“Antonio is in Circus?”
“Yes! John Mundy runs the town. They ousted Flint. Greg tied Harvey Flint up in his own zombie whore house and the creatures tore him apart. Flint's dead. Mundy has strong protection around the town. Even invasion by sea would be a challenge. But someone has to warn them... he's drawing up his plans as we speak!”
He breathed heavily, the pain subsided to a bearable level and he opened his eyes. Tears were still wet on his face.
“If I had wings I would fly away from here, go across the sea and tap on John's window with my beak! I'd carry the message, warn them of the invasion -”
“You don't have to be a bird to do that,” she told him, “Be patient... trust me...I'll find a way.”
The guard tapped sharply on the door. She looked towards the sound, then straightened up and turned for the door.
“You're going to warn them?” Alex asked.
She turned back, keeping her voice low.
“No, you are. I'm getting you off this ship. Just be patient, I need to construct a plan!”
Then she was gone and the door was locked heavily. Alex lay back on the bench, his body vaguely throbbing as he looked to the bloody needles that now lay on the floor of the cell. There was a chance now, a way out. He had faith in Serena.
She walked away from the holding area and exited by a heavy door, stepping out on to a deck where sea breeze filled the air. A group of men sat round heavily armed, talking in low voices, further up, armed guards patrolled the deck. Laughter came from within a nearby drinking area, where the smell of booze carried out heavily through an open window. On the deck below a fist fight had started. A guard stepped in and shot one man dead with a bullet straight to the skull. The deck ran with blood. The other guy spat on the deck and walked away.
As she headed back towards the doorway that led to the passageway where Hazlewood's quarters were located, two women wearing leather and denim who carried knives passed her by, all of these people were the worst band of killers collected together on the sea. Hazlewood had made sure every person who joined his crew was as dark hearted as he was – if this lot ever found a place to call home back on shore, it would be little more than a lunatic asylum filled with the most violent of crazies. And the worst one was the captain...
She had reached his cabin. She slipped inside, placed the key back on the hook on the wall where he kept all the spares, and then as she went through to her own room, she heard him snoring as she locked the door.
She had deals going on, small agreements that would enable so much more later on... she knew where the ship's chemist kept the rat poison. She had a plan for that poison, too. And this was why Alex Casper would be making that break for freedom alone when the time was right – she had to stay behind, she had loose ends to tie up and now she was more determined than ever to fight her way out of this situation, she had hope in her heart because Antonio was alive...
The late afternoon sun was dipping a mellow hue of gold as Vicki pushed Lula's pram away from the fairground and headed towards home. Zodiac, whose energy had not slowed, was drinking iced water as he walked beside her.
“I really think we could have stayed longer.”
“Zodiac, no! We've spent the whole day at the fair, the circus, the park – Lula's due to have supper soon. I don't have any more baby food or juice, we have to go home.”
As they walked past a long row of blackberry bushes, he stopped drinking the water and looked thoughtfully to the bushes and then to his cup.
“I could extract the berry juice, add it to the water and Lula could have some. The berries are exceptionally ripe because the weather has been unseasonably warm. The berries are plump and dark, the juice will be sweet.”
“And the answer is still no, because I know you want to stop off at the other play park! It's home time, Zodiac.”
They walked on, passed the other play park with its colourful swings and climbing frames, then crossed the street, heading for the start of the row of houses that over looked the sea wall. They were almost home now.
“I know Uncle Marc is ill,” Zodiac said, “My parents told me. I'm sorry, I wish I could help. I don't want him to die.”
Zodiac's blunt honesty had brought everything rushing back to her after a day of distraction and she felt an ache in her heart along with the icy fear of knowing some day soon she would lose the man she loved.
“I don't want him to die either, I love him very much. But he's okay right now and hopefully he will stay that way for a long time. We can hope for the best, hope is all we have left.”
Zodiac sensed a change in her mood. Vicki had become tense as she walked along with the buggy, her gaze set on the path ahead, focussing on getting home.
“I'm sorry for upsetting you.”
“No Zodiac, you haven't, I'm okay...”
She said no more, walking on as he drank his water, but now her thoughts were unsettled as she thought about Marc, determined to carry on with the beach patrols. He had been in the middle of a seizure when that creature had lunged at him... it easily could have ended differently. That thought shot ice through her blood. Even while he was still okay, still able to function, she would have to worry about him out there, vulnerable, with the possibility of suffering another attack from the sea. There had been one zombie, there could easily be others...
That thought was too much to bear. She felt a flicker of panic and looked up at the sea wall, cast in shadow by the glow of the sinking sun beyond it.
And suddenly they came looming over the top of it, piling through the gateway looking black in shade with the amber light behind them, wisps of hair on leathery heads waving in the breeze as they stumbled in their rags, an army of the dead picking up speed as they staggered down the hillside, setting dead eyes on her and Zodiac and the baby, then breaking into a run as their roars rang about the empty road...
She gave a gasp. Her heart was racing and she stood still, staring at the hillside as she breathlessly watched them running towards her. It was too late, there was no where to go they were trapped, there were too many of them...
“Zodiac... run!” she gasped.
Zodiac looked at her, then looked to the empty hillside.
“Why?” he asked.
She blinked.
“Why, Vicki?” he repeated.
She blinked again. The hillside was empty. She recalled how she had seen an oil covered zombie reaching for Zodiac back on Wolfsheer, years after the real oil covered creature had been hacked to pieces by Greg after it killed Stacy... Shit, she had just had another hallucination. It had been a long time since she had experienced anything so freaky...
“Vicki?” Zodiac said again as he noticed her shaken expression, “Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to insult you... but I do believe the stress of Marc's illness coupled with the zombie attack on the beach has caused your stress levels to rise, culminating in a possible hallucination? I think you just saw something that wasn't there. You must have done, no one is scared of an empty hillside.”
Fear flickered in her eyes. The sea breeze caught her fair hair and she swept it back and glanced at him.
“I did hallucinate. But don't worry, I'll talk to Christian about it. Don't tell anyone, please. I can't have Marc worried about me, he's got enough on his mind. I will handle this, I promise. Please keep my secret, I really do have it under control this time.”
Zodiac looked at her thoughtfully. She seemed very sure about what she had just
said.
“Okay,” he replied.
Then they walked on together, heading for home as Vicki hid her fears, silently praying no more imaginary zombies would jump out of nowhere, launching an attack that only she could see.
By the time the sky had darkened down to indigo blue meeting with burnt orange, the kids were in bed and Vicki and Cleo were in the front room sharing drinks as Vicki told her all about her day with the kids. She had expected to spend a few hours out and be back by the afternoon, but Cleo had guessed, as Zodiac was with her, it would turn into an all day adventure. That bright boy with wisdom beyond his years was also a child who liked to play and now they were in a secure town, he was feeling settled and enjoying what freedom really meant.
While the women talked together, Greg and Marc were having ice cold beer in the garden as the last of the light began to fade out. They sat together at the table on the patio and watched the skies darken down as the sun became like a fading ember on the skyline.
“I'm glad it ends like this,” Marc said as he glanced to Greg, “We made it in the end. I honestly thought when we took that flight in the chopper, when we fled the mainland at the start of the outbreak, I remember looking around at the carnage and thinking, we'll be lucky if we get through the next week. Then we found the rig and things started to work out - until it was raided.”
Greg drank a mouthful of beer.
“That was my fault.”
“No,” Marc replied, then he laughed as he shook his head, “Okay, yeah Greg it was your fault that dealer came after us. But we came though that. You nearly didn't...” his smile faded at the memory of Greg screaming as the zombies attacked underwater, then he remembered Greg bleeding on the deck of the fishing boat as they made their escape, “I just took that boat onwards, I kept going. I didn't know if you would make it. But look at us now... We lost Wolfsheer and that was down to the tide and what it brought in. But here we are in Circus, safe... you've got Cleo and the kids, I've got Vicki. I'll probably die a happy man. Happier than I would have been if I'd died sooner, chewed up by the living dead!”
