by J. C. Diem
I watched as a heavy marble lid was shifted aside and a skeletal arm emerged from the crypt. My nose wrinkled in disgust as the creature wormed its way out through the narrow opening and fell onto its face. Slowly and ponderously, it managed to stand. Several other zombies had already escaped from their confines. They stood there motionlessly, staring at nothing as far as I could tell.
“What are they doing?” I asked.
“They’re waiting for their master. It appears that he commanded them to rise automatically once the sun went down.”
“We’d better get back to New Orleans before they start carrying off virgins to snack on,” Flynn called from the bottom of the stairs. He’d raised his voice for Mark’s benefit rather than for mine. I’d have been able to hear him if he’d whispered.
“Zombies prefer virgins?” I asked skeptically. I’d never heard that one before. If it was true then I was glad I no longer fell into that category.
“He’s joking,” Kala said as I descended to the ground floor. She handed me a spare flamethrower that she’d kindly already assembled. I checked the safety to make sure it was on.
“Hey, the bokor could be using his undead puppets to collect virgins,” Flynn said in self-defense. “We don’t know what his plan is yet.”
“It’s time for us to find out,” Mark said before the pair could start squabbling in earnest.
We fell in and followed him into the hallway and then to the garage. Reece was loading extra flamethrowers and spare canisters of fuel into the back of the SUV. We had enough firepower to set the entire cemetery on fire if we needed to.
Driving quickly, it only took us half an hour to reach the outskirts of the city this time. Reece had to slow down once we hit traffic and I felt his impatience. Unlike me, he was eager to get this over and done with. While he instinctively hated the undead and felt compelled to destroy them, he was able to master his emotions. I didn’t have his self-control and I was nearly gibbering in fear when we pulled up around the corner from the cemetery.
Mark took a small black device that looked like a cell phone out of his pocket. He keyed something into it then climbed out.
“What did he just do?” I asked Flynn as we stuck to the shadows and headed towards the graveyard. We weren’t exactly inconspicuous as we scurried along carrying our bulky weapons.
“He shut off the CCTV cameras that are watching the cemetery so no one will catch us in the act.”
“Oh.” It was a precaution that I never would have thought of and I was glad no one was relying on me for leadership. We were about to unleash fire in the middle of the city and someone was bound to call the cops if we were spotted. I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to get the job done before the police and fire trucks arrived. Most sane people wouldn’t believe that zombies existed and it would be hard to explain what we were doing. The PIA worked in the shadows and behind the scenes so the civilians could go on believing that all was right with the world. If they knew that monsters existed, no one would ever leave their homes.
We reached the fence and followed it to the gate. The cold, scaly finger was working its way down my neck to my spine again and I was breathing too fast. I could feel the zombies long before I saw them. An unnatural green haze had permeated the boneyard. Visibility was murky and the atmosphere was spooky.
As the team had already determined from their inspection of the graves, there were far more than the initial dozen zombies now. Just over thirty walking corpses were clumped together in the middle of the cemetery. Not all of the bokor’s minions had been able to escape from their graves. Scrabbling sounds came from inside a few of the mausoleums. They’d been constructed so well that nothing could get in or out without a wrecking ball.
The bokor still hadn’t shown up yet and I wondered what would happen if their master died before he could issue new orders. Then I remembered what the voodoo priestess had told me. They’d go in search of food and they wouldn’t stop eating until someone hunted them down and ended their unnatural lives.
While their bones had survived their long decades of burial, the reanimated skeletons’ clothing had long since rotted away. The Zombie King hadn’t put much effort into fleshing out his small group of walking dead. Black and green flesh barely clung to bones that had turned a sickly shade of ivory with age.
I swallowed back the urge to vomit when a chunk of meat fell from one of the zombies. The stench of decay thickened and became overpowering when it splattered to the ground. I felt for Flynn when he made a gagging sound. While most shifters used their noses to detect their prey, he was different. As a were-constrictor, his sense of taste was far more powerful than ours. With each breath that he took, it would taste as though he was swallowing down rotten meat. He might enjoy the sensation when he was transformed into his snake form, but as a human it was disgusting.
Spreading out, we moved in to surround the undead. When I was within twenty feet of the group, they turned and hissed at me. It was good to know the range that they could sense me from, but now I was paralyzed with fear. I felt a niggling sensation in the back of my head and then the sluggish and inarticulate thoughts of the walking corpses were bombarding me. The only goal in their decayed brains was to eat and we were a walking banquet. They’d been told to stand still and to wait for their master, but the lure of food was almost enough to make them break free from their mental bondage.
“Take them down!” Mark ordered and bright orange flames lit up the night.
Reacting to the command, my hands worked automatically to flick off the safety and to pull the trigger. Shrieking shrilly in agony, the undead mob shied away from the heat but they had nowhere to run to. Completely surrounded, they moved into a tight pack, which made it easier for us to annihilate them.
Once the crispy corpses stopped twitching and the buzzing in my head lessened, my fear of them began to fade. Ash, bone and the smell of seared flesh were all that remained of our targets. Some were still trapped in their graves, but they couldn’t get out and we were in no danger from them.
We listened for sirens for a couple of minutes, but none sounded. We were deep in the heart of the cemetery and it seemed that our hunt had gone unnoticed. It was all too obvious that a large number of bodies had been burned. Come daylight, either locals or tourists would discover the mess and the cops would be notified.
One step ahead of me, Mark took out his cell phone and called the local Cleanup Crew. We didn’t stick around to watch the cleaning process, but we did take the time to replace the dislodged crypt lids before leaving. I had no trouble sliding the heavy marble and stone back into place. Mark didn’t even try to assist us. As a human, he lacked the advantage of our uncanny strength.
We’d nearly reached the SUV when Reece stopped abruptly. He turned in a circle, searching for something unseen. He was on high alert and his eyes probed the shadows. Thanks to my enhanced sight, I could easily make out objects that would be indistinct to a human. I saw no one hiding in the darkness and relaxed at the same time as he came to the conclusion that we were alone.
“What is it?” Mark asked.
“Someone was watching us,” Reece said. He had a gun in his hand and I hadn’t even seen him draw it. “Whoever it was is gone now. I can hear a car driving away.”
I heard it, too, but couldn’t quite pinpoint which direction it was coming from.
“It had to be the bokor,” Kala said. Our target might be young, but he was smart enough to watch us from a distance to see what our plan was. He now knew that we were his adversaries.
“If the voodoo priestess is right, then he’s not going to be happy that we’ve fried his minions,” Flynn deduced. “There’s something like fifteen cemeteries in New Orleans, which means he has plenty more undead to choose from. I bet he’s going to step up his game now that he knows we’re on to him.”
“Then we’d better track him down and stop him before he does anything stupid,” Mark said. “Spread out and see if you can pick up his scent. Lexi, you�
��re with me.”
Still fairly new to being an agent, I didn’t question his order. Carrying our flamethrowers as inconspicuously as possible, we combed the area. The only scents I picked up were hours old and there was no way to distinguish if they’d belonged to our quarry or not. I’d learned that the squad had managed to track the Seven Deadly Sinners’ scent from clothing they’d left behind when they’d escaped from their asylum.
We met back at the SUV after twenty minutes of scouring the streets. Flynn had some good news. “I picked up a fresh scent which disappeared only a couple of streets away,” he said. “I’m betting it was the bokor.”
“Good work,” Mark said. “At least one of you has his scent now. There’s not much more we can do tonight. We’ll head out first thing in the morning and canvas the other cemeteries. If we’re lucky, we might be able to figure out where he plans to strike next.”
As we drove through the city, I had the sudden sense of being watched. A new presence brushed my mind, paused in astonishment then latched onto me. The connection between us was far weaker than my bond to Reece or even my feeble link to the zombies. Whoever or whatever it was became aware that I knew they were in my mind. They pulled back before I could glean anything useful from them, other than a sense of excitement and horrid anticipation.
Highly disturbed by everything that had happened so far tonight, I decided to keep this to myself. I was already considered strange with my ability to sense zombies. There was no need to worry anyone unnecessarily with the possibility that another weird creature might be lurking in the city and that it seemed to be drawn to me.
₪₪₪
Chapter Nine
Back in my bathroom at last, I took a long shower to wash away the zombie ashes that coated me. It took three rinses to rid my hair of the smell of smoke. It was after midnight, but now that the ordeal was over, my hunger came back with a vengeance. The kitchen was calling to me, reminding me that I’d skipped dinner.
Forgoing coffee for once, I poured a glass of milk instead and made a peanut butter sandwich. It would have been weird sitting at the large dining table by myself, so I sat on one of the wooden bar stools that ran the length of the island counter instead. Without the TV on and with the rest of the squad asleep, the silence was stark.
Finishing my sandwich, I chugged down the milk and placed my dishes in the dishwasher. I felt Reece watching me before I turned to see him staring down at me through the coms room window on the second floor. I was dressed for bed in a thin white singlet and a tiny pair of pink sleeping shorts that barely covered my butt. His expression was inscrutable, but a flare of hunger escaped him before he clamped down on his emotions. I sensed that it wasn’t food that he was craving.
I had the choice of either staying and listening to whatever he had to say, or fleeing outside through the door behind me. Running wasn’t really an option, he’d easily catch me and I’d end up embarrassing myself. It would be better to just stay put and face the music.
Treading lightly, he descended the stairs and crossed the floor. Neither of us was bothered by the bare cement. My body temperature had risen since I’d become a shifter and the coolness felt nice against my bare feet.
“We need to talk,” he said when he came to a stop a short distance away.
“About what?” I asked, playing dumb. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about our bond. I stood with my hands at my sides, feeling awkward in my sleepwear. Sure, he’d seen me naked, but this still felt too intimate. I had to struggle against the urge to cross my arms over my chest.
“About us. About our bond.”
“There is no us,” I replied. “The bond doesn’t mean anything. It’s just something that was forced on us due to unforeseen circumstances.”
“You know it’s more than that,” he said in a low voice and took a step towards me.
I took two steps back and my heart was suddenly beating rapidly. “I know I’m the last person you wanted to sleep with,” I said harshly. “You only touched me in the first place because Lust ordered you to.”
His expression was impossible to read as he stared down at me. “Did I actually say that to you? That Lust specifically ordered me to have sex with someone that I wasn’t attracted to?” he asked.
“No,” I admitted. “I assumed that was what she ordered you to do. She only had two tricks, remember? She either forced people to find someone they despise and to sleep with them or to find someone who despises them and to do the deed.”
He frowned and looked away. I had the distinct feeling that I’d hurt him. “Of course. What other possible reason could there be for us to be together?” he said quietly then turned and loped back up to the second floor.
I waited for his bedroom door to close before I took the stairs. Thankfully, our rooms were heavily soundproofed and no one heard me sob myself to sleep.
My eyes were red and puffy when my alarm woke me the next morning. I took a quick shower and applied makeup to hide the fact that I’d had a restless night. When I’d finally fallen asleep, I’d had nightmares about something stalking me. I vaguely remember running and running but the unknown creature just kept getting closer until I felt its putrid breath on my neck.
“Are you okay?” Kala asked as we were eating breakfast.
“I’m fine,” I replied unconvincingly. “I just didn’t sleep very well.”
Reece glanced at me, but he kept his expression neutral. No doubt he thought he was the cause of my unrest. He was part of it, of course, but the nightmares had done their share as well.
Mark had gotten up early to map out our day. Leaving the flamethrowers in the back of the SUV, we carried our usual arsenal of handguns. The others hid their guns in the pockets of their cargo pants. I’d donned my red leather jacket this time, even though I’d be uncomfortably warm in it. It covered my holster well enough. My collection of clothing was scanty and I’d have to ask Mark if he could have the rest of my wardrobe shipped to our base in Denver, since I had the feeling we’d spend more time there than anywhere else. I’d also see if he could retrieve my gun safe and the rest of my weapons.
We climbed into the SUV and Mark punched in the address of the first cemetery on our list. Driving at a far more sedate pace to avoid being pulled over by the police, Reece kept his eyes firmly on the road. He refrained from glancing at me in the rearview mirror.
A small voice in the back of my head told me I’d hurt his feelings last night, and I didn’t know why. I’d only said the truth after all. Neither of us had asked to be bonded and we both wanted to escape from it. At least, I wanted to be free from the mental chains that were shackling me to him. I hated the idea of being tied to someone who hadn’t chosen to be with me. Surely he felt the same way? Was his pride hurt that I’d only slept with him because I’d been compelled to? Why would that bother him when he’d admitted that he didn’t even want me? Men were a strange species that I wasn’t sure I’d ever understand.
We had fourteen more cemeteries to search and it was going to take all day. Being as inconspicuous as possible, we pulled up near the first graveyard and spread out to look for signs that the bokor was trying to raise an undead army. I was still too new to the job to be trusted to be on my own. Kala was my partner this time and she carried a camera as a prop as we pretended to be tourists. I carried a tattered map that I’d found in a drawer in the kitchen. It was Flynn’s job to circle the perimeter of the grounds and see if he could pick up the Zombie King’s scent again. It was my job to see if I could sense any zombies.
This cemetery was larger than the previous one, but I was already fairly certain that it was empty of the undead. No cold, scaly fingers dragged their way down my neck as we traversed from one side of the cemetery to the other.
We were all wearing earbuds to keep in contact with each other and I reported in to Mark when we were done. “The cemetery is clear,” I said.
Flynn chimed in straight after me. “I’m not picking up anything. He hasn’t been here
recently.” Apparently, we could pick up a scent that was several days old. We weren’t as good as bloodhounds, but we were still pretty effective as trackers.
“Head back to the SUV,” Mark instructed. Dressed in one of his usual dark suits, he had no chance of being able to blend in as a tourist. The rest of us were dressed in casual clothing. Kala was twenty-one and the two men were both twenty. They could all pass for college students, but I unfortunately still looked like I belonged in high school. It was lucky it was still the summer holidays and I hadn’t been stopped by a cop to explain why I was truant.
We’d collected the cameras from where they’d been hidden before someone could find them and either steal them or call the police. If we’d had enough cameras to monitor each cemetery, we’d have simply installed them and then waited for the bokor to turn up on our computer screens. We were going to have to do this the hard way, by searching each graveyard in person.
Just as I’d thought, it took all day to traipse through each cemetery and to search for any signs of zombie activity. I shook my head at Mark when we drove to the final boneyard on his list. “I can’t sense anything,” I said as we pulled over.
Unhappy at our lack of success, he felt the need to search the grounds anyway. “It won’t hurt to take a look around,” he decided.
We met back at the SUV after Kala and I walked through the burial ground. Flynn had searched the perimeter for a familiar scent. “I didn’t pick up any trace that he was here,” he said.
“What now?” Reece asked our boss.
“Now we return to the base so I can hack into the CCTV cameras that surround the cemeteries,” Mark replied. “Once I’ve done that, I can upload the link to my tablet.” He always carried his tablet in a modified pocket inside his jacket. It was a very handy device.
