“That wasn’t even a challenge,” came Charlie’s voice behind her. Gem looked around and saw her friend.
“I liked the little good night bit, though,” she said.
“Got some energy left?” asked Gem.
“Sure. I was relaxing inside a bus.”
“Grab a thingy of urushiol and make sure you’re both good on WAT-5. If you’re questionable, take another dose. Then we need to lead these fuckers away from Lula and plant some lead in their noggins.” Gem motioned to the gap in the buses. “Flex says there are thousands.”
Charlie whipped out a baggie of WAT-5 and passed one to Gem and Colton, who chewed them down. Neither passed out.
“Let’s go,” said Gem.
*****
When Gem, Charlie and Colton walked through the gap, they saw the backs of what had to be three thousand or more rotters. They were shuffling steadily away.
They saw Flex and Hemp watching, and spotted Nelson and Koko standing atop the row of buses, also watching. Punch came into view, followed by Wendy. Trina and Taylor had been outside Three Sister’s Bar, providing cover in case nothing worked as they had planned, but now they also made their way over.
Gem put her arm around Flex’s waist. “Is this battle over?”
Flex put his arm over her shoulder. “We’ll all do another walk-around. Plug any still twitchin’.”
Hemp turned to peruse the killing space. “The thermite really threw them for a loop,” he said. “It was dripping all around them. When they moved to escape one, another burned from skull to groin.”
“Shit, babe,” said Charlie. “It sizzled about a third of the bitches before we fired a shot. Great plan. The others were too confused to think or react much. Thanks to Gem and Ozzy, and maybe just a little bit to Angus, Brian and Malcom.”
“Who?” asked Gem.
“They’re in AC/DC,” said Colton.
Charlie walked over and ruffled his hair. “That’s my boy.”
“Max, Isis, Travis and Beauty are directing the remaining creatures away from Lula,” said Hemp.
“Where? No place is far enough away,” said Wendy.
“Not too far, actually,” said Hemp. “You know where the bridge is out over Lula Gorge?”
“Yeah,” said Wendy. “I saw it once when Eileen and I were out exploring. Dry, right?” Her voice took on a heavy tone as her mind went to her dead friend.
“Yes,” said Hemp. “The bridge collapsed at approximately the halfway point. Not sure how. It appeared structural, but –”
“Get to the point,” said Charlie, intertwining her arm in his.
Hemp laughed. “The drop-off is nearly a hundred feet. No skulls will survive a fall from that height onto craggy rocks. They will no longer be a problem, and before long, the carrion birds will reduce them to bone and rags.”
“So, some pied piper shit,” said Wendy.
“It is the way of the gifted,” said Hemp. He turned to look at the others. “We made it through this one.”
“We’ve cleared them out for a long way I think,” said Nelson. “I didn’t think they really believed us at first, but they bought that whole partnership story.”
“To be honest, I wish we believed we could come to that type of arrangement,” said Gem. “But the fact that they brought a few thousand Hungerers with them means they never did. We beat them to the betrayal. That’s all.”
“So, we got lucky,” said Flex. He let out a whistle. “Ain’t the first time. Sometimes I think we live on luck.”
*****
EPILOGUE
When Max and Isis reached the spot where the bridge dropped away, they each moved to the railings opposite one another. They stayed ten feet back from the edge in case the weight of the horde began to compromise the remaining portion of the bridge left standing.
So far it felt solid.
The rotters moved by them as in front, Max and Isis replaced the Mothers who once issued commands, and Travis and Beauty pushed them from behind.
With their minds … not physically.
The undulating crowd shuffled to their ultimate final deaths, moving like a filthy wave over the asphalt, weeds sprouting through thousands of cracks and shooting toward the sky. By the time they passed, it was trampled flat.
The sound of their emaciated bodies smacking rock at the bottom was steady and loud now, and because the rock faces were jagged and angular, their forms rolled off, tumbling down into a deeper ravine after the initial impact.
Even landing on one another would not save them. The fall was not survivable.
When the last walked off the edge, Max and Isis, along with Beauty and Travis, drew their mental shades, stopping the signal.
The walk back to Lula was done hand-in-hand.
Max held Isis’ hand.
Beauty held her son’s hand.
They all wondered what the future held.
*****
Flex lay with Gem in bed, his body sore in places he forgot existed. Colton was in his room in his own bed, having nodded off the second his head hit the pillow.
Gem was equally exhausted, lying on her back staring at the ceiling.
“We’re staying in Lula, Flex.”
“I know,” he muttered, near sleep.
“Where are we, baby?”
“What do you mean?” asked Flex.
“I mean … are we still in the United States? That’s gone, right?”
“Kinda, I guess. We ain’t Europe. Is this gonna be a long conversation?”
Gem smiled. “No. I know you’re tired. So am I. I just feel like I’m losing touch with what used to be America. Like we’re just in some place with no name now. The USA is just an idea. Some design sewn onto some sports jersey somewhere.”
Flex groaned and pushed himself onto one elbow with a level of difficulty that would’ve shocked him five years ago. “Gemina, we witnessed America today. I’m surprised I even have to tell you. All those people? The people of Lula, a bunch of whom we lost?”
“Yeah?”
“We pulled together to execute a plan to beat our enemy and we won. America is freedom. It’s determination. It’s family and it’s sticking together. That’s what we did today. To me, that is America. All day long, every day. So yeah. We’re in America. Lula, Georgia, United States of America, to be exact.”
“Flex Sheridan for President.”
“Nope,” said Flex.
“Why not?”
“Heard some dude named Gunny already has that honor.”
“President Gunny? That’s cool. Where’s he?”
“Hell, I don’t know. Could be a rumor.”
“He’s not my president,” said Gem. “You are. Always.”
“Then you gotta do what I say.”
Gem got up on her knees in the bed and saluted. “I’m ready, Mr. President. What are my orders?”
“Go the hell to sleep.”
“Fucknuts.”
“Fucknuts indeed.”
Gem laughed and collapsed atop him. “I love you, Flexy.”
“I love you too, Gem.”
It was a while before they slept.
Colton awoke and covered his ears.
It didn’t help.
*****
OTHER BOOKS BY
AUTHOR ERIC A. SHELMAN
TRILOGIES
THE CAMERA
(Fucking Reanimation and possession)
The Camera: Bloodthirst (Book 1)
The Camera II: Alive & Dead in Texas (Book 2)
The Camera III: Final Exposure (Book 3 – end of trilogy)
SCABS
(Fucking monsters)
Scabs: The Gemini Exception (Book 1)
Scabs II: The Quantum Connection (Book 2)
Scabs III: Humans, Gods and Monsters (Book 3 – end of trilogy)
THE ZOMBIE WAR CHRONICLES
(More fucking zombies)
(Originally Written as Damon Novak)
Onslaught: The Zombie War Chronicles – Vol
. 1
Convergence: The Zombie War Chronicles – Vol. 2
Judgement: The Zombie War Chronicles – Vol. 3
STANDALONE NOVELS
A Reason To Kill
(Fucking serial killer)
The Witches of Laguna Beach
(Fucking witches)
Shifting Fears
(Fucking Time Travel!)
Emma’s Rose – A Zombie Tale (Book 1 of 2)
(More fucking zombies)
The second book in the Emma’s Rose series – which will finish the story – is due to be released in 2021.
NONFICTION
(Fucking Child Abuse)
Out of the Darkness: The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson (Creative Nonfiction)
Case #1: The Mary Ellen Wilson Files (Non-fiction)
DEAD HUNGER
(Ha ha! … the original Shelman fucking zombies!)
Dead Hunger I: The Flex Sheridan Chronicle
Dead Hunger II: The Gem Cardoza Chronicle
Dead Hunger III: The Chatsworth Chronicles
Dead Hunger IV: Evolution
Dead Hunger V: The Road to California
Dead Hunger VI: The Gathering Storm
Dead Hunger VI.5: The Shelburne Chronicle (Fucking Novella)
Dead Hunger VII: The Reign of Isis
Dead Hunger VIII: Peace, Love & Zombies
Dead Hunger IX: The Cleansing
Dead Hunger X: The Remnants
*****
ABOUT ERIC A. SHELMAN
Eric lives in goddamned southwest Florida with his wife of nearly thirty-five years, Linda. He loves to write, sing, camp, boat, fish, smoke cigars, and drink Moscow Mules. (He is not a Russian asset.)
Oh, yeah. He’s a big fan of his fans. He thinks they’re the fuckin’ best. And … they are.
He narrates his own audiobooks, including the entire 11-volume Dead Hunger series and the Scabs trilogy, The Camera Trilogy and the Zombie War Chronicles series, which was originally written under the pseudonym Damon Novak.
He narrates for other authors, too. He narrated James Dean’s This Dying World series and has recorded multiple books in Mike Evans’ Orphans zombie series, as well as narrating David Simpson’s entire Zombie Road and his and Wesley Norris’ Feral Children series.
He narrated Thomas A. Watson’s The Bonner Incident series and has completed several of Watson’s Forsaken World series, his Blue Plague series, and his Stolen Liberty series. He narrated several of Dana E. Donovan’s witch series featuring Detective Tony Marcella and his partner, Carlos Rodriguez, the first of which is The Witch’s Ladder.
Eric has also narrated stories by the likes of Ray Garton, George R.R. Martin, and Elizabeth Massey and fuckin’ Robert Chazz Chute.
If you have interest in considering Eric as a narrator for your project, find him on ACX.com and inquire.
If you just fuckin’ Google Eric A. Shelman, you’ll find everything from his band, The Mood Zombies, to his vast library of songs on YouTube. Try www.reverbnation.com/themoodzombies to hear all of their latest tunes!
And last but not least, your reviews on Amazon, Audible, Goodreads and other bookseller’s sites really make him happy.
If you write one, message Eric on Facebook. He’ll send you a little something as a token of his appreciation.
Ah, the benefits of reading independent authors. Those little guys really get to know their fans.
Eric thanks you all. You’re al-fuckin’-right.
(He’s trying to keep the foul language out of his books mostly, so fuck it. Here’s somewhere he can say what the fuck he wants.)
*****
Dead Hunger | Book 10 | The Remnants Page 39
