Death Plague Omnibus [Four Zombie Novels] (44 page)

"Please, hunter," said the old man, whipping back his hand. "I mean no disrespect, forgive me."

I forced stale, candle tainted air into my lungs and took his advice to direct my energy towards healing my injuries. It took effort though. Seriously, to tune out those four strong hearts beating all that sweet life fluid through their juicy bodies had to be one of the hardest things I'd ever done. Imagine being a little kid, alone in a sweet shop, surrounded by so much sugary goodness. Would you be able to resist? The knowledge that every one of those sweet tasting goodies contained enough poison to put me in the ground did help, but not much.

The two boys and the woman had now shut their eyes, each one as still as statues. It troubled me that I couldn't read any of them. I'd never felt so cut off before. Was this stuff still affecting my mind? I started to panic. Being able to sense my prey was now part of who I was. Without it, I'd be blind and deaf.

"You haven't lost your ability," said the man, his voice barely audible above the rising sounds coming from outside the hut. "My wife, Linda, and our children are natural blockers. They're creating mental white noise to stop the enforcers from locating you."

I turned sharply. "Did you just read my fucking thoughts?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, it was just so strong." He slowly nodded. "Yes, I can pick out the stray mind song.” He nodded over to his family. "Why does it surprise you to find that the base species has inherited these gifts? Cross transference is inevitable when two species live in such close proximity." The old man abruptly shut his mouth and jumped up. His face drained of blood. "Oh Sun and Moon!" He swivelled. "Quickly, you need to hide, hunter. It hasn't worked. One of them is still heading this way!"

The bones in my leg had fused already. The muscles would be sore, but it wouldn’t slow me down, that’s all that mattered. My senses were now almost back up to full capacity. To top it off, I think my temper was about to fucking detonate.

I pushed the human out of my way and marched across the room, noting with satisfaction as the other humans jumped back as I grabbed that door handle. The enforcer’s thoughts grew darker; had he sensed me? Probably, I didn't really care anymore; this out of control feeling had eclipsed all other concerns about preserving our species. Right now, I only wanted to rip this bastard apart.

I opened the door and smiled at the little human running towards me. "Oh, what a delight," I growled, then lunged forward and grabbed the human's collar. "Questions need answers." I pulled him into the room and threw the enforcer against the wall. It irritated me to see the four other humans cringe, and it took me a moment to realise that every one of them was absolutely terrified of this revolting bag of stinking bones. I didn't know whether to laugh out loud or take it as the worst insult I've ever had. This sure was one fucked up little town.

The old man was the first one to regain a smidgen of dignity. He approached the enforcer and stopped a couple of feet from the man. "You should have stayed away, Mortimer. I'm sorry. I really am. This time, there is no way out."

The enforcer sneered. "Sorry, what the fuck are you to be sorry about?"

He looked me up and down. His mind was wide open to me, and I felt nothing in that twisted little brain that suggested he was the least bit frightened of me. What the hell was going on here? Seriously, he really did think that the stuff flowing through his veins was like a suit of armour.

"I'm going to tell you nothing, you sub-human freak."

"Fine by me," I said, closing the gap between us. My clawed fingers were denied of their prize when the old man ducked and pushed the enforcer onto the floor.

"Linda, don't stare, you know what I want!"

The woman rushed past me and pushed something into the old man's fingers. I felt that out of control feeling getting stronger, knowing that in the next few seconds no fucker but me in here will be breathing. The old man ignored the enforcer’s cries and pinned down his arms, pushing a needle into the side of his neck. He rolled away, gathered up his family, and ran over to the far side of the room, shutting the outer door as they passed.

"Hunter, whatever you need to know, we can supply."

The enforcer lay where he fell; his heart beating like a rabbit; for the first time since we met, this thin man felt fear. I took my eyes off of his shivering form and found the old man smiling at me. "What did you just do?"

He ushered his family into the other room. "I took away his bite, hunter. His flesh won’t poison you now." The old man followed the others, leaving me alone with the shaking human. I dropped down and straddled the enforcer. The man's gibbering thoughts filled in some of my gaps. I saw this little man leading several chained humans over to a large pit. A crowd had gathered. I goggled; there must have been hundreds of humans all surrounding this pit. I wish I could have been there, if only to drink in their thoughts; instead I was inside this slime ball’s head, filled with delusions of grandeur. He saw himself as a modern day Roman emperor, just a couple of steps away from being a God. I saw why. Flanking this crowd of ragged humans were well over a dozen huge figures, each one dressed like him. It defied belief, but they were all like me, every one of them was hunters.

This slime ball nodded, and two hunters took the lead human, lifted him, and threw the man into the pit. The chained line all tried to escape their fate, but the hunters were there to ensure they all followed the next person. This slime ball took a tentative step towards the edge, and I saw the reason for the terror. It appeared that this town wasn't completely free of the zombie plague.

I counted five dead things, all in various stages of rot. Don’t started getting all excited, zombies don’t decompose, that’s another rumour you can but in the bin. The virus, or whatever the fuck it was, ‘halted’ the victims like darkroom fixer. Most of the corpses in that pit fighting over the remains of that poor bastard belonged to the dug up variety. Folk tended to forget that the graveyards gave up their dead too.

The slime ball peered into that pits and would you credit the sight he received. All five of them were stood frozen, their heads tilted up, their jaws hanging down. Christ on a bike. The fuckers were begging like dogs, hanging on for the last few scraps on a plate.

He chuckled and pushed in another screaming human. They tore into him, their teeth and nails pulling and ripping through the man, turning him into bloodied chunks of wet meat.

I brought myself out of the enforcer's mind and picked up his left hand, pulling off the black leather glove to reveal a freshly scrubbed hand. It looked so delicate, so feminine, so tasty. A high pitched whining left his mouth when I dropped my jaw and grabbed his thumbnail between my teeth. His terror had become almost tangible. I wasn't lying when I said that I try to keep my keep my lust for human meat limited to bad people, and after what he'd shown me, I believed that as far as bad people went, he had to rank in my personal top ten.

I pulled his arm back, leaving his nail between my teeth, wincing as he shrieked out. I spat out the nail and clamped my other hand over his hateful little mouth, cursing myself for being so careless. His scream was loud enough to wake the dead, if they hadn't already left their graves. I took a grip on the next finger and repeated the motion, giggling as his mental shrieking continued. It always amused me to find that the ones who so gleefully handed out torture were never so keen on the same inflicted upon their own bodies.

My rumbling stomach wouldn't allow me to continue no matter how much I enjoyed this. I opened my mouth wide, lunged forward, and fastened my bloodied teeth over his eye socket and sucked until that oh-so-juicy orb was plucked from the enforcer's orbit. I bit it in half, squealing in ecstasy as both jellied pieces slid down my throat.

My primal instincts took over and the scarlet mist descended, as did my head. My teeth bit through the side of the enforcer's neck. Hot blood gushed down my throat, causing my body to go postal. My clawed fingers ripped away his clothing and …

…Let's just end this by saying that I ate until I was sated. Believe me, there was very little left of that enforcer once I had finished.

Chapter Four

Getting to Know You

I'm sure that the only reason for my continued existence was because of my sister's actions back in those early days. Does that sound rather daft to you, like I'm making this up on the spot? I guess it does. After all, I'm a hunter now, a zombie, human hybrid. I'm something to be feared, a monster that's very hard to kill, stronger and faster than any of you fragile little bags of flesh. Oh yeah, I've been shot at, I've taken bullets. Believe me, I've had more shells in my body than a mussel bin at the seaside.

Right at the start of the madness, despite the changes surging through my body, I was still that terrified fourteen year old little boy, a kid that had just witnessed my dad smashing in the back of my mum's skull. That's the kind of thing that can seriously mess up anybody's head.

Then again, I wasn't a normal kid anymore, remember? To say that I was a little confused when I first awoke is an understatement. Yet, that mass of grey cells inside my skull wasn't going allow this new life-form to get all teary over the loss of his mum and dad, no way. It did its best to protect my still developing talents.

Even so, it is hard to put into words what rushed through my mind when I did first open my eyes. I remember watching people stood by a meat counter when my mum and dad used to take me to the supermarket. They all only saw packs of food, not much different from the loaves of bread on the next aisle. Not one of them allowed their subconscious to dwell on the history, that not that long ago the contents of that little white tray was part of a greater whole, a greater whole that once lived. Just close your eyes and picture a fluffy little baa lamb, frolicking about in a field; do you honestly think that the same image went through my mum’s head when she picked up a pack of lamb chops in Sainsbury? I don’t fucking think so.

The mindset of the browser overlaid my thoughts as I opened my eyes. Over and over, I watched dad smash her head into the wall, the scarlet blossom growing with each impact. My mind showed me hundreds of other people meeting the same fate, all plucked from the recent news reports and uploaded clips. They played on in the background as I found my real vision filled with the encouraging familiar. The kitchen was just as mum left it, clean enough to eat your dinner off. The muck, shit, and black gunk left from that rotting dead thing was nowhere to be seen.

I saw my sister applying a layer of thick white cream to the hole in my leg. I sat up and watched fascinated as the colour gradually turned pink. The images faded as she turned and gave me the saddest smiles that I'd ever seen in my life. Even as those pictures vanished, I knew that something profound had just happened to me. The deep grinding ache in the thigh was evidence that I should have turned already.

I caught my breath, conjuring up an imaginary sob, doing my best to match my sister's visible display of pain. Oh, I still felt the terror, that intense emotion had taken fucking root, it's just that I could no more relate to the slaughter of my parents than some old woman deciding between a beef brisket or pork shoulder for Sunday tea.

Through the television noise coming from behind me I heard the sound of a police siren coming from somewhere in town; I also picked out the kitchen boiler making its usual gurgling, a familiar noise to balance the familiar surroundings.

"You've been out for almost two days, Colin," she whispered, finishing off binding my wound. "There's just one left. I couldn't find the strength to do it." Danielle began to cry.

I had no idea what she meant until something very strange happened. I saw my dad gazing at me as I opened my parent's bedroom door. Every piece of furniture, the carpets, ceiling, and walls were stained with dried blood. My eyes moved to the other side of the room. The remains of my mother lay where she died.

This wasn't my thought. A slender pair of hands moved into view, the left hand holding a cricket bat. This was my sister that I saw from yesterday. I'd snatched this from Danielle.

My thoughts reeled, as did my head. I shook it violently, not understanding what was happening to me.

"Colin, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so, thanks," I muttered. "Guess I just got a bit dizzy, that's all." It surprised me to hear such a steady voice to come out of my mouth. I ought to be gibbering at this point, with long strings of drool hanging from both sides of my mouth. I got the message from Danielle loud and clear. We weren't alone in the house. Our father was still moving about, and I think she wanted me to deal with him.

I then made the mistake of looking directly at Danielle and my mind reeled as more of her thoughts rushed into my head.

***

I so miss him. It wasn't fair that my mum wouldn't let me out of this damn house. God, it's like I was Colin's age or something. Hell, even then, the old cow wouldn't dare imprison me for more than a couple of days. Dad would have soon put her back in her place.

Apparently, it's too dangerous to leave the house. What a load of bollocks. Dad's been out at least twice since his imposed curfew. The sneaky git waited until everybody had gone to sleep before leaving. I wonder if I could use that against him.

It's so not fair, I so want to feel Gerald's arms around my body. God, I'd give anything to be in his arms right now. I don't even know if he's still alive. I won't cry though, no way. I refuse to let them beat me.

The sun felt glorious. Perhaps I should just leave them, it's not like they could stop me, not if they don't know. I threw back the covers, and padded over to the window, shivering, despite the rays falling across my body.

***

It's difficult to keep on track, to stay there, just behind Danielle's ears and, listening in to her thoughts as she gazed down onto the deserted street. Come on, it's not every day where you find yourself inside the head of your sixteen year old sister. My focus dissolved into a kaleidoscope of conflicting hormones by Danielle's full length mirror fastened to the front of her wardrobe.

I'd never seen my sister naked before. She wasn't posing for anybody. Yet it didn't stop me from drinking in that magnificent body, her firm thighs, large breasts, and so squeezable bum cheeks. Oh, I was perfectly aware that she was my sister. Like that old woman deciding on what joint of meat to have for Sunday dinner, I only saw pleasurable meat. It took me a moment to put my head back into some kind of order.

***

Maybe I should give it another day. This bullshit couldn't last forever. The authorities were bound to get this mess sorted out soon. Hell, she hadn't seen one of those shambling dead things for almost two days now. Considering they live in a city of like six millions, those streets down there should be fucking choking with the bastard things.

By the sounds of it, I wasn't the first one up this morning. The lodgers already were up and about, slamming doors, making it perfectly obvious that one of them had laid claim to the bathroom. Snatching the dressing gown from the back of my chair, I made my way towards the door, doing my best to keep my temper in the box. If I was going to get out of here, the last thing I needed was a confrontation first thing in the morning. I needed everybody in the house as calm as possible.

I paused by the door, lifting my hand off the handle; something was wrong. The lodgers had their own bathroom on the floor below, but as predicted, if that one was occupied they always came up the stairs to use ours.

It had to be one of the Cooper family. The Gillsomes stayed downstairs, obviously having better manners than our other next door neighbours. Owen Cooper, the dirty little pervert, would be one of them—either him or his dad. The old man was as bad as his teenage son for trying to look down my top.

My anger and annoyance refused to stay where it belonged, right in the forefront of my brain. Both emotions vanished as soon as I opened my door, about ready to ask the pair of them to bugger off back downstairs. The hallway showed me…

…What the fuck was that? No, no way; this can't be happening! Falling back against my door, crying out as the door swung back, my body hitting the carpet, blocking off my view of Jackie Cooper on her knees, her naked form coated in thick red jelly, only it wasn't jelly. Wet sounds of feeding making my guts roll, metal smells filling my nostrils. Half of her head was deep inside that raw scarlet crater. He couldn't be alive, and yet, and yet …

Oh god, she's here, right in front on me, her face painted with her son's insides. More movement, Owen now stood behind mum, thick grey ropes of intestine dragging behind his bare feet.

Kick the door; it's all I can do, and she doesn't cry out, even as the edge of the door slams into her fingers. I smell their bodies, the hot sweat mixed with blood, shit, and piss. They're both inside, moans from the pair of them freezing my heart. I don't want to die, I don't want them to bite me/. Oh please. Don't let this happen to me. His guts brush over my foot, it's cold, cold and wet. Screaming, clawing the carpet, burning my hands, trying to scramble back, watching their mouths open wide, bits fall out of her mouth. Can't breathe, can't move. Oh god, this is my end, this is how I die!

Owen stumbles, his feet caught in his intestines, the dead body falling into his mother. Roll, move, legs, knees, and hands.

***

I shook my head, trying to clear a path through the confusing jumble of thoughts and images screaming out from inside her. The path widened as I fought to control this new talent. My eyes found hers, and her thoughts flowed again, this time slower.

She was able to scramble away from their grasping fingers. Her typhoon of thoughts and wild emotions slammed into an invisible wall, and an unnatural calm covered her like a thick blanket. It was as if some switch inside of her had been flicked. One second, the terrified girl, teetering on that edge, about to break apart, and the next, a cold machine devoid of strong emotion took control. Danielle stood up, and she backed into the corner of her room, her eyes not leaving that tangle of legs, arms and teeth. Their movements were hampered by most of Owens's soft insides that were now on the outside,

She picked up dad's lump hammer, walked back over to the two, careful to avoid the glutinous red pool now surrounding them, and crashed the business end into the top of Jackie's head; that soulless robot collapsed as soon as Danielle pulled the hammer up. She gazed at thick blood matting up Jackie's thick brown hair and she shrieked, pulling back and smashing the hammer into the son's face, the first blow, destroying his left cheek. Her screaming rose in intensity as she hit them again and again, dropping into the scarlet filth, her arms a blur. She only paused when a lone voice rose from somewhere below her. She turned from her work, both skulls destroyed, with pieces of skull and jellied brain tissue sliding down the front of their chests.

That voice was me; somebody had heard my cries after all.

"Come on, Colin, snap out of it!" Danielle was shaking me like a rag doll. "Please, don't flake out on me again, I need you!"

My eyes refocused and I found myself back on that kitchen floor. The clock behind her head told me that only a couple of minutes had passed since I fell inside my sister's head. Those two minutes felt like almost an hour to me. I had no doubt that what just happened was the real deal,

"Leave off, I'm all right. I promise." I sat up. "I'm all right," I repeated.

"Dad is still up there, Colin."

She wanted me to put him down. My sister helped me to my feet, and I limped over to the kitchen window, and saw that the hole in the ground had been filled in. There was no sign of any of the two already dead, dead things. Danielle had been busy.

"They're all down there," she whispered.

I turned around and saw that her gaze hadn't moved from my leg bite. I felt no pain at all, the area was numb. Yet I got the impression that my sister hadn't done much with the wound apart from to keep it clean. Danielle was no nurse or anything like that. Just last week when dad had accidently cut his forearm on a nail on the fence, she'd done a roadrunner act, with her leaving message being that it was all sick and gross.

I bet she hadn't given me any painkillers either.

So, where did this leave the pair of us? Considering, by rights, I shouldn't even be alive.

"You've buried all of them?"

"Apart from mum and dad, yeah." Her filled with tears. "Please, Colin. We can't leave him like that."

She wanted me to put dad down. I certainly had no wish to go through with that, but my feelings were secondary. I couldn't refuse a plea like that, not after what she'd done for me. Although Danielle's first aid knowledge stopped at asking for a plaster, she's stayed with my unconscious body, and that spoke volumes. Why? Well, for a start, she didn't kill me; the girl didn't reduce my head into a mush like she did to the Coopers.

I had no explanation as to why she didn't. I didn't catch her thoughts when she stumbled across my body, but I don't think her first thought would have been to comfort me, not after seeing what that freaky fucking dead bastard had done to my thigh.

"Okay, Danielle. Let's do this." I brushed past her, inadvertently breathing in her scent. She smelled of roses. The image of her naked body flashed through my mind again, and I felt my cheeks colour up. I turned my head and hurried out of the kitchen, heading for my den in the corner of the living room. I knew exactly what tool was needed for this task.