Death Plague Omnibus [Four Zombie Novels] (49 page)

Within a thousand years all that would remain of our existence would be a few dried bones. I don’t even think the zombies would last for that amount of time. Nothing lasts forever, not even them. Mother Nature is in the process of wiping the slate clean, ready to stock this world with new forms of life, and we weren’t going to be around to see it.

Who’d have thought it? There is a philosophical side to me after all. I inwardly scoffed, like the far future was any use to this present situation. The past was bad enough, at least that had happened. Right now, I needed to focus on the present, and perhaps the future of the next hour or so.

“Okay kiddies. Fun is officially over. Now, how about one of you telling me where we are going?” I casually took hold of their remaining son’s wrist. “There’s still lots of urging left in my body, you know? Seriously, if I don’t allow the demon out like right now, I might end up killing all of you.” I squeezed. Unlike our jawless dead guy, poor Nathaniel screamed out as soon as I applied the pressure.

“Please,” begged the husband, “don’t hurt him. We’re going to find someone who’ll help you out. He’s been in the town since the beginning. He knows everybody here.”

“And he lives at this halfway house, I guess?”

They all bobbed their heads, reminding me of three nodding dogs. Christ they were pathetic.

So, before we continue down the fucking yellow brick road, I can sense you needing to know why I didn’t switch over and join up with the two bandits? After all, these guys would have had connections, probably even be able to take me straight to my sister. It all boiled down to simple trust. Those two snakes would have sold me out as soon as they dared, either that or tried to kill me. I'm pretty resilient, but I wasn't invulnerable, not by a long shot.

There was one more reason—okay, two reasons. First, this family needed me as much as I needed them, meaning they had my back. Second, this Linda fascinated me. Was there really any truth about her being some kind of emotional and physical vampire? I don’t mean she had fangs, a black cape, and spoke with a dodgy accent, but there was something very compelling about the woman. I intended to find out exactly what that was.

Chapter Eight

Forbidden Fruit

There were four in the bed and the little one said 'Roll over'. I was down to three guides already, and we'd only been on our journey for about an hour. Were the three of them grieving for their loss, or did they see his death as an unfortunate setback? I wasn't even going to bother scanning their minds to find my answer. I was pissed off enough without having to experience a bunch of second hand emotions.

The anger and frustration at allowing that fucker to push my buttons consumed me, turning my guts into a boiling cauldron of hate. Believe or not, all the hate that I felt was mainly directed at myself. Oh sure, I did find out that she had been here, but I kinda knew that anyway. He could have told me so much more. I seriously considered slaughtering the remaining males in our little group just to put me in a better mood.

There were two in the bed, and the little one said...

"We've arrived," said Linda, pointing to nine shipping containers positioned in a rough circle.

I stopped dead a few feet behind the humans and allowed my eyes to drink in this almost surreal scenario. In the two decades since the big event, I have witnessed many strange sights, nearly all of them held the skeletal hand of death.

Here, inside this artificial cavern proudly shouting under a dozen powerful arc lamps, I saw creation, I saw playful beauty, I saw art. A dazzling array of primary coloured geometric patterns covered the skin of each container. That in itself would have been enough to make me gasp aloud. This artist obviously believed in using this available canvas to the fullest extent. Street furniture decorated the areas surrounding the containers, everything from road signs and free standing litter bins, to wooden benches and but stops.

I took my eyes away from a phone box door and stared at the back of Linda’s head, commanding the woman to turn around in order to give me an explanation. She didn’t turn, but I sensed her smile. The dark mood had lifted from the family, and it surprised me to discover that my layers of darkness were falling from me as well.

“Please don’t fight it, hunter,” said Linda. The keeper doesn’t allow bad thoughts to dwell here. He says it upsets the equilibrium of his domain.”

“Well, that’s the last thing I want to do,” I muttered sarcastically. The door to one nearest container creaked open, and I watched a perfectly ordinary man drop down and start to make his way towards our position. He looked a bit older than me by about ten years, and what grey hair he had left covered the sides of his head like a tennis ball. But what shocked me more than anything was his whole demeanour. The clown acted as though he hadn’t a care in the world. His beaming, graceful movements and outlandish dress made me question if the apocalypse had passed him by.

I thought back to my encounter with the bandits. Obviously, they knew the lay of the land, meaning that they must have been aware of this guy. How the fuck was the man still breathing?

The remaining family had bowed their head as this new character almost danced towards them. There was an almost childlike simplicity to how he moved. At any other moment his posture would have wound me up to the point of running up to the fucker and clawing out his windpipe. Instead, I found myself smiling to the point of almost laughing.

The man stopped in front of Linda and placed both hands on her shoulders. He leaned forward and kissed the woman’s forehead. Linda responded by bursting into tears. I found the whole situation most perplexing. He stepped to the side and waited for the three of them to pass him before turning his attention towards me.

His engaging smile, showing me a full set of pearly whites, stopped me in my tracks. I now knew exactly how this dude had managed to stay alive. This Keeper had an aura. As he approached my own extra senses went haywire. It honestly felt as though I was stood next to a power station.

“Why, hello there, you gorgeous hunk!” he said. The man wrapped his fingers around my hand. “Oh lordy, I think I’m in love.”

It’s impossible for me to describe my exact emotions while this man continued to caress the back of my hand. Like those garishly decorated shipping containers, this whole situation made me feel as though I was full of mind-bending drugs. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” My retort was supposed to explode out of my mouth, the harsh growl having enough force to knock this weird bastard into next week.

The man patted my arm and led me towards the shipping container.

“Oh, don’t you get all macho, young man. Believe me, I’ve put bigger boys than you in their place.” He stopped by the large metal door. “Oh, now listen to us, being all bitchy without even introducing ourselves.” He giggled. “I know all about you already, of course, I do! Heck, do you think that I would have even allowed you to live if I hadn’t already checked you out?”

For the first time since arriving at this surreal wonderland, my guts began to quiver. I knew that right now I was stood before a real power, and despite the looks and his rather effeminate voice, this guy had nothing to fear from me.

“I’m Dominic, Colin. Back in the past, I was the best pie maker this side of Yorkshire.” He sighed. “Oh, how I wish for the ingredients to create one of my steak and ale specials. Like that’s going to happen; the horrid dead things wiped out the cows decades ago.”

He sighed again. “No matter, I’ve other goodies to give to my hungry guests.” He stopped and turned around. The man placed his warm hand over my forehead. “I’ve never had a hunter in here before, and although I sense good in you, there is still a dark blot that needs exorcising. Don’t fret, my hunky man, this won’t hurt, maybe tickle.”

Like an old friend, darkness embraced me.

***

The light from muddy-yellow dusk coated the carpark with a vile shade of rotten vomit. I blinked away the hot tears, so trying not to allow my hateful conscience to finish off its self-destructive journey. There was one piece of landscape unaffected by the setting sun’s new sheen of colour, and that was the last thing I wanted to gaze at. The vile mess by my feet only reinforced my difference. Danielle held my hand, and right at this minute, her presence was the last thing I needed. All I wanted right now was for her to hold a big fucking gun aimed at the side of my head, and for my loving sister to have the courage to pull the trigger.

“You knew this would happen, Colin. Not matter how hard you fought the instinct, the urge to feed was bound to grip you.” She grabbed my chin and pulled my head until her beautiful eyes found mine. “Accept what you are, Colin.”

I pulled myself out of her grip and jumped away when Danielle attempted to grab me again. “Just leave me the fuck alone,” I cried. My foot slipped in the mess, and for one brief moment I thought I was about to land in the remains of my meal. The tears flowed harder when I remembered that my last meal’s terrified voice had begged me to let her go.

She was only ten years old, meaning she was one of the first to have been born after the big event, and I had snuffed out her light just as easily as snapping a thin dry twig. What made this fuck up even worse to bear was that Danielle was right. I had known that this day was inevitable. I had come to terms that I was a hunter years ago. The human was my prey, and the shambling dead would stop at nothing to rip me into a thousand pieces. I was one of the shunned, hated and feared by both the living and the dead. My only companion for the past decade had been my sister.

I pulled my gaze from the half eaten corpse that stained the tarmac, and followed the sun’s slow progress as it dipped behind a tower block. I licked my lips, moaning quietly when I tasted the girl’s blood.

It had been nine years since my sister had shown me my true colours, and in all that time I’d interacted with dozens of humans, and at no point had I ever felt the burning urge to feast upon their warm flesh. Despite my spotless track record, Danielle had never allowed me to forget my true nature. At times I had asked myself as to why she kept banging on about it. Had I not proven myself to be the one hunter to break the mould? Looking down at this mess, it was pretty fucking obvious that I wasn’t to be that person. I now understood her apparent obsession to constantly remind me of my true nature.

“We need to move out, Colin. Her family will be back soon.”

I shook my head, already deciding to stay right where I was. Thanks to me, the family who had taken us in and looked after us for the last couple of days had lost their only reason for living in this horrible fucking world. They both deserved an explanation before no doubt the father would shoot me in the face.

It seemed a fitting way to end my vile existence.

“They trusted us, Danielle, and look where it got them.” I shook my head again, keeping my eyes on the crime. “You had best go, my love. They won’t be satisfied with just my body, and I don’t want you to die because of my error.”

I never even saw the two fists, but I certainly felt them smash into my face. My sister followed this surprise assault by sweeping her leg into my knees. The impact put me on the floor. The girl’s open ribs cushioned my face.

“Don’t you dare talk to me like this!” she snarled, dropping to the ground. Danielle curled her slender fingers around my thick neck. “You’re my brother, my care and my only concern. For ten years, I’ve looked after you, nurtured you, and this is how you repay me?”

Her eyes blazed in fury. My sister’s reaction took me completely by surprise; I’d never witnessed my sister in this state. Danielle’s vehemence unsettled me. Fuck, it did more than that, it utterly terrified me. She was acting more like the hunter that I had tried so hard to mask for the last ten years.

“You are what you are, Colin, now more than ever. Her death was a regrettable mistake, but we can never go back, nor can we shirk from our allotted path.”

The pressure on my neck eased, and some of that bright light in her eyes dimmed. “What else can I do, Danielle? I now despise every inch of myself. This world has enough monsters without me adding to the score. It would be better for everyone, including you, if I just fucking died.”

Danielle slowly got to her feet, her eyes filling with tears. “I know I can’t change your mind now. Fine, I’ll leave you to wallow in your own self-pity then.” The woman stormed over to a crumbling stone wall. “Just before I leave you to your pathetic fate, let me ask you just one question. Answer me this before I’m out of your life.” She smiled. “Will you tell me how she tasted?”

Her sweet smile exactly matched the memory of how it felt to sink my teeth into the girl’s tender flesh. The girl’s hot blood filled my mouth, gushing down my dry throat. That virgin fluid awoke my sleeping urges. My true suppressed nature had fucking detonated. I squeezed her little arms, the flesh bulged at both sides, stretching her skin taut until it split like overcooked sausages.

I ate my way through the side of her neck. My mind was on fire, it felt like a million orgasms bolting through every nerve in my body. The girl’s flesh did more than nourish me, it gave me life, it energized my very being, showed me what I really was, and that was a fucking hunter!

As the last of the sun’s rays lost their shine, I found myself staring at Danielle’s slim figure, still leaning against that wall, the taste of my first meal now just a fading memory. “I remember exactly how she tasted. Why do you think I can’t go on, Danielle? If I don’t end this right now, I’ll never stop. I’m a fucking monster.”

My sister laughed. “Right now, all I see is a pathetic little boy, full of shame without knowing the reason. You’re no more of a monster than the two returning parents. Do you not remember what we did, all four of us yesterday?”

I found myself nodding.”

“Sure you do. I saw the grin on your face when you slammed that corpse into the side of that shop door, grunting with satisfaction when the metal door handle slammed into its rotten brain. I also saw the looks on our guest’s face too. They both grinned. Let me ask you, does that not sound like how monsters would act?”

I shook away that memory, tempted to press my hands against my ears. I didn’t want to hear any more of this. Her words were confusing me. The dead are just walking shells, there’s nothing there but corruption and instinct.”

She laughed even harder. “Don’t give me that bullshit,” she shouted. “You know that isn’t true, you of all people know that there’s more to the dead than that.” She looked to her left. “They’ll soon be here, Colin. When they see what you’ve done to their only child, they’ll be utterly traumatised. Once they have taken out their grief on you, do you think that’ll be it for them? Do you think they’ll forget about this incident and carry on as if nothing had happened?”

“No, of course not. This will haunt them for the rest of their lives.”

“That’s very true,” she said, nodding. “Thing is, how long do you think that will be? I mean, from this point on the pair of them won’t be able to think straight, meaning they’ll make mistakes. We both know that making mistakes in this world costs you your life. I’ll be surprised if they last longer than a week now.”

“How is this helping me?” I cried. “Just go, Danielle, for crying out loud, just fuck off, and leave me alone.” I pressed my hands into my face, obliterating the image of Danielle running a hand through her soft hair. The next thing I found was her breath in my ear.

“You suppressed the urge for so many years, Colin. For that, I’m truly proud. Don’t allow this one slip to end your achievement.” She caught her breath. “If not for you, then do it for me. You’re my brother. I need you just as much as you need me.”