Death Plague Omnibus [Four Zombie Novels] (85 page)

“It’s time to go,” he said, taking her towards the outer door. “I think I can help you, Mrs. Sykes.”

Her protests fell on deaf ears and they quickly stopped when Tony retrieved the gun. It felt as though he was dragging a terrified poodle. “Don’t worry about anything. I’ll get you fixed up.”

“What about Jacob? I can’t leave my husband, he needs me.”

Tony didn’t answer her. It seemed like the wisest choice. His door to the apartment stood wide open and two bodies were lying in the middle of the carpet. They were both dead. He caught his breath with grief when the one sprawled across the floor in front of a guard turned out to be his wife.

He stepped over her body, trying not to stare at her liquefying flesh dripping into the carpet fibers. The woman in his grip stopped, refusing to step over Ellen’s body.

“What are you going to do to me?” she cried.

Her terrified eyes stared deep into his. All he saw in there was complete fear. She had no comprehension of what was happening. Her conditioned, unsubversive mind saw the bodies and his gun and thought that all this was his fault.

“I told you to come over here, woman,” he barked, raising the gun. “Don’t make me say it again.” He felt like such a shit for scaring her, even if it did work. Mrs. Sykes gracefully jumped over the melting bodies and allowed him to pull her quivering body further into the room.

Tony skirted past the table and approached the only figure left in one piece
,
shaking his head in wonder at the sight of the big man still slumped against the wall. Although he showed more degradation than the others, somehow, the man was still alive; even more astonishing, he was conscious. He opened his eyes and lifted his head when Tony crouched down in front of him.

“Tell me how you jumped! he demanded. “Come on, I need to know how you did it.”

The man’s eyes glazed over. Tony fought the urge to punch him, believing that if he did that, his hand would probably disappear into his flesh.

“Please,” he whispered. “Kill me, Tony. Put that gun against my head and pull the trigger.”

“Your girlfriend is already dead, you know. So is the overman.” He ran his eyes up and down his degrading body. “Does it hurt?”

The goon moaned weakly. “Please, just end me, I can’t take anymore.”

“I think all of you have been very selfish. I mean, have you any idea of the mess you’ve made? You should have at least done this in the bath.”

“Fuck you.”

He placed the muzzle of the gun against the man’s temple, his gorge rising when the metal sank into the man’s flesh. It was like pushing a pen into wet clay.

“Do it.”

“I will as soon as you tell me how you jump from one world to another.”

“It’s already in your hand, Tony. The gate is built into the weapon. Disengage the side panel. It’s the grey block directly above the trigger guard.”

Tony followed his instructions, grinning when the panel slid back to display a recessed compartment with two black buttons next to each other.

“The one on the left will take you to the Source World.”

Tony stood back and took hold of the woman’s wrist, keeping his hold firm, without squeezing. Her flesh now felt like warm wax.

“You promised to end me!” cried the goon.

“I know I did.” Tony said. He turned the woman around, then raised the rifle and slowly squeezed the trigger. The goon’s head detonated, splattering stinking, wet slop across the wall. “I just didn’t want your mess all over me.”

“I’m going to be sick.”

“No you won’t,” Tony said, not unkindly. “Just don’t look.” He had the feeling that if she did throw up, half of her internal organs would follow her last meal as well. “Close your eyes, Mrs. Sykes, and don’t open them until I say so.” He hoped to fuck that this would work. Tony pressed the button and squeezed his own eyes shut as dazzling white light shot through his eyelids. He jerked his head down before tentatively opening them again. He smiled at the sight of bright green grass under his feet.

They had done it. There had been a nagging doubt in his head that the gun might have self-destructed, a safety measure to prevent unauthorized persons from using the device. He grinned and breathed in a lungful of clean but cold air, feeling the pure atmosphere of this world cleanse the foul dirt that clung to his insides like mud sticking to a wall. Obviously their extreme paranoia didn’t extend to their goons. He looked up at the beautiful blue sky. Even so, those people could have flipped over here at any time and just lost themselves in this unspoilt world and nobody would have been able to find them. Was their brainwashing that secure?

Tony blinked a few times, dismissing the thought. Who cared about them, he had more important priorities to worry over. He turned and watched the woman turn her head from side to side, taking in the landscape of endless green fields. He put his arm on her shoulder and turned her around. “I see you’re lost for words, Mrs. Sykes.” He looked at the clump of tall buildings to the left of them. Even from here he could see how the green had encroached into the city. The closest building had already lost the battle with nature. He squinted, leaning forward and staring at the vine-covered structure, sure that he had seen movement.

“Have we gone back in time, Tony?” Mrs. Sykes uttered, “back to before all those horrible dead things came to life?”

He lifted the woman’s hand to examine the ends of her fingers. The flesh had not healed, but it looked like the rot had stopped, at least for the moment. “When did you last take your tablet?”

“A couple of hours ago, I think.”

“And when did you have anything to eat?”

“I can’t remember. I’ve never been a big eater. Tony, please, I don’t understand any of this. What has my diet have to do with any of this?”

Being away from their vile world must have some kind of beneficial effect. He only needed to look at himself to see that. Perhaps being away helped the tablets to destroy the toxins present in the contaminated meat more efficiently. If that was the case, his sole survivor from his apartment building might even live, if she could get more tablets.

“No, Mrs. Sykes, it doesn’t look like a scene from the past, but the explanation is more fantastical. We’re on another world, a world very much like ours. There are dead things here as well, just not as many.”

“It’s so beautiful.” The woman stiffened and grabbed his arm tight. “Oh no, Tony, we’re not alone here.”

Three figures approached them from behind the closest building. He knew he’d seen movement. There were a number of men, women, and children, all walking out of open doorways. What an incredible sight. Although the buildings were obviously close to collapse, none of the people seemed to care. He looked beyond them, looking for any sign of dead people but saw nothing.

“What do we do?”

“Just relax,” he said, recognizing Joseph and Stephen. He gently pulled the hand off his arm. “They’re friends.” He walked over to the group, spotting another familiar face standing behind Joseph. He nodded a greeting at Mortimer.

“I need your help, Joseph,” he said. “Please, we have to get our people over here before they all die.”

Joseph shook his head. “Not a chance. This is what I want.”

He gaped at the man. “But these are just normal people, they’ve done you no harm. The ones that run the city are all dead. Please, show mercy.”

Joseph’s face gave nothing away. He stared at the woman for a moment before turning to Mortimer. “Take her back to the camp and make sure she’s treated well.” He stared at Tony. “I can’t help you. The process had already started and there’s no stopping it now. I’m sorry about your world, really I am but my priorities lie here, on my world.”

“But you’re going to kill them all, they’ll all die.”

Joseph nodded. “Don’t you think I don’t know that?” he shouted. “What else was I supposed to do? This is the fault of your people, not mine. Are you honestly trying to tell me that none of you had the balls to get rid of your corrupt regime? Fuck you all, thanks to your cowardice, those bastards almost wiped us out!”

“So this is how it ends?”

“No, it isn’t the end, this is a new beginning. We’re going to collapse the bridge to your vile world and open another one. I know what you must think of me, but I’m not the bad guy here.” The man held out his hand. “Tony, please stay here with us. There is nothing left in your world now but death.”

Chapter Eighteen

He ran to the far side of the room and pressed his face tight against the cold bars in an effort to see where the shouting was coming from. All Kenny could see were his two guards raising their blunt-nosed weapons and pointing them at the metal door that separated the cells from the rest of the building. The older of the pair, a thin man in his late forties, noticed Kenny staring and pointed his gun at him instead.

“I only have to apply a tiny amount of pressure and your lovely sister’s face will be covered with your warm brains.”

Kenny grinned back. “I’ve seen you around, you know. It took me a while to place your faces. It’s the uniform that threw me. You two are snipes.” Kenny chuckled. “They must be pretty desperate to trust you two scumbags with proper guns.”

The man growled and ran over to the cage and smacked the stock against the bars. “I mean it, fuckwit, open your mouth one more time and I will kill you.”

Kenny shook his head. “No you won’t, and we both know it. You touch us and Rossini will feed you both to the dead.” He cocked his head as the sounds of shouting got louder. “They’re coming to get you,” he said. “That’s my friends out there, on their way to fuck you up.” Kenny had no idea what the noise was. He did know that if he didn’t get him and Diane out of here, their luck would be well and truly over. Both of the men out there had been on edge ever since the lights went out. He figured that if he wound them up enough, then one of them might be foolish enough to open that cage door in order to dish out a beating. It was a long shot but he had no other viable plan.

“Shut the fuck up!” screamed the other man.

Kenny stuck his tongue out at him. That guy reminded him of the bastard who had been close to grabbing Kenny in that alleyway. They were of similar age. This dark-haired fool didn’t have the other snipe’s animal-like cunning though. “Is that one your son, buddy? I mean, you do look at lot like each other, you’re both fucking ugly for a start.”

His insults didn’t appear to be having any effect anymore. Both guards had left their positions and had rushed over to the door, each one taking up position at either side.

“Greg, as soon as they rush in, shoot that mouthy bastard and his sister.” The older guard chuckled. “We’ll tell Rossini that their friends did it.” He cocked his rifle and pressed his back against the wall. “Okay, get ready.”

Kenny saw the gleam in the boy’s eye. He ran over to where his sister lay and dragged her into the corner of the cell. Perhaps the boy’s bullets would strike the bars first, giving their rescuers time to kill the bastard before he filled them full of holes. The bolt on the other side of the door slid back. Kenny wrapped his arms around Diane. Even if he died, at least his sister would survive.

He heard the door slam back and the sound of automatic gunfire. Both Kenny and Diane screamed out, but despite anticipating the agonizing sensation of bullets thudding into his back, nothing happened. The gunfire deafened him. He looked into his sister’s eyes, seeing she was as confused as him. He turned his head and saw three dead things in the outer room. Two of them were already dead, but the other one had managed to grab hold of the older guy and had pulled him onto the floor. His younger partner sat in the corner, not moving, just watching the dead thing bite chunks out of the other man’s face. His mouth was frozen open with a silent scream.

Kenny saw another figure enter the cell and smiled with relief at the sight of Natalie. She shot the dead thing once in the head before walking up to the young guard and kicking his weapon out of his hands.

“If you move from that spot, little man, I’ll hurt you bad. Do we understand each other?”

The young guard nodded.

“I’m sorry I took so long,” said Natalie, rushing over to the bars. “Wait, where’s the lock?”

Kenny tapped the metal panel next to her waist. “I think it’s magnetic. Joseph swiped a card over that plate after he threw us in here.”

“So, why were they here then?” Natalie took a deep breath. “More to the point, why didn’t these doors open when I disrupted the power? Look, don’t worry. There’s more men coming from Source World. I’ll get them to open a hole into the cell so we can get you out before we collapse this bridge.” She turned around. “Hey there, little man, you don’t look so good. I don’t think any of them will last longer than a few more days now. It looks like the infected food has started to work.” The woman grinned. “It’s taken long enough, they’re been contaminating the supply for months now.”

“How long do we have before the other guards get down here?”

“Not long. Look, don’t worry. We’ll be long gone before they get down here.” She smiled. “We’ve done it. We’ve found a virgin world to bridge ours to Food World.” She pushed her hands through the bars. “It’s all thanks to you, Kenny.”

“Me, what did I do?”

“We have no idea what you did. Only that when we fought off their men and gained access to our gate, there was one more coordinate logged into the system. It checks out as well.”

“I don’t remember doing anything,” he muttered. Kenny thought back to being in that room, going over everything he’d heard. He had felt connected to the voices, that much he did know; he had no idea what the songs were, though, or for that matter, why they chose to sing to him.

“Don’t let it trouble you. This is it, we’ve done it. We’ll get you joined up with Mortimer and together you two can save the rest of us. You both carry different parts of the cure to this thing.”

“Kenny, move back!”

His sister ripped him off the bars as the cell door slid back. “How did that happen?” he said, looking at Natalie.

She shrugged. “It wasn’t me.” She ran over to the guard and picked him up, dragging the youth over to the desk. “Log into your computer and find out what’s going on.”

Kenny put his hands on Diane’s waist. “How do you feel now?”

Diane lifted up her arm. “Take a look, Kenny.”

As Diane pulled her hand away from the wound, pieces of her skin stuck to the palm of her hand. She hurriedly wiped it on her jeans. “What’s happening?” she whispered. “I feel like I’m falling apart.”

The flesh around the bite now resembled a bright red sponge, full of black ink. “I don’t know,” he replied. Kenny ran over to Natalie. “Wait, what do you mean by infected meat?”

The woman pointed at the now unconscious guard, lying by her feet. “Can you believe that he had no idea how to access this terminal?”

His body no longer looked solid. The end of the guard’s fingers now looked like candle wax, held over a naked flame.

“What the fuck is happening to him?”

“Do you think that the other worlds would just allow this one to occupy and plunder them without fighting back? Food World has been contaminating the supplies they sent over here for months now.” She grinned. “It’s amazing what gets past as safe when the chief medical officer just happens to be me.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out a large tablet; she placed it in Diane’s undamaged hand. “Here, swallow this. It’ll slow down the effects of the contamination. Don’t worry, As soon as my men get here, we’ll take you to Food World and Mortimer will cure you.”

Kenny jumped as the outer cell door slammed shut. He turned to Natalie. “How did that happen?”

She pointed to the now vacant cages. “It doesn’t matter. Look, here’s our ride out of here.”

The air inside the cages shimmered and the shape of four uniformed men solidified. Kenny’s smile faltered as he recognized the uniform of prison guards. “What the fuck is happening?”

All four of them rushed out of the cages, pointing their guns at their heads.

“Turn around and do it now!”

Kenny grabbed his sister’s hand then obeyed their command. He blinked at the sight of another door on the other side of the cell. He was sure that hadn’t been there earlier. Not that it mattered, it was an escape. He pulled his sister after him and raced towards the open door. As soon as both women were inside, Kenny slammed the door shut.

“Where are we?”

Kenny shrugged. “I’ve no idea, Diane. It doesn’t matter though, they can’t get us now.” He looked at their new surroundings, feeling a little confused. At first this narrow corridor seemed to be part of the prison, but if that was the case, why did it look like a hotel hallway? There was even green carpeting covering the stone floor.

“Please, not this,” whispered Natalie. She turned and slammed her fists against the door. “Let us out!” she screamed. Anything but this.”

“What’s wrong?”

She spun around. “I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid. Those bastards have been playing with us all along. Those cages opened for a fucking reason.”

The wall to their left grew transparent and Kenny saw two rows of empty seats on the other side of the partition. “It’s such a shame to see them empty,” announced a voice above Kenny’s head.

He looked up at the ceiling and spotted a microphone.

“There’s nothing more entertaining than watching live kills. Don’t you agree, Natalie? How does it feel to be in the game instead of just watching? I will miss you. I’ll miss the tiny squeaks you made every time some dumb fucker ended up dead. I’ll certainly miss how hot you got me, Natalie.”

“Let us out, Rossini!” screamed Kenny, “you’re lost, give it up, they’ve killed your audience.”

“Yeah, I will admit that none of us saw that one coming. Still, I don’t suppose it matters that much now. Thanks to some new info that I picked up not that long ago, I’ll soon have a brand new audience.”

Kenny slammed his hands against the wall. “Let us out, you insane bastard!”

Rossini’s laugh echoed through the speakers. “Greetings, competitors! You’re now in the private viewing hall reserved for the elite, for the founding members of our magnificent citystate. Only the brightest, the fastest, and the most versatile competitors have the prestigious honor of being chosen to play in this arena. The games are tough but the rewards are even greater. Good luck!”

“What is all this?” Kenny glared at the woman who stood shaking behind him. “Come on, this is your time to shine, honey!”

“I had to play my part! Can’t you see that, Kenny? It isn’t a club that you can just drop out off.”

“Leave it,” hissed Diane, standing between them. “Does it really matter anymore?”

Kenny took a deep breath and attempted to get a grip on his emotions. It shouldn’t matter what Natalie had done in the past to keep her real identity a secret. Right now, they all needed each other. He glanced past the two girls and studied their current location. There appeared to be only one way out, another metal door at the far end of this corridor, about ten meters away. “Okay, I’m calm. Natalie, what do we do here? How can we get out of here in one piece?”

She stared deep into his eyes. “I’m not sure it’s even possible, Kenny.”

“Don’t you dare give up,” he growled.

The woman shrugged. “How stubborn are you? They’ve been playing with us from the very start, why can’t you see that?”

“Yes you’re right there, Natalie,” replied Diane. “Right now, they’re watching us three fight amongst ourselves and laughing while slapping each other on the back, because they are oh so clever.” She looked up at the microphone and grinned. “Those grins will soon turn to grimaces when you start to shit out your internal organs. Natalie. Fucking snap out of it and find us a way out of here. Come on, you’re supposed to be the expert.”

She blinked and followed Diane’s gaze up to that microphone. “Kenny, there’s a metal panel, halfway down the corridor, on the wall. Will you be a sweetheart and fetch me the contents? Oh, and don’t walk past the panel. There are pressure pads hidden under the carpet.”

He nodded and followed her instructions, listening to Diane’s soothing voice explaining to the woman how important it was to turn their tactics around. He reached the panel and turned the small metal handle. The panel dropped down to reveal a fire axe, strapped to the wall with fabric straps. As he released the straps, Kenny recalled how Diane had used a similar speech on him on more than one occasion. “What do the pressure pads do?”

Natalie took the axe out of his hand. She grinned coldly and slammed the spike at the end of the axe shaft into the speaker. “Now they can’t hear us, at least not in here.” She gave the axe back to Kenny. “Get ready, young man. I’ll show you.” She walked up to the grey panel and turned around. “Can you see those two pillars at either side of the door? The pressure pads open them. Get ready.”

“Get ready for what?”

The woman just shook her head then slowly walked forward two paces. Kenny gripped the handle tight as the pillars slid back. Two dead things shambled out of their hiding places and lunged at Natalie.

“Get back!” he yelled.

Natalie stayed motionless as the zombies closed in on her. Just before they could reach the woman, their bodies jerked back and the dead things were dragged back towards the walls.

“Get them now, Kenny!”

It took him a second to notice the thick elastic cords wrapped around their ankles. “You have got to be fucking kidding me,” he said. Kenny ran forward and pushed the spike into the closest zombie’s eye, then pulled and swung the blade, the razor sharp edge cutting through the remaining zombie’s head. It dropped to the ground. Kenny jumped back as the elastic pulled the bodies back into the walls.