Dying Days 5 (12 page)

The Lich Lord turned and looked at Darlene. "Before you say anything or do something you think will help, I'd like to explain what I'm doing. Can you give me a minute before you try to save him?"

"As long as the zombie stays where it is," Darlene said. She didn't know what he was planning but she could guess. It wasn't going to be good. Had The Lich Lord been torturing people, doing insane experiments on the living? "And this had better be good, because right now I want to slice you apart until there's nothing left."

The Lich Lord shrugged. "Fair enough. I'd crush your windpipe before you got even close to me, but that really isn't the point. The point is this..."

Darlene watched The Lich Lord walk over to the man, who was now pleading for his life. When The Lich Lord put a finger to his lips, the man grew quiet.

"I would be lying if I said he was the first I've had to use. In fact, he is the fifth. I've tried every conceivable way to do this. It still hasn't worked." The Lich Lord turned back to Darlene. "This man has inoperable cancer. His tumor will burst and kill him within six months. I never choose my subjects if they are truly healthy."

"You are quite the humanitarian," Darlene said.

"Interesting choice of words. I'm going to cure this plague and restore the human race back to its early, glory days," The Lich Lord said.

"Forgive me if I think you're full of shit. I've seen way too many movies to know we're to the part where you lull me into a false sense of security so the betrayal and pain is that much more intense. I'm going to guess you have either my baby or John behind curtain number one and I'll have to beg you to let one of them live," Darlene said. She was attempting to not only use her sarcasm to calm down but she was also stalling. She didn't want to see what was coming.

"You forget: I was once merely human. I watched all the same movies. I read all the same books. I remember everything my past self lived through and more. Even the things I thought I hadn't truly learned, like advanced mathematics and an abundance of history." The Lich Lord smiled. "I also retain my own sarcasm and the ability to understand yours."

"I don't think I'm going to like this," Darlene said.

"I disagree. I took the liberty of taking some of your blood and running it through our friend here. It mixed in and actually took over, which was fascinating and unexpected."

Darlene was pissed. "You drew blood from me?"

"You weren't in a position for me to ask you. I thought it would be fine once you saw what I was trying to accomplish. No harm came to you, as you well know. If this works..."

Darlene stared at The Lich Lord. "Wait... is your blood inside me?"

He shook his head. "I drew blood from you for these experiments. But I didn't know what mixing the blood inside you would do, so I mixed some of my blood with yours as well. This man will have a combination of our blood. This is the first time I'm trying this and I think it will work."

"I don't want to see this," Darlene said. She'd seen enough outside these four walls for six lifetimes. And, despite her bravado, she knew she was a wrong word or two from falling apart thinking about her missing family.

"Then close your eyes, but you aren't leaving this room until you see if we've done it," The Lich Lord said.

"There is no we in this."

He laughed. "Of course there is. My knowledge and our blood will cure the world. You still doubt me?"

"I still don't trust you. It seems to me you're trying to splice DNA to create the best food source for you or something equally devious. Sorry if I'm a little skeptical of you suddenly wanting to help the human race," Darlene said.

"I don't blame you at all. If I were in your shoes, I'd be calling bullshit, too. But this isn't. I know you won't believe me when I say trust me. I get it. All I ask is that you watch to see what I've hopefully accomplished today. If it doesn't work... we'll switch to Plan B," The Lich Lord said.

"What is Plan B, or should I even ask?"

"Cross your fingers this works." He went to the zombie in the cage and unlatched the gate keeping it from moving through the middle cage. The Lich Lord produced a knife from a sheath in his back pocket.

When the zombie banged against the gate and it opened, the man with his arm tied up began to scream.

"I can't watch," Darlene muttered, eyes fixed on the poor guy about to get eaten alive. She didn't see the point in this cruelty. Maybe she could surprise The Lich Lord and knock him down or at least run past him and save the man.

But she couldn't close her eyes, her body shaking from the shock of seeing this in person and so close and not being able to stop it. She'd seen too many people die already. So many innocent people ripped apart and ravaged by the dead.

A small voice in her head told her it was for the good of the survivors. What if this worked? What if her blood could save mankind? This man was going to die soon, anyway.

It took forever for the zombie to traverse the twenty feet to the other side and finally sink its teeth into the man's arm. The man was screaming and trying unsuccessfully to fight off the zombie, punching with his other hand and struggling to pull away.

The Lich Lord stepped up to the cage and reached inside, grabbing the zombie by the head. He stabbed the zombie in the head with the knife until it stopped moving, teeth slipping off of the man's bloody and ravaged arm.

"Now, we wait," The Lich Lord said. He was staring at the screaming man. "How do you feel?"

"Like I just got bit, you sick fuck," he yelled. "Just kill me before I turn into a monster."

"The goal is for you not to turn into a monster. If you show no signs of the disease spreading, it will be a victory. You will be our first successful test case. You will live. Of course, we'll then need to patch up your arm so you don't get an infection." The Lich Lord turned and smiled at Darlene. "Don't you see what we might have done?"

"How long does this usually take?" Darlene asked. She obviously had a rough idea from all of the deaths she'd seen since the beginning. She remembered vividly how her father said he'd been bitten at the supermarket and came home, already changing.

He'd been sick for two hours before she knew it was more than rabies or flu, and by then it was too late. The stubborn old man had fought her about going to the hospital, and by the time he was too far gone and she wanted to take him, the roads had been closed and the world outside was going to Hell.

Darlene, in her weaker moments, hated herself for not saving him. What if she'd taken him right to the hospital? But she knew it was a lie. There was no cure. Her dad would've died and turned in the emergency room or in the waiting room with everyone else, and she'd be dead right now. Undead. Roaming the streets of Maine.

Their family wasn't much help, as she found out they were dealing with the zombie apocalypse themselves. Aunt Mary and the rest of the Bobich and Talbot sides of the family had their own problems, and this wasn't just confined to Maine.

Darlene had pulled the trigger of her Desert Eagle and put her father down.

The Lich Lord patted Darlene lightly on the arm, breaking the spell.

"Are you still with me?"

Darlene nodded and came back to the present, listening as the man kept screaming. The Lich Lord had given the man alcohol and gauze.

The Lich Lord laughed. "He wouldn't let me near him to clean it. I hope he does a good job or he'll die from the infection. I did tell him, when he survived thanks to your blood, I'd give him a bottle of Jim Beam. He seemed to calm down after that."

"What do we do now?" Darlene asked.

"We wait and see what happens."

*   *   *   *   *

Heath stared out the window, rifle aimed at the ceiling of the house.

John dragged another dirty mattress from the other bedroom and dropped it on the floor. "We'll sleep in one room tonight. Take turns watching the street. If this is their territory, they'll be close. The smart ones might still be looking for us and the dumb ones are always roaming without fail."

"I snore," Heath said. "Unless I roll onto my stomach. You have to make sure I stay on my stomach."

"I'll kick you," John said.

Heath smiled but didn't look at John. "I'm sure you'd have no problem doing it, too. I don't blame you, either." He glanced at John before turning back to looking outside. "I sure hope you snore when I'm on watch."

John had to laugh at his joke. "Look at us clowning around together like old friends."

Heath shrugged. "It isn't that I hate you. I just... we had a rhythm and a system before you showed up. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't anything other than stay where we are and wait this out. You got Lincoln all riled up and now everyone is dead."

"You're really blaming me for this? Sitting in the middle of a copse of trees wasn't the answer. You all got lucky. Someday soon a large pack of zombies or a smart one was going to attack, and you had no real way to defend your position. It was proven, too. The only long-term solution was to get to a fortified position. Even a house like this would've been better than the woods," John said.

"You don't think we tried this already? It doesn't work with such a large group. Too much noise. We tried to take over a dead-end street but within hours the zombies came. Kids playing, adults talking too loud as if nothing was wrong in the world. A false sense of security. It didn't work," Heath said.

"From what I gather, this Daytona Beach group has four walls and electricity. Manpower and food. Survivors who have banded together for one cause: survival. It seems simple enough to me," John said.

"And your wife and baby being there help, too."

"Of course it does." John didn't think his baby was there, though. But he knew Darlene was alive and he needed her to get their baby back. It was the driving forces that kept him going: find Darlene and then find their child.

"What if neither of them was there? What if you knew they were both somewhere else?"

"I'd head to wherever they are," John admitted.

Heath snorted. "So all your talk about safety and this safe haven is shit. You just want to find your family."

"Is that so horrible?"

"Not at all. Just don't blow smoke up my ass about Daytona Beach being anything more than a quick stop for you. And stop trying to sell it to me, too. I don't give a rat's ass one way or another. I just want to survive long enough to see this shit either stop or consume all of us."

"I want my family back," John said.

"What would you do after that?"

"Find somewhere safe and settle in and enjoy their company," John said.

"So, Fantasy Land? Shit, the place you're looking for is only in your head," Heath said.

John smiled. "It will give me something to strive for. A place to keep moving towards and a goal to keep me alive."

"I guess I can't argue with that. Valid point. I just want a good woman with a nice rack of real tits and a carton of cigarettes. Oh, and a lighter would be helpful."

"I'm not tired. I can take first watch," John said.

Heath shook his head. "I'm good for a few hours. Not tired, either, and I'm already in position. I'm really hungry, though."

The pair had already checked the house and the ones on either side and across the street for food, but they'd all been ransacked ages ago.

John put his head down on the dirty mattress and hoped he could get a couple of hours of sleep before it was his turn to stare out the window onto this shitty world.

Chapter Sixteen

The Lich Lord was busy with one of his secret projects and Vee couldn’t get inside The Ocean Center past the main hallway and offices. The arena portion had been locked and barred and Vee knew better than to knock and disturb The Lich Lord with her problems.

But it’s a major issue
, she thought. She raised her hand to bang on the door but thought better of it, instead leaving in a huff. Vee knew she couldn’t confront Jeff on her own but maybe if she had some backup he wouldn’t be so aggressive. There was no doubt in her mind Jeff had killed Lola and left her body for anyone to find.

Vee thought of the cute guy, Juan, who’d come in with Lola. They were just friends. Vee had kept her distance from Juan while she was trying to keep order in the compound. The last thing she needed was a love interest to confuse everything.

What would she say to Jeff? Vee had no clue. But something needed to be said. What if he was a crazed serial killer? Just because the zombie apocalypse had reared its ugly head didn’t mean people stopped being who they truly are.

We don’t know who Jeff is or where he really came from. His story about being a corrections officer could be a lie. What if he had been in prison when this started? Jeff could be an escaped mass murderer. He could be picking the living off one at a time because he can’t help it. How many others had gone missing on his watch? Maybe not everyone who went on patrol with Jeff was killed by the zombies
, Vee thought.