The Dead Hunger Series: Books 1 through 5 (108 page)

“But what the hell does estrogen have to do with their brains?” asked Whit.

“Everything,” said Hemp.  “Estrogen is vital to brain function.  One of the things it does, and does very well, is to balance neurotransmitters in the brain.  The neurotransmitters determine brain speed, how we coordinate things, and basically how we function.  Without enough, a woman may find she loses track of things, like her purse or car keys, or has insomnia.  Basically, it improves memory and brain function in extraordinary ways.”

“So what are
they
getting from it?”

“Well, it all makes sense, because it’s also tied to the pituitary gland, as practically everything else is.  But let me lay out for you really succinctly what we may be up against.”

“Please, already,” said Gem.  She was upset with herself for being short with Hemp, but she found it was impossible not to be.  She was worried as hell.

“Number one.  They are developing more intelligence.  Not awareness of what they’re doing – at least I don’t believe so.  Not yet.  But perhaps they’re gaining instinctive intelligence.  Their coordinative abilities, such as how to wage an attack.  They may have some awareness of when we’re most vulnerable, such as when we sleep.”

“Are you shittin’ me?” asked Dave.

“It’s speculation, but no, not at all.  The two in the mobile lab are somewhat immune to urushiol, as well.  I don’t know whether this holds true with others, but it’s not killing them.  Now it only affects their skin, rather like a bad sunburn.”

“The news just keeps on getting worse,” said Whit.  “I should go while I still have some hope of making it back home.”

“There’s more,” said Hemp.  “Over time, we’ve begun not to really look at them as female or male anymore, except in the most subconscious sense, am I correct?  We just see zombies.  Creatures.”

“Because they can all kill us,” said Dave.

“Exactly,” said Hemp.  “The gender doesn’t matter, because they’re all an equal threat.  That is probably why we haven’t put this together before.  We saw them as zombies, and didn’t think to differentiate between the genders.  So when we saw some strange anomaly in their movement or actions, we never tied it to just the females.  But think of it.  Besides the vapor, have you noticed anything extraordinary about the male of the species?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Right.  But now we need to keep our eyes open.  And there’s something else that I wasn’t going to mention, but I might as well get it out in the open.”

“Don’t tell me.  WAT-5 doesn’t work anymore,” said Lisa.

“No, it still does. I don’t know how long that will last, but for now, it works.  But these two creatures out here had a connection.  They had some … I don’t know whether to call it telepathy or what.  But they had some ability to communicate – to connect with one another.”

Dave jumped to his feet.  “Flex and I saw that today, Hemp!  With two females!  They took off in different directions at the same time, coming at us.”

“That is exactly what I’m describing,” said Hemp.  “It’s real, and it’s serious.”

“I need a nap,” said Gem.  “And I might not ever come back down.”

“What about the speech you gave us a few minutes ago, Gem?” asked Lisa.  “You’re my damned inspiration, Gem!  You and Charlie.  So don’t throw in the towel, because as long as you’re in the fight, so are a lot of other people who respect you.”

Gem looked at Lisa and knew she was right.  She nodded as she stood up and waved to the others as she mounted the steps.  “Sorry, Lisa.  I’m not saying I’m done by a long shot, but this is a lot, and I need to close my eyes and try to forget it for a little while.”

“I’ll be up, Gem,” said Charlie.  “I could use a nap myself.”

Gem went upstairs and into her room.  She sat on the bed and untied her shoes, kicked them off and fell back.

She didn’t sleep a wink.

*****

The others stayed downstairs, and Hemp wasn’t quite sure what to say.  They’d come so far, and he had needed their support often.  They always acted extraordinarily grateful for his knowledge and abilities, from weapons to lock picking to medical, but inside, he was beginning to feel the odds were stacking up against them.

“Any questions?” he asked.

“I’m gonna let Gem have a bit of time to herself,” said Flex.  “But Hemp, what do you think the next move should be?  Is there any way to reverse this crap and keep these zombie women from getting smarter?”

Hemp shrugged.  He hated shrugging, but it was automatic when the answer hadn’t found its way into his head yet.

“Until I am able to come up with something, we need to come up with a method of safely patrolling this town and killing every one we come across.  But the ratz won’t be as easy.”

“At least they’re not reproducing,” said Charlie.  “When they’re gone, they’re gone.”

“Exactly,” said Hemp.  “And while that may not seem like much hope, what we have on our side is there aren’t likely to be very many of what we call diggers in the ratz.”

“Why not?” asked Dave.

“Because their small bodies decay so quickly, and they’re not buried, so they’re exposed to the elements or eaten by other animals.  The only reason the humans are able to crawl out is because they’re protected by a box of our design for that purpose.”

“Ah, the coffin,” said Lisa.  “What the hell was the point … ever?”

“Looks like those pine boxes are comin’ back to bite us in the ass, Hemp,’ said Flex.

“So there’s no equivalent to the estrogen issue with the female ratz?” asked Dave.

“It’s astronomically against the odds,” said Hemp.  “So far the urushiol appears to be killing them as dead and as quickly as ever.  And clearly the WAT-5 is our best defense, because we can walk among them.”

Dave sat forward suddenly.  “Hemp.  Look.  We’ve got enough of the base material for WAT-5 that there’s no reason we can’t just lock ourselves in that brewery and mass produce it until we have enough to supply everyone left in Concord for years.  Then we don’t need to worry about staying safe.  We go out there with guns and urushiol, fill the damned modified street sweepers, and clean up this place.”

The street sweepers were permanently stocked with urushiol, and the brushes had been replaced with ridged discs that flung the mixture out thirty feet on both sides.  It had been a joint effort by Jacko and Hemp, and worked like a charm.  It had been Jacko’s idea to remove the brushes, raise up the motors that powered them, and center them between the tires.  Hemp had handled the liquid connection to the spinning discs with quick disconnect fittings that pivoted, and the rest was history.

Hemp would miss Jacko.

“You know, Dave?  That’s a good plan.  Has anyone heard from Kev?”

“Last I heard he was at the brewery,” said Whit.  He was there with Kimberly, Vikki and Victoria mixing up more urushiol.  They figured we were gonna need a boatload of it.”

“They’re right, but WAT-5, as Dave said, is more important.”

“No shit,” said Flex.  “There are a few ways to kill ‘em, but only one way that they won’t kill you if given the chance.”

“It’s almost dark,” said Whit.  “I gotta get back across town before it gets there.”

“Take the portable Ham,” said Charlie.  “Hemp, is it in the lab?”

“No, we’ve got a pair in the kitchen,” he said.  “You take a WAT-5 and I’ll get them.”

Dave fished a baggie from his pocket and dropped six of the wafers into his hand.  “Here.  Take these with you, and keep an eye on the time.  You’ll be okay out there, right?”

“Hell yes, with this stuff.  I won’t let it wear off again.”

Hemp returned with the radio.  “Please don’t,” he said, passing it to Whit.  “Is that what happened with Jacko?”

Whit nodded.  “None of us realized it until it was practically too late.”

“It was too late for him.”

Whit hung his head.  “Yeah.  I know.”

Dave walked over and put a hand on Whit’s shoulder.  “You know what, man?  It’s called personal fucking responsibility.  You all fucked up, and any one of you – hell, every one of you – could’ve been killed today.  Jacko’s number was up this time.  We play it smart and we make sure our numbers don’t come up.  When we start to get lax, we think of Jacko and we let him be an example for us.  A reminder.  Okay?”

Whit looked slowly up at Dave.  “You know, you guys started to like Jacko.  I never did.  I thought he was a prick to the fuckin’ thousandth degree, and I never did think much of him.  But I didn’t want to see the man dead.  So yeah, Dave.  Thanks.  I will try to let the memory of Jacko’s fuckup keep me alive.  I think it’s the least he can do, seein’ as how when he was alive, he pissed me off more times than I can count.”

“Tell us how you feel,” said Flex, finally cracking a smile.  “Really, Whit.”

Whit smiled back and shook his head.  “That’s why I
do
like you guys.  You’re real.  And you’re kinda sick, when you get down to brass tacks.”

“Take the wafer and shut the fuck up,” said Charlie.

“Yes, ma’am.”

*****

“I’m going up to check on my girl,” said Flex. 

“Babe?” asked Charlie, her eyes on Hemp.  “You ready for bed?”

“I am,” he said.  Never more ready.  This was a long, long day.”

“They’re all long days, aren’t they?” asked Lisa. 

The three of them nodded together as they headed up the stairs.  “Bolt the doors,” called Flex.

“Absolutely,” said Dave.

After they left, Dave pulled the baggie out of his pocket and popped a wafer in his mouth.

“Don’t waste them,” said Lisa.  “You’re not going anywhere.”

“I am,” he said.  “I’m going out for a walk.”

Lisa glared at him.  “Are you kidding me, Davey?”

“Take a WAT-5 and you can join me,” he said, smiling.  “I want to talk to you anyway.  I really need to stretch my legs and get some air.”

“Can’t you just walk around the living room?”

“Nope.  Quick.  Take one.  I don’t know how much time you have left on your last dose, and if you fall asleep, I’m going without you.”

“You would, wouldn’t you?”

Dave nodded.  He loved his sister, but messing with her was a favorite pastime.

She held out her hand and he slipped another wafer from his bag, which now only had about six remaining.  She put it in her mouth, scrunched up her face as she waited for something to happen, and smiled when it didn’t.

“Guess I had time left.”

Dave looked at his watch.  “Yep.  About two hours.  Our walk won’t be that long, but I’d rather you have too much than chance it.”

“You’re a good brother.  What are we taking?”

“The usual.  I’m just taking the Walthers, though.  You?”

“I like the MP5 Hemp uses.”

“I got one,” said Dave. 

“I know,” said Lisa.  “That’s why I said that.”

Dave retrieved it from beside the front door, removed the magazine, and found it half empty.  He sat at the kitchen table.  “Sis, would you open that pantry and get me a box of nine by nineteens?”

She rummaged around in the pantry for a few seconds, and pulled out a box.  “9x19mm?”

“That’s them.”  He took them from her and opened the box, filling the long, curved magazine.

“Ready-o?” 

Lisa laughed.  “You used to say that when I was little.”

“Yep,” said Dave.  “And now you know I still say it.”

“This still makes me nervous, you know.”

“Me, too,” said Dave.  And he was serious.  From the first moment he was able to walk among the zombies with no fear of attack, he never shook the feeling that any moment they would turn on him and tear him to shreds.

Dave pulled the house key from the hook mounted above the coffee maker, and smiled.  He had no doubt that Gem would literally kill the person who attempted to remove the Mr. Coffee brewer from the premises. 

On his way to the door, Dave lifted two bottles of urushiol from the table, gave one to Lisa and hung one from his belt.  Lisa took the radio and clipped it to her jeans.

“Armed and ready, sis.”

“Yeah, we are, Davey.”

Dave threw the door open to sweep away any lurking ratz, and they quickly went outside.  He closed the door fast behind them, making sure none of them got inside.

They walked down the driveway, and before they even got to the bottom, Dave said, “I don’t want to do this, Lisa.”

She looked at him in the full moonlight.  “This walk was
your
idea.”

“No, not the walk, stupid.  I don’t want to hang out and be a beacon for zombies forever.”

“None of us do, Davey.  We’ll get rid of them.”

“No, sis.  We won’t.  You heard Hemp.  We’re like a goddamned beacon, and as long as we’re clustered here, they’re going to come here and find us.”

“Hemp’s working on a permanent WAT-5.  Maybe like a pill you just take once a day or something,” said Lisa.