by Jamie Davis
“I wouldn’t attack people. I love getting to see new people in my travels.”
“Well, the local human authorities are a bit strained because of the attacks. There’s an armed police team set up to neutralize any threats. That includes you.”
“Whoa, neutralize? I know what that means. Why would they shoot me? All I wanted to do was to try the cherry slushy. I could see the sign advertising it from the window at the museum, and it intrigued me. I thought I could come over and get a taste and still get back before anyone would notice me missing. I put on a coat I found outside the security guard’s break room so I’d be mostly dressed.”
Dean shook his head. This wasn’t an attack at all, just a case of mistaken identity from the dispatchers. “Let us get you hidden in the back of the ambulance and then we can help you get yourself situated and back over to the museum.”
They had just closed the doors on the ambulance when the first police van pulled up, and armed SWAT team members unloaded and swarmed into the convenience store. Dean turned and looked through the back windows of the ambulance to see Bill starting to replace the cloth wrappings around the mummy’s legs and torso. His attention was drawn back to the front of the convenience store by a shout from one of the officers there. He saw a person who must have been the store clerk standing next to one of the black-clad officers. The clerk pointed to Dean, gesturing wildly while he talked.
The officers all turned and looked his way. He couldn’t think of anything else to do, so he waved and shot them a big, toothy grin. One of the officers waved back until another QRT member smacked him across the back of his head. The leader of the team said something to the clerk, and then the group of heavily armed policemen crossed the parking lot to where Dean was standing.
“Flynn, do you have our suspect in the back of that ambulance?”
Dean recognized the voice as that of Officer Craig Hamm from the police department’s own Station U unit. He waited until the officers came closer to answer.
“Hey, Craig. I think we’ve got a case of mistaken identity here. This wasn’t one of our attacks at all, just a hungry mummy with the munchies. He’s in the back getting wrapped up again.”
Craig came over and looked past Dean into the back of the ambulance. The officer shook his head and glanced back at Dean then turned to his SWAT team.
“Stand down.”
The weapons were lowered, and the police officers turned to go back to their van.
Craig Hamm turned back to Dean.
“You guys have to be more careful. You’re supposed to stage and wait for us.”
“I had a hunch.”
“A hunch?” Craig said, his voice rising in volume and pitch. “You can’t go rushing into a situation like this because of a hunch.”
Dean hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the ambulance. “This guy had nothing to do with any attacks and didn’t deserve to be potentially shot by you guys before he had a chance to explain himself. I would have thought you all would be thankful not to have to shoot anyone.”
“It doesn’t matter what happened here or didn’t happen here. This isn’t how the response is supposed to go, and I’m going to have to file a report about this. You all are supposed to stage first and let us come in ahead of you. That’s protocol.”
“I’ve been in trouble before,” Dean replied with a shrug. “I’ll be in trouble again. In the end, I can live with myself when I’m doing what is right and saving people’s lives.”
“We’ll see about that.” Craig turned back to the few of his team members who were still standing around. They were starting to grumble among themselves. “Come on guys, let’s get back to the station. This was a false alarm.”
Dean waited until the officers loaded back into their police van and left the convenience store parking lot before he opened the back of the ambulance and checked on Bill’s progress with their patient. The other paramedic was just finishing up securing the final strip of cloth. Bill looked at Dean with a big grin.
“Perfect timing, Dean. As you can see, I’m just wrapping up.”
Both Dean and their mummified patient groaned at the pun.
Bill laughed and introduced Dean to the patient.
“Dean, meet his royal highness Prince Ahmat of the royal house of Egypt.”
“Ahmat is just fine, Paramedic Bill. I thank you, both for your understanding and assistance. Perhaps I can offer some assistance to you at some time in the future.”
“All in a day’s work, Ahmat,” Dean said. “No need to do anything special.”
“What was all that commotion with the officers about?” Ahmat asked.
Dean explained about the recent attacks around the city. “When the description came in about you in the store, I think the dispatchers assumed it was another zombie attack.”
“I’m no zombie,” Ahmat said. He sounded indignant. “I’m a proud example of my nation’s heritage. I travel around to talk with museum curators and historians, demonstrating how mummies were made back in the day and how to spot fakes.”
“Like I told them out there. I had a hunch you weren’t one of the attackers when we got here. I’m glad I was right. Now, if we can just find the location of the person orchestrating all the attacks.”
“How are they controlling the zombies?” Ahmet asked. “That kind of thing takes a great deal of power.”
“We think it’s through the use of a relic called the Finger of Azrial. It belonged to an Eldara once upon a time. Now an ancient vampire with a grudge is using it to try and raise an army of undead in the city, and we can’t find him to stop it.”
“Hmmm, I used to know a high priest who used a locator incantation based on a pyramid’s natural focusing ability, locating powerful magic used in the city of Alexandria.”
“Wow, that would be something we could use in a situation like this. Too bad he isn’t a mummy, too.” Dean responded.
“Oh, he is,” Ahmet said. “I’ll have to see if I can track him down. He might be able to tell me how to cast the spell in the simulated pyramid they have me living in a while at the museum. How can I reach you if I figure this out for you?”
Dean fished a piece of paper out of his pocket and wrote his name and number down on it. He handed it to the mummy. “If you manage to get that spell, we could stop this whole thing and find the vampire behind it all.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Ahmet said taking the paper and tucking it into a fold in his wrappings. “Well, I think I’ve caused enough excitement for the night. Can you drive me over to the museum’s back lot? I can get back inside that way past the guard station.”
“Sure,” Dean said. He climbed out while Bill buckled their passenger into the back seat for safety. A few minutes later they were backing up to the museum loading dock and unloading their royal passenger. Dean leaned out his window and waived goodbye as their patient shambled back into the museum. He waited until Bill climbed back into the front seat and then pulled away. They both could check off a Station U bucket list item tonight. Neither of them had ever met a real-life mummy before. They both laughed as they drove back to the station. The other paramedics were going to be so jealous.
Chapter 15
By the end of his shift, Dean was exhausted. He could barely keep his eyes open on the way home from work and was looking forward to doing nothing but grabbing a quick bite to eat and going straight to bed. He was in the process of making a peanut butter sandwich when Jaz called. Dean picked up the phone and opened it in speaker mode so he could keep working on his dinner.
“Hey, Jaz. What’s up?”
“Dean, you’re off work, right?”
“Uh, yeah,” Dean replied. “I’m home and making a snack before bed. I’m totally exhausted.”
“Great, but no time for sleep. I need your help. I’m on my way over there now. I’ll explain after I pick you up.”
Dean started to complain and ask for more information, but she’d already cut the connection. It took him a mom
ent to process what to do next. He was standing there in shorts and a T-shirt, ready for bed. His sandwich was half-made, and he was apparently supposed to head off on some secret mission in a few minutes. Dean shook his head and went into his bedroom to shower and change his clothes into something more appropriate for going out again. He hoped the shower woke him up a little bit.
He was out of the shower and finished making his sandwich fifteen minutes later. Dean was taking his first bite of the snack when he heard a car’s horn honking outside, and a text message lit up his phone. Jaz was here. Well, that was fast, he thought. Even though he was tired, he was looking forward to seeing Jaz again and was a little intrigued about what she had going on that needed his immediate attention. Grabbing the rest of his sandwich and his keys, Dean headed out of his apartment over his landlord’s garage and headed down to the street.
Jaz was pulled up in front of the driveway in one of the Errington Security unmarked black SUVs. He heard the door locks disengage as he approached and he pulled open the passenger door and climbed into the front seat. Jaz was in her black tactical outfit with a web harness over a black T-shirt. She had a black Errington logo ball cap on with her blonde ponytail pulled through the back. She was in assault mode. Dean felt overdressed in his khakis and a navy blue polo shirt.
“Geeze, Jaz, you look like you’re going to war.”
“Not sure what we’re running into on this one, Dean. Better to be prepared than caught flat-footed.”
She gunned the engine and pulled out into the street, heading west into the city. Dean hurried to put on his seat belt while she sped down the street and headed for the highway.
“What’s the hurry? Do we need to call in to dispatch for some help?”
Jaz shook her head. “No, this is a private job. I thought I might need your input, though. Besides, you’re always saying we need to hang out more together.” She shot him a glance and a broad smile.
Dean had to admit she looked good, even in her work clothes. He had said they should spend more time around each other. While he hadn’t necessarily meant more time doing work-related things, Dean guessed this was as good as it was going to get for a while given the crisis nature of things right now. He pushed his tiredness down and sat up in the seat and paid attention to where they were going.
Jaz was heading out towards the coastal region on Elk City’s outskirts. That could mean the marinas and harbor area, or it could mean some of the more expensive waterfront properties kept by the area’s wealthiest citizens. It turned out to be the latter as they passed the exit for the harbor and turned off the expressway and headed out onto Elk Point where all the rich folks lived.
“You said this is a private job. Are we headed to one of your client’s homes?”
“One of my former clients, actually,” Jaz replied. “Max Herron used to be one of our best local clients. He has business interests all over the country, and we used to provide all of his security. That changed with the current situation. Between the death of my father and the onset of what looks like a zombie apocalypse, Max decided to look elsewhere for his personal security needs.”
“So we’re headed out to try and win him back?”
“Not exactly,” Jaz explained. “He’s having some sort of issue with his new security boss and called me to come and fix it. I’m not sure what the issue is exactly. He wouldn’t tell me over the phone. I didn’t have any of my regular security backup available to come along, so I called you.”
“Why me?” Dean asked. “I’m not even armed, and I don’t want to be.”
“You’re better at this than you realize. You think quick on the fly, and something tells me that there’s an Unusual side to this problem. Something in the way Max skirted my questions about who he’d hired.”
Jaz pulled the SUV up to the gate blocking access to a long, tree-lined drive. Dean could see a huge mansion in the distance, set right on the water. Jaz pulled up to a speaker box next to the entrance and pressed a button. They waited for a few minutes, and then she pressed it again. Still no answer.
Taking her phone out, Jaz was tapping a message into her phone when the unmistakable sound of two gunshots sounded from the direction of the house. Jaz shoved the phone back into a cradle mounted on her harness and dug in her pocket until she produced a keycard. She reached out and swiped it through the reader in the speaker box and looked to the gate. She sighed in relief as the gate swung inward.
“We installed this system, and we had a backdoor master key installed so we can always gain access,” Jaz said, putting the magnetic card back in her pocket. “I guess Max never had his new security head change the locks. Good for us, though. Hang on.”
Dean was pressed backward into his seat as she gunned the big eight-cylinder engine in the SUV to full speed and raced up the long, winding driveway towards the mansion. They pulled around to the side of the large home next to a detached garage big enough for six or more cars. More gunshots sounded from the rear of the home on the waterfront side.
“Dean, grab the emergency first aid bag from the back. It has all the normal supplies you might need plus a few extras I threw in when I figured you were coming along.”
Jaz jumped out of the car, pausing only long enough to grab her katana and slide the sword scabbard over one shoulder into the loops set in the back of her harness to hold it. Then she drew her pistol and ran for the corner of the house. Dean opened the rear lift gate and found the first aid trauma bag in the back amidst the other assorted cases and supplies she usually kept back there. He jogged over to join Jaz at the side of the house.
She was peeking around the corner to see where the shots had come from. He leaned out to look as well. When he did, he saw a man and woman running across the lawn, pursued by a group of five or six zombies. The man was holding a revolver and was trying to reload on the run, something Dean thought was probably impossible since the man was dropping the bullets as fast as he could pull them from his pocket.
Jaz cursed aloud and started running after the man and woman. Dean followed, figuring it was better to stay close to his armed companion in case there were more rampaging zombies around. The man and woman ran down to the water and into some sort of boathouse there. They slammed the door shut behind them just as the first of the zombies reached the building. The creature bashed at the glass window set in the top half of the door, breaking it inward and started climbing inside. Dean could hear shouts and screams coming from the boathouse’s interior.
His partner assumed a shooting position and with a quick succession of double-tap shots, dropped each of the zombies clustered around the entrance to the boathouse. Dean was taken aback by her ferocity. These zombies were likely under Artur’s control and not responsible for their actions. They didn’t deserve to die like this. Still, as he considered the current situation, it might have been the only option. There was still screaming coming from inside, and Dean knew at least one of the zombies had made it into the building.
He and Jaz ran up to the door and looked inside through the broken window. The man and woman were backed into a corner, and he was fending off the zombie with an oar, pressing the blade end against the creature’s chest, holding it at bay. Jaz stopped to take another shot, but Dean placed a hand on her arm.
“There’s only one. Let me try something first. Cover me, though, in case it doesn’t work.”
Jaz started to protest but stopped and stepped back so he could open the door and enter. Dean reached around through the broken window and unlocked the door, swinging it open and walking inside. The man and woman looked his way and shouted for help. Dean cringed as the zombie noticed their shift in attention and turned to see him sneaking up behind it. The zombie was a woman, dressed in a maid’s uniform of some sort. Dean held out a hand and tried to talk to her.
“Ma’am, I’m Dean Flynn. I’m a paramedic, and I just want to help stop whatever is controlling you. I’m going to come closer and try to help you, alright?”
The zombie
woman seemed confused by something. She snarled at him, not saying anything intelligible he could understand, but she didn’t advance on him either. Dean took a step forward extending his hand forward, palm out. He was trying to do something he’d never consciously tried before. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but he didn’t want this woman to go the way of the other zombies outside if he could help it.
He took a step and then another until he was at arms’ length away from the woman. She had still not attacked him, though she seemed to be struggling against some internal control. He reached out and placed his hand on her forehead while he said a quick prayer for help.
The instantaneous effect was evident as she stopped her guttural snarling and stood up a bit straighter. From Dean’s side of things, he got the same glimpse into the mind of the person controlling the zombie woman as he did when he touched Brynne in the same way. This time, he didn’t see Artur, though. This time he was looking at another woman. He looked up in alarm and pointed at the woman standing next to the man in the corner.
“You. You’re the one who turned this poor woman into this form.” Dean shouted to Jaz. “She’s the one behind all these zombies. She turned them but lost control, and they started attacking her.”
Dean wasn’t sure how he knew all this exactly, but it was as evident as it could be to him through the connection he had through the zombie maid. He didn’t want to let go right away for fear she’d revert to her previous feral state. Looking to Jaz, now walking up to stand next to him, he asked for her advice.
“Jaz, I’ve got control of this woman, but I’m not sure what to do next. That one might still have a way of controlling her.” He pointed to the woman in the corner. She wore a Caribbean print dress and head wrap. She had a necklace of large crystals and had somehow managed to keep her heels on her feet despite the rapid flight down from the main house to the boathouse.
The woman gave Dean a defiant look while the man next to her looked at her in horror. Jaz pointed her semi-automatic pistol at the woman while she talked to the gentleman standing next to her.