"Where's Chris?" Brad interjected.
"He... was attacked." Gabe looked at the ground as he continued. "He didn't make it."
Everyone began talking at once asking what happened and expressing disbelief.
"Something weird happened too." Gabe said, getting everyone's attention. "The zombie spoke."
"What?" Several people asked at once.
"Guys, I know that is crazy bad, but we have a problem right now."
Everyone turned around at the sound of Jack's voice. Leaning up against the pickup truck, Jill had her jean's rolled up and Jack was down on one knee examining a bloody wound on her ankle.
"Jill got bitten..."
Another wave of questions and people talking over each other, but Gabe could see that Jill was barely holding back tears and he didn't blame her.
"Jack and Brad, please take her to the main building and help Shirley make her comfortable."
"Mercedes and Eric and Kevin and Kelly, pair up and circle the perimeter and be on alert, some of those zombies probably didn't make it out of the area and some will probably come back, Watch each other’s back and keep an eye out for Billy, I haven't seen him yet."
"Jill."
The group helping her stopped and she looked back over her shoulders with tears pouring down her face.
"You are going to be okay." Gabe said very matter of factly. "I promise!"
Gabe walked away back towards Chris' body and everyone else headed away to do what they were told.
Gabe stood over Chris' body. He wasn't surprised Chris' hadn't come back. He had just accepted Christ and Gabe reflected that the Holy Spirit is greater than whatever spirit was causing the dead to rise. Gabe also reflected on the fact that something really bad had just happened. Not just that Chris had been killed and Jill bitten, but a zombie had talked. Not only had it talked, but it had also been intelligent. Gabe suspected it had been responsible for the mob of zombies suddenly running through their camp and for their alarm wire not working. He hated to send everyone off on assignments, but he knew that if they stopped to think about it, several of them would have really panicked.
Gabe headed towards the shed to get what he needed to bury Chris.
Chapter 18
That evening everyone met at the fire pit which had become a nightly ritual for everyone at the camp. Those who had gone and patrolled the area grounds reported that there were several wondering zombies found on the ground that afternoon and several more came up the road or straight through the trees, apparently attracted by the earlier gunplay. It was always a nervous bit of business dealing with the flesh-craving dead, but they had been dispatched without any further problems. Many more had been seen walking by the entrance of the campground, heading down the main road back towards the other town.
With the burial of Chris and patrolling for, and killing, zombies on the grounds, Gabe hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Billy about what had happened in the woods. He actually had not seen him the rest of the day so when he finally saw him at the campfire he was anxious to find out what had happened.
“Billy, right after this all started was that you I heard shooting in the woods.”
Absent-mindedly picking at his plate of food, Billy looked up. “What?”
“In the woods... did you see the talking zombie?”
“Talking?” This idea seemed to snap Billy out of his melancholy. “He didn’t talk, but I could see fear and surprise in his eyes when he saw me. And he was holding a jaw… and…”
“And…” Encouraged Gabe.
“I’m pretty sure I knew him. “
Everyone around the campfire was surprised by this and began simultaneously asking him, ‘what, who, and how’, but instead of answering their questions he asked one of his own.
“You said he talked?”
“Yes,” Gabe answered. “He talked right before he killed Chris. But I tried to brain him and hit his jaw instead.”
“Well, he is clearly intelligent than,” Billy nodded in agreement. “We literally almost knocked each other down on the trail as I was coming running when I heard the gunfire and I guess he was running away from you. And when we looked up at each other I saw in his eyes not hunger and the usual one-mindedness intensity, but surprise and recognition.” Billy paused for a second and shook his head. “And then he made a laughing noise. I guess it is what a laugh sounds like when your jaw has been shot off.”
Mercedes processed what he said quicker than anyone else. “So how do you know him.”
Billy looked around everyone at the campfire, even glancing up at Jack keeping watch from the top of the VW, with a conspiring, secretive look on his face. Out of habits born before the dead walked the earth, everyone leaned in closer to hear what he said.
“If I told you this before all of this happened you would think I was a combination nut and idiot.” Billy looked around and nodded at everyone to make sure they understood. “While I was making my way to the top of the NASCAR circuit I got to the point where several years in a row I would be near the top in the points, but never the top, and I would win races but never the BIG races.” He said emphasizing ‘BIG’.
“That’s when I was approached by John Bruce, the actor.”
Everyone shook their heads and looked appropriately impressed by this. John Bruce had been a popular actor, starting out in small tv roles in the early ’60s and becoming a huge star, playing lead man in action, comedy, romance and even very serious movies before making the successful transition to producer and director in his old age, even staring to critical acclaim in his own movies.
“He was a racing fan and we began to hang out on occasion, play gulf and I would visit him on location and we would party and he would come to races and we would hit the golf links the next day.”
Again everyone nodded with appreciation and were impressed. But Brad cut in incredulously, “You’re not saying that this talking Zombie was Mega Star John Bruce are you?”
“No! No. Listen. So I had known him about two years, and I was still a well-known driver in NASCAR but I just hadn’t been able to break into the top of the pack where I was a household name.” Again he paused to make sure he had everyone’s attention.
“That’s when John told me about a private club he was a member of. He told me they had an opening, and when he told me who was in it…” He paused, “Well I’m sworn to secrecy and probably shouldn’t have told you about John, I don’t know that it matters at this point, but they were all people who were the very top in their field and all house hold names.”
The anticipation was killing Brad and he cut in again. “And that is where you met the Zombie? He was one of those guys?”
“Guys and Girls,” Billy corrected. “But no, he wasn’t one of them, he was the leader.”
“Leader?” Gabe asked.
“Yes, it was presented as a club, with steep dues, and at first I was given the impression from the dinners it was just some ‘be the best you’ philosophy and the best networking opportunities on the planet. But slowly they started to introduce me to what the club was about.”
Everyone looked at him and several of them gasped out, “What what!”
“Satan worship.”
This revelation silenced the group.
“So… you’re sure this zombie was this cult leader?”
“Yeah Gabe, I’m positive. I saw him regularly” Billy paused and looked up at the group. “Plus it makes sense.”
“How could a talking zombie that use to be a friend of yours make sense?” Brad asked exasperated.
“He was never my friend. And I had left the group right before his death. I never officially resigned, I just quit showing up. He died about a month before this all started. I guess with his illness and death people hadn’t noticed my absence and I was invited to a meeting that just happened to be the night the zombie apocalypse started.” He paused again before continuing. “Again, I know this sounds crazy, but from the emails and texts I got, it was apparent th
at they wanted to bring him back to life. I told them I would come but of course I never planned to. I thought when they were unsuccessful bringing him back the group would just collapse and go away.”
“But you think they were successful?” Gabe asked.
“It appears they were at least partially successful… but maybe that is why all the dead are coming back! Maybe they did something wrong!”
“You don’t think it is permanent do you?” Kevin asked.
“I don’t know… maybe they drew something wrong or read something wrong…”
“So we have a smart, talking zombie brought back by a cult who can apparently manipulate the other zombies.” Gabe thought for a second before continuing. “How many other cult members are there?”
“There was always 14 of us plus him. I was never sure where his accent was from, and he said his name was Dean Boyard Geal… I never knew if Dean was his name or a job title. “
“I just thought of something else.” Gabe said suddenly.
“Oh no, what else could go wrong.” Kelly asked.
Gabe continued, “If he was surprised to see Billy, the that means Dean attacked us not knowing that Billy Daily NASCAR driver was here.” Gabe let that hang in the air for a minute. Brad was the first one to get it.
“He’s just attacking anyone living… The Catholics!”
“Brad’s right. We don’t know if he already attacked them, or he could be planning to. We need to go warn them.”
Chapter 19
“This is a lot nicer than my little country church.” Gabe said in what Father O’Donnell knew to be a playful compliment. They were standing in the main sanctuary of O’Donnell’s Church. Brad, Eric, Shirley, and Billy were also there admiring the large and posh room.
“Well I tell you, I would have traded all this stained glass for walls when this all started but it turns out the windows are too far up for anyone to reach them on the outside.” Father O’Donnell smiled before continuing, but I’m sure you didn’t come through town for interior decorating tips. Are you on another foraging trip? Did you have any trouble getting here?”
“There is a lot of Zombies out there but we drove down a couple blocks, parked and then ran and hid until we worked our way back here.”
“Well I’m glad you had no problems. We still have supplies from the grocery trip but if you are going out again, we would be glad too…”
“No, I came to warn you.”
“Warn me, that sounds serious.” A few of O’Donnell’s people walked up and joined the gathering. Gabe noticed Jorge and Jeannie among them and nodded at them before continuing.
“I know you wouldn’t think it would be easy to sound crazy in this new world we are living in… but this is going to sound crazy.” O’Donnell just raised his eyebrows, “We came to warn you that there seems to be… a talking zombie…”
“What!” Jorge shouted with surprise. “Well that’s good than… Right? I mean that means they can get better!”
“No, no, no! I’m sorry, but we think this is a special case, and it is not a good thing. It led a bunch of other zombies straight through our camp… after it had taken down the alarm wire with bells and cans we had strung all around.”
Jeannie spoke up this time. “Oh no, was anyone hurt?”
Gabe looked down for a second trying to gain the strength to go on. After a few seconds Brad spoke up for him. “We lost Chris and Jill got bitten.”
“We’re so sorry for your loss. How bad is the bite? Is it life-threatening?” O’Donnell asked with sincere concern.
Gabe looked at him a little confused. “It’s a zombie bite, she is going to die.”
Now it was Father O’Donnell’s turn to look confused. “Oh, I thought she was the girl from your youth group so I thought she was a born-again Christian.”
“She is…”
“Then the bite shouldn’t kill her.” O’Donnell paused. “I mean as long as you don’t lose her from good old fashion infection or gang green, their mouths can be nasty.”
“So you’re saying that if a Christian is bitten, they won’t automatically turn?” Gabe said sounding incredulous.
“I told you before, if they have the Holy Spirit in them, then the zombie spirit… whatever vile demon it is, can’t get into them.” O’Donnell said reassuringly.
“Well that’s good news.” Gabe thought for a minute. “Oh, that is horrible news.” He said hanging his head for a second time in as many minutes.
“What?”
“Donald…”
O’Donnell just shook his head not understanding.
“We gave him antibiotics but he still got sick from a bite and died… If I had made sure he heard the Gospel… He wouldn’t have died.”
“That’s possibly true,” O’Donnell said, “I mean he could have heard the Gospel and still not made a decision for Christ. But we have that obligation with everyone we meet. If we don’t share the gospel with them they could go their whole life ignoring God and end up in hell.” Gabe looked at him hurt which only spurred the Father to go on. “Yes, you should have witnessed to him, preached to him, made sure he understood the gospel, and in this case you saw the immediate result from not doing it, but we both know what Roman’s 6:23 says.”
Gabe looked up at him and together they recited the verse out loud. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“I was in a moment of crisis when I met him. I didn’t even know if I still believed in God, much less the gospel… How could I have been so stupid!”
O’Donnell patted him on the shoulder, “Don’t dwell on it, everyone has their moment of crisis in their faith, but what counts is what you do moving forward.”
“Yes.” Gabe shook his head. “Yeah, okay…” O’Donnell could see that his words of encouragement were what Gabe had needed.
“Moving forward… moving forward. You might have just inspired me O’Donnell!” Gabe said with a smile. “So we came to warn you about this talking zombie, that it purposefully attacked us.” Gabe’s sudden change in gears caught everyone by surprise. “But what you’ve said about sanctifying the dead, and that those things can’t possess believers…”
“Yes…” O’Donnell encouraged.
“Let me explain what we know.” O’Donnell and his people listened without saying a word as Gabe told them about Billy knowing the talking zombie, the cult and how they thought they were all responsible for the Zombies themselves as well as the talking one. When he was done talking O’Donnell took a second to absorb it. “Well, I don’t think you’re crazy, but some of what you’re saying is conjecture, but assuming you’re right, how did I inspire you?”
“Well, Billy you said they were going to do some ritual that you purposefully didn’t attend…” Billy shook his head yes. “And you know where it was going to take place.” Billy shrugged his shoulders unsure of where Gabe was going with these questions but shook his head yes again.
“That’s it then!”
“What?” O’Donnell asked almost exasperated now.
“We go to where this all started and we sanctify it! We break the spell!”
“I’m not sure it works that way…” Jeannie started to interject.
“No, I think he is right. When I was a boy a lot of the people where we lived practiced Santeria and you always had some object that you had to keep safe when they were done.”
“Was this Santeria?” Jeannie asked.
“I’m not saying it was, I’m just saying that I think Gabe is on the right track.” Jorge turned and faced Gabe. “If we think this thing is going to attack us, then I want to go with you and stop it before it can do that.”
“Well I don’t know that it plans to, or even knows about your people, but I wanted to warn you.”
“Look, if it attacked your people then it will attack us if it finds out about us. I have family to protect here!” Jorge said forcefully.
Gabe thought about it for a mome
nt and then he realized only one thing made sense. “Okay, Ya. Let's do this.”
Chapter 20
The fire burned bright down in its pit, lighting everyone’s faces up around the gathering. After the recent attack everyone had their weapons readily available and everyone who had a firearm had them with them.
“So first I want to introduce some people that are here from Father O’Donnell’s group. Some of you have met Jeanni and Jorge and this is Jorge’s cousin Manuel.” Everyone from the campfire greeted them warmly. “The reason they are here is what I wanted to talk to everyone about.” There was a general murmur of questions from those gathered around but Gabe pushed forward with what he had to say. “when we went to warn them about the talking zombie it was pointed out there may be a way to stop him.” Again those around the fire began to ask questions and express their surprise and doubt. “Billy thinks he knows where this all started and we think there is a chance we can end it.”
“A chance!” Brad interjected as if he was clarifying the point for everyone else.
“Yes, that is true. We don’t know for sure, but Billy was involved in this group so I think it is the best thing we have going.” Gabe looked at everyone around the campfire to reassure them. “Now I’m not saying everyone has to go with us, I actually think it would be best if some of you stayed here, but if anyone wants to go with us, we would love to have you. Myself, Billy and the group from the Catholic church are all going.”
Around the fire Eric whispered to Mercedes and she leaned into him and whispered back. “I’ll go.” Eric said quietly. “Mercedes will stay here and help keep things safe here.”
“We’ll go!” Jill volunteered. “My bite seems to be doing okay and since you told me that it won’t turn me into a zombie I think I’m fine.”
“No, I’m sorry Jill, I’m responsible for your safety until we find your parents and I think it will be safer here.”
“What if that thing comes back again!”
“That’s why I am going to ask Jack to stay here with you, and besides, I think it is watching us or will know when we leave, I think it will follow us since it knows that Billy is here.”
Dead Faith (Book 1): Dead Faith Page 12