by A. Giacomi
I’m happy to see her, but I’m not sure I like seeing her in full zombie mode. Her eyes are red; she is twitchy and looks ravenous. Claire has a similar look to her; she glares at Eve as if she can tear her apart just by staring.
I struggle with the ropes at my ankles. I don’t think standing between these two is a smart move. As soon as I’m free, I back up behind Eve. Claire twitches her neck to one side in preparation for battle. The crack in each vertebra makes the hairs on my arms stand. She then pulls the large piece of door out of her shoulder and chucks it to the floor. The blood gushes out until the wound seals itself, leaving only stains on her blouse.
As I wait for someone to make the first move, I wonder if they will even be able to kill one another. They are both indestructible with the Azrael Virus coursing through their veins.
I look from one woman to the next in anticipation. Finally, Claire decides to sprint towards Eve, and Eve doesn’t hesitate to rush with great speed towards Claire. They crash into each other like two pieces of steel. Claire grips Eve’s head between both of her hands; it looks as though she is attempting to tear it off. Eve grabs Claire’s waist with a bear hug and slams her to the ground. Eve begins to rain elbows and punches down on Claire’s face.
Every dent Eve makes heals so quickly. It’s as though the battle never started. Claire screams like a banshee with each blow; she tries to get Eve off of her by using her legs. Eventually, Claire is able to wrap both legs around Eve and twists until Eve grunts in pain and steps back off of Claire. Eve is holding her side. I think Claire might have snapped a rib, but Eve will heal soon enough.
I look around the room for some kind of weapon so I can assist Eve or at least hand her something helpful. I spot a three-legged side table and smash it on the ground to break off the legs. I say, “Catch,” as I throw two of the legs to Eve. I save the last leg for myself.
Eve holds the two legs up like jousting lances and runs with them towards Claire. The two legs make contact in Claire’s shoulders, and she shrieks as they pin her against the wall. Claire is snarling as she tries to break free, but she’s pinned so firmly to the wall that she just dangles without progress. Eve uses all her strength to hold her a few inches off the ground. It seems like Eve is enjoying Claire’s shrieks of pain because she is grinning.
Claire gives one final scream and then does something unbelievable. She holds onto the two table legs lodged in her shoulders and uses them as gymnast parallel bars to kick Eve away. Eve goes flying to the other side of the room, landing on her back. Claire is now wriggling to the end of the parallel bars lodged in the wall. I feel as though I may throw up as I see her gliding away from the wall through the holes in her shoulders. She looks demonic as she uses the blood to slide her way down the table legs. Once she reaches the end of the legs, she drops to the floor, but the holes in her shoulders are still there, and I can see through them.
I gasp, “Oh, dear God,” and then look over at Eve, who is already on her feet.
Claire looks around the room for something. Her gaze lands on her bed; it is one of those fancy cast-iron beds. Claire grabs one of the rods at the end of the bed and pulls it off effortlessly, then proceeds to walk towards Eve.
Eve and Claire keep eye contact, and this does not work to Eve’s advantage because she doesn’t notice Claire aiming at her knees with the iron bar. Claire’s wind up is quick, and she makes contact with the right knee, sending Eve to the ground. She then raises the bar, ready to slam it down on Eve’s skull.
Now it is my turn to take action while Eve is immobilized. I hold the table leg tight and run at Claire, striking her head as if it is a baseball. Her head does not come off, but I manage to smack it hard enough that it is now facing backwards, leaving me looking at the back of her head. I drop the table leg in shock. She turns her body so she can see me. She has a pout on her face.
“Cam, why did you do that?”
She tries to reach her head so that she can snap it back around the right way. I try to hold it, but as she does this, I throw up all over her floor. I’ve never witnessed anything quite so grotesque as someone putting their head straight again.
Once I’m finished throwing up, I look up and no longer see Claire. Where is she? I look behind me, and of course, there she is, still pouting. She grabs me by the neck and raises me in the air. Eve is desperately trying to crawl towards us, but her knee hasn’t healed yet, and she looks on with sheer panic.
Claire smiles with satisfaction as Eve crawls towards her. She then takes her foot and kicks Eve in the face. This knocks Eve back a bit. Claire continues to carry me by the throat over to the window. I am trying to break free, but her hands are like a vice. I feel as though my throat might snap. It’s so hard to breathe that I’m gasping. Claire holds me out the window, and I can feel the night air on my skin, but I’m unable to take it in. This is it. I am going to fall to my death, and Claire has won.
Claire looks away from me for a moment and speaks to Eve in a demonic voice.
“If I can’t have him, no one will have him.”
She loosens her grip on my neck slightly, and I grab her arm and won’t let go. I refuse to have it end this way. I will fight till the end.
I can see Eve rising through the window. She is limping; she must be healing if she can stand now. I feel a prickle of hope in my chest as I watch her rise. Azrael Virus or not, Eve is a very determined girl.
I see her back up, and the next part happens so fast that I can barely recall what happened. Eve sprints towards us, and then somehow I land back in my bedroom on my back. I get up as quickly as I can. I still feel something around my neck, and when I go to touch it, I feel cool fingers and gag a bit, realizing that Claire’s arm is somehow still attached to me. I quickly peel it off finger by finger and throw it across the room. The fingers continue twitching as the arm lies there.
I realize that Eve must have torn off the arm and thrown me inside, but where are they now? I glance at the open window.
“Oh my God, they fell out the window?” I say.
I run to the window and glance down. Sure enough, the two zombie girls lay below. They aren’t moving, but there is no threat of them being dead since they already are. I’m sure they have broken their spines with the fall, and the quickest one to heal will have the advantage.
I feel helpless as I watch. I won’t make it downstairs in time for the battle to resume, and even if I do, what can I really do to help? I see Claire rise first; perhaps her missing arm will put her at a disadvantage. She won’t be able to retrieve it and re-attach it unless she comes up here.
“Come on, Eve, get up!” is all I can say as I watch on in horror.
Claire waddles over to Eve. I guess one less arm has thrown off her balance a bit. Once she reaches Eve, she uses her remaining arm to drag her out of the bushes and onto the concrete below. Then Claire disappears into the trees. What is she up to? I try to glimpse through the trees. I know there is a maintenance shed there. I hear a lot of banging and assume that Claire is trying to break into the shed.
The next sound I hear is probably one of the most terrifying sounds known to man, unless you are in the landscaping business, in which case it just sounds productive. Through the trees, I hear it winding up, brum brum brum, and when it finally gets going, each buzz of the blade slices a hole in my heart. I keep praying, “Eve, please, please. Get up, get up, get up!”
I don’t want to witness the love of my life being cut into pieces.
Claire finally makes an appearance with the chainsaw overhead. I scream out, “Nooooooo!”
Claire looks up and laughs that creepy laugh just for me. She is heading towards Eve, who is still unable to move. The chainsaw is just inches away from her when it stops working.
There is a God!
I laugh out loud with delight. “Ha ha, you bitch! Leave her alone. Hey, Claire, I hate your guts. I hope yo
u burn in hell.”
She places the chainsaw on the ground and scowls at me. She’s drooling with rage. I can’t even understand how she got that chainsaw working in the first place. My questions are soon answered as I see her attempt to restart it. She holds the saw to the ground with one foot and pulls the starter with her remaining arm. The chainsaw attempts to start, but nothing happens. This doesn’t stop Claire from trying again and again.
To my horror, she does get it going again. She squeals with delight. I’m sure she would clap with joy if she could. I step on the arm lying next to me with all the force I can muster. As I dig my heel into the arm, blood squirts out. I curse at it, “Evil, bitch, die already!”
When I glance back down, I see Eve wiggling her fingers. She is beginning to heal, but I am doubtful she will fully heal before Claire makes it over to her. I chew on the insides of my mouth as I watch. The saw roars above Eve’s still body. It comes closer and closer to her, wiggling out of control since Claire is only able to hold it with one arm. I hold my breath with despair in my lungs.
Before the saw reaches her face, she jolts upright and lifts her arm in front of her to protect herself. The chainsaw quiets slightly as it tries to tear through the flesh and bone of her arm. Blood sprays everywhere, and Eve’s screams are piercing. I am positive people will hear and come outside to look, but to my surprise, no one appears. As the saw makes it through bone, it halts again. What luck!
Eve screams as she glances down at her dangling arm. She has no time to reattach it now. She tears off the rest and leaves it on the ground.
She stands prepared to continue the brawl, and Claire is just as ready. Eve runs towards Claire and kicks her in the chest with both legs, sort of like a flying ninja. Claire’s knees buckle, and she falls to the ground. Eve is quickly on her feet again and pounces on top of Claire, grabbing her by the hair with her one able hand and smashing her head into the ground countless times. Claire tries to fight back, but Eve has her pinned real good this time. I can see blood beginning to pool out of Claire’s head, but Eve isn’t satisfied until her head splits open like a cracked egg. Claire is no longer moving, and her wicked eyes stare up at the sky without motion. The blood stains the pavement; it is more like a black ooze.
Eve falls backward, exhausted. When she can gather more strength, she grabs her arm and holds it in place waiting for it to reattach. It looks like a painful healing process because Eve grimaces more with every second that passes. I decide I no longer want to watch; I want to be next to her. I race out of the room and head for the stairs. I don’t think I have ever sprinted down a flight of stairs so quickly before.
Once I’m outside, I see Eve’s arm has fully reattached, and she is wiggling her fingers and flexing her arm trying to get sensation back. As I approach her ready to embrace her, I realize that her eyes are still red. This is not a good time for a hug. I realize my mistake as she rises and glares at me with desire. She licks her lips as I try to back away.
I attempt to call her out of her trance. “Eve, you don’t want to eat your boyfriend. Remember me? It’s Cam.”
Her head twitches as she battles with this knowledge, but the virus seems to be winning. She has to feed.
Eve is about ready to pounce on me and devour me whole, but just then I hear people coming. She knows there is a buffet arriving. As they round the corner, she looks in their direction.
They don’t notice what they’re walking into right away but look scared when they finally come close enough to see Claire’s demolished body. One girl screams and runs away. The other two are frozen in fear. Eve races towards them and takes them both down. In a fury, she tears into both men. I see blood squirting and organs flying.
“Eve, no! Stop!”
I wish I can stop their gruesome murders, but very quickly the deed is done. Eve smashes their skulls in when she’s done feeding. She won’t have them rise again and terrorize the campus. Eve is still in there somewhere.
Eve sits in a puddle of their blood. Her eyes have returned to their normal shade of blue. She begins to sob out loud uncontrollably. The switch from zombie mode to somewhat human must be miserable, especially when she notices what she’s done.
I run to her side and hold her, blood covered and all. I think I may have surprised myself, because even after everything I have just witnessed, I don’t care.
“Cam, I’m a monster. I hate myself. I can’t do this anymore. I want you to do me a favour.”
I don’t like the sound of that. “What kind of favour?”
She looks over at the chainsaw and simply says, “Please.”
I shake my head furiously. “No way, you’re not leaving me!”
I press her tight to my body and hold her as she continues to sob.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
EVE
As Cam holds me, I have an epiphany. I don’t share that epiphany with him. I keep it to myself, and no, it doesn’t involve suicide. I will have to do something even more drastic, even more painful.
I squeeze Cam back as hard as I can without hurting him. He smells like Cam, which is a combination of sweat, deodorant, and fabric softener. He would always lend me his sweaters in high school, and I would sniff them because his scent was so comforting. Perhaps I loved him then, but I was too stupid to know it or act on it. I love him so much more than I can ever tell him. There is no point now. I will be gone by morning.
We sit in a magical embrace, and I absorb every second of it. It feels as though time has stopped for us. I hear nothing but his beating heart, which is so beautiful I could cry. I miss my own beating heart, but I know I am still capable of love, because this is heartbreaking.
When it’s time to break our embrace, I kiss Cam gently and tell him, “We need to go and help Alex.”
I explain the situation with the agents in Dr. August’s office and how they tasered Alex, thinking she was me. Cam’s horrified expression says it all, and we are on our feet and running in no time.
As we’re running, we pass the parking lot. I forgot to tell Cam about the zombies that Claire created. He stops to gaze at the carnage. There are flattened bodies strewn everywhere. In a corner of the parking lot, there is a large van parked, and I can see agents placing the bodies in the vehicle. I guess it is time to clean up before too many questions are asked, or worse, the media catches this all on video and plasters it all over television and the internet.
I place my hand on Cam’s shoulder. I know he is in shock, but we have to keep moving. He turns to look at me; I can see in his eyes that he is wondering if I did this. I simply say, “Claire,” and he looks relieved.
We race towards Dr. August’s office. There are now agents stationed outside the door. Cam and I stop in the hallway, staring at them as they stare back.
“Cam, I’m going in there, and I’m not sure what I’m going to find. It may be better if you wait…”
Cam presses his finger to my lips and shakes his head. “I’m not leaving your side. Good or bad, we’re going in together.”
He kisses me hard. I want to faint under its power, but Alex is counting on us to save her ass, so I shake myself alert and ready.
We continue walking towards the guards, and they ask us to halt. One of them even takes out a gun to stop our approach. I glare at them. “Gentlemen, we don’t need to get violent here. I just want to see my friends. Take us in.”
The other agent takes out his gun and aims it at my face.
“We have been ordered to keep everyone out, ma’am. We will use force if necessary.”
I put my hands in the air and back away. This isn’t going as planned. I don’t want to hurt them, but soldiers always listen to their orders, and there will be no other way in but through them. I charge at one of the agents and take him down. I hear a bang and feel warmth flowing down my back. I punch the agent on the floor so hard that he goes unconscious
, then I run my hand along the source of my pain. As I bring the hand back into sight, I can see there is an excessive amount of blood.
I turn back and snarl at the other agent, “You shot me? Really?”
He then drops his gun. Cam takes this opportunity to punch him square in the jaw. The agent crumples to the ground. “Nice one, Camy.” We high five and then make our way to the door. I hold my ear up to the door first, but I don’t hear anything. The silence scares me.
I look at Cam and whisper, “Okay, on the count of three we bust in. You ready?”
He nods. When I reach three, we blast into the room.
There doesn’t seem to be anyone around. I see blood surrounding Dr. August’s desk. If it is already too late, I will never forgive myself.
As I am examining the trail of blood, I hear Cam grunt and then hit the ground with a thud. I turn in a panic and see Cam shaking on the ground. Behind him stands Agent Williams with his damn taser gun. I plunge to the ground next to Cam. I can’t do much for him, but I stroke his hair to let him know I’m still here.
“Now I know what you’re thinking. That was a bit unnecessary? I guess it was, but I have to play it safe. We have zombies on the loose, you know?”
I scowl at Agent Williams. My eyes are welling up with tears, but I fight them back. I’m not going to let this bastard see me cry.
“Where are Alex and Dr. August? What have you done with them?”
Agent Williams uses his famous smirk again.
“Well, the doctor will be coming with me. He has work to do, and he hasn’t been so productive here, so I think we will make sure he stays in one of our labs permanently. As for your little buddy…”
He points to a dark corner of the room, and two men drag Alex out into the center of the room. I can see blood on one of her legs, and she still seems pretty out of it. When they lay Alex next to me, I grab her and hug her. I am just thankful she is alive. Alex gives me a weak smile.