Tales of the Decay

by James Barton

  Kayla began to cry from the corner, the odor of cornbread-vomit beginning to mingle with that of the spilled blood. Russel looked over at Ian, his eyes red and strained to keep the tears back. Ian’s face was cold. There was only a look of disappointment. He had lost people before and it was something he never got used to. There was a stinging feeling of inadequacy that stabbed at him from inside. Ian felt that it was his fault, he should have forced him to hang back.

  “Why didn’t he just listen to you? He would still be alive,” Russel said angrily.

  “Russel,” Ian began.

  “No, all he had to do was back off.”

  Kayla stopped crying momentarily and shot him a fiery glare.

  “All I’m saying …” Russel continued.

  “Russel … shut the fuck up,” Ian said calmly. “Not now.”

  Russel was still squatting like a baseball catcher. He squinted his eyes at Ian and his lip quivered slightly.

  “Mureeek!” David shrieked and flailed his arms wildly. It caught them both off-guard so badly that Ian rolled backward both defensively and simply out of surprise. Russel dropped onto his ass, but before he could react, David was on top of him. Ian reared back his leg to kick David off of him, but was interrupted. There was a sudden bap, bap, bap-bap, of Kayla’s firearm. David went down and the only noise left in the old timey restaurant were pained groans from Russel.

  “I didn’t know he would turn. Since when, I mean, was he bit?” Ian stammered.

  “I don’t fucking know anymore. How the hell does this shit even work?” Kayla said frantically.

  They walked over to Russel, towering over him as he lay on his back, his neck brutally torn open. All Kayla could see was the blood, so much blood in a single night. Russel extended a bloody hand, weakly gesturing for help they could not provide. Kayla and Ian looked at each other and even though they spoke no words, they settled everything at that single moment. Kayla handed Ian her pistol and walked over to the corner.

  Ian leaned down, just out of Russel’s reach. “You did good tonight,” Ian said.

  “Blergh,” Russel gurgled. His eyes frantically searched the room. He only momentarily focused on Ian.

  “You would have made a good soldier,” Ian said and paused for a moment. “It was an honor to serve with you.”

  In that moment the panic disappeared, and his eyes lit up. Russel’s lip curled into a weak smile and at that moment, Ian pulled the trigger.

  Kayla slowly walked back over to Ian, who, against all reason, began to laugh loudly. It filled the room with a boisterous tone. Kayla stood stunned and confused. It wasn’t the same laugh you’d hear at a comedy club; it was hoarse and maniacal. It was the laugh of someone who was breaking. Ian’s iron façade had cracked into a teary-eyed giggle of madness. Against her better judgement, she put her hand on his shoulder.

  “Ian, I’m sorry. This wasn’t your fault,” Kayla said.

  He turned his head to her and smiled. He placed one hand on top of hers and spoke.

  “Food shouldn’t be an issue for you anymore.”

  “What?”

  Ian held out the palm of his hand. For a second, she didn’t understand his gesture, but then she saw it. A thin red line streaked across his left hand. It was the cut from a fingernail … David’s fingernail. David’s sudden flailing as he entered undeath had caught Ian ever so slightly. Not even enough for him to notice during the heat of the moment.

  “Dammit, you can’t be serious,” Kayla huffed.

  Ian removed his hand and covered his mouth to let loose a stream of childish giggles. Kayla could only watch in disbelief. This was the second time her world had come crashing down around her in a matter of days. Ian took the handgun and raised it to his temple.

  “No, not yet!” Kayla called out desperately. She wasn’t ready to be alone.

  “What?”

  “Just wait.”

  “Special?” Ian asked, only his focus was somewhere else, like someone fiddling with their phone. He slowly removed the gun from his temple.

  “What are you talking about? Ian you are scaring me.”

  “Do you see the man?” Ian whispered and pointed to the corner of the room. Kayla looked over for a moment before responding.

  “Ian … there is no one there.”

  Ian only laughed.

  The Price of Order

  “General, if you are looking for an apology, you aren’t going to get one … sir,” Captain Neves said defiantly. He was standing at ease in his military uniform that had once been tightly creased and washed, but now had the stink of one too many missions. His eyes glanced over at the general without moving his head an inch. Neves’s eyes looked too small for his head and were nestled within dark circles of sleepless nights.

  “Captain, you had better watch your …” the major began to scold.

  “Major, please,” the general interrupted. He jammed the remainder of his cigarette into an overflowing ashtray. “Please, Captain, continue with the debrief.”

  “Am I on trial here?” the captain asked plainly. He tried, but failed to hide his distaste for these types of meetings.

  “Not a trial, no. I just want to make sure that you’re still fit for duty. I’m sure you aren’t ready to join the civilian world just yet,” the general said while lighting a new cigarette.

  “Of course, not … General,” he replied, relaxing so slightly that only the grizzled old warrior even noticed.

  “My team was given orders to hunt down and track an alpha. Codename: Johnny Boy. Excuse me, he wasn’t an alpha, he was one of the first that we know of on this continent … more like the alpha. He was one of the test subjects that was injected with the original sample of patient zero. One of the only survivors that I know of. He apparently broke free from his room and jumped out of a window, falling a few dozen stories maybe. A nearby security camera showed him hit the ground running, he didn’t even flinch.”

  “And what was your mission?” the major nagged.

  Captain Neves shifted his weight slightly as he maintained his stoic posture. He took a deep, deliberate breath before speaking again. “To subdue and capture Johnny Boy and return him to base.”

  “I just wanted to make sure you remembered. Please continue.”

  “My team entered the metropolitan area and headed toward the location where he was last spotted. Apparently, Johnny Boy lived in a small suburban section of the city and it was likely he went home. Maybe it was a girlfriend, or family members, either way, he left a wake of undead in his path. His visit didn’t last very long before a tidal wave of undead broke in and devoured his loved ones. A drone pilot contacted me on the radio and told me that was the last time they saw him. Footage suggested he was still inside, but the surrounding mob was so thick it was impossible to say for certain. As our two-vehicle convoy turned the corner, I could already tell you, he was inside.”

  “What would make you certain of that?” the major asked.

  “Those things don’t gather up together, not like this. So, either someone was having a cookout, or Johnny was some sort of damn beacon. If his family died, even accidentally from his actions, he was likely sulking in the middle of that rotten mosh pit.

  “As much as I love a good story, can we get to the part where you single-handedly fucked up this whole mission?” the general said loudly. His voice echoed in the small room in a way that caught the captain off guard.

  The major smiled at the general’s remark. He was like a twerpy child throwing insults from behind his big brother’s coattail. The captain paid him no mind and began to speak again.

  “We pulled up to the front yard and we opened comms with the surveillance drone’s pilot. With his eyes on the house, I decided to coax the target, er, Johnny Boy, out with words. Even as the engines idled, the zombies surrounded our vehicles and pawed at them like starving cats. I stepped up into the gunner’s perch and used the megaphone to call to him. I explained that we needed to take him away so that no one else w
ould get hurt. That maybe, if he came willingly, we could work together to reverse the damage done. After a few minutes of speaking he stepped out.”

  The major and the general both looked at each other for a moment. The lights in the small room flickered for a moment as the generator sputtered. The general tapped the cheap off-brand cigarette, before making a hand gesture to continue.

  “He came out and walked up to the vehicle. He told me he was sorry, that he never intended to hurt anyone. He even started crying at one point. He was so close, four, maybe five bodies stood between him and the vehicle. Corporal Rogers was waving him forward from the second vehicle. He was so fucking close, he almost just stepped right in without a hitch. It all went to shit so fast. He started grabbing at his head, like he was having a migraine or something. At first it sounded like he was arguing with someone. I heard him say ‘No, I’m going with them and you can’t stop me.’ He was two arm lengths away as Rogers reached out to him. Did you know, Rogers was the first troop I’ve had that adopted a kid? I mean, I was a reference and got to talk to the agency for him. What 19-year-old kid adopts?”

  “Captain. Please,” the general urged.

  “Johnny lost his fucking mind, right there at that moment. He went from being cooperative to …” the captain lost his composure. He dropped his head and placed a hand on his forehead. Losing his composure was uncommon for Captain Neves. The major opened his mouth to speak, but before any sound could come out, the captain regained his posture and spoke once more.

  “He jumped on top of the vehicle, I mean, in one fluid motion, he cleared more than ten feet of air. He drove his fingers into Rogers’s throat. The next thing I knew, the corporal’s head was, I mean it was just on the road below. After that, Johnny Boy ripped the mounted gun clean off the truck. He was insane … so I did what I had to do.”

  “What you had to do? What you were supposed to do was capture him, alive. So that our scientists could synthesize a cure. What you did was kill us all,” the major jabbed.

  “I shot him in the chest with the mounted gun, a single 50-caliber round. Have you seen what that does to people? He was in the middle of peeling the armored plates from the vehicle as easily as plastic wrap. He looked up at me with a gaping hole in his chest. He fucking smiled as he leaned forward and prepared to lunge at me. Do you honestly believe that tranquilizers, cuffs, or a net would have brought him home?”

  “Do you believe the entire reserve of ammunition was necessary?” the major replied.

  “I did what I had to do to protect my men. Without my actions, you would be short seven soldiers and Johnny Boy would have slipped away. This way, we at least have his body to examine.”

  “Barely,” the major scoffed.

  The room was silent for a moment.

  “I think that is all for today, Captain Neves. You are dismissed,” the general said calmly.

  The captain, silently stewing while thinking, I was there, you assholes weren’t, paused for a moment and then replied, “Aye, aye, General,” before walking stiffly from the room.

  Barely waiting for the door to close behind the departing captain, the major announced that he would sideline Captain Neves from the next mission.

  “No, Major, you won’t,” said the general, his eyes still focused on the door through which the captain had just departed.

  “You can’t be serious,” the major blurted, knowing instantly that he’d stepped way over the line.

  “Major, you had better start engaging your brain before you open your mouth,” said the general in his calmest voice. The look he gave the now squirming junior officer made it very clear that this was a one-time warning.

  But then, showing more courage than good sense, the major spoke again. “I mean, General, he utterly destroyed a high-value target over a corporal.”

  “He did. I heard the same story you heard.”

  “But, they didn’t matter. Not in the big picture, I mean.”

  “If Captain Neves is telling the truth, which I have no doubt he is, then Johnny Boy wouldn’t be subdued with all the tranquillizers in the state. There will be more opportunities to collect research subjects and we will, in time, put this country back together. I will not do it by needlessly sacrificing the lives of our people. With that being said, this next mission is too important to leave in the hands of just one team. That is why I want you to meet your new team in the Armory. You are plan B. Plus, it’s time you do some fieldwork, wouldn’t you say?”

  The major didn’t look happy.

  “This is your chance at redemption, Captain,” the major spoke. He had lost his air of immaturity and, instead, spoke quietly and without emotion. “Your mission is to bring her in, unharmed. Captain, please, she is very important to the research teams. They have reason to believe that she may be residing in this area here,” the major said as he circled a mapped area with his finger.

  “What makes you think that, Sir?” the captain asked.

  “Traffic cams last tracked her vehicle heading down this road. It was later found abandoned; that’s the center of our search area.”

  “Copy,” Neves responded, looking through the pictures of the girl. “So, you think she’s an alpha?”

  “She’s like Johnny Boy. Same building, same patient group actually. She was dosed with the original samples. Not only did she survive, but she managed to escape an infected city and drive a car halfway across the state. Either way, we need to understand why she survived what so many others … did not. She could very well be the cure, so I don’t need to remind you that we need her alive. Not like the last one, Captain,” he scolded.

  Neves looked up and scowled for a second. “I already have my briefing.”

  “I know, just please, talk her down. As you said before, the tranquillizers will probably just make her hostile.”

  “Until you see one of these things lose it, you don’t know the first thing about hostile.”

  The major chuckled nervously. “You’re probably right.”

  Neves scooped the paperwork up from the cherrywood desk. The briefing room had normally been filled with people, but things had changed. Operations were much more personal, now.

  “Any other threats in the area?” Neves asked.

  “Other than the standard infestation of … infected?”

  “Yes, Sir, other than the shit-ton of zombies that’s standard nowadays.”

  “We have intel that the local superstore has been claimed by a hostile group. They have been combing the area for food and supplies. We have multiple claims that they have gunned down unarmed civilians,” the major responded.

  “Which unit is tasked to take them out?”

  “We’ve got some inside people gathering intel, but we can’t get directly involved at this time.”

  Neves opened his mouth to object. The major knew him well enough to know what he was going to say. “Look, you bring me the girl and I’ll give you the mission personally.”

  “Copy that, Sir.”

  They had spent a few days searching for the girl, but none of their efforts had borne fruit. That was until he received the radio call. His team was only a few blocks away from her sighting.

  “Team Alpha, Fox-den, your target is in the local Allmart store right now. Proceed to her location immediately. Respond,” the truck radio blared.

  The driver looked over with a hint of worry. Captain Neves pulled the small black radio from its cradle and pressed the button. “Fox-den, this is Alpha, we are making our way to the target location now,” he said and made a motion with his finger. The driver made a hard turn and barreled toward the store.

  “Why is she there, over?” Neves asked into the mic.

  The radio remained silent for a moment.

  “Incoming radio transmissions are spotty, but we have confirmed it is her. Expect heavy resistance from the locals. Fox-den out.”

  The driver looked over at the captain, his eyebrow raised in suspicion. Neves chambered a round in his custom handgun and
smiled. “You ready for some resistance, Private?”

  The parking lot had been turned into some sort of corral. Bodies hung from the dead light poles and a flood of zombies was trailing through the front doors.

  “This is it, sweep in pairs. The local Allmart gang has been brutally raiding and attacking nearby survivors. I want everyone to move in and shoot to kill. Take out every zombie you see and do not hesitate to put down any armed personnel. But, DO NOT FIRE at the girl or anyone that may be allied to her. If these people are here to do her harm, we are here to save her. Today is your chance to turn the tide,” Neves preached to his troops through the radio.

  The lingering mob was easily torn apart by the vehicle mounted guns. After the parking lot was mostly cleared, the squad moved into the store in small teams. Gunshots echoed through the store as they executed zombie and bandit alike. The teams split up and moved into different sections of the store. As the captain moved forward, he caught sight of a pair of soldiers firing wildly around the corner. It was as if they had forgotten their training. He had seen that technique before, it was the firing stance of someone who was scared shitless. “Please. Please don’t shoot her. This might be our only chance to convince her to come quietly,” he thought to himself on approach.

  Neves rushed over to the men, who had ceased their attack.

  “Neves is going to be pissed,” one of the soldiers said.

  “That’s Captain Neves, Private,” Neves said as he turned the corner. Sometimes, his soldiers were the type of people that he would die for, other times they seemed to be digging his grave themselves. If they had shot her, they would be forced into a no-win situation. In this situation, no-win, was a severe understatement.

  As he stood between his soldiers, he saw a young man clutching a once beautiful girl. Her head was split open like a cantaloupe, and she flopped lifelessly in the man’s grasp. His worst fear realized, the captain wondered what would kill him first after he was exiled from the base, that is, of course, if the general didn’t have him executed in some secluded backroom first.