by S E Lunsford
The Reaper
S.E. Lunsford
Copyright © 2020 S.E. Lunsford
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9781234567890
ISBN-10: 1477123456
Cover design by: Magpie Designs, Ltd.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:38-39
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Epigraph
Introduction
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
About The Author
Introduction
How do you introduce a book that was born out of a writer's conference prompt - what would you write if you asked the Lord to be with you as you wrote? - and what you wrote became one of the oddest mashups, even to yourself?
Not sure, but I do hope you enjoy this story about angels, humans and zombies.
- S.E.
Prologue
We were sure that things would get back to normal.
We were sure the angels would take care of everything.
We were sure..... until we weren't.
Chapter 1
“Run,” I whispered as loudly as I dared.
Behind me, Cassie’s near silent scuttle told me she was backing towards the trees we had just stepped out from as I ran for cover in the opposite direction. Crouching down as low to the ground as possible, I moved quickly forward my thighs burning as the dark shadow above me blocked out the sun. Making it to the outer wall of the grocery store, I pushed myself up against its brick exterior and quickly scanned the area for Cassie, hoping beyond hope that she had made it to the relative safety of the trees.
My breath hitched as I saw her.
She lay face down in the dirt just in front of the tree line, her shirt torn and blood welling up from her back. She was rocking back and forth on her hands and knees in an effort to push herself up.
“Move,” I ground out, the sound barely coming out of my tightly clenched jaw as the shadow of the bioengineered washed over me, its’ triumphant screech making my ears hurt.
Carefully bringing my backpack around to my front, I reached into it, taking out a band of thick rubber tubing that I’d lifted from a garage too long ago to remember. I’d been practicing using it as a slingshot in order to save our bullets, which we were woefully short on. Plunging my hand in pack again, I fished around for something to use as ammunition, but came up empty. My eyes trained on the black creature that circled above. I tried not to curse myself for using all of the rocks and glass I’d collected for practice and not saving any that I could actually use.
As I frantically scanned the ground in front of me looking for anything within reaching distance that I could use in the slingshot, a small slice of my mind wondered how we’d made it this far. The thought went blank, dropping out of my mind as panic rose in me. I couldn’t see anything that I could use to knock the creature off its aim for Cassie, who was beginning to wobble and sink back to the ground. The blood on her back running off her sides and dripping to the ground making dark splatters below her.
I had to act fast or any nearby creepers would smell the blood. If they did, then we’d be done for. Crouching down, I narrowed my eyes looking for anything that might work. Then I saw it, something shimmered, glinting in the light. Leaning forward slowly to keep the creatures’ attention off me, I saw that it was a glass beer bottle someone had smashed. Its jagged edges perfect for what I had in mind.
Crab walking over to it, I fit it in the slingshot and aimed just as the creature dove. The tubing tightened as I pulled back before releasing it quickly, hoping my aim was true. A deep thunk gave me the satisfaction I was looking for, the creature screeched in pain veering off course and flew back into the forest. The glass was embedded in its black feathers and its damaged wing barely cooperating, I noted from the corner of my mind as I ran over to Cassie.
****
“Geez,” I whispered a couple of days later as I peeled back the makeshift bandage I’d placed on Cassie’s back. Clenching it in my hand, I barely registered that it was still warm from her wound. A wound that was festering, bubbling over with pus and reddening the skin around it with infection. It was at least six inches long too. I had tried to keep it as clean as I could while encouraging her to lay on her stomach. But, with no access to a medical clinic I could raid, or even some antibiotic cream, I was fighting a losing battle.
Brushing her hair back from her forehead where is stuck in dirty blond strands, I took a deep breath through my mouth. The smell of infection was coming off her so thickly that I knew if I breathed through my nose my almost empty stomach would quickly relieve itself of its sparse contents. Sitting back on the dusty floor, my thoughts rolled over themselves as I tried to form a semblance of a plan.
Watery sunlight filtered through the high window near the roofline, just barely casting enough light on Cassie’s flushed face. Placing my hand on her forehead that seemed to just be getting hotter no matter how many times I checked, I knew I had to do something. A sigh of frustration escaped my lips. The sun had gotten stronger, shining into the dark space and lighting up the dust motes in the air by the time I realized I had to make myself move.
We were holed up in the attic of a house in what used to be an old touristy type of village. I had seen the house often enough during the summers I spent visiting my aunt who used to live nearby.
Back then, I always looked up at the high window wondering what treasures the attic held. I never imagined that I would be surrounded by its boxes, old furniture and any number of oddly shaped things. Getting us in here was the best I could do when the toxins from the creature’s talons had begun to take affect making Cassie weak and struggle to walk. I’d barely been able to haul her into the attic and pull up the trapdoor sealing us in before she collapsed.
There was a drugstore in the middle of town that I was more than familiar with. In better times I’d walked down to it and grabbed a soda, a Reese’s or even an It’s-It as a treat. I’d already left Cassie once in hopes of getting into the drugstore, but had to abandon the hope of trying to get inside because of the disease ridden creepers hanging around.
My nose wrinkled at the thought of their smell. I hadn’t even been within a block of the drugstore before I’d picked up their reek. Carefully making my way around building after building trying to gain access, I’d had to admit defeat. There were just too many of them. They'd eat anything as long as it was flesh and blood, but they liked humans the best. I thought it might be something about blood calling to blood, but what I thought didn’t matter or help change anything as far as that was concerned. Their smell, along with the threat of becoming their next meal and leaving my best friend to whatever else might find her, was enough to
keep me away.
Her rasping breathing brought me back from my thoughts as I made the decision. Pulling our dwindling supplies of Tylenol out of my backpack, I loaded Cassie up with as much of the painkiller as I thought was safe to keep her quiet while I was gone.
Pulling the blanket over her one more time, I made my way to the trapdoor that led to the second floor hallway and leant down putting my ear to the floor. Holding my breath so I could hear better, I waited, but no sound came from below. The trapdoor squeaked as I slowly opened it, listening one more time before I let myself down making sure the door was closed securely above me so she was safe.
The air was surprisingly crisp and cool as I made my way silently through the town. I couldn’t help but smile at the scent of the salt it held. Not wanting to take my chances with my slingshot, I had my pistol gripped in my hand, loaded with my last two bullets.
Darting from one building to the next, I kept lifting my nose to the air and taking in deep breaths, checking the air for the creepers telltale scent. Nothing of their rotten smell came to me. Instead there was another scent, this more like the smell of something burning, that kept washing over me. Shaking my head, I tried to clear the smell out of my sinuses, but couldn’t.
In the beginning, there were some survivors who thought if they burnt the creepers alive in buildings that they could contain the disease. Apparently, they forgot there was no way to put the fires out once they began, so whole towns went up in flames. The fires did nothing to stop the onslaught of the creepers, but they did destroy many potential hiding places for those of us who were working to survive.
Looking up, the sky was clear, with no telltale signs of smoke.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, even though the sun had barely moved, I got to the alleyway across from the drugstore. It was quiet, as in absolutely still, no movement or sound anywhere. The burning smell was cloying here. As I lifted up my shirt collar to cover my nose, I looked up and down the street to see what could be causing it. But, there was nothing as far as I could see.
Shifting my weight back and forth from one foot to the other, I stood as still as I could all the while looking at the drugstore, the street and the air. Just because things were quiet didn’t mean they were safe. Cassie and I had made that incorrect assumption when we came up to the village and its familiar grocery store, just at the edge of town, which was why we were in this situation to begin with. Apparently the winged creature that tried to take us down and left her with such a horrible wound, had made it its mission to stay out of the way and silent until its victims thought it was safe to get into the store, which was when it pounced.
As I stood across from the drugstore looking up at the sky, I wondered for the millionth time why the creature had gone for her and not me. The only reason I could come up with was her blond hair, that even in its current state of greasy unkemptness still shone like gold in the sunlight. Some of the bioengineered flying beasts had their foundations in birds before they were changed. Many of them still acted like birds too. Anything bright and shiny to line their nests with and eat too was undoubtedly a win, win.
Shaking those thoughts out of my head, I tucked my nose further into my shirt and tensed to run out into the open, with my goal being getting through the front doors of the drugstore. I just hoped they weren't locked. If they were I did have a plan B, which was to run around to the back of the building and figure out a way in from there, preferably a way that didn't include making any noise. Silence was golden nowadays because any slight sound could alert nearby creepers to where you were. If they didn’t come, sometimes something worse would.
Shuddering, I took a deep breath tensing my body to move forward when I was yanked back by a strong arm around my chest and a hand covering my mouth. I growled into the hand, but was silenced at the sound of a male voice in my ear.
“Don’t make a sound, they’ll hear you,” was all that the deep voice whispered.
By some instinct I believed the smooth almost lyrical voice even though the owner of it almost held me in a chokehold. Pressed with my back against his chest, I automatically did an inventory of what I could feel. I couldn’t feel any weapons that were a threat to me at the moment. The arm that held me was well fleshed and corded with muscles that you only got if you had access to protein and other foods. Luxuries that most of us who didn’t join with a colony, or worse yet a household, weren’t privy to on a regular basis.
His lips barely moved next to my ear as he muttered something under his breath while a shadow painted itself on the drugstore wall.
“I’m going to step backwards,” he whispered in my ear, making me wonder if he could smell my greasy hair, a thought that was quickly followed by why I would even care.
“Don’t try to get away,” he continued. “Don’t cry out. Don’t trip, you’ll get us killed if you do.”
Immediately, I was pulled quickly backwards with insistent pressure from his arm on my chest and hand on my face. My feet stumbled to keep up as I heard what sounded like feathers rubbing on feathers from somewhere just outside the alley. My veins suddenly ran cold and I broke out in a frigid sweat as I struggled to accept what might be just a few feet away from me.
“Come out, come out wherever you are,” a voice rasped out, making every muscle in my body freeze with terror. The shadow on the drugstore began to move revealing just how large the creature was. Even though I didn’t think it was possible, I froze even tighter as I heard sniffing in the air.
“Fee fi fo fum, I smell the blood of an English…,” another voice sang out the familiar rhyme before stumbling on the last words.
A raspy chuckle bounced down the alley.
“Wrong country,” it said.
Closing my eyes, I willed myself to be silent as the man who held me seemed to stop breathing.
“Yes,” replied the other, a refined clip to the edge of his words. “Let’s try it again. Fee fi fo fum, I smell the blood of an American,” the voice rang out before pausing. “Female, woman,” he drawled out.
My heart took off at racing pace as the realization that they knew I was there sunk in. A heavy thud at the end of the street somehow made it into my mind through the fear that was trying to cloud my ears. A third set of feet walked down the street.
Despite the slight mental fight to the contrary, the realist in me accepted that I knew who these creatures were. They were no pathetic mockup of what was once a bird, or a wolf, or a wasp, or a human, take your pick. They were the ones who made the others what they were. They were the creators with their beautiful faces and bodies, their wings made from what looked like gossamer silk, but were actually made of a substance so much stronger and tougher than anything found on earth.
“This is what we’re going to do,” came the slightest of whispers from the man who held me. “I’m going to let go of you. You’re going to take off at a run behind me while I cover you. When you get to the end of the alley you’ll want to go right, but go left. A small door will be at the base of a house at the end of the street. Go into it. I’ll meet you there. Okay?”
Opening my eyes, my heartbeat steadied out and my lungs settle down into a rhythm at the thought of actually moving and doing something.
“We need to pick her up and take her back,” came the voice of the third. “No messing about.”
Silence dropped into the street at his words.
“If you have to shoot, remember to shoot for the head,” came the murmur at my ear.
Nodding once, I knew that even though I was an excellent shot, a skill that I developed quickly due to the necessity of staying alive, I wasn’t entirely sure that a headshot from a pistol would do the trick.
The only time I saw one of the creators go down was when the military figured out too late why they came to earth in the first place. Helicopters and military vehicles had tried to take one down, succeeding only because they managed to pin it to the ground. It had struggled under a net made of some sort of heavy metal, its 12 feet or m
ore wingspan useless as it tried to get away. It was eventually taken out by a flurry of bullets. It was then that everything had gone dark in every sense of the word.
“I thought you said a girl was here?” A voice growled.
“There is,” rasped the first voice.
“How come I can’t smell her then?”
“I don’t know. She reeked,” was the reply.
My jaw tightened at that, it was one thing to know you smelled bad, but to have it confirmed was quite another.
“Ready?” Whispered the voice in my ear.
I nodded slightly as he carefully released his hold on me, letting me get my feet underneath me.
“Now,” he barked quietly, whirling around and pushing me away from his body as he ran in the opposite direction towards the creators instead of away from them. Bringing my gun up, I settled into the familiar feeling of movement, my ears shedding the cotton wool of fear. Every one of my senses ratcheted up, multiplying in my tightened awareness.
“Hey uglies,” my captor called out as I reached the end of the alley veering to the left as I rounded the corner of the building, and stopping as I saw that the street ended in a dead end in that direction.
I looked to the right where a bank sat across the street and a bakery stood just a few doors down. The bakery door looked slightly open. Somewhere behind me, the sound of the flapping of huge wings rose as the creatures took to the air, apparently ignoring the man who had held me. They were coming straight for me.
“I can smell her now,” one crowed, his voice coming over the top of the building even as I hesitated. Stepping to the right, I knew that if I could get to the bakery I could take cover there.
A single gunshot pierced the air. The sound ricocheted off the buildings making it impossible to tell exactly where the shot had been fired. My shoulders rounded as I heard the sound of choking above me and a shadow crossed my path. The ground vibrated as one of the creators landed heavily in front of me.