Deadweight | Book 2 | The Last Bite

by Forster, Paul

  The major helped shut the gate and reset the lock as the soldiers lining the fence and the civilians in the second ring withdrew.

  “For fuck’s sake,” the major exclaimed. The major stood over the creature and gave it a light kick. It didn’t move, but it let out a low, quiet groan.

  “Sorry sir, it got the better of me,” Chris apologised. It had covered Chris in its blood, and he was still visibly shaking.

  “It’s alright private, the important thing is you’re okay, and it’s still alive. Mostly,” the major said and looked at the creature. The hate in its eyes.

  The creature was disabled, but definitely fulfilling its own definition of alive. The major hoped it would satisfy the scientists, but truth be told, he really didn’t give a fuck. Neither he nor any of his men would repeat the feat again.

  “Get yourself cleaned up, you’ve earned an extra break,” the major told Chris as he helped him to his feet.

  “Thank you, sir,” He replied. Chris hobbled off, he wanted to be sick but needed to get to somewhere private first. He couldn’t let Tara or any of his colleagues see how upset he was.

  Inside the barracks, he stripped off, he threw the blood-soaked uniform in a heap on the floor, he’d offer it to the scientists to play with or burn it after he had cleaned up. He stopped himself from being sick; he had calmed as the adrenaline had left his bloodstream. He walked into the shower block and looked at himself in the mirror; he looked a state, he could only imagine how he’d looked before he’d stopped shaking. He noticed something on his shoulder, small but protruding. He gently touched it and flinched with pain. Carefully, he squeezed it between his fingers until it popped free, a little of his blood followed.

  A small piece of bone, it could only have been a few millimetres long. He examined it in the light; it had a slight grey hue.

  *

  The scientists and soldiers all had their own areas, the remaining civilians had to make do with the space they were given. Two small converted offices served as sleeping quarters, the canteen was small, and as well as serving up the meagre meals, it served as a social space. The cleaners, canteen workers and office workers were bored. At first, they had dreaded their sentry duties with the soldiers, but after they realised it was relatively safe, they craved the excuse to get outside. The creatures on the other side of the fence were initially terrifying, but soon became just part of the background, their grotesque appearance and constant groans little more than an annoyance. Tara volunteered for all the extra duties she could. Fit and attractive, the squaddies all enjoyed her company. As the situation became bleaker, she began enjoying theirs too.

  Chris had been her favourite, she had shagged him first, but he wasn’t the last. Watching him drag that creature through the gate, wrestle with it on the ground, it was so brave, so exciting, and it only made her want him more. When he emerged from the barracks, she was waiting.

  “Hey, want to hang out?”she asked. Tara had been waiting for nearly an hour for Chris to emerge. He still looked a little shaken, but managed a smile when he saw her.

  “That’s all I want,” he replied. She led him by the hand behind the barracks. The feeders watched them, helpless to get to them to take a bite.

  “That was incredible what you did,” she complimented. Tara unbuckled Chris’ belt and dropped his trousers to the floor.

  “It was nothing,” he lied, he still felt uneasy, but this was why he did it, to impress Tara. Tara smiled and pulled his face to her level to kiss.

  “You deserve a reward,” she replied. Tara teased down her own oversized recently issued trousers, as Chris stood back to admire her pert body. She turned around and backed into him, grinding against his penis.

  Chris reached into her t-shirt and moved to her breasts, as she became more vigorous, his erection grew until she guided him inside her. He rested against the side of the barracks as he allowed her to do all the work, not that she minded. Chris moved his hands down to her hips as he tried to slow her down.

  “Not so fast.”

  “Don’t worry, just cum, we can go again later,” she said. If anything Tara picked up speed as Chris fought against his release until he couldn’t hold it any longer.

  He groaned in pleasure and hunched forward a little as Tara finished before turning to face Chris with a smile.

  “You were amazing today, the bravest man here,” Tara praised. She kissed him passionately again before pulling up her trousers and skipping off backwards into the main building, looking back to wink at Chris.

  Chris felt amazing. He looked on at the creatures who had been watching them. Their interest followed Tara and they looked at him confused as he slowly buckled up his trousers. The canteen wouldn’t be serving yet, but after his heroics, they would surely sort him out with something. He was hungrier than he’d been in a long time.

  Chapter 5

  The new specimen had proved ideal on many levels. The bullet had entered the base of its skull and severed its spinal cord. It should have been dead, instead, it was completely paralysed below the neck, not that the injury spared it from being tied down. The major had demanded it. The creature was far more vocal than the older one. It moaned and groaned with no provocation, its teeth gnashing at anyone in sight. The samples it provided were astounding. Dr Srnicek couldn’t believe the difference. The tissue samples were definitely related, but much had evolved. Comparing this poor soul to the first they had studied and the samples from before society fell was like comparing a tadpole to a frog. Identifying the microbe and seeing its evolution laid out was fascinating. It didn’t bring them any closer to finding a cure, but it gave the team purpose once again.

  Chris had been granted the luxury of guard duty in the lab. The biscuits had long run out, but he’d helped himself to some food from the canteen to munch on, not that it did much good. He felt dreadful, and he knew why.

  “She’s quite the pistol. One moment we were talking, the next, she’d dragged me into a cleaners closest and had my dick in her mouth,” a young lab assistant, Martin, boasted to his friend within earshot of Chris.

  Chris’ ears pricked up. It couldn’t be, could it?

  “She’s the village bike, everyone’s had a ride,” the friend piped up.

  “You haven’t,” Martin said. The pride in Martin’s voice was irritating.

  “Because I don’t want my dick to fall off. I know three others who’ve slept with her. She’s an attractive girl, but I’m not into that. If Tara comes near me, I’ll politely decline, thank you very much,” the lad lied, knowing he wasn’t about to get that offer.

  “It’s the end of times, the apocalypse, shagging some tart takes your mind off it, believe me. If not her, hook up with someone else. In the last few days, it’s all gone last days of Rome around here.”

  Chris couldn’t believe his ears. He glared at the two men, wishing that they were lying, but he knew it was true. She had become all about the sex, and before his stupid act of bravery had lost interest. It had only been a few days, but she was already drifting away. No doubt to others. He had risked it all for her, and she didn’t care about him. He stood up and pushed past the two gossiping lab techs to Dr Srnicek.

  “Doctor, I need to leave for a few minutes, I’ll be locking you in,” his voice quivered.

  “Of course you will, private. Are you okay?” she queried. She wasn’t impressed but felt some concern for him.

  “Yes ma’am, I just need to use the bathroom,”Chris lied. He didn’t stop to talk further, he left the room and locked them in as quickly as he could. He ran down the hallway to the bathroom and threw open the door. He barely made it through the stall door to the bowl before he was sick. He thought for a second it was because of the betrayal, but he knew he was infected.

  He slowly rose to his feet. A shiver flowed through him as he tried to control his breathing. As he stumbled out of the stall, he looked around, pleased to see he was alone. He stood in front of the mirror looking at the pale, angry face looking
back at him. It didn’t matter how much water he threw on himself; he didn’t look or feel any better. He carefully dried his face and straightened himself back up. He couldn’t be gone too long, he couldn’t risk attracting more attention. He needed time to think; he needed time to plan, but soon they would realise what he was.

  Chapter 6

  A few days had passed since they had captured the creature. The initial excitement had died down and the whole centre was at a low ebb. They had cut food rations, Kenneth hadn’t returned, and after the initial flurry of data the feeder had provided, the old routine had returned. Chris had kept himself to himself for a few days, doing his duties and then stealing extra food where he could. It didn’t seem to help. He knew what he wanted, and it was becoming harder to resist. He hid behind the barracks for privacy, sitting on the ground as he looked at his future, as the creatures stared back at him. They didn’t look at him as food; they saw one of their own. There was no gnashing of teeth or snarls. If it were possible, they envied him. Inside those fences with all that meat.

  A few of the creature’s attention was taken away from staring at the lucky one. Something was approaching, but they weren’t sure what. Chris straightened himself up and turned as Tara appeared. She looked worried but tried to smile.

  “Hey, I’ve not seen you about,” Tara said. She was nearly apologetic in her tone.

  “I didn’t think that’d bother you, plenty of other men here, as you well know,” he sulked.

  “What do you mean?” Tara asked. She knew, but thought she’d been discrete.

  “How many have you fucked? Every bloke or just most of us?” Chris spat. He was angry, but he didn’t care about her anymore. She was just someone he could throw his anger at.

  “Three men, and one girl,” she replied sternly.

  “Was that including me?” Chris was eager for a confrontation.

  “Four men, and one girl then,” came a quick, firm correction. She wasn’t about to apologise.

  “Just fuck off, I don’t even care anymore, fuck everyone, no-one, or just go and fuck yourself,” he sneered. Chris was ready to rip her apart.

  “I need to talk to you Chris, I think I’m not well,” Tara said. She was scared, but not of him. He recognised the fear in her eyes and the anger. He had it himself.

  “What do you want me to do about it? Go see one of those white coats, he’ll get you some penicillin and that’ll clear it all up,” Chris spat. He couldn’t forgive her, if she had left him alone he’d never have volunteered, had been infected, and had his heart broken.

  “I did, one of the guys I had… I was friends with. He’s sick too. I think you’re sick, aren’t you Chris?” Tara replied. She looked at him trying to judge his reaction. “I think we have a problem and I’m scared.”

  Chris looked at her, he didn’t feel any attraction to her. He didn’t want her. The creatures had mostly lost interest, too.

  “I’ve got to go to the lab, I’m on duty in ten,” he said. Chris brushed past Tara, she wanted to cry but held herself together, he was being an arsehole, and she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

  *

  Chris entered the lab and grunted at his colleague he was replacing before taking his place, looking over the lab and its staff. The white coats slowly went about their duties, their motivation had left them. Chris was hungry, he knew he wouldn’t have long. He was changing far quicker than he’d imagined was possible. He looked at the people in the lab as they worked; it irritated him. He thought about shouldering his rifle and killing all of them. It would be no effort at all. A young female lab technician walked in front of him. He could smell her. She wasn’t wearing any perfume, not even any deodorant, he could smell her. Her perspiration. Her skin. He leaned forward to hoover her scent in.

  “Private, you can chase woman outside of my lab, never inside of it,” she told him. Dr Srnicek herself was frustrated and happy to take it out on the squaddie.

  Chris grunted at her.

  “Excuse me, you need to show some respect to me and my staff in my laboratory,” she sneered. Now she was angry.

  Chris snarled and Dr Srnicek took a step back. She could see him now, see what he was. Chris leapt at her and pinned her to the ground. She didn’t have time to scream before he clamped his teeth on her face. The rest of the lab froze, stunned by the sight in front of them. Chris stood up covered in blood and the lab panicked as Dr Srnicek crawled away, stunned and bleeding heavily.

  Chris didn’t have any words. He didn’t need them; he ran at Robert, who tried to fend him off with a beaker. It smashed across Chris’ face but didn’t slow him down. Chris ripped a chunk of flesh from Robert’s neck. Finally he felt satisfied, it was the only thing he felt. His rifle was still where he had been sat. A young lab technician grabbed it and snatched at the trigger but nothing happened, Chris had his next target. The lad was frozen as Chris moved closer before knocking the rifle from his hands and smashing his head repeatedly against the wall. He now stood at the door, ensuring no one could pass. They huddled together, all except Martin.

  He knew he was infected too. The scent of the blood, filling his nose and sending his brain into a scramble. Chris wouldn’t hurt him, they were the same. Martin stepped forward towards Chris.

  “Don’t be stupid, Martin!” his friend pleaded, but Martin looked back with a tear in his eye.

  Robert lay in a pool of his own blood. He had stopped moving. Dr Srnicek was being held by a colleague. She was in shock, but still alive. The lad who had his head caved-in was perfectly still. Martin walked close to Chris, who looked through him. He carefully and slowly picked up the rifle, examined it briefly before flicking off the safety, and pulling back the bolt to load a round. Slowly he raised it and pointed at Chris, who didn’t flinch. He pulled the trigger twice, two rounds struck Chris at point blank range in the chest and he flew back and onto the floor.

  Martin wasn’t finished.

  He put another round into the lad on the floor, then walked to Robert and put two rounds in his torso, before standing over Dr Srnicek.

  “Get back,” he pleaded with the man helping her, who slowly obliged.

  She raised her hand up to plead with him, unable to speak, but it was no use. Martin shot her in the chest and she slumped backwards. He lowered the rifle. He knew this was it for him too. He couldn’t do it himself. Looking around the room, he didn’t think anyone else could either.

  “I’m changing too, you need to kill me, someone, please. I don’t want to become one of those things,” he pleaded. He approached the huddled scientists, but they edged away. “Someone needs to do this,” he said as he held the rifle out, his friend stepped forward and took the rifle. Martin smiled at him and he half-smiled back. Martin closed his eyes and waited. A single gunshot struck him in the chest and he slumped down. He coughed and moved a few inches before his body gave up on him.

  The rifle dropped to the floor, and there was a sense of relief in the lab. It was over; it was awful, but it was over. They comforted each other, some cried, others sat down with their heads in their hands.

  Chris stood back up. Any hint of humanity gone. He charged the group to screams as his victims realised it wasn’t over. Martin climbed to his feet. His eyes were glazed over, he wasn’t Martin anymore and joined in the attack thrashing at anyone near with his teeth and hands.

  The lab door swung open, the major entered with his pistol drawn. Another soldier ran in and moved ahead, rifle ready. In front of them a mass of white lab coats stained with blood, two attackers in a frenzy unwilling to stop.

  “Private, stand down!” The major ordered. The major knew he was talking to a monster, not a man. He just hoped for an ounce of humanity to remain.

  Both the creatures turned to the armed men, no fear, no recognition, blood covering their hands and faces, the injured white coats cowered in terror. The major didn’t hesitate any further and fired once, striking Chris in his shoulder. It knocked him back, but not down. The soldier hes
itated and Martin closed the distance on him in no time, pinning him to the ground, clawing at his face. The major edged back and assessed the room. There may have been two monsters, but almost all were now infected.

  “For fuck’s sake!” he screamed at everyone in the room. He hated them and pitied them all. He stepped back and slammed the doors closed, locking them.

  The heavy doors dulled the screams, pleading for rescue, their route to escape blocked by the starving beasts. The major hastily removed his belt and secured the doors further before looking through the small wired window into the lab. His man had wrestled himself free and standing, unarmed and bleeding, with the scientists and lab technicians, slowly edging towards the only safe place left to them, the freezer.

  The soldier fought off the creatures as the scientists quickly entered the large walk-in freezer. The major watched as the soldier slammed the freezer door shut, leaving the two feeders to enjoy the three bodies on the floor.

  Two more soldiers ran to the major, ready to help.

  “It’s too late, they’re all gone. Just the fucking dead in there now.”

  Chapter 7

  The civilians and soldiers were packing up two cars and a van, the last of the vehicles onsite. There wasn’t much to pack, a few scraps of clothes, and a few small boxes of food. Three of their number were gagged and bound, kneeling close to the fence line, the creatures on the other side showing them no interest.

  A private approached the major. “Sir, come with us. There’s nothing here,” Liam said. Liam was a good soldier, he followed orders but kept himself to himself. He was thankful when the major ordered the evacuation.