Deadweight | Book 2 | The Last Bite

by Forster, Paul

  Natasha looked at the cured girl, and wondered, time for a snack?

  Chapter 59

  When William had woken in bed alone, he instantly believed the worst. She could have been fixing breakfast, cleaning or harmlessly reading a book. He knew that wasn’t true. She was up to something; he knew it. His missing keys added further to his suspicion. He didn’t rush as he dressed, starting the day as he would any other. Only once in his attire did he deviate from his routine. He went to the wardrobe to reveal a tall shotgun cabinet. Entering the code, he opened the door and removed the double-barrelled shotgun, his fathers, and picked up a handful of cartridges, stuffing them into his pocket before loading two into the gun.

  He was wary as he sauntered down the stairs. The shotgun was ready to do its job. He checked the food hadn’t been slaughtered. They were their usual miserable selves. After searching every room, there was no sign of Natasha. His anger grew as he imagined the damage she may have done to his work. The small-minded and impulsive girl was a liability, but she was like him. Trapped between two worlds, enjoying the gifts of both. Once he had the cure, she would see. She would realise he had secured their future and they could do with it whatever they wished. If she didn’t murder him first.

  The walk to the lab seemed longer than normal. He didn’t want to see what she may have done. It worried him that if she had destroyed everything, he may just pull the trigger and kill her through pure fury. As he reached the door, he composed himself, but only felt greater tension. He had the shotgun lowered, but ready to pop up at a second’s notice to give her both barrels if needed. He saw her lying on the floor. “You stupid bitch,” he spat. She was on her side, covered in the girl’s red blood. She had only consumed half of the girl’s body before she had slumped to the floor. Grey vomit mixed with the blood. “You ate the girl? Why?”

  Natasha stirred and looked up at William. “Because that’s what we do. It’s in our nature,” she replied. Natasha looked in a terrible state and sounded worse. Her cheeks were a little rosier, her flesh more natural.

  “You don’t know what you’ve done, do you?” he asked. William couldn’t believe that she had been so selfish, so idiotic.

  “Relax, you can make as many as you want to replace her now. I don’t feel great,” Natasha responded. She wiped grey gunk from her mouth as she looked down at the mess she had been laying in.

  “I can cure the feeders, that’s right. It works. You can see that for yourself. If I was working for whatever government may still be cowering in a bunker, they would laud me a hero. I’ve developed the cure that could save the world,” William praised himself. He walked closer to get a better look at Natasha. “But there is a problem. The cure stays in the system. It doesn’t degrade. Much like with FatBGone, the cure never leaves the body.” He smiled.

  Natasha felt awful. She looked at her hands. Some colour restored. “No, no, it can’t be?”

  “Congratulations. You’ve cured yourself, you stupid woman. You’ve fucked everything up. You disgust me,” he berated her. He was angry, he wanted to hurt her. She was useless to him now.

  “Turn me back, please, I don’t want to be this. Please!” she begged. Tears ran down her face. For the first time in a long time, she felt weak and vulnerable.

  “It’s too late. All I can do for you now is shoot you and burn your corpse. I can’t risk you infecting the others,” William said. He raised the shotgun, ready to pull the trigger.

  “No!” Natasha yelled. She closed her eyes, not wishing to see the shot that would kill her.

  The buttstock of the shotgun crashed into her face, the impact knocking her out cold. “You’re just another specimen now,” William scorned. He dragged her across the lab and bound her hands, tying her to the radiator next to another cured beast.

  He didn’t waste any time before he started testing her; they were the same breed of beast and she had been cured. However, was her reaction the same as the simple feeders or different? The first blood sample instantly confirmed the change by its colour, what should have been grey, was instead a more human red. If he had known her fate was to do something this stupid, he would have taken her as a full test subject. Such a waste.

  Chapter 60

  Peter wasn’t sure he could keep himself from throwing up over the beautiful, deserted West Sussex countryside. It was only the presence of the soldiers that made him feel the need to man up. The helicopter moved so low and fast everything below was a blur. He had to fix his gaze on the horizon as he held on to the machine gun. The SAS team kept themselves to themselves, except for Spencer, who took everything in. Every building, village and abandoned tent.

  “Two minutes,” Seb bellowed through Spencer’s headset, who relayed the message to his men with his thumb and index finger.

  The soldiers started a last check on their weapons and kit. Peter didn’t know what he should do, so just moved the GPMG’s barrel left to right as if he was scanning for a target. The Lynx flew lower over a woodland; the skids grazing the tops of the tallest trees until it launched free and pulled up to an abrupt stop above a freshly ploughed field. Pausing for just a moment before beginning its descent.

  “Two armed men in the LZ, engage?” Kyle asked. He was ready to obliterate them.

  “Negative, cover and react as necessary,” Spencer confirmed, hoping there wouldn’t be bloodshed today.

  As the helicopter touched down, the two men were already on their knees, rifles on the ground and hands in the air. Kyle had his machine gun trained on the pair as the SAS soldiers disembarked the Lynx and fanned out. Peter strained to see what was going on.

  “Eyes forward, Pete, watch your fucking side!” Kyle ordered. He tried to remain calm, but he didn’t much fancy getting shot in the back just because Peter was curious about what was going on.

  “British Army, how many more?” Spencer asked as he pointed his rifle barrel at the large black man. A closer look revealed this giant was missing a hand. Their weapons laid out in front of them looked like toys rather than the tools of war.

  “Us two here, a small settlement about ten minutes through the woods. We’re harmless, we have nothing worth taking,” Kenneth replied.

  Mike picked up one rifle from the floor and looked at it, unimpressed. “It’s a fucking airgun!” he said. He was confused and placed it back on the floor, eyeing up the men.

  Spencer produced the increasingly dogeared picture. “We’re looking for this man.”

  Kenneth looked at the photo. “I don’t know him. He’s not with us.”

  Spencer was neither surprised nor disappointed, he knew this would likely be fruitless. He wasn’t about to waste any time dragging his men to the settlement to look around for five minutes, then head back. “Okay, what shape are you in?”

  “We’re okay, making do. Look, I was a soldier,” Kenneth paused and corrected himself. “I am a soldier. Who is he?”

  “Maybe he has the solution to this plague, maybe he’s just another white coat with no answers but big opinions.”

  “I’ve scouted out most of this area, and miles around. I might be able to guide you,” Kenneth replied. If he could help, he had to. He failed his men, but maybe he could make that right.

  “We’ve got intel and the Lynx, we’re fine, I’m sure your more useful here with your people. Where were you based?” Spencer asked. He tried to shut the conversation down, but then felt he should offer this fellow soldier a moment of respect.

  “When this shit all went down, a research centre, Wellworth,” Kenneth replied.

  “Get the fuck out of here, that’s where we’re working from,” Billy chipped in excitedly.

  “It’s lost, isn’t it?” Kenneth queried, he was confused. Help had come. Maybe when he visited all those weeks ago, he should have tried harder, waited. He could have been soldiering all this time rather than enjoying retirement from the world.

  “Not quite, besides the few thousand grey skinned neighbours, it was just Peter until we arrived there,�
� Billy confirmed.

  “Peter?” Kenneth had only known the frightened, unimpressive man for a few hours, but surely it wasn’t him? “Was he okay?”

  “Ask him yourself, he’s on the right gimpy,” Spencer said as he motioned to the helicopter and started walking towards it. “Come on then.”

  The pair walked around the front of the Lynx, Spencer acknowledged Seb as they passed the cockpit. Peter wasn’t expecting them to walk into view and nearly let off a burst from the gun. His startled look brought a smile to Kenneth’s face. It was him, he’d made it! “Peter, long time no see!”

  Peter stared at Kenneth as if gazing upon a ghost. “You died?”

  “Well, nearly. I got out after that bitch lost interest. I would be dead if these guys hadn’t found me. Where’s your friend, the police officer?”

  “I don’t know. We got separated when Natasha attacked us at Wellworth.”

  “And it, what happened to that thing, to her?” Kenneth asked as he rubbed his stump, thinking of that vile woman, his smile gone.

  “I woke up in a field, with her laying on top of me.”

  “Dead?” Kenneth spat the word out with venom.

  “I was pretty out of it, but I was soaked in her blood and she wasn’t moving,” Peter replied. He grew unsure of himself.

  “It’s good to see you, I’m glad you made it,” Kenneth broke the tension and offered his hand to be shaken.

  “You too,” Peter obliged and smiled.

  Kenneth turned to Spencer. “I can help you, I’m still a soldier. I know this area from the ground. Not some bloody satellite picture, not from the safety of a fucking helicopter. I’ve walked the terrain, I’ve watched and listened, I can help you.”

  Spencer eyed the giant up and down. Despite the missing hand, he was still a physical presence. He didn’t know what would lie ahead, even if Kenneth was just another able body back at the base he could prove useful. “The best intel we’ve gathered on the ground points to an old farm owned by the Johnson family near Thornhurst. You think you can help, prove it.”

  Kenneth jogged towards Jake. “Johnson farm, near Thornhurst?”

  “It’s not been a proper farm for a few years, just a poncy holiday let. Or it was before they died.”

  Spencer gathered up his troops as Kenneth and Jake continued speaking. “The big guy is coming with us, he says he’s a soldier, I believe him. No guns, not even his poxy air rifle. Okay?”

  Kenneth rejoined the SAS team. “Is he friendly, this Johnson?”

  “I don’t see a reason he wouldn’t be, but the end of the world does funny things to normally stable minds,” Spencer replied.

  “We should go on foot then. They’re in the open, nothing but overgrown fields surrounding them. If we fly too close, they’ll see us coming. If you’re not sure, you’ll want to walk in and keep the initiative right?” Kenneth asked. He wasn’t about to walk into an ambush, Spencer was right, the end of the world does peculiar things to people.

  Spencer nodded. “How far?”

  “If your man can land us outside of Thornhurst, it’s about 20 minutes at a quick pace,” Kenneth told him. He had scooted around Thornhurst a few times with Jake and Michael.

  “Perfect. Let’s go,” Spencer replied. He could see the end in sight. Either Johnson was dead or alive, but by the end of the day, they would know.

  The men boarded the Lynx and Kenneth waved to Jake as he climbed into the chopper. He would be a soldier one more time, and it felt good. Suddenly he missed the uniform. His home alterations had drawn a few looks and sniggers from the soldiers, but none had been silly enough to risk the ire of the physically impressive man. It didn’t matter to Kenneth; he knew what soldiers were like; he had fought in the uniform many times and it meant a lot to him.

  “Look, I’m just going to say it, what the fuck is going on with your trousers?” Mike got the words out before bursting into laughter and joined by the others onboard as the helicopter took off.

  Chapter 61

  Natasha felt pain in a way she barely remembered. Her hands and feet were bound, and he had secured her to a radiator. The bodily fluids over the floor confirmed another subject had recently vacated the space. She was covered in her own vomit and the blood of her last victim. Her head pounded. Pain as a feeder felt different to that of a human. It may have been the confidence that her survivability gave her, even serious wounds would recover quickly, but pain didn’t feel important. It hadn’t worried her, as wounds were less likely to be fatal. Now, as a human once again, the pain was tainted by her humanity, by worry. Her head hurt, she could have a bleed on the brain. Her arms had sections of flesh cut away. Maybe the wounds will become infected and she’ll succumb to septicaemia. So many worries, such a frail a body.

  When she had first began changing into a monster, she would have given anything for a cure, to be human again. Now she prayed that she could be restored to her cannibal self. She wanted the power back, the confidence. She knew she couldn’t survive in the outside world; she had seen it first-hand. She enjoyed walking safely amongst the feeders, passing as a human when encountering survivors. Now she was on the menu too. William was still testing the samples he had taken from her, paying her strips of flesh more attention in the last hour than he’d given to her in the last week.

  “Will you let me go?” Natasha asked. Genuine fear caused her voice to tremble.

  “Of course not, I’ve told you you’re far too dangerous. When those things out there eat you, and they would, you’d cure them. They would then become victims to other feeders and suddenly you’ve gone and cured half of the South-East. No. You’ve done this to yourself and I won’t have you jeopardise all my work and my life. I’ll make it quick when the times comes. Until then, things will be… unpleasant,” he simply said. A slither of a grin showed itself, he’d make her death painless, but the rest of her life until then wouldn’t be so kind.

  “What will your life be like without me to bully?” she asked. Natasha had always felt controlled, but she had given as good as she got.

  “Come on dear, you haven’t been a victim since you took that first pill. How many people have you killed? How much did you enjoy doing it? You’re a far bigger monster than I am, I just did what I needed to do. You loved doing it,” William accused her. He didn’t even look at her as he carried on his work.

  “It will be a lonely life here on your own.” She told him.

  “I found you, I’ll find another. Who knows how many thousands of us are roaming the country? Maybe the next one will be a little more grateful, a little less excitable,” he said and the grin grew a little wider.

  Natasha looked away. At least if she was a walking cure, she wouldn’t have to suffer the indignity of being served up as a meal for William. Suddenly he froze and listened intently.

  “What is it?” Natasha asked, she couldn’t hear anything.

  “Shut up!” he snapped back. He listened as hard as he could, his heightened sense picked up the faint sound of a helicopter far away. It was unusual to hear any engine sound, and the loud helicopter was distinct, but obviously far away. Natasha tried to hear what William heard, but was obviously unable. “It was a helicopter. It’s gone now.”

  *

  The Lynx touched down briefly. The SAS soldiers hopped out and Kenneth followed. After the last boot hit the ground, the helicopter took off and flew away in the direction it came. The men covered each direction as the chopper disappeared.

  “Come on then, big boy, which is the best route?” Mike asked, he didn’t want to waste anytime. He had the map out in front of him and invited Kenneth over to instruct.

  “These buildings we need to avoid, there’s several cars blocking that road with maybe 30 of the filthy bastards trapped there. We head up through the next two fields, then cut across until we hit the road.”

  “How close have you been to this place?” Gary chipped in.

  “As far as those 30 hungry twats,” Kenneth stated, aware his blag t
o get back to doing some soldiering was unravelling.

  “So why are you here then?” Billy enquired. He saw the crippled giant as a liability.

  “I guess if it all goes to shit, I’ll can get you out of it and not into more. I know this area. If I knew that farm, I could tell you if it was the white coat there or not,” Kenneth defended.

  “Come on ladies, lets get cracking,” Spencer gave the order, and they moved out in double-quick time, Kenneth leading with Mike; Gary, Billy and Spencer formed up behind covering avenues of potential attack.

  *

  Natasha couldn’t get comfortable. The injuries were minor but sore, the floor hard and cold. But it was the anxiety that was getting to her. She wished he would just shoot her now and put her out of her misery. Instead, he just examined her flesh under a microscope. She couldn’t fathom what was so interesting that he had been examining the samples for nearly twenty minutes. He broke away and looked at the lab. He needed to make room for new feeders to test with, and the place was a mess. He’d have to remove the bodies, kill the subjects that were no longer useful, and thoroughly decontaminate the holding cages. Even a splatter of the dry, cured blood, if ingested, could cure its victim. He didn’t look forward to spending the day scrubbing. He briefly contemplated making Natasha do it, but he couldn’t trust her. If it took a day, it took a day. At least now his fresh food supplies at the house would last twice as long.