The Walking Hunter: The Complete Collection

by Mason King

  The Walking Hunter

  The Complete Collection

  By Mason King

  © 2016

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  The Walking Hunter

  Hunter was flying home from an unsettling business trip. His only worry was whether or not he would still have a job when he landed. However, something happens. And Hunter quickly realizes that his job is the least of his worries, as he and his fellow travelers land in a completely deserted airport.

  Hunter soon finds himself in a world of crazy travelling companions, mysterious vials containing diseases even a doctor of bio-chemical engineering has never seen before, and a manhunt by the FBI.

  Will he be able survive, when he isn’t even entirely sure what is after him…?

  Get a SNEAK PEAK at upcoming books, including:

  April 3rd: A Survival Memoir

  Volume One

  We’ll be touching down at San Francisco International in about 15 minutes came the voice over the speaker system.

  Hunter never minded flying, it always gave him a chance to just relax and unwind. He never listened to music, watched movies, or conversed with his fellow passengers. On especially long flights he did nap; but for the most part he truly enjoyed the solitude. This flight, however, had been much more stressful. They had had one stop during the 13-hour flight, but he couldn’t even eat during the short layover. He started mentally preparing himself for what was expected of him once he landed. The meeting had not gone as anticipated by his partners. He had been in Italy for the past 3 days trying to land a contract with the firm his company had been after for years.

  “Shit...” he muttered, already reserving himself to the fact that he may not have a job in 24 hours.

  The landing went smoothly with little turbulence. He and his fellow flyers shuffled off one by one, getting ready to head to the baggage claim to obtain their belongings. Since Hunter had only been gone for a few days, he had his carry-on and one small duffel that he needed to retrieve.

  The second they stepped off that plane, he knew something was wrong. There was an eerie calm along the hanger.

  This was an airport. An airport in San Francisco, California. Why was it so calm? The air had a feeling that Hunter had never experienced before; it immediately caused him to feel uneasy. He looked around to see if anyone else was having that same odd sensation. Sure enough one young blonde woman, maybe in her late twenties, was glancing from side to side nervously. Their eyes met, and the uneasiness grew. Her eyes flicked to his left and her jaw dropped. Instinctively, Hunter took a huge step to his right before looking to see what had given his neighbor such a horrified look.

  “WHAT THE” Was all he managed to get out before the thing was on top of him.

  The thing, (he? It was hard to tell) looked like a completely normal person…if that person had been dead for a few weeks then fell out of the hearse on the way to the funeral home and was left for dead on the side of the road for a few more days. Nevertheless, there it was on top of him, vigorously trying to bite his face, his arm, and any free body part he saw. He was able to keep him at arms-length before flipping them both over so Hunter was on top. Hunter quickly jumped up, and it wasn’t long before The Thing was on its’ feet as well. His neighbor screamed, followed by a lot of other screams. The entire plane of people was behind him, just watching as he battled The Thing.

  “Seriously?” He said as he quickly glanced over his shoulder, pushing one of The Thing’s arms out of the way as it swatted at him, “NO ONE is going to help me?”

  The blonde neighbor quickly grabbed an umbrella that was lying nearby and yelled, “DUCK!” before hitting The Thing with all her might. Hunter gave a sigh of relief as The Things head bashed in easily and It fell to the floor with a soft thud.

  Hunter stood there for a second letting his heart rate slow to a normal pace. He turned to the blonde neighbor and thanked her profusely before shooting a dirty look to his fellow plane travelers. As he was about to turn and cuss them all out, he saw that The Thing was not the only Thing in the airport…Thing’s entire extended family was now making its way not-so-slowly towards the group.

  “Fuck. RUN”, he yelled before turning, grabbing blonde neighbors hand (hey, she had the umbrella) and booking it towards the exit.

  The duo never once looked behind as they both ran as fast as they could, jumping over stray luggage and bags. They heard noises and screams behind them as they ran, but they were not about to stop and see what was happening. Hunter only paused to grab a golf club from a set strewn nearby. Score, he couldn’t help but think. He’d have grabbed more than one if there’d been time.

  Once they got outside they both paused and looked around. Hunter was hit with a wave of different emotions. Relief, when he noticed that there were no Things outside. Horror, when he realized there were no people outside, either. Fear, when he looked behind them and saw that they were the only two that made it out of the airport. And last, hope, when he realized that he was lucky enough to have his car keys in his pocket. He still had his carry on, a back pack, strapped to his back, but not having to stop, even for a few seconds, seemed like a blessing in that moment.

  “Quick, this way!” He grabbed Blonde neighbor’s hand again and they made it to his car at the front of the parking lot.

  He felt extremely fortunate for several reasons. One was the bomb-ass parking spot he’d been lucky enough to snag before leaving. Second was the fact that he was a country boy at heart, and had driven his completely tricked out 4 door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with 35 inch tires, grill guard and light bar; literally anything he felt like they could need to run over some Things and get away.

  As they were hopping in to his car they heard a faint, “Heeeey!” yelled from behind them. They looked at each other, before looking behind to see another guy, who obviously made it out, running towards them at full speed waving his arms frantically.

  Hunter cursed under his breath, they both hopped in and he started the car. He swung around and came to an abrupt halt in front of the guy so he could jump in the back seat. As soon as he had, Hunter locked the doors and made a large swing back around from where they were, hitting 2 or 3 Things that had finally emerged from God-knows-where, just for the sheer fact that he was pissed. They started down the Bayshore Freeway going north towards San Mateo. Looking in the rearview, Hunter noted dozens, maybe hundreds, of people who weren’t actually people running after them, but it wasn’t long before he had left every last one in the dust.

  As he drove, he did not see any abandoned cars like you see on the movies when shit goes down. This fact led him to believe that whatever they had missed, they hadn’t missed it by much.

  They rode in silence for several long seconds before Hunter finally looked from the road to his passengers.

  Blonde neighbor looked like she had just seen a ghost, hundreds to be exact. And backseat guy just looked completely shocked, his face pale and his mouth hanging open. Backseat guy slipped out of the backpack he’d been carrying and set it beside him on the seat. It was a backpack not much different from Hunters. Must have been his carry-on too, Hunter thought momentarily. Somehow, his own backpack had stayed on him during his tussle with The Thing. Then he looked over to Blondie and noticed she had nothing on her what-so-ever, save her umbrella. She was dressed in black dress p
ants, a light pink blouse and silver flats. Bet she’s happy she wasn’t wearing heels, Hunter mused to himself.

  Hunter introduced himself, before asking his passengers their names. Blonde neighbor turned out to be named Kendall and Back seat guy was Paul. They both thanked him for giving them a ride.

  “Well,” Hunter started, “Don’t thank me just yet…where is it you both are needing a ride to?” It just now occurred to him that the three of them needed to get to their homes, and who knew where those homes were.

  Kendall spoke first, “I live here. In San Francisco.”

  Whew, Hunter was relieved, “Me too” was his response.

  Paul admitted that he didn’t live in San Francisco, he was just on a layover. He was actually headed towards Las Vegas for a bachelor party.

  Hunter groaned, but, luckily, Paul said he had friends in the area he could try and seek out. As he said that though, they all got quiet. They had no idea what was going on, and none of them knew if their friends and family were even in a position to be sought out.

  Hunter flicked on the radio to try and get a clue about what was happening.

  The news stations were not giving any updates on what they had just experienced. Several stations mentioned the complete lack of traffic, and how that was unheard of in LA, but the way they talked about it was in a joking manner. Not one was talking about the airport. What on earth? Hunter thought to himself.

  He played around for a little bit longer but it quickly became clear that no matter what station he went to, no one was discussing any sort of…incident? Would that even be the right word? Hunter began to think he was going crazy. He looked to his companions and they seemed just as befuddled as he.

  At this point Hunter decided he needed to get in touch with his fiancé’. It looked like they were in the clear from whatever was going on for the time being.

  He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and hit Allison’s name.

  Hunter almost cried when heard his fiancé’s voice on the other end of the line. “Hey, babe!” She always answered his phone calls in her bubbly, overly-excited manner. It made him smile instantly.

  “Baby!” he couldn’t hide his relief and excitement.

  “Is everything okay? Your plane was supposed to land forever ago; I’ve texted you like a million times. I almost came to the airport anyway, but I knew you said not to in case you were delayed.”

  “Allison…” He began, moving past another wave of relief that she hadn’t come anyway. He told her that she just needed to trust him while he told her what he was about to tell her. She paused, then said, “Okay…” hesitantly.

  After that he launched in to the tale of what he had been through.

  She actually laughed, “You’re joking right?”

  When he didn’t respond her demeanor changed. “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t either, trust me. But we are taking Kendall to her parent’s house now. As soon as I figure out where I can take Paul I’m coming home to you. Also! If you could turn on the TV and see if there is anything mentioned anywhere? I wouldn’t call anyone; that would just induce panic. But if you see anything remotely similar to what I just told you would you call me back? And please lock the door and don’t go anywhere, okay?”

  She responded that she wouldn’t, and that she would go ahead and click on the news to see if she could find out anything. Neither Allison nor Hunter had any family. It was sad, he knew, but he always assumed that’s part of why they worked so well together. They knew they had each other, and they ONLY really had each other. That’s why he believed her when she said she wouldn’t go anywhere. He told her he loved her, and she responded “I love you, more” as she always did before they hung up the phone.

  At this point, they had driving for about 30 minutes and they had started to see some cars here and there.

  Kendall spoke up from the passenger seat. “We’re…” She faltered. “We’re actually not far from my house…”

  It was obvious she was nervous by the way she tripped over her words. Maybe she thought he’d just drop her off on the side of the road or something. No, he wasn’t like that. Even though he was anxious to get to his own home, he had taken responsibility of his passengers the moment he had let them in to his Jeep.

  “Okay.” He responded, “Tell me where to go.”

  Paul started to argue but Hunter cut him off. They all had places they needed to be, but for now the 3 were stuck with each other.

  Kendall directed him to get off at the next exit and take a right. Paul borrowed Hunter’s phone to call some friends. He talked to several different people, 2 of whom clearly thought he was joking and actually hung up on him. Hunter absentmindedly continued to follow Kendall’s directions until they were in her neighborhood.

  At this point, Paul had still been unsuccessful in finding anyone to let him crash for a few days. Upon pulling into Kendall’s neighborhood, the 3 sat in stunned silence. It looked like nothing was going on. There were kids out in the yard playing, cars were parked in the driveways, there were even a few people coming out of their houses and getting in their vehicles and taking off.

  “Okay.” Kendall, said, her forehead scrunching in confusion. “Now I’m lost.”

  Hunter shook his head, but continued driving until Kendall pointed to a pale blue and white house at the very corner of a cul-de-sac. Kendall gave a sigh of relief when she noted that her parent’s car, a shiny black Land Rover, was sitting in her driveway.

  The 3 got out of Hunter’s Jeep and headed towards the front door. Kendall tried to open the door only to find it locked. She rang the doorbell, knocked on the door and looked through the side windows. After just a few moments, an older blonde woman appeared in the doorway, “Kendall!” She said before wrapping her daughter in to a hug.

  “How are you? I thought you were calling us to pick you up from the airport?” She asked quizzically while looking at the two men she had brought with her.

  “Mom.” Was all she said before she started to sob. What she had just experienced was finally starting to hit her.

  Her mom wrapped her back in a hug and called her Sweetie as she rubbed her back, “What’s wrong?” Her mom was clearly completely taken aback at the situation.

  Before Kendall could answer, her mom hollered, “Frank!” and only a few seconds later an older gentleman came to see what the ruckus was about. Seeing his daughter crying, being consoled by his wife, and two men he didn’t know in his living room he immediately jumped to conclusions.

  “What the hell did you do to my daughter?” He spat at the two boys, before enveloping his two girls.

  Hunter and Paul had no idea how to react, so they stood there dumbfounded until Kendall came to their defense, “No! Daddy they didn’t do anything. I just…” she trailed off.

  Paul finally spoke up for the three, “Something is going on.” And with that, he went in to a condensed version of what the three had went through and how they had gotten here. He even explained that the entire freeway had been empty throughout the majority of their drive. Frank looked at them all as if they each had grown 2 additional heads. He walked over to the television to turn it on; it was clear he thought they were either crazy, or trying to play a cruel joke. As he flipped through trying to find the news station, the two men dropped their things by the door, and walked in to the living room to see if the TV was offering any clues as to what was going on.

  The 5 of them watched the TV as the older gentleman continued to look through the stations. Nothing on the bigger stations, ABC, FOX, WNBC, revealed anything going on in San Francisco. Just when they were starting to give up hope on finding any information, Frank had flipped to a local station that mentioned something about the Airport. They all watched in silence as Frank turned the volume up.

  The pretty young woman behind the desk starting talking about an “incident” that had happened at the airport earlier that day. She went on to disclose that there was not much information available at this
time, but that all flights were being directed to other airports in the area. No flights were coming in, and all flights scheduled for the next few days were cancelled. While she was smiling for the camera, you could tell there was a sense of unease about her. That was probably imperceptible to viewers, but to the 5 people in that room who knew at least a little bit of what was going on, they could sense it. She obviously knew more than she was letting on. Much more.

  Right as the woman was ending her report, Hunter’s phone started ringing. Allison was calling, she must have caught the same station they did.

  He excused himself and went to a separate room to answer the phone.

  As he was gone, the others started a conversation. Frank and Kendall’s, mother who introduced herself as Diana, apologized to Paul for jumping to conclusions. Diana put on a pot of coffee to busy herself as Frank started to come up with possibilities for what was going on. No one wanted to say the word that was on everyone’s mind.

  Zombies.

  Kendall, being the youngest, was the first to say it. Her parent’s looked at her in disbelief, the way parents look at a child who’s said something completely out there, but Paul quickly backed her up.

  “There was no other way to describe them. Seriously. They were…not alive. They were definitely human, but they were also definitely dead.” He started, pulling his eyebrows together in confusion and looking down at as though he was trying to make sense of it all. It was obvious he knew it sounded nuts, but he had no other way to explain it.

  “He’s right.” Kendall continued. “Mom, Dad, something is seriously wrong over there. We have to figure out how bad this is. Or we need to warn people. We have to DO something!” Her voice had started to get louder with every word, until she was almost yelling in the direction of her parent’s and Paul.

  At this point, Hunter emerged, having no additional information to offer, he digressed from whatever they were discussing, “Look,” Hunter began, “I need to go ahead and get back to my fiancé’. Paul, did you find somewhere to go?”