She held her machete against her arm, the tip of the blade occasionally rubbing against her elbow. When another of the creatures stumbled in front of her, Jennifer wasted no time in gutting it. Warm black goo sprayed across her already muck covered form, she didn’t mind though. There was something thrilling about being covered in the blood of her enemies. A throwback instinct possibly, one that made her relish every death, every victory, she gloried in it as she shot the gutted zombie in front of her.
She finally made it to her lover as he cut the legs out from under the zombie he had been fighting. The creature fell at her feet, the limbless torso wriggling in the gore covered ground like a worm. Its teeth snapping as it tried to bite her.
“For you, love.” Tony grinned wickedly at her.
“You always get me the best gifts.” She sighed before stomping down on the things head with one of her heavy combat boots, popping the brittle skull like an over-ripe grape. What was left of its grey brain mixed with the black ichor coated the street.
When she looked back up at Tony, his eyes were lit from within and a manic smile spread across his dark face. It was a look Jennifer shared. She moved closer and Tony wrapped one hand around her braid, avoiding the bits of shrapnel she had stuck in the end and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. She bit his lip hard enough to bruise as they pulled away. Neither cared that they were covered in the blood and black goo of not only zombies, but some of their fallen comrades. Jennifer flashed her teeth at him in an almost smile before moving back into the fight. They still had work to do.
-0-0-0-
Back at camp, Jennifer dried the heavy hair she adored. She had stored all the nails and other sharp things in their jars, and had even considered keeping the eyeball before tossing it out. She didn’t want to stink up their room with rotting flesh. Her body was beginning to come down from the euphoria that came on during battle.
Sometimes, Jennifer wondered if she didn’t have some Amazon blood in her. She had read about the fierce women in some of the books they had managed to save. She liked the idea of a tribe of warrior women. In this post-apocalypse world, you were either a warrior, or you were dead. She was a warrior, the best in their area, and Tony… he was the only man that had been able to match her. Thinking about her lover had Jennifer quickening her steps. She was ready to celebrate and she wanted to do so with him.
As she neared their room, Jennifer heard the murmur of voices. She paused, head tilted to the side as she listened. A distinctly female giggle had her lip curling back in a silent snarl. On padded, silent feet she made her way to the corner and peeked around it. The sight there had her seeing red in a rage.
Her Tony, her lover, her mate, had another girl pushed against a wall, holding her hands above her head as he rutted against her. Jennifer’s first instinct was to kill them both. She even had her beloved machete in hand before she froze. Her body went cold. An icy feeling poured from her heart and stilled her actions. This was not the time for revenge. Revenge was better when it was planned, when it was cold and merciless. With once last hate filled look, she backed away, ideas already swirling through her mind
-0-0-0-
It had been child’s play convincing Tony to follow her out that night. She told him she liked the danger the inner city represented and he was pulling her out the door of their room. Chaining him to the wall had only taken a few heated kisses and some practiced maneuvers. Jennifer looked down on the man she had loved, this broken and bleeding man chained to a wall. His pants were down around his ankles, the scarlet blood that flowed from just below his waist had turned a sticky black as the moon rose higher in the sky. He had cried when she cut off his favorite appendage and tossed it in the street, an offering to the creatures who roamed the night.
She heard them before she saw them. Jennifer was up just high enough to be uninteresting, but not so high she couldn’t watch every detail. They came from the alleyways and buildings, drawn to his cries and the smell of fresh blood. They swarmed over him, converging on his struggling form. Jennifer watched with manic glee as the first one latched its mouth to Tony’s waist where the fresh blood poured out. When it pulled back, the zombie’s mouth and chin were coated with Tony’s blood and Tony was screaming again. Jennifer would be lying to herself if she said the screams didn’t sound like twisted music to her ears and one thing Jennifer never did was lie to herself.
She watched as another latched onto his arm, twisting its head like dog as it pulled the muscle away from the tendons keeping it attached to the bone. More came, and she had to pick a few off with her rifle so she could continue to watch.
When she had cleared some away, Jennifer saw that one had latched itself to his inner thigh and was gnawing away. From the angle of the creature’s head, Jennifer was sure it had reached bone. Her favorite was when she saw one try for his throat only to be disappointed at the dense metal shackle covering the tender flesh. It moved instead to the curve of his shoulder where neck and shoulder met. When it bit down, Jennifer narrowed her eyes in disappointment and scaled back down the building. Tony had passed out, from pain or fear, she wasn’t sure, but the lack of his terror filled screams displeased her.
When her boots touched the ground, Jennifer took her trusty rifle off her back and got to work. The slow creatures were so distracted by the fresh flesh in front of them, they didn’t even notice her picking off their numbers with the high powered weapon. Each shot rang out in the dark night, echoing off the city walls, and still they gorged.
When she was down to three, Jennifer moved in close to finish them, fighting them with her preferred weapon. The first one to fall under her blade still had a bit of unidentifiable flesh hanging from its mouth. The detached head was still chewing as she punted it away, not concerned with where it landed.
The second was slurping intestines from its clawed fingers the way Jennifer had seen children do with spaghetti. It fell when she put her machete through the back of its skull and she smiled knowing the warm blood that coated her hand was not only the zombie’s, but Tony’s as well. She wrestled the machete out from the bone and almost giggled in delight at the sight of Tony’s entrails strung between the creature’s fingers. The macabre sight reminded her of the string game called ‘cat’s cradle’ she played as a child.
The very last one had finally noticed her and it turned to swipe crimson clawed hands at her, a warning to stay back. Zombies she sighed internally and rolled her eyes, they might be tough as nails, but without a brain to back it up… Her inner musings trailed off as the thing stood, ready to fend her off from its dinner. Jennifer slashed at it with her blade, but the thing was faster than she anticipated. It moved toward her and she missed its neck, instead she got the zombie’s arm, almost taking the appendage clean off. The creature snapped at her with gore stained teeth and Jennifer felt the sharp sweet sting of pain as the zombie’s hand raked across her stomach, its nails catching and pulling at the flesh there.
With a hissed curse, Jennifer used her other hand to push the thing away, pulling her blade free of its arm in the process. Before it could lumber back to her, she had unstrapped her small pistol. Jennifer buried her machete deep in its chest, tearing into non-functioning lungs, and brought the other hand to its temple.
“I liked this shirt.” She growled, her eyes as feral as the creature’s in front of her. She squeezed the trigger and pulled her blade free as it dropped.
With a kick, she pushed the thing to the side and out of her way as she sauntered up to Tony. He was a mess, barely recognizable as the man she had once loved. His face was torn, he had been torn open and disemboweled from chest to waist, and most of his upper leg was missing. Jennifer felt her chest swell with joy at the sight. When she squatted down just a bit to see his slightly open eyes focus on her, she laughed her elation. He was still alive! Jennifer knew he was no longer truly living, it was the quickly spreading virus that had his eyes flashing in fear and recognition, but she didn’t care. He still had enough intelligence l
eft to know who she was.
“Oh Tony…” She cooed and ran a nail up what was left of his chest. He tried to flinch away, but she grabbed his face, her trailing nails turned into grasping claws as they bit into his chin. She forced him to look up at her, and she drank in the absolute terror spilling from his eyes.
“You should have known better.” She whispered against his lips, then kissed him one last time. Her lips were still locked with his as she put a bullet with his name on it through his head. She pulled back, admiring the way her blood smeared lips had left what looked like a lipstick stain on his own. With a flick of her long braid, Jennifer walked away, admiring the soft metallic clinks her braid made with every step.
Tales of the Zombie Apocalypse (Issue #3 | October 2015) Page 8