by L A Taylor
Kenny relaxed more around the man. “I saw some bad people. They hurt Mrs Marple, so I had to run.” He burst into tears, which totally lost the other person in what to do next. “I had to run away and hide from those naughty people.”
Shane moved over and cuddled the traumatized boy.
“You’re safe now. No one will hurt you.”
Kenny suddenly pushed the scientist away. He seemed very jumpy, like he needed to get something off his chest.
“Where’s my mummy and daddy? I want my mummy and daddy.”
“Hey, calm down, your parents are safe.”
“Safe? Where are they?”
“Please, sit down and I’ll tell you where they are.”
It took a few more words of wisdom and explanations before Kenny quietened down enough to sit down.
The three groups kept in contact with each other as they searched the forest, yet again for any clues to help them.
Craig had been followed, but so far wasn’t aware of it. The creature was focused on yearning for human flesh, but kept its distance so couldn’t be heard. After about five minutes Craig took a short break and a well-earned cigarette to quench the build up of stress. The lighter pressed down and the orange, red brightness appeared. After a few puffs on the smoking stick a more chilled out officer heard bushes shake behind him. He quickly turned, trying to spot the guilty party behind the rustling, but upon shining the torch he noticed nothing there. This female zombie was clever enough to circle around the man undetected and was now right behind him. The cigarette was frantically inhaled a few more times as Craig became edgy. As he neared the end of the smelly tobacco stick he launched it over his shoulder. This still smouldering cigarette butt never landed on the ground. It hit a moving object, finding its way into the raggedy strips of clothing belonging to the dead woman. Still Craig was unwise to what was behind him.
He turned around, bumping into the creature and pushing a sticking out knife blade deeper into it. It was all by accident, but the sharp, kitchen utensil was now burrowed inside the corpse, leaving just a piece of handle showing. The zombie lost its bearings, grabbing the officer around the waist to avoid falling over. Craig wanted out of this predicament and so without any thought, apart from escaping, shone his torch deep into the zombie’s eyes, but this idea failed to impress. As soon as the light entered a circle around the beast’s facial area he was given the full uncut viewing of a scarred, toothless, and disfigured beast that knocked his courage to one side.
He raised his right hand, gripping the beast tightly around the throat. The dead fuck seemed to be spitting at him, but in fact an explosion of water was released when the sharp, strangulation hold happened. The zombie squeezed tighter, but wasn’t able to penetrate the man’s skin with its nails, or, lack of them. Craig found it hard to breath, but knew he had to push the fucker off before the situation became too messy to handle. “Fucking hell, why won’t you just go away?”
He lost his patience, but did manage to free himself from the clutches of the rag-like dressed beast.
Instead of running away or better still, reaching for his gun, Craig stared at what the zombie was wearing on its feet. This creature had a pair of nice, red shoes on, but Craig had no idea of where they’d come from.
What the fuck. How can this freak afford a classy pair of high heels? he thought.
What made it more unusual was that the creature could actually walk in them.
Craig’s mind was back on his job. He threw a punch at the monster, but somehow the beast got a shot in first, catching the officer square on his jaw. Demon hands reached out, grabbing him again, but this time an angry, hungry snarl razor-bladed Craig’s confidence to shreds. The indecisive officer regained his focus, but the zombie was able to snap out, taking some skin from his body.
“Jesus, you’ve cut me, bitch. I can’t believe you did that.”
The zombie wasn’t interested in what the officer said and just wanted to taste more of his blood. The tiny speck of redness on its lips was enough to transform the monster into a deranged and crazed killer.
Craig gave it another hefty push and the creature stumbled backwards but as he reached for his gun a dark, grey cloud appeared and smoke spiralled from beneath the zombie’s chest area. Craig was confused, thinking the beast was going to disappear into nothingness, but his mind soon changed as the smoke was accompanied by other colours. Flames spread from inside the zombie now and Craig couldn’t help but laugh. He was extremely surprised, but at the same time happy to be finally witnessing the downfall of this zombie. This one was going out in a blaze of no glory. The flames became thicker, bigger, and more deadly as they spread. The zombie had no chance of survival, but still tried moving toward the human in an attempt to fulfil a murder.
The stinking smell of cooked, rotten flesh and melted leather overpowered the officer’s nostrils, but he stayed well clear of being burned by the incoming fiend. After a few more screaming and uncontrollable walking seconds the crispy black zombie fell to its knees. The fire had eaten up the virus.
Craig checked his wound. It pleased him to see that it was only a faint scratch. The bleeding ceased and so the infected area was covered up by clothing. He suddenly felt a great anger so slammed his boot down on top of the zombie’s skull, shattering bone underneath the pressure. He put out the fire and then contacted Mike, letting him know that there was one zombie down, and if the other one existed, then it would be five against one.
FORTY-ONE
Mike’s posse closed in on Craig, but Kevin and Todd had their journey cut short. Kevin had fallen over an object lying amongst the overgrown grass. It was a good job his gun wasn’t in his hand because it could so easily have fired and shot off his face. “What the fuck was that?” he screamed out.
Todd shone his torch at the area, moving it slowly until reaching a non-moving figure. “Jesus, man, it’s George,” he yelled.
The torchlight moved up the dead man’s body until resting on the petrified expression that was still stamped onto the old officer’s face. Kevin returned to his feet, but found it hard to maintain a perfect balance after witnessing the shredded body of George. He staggered slightly, but eventually stood still again. “Mike needs to know about this.” Kevin tried so hard to keep focus but it wasn’t going to be easy, not now, not while George’s pasty, empty eyes were still open. He closed them before they leaked out images of the brutal attack. “What’s happened to the married couple?”
Todd felt very troubled by this because in his eyes his boss wouldn’t have left the old man alone to fend off the enemy, but it seemed Kevin was having a totally different view on the situation. “I hope they’re as far away from here as possible,” Todd said.
Kevin didn’t reply, but wondered if Blake had killed the former officer in order to protect his wife? At this time though was able to keep quiet. Todd did the right thing and never mentioned Blake’s name again. He now just wanted to reach the others before Kevin slated the married pair even more. It took a lot of effort, especially for Kevin to leave the area, but eventually they closed in on the whereabouts of the other humans.
Mike sensed a touch of frostiness as the dawdling, head down pair arrived.
“Which one of you is going to tell me why you look like you’re hiding something?”
Todd cowered behind the other figure. If anything was going to be said then it was down to Kevin to speak up. “We saw George.”
Mike looked relieved at hearing those words, but Kevin wished he’d rephrased them first. “Great, where is he? Why isn’t he with you guys?” Mike asked.
Both witnesses of George’s executed corpse broke down. Neither could find the words to speak. “He’s...” began Kevin.
Mike observed the shaking figure and soon realized where this sentence led. He hugged the recruit unexpectedly, and for a few seconds they all stood in silence. This was broken when Kevin managed to speak again. He explained that there was no sign of Blake and Karen.
“Sh
it. We have to find them.” Mike shouted. He took a moment to reflect on his next move, knowing there was only one solution now. “We have to head for the cemetery before they make it. Once we find them, this’ll be over.”
He finished off the pro-active speech but showed signs of failure in his emotional features. This wasn’t a good thing. Craig now tried raising a positive smile, but something bugged at his brain that prevented it. The five men knew there was still the risk of more freaks showing up, so all eyes remained alert during the journey.
Fifteen minutes ticked by when suddenly everyone stopped. An increase of activity happened all around them. Branches snapped, leaves shook, and trees rattled. Five pairs of fast racing eyes searched the area, but there was no sign of anything hideous attempting to make its move on them. Suddenly a few birds were heard flying amongst the trees, and the chief smiled. This fascinated Chris.
Why’s he acting like this when a few seconds before was on edge and ready for another showdown with the death squad? Chris thought. “What are you smiling at?” he asked.
“Me, mate, I’m smiling because the birds are back,” Mike replied.
The others soon realized that the area had been increasingly quiet during this strange and nerve shattering night. The normal sounds had definitely become second fiddle to the sounds that the zombies made to each other.
“The birds...What have they got to do with this?”
“Maybe if you went to cop class you would pick up on the slightest clues. The reason why the forest was so quiet before was because of those fuckups being here. Now the birds are back, so that means only one thing.”
Chris’ thoughts strayed over, resting onto the same wavelength as he beamed a grin wider than the other man’s.
“The zombies are all dead?”
“Don’t get too excited, mate. I didn’t say they were all dead, I’m just saying it looks like the last one isn’t around here.”
“Oh, right. So what do we do now?”
“We carry on toward the graveyard, check it out.”
All happy thoughts were put on hold again as the men moved closer to their destination.
The nearer they got to the graveyard, the more the surrounding atmosphere changed in aroma. Mike inhaled the deep stench of smoke and petrol.
Somebody had made a bonfire here, he thought.
At first it wasn’t mentioned, but the pong increased rapidly as the men closed in on the crisp corpse.
“Can anyone smell that?” Todd shouted.
Mike was glad that he wasn’t the only one sensing the aroma.
“Yeah man. It’s petrol,” Chris replied.
“We’re close to something, so keep your eyes peeled,” Mike said.
A few steps later and they were on top of the dismantled bones and darkened area of grass. The chief shone his torch around the vicinity, spotting the black line that would guide him to the starting point of the recent flame. “It looks like someone set fire to that.” Everyone was eager to hear the chief’s next words. “I’m hoping that the owner of those bones wasn’t human. If it’s one of those things then we’ve found the final one.”
Mike bent down to examine the latest killing and saw an out of shape ring still attached to a finger on the left hand. He grabbed it, but a sharp pain caused his fingers to throb. The object was still hot, so he removed a small, plastic bag from his pocket, slipped his fingers inside and carefully removed the ring. He noticed there was writing on it, but couldn’t make out half of the written words.
“Okay, I’ve found this.” He looked deeply at the ring and tried reading out the words. “It says something like, ‘to my darling mother’, but it’s all smudged.”
Chris rushed over and snatched the bag from Mike’s hand. “I gave this ring to my mother.” He frantically scanned the writing and showed Mike the last bit. “See, it says ‘Chris’ at the end.”
Mike could now see past the black smudge and made out the written words. “Shit, so this was your mother. I’m so sorry, mate.”
This was the first time that the reporter actually broke down in tears over his mother’s death. Three months of torture and not knowing who killed his mother now poured from his mind again, but seeing her burnt corpse was going to give this man another few months of dread and sorrow.
Kevin drifted off, following the still, slightly smoking line until his torch swallowed up the figure of a smashed up ex-female. Next to her was the bloodstained tree branch. “Hey, chief, there’s another body over here.”
This baffled Mike slightly. He’d counted over and over again that twelve zombies had escaped, and were all accounted for.
“What, another one of those things?” he asked.
Kevin shone the light closer at the figure, jumping back as though sickened by the sight. “It was another one all right.” Mike sensed that the young man wasn’t quite finished with the explanation and was finding it tough to release it. “I think it is Blake’s wife.”
It was now Todd’s turn to collapse. The latest words hit him as hard as an upper cut from the great boxing legend, Mike Tyson. Craig tried lifting him up but somehow Todd’s knees wouldn’t lock, so for now he was going to have to hold him.
Mike rushed over to Kevin, partly to make sure he was okay, but mainly to agree that the body was indeed Karen.Blake must’ve done this, the chief thought, after witnessing the sight and the murder weapon.
He then escorted Kevin back to the others, but during the slow, short stroll, found it hard to fight back the leaking tears. Mike was used to seeing the pile up of corpses, but the thought of what Blake must’ve undergone to see his wife change and then have to kill her, was an emotional moment even for this hardened chief to take in. After a quick shake of his head the tear flowing memories reshuffled again and were now stored at the back of his mind. Maybe someday soon he would bring them to the front and cry. Todd stood upright on his own again when Mike returned. “Are you okay now?” Mike said, softening the tone of his voice.
“I’m not sure. I just can’t believe she’s gone.”
“I don’t know what to say to make you feel better, but Blake’s been brave enough to stop the spread from leaving here. I’m praying that he wasn’t bitten. My God, I hope he’s fine.”
“What do we do about Blake? Do we look for him?” Craig butted in.
“No, mate, he’s gone, the car’s gone and we aren’t going to catch up with him tonight, so it’s time to head back to the village. There are people there who need us now.” The chief walked away from the area, then turned around to speak again. “Blake will have to wait, but if he has the virus then we’re all doomed.”
Todd rushed over to the abandoned police car. He wanted out of there quick and just wanted to look for his friend. He opened the driver’s side door to witness sticky clots of dried blood all over the front seats, but this didn’t stop him from trying to leave. Something else stopped him from doing that. The man never had a key to start the vehicle. Mike stood by the still opened door watching the poor, frightened figure sob. Todd’s head now rested on the steering wheel. Mike never spoke, but waited for the other man to leave the car. He then hugged him.
Craig rubbed his infected wound at least six times during the journey back to the caravan site. Now all the action was over, his mind adapted to reality again. He quickly remembered the horror behind why he was having shooting pains where the sore was situated. The other men settled down again and the Blake issue was put to one side while they relaxed. Mike and Kevin were going to use this time to celebrate being alive, but Todd and Chris were going to need a bit longer to recover after hearing about Karen’s death and Mrs Austin’s, zombie rebirth.
It would soon be 3.00am, but somehow the residents still eagerly watched the activities from the safety of the caravans. They could see torch beams as the drained men closed in.
Shane opened the caravan door and was glad to see all of them back safely.
“Hey guys, do you want a coffee?” he shouted.
Two of the men burst out laughing as Shane stood on the top step of the caravan. There was no point in the scientist trying to work out why they acted like this. He would never understand it because he hadn’t been where they’d been.
“Coffee, Shane, I think we all deserve a fucking brandy after what we’ve been through,” Mike shouted.
The scientist felt pressure being lifted as he received the good vibe, but knew he would probably upset the chief with his next words. “But we don’t have any brandy,” he said, scrunching up his face.
Luckily for him, Mike laughed even more. “Hey, coffee will be perfect.”
The coffees flowed and the stories were told. Shane was fascinated, and little Kenny enjoyed the tale of how Craig had set fire to the big bad zombie.
Mike was now ready to return the boy back to his parents, and, after a few more friendly and cosy minutes, took Kevin with him. He would’ve taken Craig, but his mind was lost in another time zone.
The bodies of lost, but not forgotten friends and relatives were still laid out in the early frost of the morning. The old lady and the man who’d gone to help Kenny’s father do battle with the evil, were now being covered with a thin and cold crisp of early morning dew. Kenny did very well in blanking their existence as he followed the officers.
His parents hugged each other when they saw their boy coming back to them. Diane opened the door, revealing tears of joy and open arms. “Kenny, come to mummy.”
He broke away from the two older guys and ran.
“Mummy, mummy, I missed you.”
Both bodies reached each other. Diane’s arms covered her son’s body like an octopus wrapping tentacles around its prey. Tom appeared at the top of the caravan’s stairway, his eyes filling with tears. “Kenny, my boy,” he said.
Kenny freed himself from his mum’s tentacle grip when his father appeared beside him. “Daddy, I’m okay, I’m just hungry.”
That was all he needed to say for his dad to know he was back to his usual self. Tom couldn’t help but try his own luck at the hugging game and his softer approach led to the boy burying his head into his chest. Kenny knew he was very safe now.