Janus got up slowly, with confidence, and began to speak. "You will not destroy my way of life."
Paul's eyes flashed with hate as he spat back, "There is no way of life for a zombie!"
Paul, the pale rider, ran towards Janus with curled fists. Janus swept his legs to try and trip Paul. He saw Janus ducking down and twisting his body. Paul jumped upward to punch down. This would leave his legs free from being swept out. Janus saw the jump and changed strategies in an instant. What was originally a move to trip Paul turned into an uppercut. Janus struck hard and broke several of Paul's ribs. Paul tumbled backwards across the flying dinosaur. Blood pooled at the corners of his mouth. Paul's vision blurred and he could feel Janus's kiss requesting to help. He knew that he would not bleed out if he indulged in that dark desire for awakened instinct. Paul would not be able to match this zombie's strength or speed. He did not have any weapon, beyond his killer will.
How old was Paul the pale rider? Had he been quicker in his youth? He wanted to regain that strength and use it against this creature. He looked up just in time to see Janus's legs. Janus kicked him off the creature. Paul hit roughly into the brush. Luckily, the dragon had not been flying high when he fell off. Still, with broken bones there is no such thing as a gentle landing. Paul's vision blurred for a moment and he thought he might pass out.
He heard roaring from high above. Paul saw Janus continue to bite the dragon. The dinosaur flicked its head several times, trying to bite the parasite off. It couldn't quite get the right angle. Paul scoffed for a moment, understanding that what Janus did wouldn't change the beast. Hesh had been quite insistent on that point.
A cold wind blew over Paul as the dragon settled near him. Janus dismounted from the beast elegantly. The eyes of the dragon were wrong. They looked whited out, as if they were long dead. Paul's spine tingled with fear as he looked at the dragon underneath Janus's control. The dragon still bobbed its head to the side, as if it was listening to music. Hesh had been wrong, or perhaps underestimated Janus. This zombie was able to break through barriers and convert what shouldn't be possible.
At that thought, Paul felt his own blood try to work against him. He could feel Janus's will to free instinct flowing in. He yelled as he slowly started to convert to a zombie. He felt his vision grow brighter and the world's color's fade. He then remembered his daughter. His true life snapped back in. He would not let this creature's sickness destroy him. He yelled at Janus who simply smiled at him a few feet away.
The yell was enough. The dinosaurs head gave one last violent shake and its eyes returned to normal. The dragon gave a huff breath and Janus twisted around. The dragon swiftly crunched Janus in half like a broken lollipop. It twisted its head and freed Janus's top half from the bottom. The dragon flung Janus into the air and opened its mouth wide. The last thing Paul saw on the calm zombies eyes was not hate. It was not shock. It was a large, unnatural smile with wide eyes. The calm zombie then disappeared into the stomach of the dragon. The dragon lifted its claws and punched down the lower half of Janus. It laid down and ripped off pieces with its mouth.
After it was completed with its meal it licked its claws. Paul watched the beast for a bit, just to make sure he wasn't the next meal. The dragon watched him closely. They stared at each other, understanding. The infection would always be present. They would both have to be vigilant against its siren song.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE:
A Voice
Smaller dragons perched on nearby branched. Life swayed on those branches. Paul did not anticipate that he would see the next sun rise or to hold his daughter again. He laughed and thought it was cruel that the world would bring his daughter back to him, only to snatch that reality away again. The dragon moved its head to the side as it watched Paul. He smiled at the beast and saw his own wild reflection. In that reflection was a stick running through his side. He had not even felt it when he landed. Now, he was bleeding out. He didn't have the strength to climb onto the dragon. The only way to survive was to give in to Janus's kiss to stop the bleeding. However, Paul would much rather die a normal death than give into that. For that reason, he smiled at the dragon. The dragon smiled back. It was a very human gesture.
"Do you need some help?" came a deep voice from within the dragon.
Had Paul just imagined that? Had the dragon actually talked to him? What did it mean that a dragon was smart enough to learn language and talk? Was this the world that Hesh had imagined? Had she been able to teach this dragon is such a short time? It boggled his mind that the dinosaur had evolved so far. Suddenly, he wasn't sure humans were the top of the food chain anymore. Then again, with zombies taking over, humans were used to not being the apex predator. Perhaps it was not the age of man. Perhaps it was not the age of zombies. Perhaps this was the beginning of the age of dragons. If that was the case, the only logical thing to do was to form an alliance with the dragons. Paul hoped he could gain a valuable alley with this beast.
Paul communicated with the dragon for several moments. Paul asked about what the dragon remembered from being created. Paul was trying to understand the dragons nature. He did not want to control that nature, but instead allow it to grow as it needed. Janus had found out, to his demise, that all things need to evolve. Things in this world needed to change and shift to meet new forms. Perhaps one of those things was Paul. Perhaps Paul should find a way to live his life as a recluse. If it had been just him and his daughter, they wouldn't have been in such danger. He didn't know what futures were held in the might creature's wings and heartbeats. Paul knew his future was intertwined with it though. They were brothers in defeating Janus's kiss, at least for the moment. Their intellect was enough to reach past simple human and dinosaur relations.
Paul had created a shaky new alliance built of respect. Paul would help the dragons find new meat. He was going to help lead the dragons to kill new fields of blue brains. Paul needed these creatures gone and the dragons needed to eat. He had convinced the dragon not to eat humans, at least for the moment. These dragons were the key to destroying Janus's kiss from the world. They would disinfect it with fire and destruction.
The dinosaur delicately removed the stick in his side and placed him on its back. The dragon took off gently into he sky and headed back towards town. It took longer than Paul had anticipated. He didn't realize how far out they were. Paul was losing a lot of blood though, so he hoped that he could make it in time. Perhaps he shouldn't have spent the time to speak to the dragon. On the way back, he continued anyways. He told the dragon of the zombies limited speech and capacity for growth. Paul doubted that he zombies could evolve into much more than killing machines.
Underneath Paul he saw forest fires raging out of control. He saw snapped trees and destruction everywhere. He wondered if the dragon was simply a better killing machine. The dragon smiled and said that it desired good conversation and fresh meat. So long as it had those two things, their brotherhood would stand.
CHAPTER FORTY:
Hug
It was nearly night when Paul got back into town. What was left of town anyways. The building in the remote distance were still on fire and that lit up the night. Paul had spotted one building in the night that was mostly standing. It had light in the window. Paul limped off the dragon and toward the building. He had hopes to see his daughter inside. He saw his daughter through the window and wondered if it was feverish dream. Had he really come home? He walked slowly to the front door and knocked gently. He thought it was a silly gesture to knock, so he twisted the doorknob and let himself inside. He saw both Hesh and his daughter talking at a table. A smaller dragon was nearby and watched the two females in fascination. Paul walked over to Hesh and asked about the dragon.
"How did you teach these things to talk?" Paul questioned, pointing at the small dragon.
"I accelerated their bodies", Hesh replied, eying him. "But they don't talk. Why do you think they talk?" She looked at his body closer in the light.
Her eyes went wid
e as she looked at his injuries. "We need to patch up you! You've lost a lot of blood."
Had his conversation been a part of his blood loss? Had he just been rambling to himself while coming here? Paul caught the dragon's eyes and decided that there was a hidden intellect there. Something about that dragon was watching how Paul was being patched up. It looked at his wounds with curiosity.
It didn't matter. Paul looked at the only thing in the world that did matter: his daughter. He thought about how he reflected in his daughter. Seeing her ride into battle on top of a dragon made him think of all the stupid things he had done. She was a smaller version of himself. She was a chaotic being, like him. Once Paul was patched up, she came up and hugged him. He nearly passed out from feeling pressure on his broken ribs. Still he held her chaotic nature next to him, knowing he would do what was required to protect her.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE:
Sleep Walking
Through the window the beta heard the conversation. Unlike the alpha, the beta was more cautious. He did not want to unlock the world or save it. He didn’t want to just survive. He wanted to be human. He had found it was hard to escape around that flying dinosaur, but it would have been easier as a human.
He watched them through the window. They laughed and cried. The beta was amazed by that. Laughing does not help in the hunt, but they were indulging in in. Is that what it mean to be human? The beta continued to watch silently.
It knew what the alpha would have wanted. The alpha would have wanted the beta to try and overtake the flying dinosaur's nature. However, the beta had become something else. Something beyond a hunter. As it watched, it enjoyed the sight of the woman. She created the flying beast. What was she creating now? She had created some kind of healing method for the newcomer, that other alpha. What else could she create?
Could he create? What could he create out of this world?
The beta continued to stare into the window, silently watching in awe.
Hesh went out into the night, several hours later. She got on top of the nearby dragon and left for the forest. She flew deep into the forest to gather some food from nearby fruit trees. After all the fighting from the previous day, she had decided that the best way to start the morning was a full stomach. Hesh knew her work was far from done. She was sure that this town was not the only one overrun with zombies. She would have her dragons sweep through the nearby towns destroying as many zombies as possible. She would sweep this virus from the land. Dinosaurs and humans would continue to work together to free the land from this scourge. She would make this a world of intellect. She would make this a world of libraries. It was her strongest and deepest desire. She hoped that this desire reflected within her creations. She hoped that one day these dragons would be looked at as a pillar of intellect. She doubted they could speak, like Paul had said, but she knew they were fantastic at hunting prey. Far better than any other dinosaur.
Hesh gathered up the fruit into a pack and got back on the dragon. She flew into town and decided to land a little farther away from the shared household. She wanted to see if she could salvage some of the equipment in her former lab. She was digging through the salvage, with the dragon outside the building.
A man stepped out before her. She thought it was a human until she saw the eyes. It was some sort of zombie. She twisted to dart outside. The zombie was quicker and more agile than her. Its eyes were not the pale white many zombies had. Instead, the eyes were bloodshot and nearly completely red. She kicked and fought against the zombie.
It turned her over and spoke. "I am beta. You will show me how to create."
The words scared her more than the initial appearance of the zombie. What did it mean that it wanted to create? She did not want to know. Her kicking intensified. The zombie grabbed her by the waist and took off with her. It covered her mouth. She didn't want to risk biting down and exposing herself to the virus. The zombie quickly moved into the forest, avoiding the gaze of the dragon. She continued to struggle and eventually the zombie knocked her on the head. She slipped into unconsciousness. She hoped that when she awoke, it would not be to a nightmare.
She woke up the next day, discovering herself standing in the middle of town. Her dress was torn and she had a number of bruises. She started walking, though she wasn't sure where she was walking to. She tried to remember something about last night and could only remember gathering fruit outside. What had happened? Why was she now in the middle of town?
Slowly the fog cleared from her mind. She was walking to where Paul and his daughter were. She saw her dragon outside the building. Had she dreamed the previous night? Perhaps the stress had fried her brain a bit. The more she thought about it, the more logical that seemed. Zombies don't talk and don't reason. They were mindless killing machines. It still troubled her that she just appeared in the middle of town. If it was truly a regular dream, shouldn't she have woken up in a bed? Had she developed a sleep walking habit recently? The mind did do odd things under stress. Sleep walking was not that bad considering what she had just been through.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO:
The Equation
In the days and weeks that followed, survivors were found. Several people had found a way to survive in the rubble. Others were deep within caves. One man, a lone stranger in a far off cabin, was oblivious to what had happened. Those lone survivors were rare. Nearly everyone had their lives change. Other towns had suffered far worse fates than Paul's. It was hard to imagine, but other towns had been tortured. In Paul's town, everyone had been killed fairly quickly.
Dragons allowed movement between towns like never before. They allowed multiple people to quickly and safely traverse the lands. Furthermore, Hesh had created these dragons to hunt zombies. That meant that there was always a small group of dragons out hunting, keeping the lands safe. These beasts were far more efficient at killing than any human could be. However, they could get under every stone and in every building. Soon humanity realized, that although much easier now, farming would still be necessary. After all, blue brains could easily find a way to hide in ponds and lakes.
Paul had decided that the best course of action was to live in seclusion with his daughter. They would no longer be subject to a town's politics. Furthermore, it seemed like the zombies were attracted to towns. Blue brains knew were their food was. Fewer risked attacking though, as the dragon quickly dispatched them. However, Paul didn't want to take the chance that a surprise blue brain could take his daughter's life. He felt it was less risk to secure a small land away from all this noise.
He had offered space in his upcoming home to Hesh. She refused the offer. Paul assumed that she just had a desire to continue her experimentation in town. However, something about her was off since the battle. She didn't strike him as curious or blunt. She said that she was just busy building dinosaurs, but Paul could see that look in her eye. It was not one of excitement based around discovery. That light in her eye had faded.
Paul knew that many tried to contact Hesh. They wanted Hesh to build them any number of genetic differences with the dragons. She withdrew from them and spent most her time at home. Most people assumed that it was the stress of the previous week that had gotten to Hesh.
Paul's daughter was frustrated with him. It was her idea to have Hesh live with them. Paul knew that Hesh would be a good influence on his daughter. She was capable and an intelligent scientist. As Hesh withdrew further from society, Paul did not press the point. He knew that everyone reacts to stress differently. Nearly everyone left Hesh alone now, assuming she was in the middle of creating the next big thing.
-----
Hesh snuck a peek at her window as Paul left to his secluded home. She wished desperately that she could have gone with him. However, to be with them now would be dangerous for all involved. Her love for intellect had been fighting her for some time now. Her desire to know more, had eroded away with time. It wasn't like the curiosity within her faded away. She was definitely curious. It was the madness that
was taking her. Something had happened to the chemicals inside her brain. Her thoughts were jumbled and shifted. It was a larger puzzle, trying to piece those thoughts together, but she needed to try. Her mind did its best to adapt to the onslaught of thoughts and emotions.
Hesh took out a piece of chalk. She began to scribble a math formula on the nearby wall. She couldn't remember what she was doing for a little bit. Once she realized the motions, she completed the algorithm. As Paul continued to ride off into the horizon, Hesh stared at the equation. It was a probability. No matter how she checked her math it always came out the same way. She had a 99% chance of killing Paul on accident. The swirl of sickness and intellect curled in he head. Her vision blurred and she held out a hand to steady the world. She knew she could not join him. She could not rejoin society. At least, not until this morning sickness passed.
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Janus (Zombies versus Dinosaurs Book 2) Page 16