BESIEGED (HUNGRY Series Book 2)

by Lawrence Herbert Tide

  His colleague sighed of weariness and helplessness.

  Red looked at Johnny and asked him, "We have almost no more ammunition... But I've heard that the NASA scientist who works with the Community’s Asian engineer knows about lasers?"

  "He knows less than the engineer concerned, he knows about laser machining, though, from what I've heard," said a voice behind them.

  Turning around they recognized Bo, who had come to join them.

  They all jumped when a loud breath was heard near them and they felt a great wave of heat. Not far from them, a guard was using a flamethrower, sending sheaves of fire that literally licked the creatures, which recoiled.

  "Those bastards are finally receding," one of the supervisors near him said enthusiastically, grinning from ear to ear. The other guy stopped pressing the trigger of the flamethrower, thus lowering the temperature, which was becoming hard to bear, even on the ramparts.

  "Yes, but we don't have a lot of gas reserves for feeding the flamethrowers," said his colleague, concern on his face.

  The girl was also worried, especially since a second sweep made by the man with the flamethrower caused a lesser recoil of the undead at the bottom of the wall. And if the creatures insisted, she knew very well what may happen...

  "Let's go to see Hoffnung. I think I have the solution to our problem!" she cried out, and thereupon she descended from the rampart and walked down with the nearest staircase.

  Johnny looked at his friend as they followed her and asked, "Hey, Egg, do you know what she's getting at?"

  "No more than you," the young blond replied, shrugging his shoulders while pouting questioningly.

  They were silent and hurried because she had already reached the bottom of the stairs and was heading towards one of the Community's main buildings.

  ***

  Preparation

  As far as he could remember, Hoffnung had always loved the study of curves, among other subjects, during his studies at the University, in mathematics applied to simulation.

  And the pretty curves she unveiled, as she undressed, satisfied him... The beautiful young brunette he admired was now removing her bra, while giving him a knowing glance full of innuendo.

  A virtual headset on his head, equipped with mini-screens and 3D headphones, he discovered with delight all the options offered by the Community's supercomputer.

  Especially the simulation of human beings via genetic algorithms and artificial intelligence.

  The scientist had discovered these particular programs in the 'Personal' file of someone connected to the machine, during his research on the machining of crystal blades, and he never tired of discovering its richness.

  The woman simulated inside this mathematical universe came closer, still smiling at him and, coming near one of his ears, she whispered something.

  He didn't understand anything and actually did not care, so much was he concentrated on the synthetic being's perfect chest, with its pear-shaped breasts, which gave him the impression that they were about to lean against him.

  He smiled like a simpleton as the woman spoke louder.

  "What?" he asked, then laughed stupidly.

  A slap on his left cheek sent him an adrenaline rush.

  "What... what?" he exclaimed, surprised, telling himself, that certainly was not planned in the program...

  The woman screamed even louder and he received a slap more violent than the first, this time on his right cheek.

  He abruptly took off the helmet, his vision shifting from that of the pretty brunette to Red, bending over him, looking sternly at him.

  "Oh," exclaimed the big scientist, who released the helmet in surprise.

  It fell on the floor in a loud clatter of metal and glass.

  Hoffnung felt suddenly embarrassed, and all the more so when he saw behind his friend Tony Lee. The Asiatic seemed clearly embarrassed, turning his eyes from time to time and resting on him insistently.

  Taken aback, Hoffnung noticed that the young engineer looked down from time to time, as if to make him understand something. Then, still sitting in the armchair by the computer, he leaned down to look over his big belly, and he jumped.

  He had just noticed a lump in his crotch which showed his excitement.

  Blushing, Hoffnung tightened his legs to hide the embarrassing roughness and then tried to give himself a semblance of respectability. Touching one of his cheeks still red with shame that seemed to him burning, he asked the Japanese, "Uh... Yes, what can I do for you?"

  "What Adams just put you in charge of," the young redhead said half-mockingly, half inquisitively.

  Feeling even more disconcerted because he had expected to talk only with the adult who was standing next to her, he whispered, "Ah, you mean..."

  "The laser machining of the crystal blades to make them useful to the Community," the young man interrupted with embarrassment, and with that he nodded to the big experimental ruby laser that lay on a table near them.

  An uninformed eye looking at the whole may have had the impression that, on the metal surface, there was only a useless succession of lenses and mirrors forming pathways of fine red rays of the most complicated and even erratic kind... But in science and technology as in many other cases, not all is what it seems.

  "Yes, of course," the scientist replied, clearing his throat before continuing, "By the way, before my break, I was considering the most useful uses and..."

  "Do not search anymore!" Red shouted, making him shut up and she then brandished the crystal blade she had brought with her and thrust it between Hoffnung's legs.

  He jumped while uttering a loud cry of surprise and then become silent. Surprised not to suffer any castration, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she had just pressed the blade into the chair's cushion, less than a centimeter from his crotch.

  Finding that the blade was buried in the armchair like a knife in a mound of half-melted butter, he also noticed, looking down, that his fear had made him lose his conquering virility.

  "Hey... you're crazy… she's crazy, huh?" he cried, appealing to his friend Tony, probably shocked by the scene too, but who said nothing while keeping a low profile.

  "Yes, I'm crazy," Red confirmed, leaning forward to look him straight in the eyes, making him uncomfortable, before she continued, "I'm crazy with anger because we're pretty much devoid of any ammunition, furious because a swarm of undead that has been lured around the Community is about to invade us to slaughter us, upset because the only person who can provide us with the only effective defense weapons against them is coasting along!"

  The man blushed even more as she added, "And I'd rather not know what you were doing just then."

  She grabbed him with one hand by the collar of his T-shirt to bring his face closer to hers and said, "We need you to cut the blades of this indestructible crystal that is at your disposal, to make good sabers that do not hurt their users!"

  She then let go of his collar and presented to him her open hands, her palms still covered with bloody scars.

  Flabbergasted as he stared at the girl's hands, he felt like there was moisture in his collar. Touching it with one hand, he pulled out his pudgy fingers to see traces of blood she had put on it.

  She continued, still looking the man in the eye, "Because of Adams, we have lost almost all our remaining ammunition, firearms have become useless without them, but your blades are indestructible and can slice absolutely everything and may allow us to repel the assault of the undead who are massed in front of our walls!"

  He swallowed with difficulty then asked, timidly, "OK, I'm going to laser polish a maximum of blades... when will you need them?"

  As she was about to answer him they heard, "Red, the assault has begun!", and they saw Bo join them, running through the entrance of the open room.

  Red turned to Hoffnung and said, "He just gave the answer to your question: Now!"

  "What?" exclaimed the big scientist, opening his eyes bulging with surprise. "Let's see, it wil
l take time for me to carve, a laser is not a simple millstone, and..."

  "We do not need art to be brandished in a fashion show, but weapons that can be used without hurting. Give us as many cutting blades as you can, right now. Please!"

  "But I can’t do all that alone," Hoffnung whined.

  "No, you're not alone," his Japanese friend said, before adding, "After all, I'm the laser specialist, here."

  "Thank you Sir," exclaimed Red, "I knew we could count on you. Come on, Bo, show me what's going on outside!"

  She left the room, trotting while following Bo.

  Hoffnung watched her leave, open-mouthed, clearly upset. Then, leaning over to catch the "guard" of the blade that the girl had sunk into the seat, he withdrew it very cautiously. He didn't want to hurt himself... and certainly not carelessly hurt himself...

  Then manipulating the "guard", still covered with the young redhead's brown blood, with his big, pudgy hands, he looked in amazement at Lee, who had begun to work on one of the mirrors around the laser beam and asked, "Who is she? Who is that kid? The new Administrator? Where is Adams?"

  The engineer answered by smiling shyly at him.

  ***

  Besieged

  When Red, accompanied by Bo, approached the edge of the circular rampart surrounding the gigantic dome of the Community, she heard a clamor such as she had never known!

  A visceral, animal clamor came from below, as well as from the surroundings, as far as their eyes could see.

  They were all here, those beings hungry for living human flesh, dressed in tattered clothes reminiscent of elements of their past life, which was gone forever. Their mouths open, greedy, recalled their current condition, the most monstrous kind. They could open their mouths disproportionately, because of the rotten attachment of their jaws. They managed to open their jaws like snakes, strengthening even more their frightening appearance.

  Red stared, her heart beating, all those hungry mouths, all those black holes, some of whom, probably, had been sated with the flesh of her mother.

  This thought made her close her eyes and the image of her mother came back to her mind.

  Her mother falling from the tree, reaching out to her as she fell, fell, as if in slow motion, into a blood-red picture.

  "Red, are you OK?"

  She opened her eyes, having recognized the voice of Johnny, who had approached her and Bo on the ramparts.

  She caught herself and, smiling, she lied to him, "Oh, I'm fine, thank you."

  "There, look, it's happening again!" Bo exclaimed, pointing to something below, at the foot of the wall.

  She followed what he said, and could not help but be intrigued by what she saw.

  Hundreds of undead had already gathered at the bottom of the ramparts, heads raised.

  These creatures and the human beings standing on the ramparts observed each other.

  Red thought it was always intriguing to feel being observed by a creature who might have rotten eyes, or even no eyes at all. Some scientists had speculated that it was only by smell that zombies followed their prey, even with their empty orbits. But the young redhead had never been satisfied with this explanation. The flair developed to the detriment of other senses, this idea could not convince her.

  She felt, deep inside herself, that there was something else...

  Especially tonight, their way of observing her very much intrigued the teen.

  But, more ominously, thousands came from the surrounding woods, coming out of the groves, from behind the trees. They were seen dragging their feet, all heading to one destination: the Community.

  And as their population density increased, at the foot of the Cyclopean walls, they began to trample each other, while compact groups began to form.

  And other creatures were still coming in from everywhere, adding layer by layer over the previous undead, which under pressure finally fell on the dusty ground, or on their fellow creatures which had also fallen before them.

  They began to form a shapeless carpet of decomposing beings, a moving carpet, which, with the amount of zombies that climbed it, began to swell, swell, reminiscent of a mound of teeming bodies.

  The mound seemed to be alive while, paradoxically, being made with beings on the fringes of life and death...

  The young men and the other guards on the ramparts watched the weird merry-go-round of the undead, which began to form other mounds of zombies along the walls.

  Red, shrugging, told Bo, who was watching the scene intensely, "Their behavior is weird, but no more disturbing than usual, I find!"

  He turned his head towards her and gave her a condescending smile when he said, "Really? Watch them a little more," surprising her as he gently grabbed one of her hips.

  Red said to herself, Bo, usually so shy, has definitely gained a lot of self-confidence since our little adventure with the others, beyond the ramparts.

  Maybe too much confidence...

  She shrugged again and, following his advice, stood like him, watching the decaying creatures below them. And what she saw made her open big, astonished eyes, her hair standing on end.

  The swarming mounds were now grazing the Cyclopean walls, throbbing, wriggling, and some were even beginning to touch each other.

  Red was gasping in surprise when she saw some of the mounds that had been clumping together merging, and forming new mounds, ever more impressive, ever higher.

  "Oh!" shouted the red-haired girl when she saw one of the mounds fall against the wall like a wave of gesticulating bodies, the wave's crest almost reaching the edge of the rampart.

  A zombie in farmer's clothes burnished with dirt dropped to the wall and hit the concrete surface with its head, clinging reflexively to the edge. The whole wave of other zombies below it fell, the bodies constituting it collapsing together.

  Red and the others moved back when they saw the bony fingers of the creature clinging to the rim of the wall. Rendered brown and reddish by the rot, they moved, trying to hang on.

  The girl stayed back several seconds with the others. None of the people moved. They were all petrified, not daring to look over the wall.

  Red thought that their fear was natural, but that it was not by listening to it and not daring to fight that they would survive. Hiding one's head in the sand while dealing with tough opposition has never helped anyone to face it. She looked at her companions, who opened their eyes wide when the zombie roared over the clamor, and with a last effort, climbed onto and lay on the ledge.

  "Beware," said Bo, who had taken a rifle in his hand but then remained frozen in fear.

  Seeing that no one was moving, the young redhead grabbed the weapon from his hands and walked with a determined step towards the undead, which had now put a knee on the edge.

  "Attention Red, that weapon is not loa..."

  The skeleton-faced zombie gave an animal cry that silenced the young man, a cry that stopped when Red gave a violent butt to the creature's open jaw. In shock its lower mandible fell to the feet of the inner wall.

  The undead, grumbling in a stifled way now, began to lose its balance, seeking once more to cling to the rim with its bony fingers.

  She gave two more sticks on its fingers which broke like ceramics, and the creature fell, yelping, while Red took pleasure in seeing it fall on a new wave of teeming bodies.

  One of them, a naked zombie with bulging eyes jumped and grabbed hold of Red's hair and clung to it.

  Pulled forward, drawn down by the gaunt creature despite its low weight, she saw the moment she would fall on the throbbing mass below. The tension on her hair was really painful. Hands resting on the edge of the rampart to resist the thing that roared, excited, the girl could not take it anymore. She screamed, as much in pain as because of her rage. Red heard as much as she felt heavy footsteps cross the floor behind her.

  That's when she saw herself dragged forward and slid along the wall, head first.

  The zombie clinging to her surprised her while showing a smile of satisfac
tion, of triumph, while its fellows below, looking at her with their red eyes or through their hollow orbits, gave a groan of satisfaction as she fell towards them.

  A sudden pain in one of her ankles made her scream as her fall halted and the creature hung, their fall slowed, and then pulled even more on her long red hair. It hurt even more, as her blood fell back into her head, making her blush. The rotten-eyed zombie then climbed her hair like a rope.

  It arrived at her level, opening a rotten and partly toothless mouth, ready to bite.

  A huge fist hit the top of its bony skull and shattered it, scattering bone fragments in all directions. The thing, having nothing left besides a jaw surmounted by a remnant of brain gelatin, emitted something like a groan of pain and let go of the girl's fiery hair. What was left of the undead fell back on its fellows, who shouted with frustration.

  Red saw herself moving from the vertical position upside down to the horizontal position and then, very quickly, to the vertical position again, but this time, head uppermost.

  Feeling the contact of the concrete floor of the rampart guard-way was an immense source of comfort for her.

  Harry entered her field of vision while he was still holding her up, having rested her on the floor.

  "Are you alright, Red?" he asked, worried. He scanned her face and hands, adding, "Haven't been bitten, huh?"

  "No, but it's a miracle it didn't happen," the girl said, trembling a little, rather shaken.

  "I was really scared for you, Red," Johnny told her, a hint of shame in his voice for not intervening in a timely fashion.

  "Same for me," Bo said as he approached the edge to join them.

  A bony hand grabbed the bottom of the blond man's pants and made him scream in surprise.

  Turning their heads and looking down, the human beings saw a long-haired, squashy-nosed zombie who had just clung to the edge with one hand, and with the other, stubbornly clung to the bottom of the young man's trousers. The thing was obviously what was left of an old rotting and decayed woman, which seemed determined to have its share of human flesh. Pulling once more on the fabric to the point of unbalancing Bo, it had just placed on the rampart the top of its thoracic cage blackened by rot.