In the confusion the soldiers missed the body of Col. Gates. His body rose from the ground and stood straight. His chest was soaked in blood and his eyes were clouded a slight shade of grey. There was movement all around him. His dead mind settled on the figure moving from right to left in his field of vision. In his former life Gates had been in tremendous shape as a retired military man. He jogged daily up until the infection started. Now, his dead body was moving fast. He was sprinting for the movement before him. His mouth was open wide anticipating the warm flesh. His arms were outstretched and ready. He caught the live flesh high and toppled the man over backwards to the ground. Gates’s body was fresh suffering very little damage or decay allowing him to overtake the living man easily. His teeth sank several times into the warm flesh as the man screamed loudly fighting for freedom from the zombie. Gates bit into the cheek of the man and tore off a large piece of his face and swallowed. He bit down again and tore a large hole in the jugular vein. Warm blood spilled over Gates’s face as he continued devouring the warm flesh. He swallowed another piece and bit down again when everything went white to black.
“Man, that’s fucked up.”
“No shit. We better put a bullet in his head before he comes back. Hell he knows everything about this operation. Last thing we need is a zombie commander.” The soldier stepped forward aiming his .45 at the bloodied face of his dead commander, Lt. Col. Hutto. He held the pistol tightly staring at the deformed face. He hesitated feeling uncomfortable dispatching a decorated military man in such a manner. Hutto’s left eye, the eye not eaten by Gates, popped open. It was a light grey and very disturbing flanked by his torn flesh and blood. The soldier pulled the trigger.
***
Kilo Company now had to function without its commander. The second in command, Lt. George Melendez would last only three days before falling to the undead while leading an ill fated charge against a wall of zombies moving down Hilltop Drive. Melendez witnessed for himself the horror of being snared by a runner. Kilo Company would never see another leader. Instead they took the place of the original survivors, hold up in the Convention Center awaiting reinforcements. The men of Kilo Company sat for days, rationing food and ammunition. All communications with US Military Command were soon severed causing a complete breakdown of the little infrastructure that remained. Man against man, soldier against soldier. Kilo Company would join the ranks of the undead wandering about the Convention Center, their grey eyes never blinking and ever hungry.
***
Several days after his death, Ty’s body began to decay. He wouldn’t be coming back like the rest. Across from him lay the only woman he had ever really loved. Though she came into his life during the early stages of the infection he instantly felt a connection with her and attempted to deliver her to safety. He failed and felt her life slip away in his arms. The other woman in his life, his golden lab Sugar stayed by his side for three days waiting for him to return. Finally hunger drove her from the used car lot in search of food. She would return every night and lay by his side.
Epilogue
Ruth Davies sat in the Charge Nurse’s office staring at the telephone. She remained at Morning View for the past month doing all she could to keep the remaining residents comfortable. Always a woman of honor she never once considered leaving the residents behind and fleeing for her own home. Early on during the first few days of the infection she had repeatedly called home. The lines were always busy. Finally, late on the third day of holding up behind the protective walls of Morning View the phone rang through to her home. To her utter surprise it was answered. “Honey, it’s me.” She said excitedly only to be answered by the moans of the dead. The moan was distinctive and undeniably her husbands. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” She said hanging up the phone.
The four weeks since the beginning of the event had been the hardest weeks she had ever endured. She had seen combat in Kuwait and had volunteered her time during two natural disasters and 9/11. Yet she had never been so scared and worked so hard in her life. Morning View was completely abandoned by its staff spare her and one nursing assistant. She lost the assistant five days later when Mrs. Christy attacked her after she had passed peacefully the night before. Ruth learned early on she had to destroy the brain to keep the expired residents from coming back. She developed an ingenious method of destroying the brain. She used a hammer found in a custodial closet and simply smashed the skull. At times she enjoyed it, which disturbed her greatly.
In the last week, she had found herself relying on drugs to cope with her new life. Without the convenience of electricity she lost the last remaining residents. She spent her last day sitting in a plush office chair that belonged to the former Director of the facility. She sat talking to Mr. Twells outside the employee entrance. He had decayed well beyond the ability to move. He lied on the ground, face up and groaned. He was able to move his head just a bit and continuously stared at Ruth as she spoke to him. Ruth told him stories about his life, her life, and the adventures she wish she could have had. She told him about her son and about his wife and how lovely she was. She recounted all the times he walked to Morning View and brought fresh cut flowers from his garden for the nurses and his wife. Ruth held his decayed hand the whole time.
She cried. There was nobody left. No reason for her to stay. She knew her husband and son were gone but she still wanted to go home. At times she though help was coming. She had seen helicopters and heard shooting in different parts of the city but help never came. She felt she had performed admirably though there was nobody to validate her efforts. She gathered up all the car keys she could find along with her own and walked out the side door.
The winter day was surprisingly warm. The sun shone bright in the cloudless sky and birds frolicked in the trees. Ruth took a deep breath and stepped forward letting the heavy metal door close behind her. Mr. Twells remained on the ground staring up at her. His face was completely drawn in and his grey eyes bulged from their sockets. She knelt down and said, “I’ll see you on the other side my friend. Your wife is waiting for you.” Ruth drew back the hammer and crashed it down through his skull. He stopped moaning. She tenderly kissed him on the cheek. In the street, several zombies shambled about. They were stumbling and falling now and then, having lost most of their motor functions. Ruth paid them no attention as she walked down the sidewalk to the parking garage. A slight smile crept across her face as she walked away from Morning View for the last time.
BRYAN KILLIAN is making Welcome to Necropolis his debut novel. He is currently putting the finishing touches on Dust of the Devil’s Land, the follow up to Welcome to Necropolis. He resides in Southern California with his wife and two children and their family cat. During his childhood he lived all over the west coast finally settling in the small community of Shingletown, California nestled in the foothills of Mt. Lassen where he met his future wife and best friend. When not writing he enjoys time with his family, especially family movie night, rooting for the Magpies, painting, and searching for that perfect Single Malt Scotch or just a damn good cup of coffee.
Bryan communicates directly with his readers on twitter @bkillian13 and on his website www.BryanLKillian.com
Table of Contents
The Undying Dead: An Introduction by Brian Keene
Part One
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
&nb
sp; Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Part Two
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Fifty
Fifty-One
Fifty-Two
Fifty-Three
Fifty-Four
Fifty-Five
Fifty-Six
Fifty-Seven
Fifty-Eight
Fifty-Nine
Sixty
Sixty-One
Sixty-Two
Sixty-Three
Sixty-Four
Sixty-Five
Sixty-Six
Sixty-Seven
Sixty-Eight
Sixty-Nine
Seventy
Seventy-One
Seventy-Two
Seventy-Three
Epilogue
Table of Contents
The Undying Dead: An Introduction by Brian Keene
Part One
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Part Two
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Fifty
Fifty-One
Fifty-Two
Fifty-Three
Fifty-Four
Fifty-Five
Fifty-Six
Fifty-Seven
Fifty-Eight
Fifty-Nine
Sixty
Sixty-One
Sixty-Two
Sixty-Three
Sixty-Four
Sixty-Five
Sixty-Six
Sixty-Seven
Sixty-Eight
Sixty-Nine
Seventy
Seventy-One
Seventy-Two
Seventy-Three
Epilogue
Welcome to Necropolis Page 31