The Darkslayer: Book 01 - Wrath of the Royals

by Craig Halloran

  She liked him for her own reasons, ones he never understood. They only had a few things in common; one of them was softball. He had the big bat, and she liked it. They both were competitive and smart…maybe she liked that. He had the brains that got you a full scholarship anywhere, and missing classes still got him straight A’s. It was the only thing he was better at than her. That and video games. Whatever the connection was they had, it was special, and he loved her every single day. Now she was gone, her haggard face etched forever in his nightmares.

  Nate peered around the convenience store. Where was everyone? Many afflicted cities, such as his, fled the zombies who pursued them, that much he knew. He didn’t see any dead bodies though. Whoever owned the store picked up and ran, hoping to return one day. He pulled the bat along his side and took off his backpack. Unzipping it he reached inside. He pulled out his phone charger. He patted his pants pocket. His phone was still there. He squeezed it out and turned it on.

  The display showed thirty percent battery life and no signal bars.

  “Great,” he said under his breath. He moved it around in the air and a small green bar appeared. He dialed 9–1–1. It was busy. He waited as Jeanine’s raps on the door were in a steady cadence now. Her moans continued, like a dying hound, and the glass and metal doors shook over and over. He covered his ears. She never moaned that much with me. He dialed again. Busy. He tried again. Busy — Busy — Busy. He fought the urge to sling the phone down, sighing aloud.

  He stared at her long and hard. He had no choice. He had to kill her. He studied the softball bat he bought for her. It seemed like a crude way to go. He noticed the charcoal fluid stacked by some bags of coals near the door. Maybe I should set her on fire. The smell would be disgusting and there had to be a more humane way to kill her. It was the bat or nothing. At least he could bury her body then.

  As darkness fell and the heavier rains came, his taunt body softened. The loud rain began to drown out her moans. It relieved him. He took another sip as his eyes fell closed. He was fast asleep as she still pounded away.

  Chapter 4

  Nate gasped. A violent shake awoke him from his deep slumber. His skin was cold and clammy. Sunlight bathed his face and body, shining in from the storefront windows. He rubbed his blurry eyes as his heart thundered in his chest. The double glass doors were still intact. Jeanine was still there too.

  Her head was now sticking through the glass and her jaw clutched opened and closed. It made him think of a glass stockade, just a crueler device. The only thing keeping her from pushing through was the tiny wires holding the safety glass intact. It looked painful, and Nate grimaced as he could see the glass cutting into her neck. She made no effort to force her way back out, only forward. She was stuck, but the moaning continued.

  “I can’t take it anymore!” he yelled.

  He got up growling. He noticed his leg was swollen and purple from the knee down. He grabbed a plastic bottle of Fountain Dew and limped over to face her. Her mouth snapped open and closed, like a cow chewing its cud, the closer he came.

  “Sorry baby, I know you hate this stuff,” he said, shoving the bottle, cap first, into her mouth.

  If Jeanine had a flaw, it was talking too much. He fantasized about doing that many times before. She hissed in and out of her nose, as her wide mouth was filled with the green bottle over half way in. He stepped back, eyes looking about. An eerie sensation of peace fell over him. The moaning was gone.

  She crunched down on the bottle that was stuck in her mouth. Shaking her head back and forth, the bottle remained. He limped over and grabbed the bat.

  This is it. Got to do it!

  He looked into her dark, long-lashed eyes and knew nobody was home. There was no other way. It was her or him. Until death do us part.

  As he approached, he could see her perfect white teeth biting deep into the bottle. It pinched inward and green carbonation began to spray around her pale lips. Her eyes widened as she sucked on the bottle.

  “What the hell?”

  She seemed to be drinking it. Green fluid dripped down her chin and gashed neck. He could hear a wheezing and sucking sound coming from her. The bottle began to empty, and started too collapse as if it was squeezed by a hand. The bottle fell and rattled on the tiled floor. He looked at her, the bottle, then her. He approached, bat raised high. Her listless face was silent. He watched as she struggled to pull her head free, her eyes catching his, passing him over like he wasn’t there. The hunger and aggression was gone. She was just stuck inside the glass, trapped like an animal, not knowing what to do.

  “Now what?” he said, setting down the bat.

  He waited minute after minute. The store was becoming hotter as the sun rose further. It was past noon and it must have been a hundred degrees inside. There wasn’t a window to open. He had to pee and he headed for a bathroom in the back. His ears and mind were monitoring any signs of danger.

  “Ah!” he said as he began to pee.

  It was the most relief he had felt in forever. He walked back out and there she was, moving very little, a defeated creature. He felt bad for her all of a sudden. Did the soft drink cure her? What was going on? He took over another bottle and twisted off the lid. Her black eyes glimmered up at him. Her arms pressed the glass from the other side as the jagged edges had her neck still caught. Nate poured some to her lips. She didn’t try to bite, but licked her lips with her blackening tongue. He noticed the liquid running down through a hole in her neck.

  “Ugh!” he said, stepping away and spitting.

  Her eyes were fixed on the bottle now. He had to get out of there though, as the sweltering heat was too much. The key was still in the lock. He crouched down and slid over to it. He reached up, unlocked it, and slid back away. She pushed the door in, and she pulled it back out. It was in slow motion as she went in and out, back and forth, legs shuffling over the sweep. It reminded him of a cartoon and a revolving door. He stuffed some pop bottles in his backpack, along with some candy, nuts and protein bars.

  Here we go. He mustered his courage and as she backed out again he shoved himself past her. He was free. Yes! He hid behind the gas pumps and waited. She kept moving back and forth. He checked his smart phone. One green bar showed with twenty percent battery power remaining. Just get a car and go!

  He walked around the building. No cars. There wasn’t a single one to be seen. He saw the backyards of tiny houses nearby with sheds on many lawns. There has to be a bike in there. He limped over into one fenced in yard. It had a decent sized storage barn in the back. He straddled the rail, and he fell onto the other side.

  “Ow!”

  The barn was padlocked. He knocked the lock off after several swings with the bat. He jerked open the doors, and a pair of mountain bikes hung in the back.

  “Yes!” he said, pumping his fist, “Thank you Jesus!”

  He lifted one bike down and got on. The pedaling was excruciating as he wobbled at first, but he was fine. Taking the road he rounded back in front of the convenience store. Jeanine wasn’t there.

  “Shit!”

  He tried turning his head every direction at once, but she was gone. Fear filled him from head to toe as he listened for her. Nothing but the wind was with him, and very little of that.

  He pushed off and pedaled around the store three times. He looked up and down the roads. All he saw were small houses and buildings, lined up side by side, with overgrowing lawns. Something crept up through his spine as he stopped back in front of the store. A large chunk of broken glass was crumpled on the ground. His heart jumped as he heard rustling coming from the inside, and that’s when he saw her. She was wandering the aisles and knocking things onto the floor.

  “Jeanine!” he yelled. No response.

  He backed away, still straddling the bike. Now what? He got off the bike and walked inside. He poured more soda in a large cup, and set it on the ground. She lumbered towards the cup and kicked it over, spilling the contents onto the floor. She kneeled
to the ground and licked it up like a dog, every bit, giving Nate a disturbing feeling. I can’t believe this. He wanted to cry. She grabbed the cup and tried to eat it. Nate had a crazy idea.

  He poured a path of the soda along the floor and outside. He set the bottle at the end of the path. She lapped it up as she crawled on her hands and knees. He took out his smart phone and recorded her.

  He held the phone high in the air. He got two green signal bars. He uploaded the file on Who Tube reading: “ZOMBIES LIKE FOUNTAIN DEW! MUST WATCH!”

  He posted a tweet: “FOUNTAIN DEW WILL STOP THE ZOMBIES!”

  His smart phone died.

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