by Dan Decker
It must have worked because he started to descend again. The helicopter was not five feet off the ground when Sharon ran towards it with her head down, heedless of safety. I adjusted my pack and looked over my shoulder before I followed.
The helicopter induced trance was gone and the zombies were once again headed our direction, much faster than they had moved before. I also saw a flash of green in the trees and caught a glimpse of the remaining lizard.
Those lizard eyes had looked down at me with curiosity when it had found me at the spaceship before they filled with instinctual malice. The lizards had tracked Sharon because they knew she had an egg. None of this made any sense.
Least of all the spaceship.
Something in my gut told me it was involved though I could not say how. My earlier theory, that it might have been the Russians, seemed wrong.
But if not them, who? I did not readily dismiss the answer that came to mind next, at least not as quick as I had before, but I just could not believe these creatures were extraterrestrial in origin.
The lizard stayed under cover but its eyes were on us, reminding me of how the specimen Sharon carried had acted with the capybaras.
I looked past the zombies and searched for the lizard. It had disappeared but was not gone, of that I was certain.
The rotors had hardly slowed before Sharon ran towards the door. I dashed ahead of her, grabbed the handle, opened the door, and went right after her once she was inside.
A zombie ran up, somehow getting ahead of the others. Just as I was about to fling my hammer into its face I realized that it was Harold.
50
“Am I glad to see you guys!” Harold said with the widest grin I had ever seen splitting his face. “I thought I was the only one until I saw your flare.”
I had so many questions I wanted to ask him but the zombies were fifty feet behind, charging, almost as if they were in unison, like soldiers on a battlefield.
Without another word Harold climbed past me into the helicopter. Sharon smiled as if she were truly happy to see him. I was glad Harold had survived but did not like how happy his presence made Sharon, I worried he would be her ally.
Just before I closed the door I thought of the kerosene I had been carrying in my pack. I pulled it out, undid the top, and stuffed my spare shirt into the hole, keeping a close eye on the advancing zombies as I did. After fishing around in my bag I pulled out a lighter and lit my shirt on fire before setting it on the ground.
It was a long shot, but I did not like the idea of leaving zombies wandering around the Amazon. There was no telling what might happen. The capybaras might not have lived for long, but I had a feeling the humans would be more resilient. Perhaps this might slow them down if it didn’t kill them.
“Go, go, go!” Sharon yelled with wide eyes when she realized what I had done. I tried to pull the door shut, unfortunately Sandy was already there, so was Max.
I wrapped a seatbelt around my arm as I kicked the door, hitting Sandy in the face. Even though I felt a twinge of regret, I did it again.
The helicopter jolted into the air.
The pilot cursed as he looked back at us. We were going to receive an earful from him later but I did not care.
We were alive.
I shook my head and was reaching for the door when I saw Sandy, Max, and Jen had grabbed hold of the landing skid directly beneath me. I pulled out my hammer.
“We’re not alone,” I yelled at Sharon and Harold, the fury of the rotors drowning out my voice. I leaned over and tried to hit their fingers with the hammer but did not have the reach.
Praying that the seatbelt I grabbed would hold, I put a foot over the side and stomped the closest fingers. I felt a slash of guilt when Sandy fell. I did not watch as she landed. When I checked a moment later she was trying to get up. The fall might have broken her legs but the zombie was still alive.
Visions of horror television shows with legless zombies crawling around came back to me as I stomped again and sent Max to a similar fate. It fell beside the can of kerosene, as it struggled to get up it knocked my burning shirt from the can.
I swore. My makeshift bomb had been disarmed.
Jen still held on but was far enough back I could not reach its fingers with my foot. I pulled back into the helicopter and picked up my hammer. As I did I noticed Sharon was not paying attention. She had undone her pack and was looking inside.
I saw red when I realized she had the lizard eggs.
Every single one of them.
Stupid woman!
The goo I had seen oozing out must have been from chicken eggs she had taken from our food supply.
She also had one more grenade.
I growled under my breath but she did not hear it. The eggs were why the monsters had come for us. The lizards had known Sharon had them but had not been able to find them.
This was indeed why they had left her alive.
The woman had not even broken a sweat in dealing with them, though she must have known what the monsters had been after.
I gripped the hammer and looked between Sharon and Jen. Sharon was not yet aware of me.
I waited for what seemed an eternity.
It was bad enough we were taking a dead specimen of the lizard with us that might have the zombie causing contagion, but live eggs, with real living dinos inside?
I brought up the hammer, intent on smashing the eggs.
“Sit down!” Sharon motioned with her nose at the seat across from her. “Drop the hammer!”
I held the hammer aloft, glancing at the skid. Jen was gone.
My dilemma was over. There was no way I was going to let those eggs get back to the states.
That was when Harold groaned.
51
Sharon and I exchanged a glance as we watched Harold’s eyes roll up into his head and then come back down. He had been Harold the moment before but now it was a monster. The zombie lunged for Sharon as I pushed my hammer into its face wishing instead that I was crushing the eggs.
I should have asked a question when I had a chance, we’ll never know what happened to the others.
I swore as I kicked the monster in the gut and slammed it into the other door. It buckled under Harold’s weight and caused the helicopter to lurch. The open door was behind me. Harold was in front.
“Get the other door open and I’ll push it out!” I yelled at Sharon. I had hoped she would set her bag down as we fought Harold but she had slung her pack up onto her shoulder. I thought of pushing her out. She was already on the other side opening the door.
It would have been so easy.
The helicopter lurched. The pilot yelled something but neither of us turned to look at him as I launched myself at Harold. My hammer went right into his belly and the next thing I knew he was falling from the open door, struggling to take hold of something as he fell.
The last thing he did was roar.
I almost went with him.
I was saved at the last moment when I clawed the seat with my hammer. Once I had regained my balance I looked at Sharon, thinking again of pushing her out but she had already pulled the other door shut.
The one behind me was still open.
I brought down my hammer, aiming for the top of her pack, but she flipped around, using her forearm to stop me. Our arms collided with a flash of pain that I ignored.
I struggled to get around her but froze when I saw she had a pistol pointed right at me. When I twisted and attempted to hit her with the hammer, she stepped into me and jabbed it into my throat.
I let out a ragged gasp, wishing Harold had not turned to a zombie in the same moment I discovered Sharon had the eggs.
I blinked.
She had been armed with a firearm the whole time we had been running from zombies and prehistoric lizards?
“You’re a foul woman,” I yelled. “You might have saved some of them.”
“Sit.” Sharon motioned with her pistol.
I hesitated, acte
d like I was going to obey, and lunged past her, aiming for her pack. My hand slipped into her bag and I crushed one of the eggs. I went for another and found it was the grenade. By that time she was already pulling back, leaving me holding the grenade.
I moved so that I was in front of the pilot. If she shot me, she risked hitting him too. I did not think she would do that.
“Stop you—”
Sharon’s words died on her lips as I pulled the pin and held the grenade aloft.
She could shoot me if she wanted, but the grenade would make certain she never made it out of the jungle. Our eyes locked in battle. I considered dropping it on the floor anyway and sending us all to the next life but figured I had the leverage necessary to disarm the situation.
I did not feel like dying today.
“Toss out your pistol,” I said. “Once you do, I’ll lose the grenade.”
“You dare stand in the way of progress?”
“This isn’t progress, people are turning into zombies.”
She brought the pistol down and turned towards the door, acting like she was about to throw it out, but lunged at me instead, pushing me against the shut door on the other side. I bashed her with my fist as she struggled to get the grenade.
I howled out when she kneed me in the groin, but did not relinquish my grip.
Is she trying to kill us all?
With my other hand I struggled to take away her pistol, but it had disappeared. I could not say where, though it had to be somewhere on her person.
It was difficult to think through the pain.
When she came at me again I kicked and almost sent her out the open door. She latched on and climbed back in. The pilot yelled something, but neither of us responded.
I stood as best I could while hunching over in the helicopter and holding tight to the grenade. As I moved I caught a glimpse of a rain forest covered mountain to the south of our position. Through all the undergrowth I noticed a rock sticking out near the top. Something about the formation struck me as odd but I was not able to decide what.
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” I said turning my attention back to Sharon.
She did not respond as she came at me with a knife. Using my arm to block her attack, I kept her from scoring a hit and struggled to take the blade, but that was difficult to do when I only had one freehand because I kept a tight hold of the grenade with the other.
When she scratched my neck, I tried to headbutt her but missed.
Her dark laugh was unnerving. I took a swing but she ducked and grabbed the grenade with both hands, managing to pull it from my grasp. When I tried to take it back, I knocked it free.
It landed on the floor.
Sharon cursed as I went for the grenade but it was too late. It was already armed.
I kicked it out the open door.
It bounced on the ground next to the can of kerosene.
A fireball engulfed the zombies as bits of shrapnel hit the helicopter. The pilot screamed an obscenity but the bird appeared to be fine.
I acted fast, hoping the explosion would distract Sharon long enough for me to get the eggs.
This was my chance to keep the things out of the states.
And out of the hands of Genizyz.
I went for them with my hammer but she shifted, putting the pistol directly to my chest.
“I will shoot,” she said. “I don’t want to but will if you make me.”
The pilot was no longer lined up with the bullet, if Sharon pulled the trigger I would be dead and the round would go out the open door after it tore its way through.
“You saw what these can do,” I said, looking for a way to get to the eggs. “Are you mad?”
Sharon motioned with her pistol.
I sat.
Sharon positioned herself across from me, the pistol trained on my chest.
It was a long way back.
I would find a way to destroy the eggs if it was the last thing I did. I looked back at the mountain as we flew away, and it occurred to me why the rock had stood out.
It looked like the same substance as the spaceship. I even remembered that upon our arrival I had noticed the formation and thought it unique. It was difficult to leave behind the unanswered question of the spaceship, and its potential connection to the mountain. And the lizards.
And the zombies.
But I was going to destroy those eggs if I had to bring down the helicopter to do it.
Epilogue
Two Years Later
I took another step into the room while trying to avoid eye contact with the zampys. Wicked Rex was the only one who moved, coming into the light, his unblinking eyes fastened on me as if he knew exactly what I was going to do.
“Easy fella,” I said.
Rex cocked his head to the side and for a moment I almost thought he was going to say something back.
Instead, he roared.
The enclosure went from the quiet of the dead to the cacophony of the living as all the zampys charged their cell doors, roaring as they did.
I stood unflinchingly. This was normal behavior.
Wicked Rex was their general and they were his soldiers.
If they ever managed to escape, I feared for the world.
I reached into my jacket, wrapped my fingers around the butt of my pistol, but just as I was about to pull it out an alarm sounded.
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MONSTER COUNTRY SHORT STORY
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Civilization collapsed when a plague of dinosaur-like lizards spread a virus that turned people into zombies. These lizards became known as zampys because of their close relation to the zombies.
Parry Peters is smuggling anti-venom when he runs into a nest of zampys. He starts to think he has the situation contained when a mysterious woman almost gets him killed through her apparent inexperience.
Everything gets worse when members of a heavily armed gang show up and try to capture the zampys.
If you love zombie and monster stories, you’ll love this exciting adventure yarn set in a world that is quite unlike anything ever before set to paper. Click here to get your copy!
Author’s Note
If you would like to receive notifications about other upcoming works, sneak peeks, and other extras, go to dandeckerbooks.com and sign up for my newsletter. Finally, if you would like to reach out, please feel free to drop me a line at [email protected]. I always enjoy hearing from readers.
Books by
Dan Decker
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Monster Country: Genizyz
Dead Man’s War
#1: Dead Man’s Game
#2: Dead Man’s Fear (Coming soon)
War of the Fathers Universe
Prequel: Blood of the Redd Guard
Volume One: War of the Fathers
Volume Two: Lord of the Inferno
Volume Three: Enemy in the Shadows
The Containment Team
Volume One: Ready Shooter
Volume Two: Hybrid Hotel
Thrillers
Jake Ramsey Thrillers
Black Brick
Dark Spectrum
Blood Games
Silent Warehouse (Short Story)
About the Author
Dan Decker lives in Utah with his family. He has a law degree and spends as much time as he can outdoors. You can learn more about upcoming novels at dandeckerbooks.com.
Sneak Peek
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Sneak Peek
“Wallets!” The mugger screamed. “Now!”
Neither Sam nor I moved, something was off about his voice.
“Look, friend,” I said, trying to think of a way to make this easier. “Do I have permission to reach into my pocket and pull them out?”
“Give me your wallets, now!”
I shook my head and wondered what to do next. My last mugger had been calm and
professional. This experience made me think of that fondly.
The mugger was taking too long. He was agitated.
The last thing I would do was reach into my pocket, he’d shoot me for sure.
Things are likely to go wrong either way.
Sam still said nothing. I couldn’t get a read on where he was because he was a few feet ahead.
I took another stab. “Friend. My wallet is in my right suit coat pocket, my smartphone is in the left. You are welcome to them.” I nodded at Sam. “I’m sure he’ll happily give you his. You are going to walk away with everything you want. If you will calm down—”
“Give me your wallets, now!” he screamed.
Before I’d spoken he’d still been turning the pistol between Sam and me but now it was just on me.
The strange mask had slipped, giving me a better look at his eyes. What I’d taken for bloodshot eyes before appeared to be a reflection of his mask. I’d expected to see wide unfocused eyes, but what I saw was more concerning.
His eyes were calm.
It was all an act.
Why?
A sick feeling formed in my chest, a stab of panic rising in the back of my mind.
Something was very wrong.
“Give me your wallet now!”
I finally realized what sounded wrong with the man’s voice. It wasn’t his voice at all.
It was a recording.
Why the act? Why the recording? I looked at the wet spot on the ground. Why the puddle in the alley on a hot day?
“What are you doing?” I asked the man, taking a calculated risk. “Why won’t you give me instructions?” I wasn’t ready to call him on the recording just yet.
I wanted to make him use his voice if I could.
He stepped back and pointed the weapon at me with both hands. I expected him to make another request, but he pulled the trigger.