Zombie Hunter

by A. Giacomi

  “Vincent?” I say softly, “You still in there, buddy? Everything alright?”

  His eyes roll to the back of his head a moment, and I think he might collapse, but within a few moments he regains himself, shakes his head and begins to speak, “No…nothing is alright, Eve. We have a problem.”

  I bite my lip, cutting into it and releasing some blood. I kept forgetting my own strength and it was easy to hurt myself, but I would heal. It was simply hard not to bite something, especially when I was hungry, nervous, or just plain angry.

  Taking a seat beside Vincent I can see that he’s distraught, something had gotten inside his head and it had disturbed him in the worst way.

  “So tell me then, what’s the big problem now? I’m used to problems by now.” I chuckle, but Vincent doesn’t approve.

  “Eve, this is very serious. He entered my head…”

  Vincent didn’t have to explain who “he” was, I knew exactly who he was talking about, saying the name alone rattled me, so I didn’t bother, I just nod. I had never been one to believe in heaven or hell before all this, but clearly, there was more going on than I ever realized.

  What Vincent does next surprises me, he rushes over to one of the kitchen drawers and pulls out a large knife and hands it to me. “Do it!” he shouts, “do it now.” His eyes begged for me to kill him, he was fighting something inside of him. I could tell from the way his eyes flickered.

  “No, Vincent…I can’t…”

  He grits his teeth. “You must or I’ll kill you. I don’t know if I can hold him off. He’s trying to take over. He wants you gone. You’re some sort of threat to him. I’m not sure how, but he wants me to do his dirty work and I won’t have it.” Vincent screams in pain, nearly collapsing to the ground.

  “You can fight him, Vincent. You’ve survived this long, never giving into the voices. I know you can fight back. Please!” I hold the knife up, ready to do what I must if Vincent attacks me.

  Vincent begins to pull at his hair and slap his head. “Get out, get out!” he shouts.

  All I can do is stand by and wait, watching him suffer was excruciating, I had to try something, so I take to challenging him.

  “Hey! Mr. Devil, what is it you want exactly, huh? Can’t do things for yourself, can you? You always have to have your little minions. Just tell me what you want, coward!”

  My shouting silences Vincent and when he looks back up at me his eyes are a dark glaze. He examines me and moves toward me swiftly. Breathing on me, smiling in an unnatural way. What’s worse is the voice, it wasn’t his.

  “Child, you have no idea what you’ve done, and I will rest not until you burn.”

  The last word comes out in a hiss. I didn’t take to threats well. I was a hard head since the day I was born and I wasn’t about to stop now.

  “Yeah, asshole? Well if you burn me, I’ll burn you. I won’t be taken down that easily.”

  I’m shocked by the bravery in my own voice, I meant every word of it. A certain strength grows inside of me and I feel invincible. If he wanted me, he better be ready for a fight.

  “You are most lucky that your friend is able to resist me so. Many others are not so strong, they’re weak, they give into promises I make. Humans love promises, they will do anything for a promise of something better. If I told you I could bring back your mother and father in exchange for your life, would you not rip off your head here and now?”

  The words bring shivers down my spine, but I will not let him tempt me. “No…I wouldn’t, because they can’t fight you like I can. I know you’re afraid of me, I can smell it. I don’t know why, but it must mean I hold something over you. So I’m not going anywhere until I destroy you!”

  He roars at me like a vicious lion. I had definitely hit a soft spot, I was right and he couldn’t challenge that.

  “Beware girl, I am everywhere, and I will be back when the moment proves right.”

  With those final words, Vincent’s eyes roll back into his head and he collapses on the ground. I am hesitant to go near him a moment. Instead, I simply watch and wait. This could very well be a trick, but when he opens his eyes revealing the flames I recognized, I know he’s back.

  “Vincent, thank god!” I say wrapping my arms around him, forgetting the knife in my hand and slicing him ever so slightly.

  “Thank god indeed and do you mind?” he says as he dabs at the blood on his shoulder.

  “Sorry,” I say taking a step back. “So how did you do it anyway? How did you get rid of him? What’s your secret in case he tries that shit on me?”

  He shrugs. “Nothing special really, I just prayed.”

  “What did he promise you?”

  Vincent looks at me sadly. “He promised to spare my family. He said they were alive out there, that they were waiting for me. He would bring me to them if I killed you.”

  I slump down closer to him. “How did you resist such an offer? I’m not sure I can let you make that choice.” I retrieve the knife pressing it to my temple. “What if I don’t give you a choice?”

  Vincent grabs my hand and shakes it viciously, forcing me to drop the knife.

  “You don’t know if he’s telling the truth any more than I do. You know he’s a sneaky bastard, and I refuse to kill perhaps the only hope we have of stopping all this. We’ve come this far, Eve, we need to finish this and save who’s left. This is not the world I would have my children grow up in. This is not living.”

  I hug him tightly, I feel so much love for Vincent, he feels like my family now, and perhaps he felt that too. That he would make this sacrifice only makes me love him more.

  We are interrupted by a man clearing his voice.

  “Um, are you two ready to go? The Prime Minister is ready for the Video Conference now.”

  I roll my eyes. “Can’t you see we’re having a moment? Sheeez, give us five minutes and we’ll meet you out front.”

  The soldier nods, looking a bit uncomfortable with the request, but he complies.

  Vincent laughs, it’s the first time I’ve seen him laugh in a while. “You know, Eve, I’ll miss you when I’m fully dead. You are quite witty I’ll give you that.”

  “Ha! Don’t think you’ll be getting rid of me that easily!” I say punching him in the arm and making my way toward the door. It was time to prepare for battle, and I was more than ready for it now. Hungry for it.

  ***

  The meeting takes place in one of the central houses in the community. The amount of technology in the room is shocking because it simply wasn’t available elsewhere, but of course the government would find a way to continue communication, they always had a backup plan for themselves.

  A large screen greets us where the Prime Minister already sits. He has Dr. August to his right and the Deputy Prime Minister to his left. I nearly want to kiss the screen when I see Dr. August, I was happy to see him alive! Though he looked much older and more distressed. He had seen a lot, as had I. Vincent, on the other hand, didn’t seem so welcoming, he glares at the screen and Dr. August looks away from him, he knew they were on thin ice since he didn’t exactly keep his promise to end Vincent’s suffering. I, however, was glad for this, without Vincent I’m not sure I would have made it this far. Inadvertently, Dr. August had saved me, not that Vincent saw it that way. I simply hoped he could forgive and forget, time was too short for so much hate.

  “Welcome Eve and Vincent,” the Prime Minister begins. “It seems our previous meetings were cut short, but I’m willing to overlook the many men you slaughtered on account that you’re willing to help us now.”

  “Look!” I interject, “they attacked first! I didn’t want to hurt them, I just wanted to get to Cam. But I get it, they’re soldiers, they have orders.” I glare at him.

  “Eve, you can’t fault me for being cautious,” he says calmly, which was unnerving.

  Di
dn’t he care about their lives? I felt he should have yelled at me more, like an angry dad scolding me or something. His lack of anger made me question his motives, what he truly wanted wasn’t being expressed quite yet. He clearly wanted to stay on my good side, and that meant I didn’t trust him one bit.

  “Be as cautious as you wish,” I snort at him. “It’s not going to do much good. I’m the one you want to help stop these bastards, not the one you should be holding back. But hey, your call…”

  As the Prime Minister fidgets with the papers before him, Dr. August decides it’s a good time to interject. I could tell he had been holding his tongue long enough.

  “Eve, I’m so glad to see you! There is much I must tell you.”

  The Prime Minister gives him a side glance that makes Dr. August stutter a smidge. Something wasn’t quite right here, but for now I would have to pretend as if I hadn’t noticed that little blip in tone. Dr. August wasn’t a good liar, the Prime Minister must surely know that now. Whatever secret he was forcing him to keep wouldn’t last, unless of course they killed Dr. August, and that was perhaps my biggest fear about him being so far away. I wouldn’t be able to save him.

  “Firstly, I’ve made some progress with a cure…well not a cure exactly…it’s more of a treatment.” Dr. August continues, “You would have to take the injections daily, and I have no idea of knowing how well it will work since all my test subjects have been rats, but as soon as I’ve had a bit of extra time to perfect it, I will ship some off to you. Would you mind testing it for us?”

  I grimace at the word “us,” who had really ordered the treatment’s creation in the first place? Was this really being created to save me or make me out to be a guinea pig again? I had done that before, and I was done being someone’s pokey toy.

  “Dr. August, I’ll do it. I don’t have anything to lose. If you say it works then I trust you,” I say as I look directly at the Prime Minister, I could tell it made him uncomfortable in his big boy chair, and that was satisfying.

  Dr. August gulps slightly. “Eve, of course I will always do my best.”

  “Will you now?” Vincent finally chimes in.

  I knew he would cause drama at some point. There was no way of stopping it.

  “So old friend, why is it you feel a sense of dedication now? It’s curious don’t you agree? You had Eve and me in your possession for quite some time, so why has it taken so long?” Vincent’s eyes glare with such anger that I fear he might shoot lasers from them and burn through the screen.

  Dr. August fidgets with his hands. I could sense he felt remorse for leaving Vincent hanging, but I’m not sure what words would make it all better.

  “I’m sorry, Vincent,” Dr. August says looking at him now. “I never meant to let you down, but somehow I knew you’d be important. I thought you could help others, and you have. I know my choice had put us in an ill spot, but asking me to end your life, even if it was already borrowed time was just too much to bear. I hope you’ll understand someday, I had already lost you once, I couldn’t bear it again.”

  Although I am deeply touched by Dr. August’s honesty, Vincent doesn’t seem moved by his little speech in the slightest. He remains expressionless and mouths the word “coward” as he continues to glare at his former pal.

  Deciding to break the tension, I ask, “So what exactly do you need from us, Prime Minister Lessard?”

  Lessard outlines our mission very briefly since time was of the essence these days. Our “treatment” would arrive by the week’s end, and we were to make notes of any side effects or improvements it made. The hope was that it would keep whatever piece of humanity we had left alive, and perhaps this treatment would lead to a cure. I wasn’t holding my breath, although I very badly wanted to believe it.

  Next, we were to attend a brief training session, because tomorrow would begin a war that the world had never seen before and it would need Vincent and me in order to succeed. If we came across others like us, we were asked to try and recruit them, other than that we were asked to annihilate them. Once Ottawa was safe and secure again, we would be able to use the government’s technology to find Cam and Marcus. I suppose I needed them just as much as they needed me. I would never be able to locate Cam now, too much time had passed. I only hoped that by the time I finally reached him, it wouldn’t be too late.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  DR. AUGUST

  The end of the video conference left me nauseated. I had been forced to lie and read a script, although no one was holding a gun to my head, it felt very implied that my safety, as well as the baby’s safety, depended on me keeping my mouth shut.

  My time here was limited, I knew that. At some point, I would need to leave, but I had to pick the right time. It wasn’t safe to leave just yet. Zombies surrounded the Capital and we would need to clear the area or none of us would survive. I understood that Eve was a large card in my next move. I needed her to play along and do what Prime Minister Lessard said. At least that way she would have cleared a path for me unknowingly and I would go to her and have her meet her daughter. Despite Lessard thinking the knowledge of her daughter would weaken her desire to fight, I still believed the contrary. Mother’s fight like lions for their young and besides, she deserved to know.

  A hand pats me on the back; it’s Rachel smiling sympathetically at me. She hands me the small baby who is whimpering slightly.

  “I think she wants you, Pops.”

  The baby stops crying immediately. It was clear she had grown attached and how could she not? It was I who she knew best in this world. She must have sensed my devotion to her. Even as small as she was, she was wise, she knows who she can trust.

  “That all went well, didn’t it?” I say pointing to all the video devices in the conference room.

  “Okay so it was awkward, but I really liked what you said about your friend and just how hard it was to keep your promise. I’m not sure I could have killed my best friend if they asked. That’s a lot to ask of someone. Hopefully, he’ll come around,” she says patting me on the shoulder once more.

  “You don’t know Vincent. He holds grudges. I had known that when I decided to betray him. He’s right you know…I am a coward. I didn’t even have the nerve to tell Eve the truth.”

  Rachel pushes me playfully. “Duh! Only because you’re trying to protect her! You think you’re the only one who’s ever lied to protect someone? I’ve done it so many times I’ve lost count. Not that it was ever appreciated, but what can I say? I tried to do what I thought was right.”

  Her few words make me feel slightly better, but not comforted, I wouldn’t feel well enough until I was out of this facility and very far from it. I didn’t feel as though I had allies here, Rachel perhaps, but she wasn’t exactly Rambo. As for Mina, she kept her distance since our arrival. Perhaps she already knew she would be asked to betray us and being a friend would only make it harder.

  The baby cries and I am forced to refrain from thinking worst case scenario, she was hungry and all else could wait. Rachel accompanies me to my room which is stocked with formula.

  “You know…I’ve said it before, but you really should give her a name. It just doesn’t feel right to call her baby…” Rachel says, biting her lip, presumably, she felt uncomfortable since it wasn’t her place to say anything, but it was clear the lack of a name was getting under her skin. I suppose it had been on my mind as well. She should be called something, but what?

  “What do you suggest, Rachel?”

  “Ummm….wow that’s hard. I mean there are lots of names…how about Abby or Scarlett or Megan?” Rachel says excitedly.

  “I’m not sure those names do her justice. She’s unique.”

  “Unique?” Rachel asks looking quizzically at me.

  I can feel my hands growing sweaty; I hadn’t meant to reveal the child’s true nature, in fact, I had done fairly well keeping it a
secret from Rachel until now. The only thing Rachel knew about the child is that she belongs to Eve. My fear was that Rachel would discover this truth soon enough on her own, so perhaps now was the time to share. I needed her on my side and the best way to ensure that was not to have any secrets between us.

  “Rachel…look…this child…she’s very special. She’s not fully human.”

  I let that sit in the air for a moment to let Rachel absorb it. She furrows her brows trying to comprehend.

  “So she’s what? Like Eve?”

  “Well not exactly no, her heart still beats. She doesn’t seem to possess a craving for flesh, but there is definitely some accelerated growth occurring…and well this…” I say as I show Rachel the child’s glowing chest.

  “Holy crap!” Rachel says taking a step back. “Is she an alien? Like E.T or something. I think he had that going on too!”

  “No, no, not alien, I’m not really sure what it means, and it’s complicated. Someone, well Marcus and his mad scientist did this to her…you see there is this ancient red stone, and they implanted a piece of it into her chest. I’m not sure if it was done to keep her alive, or change her in some way, or perhaps it’s even like a tracking device. None of this is anything that I’ve ever encountered before, so as you can see, I can’t give her any ordinary name.”

  Rachel continues to look bewildered. “Ancient red stone? This is nuts!”

  I couldn’t disagree with her there, and I couldn’t expect her to understand the complexity of all this, least of all explain to her that the stone is one of Satan’s heirlooms and it was given to an ancient Egyptian King as more of a curse than a blessing. Somehow this child was cursed, and I had to find a way to protect her.

  “Rachel, the stone is the least of the problems here. Surely you can understand how a child with unique qualities could become desirable to these people. She’s not safe from them, they’ll want to study her. That’s my worst fear.”