by Tristan Vick
Jennifer laughed. “Don’t worry about us, we’ve never been better.”
“Us? Sure. Whatever. But we have to get out of here. All of us.” Somehow he didn’t believe her, but he noticed something wasn’t quite right with the look in her eyes and decided not to press the issue.
“You know,” Hurley began, twirling her dirty blonde hair around her forefinger, “It’s the end of the world, and before I die, well, I want one last good fuck. What do you say?”
“What?” Zanato said, gulping down hard.
“You still like me, don’t you?”
Zanato’s eyes lit up. “Hell, yeah! But you’re not messing with me or anything, are you?”
“No. I’m dead serious. Come over here,” Hurley said, rubbing her hand down her naked body until her fingers reached her labia. Spreading herself open, she invited Jesse to come inside her.
Zanato fumbled to unfasten his pants, nearly tripping over himself as he rushed toward her. Pulling himself out, he was about to mount her when she stopped him with a kiss. Her tongue dancing flirtatiously with his, she wrapped her fingers around the back of his head and grabbed his hair tightly.
That’s when he felt the hot lacerating sting of steel.
Jesse Zanato tried to scream when he felt the piercing blade slide into his chest but his mouth was muzzled by Jennifer’s lips and tongue. She stopped kissing him and looked at his bewildered face.
“W-w-why?”
Jennifer cackled, her voice echoing up and down the corridors. “Because you’re pathetic! You’re a vile, loathsome, weak little creature. What gives you the right to enter into my temple and defile it with your filthy presence? Do you really think you’re worthy of me? What a riot!”
“B-but, you said…” Zanato couldn’t get out another word since he was choking on his own blood. His eyes grew wide with fear.
Vindictively, Jennifer twisted the knife in his chest, which caused Zanato to shriek out in pain. Blood spilled over his lips, mouth, and chin. Tottering, he was about to fall over backward, but Jennifer suddenly caught him by the collar of his blue striped dress shirt and reeled him back into her. His chest slammed into her bloodstained breasts and made a smacking noise.
Jennifer yanked out the blade and stabbed him again, and again, making the blood from his mouth empty out of him like a fountain. Jerking on his collar and bringing him to her lips once more, she lapped up the blood cascading over his lower lip. Her hungry kisses became bites as she tore the flesh from him with her teeth. Tearing his bottom lip from his terrified face, she spat it onto the floor and then smiled at him with bloodstained teeth. His blood.
Zanato groaned in agony, and, with what little remaining fight he had left, he tried to pull away from her. But as hard as he tried, he could not escape her clutches. She was too strong. It was as if she had been possessed by something as vicious as it was powerful. Something not quite human.
Grinning a red smile, Jen slowly twisted the knife in Zanato’s chest, causing him to writhe in excruciating pain. She pulled the knife out, then stabbed him again, grinning the whole time, as if it were fun for her.
Jesse Zanato’s breathing stopped, his eyelids sagged, and his head rocked lifelessly forward.
Jennifer pushed Zanato’s limp husk away from her and let it fall to the ground with an unceremonious thud. If she couldn’t hurt him, if she couldn’t cause him unimaginable pain and suffering, well, then he was no good to her.
Walking away, Jen left Zanato’s corpse lying on the floor with her knife lodged firmly in his chest.
A scuffling of feet approached her from behind, and Jennifer slowly turned around to see a sallow-faced monster looking right at her with those spooky whitewashed eyes. With ungainly steps it staggered a closer to her, but when she didn’t move it cocked its head in curiosity and stared at her for a moment, as if it were trying to gauge her reaction.
Grunting, it sniffed the air around her. Peeling back its lips, it bared its ugly teeth and snarled. Jennifer didn’t even grimace.
Reaching up, Jennifer Hurley wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand and smiled a red-toothed grin. The monster moaned and then, as if it had lost interest, turned around and continued on its way, and headed to whatever destination its mindless body took it.
55
Fate’s Hand
Alyssa crept along the blood-streaked wall of the corridor. She wanted to avoid having another encounter with Jen at all costs. Easing around the corner, she saw the back of General Greer’s forest green uniform and instantly perked up. If anyone could take on Bloody Mary, it would be him.
“General Greer!” Alyssa hollered as she skipped up to him. Putting her hand on his shoulder, she suddenly felt the butterflies in her stomach jump up and commit suicide. Something was terribly wrong.
Greer slowly turned around to reveal two ghastly opaque eyes. Alyssa gulped hard, choked down a scream, and immediately backpedaled to try and get away. But she was two seconds too slow, and before she could turn about and make her retreat, his impossibly strong hands gripped her by the wrists.
Alyssa screamed from how hard he grabbed her, and the zombified general jerked her toward his snapping mandible. She fought back with all her might and tugged against his clutches, dodging from side to side to avoid his biting mouth.
Fighting for her life, she kicked and pulled, but each time he easily whipped her around like a ragdoll and reeled her in again. Using all her strength, she raised her foot and slammed it down into his shin. Greer’s tibia snapped with a horrendous crunch. But even with him teetering on one leg, Alyssa still could not break free. Losing his balance, the general flung her to the side, and they did a violent somersault together and toppled to the ground.
Floundering on the floor, Alyssa kicked frantically at the general’s chomping mouth. But even though she hit him repeatedly with the heels of her feet, he just kept on coming. She tried to crawl away, digging her fingernails into the floor, but a hand caught her ankle and dragged her back.
Wincing from the sharp sting of teeth sinking into her calf muscle, Alyssa screamed so hard she thought her voice box would shatter in her throat. She tried to kick his forehead in with her other leg, but the impact only caused his teeth to cut deeper into her muscle tissue.
Out of the blue, the hollow chopping sound of metal lacerating human tissue slithered its way into Alyssa’s ears. She looked down at her chewed up leg to see Rachael Ramirez standing over the general’s motionless body. She pulled Jennifer Hurley’s blade out of the general’s skull and stood over Alyssa like her guardian angel.
“My God, I’m glad to see you,” Alyssa said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Rachael tossed the knife to the floor and then looked down at Alyssa and gave her a hand. “You didn’t think I’d seriously leave you down here, now, did you?”
Alyssa took Rachael’s hand and hopped up onto one foot. She put her right arm around Rachael’s neck, and they turned and limped up the hall together.
“I wasn’t worried,” Alyssa replied, smiling the best she could as she tried to mask the pain. Every slow agonizing step sent what felt like needles swimming up Alyssa’s leg.
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
Alyssa patted her back pocket. “Sure did.”
“Good. Now let’s get the hell out of here.”
Just then a zombie jumped out from around the corner and growled at them. “Grrrah!” He was a tall dark engineer wearing a blue hardhat and a nametag that read Pearlman.
Rachael used her forearm to block his abrupt attack, but he was already upon her and quickly sank his teeth into her forearm. Searing pain caused her to cry out, and even though she knew her wound would heal almost instantaneously, it still hurt like a son of a bitch. While the creature named Pearlman gnawed on her arm, she drew out the gun Barnes had given her and held it to the feeding monster’s forehead.
BLAM!
Rachael and Alyssa watched as her arm instantly mended its
elf. The two women turned to continue onward but suddenly heard a voice call out to them like a bolt from the blue.
“Going so soon?”
Stopping in their tracks, the two women spun back around to see Jennifer Hurley bending over the dead husk of what used to be General Greer. She picked up her misplaced knife. “I was wondering where this went. You know, you shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to you.”
Rachael raised the gun and pointed it at Hurley. “You know something, I could say the same to you. I found it stuck through Jesse Zanato’s cold, dead heart.”
“Oh yeah,” laughed Jennifer. “Poor fool thought he was going to get lucky. I guess, in a way, he did. At least now he doesn’t have anything left to fear. Now he can sleep in peace. So you see, I granted him a mercy.” She took a step toward Rachael and Alyssa.
Rachael steadied the gun, and warned, “Come any closer and, I swear, I will end you.”
Jennifer shrugged her shoulders, as if to say no big deal. “But I was so hoping you’d stay and play. After all, the real fun is just beginning.”
“Look around you, Jennifer!” Rachael shouted, waving her hand across the scattering of dead monsters. “Does this look like a game to you?”
Without warning Hurley threw the knife. It spun through the air like a tomahawk and lodged itself squarely in Rachael’s sternum. Alyssa screamed as she saw Rachael sink to her knees. The lights flickered.
Handing the gun to Alyssa, Rachael said in short, uneasy, breaths, “Take this and get the hell out of here.”
“I won’t leave you!”
“Yes, run along little one. It will only be a matter of time before you come crawling back to me, begging me to end your miserable existence before you turn into one of these creatures.”
Alyssa took the gun and hobbled over to the railing, and then slowly backed away from the confrontation. As she retreated, she called out to Rachael. “I’ll see you later.” She turned and limped up the corridor toward the exit.
Slowly Rachael rose up onto her feet. Jennifer staggered back in awe, as if a bombshell had just been dropped on her.
Reaching down, Rachael gripped the handle of the knife and tore it out of her chest. Almost instantly the wound sealed itself shut. “I believe you were saying the fun was just beginning?”
Bewildered, Hurley’s eyes grew wide as she stared apprehensively at Rachael. “Y-you…you are my sister! My long lost sister!” Hurley said with an equal mix of reverence and astonishment.
“I’m not your goddamn sister,” Rachael protested. “I’m your worst goddamn nightmare. I’m your judge, jury, and your executioner. Comprende?” Rachael held the knife at her side and walked fearlessly toward Jennifer. “You have two options. You can either stay here and die, or you can take your chances and run. It’s your choice.”
Standing face to face with her adversary, Jennifer smiled. “I was wrong. I thought I was destined to rule this ruined empire from a throne made of skull and bone. But I see the truth now. It is you—you, Rachael Ramirez—who is destined to rule this world of rot and ruin!”
Taking Rachael’s hand, Jennifer bent down on one knee and bowed her head. “You are my queen,” she said with great reverence.
Rachael threw down the knife onto the floor. “Fine. So be it. As your queen, I order you to leave my sight.”
“You are merciful, Mistress,” Jennifer said.
Slowly reaching over, Jennifer Hurley picked up her knife, looked up, and smiled at Rachael. Crawling to her feet she curtseyed and then slowly backed away. As the lights flashed on and off again, Jennifer silently disappeared into the dancing shadows.
56
The Last Mile
Piles of maimed and mutilated bodies littered the expanse between Barnes and Noble, but even though they had won this battle the impossibly large metal doors were still closing in on them fast. Suddenly they heard someone holler and turned to see Alyssa limping her way toward them.
“Over there!” Noble shouted. Barnes looked over and saw Alyssa hobbling on one good foot. Running up to her, Barnes scooped her up in his arms. “Don’t worry, I gotcha.”
“You need to know that I—”
“You’re cutting it damn close,” Barnes interrupted. “The doors are nearly closed.”
As Barnes carried her toward the Humvee a fat maintenance man with a yellow hardhat jumped into their way, growling and hissing up a storm. Out of nowhere Noble body-checked the portly creature and knocked it out of the way. The impact was so hard that the monster’s yellow helmet flew off its head. Clearing the way, Noble made it safe for Barnes to carry Alyssa the rest of the way back to the Humvee.
She looked up at him as he set her into the passenger seat. Tears dampened her cheeks. As he fastened her in securely, Barnes noticed her wounds.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you.”
“You’ve been bitten.”
“Yeah,” Alyssa said, her voice faltering.
“Well, shit. That bites.”
Alyssa tried to laugh at his pun, but tears were already seeping out of her eyes. “So what now?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now we have to get out of here and regroup with the others up top.”
“Thanks,” Alyssa said, trying to smile.
“No worries,” Barnes said. Looking back over his shoulder, he asked, “Where’s Rachael? Shouldn’t she be right behind you?”
Alyssa turned her head away and bit her lip. Her lack of words spoke volumes.
Mitchell Reinhart sat in the control room, staring at the red button and trying to summon up the courage needed to press it. Even with the pounding on the glass from the Walkers that were trying to bust in from the hall, he still didn’t have the nerve.
Reaching underneath the control panel, Mitch retrieved a hidden bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label that was tucked away for a special occasion. It was his secret emergency stash. Precisely what he needed right now.
Twisting off the lid, he brought the bottle’s head to his lips and smiled. “This ought to do the trick,” he said to himself. If anything, it would help him ignore the relentless pawing at the glass windows just behind him.
Looking over his shoulder, he eyed the monsters. Every last one of them was mulish in its persistence to satiate its hunger. A hunger that kept them coming no matter what obstacle was thrown up. Never ceasing to tire, they smashed their numb limbs into the glass repeatedly. Not feeling pain, they banged their deadened bodies against the wall of glass again and again. It was horrific.
Mitch knew the glass wouldn’t hold them back forever. It was already starting to cobweb with stress fractures, and soon enough it would crumble into crystalline dust, and there would be nothing left between him and them.
Holding up the bottle, he said, “Well, it’s been one helluva ride.” He kicked his head back and downed the whole thing.
Shattering behind him, the wall of glass gave way as it crumbled beneath the weight of the unruly mob. The undead stumbled into the room and made their way toward where Mitchell Reinhart sat.
Swallowing the last drop, with a flood of undead bearing down on him, Mitch closed his eyes, took one final deep breath, and slammed his fist down onto the red button.
Barnes looked in the rearview mirror in time to see flames leap out of the mouth of the cave’s portal. Huge explosions plumed out and grew bigger and bigger. In a daisy chain of massive fireballs, an inferno of fiery bubbles quickly expanded, consuming everything in their wake.
Dark lumbering figures got swallowed up by the bright orange blaze and were instantly burnt up. Their bodies quickly evaporated into ash like paper licked by a flame.
“Noooo!” Alyssa screamed. “Rachael!”
“It’s too late now,” Barnes said. “There’s no turning back.”
Ulysses Noble slid down into the car and shut the cupola hatch behind him. “Hey man, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we have the motherfucking Death Star exploding all up in here
.”
“I’m on it,” Barnes answered, slamming his foot down on the accelerator as hard as he could. The Humvee’s engine roared and its tires screamed up the tunnel as they barely stayed on the cusp of the rising plumes of flame.
Alyssa reached into her pocket and pulled out the purple diary with flower stenciling on the cover. She looked over at Barnes. “This is our story. This is the story of how it all begins and how it ends. Please, find Rachael and…” Alyssa’s voice trailed off and she slouched over in her seat.
“No! Goddammit,” Barnes cursed as Alyssa blacked out. Barnes leaned over and shook her shoulder, but it didn’t do any good. He screamed, “Hang in there, kid! Don’t leave us yet.”
The hot sting of his slap roused her. Alyssa’s eyes cracked open and she looked around, half in shock. Although she had come into the world with a scream, and the rattle of infant lungs, she would go out with a whimper. It wasn’t fair, but the fates were rarely ever fair. They were cruel-hearted bitches.
Nodding off a second time, she could feel darkness flood into every recess of her mind. As her thoughts fell apart in the blackness she prayed that Barnes would put a bullet between her eyes and just put her out of her misery.
Gradually, the blackness would nibble away at her consciousness until there was nothing left. She’d awaken to an entirely new kind of horror. Her mind’s eye would be taken over by the ruby-lipped mouth of madness. She would become a monster so horrible it wouldn’t even let death defeat it. All sense of herself would vanish and she’d become something else—something black and without a soul—something evil. She’d be destined to suffer in an infinite purgatory—of living death.
Epilogue
The Resurrection Virus
As she opened her eyes, radiant white light flooded her vision. Alyssa sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes to try to massage away the blurriness. It didn’t do much good. Everything around her remained hot white and out of focus. She would have mistaken it for heaven if it weren’t for the horrendous headache sending excruciating pain down through her entire nervous system to act as a constant reminder that she was most definitely alive.