by Tristan Vick
Admiral Sakaguchi kept his composer, and tried his hardest not to reveal to Maya his gut churning disgust. He had to make his zombie pedophile sexual vice believable. If Gen didn’t buy into the Admiral’s perversion, then the mission would be compromised.
Maya pushed up her black, thick-framed reading glasses, and addressed the Admiral. “Sir. You have fifteen minutes to have your way with any or all of them. It doesn’t matter. Anything and everything goes. The risk of infection is your own. However, if you kill one of them, either incidentally or deliberately, you will be charged a fee of favors. If you do happen to become infected, you will be terminated. Do you agree to the terms and conditions of the arrangement, Admiral?”
The Admiral shot Maya a wink, but instead of trying to force a grin, he simply reached down to his crotch and began rubbing himself. “Care to join me?”
“If the Admiral prefers, but my services cost extra.”
“How much extra?”
“A finger,” she replied in all seriousness.
“I…wait. You mean to tell me you’d fuck someone if they cut off their finger for you and offered it as payment?”
Looking over her thick black frames, Maya smiled at him. “Yes.”
“Have many done that?” he asked, genuinely curious.
“Thirty two and counting,” she answered.
The Admiral raised an eyebrow. “Impressive,” he said. “You must be worth it.”
“I am here to serve,” she said with a coy smile.
“Oh, just one more thing. Let me ask you something. Of all those men who’ve mutilated themselves for you, have you loved any of them?”
“You want to know if I’ve ever forced a lover to cut off his finger to be with me, is that it?”
“Yes. Would you demand such a payment if you genuinely loved someone?”
Maya smiled. “I’ve never ‘genuinely loved’ any man. But, naturally, a girl has needs,” she answered. “If you really want to partake, I’ll settle for just your pinky up to the first knuckle. Consider it a discount.”
The Admiral looked at his hand for a moment and then back up at her spectacle adorned face. She merely stared at him without a trace of emotion in her eyes. That’s how he knew Maya was perfect for Gen. Both of them lacked souls.
“On second thought, no thanks,” the Admiral said as he began to unfasten his belt. “Your services will not be necessary. Feel free to see yourself out.”
Maya bowed respectfully and, without uttering another word, she took her leave.
Once she’d left the room, the Admiral took off his jacket and flung it over the security camera on the wall. Then he pulled out a small black box the size of a cigarette case from the inside of his boot and opened it. Inside were sixteen glass capsules which resembled medicine-filled test tubes. Each tube was split into two colors. One half of the capsule was a rosy pink, the other half was aqua blue.
Looking over at the writhing and growling zombie girls bound to their beds by leather restraints with padlocks securing them, the Admiral said, “I regret what I must do to you all now, but you have to believe me, it’s for your own good, as well as the greater good.”
26
Claymore
The Ruins of Narita International Airport, Chiba
Endo gripped the grenade tightly in his fist and waved it above his head as a warning. The bat-winged lizard-man took another step closer to Endo.
“Don’t press your luck,” Endo warned, letting the thing know he wasn’t in the mood for playing games.
The creature eyed him with those yellow, serpentine eyes, blinked, and then cautiously edged its foot forward.
“Fine, be that way,” Endo growled as he mustered up the resolve to let his thumb off the safety-spoon of the grenade.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” a voice called out.
With a bang, there was an intense flash and Endo gripped tight to the grenade, trying not to pass out form the concussive blast.
The creature screamed in agony and tried to fly into the air, but the blast had knocked out its sense of direction and temporarily blinded it. It immediately crashed back to the floor. Its wings beat uselessly against the cement, making a slapping sound as it tried to correct itself.
Endo squinted as he waited for his eyes to adjust and for his ears to stop ringing. Looking up, he could make out a blurry figure approaching him. Endo threw up his arms defensively, expecting the worst, but when a female form came into focus he let down his guard. Rubbing his eyes, he did a double take to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Sure enough, it was a woman. A beautiful one at that.
She wore a red leather jacket over a black, skin-tight leotard which covered her whole body and resembled a wetsuit. She had raven-black hair, long and straight; and held a massive sword in her hand. It looked like a Claymore, the kind he’d seen in movies about knights in shining armor. Endo thought she looked like a Dark Angel standing before him.
Suddenly there was a flicker of white, glistening metal and the woman in black lunged toward the beast, but the beast had recovered its balance and was able to evade the swipe of her blade. With razor sharp fingernails it raked its clawed hand into her gut, opening it wide. The woman screamed out in pain and dropped her sword as the creature picked her up and tossed her clear across the room, tearing out half her insides in the process.
Holding some of her entrails in its hands, the creature plopped the sloppy organs onto the cement floor, strode across the room in one step, and nudged the woman with its talon-hooked foot. Digging them into her abdomen to make sure she was dead, the monster grunted in satisfaction regarding its kill and then turned its attention back toward Endo and hissed at him, as if it were testing Endo’s resolve.
“Don’t push me, demon. I already warned you once. But I promise you, if you attack I’ll send us both to hell.”
The reptilian monstrosity hissed at him again, as if it were annoyed by Endo’s stubborn resistance. That’s when a sword pierced the creature’s belly and slid straight through its torso. The blade sliced its way up to the beast’s sternum, splitting the collar bone at the nape, then slid back out through the monster’s trapezius. The reptilian miscreation yowled out in unbearable pain as the blade ripped through his scaly flesh, slicing him in two.
The lizard stood in shock. It stared at Endo with its gilded eyes and, after a long, silent pause, wheezed wetly then collapsed to the ground.
27
Stranger in a Strange Land
Tokyo Skytree, Sumida Region, Tokyo
Behind the fallen body stood the mysterious woman dressed in black. Endo couldn’t believe his eyes. She’d been gutted moments earlier, but aside from some torn clothes, she looked perfectly fine. Not a scratch on her.
She held fast to the blood drenched blade and took a step toward the creature which was still breathing but just barely hanging onto life. The wounded animal flapped its wings and tried to stand, but too weakened by its injuries, it immediately folded back down to the ground. Unable to take flight or raise itself, it dug its claws into the floor and it tried to crawl away, desperate to flee the woman who pursued it.
Her jacket stained a deeper red by her blood, the woman calmly stepped up to the wounded beast, pushed back her silky black hair, and hacked off both the monster’s wings. It shrieked in pain and kicked it legs furiously trying to evade its torturer. The women didn’t seem to take any heed of its misery. With a powerful scream, she brought her blade down onto the creature’s neck and severed its head clean off. Its body twitched violently for a few seconds then fell still.
Looking at Endo with cool brown eyes, she smiled and then glanced down at the grenade he was still holding in his hands. “You might want to put that away now.”
“Um,” he said looking sheepishly as he replaced the steel pin from around his finger and tucked the grenade back into the ammunitions pouch attached to his tactical belt. “Right.”
Cracking her neck and rolling it across her shoulders to str
etch out any kinks, the woman wiped the blood off her sword then slid it back into the sheath which ran along the length of her back. The only place a person could keep a Claymore of such length. Endo estimated she was no more than five-foot six, and the sword was nearly as long as she was tall.
“Who are you? How are you even alive?” Endo asked as he mustered up enough courage to interrogate the woman. “I saw the monster rip your insides out.”
“I’m Rachael Ramirez and, well, I got better.”
Endo raised an eyebrow. “Got better?”
“Yeah. I got better.”
“So you can heal yourself?”
“Basically, yeah. It’s just something I do.”
“Alright then,” Endo said, accepting the startling statement for what it was and filing the information away as a bit of interesting trivia he wouldn’t soon forget. Holding out his open hand, Endo introduced himself. “I’m Commander Daiichi Endo of the Japanese Self Defense Force. And I must say, ma’am, it’s damn nice to meet you. Your timing couldn’t have been better. That thing wasn’t like anything I’ve ever encountered before. And I’ve seen some things.”
She gladly accepted his hand and shook it. To Endo’s surprise, her grip had the strength of someone three times her size. Her squeeze popped a few of his joints and he caught himself rubbing his hand after she had let go of it. “That thing,” Rachael added, nodding down at the dead monster, “is why I am here, Commander.”
“You move like a warrior,” Endo said, impressed. “Tell me, where’d you learn to fight? Are you with the military? Special forces perhaps?”
“I don’t work for anyone, Mr. Endo. But I’ve developed a keen interest in these monsters, ever since I ran across one a year ago, and have decided to investigate things on my own. As for my fighting skills, I’m afraid it’s all been learned the hard way…trial by fire, as the saying goes.”
Nudging the lizard creature’s dead body with his boot, Endo asked, “So what are these things exactly? Where’d they come from?”
“I have been asking that very question for the past year, Commander. I first came across one of them in San Francisco. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, to say the least. They are extremely territorial and they don’t care if you’re the living or the living dead, if they feel you are a threat, they will end you.”
Interrupting their conversation, the famished sounds of moaning could be heard echoing their way up the halls from all sides of the airport as Biters honed in on their position.
“Dammit,” Endo grumbled. “I was hoping we had gotten rid of all these pests.” He checked his gun clip and then pulled back the slide. As he hobbled along, Rachael saw him fight back the throbbing pain shooting through every nerve of his body.
“Wait a minute,” she said motioning for him to stand down. “You’re not in any condition to take them all on.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Endo said, managing to summon up a valiant smile. “My men can handle these mindless things.”
“That’s what I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Rachael said, opening the door of the restroom. Together they stepped out into the main area and she stepped aside to show Endo the gruesome scene. “I’m sorry,” Rachael informed him. “But your men are all dead.”
Endo couldn’t believe his eyes. Everywhere he looked, the dead bodies of his men littered the airport floor—agony frozen upon their cadaverous faces.
Endo lowered his head in shame. He had let his men down. After a brief moment of silent remembrance, Endo checked his sidearm, slid the clip out, did a quick bullet count, then slapped it back in. “I’m afraid nothing you can say will deter me, Ms. Ramirez. I have no choice. I must avenge the lives of my fallen men. They would have done the same for me.”
Rachael nodded cordially and said, “I understand.”
Suddenly a loud series of moans sounded from behind them and they turned to see a massive throng of zombies come staggering into the main hall from practically every wing of the airport. Their outstretched arms and snapping jaws gave away their ravenous intent.
Rachael sighed and turned back toward Endo, “Stay clear of me and pick off the ones I don’t get to.” Calmly, she turned back around and walked straight at the oncoming horde. As she made her way into the gathering of undead, they slowly turned and lurched in her direction.
The throng encircled her, reaching out with pale arms and gnarled, ashen fingers. Their mouths bit at the air and their teeth clacked furiously in anticipation of the taste of fresh meat and brains, which never ceased to excite their gluttonous appetites.
Rachael stopped in the center of the massive gathering of undead, which outnumbered her at least two dozen to one. Slowly, she unsheathed her longsword and drew it out. It rang metallic as it left its scabbard. She liked to imagine it was singing a song—a song of death.
Rachael widened her stance and held the sword high. The blade seemed to glow in the dim light, like the legendary Excalibur itself, and acted as a beacon of light, drawing the living dead closer to her.
As the first wave approached, Rachael spun two times on her heels, like a discus thrower, and then, and extended her blade. Spinning a third time, her blade extended, she lopped off the heads of four of the undead in one fell swoop. She nicked a fifth one in its throat and its head fell back onto its shoulders blades, but it didn’t die. Instead, it only appeared to be confused as to why the room had suddenly flipped upside down, it lurched sideways, as though it were struggling to find its balance, and then corrected itself. Finally, it staggered off in the wrong direction unable to figure out which way was forward.
The pathetic creature circled back around, bumped into the wall, and then corrected itself. Rachael rolled her eyes and then kicked it over. Once the zombie hit the ground, she booted its head like a soccer ball, tearing it out of its neck socket, spine and all. Clear of any immediate danger, Rachael turned, gripped her sword tightly in her hands, and prepared for the next wave of undead.
After a few moments of waiting, Rachael got fed up with the slow pace of the undead and let out a frustrated sigh. Then, instead of waiting for them to come to her, she trotted over to the closest zombie. When it saw her coming, it growled at her, as a sort of a loathsome greeting. “Grahhh!”
The pale face of a blonde flight attendant in a navy-blue Northwest airline’s uniform shambled toward her at an unusually brisk pace. Rachael looked down at the zombie’s nametag, which read “McQuarrie,” and felt it was a pity that such a beautiful woman had to suffer such a despicable end.
The flight attendant’s mid-section had been completely hollowed out and her spine could be seen through the sinews of shredded muscle fibers that stretched from her dilapidated rib cage to her hips, yet still she advanced.
Rachael raised her sword and steadied the long blade of the Claymore on her forearm and waited for the scrabbling blonde to reach her. Suddenly two gun shots rang out and McQuarrie hit the ground with a thud.
Rachael looked over at Endo and raised her eyebrow.
“What?” Endo said with a shrug. “I was getting bored.”
Rachael smiled at him then turned to meet three more Biters head on. Rachael ran at them and yelled out a ferocious battle cry, lunged, and sliced their outreached arms off at the elbows.
Spinning around, she crouched down into a tight ball, shrinking in size as a figure skater would, and whipped her blade around, taking out all six kneecaps. The creatures toppled down onto one another, forming a squirming pile of disgruntled undead.
Helpless as Rachael stood over them, she stabbed each one in the face with a piercing blow of her sword.
Wiping her blade clean on the gray suit of a businessman zombie that lay atop the motionless pile of twice dead, Rachael casually waited for the next group, which was slowly making their way toward her position. Not feeling that they posed much of a threat, Rachael paused to look at one of the dresses on display in a nearby shop window. The colorful frock had caught her eye while she was whirling about li
ke a buzz saw.
It was a bright yellow dress with a black, gothic-styled leather corset. The glossy black corset looked rather nice against the fetching yellow. The mannequin that sported the outfit also had on some thigh-high leather boots which Rachael found especially appealing. She smiled and turned toward Endo, giving him the signal that meant she was going to take five and then took a detour into the store.
Endo smiled and then, excited for his chance to take out some pent up anger and get in a little target practice, he began popping off zombies left and right. Emptying his clip, he ejected it, quickly slid in a fresh one without missing a beat, and continued blasting away at the zombies, which were drawn to the gunfire. Like a stamped of mindless lemmings, they stumbled toward their impending demise.
Amid shots ringing out, Rachael had paused to admire her new look in the mirror when out of nowhere, a ghostly hand gripped her shoulder and spun her around.
Rachael growled with the ferocity of a lioness and hit her attacker squarely in its chest and sent it flying across the room. It crashed into a pile of mannequins and began gnawing on a plastic arm, mistaking it for the real thing.
Rachael rolled her eyes and was about to head out the door when she noticed a shadow crawl across the floor. Looking up at the glass ceiling, she spotted a second Alpha creeping atop the building.
Endo noticed it too. “Hey, wait. Isn’t that another–”