The Soul Eater (Chronicles 1): The Book of Roland

by James Master

  “Guessing that was your father’s business?”

  “Yup, that was the name of my father's corporation. Ultimately they were a front for the government. My father was a highly ranked decorated officer in army intelligence when he retired and started MMF.”

  “I'm guessing he didn't actually retire?”

  “You would be right about that. He was just using his business for whatever the government was doing.” Ashley looked out at the mansion that they were coming up on. They were already out of the town and Ashley could see the huge estate.

  “Where are we going, Roland?” She noticed they passed the road that they were supposed to turn to get back onto the path of the capital. Roland pointed to the mansion.

  “We are going to pay a visit on the billionaire himself. I imagine if anyone knew that it might happen eventually, he would be the one to actually plan for it.

  *** 10 ***

  While Ashley was watching undead children play their games, Starke was watching this brat try and demand that he try to get outside and find something that would help her father. At the end of her useless attempt to appeal to Starke's humanity, he finally told her, “No way in hell am I going to risk my life to try and save your father's life. I'm sorry, it's basically useless anyway. Your father is dead. It’s only a matter of time so you might as well get used to the idea sweetheart.” He began to rise when she stepped forward and slapped him hard on his right cheek. Starke turned to her and laughed.

  “That's the way to play, I'm game.” He drew his hand back and slammed his fist into Jessica's ample chest. She fell like a sack of potatoes.

  Starke’s punch took her completely by surprise. Even if she was ready for it the air would have still knocked from her lungs. When she was able to breathe again, she looked up to see Starke standing over her a devilish smile on his face. She followed his eyes and despite what he just did she blushed. He was looking at the blue thong she was wearing. When she fell, the skirt she was wearing rode up on her leg exposing the thong. She covered it up quickly, her embarrassment growing. Starke flashed that devilish smile once more.

  “You know sweet cheeks; I could go out and look for a cure for your daddy, for a cost.” She noticed the bulge that was growing in his tight jeans and her embarrassment suddenly turned into anger. With a quickness that she learned at her Tai Kwan Do class her father paid for, she kicked one of her legs out and lodged it where the bulge was protruding from the jeans.

  Starke doubled over and fell next to Jessica. He was blinded with pain, but when he could see after a minute or two, he noticed that Jessica wasn't by his side on the floor. In fact, she wasn't anywhere Starke could see. He gave up searching for her and didn't waste his breath cursing, he did that in his head. So much for fun time.

  As soon as she was able to breathe normally, she got up from the floor and hobbled up the stairs towards her father's room. If it was Roland, Ashley, or Starke they would have gone to the gun closet Ben mentioned earlier and plugged Starke between the eyes, but Jessica doesn’t have that much common sense.

  She walked into the bedroom and was horrified when she saw her father was bound and gagged to the bed. She was about to untie him when she noticed the decaying yellowish tinge in his eyes. She had reached for the mouth gag when Ben had tried to bite her. It would have been useless with the gag on, but he would have tried anyway. Jessica felt like the wind had been knocked from her again and promptly fainted next to the bed where her undead father was bound.

  Starke decided that the best way to find the bitch was to use the monitors in the security room. He used the chair to sturdy himself as he stood. The bitch knew where to hurt a man, that was for sure. Unexpected too must have learned that from one of those stupid woman's defense classes they used to teach. It took Starke five minutes to limp to the security room. He gently lowered himself into the comfy leather chairs, spreading his legs to give his boys as much breathing room as he could.

  While he was clicking through the feed from the multiple camera angles Ben had on his campus, he noticed a Ford Taurus driving around the side of the building. Starke's interest was piqued at the newly arrived visitors. He quickly switched to one of the side cameras to see Roland and his bitch get out of the Ford. He was happy but curious as to why John wasn’t with the two. With any luck, John turned into a zombie and attacked Roland. It was almost a shame that it didn’t finish them off. Starke laughed despite his great discomfort. “Too bad I couldn't kill him myself. That would be worth getting kicked in the balls….almost.”

  Roland pulled the car over and parked next to a dirt bike that reminded him of his when he had started his journey. They got out of the car looking for any sign of the biker when he noticed a ladder leaning against the wall. He pointed and motioned for Ashley to notice it as well.

  “Do you think we can get in through that way?” Roland didn't know what Starke was currently thinking, but Roland was just as cautious. He told Ashley to cover him while he scouted the other side of the wall. Roland slowly climbed the ladder and noticed that there was a jacket on top of the barbed wire. Sniffing the jacket, the menthol aroma told who the jacket belonged to.

  He climbed down and sat on top of the Taurus. He still had some of the loot he had taken for John's last supper. Some of it had included beef jerky. He took some of it and tore off a piece, the salt tasting good to Roland in spite of the increasingly hot day.

  Ashley leaned over the wall and looked down to Roland. “So, what is up there? Anything?”

  “Starke’s here, that’s his jacket on top of the barbed wire.” Jumping down to the ground, she started unloading the trunk of the ford and started climbing the ladder. Roland caught each of the bags that fell from the top of the wall. As Ashley reached the top, Roland and Ashley's eyes connected and for a moment, Roland didn't think of Ashley as a teenager anymore, he saw the mature woman she had become. He broke the eye contact because he didn't think this place to be the right time or place for that sort of thing.

  Ashley however, continued to stare. “Well, Starke isn't going to wait for us to catch up with him. For all we know, he might be gone already. So let's get going.”

  Roland pulled his gun out of his holster and checked the chamber, making sure that it was full. Ashley came over and put a hand on his. Roland looked at Ashley and stood. He got his pack from the trunk and with one try threw it over the wall. Ashley looked impressed. “One try, nice one.” He pulled the strap of his M1 over his shoulder and slid John's sawed-off shotgun into his belt. The companions then started their way up to the front doors of the mansion.

  *** 11 ***

  Starke was happy and nervous at the instant he saw Roland enter the perimeter of the mansion. He was happy because Roland was following him, but he was also nervous because Roland was way too close for Starke's comfort. He couldn’t afford to be captured at the beginning, he was the endgame, but in order to get there, he needed a way out. He thought his options over while the throbbing in his groin began to fade. It still hurt like hell, but at least it was waning.

  Option One: Open the gates and let the zombies in. Starke thought that the chaos that would ensue would allow Starke to get out without much harm. The problem with that was that Roland might die or that Starke himself would die. Even though the zombies ignored him, Starke didn’t want to take that chance.

  Option Two: Starke thought that Ben had gotten out somewhere because he got bit somehow, he was pretty sure of that. So there had to have been some escape plan. Ben was a smart man, so there logically would be some way to get out other than the gate opening. The problem with that was that he didn't know where the way out was. He didn't think the brat would know even if Starke could find her and question her.

  Option Three: He could just hide somewhere. It was a big enough place that Roland wouldn't be able to find him if Starke hid well enough. The problem with that was that he might be here for a while. Starke hadn't put a time limit on his invitation to the capital.

  Option F
our: Make it up as he went. Starke was very good at improvising. He thought about his options and decided that option four made enough sense. His gut told him that the best choice was to make it up as he went. Plus, it was fun being unpredictable. Slowly, Starke rose from the chair and went about his plan.

  Ashley was looking up and down the grounds in absolute wonder. She had never seen such a place except on television. She wondered what it would look like inside. The ivy grew up the sides of the stone building everywhere. Roland was more concerned about the creeping going on inside the mansion. Starke might or might not be inside and Roland was trying to think ahead of Starke.

  Roland stopped Ashley right before they stepped onto the gravel driveway. “Now, just to let you know, if Starke is in there, he probably knows we’re coming.” Ashley looked up at him quizzically. Roland pointed to the security camera that was above them.

  “So, he’ll know if we use the front door, so why don't we just use another door?”

  “Because for all we know, there are other people besides Starke that live here. Humanity recognizes respect. If the people inside the mansion are innocent then our breaking into the place will only make them believe that Starke over us. So, for right now we use the front door. Plus for all we know, the power is out and the camera won't pick us up.”

  “Roland, I might just be a teenager, but doesn't the red light on the side of the camera mean that it’s recording?” Roland looked up and frowned, she was right.

  “Well, we solved that mystery. So, our next objective is to act like human beings once again.” Roland heard Ashley cough and turned to look at her.

  “Excuse me?” Ashley’s eyebrows lifted in innocence.

  “What?”

  “You know what. You don’t think I know how to act as a human being?”

  “It’s not that, it’s just that ever since I’ve known you, you’ve been killing zombies. You’re just rusty, that’s all.”

  “Huh, you think you can do better?” Ashley shrugged her shoulders.

  “Just let me do the talking.”

  Roland watched as Ashley walked past him. He was confused by her taking the lead for once. He caught up to her and said, “So what am I supposed to do?” She looked back serious, but also with a hint of maliciousness in her eyes.

  “You can do the shooting.” Roland found that was acceptable.

  Starke heard the knocking at the front door but ignored it instead of walking up the stairs and started striding down the hall to Ben's room. He was only a few feet from the door when he heard muffled moaning noises. He peeked into the room and saw that Ben had finally turned into a zombie. He looked down at the ground and saw that Jessica had been killed by her father. He was somewhat sad when he saw the crumpled body lying on the floor, the opportunity he had missed with Jessica. Shrugging, Starke made his way to the end of the hallway and back down the servant's staircase. He waited at the opening of the stairway. Starke stayed there waiting to make his move.

  Roland stepped in front of Ashley and nudged here lightly out of his way. “We tried the polite way to do things, now we will try the impolite.” He stepped back and kicked the door open. Ashley looked up at him in shocked silence.

  “The door was unlocked Roland, you didn't need to kick it down.”

  “How do you know the door was unlocked?” Ashley sighed and looked through the doorway into the mansion.

  “Because I tried it when you were checking your gun.” She laughed and stepped through, Roland followed her, checking the doorknob to see if it was really unlocked or not. She looked back and laughed.

  “Really? You doubted me?” Roland stood from his kneeling position on the floor. He looked guiltily at Ashley. “Okay fine, let’s see if there is anyone here so I can apologize.”

  Ashley looked down at her arms in delighted surprise. For the first time in a week, her skin was forming goose bumps from the chilled air.

  “Well, these people can't be too bad.” Roland stopped and looked back at his companion.

  “Oh ya? How do you know that?”

  “Well, they have air conditioning, how bad can they be?” She sat down in one of the chairs that lined the walls. She let out a comfortable sounding grunt. Roland looked at her with a stern warning on his face.

  “Alright, here’s the deal. You can get comfortable with that chair you’re in only after we find Starke. Hell, even I might take off my shoes and fall asleep for an hour or so, but I don’t want either of us getting sloppy and finding out just how much of an ass Starke can be, deal?” Ashley sighed and stood despite the look of longing on her face as she stared down at the comfy chair.

  “Nope, we wouldn't want to get lazy now wouldn't we?”

  Jessica woke up to a loud crashing that sounded like it had come from the foyer. Her eyes grew wide, as she realized that the undead from the gates had finally overcome the obstacle. Brushing back the hair from her face, she stood and looked down at her undead father. Those things were coming up the stairs making their way down the hall. Self-preservation barely registered as she watched her father struggle to get free. It almost seems that his yellowish dead eyes pleaded with her to untie him, but she knew the reward in doing so. Not like it mattered much anyway, the zombies would be in the room soon to finish her off.

  Jessica kept her eyes on her father as she heard the bedroom door open and footsteps signaling that the undead had entered. She broke into deep throaty fearful sobs as an undead hand touched her shoulder. Between the sounds of her own crying, she heard voices asking her if she was a zombie. She was finally brought back into reality by a strong hand tugging her gaze away from her undead father and into the eyes of a blue-eyed stranger.

  “Miss, are you alright, please say something.” Roland was pretty sure the undead man tied to the bed was the billionaire Benjamin Jones. The girl standing next to the bed was too young to be his wife, so Roland assumed that it was Jessica Jones, the daughter.

  “Miss Jones? Are you alright?” The girl turned around at the sound of her name being called causing Roland’s hand to reflexively move down to the butt of his revolver. Roland watched the eyes of the young lady suddenly snap back into reality. They met Roland's and he didn’t see the sick yellowish gaze of death that accompanied the undead, but bright beautiful blue.

  “My name is Jessica, how do you know me?” Even though she had obviously had suffered a traumatic event, her voice was strong and her intent was clear.

  “Jessica, is there a place we can talk without getting interrupted, maybe a kitchen?” She looked around nervously for a moment then the eyes tracked back to Roland's and nodded.

  “Can you take me there?” She nodded once again and started to walk out of the room. Roland turned to Ashley whispering, “When we’re gone, take one of those pillows and use it as a silencer. Put it down then come find us. Try to do it cleanly.” Ashley nodded and waited for their footsteps to reach the stairs before sending Ben back to his peaceful slumber.

  Roland could hear the gunshot, but he was sure that in her current state the poor girl hadn’t heard a thing. He followed her down the stairs and then into the kitchen. She sat down, barely even noticing Roland entering after her. Roland fixated on the Black and Decker coffee pot that sat on the counter top. He looked down at Jessica and asked, “Would you like me to make some coffee? Do you feel up to eating? I could find something to make.”

  Jessica stared ahead and barely whispered, “My daddy loved to drink coffee. I hate the stuff. It stains your teeth.” Roland nodded and walked over to the caffeine machine. He easily found the filters and the coffee beans. Roland saw with surprised delight that they weren't already ground. Rummaging around in the cupboards above, he found a matching coffee grinder. Ashley entered the room as Roland started grinding the beans filling the room with the smell of freshly ground coffee beans. The aroma filled the room and Roland drew it up into his nostrils, Roland sighed. Ashley thought Roland looked like a cocaine addict finding his fix and laughed.

&nb
sp; Roland looked up and shrugged off the laughter that was his causing. “It's been awhile since I have had any coffee. Would either one of you like some coffee? Jessica, this is Ashley. Ashley’s my travel companion.” Ashley sat down across from Jessica.

  “What do you do for fun around here?” A few seconds after the words came out Ashley knew that they were in poor taste. Roland shot her an angry glare, confirming her suspicions. Jessica kept her head hung low to the table and her mouth shut as a response.

  Roland sat down and handed Ashley a steaming cup of coffee while setting a cold glass of water in front of Jessica. Ashley sipped, grimacing from the bitterness of the brew. Roland smiled, “First time drinking coffee Ashley?”

  Ashley shook her head, “First time drinking mud. It's really strong Roland, I could stick a spoon in it and it would probably stick upward.”

  “Jessica, what happened to your father?” For a minute she didn't answer. He was about to repeat the question when she started to talk all at once. It all came out in one sentence and didn’t make any sense. Roland gently pushed the glass of water towards the girl and waited until she took a few sips and seemed to calm down.

  “Could you please repeat that? This time slower with greater pause between sentences.” This time it was Ashley’s turn to give Roland an angry glare.

  “My daddy was bitten by a deer when he was outside the wall searching.” Roland almost dismissed the rather absurd claim, but Ashley was less skeptical than her companion.

  “What do you mean your father was outside the wall? How did he get out?”

  “There’s a tunnel underneath the wall through the basement. My daddy was very smart.” She gazed off into the distance as if remembering a past memory. Ashley thought she was thinking about her father, poor girl Ashley thought as she locked Roland in a glance. Roland was glad that they had another way out. Roland gulped the last of the coffee and forced it down his throat. The bitterness felt good. He didn't want to press the fragile girl, but he needed to know one last thing.