Flowers vs. Zombies (Book 3): Contagion
Page 21
“DO YOU think we got them all?” Liz said.
“No,” Bill said. “Not by a long shot.”
Bill was sat in a chair, a bandage wrapped around his head and a blanket over his shoulders, looking out at the jungle. The wind scythed through the leaves, making them sway like they were dancing. It could have been a day like any other. The jungle had a remarkably short memory.
“They’re still out there,” Bill said. “Probably always will be for all we know. We just have to be more careful now, in case we get in trouble. We’ll start scouting from tomorrow.”
Liz let out a tired sigh.
“Things aren’t simple anymore are they?” she said.
“No,” Bill said. “But then I wonder if they ever really were.”
“We never had to fight for our lives before,” Liz said. “Not in Switzerland, anyway.”
“Maybe not so overtly,” Bill said, nodding. “Francis did well. So long as he rides Valiant it might be all right to bring him with us on our scouting missions.”
“Bring him with you?” Liz said, chuckling. “After his performance I think it’ll be him letting you go. Seems strange to think Francis, our baby boy, saved us.”
“He’s not a baby anymore,” Bill said. “He’s grown up. He grew up on this island. Won’t be long before he’s been living here longer than he did in Switzerland. It’s his world now.”
“Will Fritz be okay?” Liz said.
“Fritz will be fine,” Bill said. “A few weeks rest and he’ll be as good as new.”
The grasshoppers chirruped and the fireflies came out to show off their light display.
“It’s not much of an inheritance, is it?” Liz said.
“It’s not bad,” Bill said.
“Where do you think the Spinners that fell in the sea and got away will head?” Liz said.
“I don’t know,” Bill said. “They could head anywhere, I suppose. They don’t really know what they’re doing or where they’re going.”
Liz leaned her head against Bill, her hand on his broad chest.
“They almost had us, didn’t they?” she said.
“Yes,” Bill said. “Almost. This island keeps throwing things at us. Maybe next time we won’t be able to handle it.”
“We’ll just have to prepare more,” Liz said.
“But there is some good news.”
“What’s that?” Liz said.
“I doubt there’s anything worse than the Spinners out there for us to deal with,” Bill said. “We’ve seen the worst the world has. That’s got to be good, hasn’t it?”
Liz smiled.
“You’re right,” she said, snuggling closer to Bill. “We faced the worst of the worst, and we’re still here.”
Epilogue
THE SPINNERS catapulted across the water’s surface like jet-powered engines. There were three of them, all weaving and swerving around one another like a synchronised swimming team. They twisted and spun, flopped and disappeared under the surface as often as they were on top of it. One diverged from the others, heading left, for no other reason than chaos theory dictated it. The other two powered onward.
The water became shallow, and the earth rose up to meet their mutilated limbs. The Spinners stumbled up the sandy beach. One Spinner had the body of a middle-aged man, the other was young, with tanned skin. Neither wore a thread of clothing. They rolled and writhed like cumbersome turtles.
The middle-aged Spinner headed right, disappearing into a thick copse of broad leafed plants. The young Spinner headed for the treeline ahead, where two trees arced toward one another forming a gateway.
The young Spinner stepped into a sinkhole, the sand swallowing her up to the knee. She fell forward. Her leg snapped, her bone stabbing through her skin. Her head hit the sand, within inches of a pair of pale white feet with blue veins, like an overripe chunk of cheese. The frayed cloth of the man’s torn trousers whispered against his feet. He was bare chested, his body thin and worn by hunger. The figure looked the Spinner over with his milky white eyes, seemingly interested in her appearance.
The waves washed against the shore, and then retreated back in an eternal battle with that land.
The man held up his hand as if feeling an invisible barrier around the girl that only he could see. He closed his eyes. The Spinner did not stop with her gyrations. The man’s hand shook with effort. He opened his eyes and growled, displeased with the Spinner.
He grunted, and half a dozen zombies limped forward from the treeline. They fell on the Spinner, biting and clawing at her limbs. Quartered as the body was, the pieces still fidgeted, something the man found intriguing. The zombies stripped the flesh from the Spinner’s bones. Only then did the Spinner’s jerking motions cease.
The man held up a hand. A zombie got to his feet, bringing the remnants of a small hand to the man, the fingers still twitching. The man put the flesh to his lips and squeezed it, letting the blood dribble over his teeth and down his throat. His eyes rolled back in his head, eyelids flickering. He let out a satisfied sigh and turned his head to one side as if seeing something in his mind that amused him. He opened his eyes and smiled, revealing a mouth full of broken teeth.
He raised a fist, keeping his eyes on the distant horizon. An army of malformed figures emerged into the shadows of the jungle, standing stock still.
The man licked the remains of the blood from his lips, and said, hissing around his cracked teeth: “Flower.”
The zombies groaned, deathly, loud and cacophonous. It almost sounded like a cheer.
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The Flower family rescue a trio of survivors from the jaws of a ritual sacrifice at the hands of Neolithic natives.
With help from their new friends, the Flowers prepare to defend themselves against a retaliatory attack. Rupert and Manuel possess valuable knowledge that the Flowers hope to leverage to expand their island into a fully-fledged community, a place to grow for their boys' future.
But are Rupert and Manuel the resourceful entities they appear to be?
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Also by Perrin Briar
Have you read them all?
Series
Sink
Skip
Z-Minus
Resistant
Compulsion
Blood Memory
Tomorrow’s World
Plants Vs. Zombies
One-Off Novels
Square
Keeping Mum
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Perrin Briar is the author of the popular Blood Memory, Z-Minus and Flowers Vs. Zombies series. He makes his online home at www.perrinbriar.com. You can connect with Perrin on Twitter at @perrinbriar, on Facebook at facebook.com/perrinbriar and you should send him an email at perrin@perrinbriar.com if the mood strikes you.
Copyright © 2015 Perrin Briar
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, place
s and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Published by Perrin Briar.
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