Dead Bones - Six Pack. The Ultimate Zombie Collection

by Ian Woodhead

  There was movement further down the street, and by the looks of how they were stumbling about, the people down there had been drinking. He then noticed a small wooden box beside his legs. Could the box belong to him?

  “Well, it fucking does now,” he said, smiling as he picked up the small wooden box. His first instinct was to throw the box away in revulsion when he lifted the lid and saw the severed fingers stuck to the base of the box, congealed blood holding them in place like glue. He quickly looked at both his hands just to make sure they were not his fingers.

  Some deep part of his mind alleviated the panic. He picked one out, judging by the size and shape he guessed that it had belonged to a young girl. He then shocked himself by bringing the digit up to his lips. “Oh god, what the fuck am I doing?” his stomach rolled over, but that didn’t stop him placing the finger halfway into his mouth and biting down, cutting it in two.

  His lucidity returned as he started to chew, using his teeth to strip the meat off the bone. The returning knowledge ripped away the darkness spreading through his mind like a malignant tumour. He slammed his body back against the plants and stretched out his arms, screaming in ecstasy.

  “Fuck yes!” he shouted. “My name is James Worthington and I am fucking awesome.” He squinted his eyes at the blazing sun beating down upon his face. He dug out a piece of skin stuck between his teeth then rolled over, searching for that other bit of finger. “Where have you gone?” James found the box and found that the full one had fallen out as well. He placed both hands flat against the plants and dragged his hands down. “Where the fuck are you?” Panic began to set in. James did not want his memories to go again.

  He looked around the landscape, so wishing that his comrades would hurry the fuck back. Now that his memories had returned, he remembered them both getting excited, saying that they could feel the mind of a tainted man close by. They had given him the box and told James to be quiet, promising that they would not be long. James had noticed that they had taken the two rucksacks containing the rest of the dismembered girl with them.

  “They’ll both be back soon,” he whispered, trying to soothe his tremulous thoughts. “They wouldn’t abandon you.”

  The only movement around came from the dead things further down the street. He had forgotten that those fuckers were down there when he had screamed out like an idiot. Thankfully, because of this vegetation, they had been unable to get a fix on the noise. They were certainly excited but had no idea where he was.

  “You’ve forgotten a lot of stuff, James.”

  He sat back and yawned, feeling his jawbone click. James then giggled when he moved his knee and found his missing pieces of finger and the whole one. James put the whole one back into the box, then pushed the half in his mouth and lay back down. As he rolled the piece over his tongue, James contemplated the possibility that the pair may have indeed left him while the fuckers scampered towards this human bolthole that, according to them, was just packed to bursting with tainted meat. Just the thought of all that fresh food caused him to drool and his stomach to growl.

  With his finger meat safely back in his possession, his feelings towards his companions had mellowed somewhat. If they had fucked off, he now found that he would not be too upset with their decision. There was obviously something seriously fucking off-kilter with his head. If he were in their shoes, he would have abandoned him ages ago.

  James sucked off the flesh and pulled out the bone. He rolled it around his fingers before flicking it into the greenery. While he was still lucid, James knew that he needed to work out just what to do next. He couldn’t laze around here all day, no matter how enjoyable he was finding it.

  He grabbed his precious box, stood up, and walked back to the bus stop. The choices were simple, either wait for them, turn back, or go it alone.

  “How long was I cabbage brained?” James didn’t have a clue; it could have been a full day or just a couple of hours. “Fuck!” he snarled. “This cruddy finger isn’t going to keep me alert for very fucking long.”

  The safer bet would be to just go back to the monastery and play Abbot for a bit, he felt confident of finding the place. Lee did mention that he had been bleeding the girl for quite some time and he had built up a good stock, stored in his fridges.

  James sat back, resting his back against the shelter and cradled his box. “I need to make a decision,” he mumbled. “Need to make a…” He yelped in shock when he saw four corpses bearing down on him. He scrambled to his feet and ran out onto the pavement. There was no way that he would be able to take on four of the bastards. He needed a weapon.

  Just ahead, past the remains of a post office, James spotted what looked like a café. “Fuck, that’ll have a back room with a shit load of big, sharp knives.” He grinned. A knife would be just perfect for the job.

  The things behind him were still moving towards him, their annoying moaning was bound to attract more of the fuckers.

  “Keep coming, you fucktards. I will sort you out in a minute.” James reached the shop, a little surprised to discover the shop’s plate glass window still intact.

  Something deep inside the dark interior caught his eye. Was there another one of the dead locked in there? James used his sleeve to wipe the dirt off the filthy window and peered inside. “You have got to be having a fucking laugh!” The place was packed out, every seat taken by animated corpses, all sitting perfectly still.

  James then noticed the one closest to the window turn its head and stare at James’ astonished face. As he watched, every other dead face in the café started to move.

  He jumped away from the window, “Why the fuck did I not sense them?” James then realised that he could not sense anything. “Why the fuck can I not read their thoughts?” he cried.

  The door to the café was shut, he pushed against it and found it still locked; there was no way that they would be able to get to him. It did not stop the things inside pressing their foul rotting bodies up against the glass.

  James jumped onto the road, desperately looking around for anything he could use to fuck up these bastard dead things. “I’m just not up to full strength, that’s all; nothing to worry about.” The hunter then felt his stomach drop when he realised that he had left his box in the bus shelter.

  He felt the rage building up inside of him. James could not believe he had been reduced to this pathetic state. Why the fuck is he so scared of these shambling wrecks? “Fuck you!” he growled, running at the first one. James pushed the thing away, watching it collapsing against the building and fall to the floor in a broken heap of rags and flesh.

  A teenage boy with one mangled arm lunged for him. James jumped back and swept his foot into the thing’s legs. It collapsed and James screamed out and jumped onto the side of its head, feeling the skull shatter under his boots. James looked up and moaned when he saw another one had the severed finger it its hand.

  “Don’t you fucking dare, that is mine!” he ran towards it but it was too late, the dead thing had already swallowed it. He swung his fist back and punched the thing through the glass. “That’s just not fucking fair!”

  James spun around frantically when he felt a pair of hands rest on his shoulders.

  “Rest easy,” said Lee, "it’s only me."

  James gazed into his eyes, trying not to burst into tears with relief. He had honestly thought they had left him here.

  “We’ve got a present,” said Lee.

  Their other colleague pushed a frightened looking middle aged man over to the bus shelter. James looked past his girly eyelashes and licked his lips. There wasn’t much meat on his bones and by the looks of it, he had already pissed his pants.

  “His name is Darren,” said Lee. “He’s knows that we’re going munch down on his balding head.”

  “Please don’t,” whispered Darren, “I don’t want to die.”

  James growled, “Can I have the first bite?”

  Both his companions smiled.

  Geoff pushed the st
ruggling man closer to James. “Go on, dude.”

  James stumbled forward, unable to contain his desire. He screamed out in rage when the dead man that he had thrown through the bus shelter window suddenly grabbed Darren’s leg, lunged to the side and closed his jaws over the shrieking man’s ankle.

  “You filthy bastard thief!” shouted James. He was mine!” He pulled the bleeding man off the dead thing.

  “Leave him,” gasped Lee. “It’s contaminated now.”

  James ignored his companion as he sunk his teeth into Darren’s chest, ripping off the man’s nipple along with a large chunk of meat. He felt the blood fill his mouth and groaned in rapture. He abruptly felt his enhanced senses kick back in and Darren’s dying thoughts filled his mind. It was glorious.

  “You stupid fucking idiot,” snarled Lee. “Why the hell did you have to go and fuck everything up?”

  James backed away like a feral cat protecting a freshly killed mouse, taking the corpse with him.

  “I’m fine,” he snapped. “No, fuck that, I’m just awesome.” James then dropped the body and fell to his knees, unable to feel any sensation in his fingers. He looked up at the two strangers standing over him.

  “Brother Jacob? Where am I?”

  Moses closed his eyes and began to pray.

  “What do we do now, Lee?”

  “We have to feed him the rest of the girl and hope the tainted flesh will dilute the shit rushing through his system. Fuck me if he hasn't gone completely around the bend.”

  Chapter Seven

  The girl’s graceful movements made Dominic feel like a blundering drunkard, and he gritted his teeth to stop him from shouting out in pain as he banged his head on a low shelf. It wasn’t fair, how come she managed to miss it? My heavens, that really did hurt. He hurried along the deserted hallway to catch up to her. Clarisse moved like one of those ninjas, except without the dress sense. To think that he had concerns in bringing her along. It would have been a better idea to ask her to go instead.

  His pretend wife could put a sneaky pussycat to shame; he would love to know where she learned to move like that. Dominic then saw they were almost there; he grabbed her blouse to stop her from continuing and overtook her. He pressed his back against the wall and counted silently to ten before peering around the corner. He saw no movement in the dark kitchen.

  “Will you get your arse inside, you dumb fucker!” hissed Clarisse. “If somebody was inside, the bloody light would be on.”

  Dominic turned around and treated the girl to a sweet smile. “Your cute way with words is the only reason why I married you.” He hurried inside before she had time to answer him back.

  Maybe he should have shown a little more empathy. He had known her long enough now to understand that she never meant any of her nasty words; she only hit out when she was really scared. Right now, the poor girl must be terrified. Dominic knew that the most sensible cause of action would have been to just get the heck out of dodge without looking back. Good heavens, he must be losing his mind to come here.

  He watched the girl block out the light from the hallway as she followed him inside. He was not losing his mind. Dominic needed his precious knives. They were the only real thing that he cared for. He felt the girl press up against his body, he heard her heavy breathing and straight away felt so super selfish for giving his knives priority over another human being.

  They had no choice but to scupper their plan to blame the death of that child officer on the shambling dead. Once they had drunk enough alcohol to stop the shakes, they had run into the living room on their way to get cleaned up. Dominic had stopped in front of the window, not believing what his eyes were showing him.

  Clarisse’s horrified gaze matched his own as they both watched a dozen officers drag a screaming woman over to the gallows as another officer removed the dried up corpse from the matted noose. It took a moment for him to recognise the terrified woman. He watched, helpless, as they forced one of his kitchen staff up onto the wooden gantry.

  The girl beside him had ordered him to do something. He’d ordered her to be quiet, wanting to say more, needing to tell the silly girl that they were about to execute one of his friends, not hers. In the end, he had just bitten his lip. His stomach had turned over as they had placed the rope over her head and tightened the knot. He had closed his eyes, just before she dropped through the trapdoor.

  The full reality of Dominic’s dire situation suddenly hit home. He shut his eyes, feeling tears roll down is cheeks. Dominic slammed his head into the back of the metal table, wishing, for the first time that he had never set foot in this dreadful place.

  The girl’s arm slid around his shoulders and a combination of stale sweat and bad perfume filled his nostrils.

  “Please don’t cry, Dominic.”

  “I can’t help it. How long am I going to last outside the fences, Clarisse? Living here has made me soft. I’ll be dead in just a week. I’ll just probably end up as food for all those horrid dead things out there.”

  The woman leaned across and kissed his tears away. “That won’t happen, you silly man. You’ll have me to look after you.”

  “You mean you still want to stick around, Clarisse? I don’t understand. You don’t even like me.”

  “That’s just bollocks, Dominic. How did you manage to come to that silly idea? Okay, I’ll admit that I don’t get this weird thing of you preferring to fuck men, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t like you.” She squeezed his shoulders. “Don’t you fret, you big queer, we’ll be okay.”

  Dominic found himself smiling; despite this silly girl’s offensive and bigoted views on his sexuality, he knew that it was not her fault she was a bit lacking in smarts. Clarisse did not understand that was all. He wondered if he had been a bit too rash regarding his imminent demise.

  This woman currently giving him her most patronising look had been the only woman that he’d seriously wanted to slap upon first meeting her. Dominic had thought that his favourite adjustment officer has lost his mind when the man had suggested his insane sounding arrangement.

  At the time, Dominic only had a leaking wooden shack located in the poorest part of the community to call his home. His poverty-stricken situation had not bothered Dominic at all. He had just been thankful that somehow he had managed to not allow those things to eat him. For the first time since leaving that club all those months ago, Dominic had felt safe. As far as he was concerned, that was all that mattered.

  Dominic had tried to keep the contact with his new neighbours to a minimum. He was not alone in this behaviour. He guessed that, like him, they were still having trouble adapting to their new situation. He was woken many times throughout the first few nights from vivid nightmares, unable to go back to sleep; Dominic had often stood on his porch, staring up at the night sky. He had never been alone.

  The loneliness had taken some time to get used to, but he had no other choice. The magistrate had been very clear on the community’s rules regarding compulsory pair bonding. Dominic had hoped that if he kept to himself, he wouldn’t end up having to go with a woman. The last thing he wanted was for people to find out and that magistrate having him thrown out.

  Even with this limitation, he had still attracted the attention of a few select people, due to his cooking skills. As well as the pair bonding, every community member was required to contribute something to the community, and all he knew how to do was cook food.

  Once the administrators of the newly formed boroughs had found out what Dominic could make with the scraps of food he could pick up, they let him loose in the local food stores and got him to set up a communal soup kitchen for the people living down there, including two officers, David, and a young girl called Maddie. Even back then, he had a bit of a crush on that handsome young officer. Did he know that Dominic liked him and decided to take advantage? At the time it had felt like that, but how could he refuse a favour from such a dish?

  Of course, he was not taking advantage. He saw that now. The ma
n somehow must have known that Dominic was gay and found the ideal woman to share his shack. He had told Dominic that Clarisse was one of the tainted the very first time he had brought her around. Her appearance had shocked him at first. According to the magistrate, the tainted were all evil sub humans, so he had expected a horrific monster. Then again, he had used the same words to describe gay people, too.

  Clarisse got to her knees and looked over the top of the table. “I thought that I heard something.” She shook her head, “I’m getting too jumpy. Look, will you go find your knives so we can get out of here?”

  Dominic checked every drawer. He finally spotted the handle of his favorite fillet knife. He gasped as he saw that it, along with his other knives, was carelessly thrown in with the basic kitchen knives and assorted utensils.

  "What is this?" he said loudly.

  "What is what?"

  "My knives thrown in here like so much common trash. Bloody hell," he said as he noisily collected his treasured cutlery.

  “Will you keep your bloody voice down?” she hissed.

  He immediately stopped shouting at the sound of the door down the corridor opening. He watched an officer run past the open door and then abruptly turn back around.

  “What are you doing in there?” he shouted at them “Get out, right now!

  Dominic marched up to him, not all that surprised to find this officer wasn’t all that older than the one he had killed. He thrust the knives out in front of him. “What do you think I’m doing? I am collecting my knives before some idiot ruins them. Have you any idea how precious these are?”

  It pleased Dominic to see the man back off. He thought they had gotten away with it until the door further down the hallway opened and another officer walked out. He groaned when he saw that it was the captain of the guards. Dominic really did not like this little man; he was so horrid to everybody.