The Living Dead Series (Book 2): World Without End

by L. I. Albemont

  He was working on some papers when I came through the tent flap and when he saw my face he asked me to sit on a camp stool and with his own hands poured a glass of cognac, standing over me until I drank it down.

  “Good Bourrienne, I know what you have seen. I had no choice. According to the wise men of Cairo, anyone bitten is infected with the disease for which there is no cure. The wounded would have become living corpses spreading the foul contagion throughout our camp and that I could not allow.”

  I saw the strain and the grief on his face and my doubts fled. The General would not have ordered this unless he truly had no choice.

  “I will be glad to leave this accursed sand pit. The land holds much evil, evil so old it is beyond fathoming.” I stood but the brandy, combined with exhaustion, was having its effect and I staggered.

  The General caught my arm, helping me to stay upright, and called for his adjutant to help me to my tent.

  Researcher’s notes:

  The official report and letters of condolence blamed the deaths of the men on an outbreak of plague. Rumors swirled for some time that Bonaparte executed his wounded so that the army would not be slowed down but these were finally silenced by lack of proof as well as repeated denials.

  *Pierre-Francois Bouchard found the Rosetta stone, the eventual key to translating Egypt’s ancient language, during this campaign. The British took the stone from the French after their defeat at Cairo in 1801. Unique in that it displayed a decree issued by Ptolemy V and rendered three times, once in ancient Greek, secondly in Demotic script and repeated a third time in ancient Hieroglyphs, it was not successfully deciphered until twenty years later by Jean-Francois Champollion and it was thus that the history and literature of ancient Egypt became known throughout the world.

  “Bea, this is the second thing we’ve read that says it might have come from Egypt.” Brian said.

  “True. The scary part is that it’s been around for such a long time and as far as we can tell, no one has ever found a solution other than quarantine and beheading. Medicine has really progressed since then but still...” She shrugged and unplugged the stick.

  “If you’re all done, may I have my desk back?” David stood in the doorway, looking faintly annoyed.

  “Sorry, David. I wanted to read the rest of Sylvie’s British docs.” She held up the stick.

  “So you guys found them?”

  “Yes, you’re welcome to read them if you want.”

  She plugged the stick back in and stood up, surrendering the desk to David. Booted footsteps came down the corridor. Several men carried boxes to the end of the hall, turning a corner and then the footsteps faded away. Brian looked down the hallway after them and wondered aloud, “How big is this place?”

  Bea shrugged. David, engrossed in Sylvie’s docs, didn’t even look up. There was no one in the corridor at the moment and she followed Brian, taking great care to be quiet, down the hall and around the corner the men had turned down. There were a few darkened, small offices much like the one David was using but no one was in them. Footsteps sounded ahead and they ducked into an office, waiting in the shadows until the soldiers passed before they crept down to see what was at the end of the corridor.

  At the end of the hall, metal rungs mortared into the concrete-block wall formed a sturdy ladder that led up to a ceiling with what looked like a hatch at the top.

  “That’s the escape hatch for this section. I wonder what’s up there? Do you think it goes into the White House?” Brian was excited by the discovery.

  Bea could tell he wanted to explore. “Brian, don’t start. There could be infected up there.”

  “The soldiers didn’t even have their guns out so they didn’t feel there was much threat. Do you think they’re carrying those boxes up there? There’s probably someone important out there, maybe the president.”

  She sighed. “I really doubt that. The president is long gone to another command center or some place like that. It was the smart thing to do. It’s just too easy to get cut off here in the city.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “It’s just an exit, that’s all.”

  They roamed a little while longer but the most interesting room they could access was a locker room/shower which Bea was happy to find, Brian less so. The room wasn’t marked for men or women and had no lock so while Brian stood guard in the hallway she showered then bullied Brian into doing the same, standing guard outside until he emerged. They didn’t have any clean clothes and had to put their old ones back on but she still felt better for the effort.

  Back in the office, she checked their backpacks and made sure their guns were still hidden inside. They went back to find David and find out where to get some sort of supper before settling down for the night. Too deep underground for windows this part of the facility was very dark and quiet except for passersby in the hallway. Thoughts of Mac and Sylvie ran through her mind and she saw them in her imagination, dead and mutilated, entombed together forever in the cold underground room, wandering mindlessly until they decayed beyond movement.

  When she finally fell asleep Bea dreamed she was back in Dupont Circle, trying to walk across the snow drifts, pulling Brian alongside her. Evan was just ahead of them, striding away. The more she tried to catch him the faster he seemed to walk until finally she called his name aloud in frustration. He stopped and slowly turned. Teeth gleamed whitely along his jawline where the skin had been ripped away and hung in a wet flap against his neck. Whitened eyes turned blindly their way and his jaws opened wide as he lurched wildly toward them through the snow.

  She woke, heart racing, and stared into the darkness. Faintly, screams sounded somewhere in the facility. It was a long time before she finally fell asleep again.

  ~

  Virginia opened her eyes to almost total darkness. She could see the general outline of a door from which a soft blue glow and humming mechanical vibration came.

  Her mouth was dry and she was warm, too warm for all the blankets that seemed to smother her and when she tried to push them off she realized she couldn’t move her arms or legs. Panic set in at the realization she was strapped down, helpless and alone. Where was she? As she struggled, the blankets shifted and covered her face, making her feel like she couldn’t breathe and she started screaming.

  Someone pulled the blankets from her face but backed away while a woman, outlined in the light from the hallway behind the now open door, held a rifle pointed at Virginia’s head. She stopped screaming but continued to breathe in huge gulps of air while struggling to break free.

  “Don’t struggle. Count to ten and relax.” The voice came from somewhere behind the gun.

  Virginia gasped and tried to calm down but couldn’t. She closed her eyes and felt panic well up again.

  “Out loud! Count to ten out loud. Do it now!” The voice spoke with authority and command.

  “One, two, three…” She paused for breath. Why did she feel so weak? “Four, five, six-”

  “Excellent. You can stop now. I’m going to adjust your bed so you’ll be sitting up. You’re going to feel it move a little.”

  The blankets slid down even further as the head of the bed rose and someone turned the lights on. A woman walked around the soldier who held the gun and directed a penlight into her face.

  “Can you tell me your name?”

  “Virginia Dare. Who are you? Where am I?” The words came out in a croak.

  “I’m Dr. Anouk Osawy. You are in an emergency shelter in Washington, D.C. Do you remember anything about the last few days?” The doctor motioned to the soldier who lowered the rifle but stayed close.

  “I…, no, not really. Do you know-” She stopped, too afraid to ask where the children were, too afraid of what the doctor would tell her.

  Dr. Osawy continued to examine her, making her stick out her tongue, flex her legs and arms.

  “Do you want something to drink?”

  “Water?” Suddenly she had a raging thirst.
/>   “Done. I’ll be right back.”

  The doctor left and Virginia took a trembling breath. Her mind felt fogged and she pulled fruitlessly against the restraints. The soldier raised the rifle again and sighted it on her, quite emotionlessly. The doctor returned and told the soldier she could leave. The woman did, reluctantly though, and stationed herself outside the door.

  “Can you release me? I’m not dangerous- I don’t think. No, wait. I was bitten, wasn’t I?” She drew a deep breath that ended in a sob. “That’s it. I remember now.” Her head drooped forward. “Kill me, please. Let that soldier back in and tell her to shoot me.”

  “Slow down. Here, have a little water first and then we’ll talk about shooting.” The doctor held the cup to her lips. Virginia sipped the water too quickly and choked. Finally she caught her breath again.

  “Did my husband bring me here?” Dr. Osawy nodded. “Are my children with him? Are they okay?” She had to know.

  “They’re here, Virginia. They’re all fine.”

  At that Virginia began to cry, keeping her head down and sobbing uncontrollably. Dr. Osawy fumbled with the straps holding her arms down, released them and handed her a tissue.

  Finally the sobs slowed. She leaned back and drew a shuddering breath. Her eyes were swollen and when she spoke, her voice was hoarse again.

  “You’re a doctor. You must know what being bitten means. If you don’t want to shoot me here then take me somewhere where you can dispose of my body more easily. I don’t want my children to see me. You must have a procedure for this. I can’t be the first infected case you’ve seen.”

  “True. You’re not the first. But you may be the first infected case I’ve ever cured.”

  Virginia stared at her. “There’s no cure.”

  Dr. Osawy smiled, “Let’s talk.”

  ~

  “…and you can argue that the Z-virus has an incredibly long life-span, given the right conditions. I mean, seriously, finding animated mummies in the Tutankhamen excavation? The Egyptians knew, they knew, and that’s why they were so careful to remove the brain in the mummification process. Dagon and sometimes Kali are both snake gods often associated with the eating of human flesh. The clues are all there if you just know what you’re looking for.”

  David continued talking and Brian listened, adding his own occasional observations. Bea had lost interest about thirty minutes ago but had nowhere to go and nothing else to do but stay here, bouncing a ping pong ball or flipping through outdated magazines, some from the nineteen-seventies.

  When she woke up this morning, Brian was already gone. After she brushed her teeth and tried to smooth some of the wrinkles from her clothes she found him and David eating cereal in the break room. There weren’t a lot of other people anywhere and the few she did see were all either soldiers or medical personnel and they were too busy to talk to her. According to David the shelter was stocked with enough food for a lot more people than the few already here but she was still afraid of getting kicked out, having nowhere to go.

  She interrupted David mid-sentence, “When you go to California, is there any way we could catch a ride out of the city? Maybe they could take us to rural Pennsylvania, someplace without so many infected?” She chose Pennsylvania because she knew Evan was from there and his parents might still be alive. She had spoken with his dad on the phone once and his mother sent her a birthday card last year. They might be willing to let her and Brian stay for a few nights and maybe tell them where they thought they might be safe to settle down.

  He replied, “There are infected everywhere, you know. The rumors about infection-free zones are just that, rumors. This place is heavily fortified and well-stocked. You should be okay here for a few weeks.”

  “We aren’t welcome here, David. We’re not with the government. We’re strays.”

  “We’re all survivors and on the same team. The living are an endangered species now.”

  “When do you leave? Are you still going to Atlanta first?”

  He looked tense. “Atlanta is not an option anymore. It’s gone, even the CDC is just gone. We think there’s a military airfield in West Virginia we can get out of and I should be going by tomorrow. It’s going to be the more isolated places that are valuable now.”

  “That’s why I want to find one. Civilization as we once knew it may be over for the rest of our lifetimes. No one is coming to save us. A farm, someplace in the mountains, something like that is what we need.”

  “There won’t be any food there unless someone has stockpiled it. The grocery stores have been looted to exhaustion. It’s winter, no crops are growing and even if they were, do you know how to can them, preserve them, whatever? I sure don’t. And don’t forget you’ll need to keep a constant watch for the dead. That will be hard with just the two of you. There’s safety in numbers.”

  For just a moment she hated him for exposing the impracticality of her own plan to her. He was right though. She didn’t know how to do any of those things other than watching out for the dead. It was winter and the power was probably down, or would be soon and it was cold throughout most of the country. Unless they got incredibly lucky and found an isolated area with no dead and with lots of canned goods and a water source, they wouldn’t make it for long. David was still talking and she tuned back in.

  “…with the Dares when they go back?” He looked at her expectantly.

  “Sorry. Could you repeat that?”

  “I said have you considered going with Ian and Virginia when they head back home? They live in a fairly rural area in the mountains.”

  “I don’t want anyone to feel responsible for us. Brian and I always take care of ourselves but we need help to get out of the city. I can’t see any way out except by air at this point and the hordes aren’t going away so that won’t change.” She bit her lower lip, something she did only when she was under stress. Her split upper lip had just started to heal but was still puffy and tender. The pointless inaction here was getting to her.

  David thought she looked very young and vulnerable. While talking about the virus and other things Brian told him something of their lives and incidentally revealed just how alone the two of them were. Obviously Bea had always taken care of them both and Brian relied on her absolutely. She was thinking long-term and looking for a refuge she could turn into a home. He had no idea how to help her.

  His family lived in Seattle; another reason he was eager to get to the west coast. He talked to his dad two days ago but hadn’t reached him since. According to his dad there were some dead in the streets but it wasn’t too bad yet. The biggest problem was the hordes of refugees trickling in from California and elsewhere. Wherever the refugees went the dead were never far behind. Both his mom and dad were pretty good with weapons but the constant watch to keep looters and worse off the property was exhausting. They had also given him one other piece of information he was struggling with but it made him even more determined to get out of here.

  This city belonged to the dead. The little shelter here could hold out for a long time assuming nothing went seriously awry but its usability was finite regardless and he feared she was right. Civilization was finished for now.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “She’s exhausted. After I spoke with her last night she had another bout of fever. That’s good though, if it doesn’t make her too weak.” Dr. Osawy led the way to the infirmary, boots squeaking a little on the polished floor. The woman couldn’t have had much sleep but she looked as professional and crisp as ever.

  Ian asked, “What does she remember?”

  “Pretty much everything. She knows she was bitten and infected. I outlined the steps of the treatment and she was very interested. She also knows the children are here, as well as you but she keeps asking about someone named Charles?”

  “Right. Charles is the constable in our town Tunbridge Wells. He was part of the group she made it across the mountain with. Space on the chopper was limited so he stayed behind.”

&
nbsp; “I’ll let you tell her. I can give you ten minutes. She wants to see the children too but I thought perhaps it might be better to wait until tonight. Too much excitement maybe.”

  “So she’s not excited to see me.” Ian said flatly.

  “I didn’t say that.” The doctor ran her badge through the reader. “Remember, ten minutes.”

  She left and Ian turned the door handle and went in. Virginia was looking away and seemed listless. Someone had pulled her hair up in a cap and her face was pale. Her collarbone was prominent above the thin cotton hospital gown and her arms seemed very thin. The bite mark on her wrist was plainly visible and looked dark, bruised.

  Ian cleared his throat, “Virginia?”

  She looked up and the listlessness disappeared. The joyous look that stole across her face was like the sun breaking through dark clouds.

  “I didn’t know if I had dreamed that I found you until they told me all of you are here. At least I think they said so. The nightmares have been so bad. I didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t. Where-?”

  “The children are all here and fine. Charles stayed in Springfield. There wasn’t enough room on the helicopter. He was fine the last time I saw him and we left him with plenty of food and ammo.”

  “I’ve been so worried. I thought I might have… done something to someone.”

  He sat carefully on the edge of the bed and only then realized her arms and legs were strapped to the bed rails. He started to unbuckle the canvas straps but she stopped him.

  “They have their rules, just leave it.”

  “No.” He finished with the straps and took her in his arms. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve wanted to do this.”

  They were silent for a moment. He pulled the cap from her head and felt her hair fall, soft and silky, across his arm. He felt her heart beating, a strong, steady pulse, life’s essential rhythm.