The door burst open. Bellamy was first through the door. His eyes landed on Ankti. He didn’t feel right shooting her. He already knew the boy was dead, so he stepped aside, allowing Nakos to enter.
Suddenly, Ankti’s head turned almost a full three hundred sixty degrees, as if possessed by some demonic entity. Her neck bones sounded like cracking lobster shells, and her mouth hung agape and still had a piece of William’s throat in it. She tilted her head back and swallowed it whole.
Her white eyes looked to where Jackson lay. She grunted in some alien monotone and he seemed to understand her commands.
Jackson tried to stand. He put his hand up and mouthed the word ‘no’. Since the little girl had torn his throat, his speech hadn’t fully returned. Having been scratched by his dead wife three months earlier, he was changing at a rapid rate. He tried again to speak, spittle ejecting out of his mouth before his words. He was weak from the wounds on his neck and weak from the internal changes that worked rapidly within.
“Don’t shoot her,” he managed before falling to his knees, barely able to hold his head up. Jackson pleadingly looked into the eyes of Nakos as he said over and over, “Don’t shoot.”
Harry pushed past Bellamy and Nakos, his Beretta aimed right at her head.
Nakos spun his arm, quickly slapping Harry’s gun arm down.
“No, man, that’s my sister. I have to do it!”
“Do it before she eats us!” Harry snapped. He had no patience for the zombies, not even family turned zombies.
“You saw that, right?” Bellamy said.
“Yeah, man, hard not to. Is she alive, do you think?” Nakos said as he took a meek step toward his sister, his .44 Magnum cautiously up.
“Nope, she’s dead. She just ate that kid,” Harry added.
“Want me to do it?” Bellamy asked.
“No! I got this,” Nakos said as he aimed. His hand began to shake while memories rang through his mind.
He could see himself as a young ten-year-old, while Ankti, eleven, played in the park on the swings. And them together fighting over the last piece of chocolate that their mother had brought home. And the time he scared away bullies who were trying to steal Ankti’s lunch money.
Everything flooded Nakos, his parents and traditions that they’d passed on to him. His eyes filled and with one blink, the tears toppled over.
Ankti ignored the men as her hunger ravaged her. Snapping her head sharply to face the boy, her teeth dug right into his soft cheek, tearing it apart like pulled pork. Crimson fluid shot out and splattered her and the floor.
It was the final thing she did, as Nakos found the strength to shoot her. His aim fell short of her head, getting her in the back between the shoulder blades. Her head jolted as if angered, her focus remaining on William.
Nakos’s hand continued to shake while taking aim again. He shot, this time getting her in the head. Her skull exploded due to the close range of his gun. Brain matter mixed with black gunky fluid spewed outward with tremendous force, splattering in every direction.
Large teardrops ran down his flushed face. He fell to his knees and said a prayer in his Native American tongue.
Bellamy waited for a few minutes, then got on his knees and put his arm on Nakos’s shoulder. No words were exchanged for a good ten minutes. Harry was getting impatient.
“I think we need to put Jackson out and his son too. They are gonna change just like she did,” Harry said sternly and almost demandingly.
Bellamy ignored Harry for now. His mind went to a discussion he’d had with Calloway four days ago, about how one of the patients at Phelps Memorial had been scratched. It was how Julie and the others figured out that if you’re scratched or bitten, you will change. Bellamy kicked himself for not having put two and two together when he’d found out, from Nakos several days ago, that Ankti had been scratched by George. Instead, he’d believed what the doctor had diagnosed and regretfully not listened to his intuition.
“That bite Jackson got from the little girl must be why Ankti didn’t go after him, and why he let her eat his son in front of him. Oh, fuck, she ate his son,” Nakos said as he wept with acknowledgement of what had unfolded before their eyes.
“They can talk to one another. That’s messed up. That’s so fucking messed up!” Harry blurted out as he stood over Jackson and put a bullet through Jackson’s temple. It went through and sprayed particles of chipboard as it imbedded into the wall. They dusted the ground and mixed with the gore, which made it look like chunky beef Stroganoff.
Bellamy noticed the color of Jackson’s blood. It hadn’t gone all the way black. It was in the middle between red and black. Harry shot the boy in the head. Together, they took the bodies out to a grassy area and burned them.
Nakos remained in prayer as his sister’s body burned. He chanted in his language as tears poured from his reddened eyes. Millie joined him, and together they hummed for a long while.
A group had gathered round, wanting to know what was going on since they’d heard gunshots. Lily glued herself to Bellamy as the others hung on every word he said.
Nakos took Hope from Millie. He looked at his little girl as he held her in his arms, swinging her back and forth as he gently rocked her back to sleep while tears melted from his face and dropped onto the blanket that wrapped around her.
Bellamy wasn’t sure if Nakos would ever be the same again. Having to kill your own sister, or any member of your own family, would be enough to turn anyone crazy. Lily wanted to console Nakos, but Bellamy advised her against it.
“Give him time, babe. He has to let all this sink in. I’ll keep him busy for the next couple of weeks. It should distract him a little,” he said as he walked Lily to the Sculpture Garden. He sat her on a park bench, and just looked across the water at Manhattan. The sun began to peek through the smoggy, smoked filled clouds. Lily’s stomach rumbled loudly, breaking their silence.
“You hungry, babe?”
“Yes... For you,” she said cheekily as she draped her legs over the side of the park bench and rested her head on Bellamy’s chest.
“Bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast…”
“Stop that, you’re making my mouth water and my tummy is now doing somersaults,” she said through giggles.
“You know, that’s what I’ll miss the most.”
“Huh? You’re gonna miss my stomach somersaulting?”
“Well no, silly.” He lowered his head and kissed her forehead, and then he said. “We could put our hungry tummies together. They can somersault their way to a new kind of belly love.” Bellamy laughed and squeezed Lily’s shoulders as he continued. Lily looked up smiling, and even her eyes smiled.
“Good food, bacon, and lots and lots more bacon.” Bellamy licked his top lip provocatively, then swooped down and kissed Lily passionately.
“What is the situation on the food front?” Lily asked between kisses.
“We’ll have to make a few supply runs. We need to start building things, too. I want working power, for so many reasons.
“What will be your first supply run then?”
“Food, water, some weapons, and building materials,” he said while draping his arm over her shoulder, purposefully close to her breasts.
“Sounds good,” she said as her stomach rumbled again.
“Okay, my lovely, let’s get you some food.”
“Wait, you want me to go on a supply run with you?”
“Hell no, I just meant we’ll go see what food we have here and get you fed. Then I’ll start rounding up the men.” He smiled so sweetly that it reminded Lily of a blooming orchid flower, her favorite, and how it opens its white petals to expose the soft glow of sun-kissed purples. She hadn’t realized it, but she too was wearing a grin from ear to ear. Together, arm in arm, they made their way to the others.
Harry had already begun gathering a team. He wanted to ensure the safety of the group on the island, so he had delegated Calloway, Ryker, Elijah, Oliver, and Ethan to stay behind.
Noah, Mason, Lucy, Bellamy, and Harry would do this supply run. Tylor was needed for piloting the ferry.
Bellamy ensured that Lily had something to eat. While she ate, he went to see Nakos.
“Sorry, my friend. I know this is a really bad time, but I wanted to see if you wanted to join us on a supply run.”
Nakos looked at Hope and then at Millie. He was feeling strained. Little to no sleep showed in the bags under his eyes. He couldn’t help but feel overly protective, and practically jumped at the chance for a supply run. Getting the things they would all need to be protected became his foremost mission.
“Yeah, it may never be all right, or even like it was. So much loss for all of us. I’m happy to go with you guys. Who’s staying here to man the island?”
“Calloway, Oliver, Ryker, Elijah, and Ethan.”
“Good,” he said as he kissed Millie on the lips, took Hope, and cradled her with gentle swaying. “Be a good girl for Mommy,” he said, leaning in and kissing her soft baby cheeks.
“Nakos, please, if you see one, can you grab a baby carriage or buggy?”
“I will, my sweet, I will. You can count on me.” he said, smiling and waving goodbye as he and the others left the island.
Millie went and chatted with Hazel, to check on her. She seems to be doing fine, thought Millie. Baby Gabriel had the darkest blue eyes Millie had ever seen.
“Gosh, he’s so darn cute,” Millie said as she cooed over his chubby little features.
“He’s feeding like a giant mosquito, if one was to be a foot tall, that is.” Laughing, she handed Gabriel to Millie and took Hope.
“I can’t get over the amount of hair she has, it’s amazing,” Hazel said, smiling down at Hope and speaking softly.
They sat for hours, talking. Ronan poked his head in, saw the babies, and ran back to his mother. Shadow made herself comfortable walking the perimeter of the island with Ethan.
Timothy got to know Anya better. She sang him a song and drew a crowd. Her voice was truly remarkable, sweet, and flawless a cappella. The melody and the serene words that flowed out of her mouth like magic kept the crowd glued to her as if she was an angel. She sounded like one, Timothy felt, as he watched her in total awe. His slack-jawed expression was that of a smitten teenager. Her voice carried across the island, reaching the men on patrol, and even they stopped to listen.
CHAPTER 40
DOWNTOWN
Bellamy was first to step off the boat. He made his way up the ramp, downed a warm Pepsi, and patted his hip for the comforting heft of his Glock. None of them had noticed the Humvee parked next to the fire trucks. Trees and other vehicles obscured it. Knowing exactly what was needed, they did the runs. Shopping carts scattered in various locations enabled them to be used for transporting large cases of water, canned food, and weapons.
On their fifth run, they went a bit further out. Bellamy wanted to gather solar power equipment. They found a warehouse decked out with solar panel kits. Everything necessary was in those kits. They would take the lot, his vision exceeding the norm.
They had eight kits stored on the ferry and were doing another run for more when they came across a zombie dog. It was still chained to a post outside a convenience store. Its owner, who was now a full-fledged transformed human zombie, just stood and ambled around it. He looked like he’d had a lobotomy.
“I swear, these things are either getting stupider by the day or smarter. I can’t work it out,” Noah said as he shot the dog in the head. Lucy shot the human. They carried on, making their way back to the warehouse.
Harry stopped suddenly. The others followed his lead. Listening, they could hear light groans and deep throated grumblings. A clattering sound like sheet metal scraping something came from their left. Turning, they saw a pack of zombie dogs approaching, and behind them was a group of human zombies.
“Does this ever fucking end?” raged Mason.
With cars and vans all jamming the downtown area, the little food shops, clothing stores, jewelry shops, and banks had all given way to the decaying zombies. Whichever way you turned, there was another and another. They were pouring out of the open doors, and spilling out from behind cars and vans. Some had no legs and were commando-crawling up the street. Some zombie dogs still had their jeweled collars, and they were all ambling toward the men.
“What the fuck we gonna do now? There’s like a hundred of them, and only six of us,” Nakos said as his eyes looked for somewhere to go.
“Over there, down that alleyway! We can outrun them,” Lucy said as she made her move toward the alley. Harry drew his Magnum and shifted to the sidewalk, following Lucy. The others did the same.
“Quickly, up here,” Lucy said as she fled up a fire escape. The others climbed straight up. Lucy reached the top of the third-floor landing and used the butt of her gun to smash the window in, then climbed inside. Everyone else followed.
“What are we gonna do in here? It’s not like we can stay here forever,” Nakos stressed.
“Not planning on staying here, buddy,” Bellamy said as he opened the door of the room they’d climbed closest to. It appeared to be an office of some type.
“Wait, where’s Mason?” Noah barked, going back to the fire escape and looking down. “Shit!” he said as he made his way back down.
Mason hadn’t reached the second rung of the fire escape when he was pulled off so suddenly that he smacked his head on the first rung on the way down. Unconscious, he lay there as the zombie dogs started to feast upon him.
“Fucking wish we had a goddamn bazooka!” Harry exclaimed as he descended the fire escape. He hooked his left hand into a rung, secured his feet, and swung his body out. Using his right hand, he began shooting at the zombie dogs that were making mincemeat out of Mason.
“Don’t hit Mason!” Lucy snapped.
Harry just glared at her. He pulled the trigger, getting four more zombie dogs. His line of sight wasn’t clear enough to see Mason, with his body now covered by even more zombie dogs.
“No!” Lucy screamed as she launched herself down and scooted past Harry and Noah, her Beretta shooting wildly.
“Stop!” Noah hissed as he reached out for Lucy. He just missed the top of her shoulder as she jetted farther down.
“Lucy, stop!” Noah screamed as he desperately reached out again to grab her.
“This is suicide, Lucy! Fucking stop!” Noah spat as he picked up his pace, leaping two steps and barely making it onto the next rung. He reached out with one hand and caught the top of her tee shirt, with his other arm grabbing firmly onto the rung.
“Let me go!” Lucy pleaded.
“No! Let me pull you up.”
“Fuck off!” Lucy said. She lifted her arms into the air, slipped out of her tee shirt, and carried on. Firmly standing on the second-floor landing with her legs slightly parted and both hands on her Glock, she fired nonstop.
Her lips quivered, and her eyes strained to hold back a seething avalanche of tears. Seeing Mason’s torn and dead body swimming in a pool of his own blood, guts, and broken bones drove her crazy. Her bra was soaked with sweat and made her breasts stand out through the sheer fabric. She shivered violently as Noah’s arms reached around her waist, pulling her backward.
“Let me go!”
“No! He’s dead, there’s nothing we can do for him. Let’s go!”
Noah pushed Lucy to the stairs. “Get up there now!” he ordered. Reluctantly, she began climbing. Her head turned over her shoulder for one last grieving look at the horror, and then she raced up and crawled through the busted-out window. Noah handed back her tee shirt, and she put it on without saying a word.
“Now what?” Nakos asked as he looked around the office.
CHAPTER 41
MASON
Just as Mason’s fingers took hold of the second rung, he was suddenly pulled down. His ankle was already being skewered and stripped like a chef fillets a fish, the searing hot pain radiating up his calf into his lower abdomen and sending a weird
tingling sensation into the back of his throat. Looking down, all he could see was the head of a grotesque looking zombie dog, its teeth sinking into his flesh right through his boot. The dog was swinging off the ground and refusing to let go. Mason shook his leg, stretched it, and brought it hard into the metal stairs like a wrecking ball. But it still hung on.
Mason looked around. There were more and more zombie dogs approaching. His team above had already clambered through the window. A few seconds felt like a lifetime. He shook his foot harder. The beastly thing hung on, sinking its fangs in ever deeper. He could feel his flesh tearing. As both hands held onto the second rung, he was unable to get to his gun. His fingers coiled around the cold metal, turning white and growing slippery with sweat. He felt as though he was falling off a cliff. Perspiration dripped from his forehead. The back of his throat grew sticky, and his nose ran in rivulets.
He tried again, but the dog latched on harder, pulling him down. When it was joined by two more, the force of them pulling was like that of a car being towed. Unable to hold his grip any longer, the zombie dogs combatively hauled him off the fire escape. He went down hard, whacking the side of his head twice on the railings as he tried to grab them to stop his fall. It knocked him out cold. He landed on his ass, breaking his right leg into a compound fracture.
The zombie dogs pulled him all the way down. The protruding bone was devoured in seconds, as one of the zombie dogs ripped it completely out of Mason’s thigh.
The gaping wound gushed bright crimson blood in every direction. The zombie dogs burrowed into the hole, ripping it wider apart, until his upper thigh from knee to groin was obliterated, leaving only slithers of gelatinous muscle, tendons, and fractions of skin.
Other zombie dogs dove onto him like starving seagulls. Several of them hunched over Mason, and his body was smothered by overpowering jaws, talons, and razor-sharp teeth. Their maws opened wide in a paroxysm of aggressive bites. Every inch of his body was being feasted upon. One of them had his head inside its maw. Blood spouted like fireworks, covering the many zombie dogs tearing him apart. His skin was peeled, ripped, and shredded from his now dead body.
Hounded | Book 3 | Hounded 3 Page 27