Devil's Details: Z Is For Zombie Book 4

by catt dahman

  “No.”

  Seething, she pretended to straighten things around the small room. Carla hated living here. “You’re saying you want to stay? How long? It’s like a prison with the fence and them in charge.”

  “I may stay for good. Like I said, nothing is in stone. I like what they have here. George is a perfect governor, and Len is perfect for security and second in command.”

  “I hate it here. Robbie doesn’t want to go to school, and I can be a cook or a gardener or play Marine Corps or train to be on a team. What fun. As if I haven’t killed far more than they have. I’ve done the trenches, and this is paramilitary crap. It’s a joke.”

  “I think you’d get accustomed. Robbie might like it, too; I think he would. And if you hate it, I mean, Carla, you can move on. There are other people and some people on their own. But winter is coming.”

  “Winter in Texas isn’t much,” she said, “so we can just move on, huh?”

  “I just mean, if you hate it, you are free to go, but I intend to stay here, I guess,” said Kim

  Carla didn’t sit back down but leaned back against the wall. “I don’t like Beth. She’s simpering and wishy-washy.”

  “Beth? She’s neither of those. You don’t know her. She’s strong and a good person. She’s honest and brave, a good friend; she’s not only smart, but she’s a doer, too. She thought I was dead; then, she thought I just didn’t wanna come home. If you got to know her…she’s pretty amazing.”

  “Still in love with her? Oh, well, it’s not set in stone,” she said. “Let’s just get you well and back on your feet. That’s what matters, and then the rest, you can figure out. I’ll find something to keep me busy. But seriously, Kim, Beth is with Juan and their cute little family. You’ll be unhappy.”

  “Carla, I know I never gave you a wrong idea about me. I never indicated I wanted anything with anyone but Beth.”

  She pretended she didn’t know what he meant. “Just work on getting better, okay? I’ll check on you in a day or so.” She wanted to go.

  “Carla. Why did you and Robbie follow me? At the beginning?”

  “I thought you were like us. It took me a while to see you weren’t; then, I was curious or something; it seemed easier to travel together,” Carla told him.

  “Like you? What’s that mean?”

  “Just…like us, ” Carla said, her hand on the door. “It’s okay. Nothing is set in stone. Maybe you will be.”

  21

  Other Monsters

  “So that’s the message?You all collected this, and I called you monsters? I see,” Beth said.

  “And I believe you said if given the chance, you’d kill every one of us.”

  “I guess I did say it.”

  “Now, we sit here before you, and if we did not tell you or show you, you wouldn’t know that we were anything else, would you? We are just as human as you.” Ponce smiled. “We just had vaccines.”

  Beth could just nod and go on, but she didn’t know what to think. Len and George just listened intently. Conner all but bit his lip to keep from giving his opinion.

  “And when you have the vaccine, you don’t get Red, but you have a mutated strain of the prion disease. So, the prions…the things that make someone lose his personality, attack, and eat people, those are in you?”

  “Yes, but, Major, those zombies are us or them. However you want to say it.”

  “No. We are not them. Bullshit. When those things are around, I mean they are personality and soul. That makes them human and real. Right George? The soul goes to Heaven or hell…whatever; even if that isn’t right, the person is no longer in that body, so they aren’t us.”

  “Right,” George said, looking less sure of himself. “Those aren’t us. We’ve killed them. You have killed them; they aren’t people we love or know anymore.” He thought of his friend Tink and how Mark shot him after he was bitten. That wasn’t Tink anymore; ‘it was a meat puppet,’ the kids said, ‘that ate others.’

  “Then where is your soul?” Hannah asked Ponce and Dee, “why is the you part still there?”

  They looked flummoxed.

  “Can you feel stuff? Do you hate, love, and have other feelings?”

  “Hannah….” Beth felt sick.

  “I can hate. We hate those things even if they are us; they’re defective and dangerous; I feel regret if something bad happens; I have emotions,” Ponce said.

  “You can spread the infection?”

  “I guess I could if I were to bite someone. I don’t have an urge to bite.”

  “What if you didn’t get your raw meat?”

  Ponce looked blank. “Well, there’s meat all over. Animals. I wouldn’t bite a human. I don’t eat people.”

  “Demons do.” Beth hated the terminology: cannibals…zombies; it’s all sickening.”

  “And yet, we are bringing you supplies.”

  “Is that the price? I admit you are not monsters and that you give us supplies, and everyone is happy? You can spread it. I don’t see you as any different than any other person who is bitten. I may like a person, but if he is infected, he goes down. You can reason with Len and George, but I’m not paying your price. It was a mistake to ask me to take back what I’ve said.”

  “We are not here to reason with them. The orders are to speak with you only.”

  Beth looked at Len, George, Hannah, and then Conner. “You are visiting, and I won’t shoot you, but I refuse to pay the price. I don’t retract a thing I’ve said.”

  “All right. Well, we’ve disclosed to you where the supplies came from and have given you the information. If you could tell us where to park the trucks, we will unload the haul and go back to tell the Colonel your answer.”

  Beth frowned. “Just like that? You’re still going to give us the supplies? Even if I refuse to retract what I said?”

  “Yes, ma’am. We’d like to get back on the road this evening.”

  Len stood. “Why don’t we go show them where to leave the trailers, gentlemen, Dee, George, Conner….” he hesitated with Hannah.

  “I have to go check on…ummm…Jet,” she said, giving Beth a glance as she ran back up to the main house, no doubt to find Alex and wrangle a dessert out of him for intel.

  “Why?”

  “Oh, I could say because we drove all this way or we didn’t need anything…which is true for both. Colonel Davis didn’t say he expected you to take back your words or to bargain with you. He just wanted me to give you all the facts. He thought you were a very passionate person about your beliefs. He was curious if you were the type to lie about your feelings if offered a treat.”

  “Who were you before? I don’t feel like you were military.”

  “Between us? Will you keep my secret?” Ponce asked. “I was studying to be a preacher. Isn’t that funny?”

  “You volunteered for the vaccine? Knowing…?”

  “I guess my faith wasn’t as strong as I had hoped or professed, was it? Your daughter’s question took me by surprise. She’s very brilliant.”

  “Yes, she is. Thank you. You didn’t answer her.”

  “I believe in God more now than I did before. I believe in Satan.”

  “But Angels and thus demons weren’t humans. Technically, if you were Angels, you would be part human and part godly, right?”

  “Ahhh. I see. I think Dr. Diamond thinks you all are the godly ones and we, the Angels, two entities…so terrible to look at and with vengeance and that scary stuff.”

  “And the zombies are? What?”

  “Defective. Monstrous. Failures. He says they are defective creatures.”

  “So worse than you all are….”

  “Yes.”

  “He feels you all are perfect, the way of the future, and the zoms are defective…oh…oh, my dear, God. He lied, didn’t he?”

  “Major, we never had this conversation. We simply sat and spoke about the better weather….”

  “And they knew I would figure it out. I found the salve and trea
tment at the National Guard station; I saw the papers. He was relieved we burned all that because it really was a failure but not as big of a failure as the original infection. He wants me to just shut up and forget all I figured out.”

  “This protocol isn’t a failure.”

  “Unless you count the fact that there are demons now, what a stupid term for them…jeeze…hybrids eat people…monsters, whatever you want.”

  “Major….”

  “He messed up a lot, didn’t he? Even this time with Angels, we have demon she keeps messing up. And don’t try to distract me. I saw…the date it didn’t hit me with so much going on that shit was sent before Red hit us.”

  “Maybe they were already working on possible cures and treatments…vaccines….”

  “No flights.”

  “Awe, I bet people had flights…scientists and doctors….”

  Beth couldn’t think fast enough. She knew she was onto something, but it was eluding her. “Let’s say North Korea did release the Red. Why would they develop anything to make zombies? They had to know it would get out and hit them, as well. That never made sense, Ponce. Why would they use anything that could also hurt them? They wouldn’t. What if they did release Red but only Red? It was a separate thing. Red was a virus?”

  “They did, Ma’am.”

  “Then why would anyone use the term Diamond Flux? Why associate him with this? Mighty big coincidence, huh? Only after Red or if bitten, did the infection come about. Was it a counter terrorist attack? Ahhh, maybe so.

  I think I’m right. They give us Reds; we give them Zombiehood but you don’t do that unless you have a vaccine or a cure, right?”

  “I can’t answer that, Ma’am.”

  “Bombs were just a joke. We already hit back. But to have a biological weapon, you have to have a sample. Where did Dr. Diamond get a sample? And did he cause this? Which was first? The zombies or the hybrids?”

  “Ma’am, I really can’t answer these questions.” He rose. See that other Humvee? I’m supposed to be in it and headed back by now. I have to go. Dee will see to everything and make sure the trailers are settled and the drivers are ready to go. Looks like a bunch are ready.”

  Beth followed him. “I’ll figure it out,” she threatened, “I almost have it.”

  Ponce looked at her as if he doubted she would; it made her wonder if the facts were that well hidden that she couldn’t. Not without his help, anyway. She was puzzled that a hybrid, a monster, helped her that much. For the first time, she let it enter her head that it was vaguely possible she was wrong about him.

  No. She was right.

  “Ponce. Do you ever regret it?”

  He walked to the gate and motioned a group of drivers who were unloaded and ready to leave. Conner allowed them to exit the first gate, and they walked to the Humvee. Ponce didn’t go at first. He spoke to Dee, and they both nodded, agreeing on something. He shook hands with Len and George. Then he looked things over, turned to see Beth watching him. He drew in the dust on the side of one truck.

  Hannah came back to stand with Beth who tried to figure out what it said. “My ex-mom…before Red anyway, she hated texting lingo and shortened words.”

  “Can you read that? Ys HD = 0?”

  “It’s not like real texting lingo…’Yes’ and ‘HD’ is zero or oh. That’s a stupid thing to write. Daft man.”

  Ponce blurred it with his fingers and walked out the gate.

  “Very daft,” Beth said, more to herself. Yes, he regretted the vaccine. He answered after some thought. Why? What made him regret it?

  The rest suddenly made sense. It was a zero.

  Henry Diamond was the first. He was patient zero.

  22

  November

  “Can I speak to you?”

  “Sure. What’s on your mind?” Beth sat in the library reading about prions, in an attempt to understand the infection, but so far, it didn’t make much sense to her as she studied folded proteins; nothing made any difference to them. She set her book down after marking her place with a slip of paper and offered Andie seat.

  “We’ve somehow gotten to a place where we aren’t friends. I don’t like that, Beth. We were friends before.”

  “Maybe it’s because you slept with one of my best friend’s man,” Beth said. She was glad to show Andie that she and Kim didn’t have secrets. “Misty is one of my best friends.”

  “I regret many things. I’m not going into that with you, however.”

  “Okay. So what do you want? I was busy reading. I am trying to understand things and not just the drama around here.”

  “When we came through, remember that car lot? The dealership?”

  “Yes, I hate that place.”

  “We stopped there. I went inside.”

  “Why?”

  “Something nagged at me. So I went in and looked. As you know, Hannah and Carol went in, and we heard the shots. Hannah ran out and said a zom attacked and bit Carol, and Hannah shot them both.”

  “I remember.”

  “Beth, Hannah doesn’t exactly like guns; she prefers melee which is sick to begin with, but it always amazed me that she had two kill shots out of two shots. That’s some fantastic shooting, right?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “It didn’t seem plausible the more I considered it. So I looked around, and I found Carol. She was there, rotted, of course, but, Beth, she had two shots in her chest, no zombie was in the building. She wasn’t bitten.”

  “You aren’t a forensic specialist, so how do you know if she were decomposed? Anyway, maybe it bit her and wandered off….”

  “There wasn’t one. I think we both know what happened that day. I wanted to tell you so you would understand. And what I do know is Carol was shot, and no zombie was near her.”

  “We never questioned Hannah; maybe it got away, and she didn’t say so…maybe a lot of things. We took it then that Carol was killed, and Hannah got away. It was a bad time all the way around.”

  “Okay. But Hannah had to have….”

  “You’re saying my daughter shot and killed Carol? I guess you are saying there was no reason for it.”

  “I think she just shot and killed her,” Andie said.

  “I don’t know if she did or not. I would have to see and ask her myself. I can assure you that any mother would do the same. Now’s a fine time to bring this up after so long.”

  “I guess. But I intend to let Len and George know as well. Hannah is dangerous, Beth. You know what she did to her family….”

  “Who turned and chased her.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. I’m not so sure anymore if they were turned or not. She’s dangerous, Beth. She chopped up that man when you were on a mission.”

  “He almost beat Earl to death and tried to grab her and take her prisoner; they liked little girls…sick bastards, and he was among the same men who repeatedly raped you and whipped Kimball.”

  Andie winced. “I just wanted you to know first.”

  “Well, now, I know. He got what he deserved.”

  “You seem pretty calm about it.”

  “I have things on my mind. But thanks for sharing that. I have found that we all do some terrible things when bombarded with too much stress like when you slept with Mark,” Beth said.

  Beth cut off her speech as they heard yelling.

  “That’s not at the gate,” Andie said.

  At the door to the dorms, a man was waving his arms. “We need help.” He was wide-eyed with fear. “Shamblers. Upstairs. They’re attacking.”

  Beth ran as she saw Rae and Rev already heading that way.

  “Second floor,” someone screamed.

  Beth could hear the moans, but they were coming from inside the dorm.“Security Zone. Now,” she called out as she pulled her sidearm. “Go.”

  Jet met her on the stairway. “We have Shamblers inside.”

  “Go initiate Safety Zone.”

  She followed Rae and Rev. Andie yelled for everyone to head
to the basement. People came out of their rooms, some sleepily but quickly came awake and began the line leading to the basement as Andie yelled at them, “We are breached.” It was their worst fear.

  Beth hesitated as something about that nagged at her, but she didn’t know what it was.

  Trip saw her and said he was going to get everyone off the second floor to the downstairs. He and Andie beat on doors and yelled for people to get downstairs.

  In the hallway, some sort of fight was going on, with people on the floor rolling and the tell tale moans echoing from an open doorway. The scene made no sense, at first.Carla was on the floor but rolled to the side as someone crashed a lamp onto the head of a girl. Ivory Joe was there, and he aimed and fired his gun, blowing brains and blood all over Carla. “Move.”

  Bernie, Ivory Joe’s son, shot at another person on the floor who tried to crawl; the crawler moaned and leaked body fluids everywhere.

  To the side were several cradling arms and legs that bled. Ricky and Ivory Joe held a side arm aimed loosely at those who were injured. Lance did the same from close by, waiting to find out what happened.Carl and Teeg began to get the hall cleared of people, sending them down the stairs to Andie and Trip.

  Rae nodded once at Ricky and Lance to keep in place.

  She and Rev took in the scene, trying to understand it. The door to the room was wide open, and a woman shambled forward. Rae thought her name was Susan or Susie but wasn’t sure, but she was in her nightgown, her throat and shoulders a mass of torn flesh that still leaked blood. She moaned and ran into the walls repeatedly in confusion, her eyes began to get milky-looking as she drooled.

  “I just saw Susie; we were downstairs…Susie,” a woman cried from the hallway. Teeg told her to stand to the side so they could figure this out, while Rae put a bullet into the Susie’s head, making her friend cry. The woman’s head flopped back, and brains and blood flew out onto the wall behind her before she slid down to the floor in a sprawl. Rev yanked her out of the way by pulling on her feet.

  The bathroom was beside them, the door was closed, and they heard noise from within, but didn’t touch the door. Beth moved to stand beside the door, somehow relieved when Kim came in, his own gun ready. “What’s going on?”