Devouring The Dead (Book 2): Nemesis

by Watts, Russ

  “Yeah...thanks...well, my mum’s out there somewhere, so I’m not giving up yet.”

  They stood in silence for a while looking up at the fading stars.

  “We should get going,” said Tom. “We need to get everyone up and going. Mac reckons low tide is about six.”

  “Tom, when was the last time you relaxed, let someone else take charge?”

  “A long time ago. Don’t get me wrong, everyone chips in, in their own way. But I don’t know, I guess they look to me for some reason.”

  “Harry, Christina, even Jess, they’re all strong people. They’re capable you know. You have to let them take the lead sometimes.” Heidi put her hand on Tom’s arm and he smiled. She took a step closer to him and looked into his eyes. She brushed her hand over his cropped hair and he closed his eyes.

  He felt so drained. It was nice to get some attention. Heidi’s hands were soothing, caressing his head and rubbing his ear lobes. He felt her take a step closer and her breath was on his face.

  Tom grabbed her closer and kissed her. He felt Heidi’s warm tongue explore his mouth and he pulled her closer. He could feel her slender body pressed against his and she was pulling him into her. Tom slid his hands down her body to her waist where he un-tucked her shirt. His warm hands slipped around her soft skin and she moaned as they kissed. His hands moved up until he found her breasts and she ran her hands up and down his back as he caressed her.

  Tom’s head swam as he passionately kissed Heidi. She nuzzled his neck and her warm breath made him shiver. Suddenly, he pulled away. He longed to continue kissing and holding her and hold her, but he had to focus. Why had he let himself get so distracted so easily? Was he so weak that he caved in at the first girl showing an interest in him? Or did he really want her? “Heidi, we can’t do this. We should…”

  “Tom, forget ‘should’ for once, and do what you want. Do what you need to do.” Heidi tucked her shirt back in and reached for his face, cupping his chin in her hand. “I like you, Tom.”

  “Hope I’m not interrupting,” said Jessica walking around the corner of the garden centre. Heidi looked flushed and even Tom looked a bit embarrassed. As Tom stepped back, Jessica wondered if she had caught them in the middle of something more than conversation.

  “No, what is it, Jess?” asked Tom. “We were just...talking.”

  “Well, everyone is stirring and keen to get going. You haven’t forgotten what we’re doing, have you? You ready? I hope you’re not losing sight of what you’re doing here, everyone is relying on you.”

  “I’m ready, and of course, I haven’t forgotten.” Tom marched off into the garden centre, annoyed that Jessica had questioned him, after all he had done.

  “Why don’t you cut him some slack?” Heidi folded her arms in front of her chest and hoped Jessica wouldn’t see her flushed face.

  Jessica literally looked Heidi up and down. She said nothing, but turned and followed Tom back inside.

  * * * *

  Back inside the garden centre, Heidi found things were well underway. They had stripped the shop of anything useful last night and bagged it up ready to carry. Caterina and Jimmy had bags of food and water to take. Mac and Jess were picking up the last of the tools and Tom was reminding everyone of their duties.

  As they prepared to leave, there was a shrieking noise coming from the bathroom, followed by two loud bangs.

  “That’s Christina!” said Caterina.

  Mac and Tom raced to the bathroom to find Christina coming out.

  “What happened?” asked Tom.

  “A bloody rat, that’s what,” she said.

  “You’ve seen worse than a rat, surely?” asked Mac.

  Christina looked at him. “You go look for yourself, young man.”

  Tom followed Mac into the bathroom and he saw what Christina was talking about. It looked like a rat had dragged itself out of the toilet. It was hanging half over the seat, its squashed bloodied face almost touching the floor. There was a broken cistern lid next to it. Tom guessed Christina had used it to kill the rat. What was most disturbing was that the rat had crawled out of the toilet. He peered into the bowl with Mac.

  “I ain’t never seen no rat like that before,” said Mac holding his nose.

  The back end of the rat trailed off into tentacles of varying length and thickness.

  “It looks like its momma fucked a squid and this is the result,” said Mac. “Look at that mess.”

  The rat was clearly dead, but the tentacles in the toilet were still moving around.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” said Tom.

  Back in the worker’s restroom, they found Caterina sobbing. Tom tried to stifle his annoyance. She was hormonal, it wasn’t her fault, he kept telling himself.

  “Please, Christina, it’s not safe, you have to stay with me,” she was saying. “You just saw for yourself, there are weird things out there. Dead rats attacking us and that thing that attacked Jess yesterday. Now you’re going out there with Tom and leaving me alone with him?” Caterina shot daggers at Jimmy who merely shrugged.

  “Cat, now you listen to me. I will always be there for you, but I have to do this. I’ve took a back seat too long. Rosa, Laurent, Glenda, Harry and Lenny are in trouble and I have to help them. I’m a fighter and I’m not going to let some greedy pig split us all up. This Lazarus bloke has got it coming in spades. If you weren’t pregnant, you’d be coming too. But someone has to stay and look after you. Jimmy’s the youngest, he can drive and he can take care of you while I’m gone. It won’t be for long.”

  Christina put an arm around Caterina and they walked off continuing their conversation.

  “What was it, Tom? What freaked Christina out?” asked Heidi.

  “You don’t want to know,” said Mac. He picked up a sledgehammer.

  “Right, listen up everyone,” said Tom. “This alien infection thing is getting worse. Whatever is happening to us is happening to the animals and birds too, only worse. When they die, they don’t come back like they were. It’s like they’re being transformed into something else...some sort of hybrid created by mixing their own DNA and the aliens. Hell I don’t know, all I’m saying is watch out. It’s not just zombies we have to be careful about anymore.

  “Moira is going to drive the ambulance with me and Caterina up front. Everyone else, jump in the back. We’re going to turn the siren on so we get their attention. I want every blood-sucking freak show in the area to follow us to the Mount. When we get there, I’ll turn the siren off and everyone follow me. Caterina and Jimmy are going to stay behind in the ambulance. When we’ve got Rosa and everyone else, we’ll get back to the ambulance and straight around the coast to Penzance. Fingers crossed we find that ship. Anyone got a problem?”

  Jimmy raised a pensive hand. “Um, Tom, what if you don’t come back?”

  “Then get Caterina to Penzance and to that ship. She is your priority now, okay? Your number one concern is for her and that baby. Think you can manage that?”

  Jimmy nodded meekly.

  “If anyone is not up for this, then now is the time to say. It’s going to be messy out there. I need everyone armed and up for it. You aren’t just killing zombies anymore, there’s a good chance you’re going to have to kill a person too, a real, living person. Just remember, it’s them or us. If you hesitate, you will die. And so will our friends.”

  “Let’s go, Tom,” said Mac clutching the sledgehammer. “Kill the bad guys, rescue the good guys, and hurry the fuck up to Penzance to meet the navy. It’s a cinch.”

  As Tom watched everyone file out heading to the ambulance, Jessica hung back.

  “What about him?” she said pointing to Honok. He was still on the sofa where they had bound him. His hands and feet were still bound, although he was missing several fingers which Tom had thrown outside to the dead. His broken nose was crooked and he had a ball of wire wool stuffed in his mouth. He had watched everyone leave and was looking at Tom imploringly. “Should we take hi
m with us?”

  “Get everyone in the van. I’ll see to him. Be there in a minute.”

  Jessica left, leaving Tom alone with Honok. Tom sat down beside Honok and removed the gag.

  “What to do with you, Honok. That is a good question. What do you think I should do? What would you do if the table were turned? Would you let me go?”

  “I...I would kill you.” Honok looked a beaten man and for a moment Tom felt sorry for him.

  “I know you would. Now that we’re alone, tell me again what happened to Lenny?”

  “You know what happened. Lazarus killed him.”

  “And Sally and Keisha, Mac’s friends? What about them?”

  “I already told you. Look, I’m sorry, we had some fun with them and...it just happened you know. It just happened!”

  Tom moved closer to Honok. He was so close he could smell every stinking pore on Honok’s contemptuous, nauseating body.

  “Did you touch them, the girls? Did you touch Rosa?” said Tom quietly.

  “Come on, man, what do you expect? We hadn’t seen a woman in ages.”

  “Thanks,” said Tom getting up off the sofa and picking up a large metal spade. “I just needed reminding.”

  Honok’s mouth fell open and he began to bargain for his life. “No, please, I can help you, no, I...I…”

  Tom launched the spade at Honok and the sharp tip went straight through his skull. It embedded itself into Honok’s head and Tom had to tug on it to get it out. Half of Honok’s face fell asunder. As blood flowed from Honok’s decapitated skull, Tom lunged at him again and the spade took off the rest of Honok’s face. His dead body fell sideways onto the sofa and Tom threw the spade down.

  “Sorry, Honok, it just happened.” Tom spat on Honok’s defiled corpse and walked out of the room to join the others waiting outside, picking up a new, clean spade on the way.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  As the ambulance sped away from the garden centre, Tom had to tell Moira to slow down.

  “We want them to follow us, remember? At a safe distance, but make sure they do.” He flicked on the siren and next to him Caterina put her hands over her ears.

  Tom directed Moira out of Longrock, toward the Mount, continually checking the mirror to make sure the zombies were following. The mass of hundreds of dead bodies ran, jogged, walked, and slithered after them, drawn by the noise, the movement and the smell of living flesh. As they approached the slipway down to the beach, Moira slammed on the brakes.

  “What the hell is that?” she said pointing up into the sky.

  Tom recognised the two-headed dog he had seen yesterday. The yellow shirt was caught in one of its jaws and it was swooping down toward them, straight for the front windscreen. Tom wanted to laugh, it was such an absurd sight.

  “Shit,” said Tom. “Cat, move over, let me get to the window.”

  She let Tom clamber over her and he wound down the passenger window.

  “What the hell, Tom? Close that or you’ll get us all killed!” cried Caterina. “Moira, step on it!”

  Moira watched calmly as Tom pulled a pistol out and took aim. He fired at the advancing dog which was now about fifteen feet away. The bullet struck the dog, but it did not slow the creature down. The bullet passed through its bloated body, sending blood raining down on the ground and the ambulance. It flew on, seeing the three people in the vehicle. Its jaws dribbled as it sensed the juicy flesh it was about to eat. It was close enough now for Moira to see the whites of its eyes and its razor sharp teeth.

  “This country has gone to the dogs,” said Tom. He fired again and succeeded in hitting the dog in one of its heads, the bullet entering straight through one eye. The dog jerked to the right and missed the ambulance by inches, slamming into the tarmac beside him. Tom jumped out of the ambulance quickly before the dog could regain its senses. The dog was confused. One of its heads hung limply while the other snapped and tried to gather itself for attack. Tom fired twice more into the dog’s moving head, finally killing it. He jumped back in and Caterina recoiled from him. He was covered in gristle, tissue, and bits of brain from the dead dog. He had been standing no more than three feet away when he had killed it and hadn’t even realised it had sprayed him with bits of its own rotting flesh when he shot it.

  “Tom, what’s going on? I don’t understand. Flying dogs? Rats that can swim? What’s going on?”

  “Cat, it’s not safe anywhere. We can’t bottle ourselves up in a house or a shopping centre or anywhere anymore. This infection has spread to everything. Remember back in London, the rat that bit Freddy, that cat at the river? It’s getting worse. Eventually, something will get us. We can’t hide forever. We have to make that navy ship. You have to make it to that ship. If we don’t come back from The Mount, you need to get to Penzance, okay? Make Jimmy take you.” He handed Caterina the pistol and she took it with a quiet thanks, stuffing it under her jumper.

  Moira pulled the ambulance down onto the slip road and they headed down to the beach. She saw that Mac was right. The tide was out and the sand led all the way from the coast to the island. Looking at the Mount, she remembered where she had seen it before, some documentary on the History channel from years ago. A battle had been fought there years ago, one she struggled to remember now. All she could recall was the castle. It stood on the hilltop and she had to force herself to look away, at the road. She knew another battle was brewing, and she also knew this one was not going to be on any documentary programme. This was real.

  Moira felt uneasy. The Mount had an imposing presence and the closer she got the worse she felt. Oh to be curled up at home with a good book now.

  She pulled the ambulance up, turned the engine off, and jumped out. Tom flicked the irritating siren off and Caterina slid over as he jumped out too. Everyone was filing out the back and Tom told Jimmy to go sit up front with Caterina. He made it clear that if anyone else came back over the causeway he was to take Cat to Penzance.

  “You and Cat need to sit down low in there and keep quiet. The zombies will file right past you. Once they see us on the beach, they’ll follow us.”

  Jimmy went and sat behind the wheel of the ambulance next to Caterina. Christina followed him.

  “Take care, Cat, I’ll be back soon. Just watch your back okay?”

  “Will do, but don’t worry, Christina. I’m not going anywhere without you.”

  “You do what you have to do, Jimmy. Look after her,” said Christina. She hoped that Jimmy would be mature enough to handle the situation. She didn’t like the thought of leaving Caterina alone with him, but it was necessary. They were going to need all available hands getting the others back and Caterina couldn’t drive.

  Tom surveyed the interior of the ambulance. They had left the bags of provisions inside. They had no intention of staying on the Mount any longer than necessary and if the shit hit the fan at least, Caterina would have supplies to last her awhile.

  He closed the doors and took stock. He was carrying a revolver and Jessica had the other. They only had two guns between them now, so it was the best they could do. Now that Caterina had the pistol, he decided he would take the automatic and he handed the revolver to Heidi. He knew Harry had been carrying two as well, so unless Lazarus had a fully stocked armoury up there, they were on equal footing.

  Heidi tucked the gun in her pocket carefully and carried a large pair of loppers in her hands. She trudged after Tom and looked around at the group. Mac was carrying a sledgehammer and a mean look on his face. Christina had picked up a spade and had a large knife in her belt. Moira was wielding the long-handled shears and Jessica the bow-saw. All of them had pockets stuffed with small knives, pliers, cutters; anything that might come in useful. Heidi knew that she was going to have to stand up for herself, but was nervous all the same. She hadn’t actually ‘killed’ anyone yet. She had seen plenty of killing, and plenty of dead bodies over the last few weeks, and she hoped that when the time came, she would have the strength to do it.

 
; She wondered if her mother was safe and if she knew her father was dead. Heidi scurried up to walk beside Tom at the front of the pack as they walked across the sand. “You think we’ll be all right, Tom?”

  “Probably,” he said, clearing his throat. “Sorry I can’t be more positive than that, but we just have to wait and see. Look, at the base of the island there are some houses, just beyond the outer wall. We’re going to have to be real careful. The island must be clear of zombies, but Lord knows who else is hiding in there. When we get there, I want you to stick to Moira like glue. She can handle herself and you’re better off with her than being on your own.”

  “Why can’t I stick with you?” she asked.

  “I’ll move faster on my own. I need to find Harry and Rosa. I need to find everyone and get them out of there. I’ll be able to sneak around easier alone.”

  “Tom, there are more of them than us, what if you get cornered, what if you can’t fight past them all? What if..?”

  “Too late for ifs and buts,” said Tom. “Doesn’t matter if there are more of them, they’ll be spread out trying to defend this place. Lazarus will have them all over the place. In twos or threes, we can take them on. That’s why I want you with Moira. Go now, Heidi, please.”

  Tom looked at the Mount. They were going to have to navigate their way up the hill to the castle and Tom wasn’t sure if there would be an easy way up. They were on a well-worn path now over the beach. It had been put down for tourists years ago and the thin path was leading them directly to the base of the Mount. On either side of the path were rock pools covered in seaweed from the receding tide. The ocean smelt fresh and strong. They would be at the Mount in minutes and still Tom saw no sign of life. He looked back over his shoulder to the beach where they left the ambulance. It was still there and he could vaguely see two faces looking back at him through the windscreen. Coming down the slip road were the first of the zombies, the ones who still had most of their bodies intact and fully operating legs. Tom knew they would follow them across the beach. He had no intention of leaving Lazarus behind up there to build another army once this was done.