Undead Flesh

by Dennis McDonald

  “You want a pinch?” The bald one offered the Skoal can.

  “No, thank you. It’s bad for your teeth.”

  The youngest laughed—a girlish kind of squeal that put Jack’s nerves on edge. “You some kind of dentist?” he said.

  “As a matter of fact, I am.”

  “What’s your name?” the bald one said.

  “Jack Garrett.”

  “Well, Jack, I’m Brody Cordell, and these two are my brothers, Cody and Jody.”

  Jack fought the urge to chuckle. Brody, Cody, and Jody sounded like something out of a Disney movie. It might have been comical except for the fact that he was facing three armed men in the middle of a zombie-infested ghost town.

  “So what’s up?” Jack said.

  “Were you the one doing all the shooting earlier? It sounded like an army by all the gunfire.”

  “We had a nasty battle with a bunch of zombies,” Jack said. “Some damn fool told me this town was supposed to be abandoned.”

  “It’s the damn singing in that church,” Brody said. “It attracts them to the place like pigs to a trough. They’ve been swarming in here all day.” He nodded toward the RV while he pinched some Skoal and put it under his lip. “Nice Winnebago you got there.”

  “She’s old but still a sweet ride.”

  “Sounds like my last girlfriend,” Brody said with a laugh echoed by his brothers. “You could invite us in, Jack. That would be the neighborly thing to do. Like you said, it’s not safe out here. There are zombies wandering around everywhere. Why don’t we go inside the RV and have a talk? I got a nice big bottle of Johnnie Walker we can share.”

  “Sorry, but I don’t drink.” Not anymore.

  “Where you headed, Jack?” Cody, the middle brother, asked.

  “Watkins. We heard on the radio there was a National Guard rescue station for survivors there.”

  “Who’s we?” Cody said, taking the tobacco tin from his brother. “How many you got with you in the RV?”

  Jack hesitated. His gut told him not to reveal anything about his loved ones inside. Something bugged him about these three. He had heard the Cordell name before but couldn’t quite place it. He thought hard for a second, trying to recall the source. Then it came to him. Max had mentioned something about three brothers with that last name. These were the Cordell brothers who he’d said were involved in the drug trade. Jack realized now that it had been a mistake leaving the RV to talk to them.

  “There’s just me and a young man who helps drive now. We suffered a few causalities during the firefight in the trailer park.”

  “Where’s your family?”

  “I lost my family to the quake earlier today.”

  “That’s too bad,” Cody said and placed a pinch of Skoal under his lip. “It seems like everyone lost somebody today.”

  “True,” Jack said.

  “Sounds like you got room for three more aboard that big Winnebago,” Brody said and spit again. “We’re tired of driving around in this old truck. We can help you fight any zombies.”

  “No. I’m sorry, but we travel alone.”

  “My brother did ask nicely,” Jody, the youngest, said with a sharp edge to his voice. Jack noticed that the young man’s pupils were as wide as pencil erasers. The kid was definitely flying on something. Probably meth.

  “I declined nicely, too,” Jack said. “Listen, guys, I’m not trying to be rude. I just want to get to Watkins. You’re welcome to follow behind us.”

  “We’ve already been there,” Brody said. “Before the bridge got barricaded.”

  “Really? To Watkins?” Jack said. “How bad is it?”

  “It’s a fucking hellhole. I don’t know what kind of rescue station you’re going to find there. The town’s crawling with zombies. The National Guard is boarded up in the armory along with a bunch of townspeople. You know that the government doesn’t give those soldier boys ammo for their weapons? Just a bunch of blanks for training.”

  “No shit.” Jack nodded toward the weapon lying on the hood. “You guys have certainly got some firepower. Are those Army rifles?”

  “AR-15 semiautomatic rifles,” Brody answered. “We got these from the reverend’s stash.”

  “Are you talking about the church not far from here?” Jack said. “What kind of place is it?”

  Cody spit again and wiped his mouth. “Hell, that ain’t no Sunday-go-to-meeting church. Reverend Matthews is crazy and mean as the devil himself. He’s set up his own little country over there and he thinks he’s the dictator.”

  “Even got his own flag,” Jody said. “Thinks he’s some sort of new prophet. Apparently, he saw this apocalypse thing coming for months now. All the deacons of his church are armed with these rifles. They’re his private army.”

  “No shit,” Jack said.

  “No shit.” Brody showed a hard smile. “Why do you want to know?”

  “I have to get across the Salt Fork River bridge. The road leads right by the church.”

  “Well, there are about forty church members,” Brody said. “Right now they’re all singing hymns and praying for Jesus to return.”

  “We would take you over there, but we’re on the reverend’s shit list,” Cody said and turned to his older brother. “Should I tell him?”

  “Why not?” Brody said. “There are no cops or jails to worry about. We don’t have to hide anymore.”

  “You see, Jack, we had sort of a business agreement with the reverend,” Cody said. “He would cook the meth and we’d sell it. The bastard made pretty good money, too. Enough to finance buying all his weapons. Now he thinks he’s some sort of new messiah gathering his flock. Too good for our kind. He tried to have us killed, but we got away.”

  “That’s okay.” Brody showed a grim smile. “We cooked up a little surprise for the reverend, didn’t we, bros?”

  “Yeah,” Jody said with his insufferable giggle. “Paybacks. We’re going to shove it right up the ass of his little country.”

  “That’s for fucking sure,” Cody chimed in. “I can’t wait to see the prick’s face when he finds out what we got cooked up for him. You want to go see it? It’s sitting over there on the other side of those buildings ready to go.”

  Jack couldn’t fathom what insane plan these three were talking about and didn’t want to get involved. He decided it was time to make his exit. “No, I’ll pass on that. I’d better get back inside. Nice talking to you.”

  Jack started walking toward the RV.

  “Oh, Jack, there’s just one more thing,” Brody said.

  He turned. “Yeah?”

  Brody snatched up his AR-15 and opened fire. The sudden blaze of bullets ripped up the ground at Jack’s feet. Not certain if he’d been hit, he staggered back in shock. Before he could recover, Cody rushed forward and jammed the barrel of his rifle hard into his stomach. The blow doubled him over, and Jody planted a knee squarely on his jaw. Jack went sprawling on his back in the dirt.

  “How’s that for being neighborly, huh, Jack?” Brody said. “Grab him and drag his ass here.”

  Two sets of hands wrestled him to his feet. With the taste of blood burning in his mouth, Jack shook his head in an effort to clear his dazed senses. The two younger brothers bent his arms behind his back and dragged him to stand before Brody. In the moonlight, the man’s intense eyes held the promise of more violence.

  “I asked you nicely once.” Brody grabbed a handful of Jack’s hair. “I’m not asking again. We’re taking the RV, you got that, Jack?”

  “Fuck you,” he said, spraying blood from his lips.

  “Fuck me.” Brody spit more tobacco. “Is that really the answer you want to go with?”

  “I think he’s trying to be a hard-ass,” Jody said with a girlish chuckle.

  Brody leaned his face close to Jack’s. “You look like a family man, Jack. Fuck, I bet they’re waiting for you in the RV. Let me show you what kind of family man I am. Come over here.”

  He went to the back of t
he Dodge, where a tarp covered the truck bed. His brothers twisted Jack’s arms and forced him to follow. Brody whipped off the plastic tarp to reveal the corpses of a man and a woman and four children. All had been shot through the head.

  “Meet my family, Jack. There’s my whore of an ex-wife, Kathy, and her dickless new husband, Randy, and my four loving kids,” Brody said, pointing them out. “The sad thing is they weren’t zombies when I shot them. I just told them to close their eyes and—boom—it was over. Oh, they whined and begged me not to do it, but you know, Jack, this is no world for children. Wouldn’t you agree?” Brody leaned toward him and stared deep into his eyes. “It makes a lovely family picture, doesn’t it?”

  “You’re sick,” Jack spit.

  “You think I’m sick?” Brody laughed and threw the tarp back over the bodies. “Jack, I’m the sane one. My little brother Jody’s the sick one. In Watkins, we came across this hot stuck-up cheerleader named Becky. She begged and cried for us not to hurt her, too. After we all took turns getting some pussy, can you guess what my crazy-ass brother did?”

  “No clue.”

  “He bled her out and then fucked her again as a zombie. Of course, we had to hold her down to keep her from biting him. It was not easy, because we were laughing our asses off the whole time. The crazy dumb-ass did it, though.”

  “The bitch bit me, too,” Jody said. “But it was still a good fuck.”

  All three brothers laughed again.

  Brody’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me who’s sick now?”

  Jack spit more blood out of his mouth and tried desperately to come up with a plan. He couldn’t let these psychos near his family, but if he didn’t play along, they would just kill him and still have their way with Kate and the kids. He had to think of something else. Telia and his shotgun waited in the RV. Though he detested the idea of taking the Cordells back to the Winnebago, his only hope was to turn the tables on them and gain the upper hand once they were inside.

  “Okay,” Jack said. “You made your point. The RV’s yours.”

  “Smart man,” Brody said. “Let him go.”

  The brothers released their hold and Jack straightened up.

  “Promise me one thing first?” Jack said.

  “What’s that?”

  “Don’t harm my family.”

  “You’re not in a position to ask me to make promises.” Brody shoved him in the direction of the Winnebago. “Get moving.”

  They led him by gunpoint toward the RV. Jack prayed that Doug would leave and drive away, but the vehicle sat motionless with its interior lights on as if nothing were wrong. He couldn’t fathom why. After the gunshots, they knew they were in danger. Telia must have some sort of strategy for dealing with the psycho brothers, he told himself. He prayed it would work. Everything rested on her now.

  They reached the RV’s side door.

  “Tell the guy behind the wheel we’re coming inside.” Brody pushed the AR-15 barrel against his back. “No bullshit or we start shooting. You got it?”

  Jack nodded.

  “Good. Now do it.”

  “Doug,” Jack called out. “I got some guys with me. We’re coming in. They’re armed, so don’t try anything. All right?”

  “All right,” Doug answered from inside.

  Jack reached up and was surprised to find the side door unlocked. After he opened it, Brody shoved him hard from behind, causing him to fall to the floor. The three brothers stepped over him and pushed their way into the vehicle, waving their assault rifles at everyone inside. From his prone position, Jack spotted the pistol grip of the Mossberg five feet away on the floor in front of the passenger seat. He made a quick assessment of everybody’s location. Sitting on one couch were Kate, Kerri, and Brett, their eyes wide with fear. Doug remained motionless with his hands raised behind the steering wheel.

  One important person was missing.

  Telia.

  Jack gazed down the length of the RV and saw that the bedroom door was closed.

  “Holy shit! Will you look at this?” Jody said upon seeing Kate and the children huddled in fear on the couch. “If it isn’t the fucking Brady Bunch.”

  “Leave them alone,” Jack said.

  Brody kicked him hard in the ribs. “Shut up and enjoy the show, Daddy.”

  Holding his ribs, Jack scooted closer to the Mossberg. The Cordell brothers hadn’t spotted it. Their attention was centered on his family.

  “Just look at all the sweet ass we got here,” Jody said with his idiot giggle. “No wonder you didn’t want us onboard, Jack. You were trying to keep this all to yourself.” He touched Kerri’s chin. “What’s your name, pretty baby?”

  “Fuck you,” Kerri said.

  Kate shoved his hand away. “Don’t touch my daughter.”

  “Okay, hot Mama,” Jody said. “I prefer older women anyway. You can certainly take her place.”

  “I’d rather die first.”

  Jody grabbed Kate by the hair and yanked her head back. “Being dead won’t stop me,” he said inches from her face. “We can still get it on afterwards. Would you like that? Right here in front of your kids.”

  “Leave my mother alone!” Brett cried out.

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t do young boys.” Jody giggled and jerked a thumb toward his brother. “Cody, on the other hand—”

  Cody shoved his younger brother. “Quit bullshitting and check out that back bedroom.”

  “Okay, okay, just having a little fun.”

  Jack had inched his hand closer to the shotgun. Three feet to go. He glanced up at Doug, who understood he was trying to reach the gun. Jack gestured for him to create a diversion. He nodded and stood up.

  “I know you guys,” Doug said.

  Brody swung the AR-15 around. “What was that, punk?”

  “I’ve heard of you guys before. You’re the Cordell brothers.”

  Jack inched his hand closer to the Mossberg. The tips of his fingers touched the pistol grip. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his heart hammered against his sore ribs. The moment he grabbed the shotgun, it would be all or nothing. Either he or the brothers would be dead in the next few seconds.

  “How do you know us?”

  “You had a run-in with my grandfather, Max Saunders?” Doug said.

  “You’re Max’s grandson?”

  “I am.”

  “Did you hear that, Bro?” Cody said to his older brother. “This punk is Max Saunders’ grandson.”

  Brody turned his intense stare on Doug. “So where’s the old bastard? I got a score to settle. I spent six months in County because of him.”

  “You’re too late. The zombies got him back at the trailer park.”

  “That’s too bad. I wanted to kill the old bastard myself.” Brody studied Doug’s face. “What’s with that ring in your lip? Are you some kind of fag, boy?”

  “No,” Doug said. “I’m not gay.”

  Cody chuckled. “The reverend’s going to love you. His church shoots fags, did you know that? They hate them more then they hate zombies.”

  “I told you I’m not gay!” Doug said louder.

  “Yeah, well, that lip ring makes you look queer as hell,” Brody said. “Let’s see if we can change that.”

  He suddenly grabbed the piercing and ripped it out of Doug’s lip, leaving a gaping hole in its place. Cody burst into laughter at the sight, and Jody stopped just short of the bedroom door to join in with his girlish squeal.

  “There, you look like a man now.” Brody dropped the lip ring onto the floor.

  “Fucktard,” Doug spit back.

  “What did you say to me?” Brody brought up the AR-15.

  Jack took a deep breath. It was now or never. He grabbed the shotgun and was about to pull the trigger when the bedroom door slammed aside. Wielding both pistols like a gunslinger from the Old West, Telia appeared in the doorway. She lunged forward, yanked Jody to her, and jammed the barrel of one of her Glocks against his temple.

  “Drop your we
apons, assholes!” she shouted at the other two brothers. “Do it! Now!”

  Jack shoved the barrel of the Mossberg hard into Brody’s lower back.

  “You heard the lady,” he said. “Drop it.”

  Cody was caught in the middle between his brothers, and before he could react, Kate lashed out with a well-placed punch to his groin. The AR-15 slipped from his hands and he crumpled to his knees, holding his bruised testicles.

  “I’m not going to ask again.” Telia said above Cody’s groans of pain. “Drop your weapon or your ass-wipe brother gets a bullet through his head.”

  “Bro!” Jody cried out with tears running down his face. “Please don’t let this bitch shoot me!”

  Brody hesitated.

  Jack pushed the barrel harder against his spine. “I’d do as she says. She’s just crazy enough to do it, and I’ll blow a hole through your guts if you don’t.”

  “Fuck!” Brody lowered the AR-15 to the floor.

  “Get the gun,” Jack called out to Doug.

  Doug grabbed the assault rifle and punched Brody as hard as he could in the mouth.

  “How does that feel, you dickhead?” he said.

  Brody spit out a broken front teeth but remained silent. Jack pushed him against the wall while Telia forced Jody to kneel on the floor next to his groaning brother. She holstered her Glocks and picked up the other AR-15 rifle.

  “What are we going to do with them?” she said.

  “Shoot them like the sick animals they are,” Jack said and turned to Kate. “You need to take the kids and go into the bedroom.”

  She hustled Kerri and Brett off the couch and into the bedroom, and Jack swung open the side door and motioned with his shotgun.

  “Outside, you sick bastard,” he said to Brody. “You’re going to get what you gave your children.”

  “You won’t kill a person in cold blood.”

  “Tell it to the young mother I shot this morning.” He shoved Brody toward the door.

  “Hold it, Mr. G.” Doug grabbed Jack’s shoulder. “More zombies showed up.”

  Eerie moans rose in the darkness beyond the RV. Jack glanced in the direction of the sound. A mob of the walking dead staggered down the road between the Cordells’ pickup and the Winnebago. They were the same ragged type they had encountered in the trailer park, and he guessed there had to be a couple of dozen or more heading their direction. He turned back to Brody.