by Ian Woodhead
She cared more about what her online friends thought about her than what her own family did, loved shopping, and going all gooey eyed over this month’s hot boy band. Like I said, a typical fangirl.
Danielle's story and how she reacted when she found out exactly what her little brother had become could wait for a little longer, as right now I sensed that my alone time with Adrian's corpse was about to come to an end. I sensed three men outside the room, currently rushing up the stairs.
The bite from that rotting dead fuck not only altered my body, my mind changed as well. As I previously demonstrated with dead Ade over there, I now have the ability to ‘read' a person's thoughts.
Do I sense scepticism? Sure I do. I mean, it’s all just load of cobbled together bullshit, a bunch of fairy tales designed to scare kids. Yeah, well, sorry to be the bearer of shitty news, but it’s all true. Are you ready for the kicker?
The millions of dead things have this ability too. Oh, don’t start panicking just yet. They can only share with each other.
Look, don't think I've completely lost it here, it's not like they these dead things have cosy mental chats over brains and coffee, discussing the best places to catch a running snack.
They operate more like a very simple hive mind, connecting with each other, the group becoming greater than the sum of its parts. The shambling dead only exist to consume human flesh, and in the past two decades they've done exactly that, and to great effect. Before the Great Rising, it's estimated that there were over six billion humans living on this planet. I bet that there's less than a few million left now. They're becoming an endangered species.
Most of the shambling dead have collected into vast hordes numbering millions, each one migrating from one area to the next, and like locusts, these hordes eat anybody stupid enough to get in their way.
Looking back, I should have taken that into consideration when I first heard about this place. It shouldn't even exist. The humans quickly realised that having a nomadic existence was the only way to stay alive in this foul world. But, I digress.
As I said, like the dead things, I too can pluck out strong thoughts from human minds, only right now, thanks to whatever this dirty bitch ate, this ability wasn't working too well. I did pick out that all three were armed, so I guess that these guys weren't Jehovah's Witnesses, wanting to talk to me about Jesus. The guns they carried kinda put paid to that notion.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I did feel rather concerned over this dramatic turn of events. The odds didn't faze me; even the guns didn't make me reconsider. Believe me, I've taken on far greater odds. What did concern me was the simple fact that I'd just eaten a Hunter's equivalent of a dodgy curry, meaning that I was on the crappy side of delicate, and I really couldn't do with the hassle.
Those men were now right outside the door. From what I could make out, their bovine thoughts were full to the brim of just one subject. I frowned, sitting up as one of them tapped on the door.
I caught just enough imagery from the three of them to understand the purpose of their visit. I looked down at the man’s messed up body and shook my head in annoyance. “You dirty little shithead,” I murmured. This could get very awkward. It now appeared that this cockless vermin had found another avenue to subsidise his vile existence. “So, you’re a pimp. Oh fuck, this could only happen to me.” I slowly got to my feet, purposely ignoring the set tap on the door, and walked over to the other door in this room.
God, what an amateur. I hadn’t even checked this room. Oh, I knew that this joker had no pals hiding under any beds, but I should have at least had a bit of a nosy before pulling off his cock.
“Oh, just terrific.” I pushed open the door, gazing at the single bed and the filthy sheets. It wasn’t exactly a pleasure palace, but its intent was obvious.
In my eagerness to pump him for my required information, I hadn't anticipated that life around us would carry on. Then again, I also hadn't anticipated that Adrian's flesh would almost kill me. I wiped the back of my hand over my lips, seeing spots of blood mixed with my saliva. It reminded me yet again that I still wasn't right. Not that I needed any more sodding reminder, the fact that I still felt like shit and my mental processes weren't working as they should told me that.
I listened to that sex-starved dork tap on the door again, this time accompanied with a vocal enquiry. Some important fact was missing from this whole situation, something that my damaged brain hadn't picked up.
My eyes craved the for their skin covers. And the rest of my tired and aching body so wanted to crawl into a nice warm bed. My wishes would have to wait though, as my three guests weren't in any mood to leave me alone. The taps had bypassed the knocking phase and jumped straight to banging. The old wood already showed signs of splintering. Those men would be through that door in moments if I didn't act right now.
"Go away!" I yelled, in my best angry but surprised voice. "I haven't finished with her yet." I considered adding in a high pitched groan of pleasure, just for added effect. I backed out, though. There was no need to go over the top; I only needed them to bugger off so I could get back to the crucial task of getting my body back in form before continuing my search for Danielle.
Their incessant banging didn't stop; I guess that these guys really were eager to get their rocks off. I cursed my inability to only pull out glimpses from their thoughts. It put me at a severe disadvantage.
I brought my fingers up to my face and wiggled them, trying to count how many humans these supple digits had extinguished. "It's a lot." I had to concede that, right now, I couldn't remember. Instead, I decided to start my count from today.
"That's a little easier," I murmured, getting to my feet. "That number is one, soon to be four.” Strange how all those nagging aches just faded into the background as my urges woke up. This body was no fool. As soon as my intentions were revealed, it flooded my system with a huge cocktail of chemicals.
The doorframe cracked and splintered. I moved to the far wall, a metre from the open window, knowing that immediate focus points for them would be Adrian, followed by the window. They were human, therefore completely predictable. As I slowed down my heart while resting the back of my head against the cracked plaster, I smiled as the first figure burst through the door.
His mouth formed an ‘O' when he saw what I'd done to Adrian. His horror wouldn't slow shock him for too long, though; I guess he'd seen far worse injuries. By the looks of his clothing, this guy had most likely caused plenty as well.
The newcomer's black uniform hung from his thin frame. The butcher and chef in me had already mentally jointed this living skeleton. A disappointing find, not that I would be able to eat him, this guy would no doubt be tainted, just like the man with no penis. I put away my thoughts of food and got ready to jump. I just needed the others in here before jumping on them. I was in no condition to start chasing any of them down an unfamiliar street.
I saw two more shadows and paused, something here felt so wrong. Now that the wood was no longer between me and them, I now sensed exactly what had been missing from my early probing. These guys were part of this town's squad of enforcers. They weren't here for sex—at least that hadn't been their primary goal. These fuckers were after me.
His two colleagues strolled through the opening, both giving Adrian a cursory glance before they found my figure. I froze solid, experiencing something that I hadn't felt for years. The two men grinned, showing me their large teeth. I saw no fear in their eyes. Then again, why would they fear me?
I blinked, gaping at two of my fellow kind, a pair of hunters, their thickly muscled bodies straining to burst from their black uniforms. Drool and blood dripped from the sides of their mouths. They both licked their lips and moved further into the room, unable to take their eyes off me, each one running their gaze up and down my body, admiring me like a starving man admiring a thick steak. Their crimson thoughts threatened to drown me in visions of my own demise. I tried to see through the blood, swimming through the muc
k, desperately looking for some common ground. These creatures were of my species; this was the first of my kind that I'd seen for almost ten years. I couldn't fight them, I just couldn't. It would be like wanting to kill myself.
The hunters both stopped at the same time, turning their heads, as if waiting for some unspoken gesture from the little man still on the floor next to Adrian.
It shocked me to find that the human was their commanding officer. How could that be? Hunters were slave to no human. I growled low in my throat, feeling my hard nails push through my palms. It disgusted me to see them flinching as the human barked out instructions, and ordering them to calm the fuck down.
Does that sound like insanity to you? Sure it does. I mean, it's obvious that these guys only have one thing on their minds, they intended to eat me. From what I'd found out to my own distress, the local dishes were bad news, meaning that these hunters probably hadn't had fresh meat for a long time. We can survive on the food human's eat, but it doesn't mean we enjoy it. So why am I defending them? Considering they really did see me as the largest steak they'd ever see.
If the humans were endangered, then we would be classed as almost extinct. I've been a hunter for twenty years, and never once met a female of our kind. Just allow that snippet of information take root before judging my actions. You see, if there are two hunters in this room, how many more could be hiding in this anomaly?
Still, knowing that I wasn't about to end up as food gave me some appeasement, although after what I'd done to Adrian, I doubted that any of them were about to escort me out of town with a going away present of cake and beer. "Be careful what you do next," I warned. "Your hunters might be able to subdue me, but rest assured, human, you won't see it."
My speech wasn't meant to be amusing; nevertheless, all three of them began to chuckle. It was at this juncture when I realised they had raised their weapons. I tensed. The human was convinced that their weapons would drop me. I couldn't care less about that overconfident little shithead. What concerned me was that the hunters shared his conviction. We're not immune to bullets, but thanks to our unique metabolism, it would take more than three light weapons to put us down.
They took aim, still grinning. I did the only course left to me. This town had already thrown up one shock, and that had almost killed me. I was in no mood to discover what other nasty surprises were in store for me. I stepped to the left and threw my body out of the window.
As I fell, I saw three enraged faces getting smaller. The ground rushed up to greet me, its violent embrace, smashing the bones in my left leg. I shook off the pain and limped towards a small brick built hut, seeing another face watching me from behind a window. For the first time, I sensed a comradeship, and whoever it was, they wanted nothing more than for me to escape the clutches of those enforcers.
The door opened and an old man ushered me inside the brick building. It took me a moment to realise that this human knew exactly what I was and yet showed no fear of my presence. He, like Adrian, was protected against consumption, but he'd be no match for me if I suddenly decided to kill him, just out of spite.
The old man directed me to a homebuilt wooden bench draped in thick cushions.
"Sit here, rest and heal, hunter." He turned his head and nodded. "Come on out, you know what we have to do."
I sensed movement behind me and tensed.
"Calm and still your turbulent thoughts, hunter. Direct your energy inwards. We're here to help."
Three more humans emerged from a room behind the bench. An older female aged around forty tentatively passed me, her eyes never leaving my form. Behind her, following like ducklings, I watched two teenaged boys, each one carrying a cricket bat, give me a shared curious stare before taking up position at each side of the door.
"Just what the hell is going on here?" My mind swirled in total confusion at how quickly events had changed. I hated not being in control, and this situation was about as far as out of control as I could get. My blood rose, and finding the old man's hand on my arm only exacerbated my stress levels. This food animal had the audacity to tell me to calm down.
"Please, hunter," said the old man, whipping back his hand. "I mean no disrespect, forgive me."
I forced stale, candle tainted air into my lungs and took his advice to direct my energy towards healing my injuries. It took effort though. Seriously, to tune out those four strong hearts beating all that sweet life fluid through their juicy bodies had to be one of the hardest things I'd ever done. Imagine being a little kid, alone in a sweet shop, surrounded by so much sugary goodness. Would you be able to resist? The knowledge that every one of those sweet tasting goodies contained enough poison to put me in the ground did help, but not much.
The two boys and the woman had now shut their eyes, each one as still as statues. It troubled me that I couldn't read any of them. I'd never felt so cut off before. Was this stuff still affecting my mind? I started to panic. Being able to sense my prey was now part of who I was. Without it, I'd be blind and deaf.
"You haven't lost your ability," said the man, his voice barely audible above the rising sounds coming from outside the hut. "My wife, Linda, and our children are natural blockers. They're creating mental white noise to stop the enforcers from locating you."
I turned sharply. "Did you just read my fucking thoughts?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, it was just so strong." He slowly nodded. "Yes, I can pick out the stray mind song.” He nodded over to his family. "Why does it surprise you to find that the base species has inherited these gifts? Cross transference is inevitable when two species live in such close proximity." The old man abruptly shut his mouth and jumped up. His face drained of blood. "Oh Sun and Moon!" He swivelled. "Quickly, you need to hide, hunter. It hasn't worked. One of them is still heading this way!"
The bones in my leg had fused already. The muscles would be sore, but it wouldn’t slow me down, that’s all that mattered. My senses were now almost back up to full capacity. To top it off, I think my temper was about to fucking detonate.
I pushed the human out of my way and marched across the room, noting with satisfaction as the other humans jumped back as I grabbed that door handle. The enforcer’s thoughts grew darker; had he sensed me? Probably, I didn't really care anymore; this out of control feeling had eclipsed all other concerns about preserving our species. Right now, I only wanted to rip this bastard apart.
I opened the door and smiled at the little human running towards me. "Oh, what a delight," I growled, then lunged forward and grabbed the human's collar. "Questions need answers." I pulled him into the room and threw the enforcer against the wall. It irritated me to see the four other humans cringe, and it took me a moment to realise that every one of them was absolutely terrified of this revolting bag of stinking bones. I didn't know whether to laugh out loud or take it as the worst insult I've ever had. This sure was one fucked up little town.
The old man was the first one to regain a smidgen of dignity. He approached the enforcer and stopped a couple of feet from the man. "You should have stayed away, Mortimer. I'm sorry. I really am. This time, there is no way out."
The enforcer sneered. "Sorry, what the fuck are you to be sorry about?"
He looked me up and down. His mind was wide open to me, and I felt nothing in that twisted little brain that suggested he was the least bit frightened of me. What the hell was going on here? Seriously, he really did think that the stuff flowing through his veins was like a suit of armour.
"I'm going to tell you nothing, you sub-human freak."
"Fine by me," I said, closing the gap between us. My clawed fingers were denied of their prize when the old man ducked and pushed the enforcer onto the floor.
"Linda, don't stare, you know what I want!"
The woman rushed past me and pushed something into the old man's fingers. I felt that out of control feeling getting stronger, knowing that in the next few seconds no fucker but me in here will be breathing. The old man ignored the enforcer’s cr
ies and pinned down his arms, pushing a needle into the side of his neck. He rolled away, gathered up his family, and ran over to the far side of the room, shutting the outer door as they passed.
"Hunter, whatever you need to know, we can supply."
The enforcer lay where he fell; his heart beating like a rabbit; for the first time since we met, this thin man felt fear. I took my eyes off of his shivering form and found the old man smiling at me. "What did you just do?"
He ushered his family into the other room. "I took away his bite, hunter. His flesh won’t poison you now." The old man followed the others, leaving me alone with the shaking human. I dropped down and straddled the enforcer. The man's gibbering thoughts filled in some of my gaps. I saw this little man leading several chained humans over to a large pit. A crowd had gathered. I goggled; there must have been hundreds of humans all surrounding this pit. I wish I could have been there, if only to drink in their thoughts; instead I was inside this slime ball’s head, filled with delusions of grandeur. He saw himself as a modern day Roman emperor, just a couple of steps away from being a God. I saw why. Flanking this crowd of ragged humans were well over a dozen huge figures, each one dressed like him. It defied belief, but they were all like me, every one of them was hunters.
This slime ball nodded, and two hunters took the lead human, lifted him, and threw the man into the pit. The chained line all tried to escape their fate, but the hunters were there to ensure they all followed the next person. This slime ball took a tentative step towards the edge, and I saw the reason for the terror. It appeared that this town wasn't completely free of the zombie plague.