by Leela Ash
Cass looked at Jack and shook her head. She wasn’t even going to get into it. After his double rescue of her, all she could say was, “Travel writer my ass." She then took a moment to recover both her wits, as well as her breath, before yelling to the crowd, "Somebody needs to run up the trail and get the old bus. Drive it down here." The survivors stared at her in stunned silence. "Now damn it!" She snapped. That got them moving.
Fawn raced to the pool's edge, "Oh god you're so brave, you saved us all!" She yelled, choking back tears.
Cass felt flattered, "It was no big deal, I just…"
But Fawn threw her arms around Jack, "You're the bravest man in the world."
Cass laughed, "Did I miss something?"
The following few minutes seemed like hours, but the bus finally arrived in the compound. Cass guided it to the edge of the pool.
"Do you want me to load everyone up," Jack asked.
"No, these roads are too dangerous at night, especially with all the rain we’ve had. We can’t afford to get stuck or stranded. For now I think it’s best to stay here. "
"You think we'll be safe?"
"Hell no, there's another swarm of zombies on their way here. And these ones are gonna be extra rotten and nasty, believe me. Now listen, here’s what we are gonna do.” She pointed to the bus, "The resort's water softening system uses salt. I threw twenty huge bags of it in the bus. We need to make a circle around the dining hall building. I’ll explain later. We should then have enough food and water inside to figure something out…or maybe just ride it out. Maybe they will get tired and decide it’s easier just being dead."
"What? What's going to stop the zombies… high sodium?"
"Trust me. Just get a circle made fast."
Cass sat down next to Talin's basket while Jack organized a work party. She popped open the basket and picked up Talin's head. "I hope you can make a bigger circle work the same way you did before, ‘cause I’m kind of banking on it."
"Such a clever girl," He said with a smile, "But remember, I need everyone inside the circle before I can start the incantation.
Cass lifted up Talin's head and pressed her lips to his, "I love you Talin," She whispered. “And don’t you worry, as soon as we get organized we’ll find a way to get you your body back.”
Fawn was handing out bottled water to the workers. She stopped, watching Cass, with a combination of shock, awe and revulsion on her face.
Cass turned to her, "What, you've never seen two people kissing before?"
The exhausted survivors hustled, encircling themselves with the rocky industrial salt as fast as they could. Jack gathered all the weapons and ammo he could find. He handed Cass a rifle and distributed three more among the most able bodied of the tourists. Other survivors were stacking furniture and broken rubble as a rough barrier. Fawn was busy handing out water, pausing intermittently to admire her new hero, and lover, Jack.
Cass picked up Talin's head and handed it to Fawn. "Take him inside and give him a hand if he needs it… Sorry Talin, no pun intended. Do whatever he says…he’s gonna save us." Fawn just stared at the severed head for a moment.
"Hello, my name is Talin." He said, with his most charming smile, "What's yours?"
The smile calmed her down, "umm…hi, I'm Fawn," She held up a water bottle, "Are you thirsty?"
Chapter 17
The magic circle was only two thirds done… but the next wave of extra-dead zombies had arrived. Cass appeared calm, but she was just too numb to register any more shock.
Cass watched the creatures shuffling across the lawn towards the compound. Some of them were surprising agile and quick. "Those are the cemetery zombies! Hurry up people!" She looked down at Talin, "We're lucky it took them so long to get here."
"Maybe they stopped for lunch."
The wave of zombies began to pick up speed, in response to the shouting and barked commands. They began to build a momentum like an oncoming stampede.
"Christ, they're running." Cass said nervously.
"Okay," Jack said to his shooters, "All you can do is slow them down, so aim for their legs. Use short bursts and hit the kneecaps if you can. But don't waste any ammo." The horde came within range, "Fire!"
The first shots were effective. Cass shot the legs out from under at least two while Jack hit three. The other shooters missed but kept firing. The barriers of furniture and rubble slowed the zombies down … but only for a few moments.
"We finished the circle!" Shouted a middle aged balding guy. He looked like he was having the worst mid-life crisis on record.
Cass, Jack and the shooters quickly fell back into the dining hall, barricading the door behind them. Talin began the incantation as the zombies bashed at the doors and windows.
Cass had a horrifying thought, "What if they're inside the circle when the spell is completed?"
Talin just continued muttering the spell, louder with each passing sentence.
A zombie ran headlong into a floor length window shattering the glass. Jack opened fire, shooting its legs out from under it. Another raced in behind it and pounced on Cass. They fell to the ground in a tangle of tanned and decaying flesh as they wrestled furiously. Its hands clasped around her windpipe. Cass felt herself becoming weaker, losing the battle as she did her best to keep it’s gnashing teeth away from her.
Talin's voice reached a crescendo and stopped, "It is complete." He said.
Cass was barely conscious when the zombie suddenly relaxed its grip. It stared at her for a moment…or would have if it still had eyes, until, in a rasping croak it said, "ahh…thank you," as if in relief. Then it went limp.
The other zombies that had entered the circle weaved unsteadily and then collapsed as well.
Cass examined her opponent's body, "It’s dead… again. I mean really dead…like supposed to be dead…oh you know what I mean."
Jack looked out the window, watching in relief as the zombies outside the circle began to wander off into the jungle, "They're leaving," He shouted to the heaven’s as well as to the assembled crowd.
There was tremendous excitement until Talin chimed in.
"The circle makes us more or less invisible to them…but there is no need to tempt fate… So please keep it down!"
The survivors complied.
Fawn raced over to Jack, throwing herself around him with all her might. “Oh Jack, we made it!”
Jack was surprised, as he actually felt his heart skip a few beats with her embrace. She was a cute kid, and truth be told he realized he had actually developed something of a bond with her. Maybe it was just the whole zombie thing that had kind of thrown them together, or maybe there really was something there…
He hugged her back , kissing the top of her head, “Yeah, looks like we are going to be alright after all.” Maybe more than alright, he thought as he held her tight, caressing her back and nuzzling her to him.
Cass picked up Talin's head and cradled it in her lap.
She looked at him and smiled, "How long does the spell last?"
"As long as the circle remains intact we are safe." Talin replied.
Cass was beyond exhausted. It had been a hellish night, but they were finally safe, thanks to a circle of salt. She looked outside and did her best to smile. Surveying the carnage she knew they had paid a heavy price. It had been an insane night. Scores of tourists and soldiers had died, and then come back. Some of those were just so much hamburger, while many were even now wandering the surrounding jungles in search of human flesh. She had not had time to even think about the safety of the other villages on the island. They would be at the mercy of the horde. And then there was the whole m
y-boyfriend-is-just-a-severed-head thing to contend with. But she was confident that with his magic they could remedy that as well. They just had to bunk down for the night. With the new day they would figure out their next move. At least for now they were safe.
Then the first drops of rain began to fall… thin rivulets of water were already coursing across the earth as it quickly turned into a downpour.
THE END
Love and Survival in the Time After
Leela Ash
Copyright ©2016 by Leela Ash. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Chapter 1
Layne's heart was in her throat as the footsteps behind her receded. It had been a long time since she'd had a confrontation with one of the tribes. This time she'd gone to the wrong watering source. She thought that the public pool would be safe, for some reason. Although most of them were dried up, you could usually find at least a supply of sunscreen to protect you from the harsh sunlight, or if you were really lucky, there would be enough clean water left to quench your thirst and fill your bottle.
She'd been due for a refill for a while now and although it was reckless, she had been desperate enough to get herself into danger. She had a bottle of beer left from the last batch she'd brewed, but that was strong enough to dull her senses and get her into trouble. Besides, it would just dehydrate her more. She would have to remember that this area was ruled by the Jackals – the name for the small gang of people who had claimed this turf. After the virus hit and wiped out most of the population, leaving only a few lucky survivors in every city, the tribes had been a way to find peace and security amongst other people who were dealing with the same crisis. There had been safety in numbers, or so they told themselves. While many had been afraid to wander the deserted world alone, moving forward with others didn't seem that bad.
She herself had been part of a group in those first few chaotic years. Being a talented chemist, she'd aligned herself with a team of doctors claiming to seek a cure to the problem, but as it turned out most of them were frauds and civilians, delusional with a self-important mission they weren't educated enough to accomplish. Everybody was hoping for a miracle and she'd been lured in by their pretense. Ultimately, the group split due to bruising of egos and no real direction and she'd been on her own ever since then, trying to make sense of how things had gotten so far out of hand.
As a scientist, she had to trace the line of cause and effect. A pharmaceutical company had ordered vaccinations against what they claimed was an alien virus from space – which was absurd, but everybody was so desperate for answers that they accepted the explanation. Now everybody knew that the first guess had been way off, but back then that was the government's grounds for getting as many people as possible under the needle for a miraculous vaccine that they had commissioned the company, Grow Inc, to develop. In a sad, ironic twist of fate, the virus they thought came from a meteorite that had landed in St. Petersburg, had actually been the result of lax safety precautions, as a team of scientists experimented with a cure for the common cold. They'd flown the team to Russia to try and evade SFT (Safety in Future Technology) safety standards, and the end result had been disastrous.
The antivirus had been promising, and they had been convinced that by pushing the envelope, it would be successful. In initial experiments it had a 100% success ratio, though it hadn't been tested over the long term. After the meteorite crashed into the yard outside the Russian facility where the American scientists had been mentoring a group of people who were working together to rid the world of disease, that was when the results of the virus began to be seen, and how the SFT had gotten involved, claiming that the virus, because it was so difficult to contain and treat, had extraterrestrial origins.
If they had checked more closely, they would have seen that the people that they had injected with the initial strain of vaccination had become carriers of the malicious virus, infecting everybody they came into contact with without even knowing it. A few cases had been reported in America shortly after the scientists returned, and before long half of St. Petersburg was in chaos. People were coughing up blood and begging for release from a pain that nobody could pinpoint, but everybody could agree was the worst they had ever felt. It seemed to move throughout the body, inflaming certain parts for a small amount of time before retreating and coming back with double the force.
Because of the rapid spread in St. Petersburg, everybody assumed that was the origin of the virus, and the city was put under strict quarantine. Unfortunately, it was no use. It spread all over the world with startling speed. Nobody thought that the virus might be in the vaccination. Ironically, the claim was that because the first vaccination had been successful enough during the preliminary trials, it should be utilized now, in this time of crisis. The SFT felt they had no choice and allowed the vaccinations to reach the mainstream market. Every day, for weeks, hundreds of people lined up to receive their vaccine, thinking it would be the only thing that might save them.
Carriers were being created left and right, but those whose immune systems weren't as strong, or whose bodies didn't contain an immunity in their genes, were left defenseless against it. Days after the vaccination, the coughing would begin, until finally people began to catch on that it wasn't an alien virus that was killing people – it was one being spread by the vaccine.
But it was too late. Within a few years, almost everybody was gone. With the exception of a few green-tinged carriers who had made it through, a few genetically privileged people, and some who had managed to escape both the carriers and the vaccinations until the virus finally became dormant. Life as they knew it had crumbled. Layne had no family or friends left, and she had felt so lost and alone, crying on her doorstep when the small group of “scientific” people had wandered past. They saw that she lacked the green-tinge of the carriers and the paleness of the infected, and welcomed her into their group saying they were heading somewhere safe, somewhere far away from there, and they were going to find the cure. Would she help?
She didn't want to leave, but she also knew that she couldn't stay. From that point forward, her survival would depend upon her ability to move on, and that's all she needed to know.
Chapter 2
Jax scooped a handful of water from the stream he was kneeling at, examining it closely. It was clean, he determined, and he drank deeply, wiping his mouth, allowing a few stray drops of water to drip off his chin. His dark, alert eyes scanned the trees. The wind moved boughs peacefully, but he wouldn't be fooled by the serenity. He thought he had heard a sound.
He grabbed his backpack – the holder of all his worldly possessions and a single reminder of home, where he came from, and slung it over his shoulder. He had found it heavy at first, but now he'd become accustomed to its weight, feeling nearly naked without it resting warmly on his shoulder. It reminded him of a pet he once had, a lizard he had named Jenko. Jenko sat on him like his bag did, his body temperature cool until Jax's body heat warmed it up. It was nice to pretend that he wasn't alone.
Alone was safer though, and the sound of others had brought his pulse to racing. He moved nimbly through the trees toward the sound, gripping a piece of glass tightly. He had been using it for a weapon for a few months, and had duct taped the edge so he could grip it firmly as he swiped it at whatever threat was looming. There were more wild dogs than ever now. After the humans had begun to die out, their pets grew feral and ran rampant around the cities and towns, meeting and breeding, populating the emptiness with their own pups. The same was true of cats, though their feral nature was already commonplace where he came from. Cats and their kittens roamed the streets without fear. He'd enjoyed it at first, feeling that finally it was time for man's supposed best friend to take his rightful place on the food chain. It seem
ed like poetic justice in a way.
Now though, the savage creatures would show no mercy. They vaguely remembered humans, and didn't think very fondly of them on the whole. The result was that he now had to fear both man and beast. At night, he had to keep watch for the glowing eyes of feral cats who wouldn't hesitate to jump out of the foliage and grip whatever was moving with fierce claws and teeth. He missed the way things used to be, when they were simple and safe. He had been younger then, and the few people who survived had created a new, hellish world all their own – one he wanted no part of.
The sound of heavy footfalls – a twig snapping loudly – brought him to attention. Somebody was running, heading toward the stream where he was standing dumbly, staring off into the distance. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the sound. Somebody was probably being chased. Sure enough, a stampede of feet followed closely after the first person he had heard. The Jackals were apparently after new prey. He shifted, selfishly irritated that the person they were chasing might lead them to him. He had been so peaceful there, but now he would have to hide.
He leapt up into a nearby tree, watching the action unfold. He wouldn't get involved; he would just stay out of sight long enough for the danger to pass and then go about his business. A woman burst through the bushes, her long, light brown hair framing her face. She gazed longingly at the water – he felt a pang of pity, as it was a look he knew well – but she was trapped and couldn't drink. She looked around helplessly, her beautiful oval face contorted in panic and fear. He groaned to himself and lowered himself to the ground, motioning her over to him. She didn't seem to be wearing any of the signature clothing styles of the tribes he was familiar with, and he had a fleeting, hopeful thought that maybe she was like him and didn't belong to any of them.
That was unlikely though – the safety and food security in a gang was tempting to most people after the virus had hit, and he was sure that most others would have to be crazy to try to make it on their own.