Dead Hunger_The Cleansing

by Eric A. Shelman

  “Just a little bit?” said Max, blocking the entrance to the corridor.

  Isis leaned forward and kissed Max on the mouth. He put his hand quickly behind her head and turned the intended peck into a longer kiss.

  Isis felt her body relax against her will. Not all of her body. Parts of her tensed and tingled. She immediately felt embarrassed and pushed away, but her action lacked conviction, even to her. “That’s quite enough, Romeo,” she said, feeling flushed.

  “You should really consider being my Juliet,” he said. “But without all the tragedy.”

  “That’s exactly why we’re down here,” she said. “Tragedy. We should both try to remember that. Max Chatsworth, you first.”

  “Of course, Isis Chatsworth. Get used to that name, by the way.”

  *****

  Flex stayed alongside Gem as they ran. The shuffling zombies were mostly moving without any obvious direction through the streets as though merely waiting to happen onto some living flesh rather than being drawn toward it as they once had.

  The change in them was profound and exciting; Flex had his Daewoo out and had gone through several magazines of ammo just on the half-block trek. Even if they were losing strength, there were no guarantees; they still had to die again.

  Flex knew Gem had to be hurting; she had opted to let the others kill the advancing Hungerers, instead calling out warnings of approaching abnormals to those armed and ready.

  Gem turned, and Flex followed her gaze; she was watching Trina and Taylor, both in the clear and running behind them, the girls dodging past the staggering undead, Trina killing those in their way. Taylor ran with care, balancing the small, paper bucket of urushiol in her hands, and Trina had her weapon out, focused on any danger nearby.

  Flex smiled at Gem’s face when she noticed them, and knew she was more than proud of those girls. They had grown up to be the warriors they’d needed to become, and Gem was largely responsible. Charlie, too.

  Flex realized they had both been amazing role models.

  As the shuffling crowd behind them grew, they saw the numbers were as heavy ahead of them, and to the east and west as well.

  Between the buildings, Gem watched as another section of fence came down and a wave of anti-humanity flooded into the street beyond.

  Gunfire erupted from the buildings farther north; Flex had no idea who was assaulting the rotters, but several of them met their demise, their heads exploding in a black-red mist, collapsing in the middle of Main Street in the once-serene burg of Kingman, Kansas.

  Once at the door of the museum, Flex pulled it open and Charlie and Hemp ran inside. Gem stepped aside, her gun at ready, at the same time hoping she would not have to fire it and endure the pain of her broken rib.

  To her relief, Trina and Taylor reached them and ran inside. She went in next, and Flex brought up the rear, closing the door behind them.

  The rotters followed.

  *****

  They stood inside for a few moments, the horde outside growing with each passing second.

  Flex saw something hit the glass. Clear. Wet. It ran down in sticky trails, eventually stopping when its mass and weight was overtaken by its viscosity.

  The abnormals dropped away as more of the stuff hit them before again spattering against the exterior of the museum.

  “That has to be the urushiol oil,” said Hemp. “Nelson and Rachel must be beyond that cluster of abnormals.”

  As the undead attackers began to fall away, they could see an arm in the air with a paintbrush, flinging it at the glass with wild thrusts. Finally, the light shone in with more intensity as the rotters fell away; now almost clear. Flex saw Nelson and Rachel run off to the right, and he was confused for a moment. The next second, gunfire erupted and the rest of the zombies dropped.

  Blood spattered and sprayed as the remaining rotters’ heads blew up in the barrage of fire unleashed by Rachel and Nelson. When they were done, the pair clamored over the bodies to reach the entrance.

  As Nelson reached for the door, another lone walker mounted the steps to the front of the museum. Flex saw Nelson shake his head and he smiled for a brief second as he watched his unlikely friend contemplate his next move.

  Nelson did not withdraw his Ruger again. Instead, he walked straight up to the zombie. He spun around and landed a quick kick to the zombie’s ribcage. The creature’s feet got caught amidst the other hissing and popping bodies melted at his feet, and Nelson whipped around, sending a roundhouse kick into the side of its head that sent him down without passing GO or collecting his $200 in zombie bucks.

  Once he was down, Nel drew his gun and casually administered a single bullet from the Ruger.

  Stepping on the piled-up bodies, Nelson leaned forward and pushed open the door into the museum. He waved his hand and Rachel walked through first with a nod.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “You’re welcome, wife of mine,” said Nel, tucking the suppressed Walther away. “This thing cuts down on noise pollution.”

  “Yeah,” said Flex, smiling again. “That’s the biggest worry we got. Get in here, you goof. Nice work.”

  “We need to bring that drum and the buckets inside,” said Nelson. “Give me a hand, would ya?”

  Flex and Hemp went back out and hurried to the golf cart. Nelson grabbed the buckets and brushes and Flex and Hemp hoisted the drum into the building.

  When the door was closed and latched, Nelson said, “The things are weak, dude. I know it’s nuts out there, but this is the happiest I’ve been since this whole thing started. It’s like child’s play, killing ‘em now.”

  “Don’t get overconfident, Nelson,” said Hemp. “The Mothers still have enough control over them to replicate their earlier ferocity. Don’t allow your defenses to soften.”

  “Bro, I don’t treat them any differently,” said Nelson. “It’s just when the battle ensues, it’s easier. It’s a relief, that’s all I’m sayin’.”

  “He’s saying not to accept their weakness as the new normal, Nel,” said Charlie. “If a Mother-influenced stinker comes up to you, it could be a whole different story.”

  “He gets it,” said Rachel. “Right, husband of mine?”

  “No doubt,” said Nel, smiling and tapping his temple with his index finger. “Locked in, dudes.”

  Flex pointed to the stairs. “Basement. Right there. Hold on, before we get down there.” He pulled out his radio and pressed the transmit button. “Kevin Reeves, you copy?”

  After a brief delay, Kevin’s voice was clear: “Flex? This is Kevin. What’s going on?”

  “You guys still good over there Kev? Everyone okay?”

  “We’ve had two people turn since we got them inside. Had to take care of them. Still, we’ve got about nine people alive from the collapse next door.”

  “Keep an eye on ‘em. How’s Dave doing?”

  “He’s right here. You want to talk to him?”

  Gem nudged Flex on the arm and held out her hand. Her eyes told Flex what to do.

  “Yeah, Kev. Gem wants to talk to him.” Flex gave the radio to Gem.

  “Yeah?” came Dave’s voice over the radio. “Flex?”

  “No, Dave. It’s Gem. How are you, sweetie?”

  “I’m not good, Gem. I … I still can’t really believe he’s gone. I feel like it’s my fault for bringing him here in the first place.”

  Gem shook her head, saying, “Dave, if you hadn’t brought him here, we would never have had Isis with us. You know she saved us in Whitmire, and she saved us again when that asshole Maestro was running amok.”

  There was silence on the radio. Dave finally broke it. “I know you’re right. It’s begun to sink in and I’m doing better than I was, but my emotions what they are right now, I think I’d be a detriment out there.”

  “You’re fine. You’re with Ben and Serena, right?”

  “I am. Thank God.”

  “Okay,” said Gem. “It’s fine. Right now we’re basically scouting for place
s we can hole up together until these things die on their own.”

  “Does Hemp think that will happen?”

  “He does, but there’s no way to say how soon.”

  Hemp spoke up. “The gas is coming out of the Earth at such a slow rate that I cannot imagine the natural oxygen generation from the plant life – particularly as overgrown as the planet has become – would not sufficiently dilute it in short order. The parts-per-million ratio has to be drastically reduced.”

  “So how long, Hemp?” asked Gem.

  Hemp shook his head. “Remember when this began, I said it could be days, months, even years? It has been eighteen years, and at this point I cannot see it stretching beyond a few more days, at most.”

  “So … what you’re saying is this crazy zombie apocalypse might almost be over?” asked Dave, his voice now hopeful.

  Gem held the radio out, the button pushed. Hemp leaned forward. “I don’t believe I’m climbing out on too narrow a limb to answer your question in the affirmative,” he said.

  “You hear that, Davey?” said Gem. “That means yes in over-complicated scientist speak.”

  Flex held out his hand and Gem gave him the radio. “You stay put, Dave. Not saying we won’t need your help down the road, but for now, we’re good. Kiss your wife and son for us and we’ll talk to you later.”

  “Thanks, guys,” said Dave. “I’m anticipating that awkward moment when the three of us are taking a walk outside these fences and I spin around expecting a zombie and see a majestic, 12-point buck standing there instead.”

  “I’d settle for a guy exposing himself,” said Gem. “Anything beats a zombie.”

  Flex shook his head and said into the radio, “Tell Kev we’ll update you guys later. We’re going to find Isis and Max now. Signin’ off.”

  Bodies slammed against the doors to the museum. Everyone looked and appeared to jump back.

  “Fucknuts, Nel!” said Gem. “Didn’t you guys just clear the front? I know you did because I damned well saw it.”

  “That was fast,” said Hemp, moving to the door. He peered between the smears of urushiol. “It’s getting dark now, and I see a lot of points of red out there. This horde is being driven by several Mothers.”

  “Will the door hold them?” asked Rachel.

  “Perhaps not for very long,” said Hemp, looking around. “I don’t see anything to secure it with beyond the latch. This only increases the importance of finding our son and Isis.”

  Flex clipped the radio back on his belt. “No time like the present. Down we go.”

  “We takin’ this stuff?” asked Nelson, pointing at the drum.

  Hemp had already picked up the stack of paper buckets and began passing them around. Taylor already had hers.

  “Everyone fill a bucket with the oil,” said Hemp. “And tuck a brush or two away. We don’t know what we’ll encounter, and we must be prepared if we run into trouble and can’t get out the way we came in”

  “Dad, how the hell are we going to get out if we can’t come back this way?” asked Taylor.

  “Yeah. What she asked, Uncle Hemp,” said Trina, looking worried.

  “That depends entirely upon what, if anything, Max and Isis have discovered,” said Hemp.

  “Let’s move,” said Flex.

  *****

  “It’s gettin’ darker,” said Flex. “Get your headlights on if you got ‘em.”

  Trina had her blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, and sometime earlier that week, Tay’s ginger hair had been woven into a French braid. It was a bit disheveled, but still intact. Both young women found their headlamps and turned them on before pulling the elastic straps over their heads.

  Everybody except Rachel and Charlie had them. It was plenty of light as they descended the steps into the space below.

  “Keep an eye out for an access point,” said Hemp.

  They all moved into the main basement and split up.

  “Here!” called Charlie. “It’s a hole in the wall.”

  “What’s that on the ground?” asked Gem.

  Taylor turned her headlamp downward, then stooped to pick something up. “This is from one of Max’s arrows,” she said. “From the fins.”

  “Fuckin’ bread crumbs,” said Flex. “I tell you, that Hansel and Gretel story really sticks with kids.”

  “In the version I told Max,” said Charlie, “I changed it to the kids dropping shell casings. And I changed the witch to a zombie.”

  “That kinda defeats the purpose of a fairy tale, right?” asked Trina.

  “Nah, the kids still won. They pulled out their Glocks and administered two clean head shots when the zombie was putting on his napkin.”

  “That’s ridiculous, but kinda cool,” said Taylor. “I’d completely forgotten that, but now I remember you telling me the same version.”

  “And look at you now,” said Charlie, beaming.

  They moved toward the hole, and Nelson went through first, followed by Rachel, Flex, Gem, Trina, Hemp, Taylor and Charlie.

  They kept their beams of light trained on the stone walkway ahead of them, the rushing water on their left. Soon they saw something jutting out of the wall.

  Nelson reached it first. “Bread crumbs,” he said. “Leading right up those steps.”

  The sound of voices – no, cheering – reached them from above. Nelson turned. “Doesn’t sound like a catastrophe,” he said, smiling in the several beams of light. “I think Kev and his friends just got an unexpected visit from a couple of Hybrids.”

  “Just you go up for now,” said Flex. “Run, Nel. We’ll wait here.”

  “Yeah, now that I’m blinded,” Nelson said, and took the steps two at a time anyway. Gem followed, and Flex didn’t have to ask why. Above the excited chatter from above, he heard Gem’s voice when she reached the top and instantly knew the words were said in the middle of an embrace. “Colton, sweetheart!”

  Flex felt his own sense of relief as he and the others waited. The twelve-year-old was all they had in the way of a son, and he was a good boy to whom they had already grown strongly attached.

  *****

  Nelson came back down two minutes later, his daughter in his arms. Isis was right behind him.

  “Nel!” shouted Rachel, hurrying up to him. She took her daughter in her arms and hugged and kissed her. “You’re getting so big and heavy I can hardly lift you anymore! You okay, baby girl?”

  “I’m hard to carry because I’m not a baby girl anymore,” said Lita, her eyes bright. “I’m almost ten years old, mommy. How long until my birthday again?”

  Rachel smiled at her and stroked her hair. “I know you’re a big girl, Lita. And yes, you’ll be ten in about three months.”

  “How many in days?”

  “About … let me see,” said Rachel. “It’s January 1st, so there are another ninety-two days, sweetie.”

  “Oh, that’s forever!” Lita had to look up at her mother, but not by much. Flex could tell by looking that Lita was destined to grow to around Nelson’s height, which was closer to six feet. She had a bit to go, but Flex figured she would rival her mother’s height before long.

  “It’s shorter than you think,” said Rachel. “Are you okay, baby?”

  “Yeah, but it was hot up there,” said the beautiful, blonde girl. “And they wouldn’t let me practice Subdudo. Daddy was showing me some new kicks I wanted to try.”

  She had angular features like Nelson, but her rounder face softened them to make her cherubic.

  After watching her for a few moments, Flex trotted up the stone steps and into the bunker above. He spotted Gem and Colton, and leaned down to hug the boy. “How you holdin’ up, cowboy?”

  “Good, Dad,” he said.

  Flex cringed and melted at the same time. Hearing someone call him that brought back all the pain of losing Flex Jr., but it felt good – really good – at the same time.

  “Hey, buddy. Go over to Charlie for a minute or two. I gotta talk to your mom.”

/>   Colton looked disappointed, but obeyed Flex.

  “Come here for a sec, babe,” said Flex, tugging Gem’s arm. For the moment the winding corridor down to the tunnels was empty, so he moved down three steps and turned to look at her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Shit, Gem,” he whispered. “I forgot they brought Lita here, but … Gem, we fucked up. Beauty, Travis, Hannah and Lily are still at the damned clinic.” He forced himself to keep his voice low, but the fear in his heart had his face flushing hot.

  Charlie appeared behind Gem just as the words left his lips. “I just thought of that, too,” she said in response.

  “Where’s Colt?” asked Gem, turning to look at her friend.

  “I left him with Vikki for the moment,” said Charlie. “I saw Flex tug you away and you know I’m nosy. Guys, if they’re still at the clinic we have to go get them. That building’s vulnerable.”

  Others appeared behind Charlie, trying to get down to the tunnels.

  “Let’s get out of the way,” said Flex, taking the several steps down. “Over here,” he said.

  They moved around a bend in the wall, away from the others. They stood in a circle. Seconds later, Isis approached them, obviously sensing something was wrong.

  “What’s happened?”

  “Beauty and the other baby Hybrids are still at the damned clinic,” said Gem. “That’s what. We’re figuring out who’s going to go get them.”

  Isis shook her head. “You need to get to them as soon as possible, but remember, you can’t go back through the museum. I suggest that whoever goes, just take the tunnels and look for the symbol of the all-seeing eye. That should identify another way out of the tunnel system.”

  “How the hell will we know where we’re coming out?” asked Charlie.

  Footfalls could be heard echoing through the winding corridor, and Max appeared. “Guys, you found my bread crumbs, right?” he asked, moving directly to his mother to take her in his arms. “How are you, mom?”