by W. A. R.
He turned to Amber as she lowered the Biter’s shirt and lifted the other arm. “They seemed to think.” Derek gripped the Biter’s forearm tightly with both hands, biting his bottom lip as he forced the elbow joint to turn to his satisfaction.
“Think how?” he asked her and Miles eased the Biter’s head back down, reaching forward to open the Biter’s mouth. He already knew the answer, he simply wanted to hear them say it.
He stopped and looked across at Derek. “Like…almost like an animal; an animal toying with its prey.”
Derek studied him hard in disbelief, but he knew that Miles was telling the truth. He had seen the monsters in action. They had acted with thought; they were quick and precise for an undead being. “What could have caused them to do that?”
“I’m not sure. Not the parasite…the parasite destroys brain function…” Miles began but Katie stepped over to them beside George. Both people knelt down at the feet of the Biter, talking in hushed tones as not to alarm other Biters.
“What parasite?” Katie asked, her hazel eyes questioning. Amber continued examining every square inch of the Biter’s wrist and forearm, sparing only a glance at the two newcomers. Derek looked at Katie curiously. Surely the woman wasn’t that dense…was she?
“The parasite that infects these people and makes them….well, Biters.” Derek told her as if she should have known what they were talking about. Everyone knew about the parasite, he thought. The look he received from Katie, however, told him otherwise. A sudden chill snaked its way down his back and he shuddered at the sense of foreboding that came with it.
Katie shook her head vigorously. “No. It isn’t a parasite.” She told him firmly, yet her voice was soft, wavering only slightly from the uncertain looks tossed her way. At this, Miles stopped what he was doing and all three men looked at Katie as if she were a lunatic. She looked at the three of them in the same manner. She visibly questioned them just as they visibly questioned her. They studied one another like this for several moments and Derek had to admit he felt shamed. He hadn’t gotten the chance to personally know her, or Damien, for that matter. So in moments such as their current one, he was at a loss, doubting one of his own people.
“She’s right. It isn’t.” they heard Amber offer, her focus still thoroughly intent on the Biter’s hand. Miles turned to look at her wildly. Amber didn’t return his look, but he could see Amber tense in awareness from him.
“Don’t tell me you really thought that, did you?” Katie asked them all incredulously. Derek felt his face heat up as Miles spoke roughly.
“What in the hell is it then?” he asked and Katie shrugged.
“I have no idea, but I know for sure it isn’t a parasite.” She offered and George furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He could feel the irritation between the men and Katie building when she didn’t automatically explain herself.
“The news…” he began but she interrupted him, her voice sure and not leaving any room for doubt.
“The media would have told the world anything to ease their minds, to give them a sense of control, especially with something of this extravagance. The government wouldn’t want chaos, they would want order to try to contain whatever it was and it failed.” She said and in a way it made sense. The media had been doing it for years; the coverage of wars, pandemics, and criminal cases that happened on a daily basis. And yet still, what was she getting at?
Derek felt as if he had been slapped in the face. “What is this, some kind of conspiracy theory? There is no more government.”
Katie looked at him calmly, clearly unaffected by his words but Amber was the one to respond. “Because the government couldn’t contain the outbreak any more than they could control people’s reaction when things took a turn for the worse, no matter how hard they tried. They told people something they thought they would believe while they tried to contain the outbreak, and it all failed miserably; chaos ensued in a world where no one was prepared for what was really happening. People failed. Government failed.”
“What was really happening?” Miles asked disbelievingly, throwing her own words back at her in the form of a question. Amber didn’t reply and Katie widened her hands in an exaggerated gesture, sighing.
“Look, parasites are transmitted from host to host, yes by bites, but in many other ways as well. Parasites travel by means of bodily fluids, like saliva, blood, fecal matter…you get the idea. Even the slightest open wound, the smallest scratch and you would be infected. The scientist that claimed he had found a parasite was wrong, and if he had indeed found a parasite, it wasn’t linked to how they reanimated and changed in the least. It must have been a common parasite that had infected that person…something like…like um…” she struggled, her mind searching for an example. She snapped her fingers and her eyes lit up with accomplishment. “Cysticercosis. It’s a parasite that travels through the bloodstream…” She paused as the three men kept their eyes firmly on her in shock. She sighed once again, clearly struggling to find a way for them to understand what she was trying to explain. She shook her head. “The point is…ugh…let me put it this way,” she began, shifting on the balls of her feet, one knee higher than the other. “If it were a parasite, we would all have been infected by now, and we aren’t.” This seemed to hit home for them and Derek noticed Miles’s face pale at the understanding realization.
“Then what…” Derek began but she shrugged, already knowing what he was going to ask. What is it and how did these monsters come about?
“I have no idea. I honestly have no idea.” She said before Amber spoke up, her eyes focused on the arm she held in her hand. She went unheard amidst the confusion, with the exception of Derek. Derek glanced at her but she didn’t look up from the arm she was studying. Her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion but she didn’t say another word. He turned from her back to Miles, who stared hard at Katie.
Miles rubbed a hand across his face. “You mean to tell me that everything we thought we knew about these things…for months now…has all just been a lie? That it was completely wrong?” he asked her exasperated. Derek inhaled deeply, his mind racing with possibilities of what could have happened to cause the demise of the human race.
“Well...yeah…I guess I am. I’m sorry.” She said sincerely. George brought a hand to his mouth in deep thought. Silence reigned, and no one moved aside from Amber, whose fingers were sliding and pressing against the flesh and skin of the Biter. Derek looked around and saw that everyone watched her, curious as to what captured her attention so. It wasn’t but a moment after that she spoke, breaking the uneasy silence.
“Hey, there are…bruises…they look almost like track marks…” she said to them, although it sounded as if she were speaking to herself, before looking up at Derek curiously. She nodded at him. “Check that arm.” She ordered and he did as he was instructed to do, his nervous fingers slightly trembling. Sure enough, there were track marks on that arm as well, distinctly where a vein would be, in the crook of the elbow. He looked up at her ice blue eyes, worry and curiosity flickering through them and he realized that she had already seen them. He could see her mind racing.
“Miles, George…the other Biter, the girl, she was recent too…did she…did you see…” Amber started, leaving Katie and Derek to share a confused look between the two of them. Derek wondered what other Biter they could have been discussing, and he knew that he would eventually have to ask them. Instead, he watched as Miles nodded glumly in response to her question.
“She had marks too.” He told her, and the look she gave him hurt even Derek. Miles winced and turned from her gaze. She stared at him for a moment longer before sighing and Derek understood that she was waiting for an explanation.
Miles cleared his throat and turned to her, clearly coming back to gain control of the situation. Derek watched as both Miles and Amber stood to their full height, their eyes concentrating on one another. George stood tensely as well as Derek felt an unspoken communication pass between them and almos
t immediately Amber, Miles, and George jogged to where Brian, Buddy, Shelly, Damien, and Jackson studied the second Biter. They all stood and moved as the trio pushed their way towards the Biter, voices mumbling incoherently together. Derek and Katie hurriedly staggered to their feet and rushed over to them, curious and anxious to not miss any piece of information. Something was obviously happening, an epiphany of sorts, and Derek felt as if his entire world was going to be changed once again. They arrived in time to see George release the left arm, the lifeless appendage thudding to the ground. He lowered his head in defeat, the silence deafening.
“This one does too.” George told them all, but only half of them understood what was happening while the rest, including Jackson and Shelly looked on with confusion. Damien looked at them as if frightened by their intensity, and Derek reflected his fear and lack of comprehension.
“What are ya’ll talking about? What do those marks mean?” he asked them all. Amber turned and looked at them all before her eyes settled on George and Miles. Brian sighed and placed his hands firmly on his hips, sighing before he answered the question. Derek felt shivers run up his back at his response.
“I think those marks mean that someone created these two.”
Chapter Nineteen
“What do you mean ‘someone created’ them?” Derek asked hotly, and Katie felt numb. The shared looks among everyone ranged from frightened to angry; not angry at anyone in particular, but more or less angry at the situation. Katie herself felt disoriented and unsure. They couldn’t be right; they just couldn’t be. If someone had created them that meant that there were more people out there which, she easily conceded, was a possibility. That wasn’t what frightened her. What frightened her most was the kind of people that the others would have to be to create such vengeful beings. Her eyes quickly jumped to Miles and Amber at this thought, taking in their battered appearances. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself, remembering the many losses that her own group suffered before they had arrived at the fence the night before. Shelly looked at Brian curiously as he stood, staring at the massive Biter on the ground before him. Katie knew she was waiting for an answer; they all were.
“I mean exactly what I said. How else do you explain everything about them?” Brian asked of him, of everyone. No one had an answer for him, though they continued to delve into their battered minds to try to find one. Buddy shifted on his feet before running a hand across his heavily bearded face.
“Do you see the amount of bruises on this guy? He could have easily been shooting up…” Buddy began but George cut him off.
“There aren’t any coincidences in this day and age, considering the fact that there was another Biter a few days ago that seemed…different…”
Damien spoke up hurriedly. “Another Biter?”
“Did it have marks too?” Jackson asked of his children. After this there was a flood of questions, everyone’s voice overlapping one another’s. Katie stood back silently, watching as everyone began panicking, their thoughts running wild with possibilities and fears. She could see frustration begin to come over Brian. She wasn’t the only one who noticed, she realized, as George sighed and began searching the Biter’s body for something. He lifted his shirt, pants legs, lifting his stiff arms. But he wasn’t really looking; no, it was as if he were postponing the inevitable, as if he knew exactly where whatever he was looking for was. He seemed sure and determined as he reached forward and gripped the opposite arm of the monster, struggling to pull the decaying body onto its stomach. Derek immediately reached forward and began to help him, both men moving and adjusting to the force and space needed to turn the creature over. A hollow thump became the only sound and Katie looked around her to see that everyone had gotten quiet, watching the scene before them. Amber and Miles had gone, and she jerked her head around her wildly, searching for the pair when she spotted them doing the searching the other Biter that lay on its stomach. The sound of fabric ripping sent a shudder up Katie’s spine, startling her as she turned her attention back to George and Derek, who had ripped apart the filth and gore covered shirt that hid the rotting torso of the Biter.
“There. Top of the left shoulder!” George called to Amber and Miles, and Katie heard the sound of fabric ripping once again.
“Same here!” Miles called back and the silence became deafening. Katie stared at it, taking it all in. It was there, the grotesque picture of horror. The bite was wide and viscous and for some reason, Katie felt ashamed, as she had momentarily forgotten how cruel the process of turning was. It reminded her that these were once people that were turned into something much more gruesome, and if someone had indeed made them as violent as they were…well, then those people were just as horrible. Damien stumbled back from the Biter, a hand covering his mouth and Katie felt sorry for the guy. He was around her age, but still seemed so…innocent. Buddy sighed, and glanced at Derek who was easing up to his full height. The rustling sound of leaves moving caught her ears and she knew that Miles and Amber were making their way back to the group.
Jackson looked at his children, fear evident in his old grey eyes. “What are we going to do?” he asked, his voice trembling. It was the weighted question on everyone’s minds. Brian shrugged and looked across the Biter to Shelly before taking in the few Biters that were coming their way.
“Let’s talk about this inside.” He said and almost immediately everyone began moving towards the gate in tandem, aside from Derek and Buddy who decided to rid the area around them of the Biters dragging their feet towards fresh food. Katie trudged along behind George, her arms wrapped around herself.
Once inside, they all stood around the living room precariously. Everyone was silent, aside from the kids who were readying whatever food they could find in the kitchen for everyone; and although it had been a day or two since she had last eaten, Katie had lost her appetite. She glanced around the room at everyone. Things had been silent since they entered the house, and no one was sure of where to start, especially considering that Katie and the rest of her group were new. She understood that they had wanted to discuss this situation alone, but could they really? If it were her, she wouldn’t want to leave the newcomers alone either. Amber shifted on her feet and looked across the room at Shelly who stood next to Brian and a type of silent communication occurred between the two of them.
“I think the first order of business should be what to do about you all before we discuss what has happened, or the possibility thereof.” Amber spoke firmly, and Shelly nodded in agreement. Everyone from Katie’s group watched wide eyed at the others before them, Katie’s eyes trained on Miles. He stood casually, leaning against the arm of the couch, somewhat behind George and Derek. He looked at the ground as if deep in thought, never noticing how Katie surveyed him. He had been incredibly nice to her as she admitted what she considered to be the thing she most regretted: running away. She felt as if she were on pins and needles, wanting to know what he thought about it all, wondering what he thought was the right thing to do. He was a mystery, and oddly enough she felt drawn to him. She shook her head, shoving the thought away. Her eyes then strayed to George, who was looking at her as well. His scrutinizing green eyes wondered over her face and she suddenly felt as if he could see down to her very core. Reflexively she tightened her arms around herself, looking away from him. He seemed like a kind man, someone who didn’t belong in such a cruel world, but he also had an edge to him that was obviously slowly developing in the wake of torment. “So, let’s discuss this.” Amber said anxiously and everyone in the room shifted to a defensive stance unknowingly.
“I think they should stay.” Shelly said first, each word weighted to ensure every one of the certainty of her decision. Brian shot a look at her that Katie didn’t quite understand. Katie looked at her people and was grateful that they all knew to keep their mouths shut, even though they were the ones being talked about. They had nowhere else to go, and if they wanted to stay there and have a better chance at survival, which in
fact, they did, they had to agree to live there on their terms.
“Why?” they heard Brian ask Shelly and she locked eyes with him as if challenging him.
“Look at them.” She said, taking her eyes from his and motioning around the room at them all. “They have not only survived the outbreak for months, they found each other, helped each other; Brian, they jumped from place to place and made it by the skin of their teeth.” Brian stared at Shelly in surprise before clearing his face of all emotion. His eyes were intent on her before Amber decided to jump in to her defense.
“I agree with Shelly. They have lost so many people over the past few months, and even more when those Biters came around. And they still made it and are standing here with us without breaking down. You have to admit that they are strong and resilient. They saved our lives just as much as we saved theirs.” She said, pacing around the room in front of them all. Amber brought her eyes up, her gaze darting between George, Miles, and Brian. Katie’s eyes then flew to Miles who stood easily, entering the circle and placing his hands firmly on his hips as Brian crossed his arms across his chest. Katie knew then that the two of them weren’t convinced.
“They could just be telling us stories to get us to trust them. We can’t believe everything they tell us.” Miles told the two women before him. For some reason, his words hurt her and she felt the heat creep up her neck. Had he not believed her story? Shelly narrowed her eyes at him. Katie watched out of the corner of her eye at Buddy, who was beginning to step forward and protest whenever Damien reached out a hand and stopped him.