Brown looked at the whiskey and said, "What? I have quiet an extensive history of drinking. It's the one thing, I know how to do rather well."
"If you want to get drunk, you can't do it with booze."
"Then what should I drink?"
"Coffee. Only, if you keep letting it drip out of your chin, you'll have to drink twice as much." Vic told him.
"Coffee? What?"
"Yeah, coffee. Follow me, I'll show you." As they walked together across the street, Vic asked, "So what's your name?"
"General…Chris. I was Chris Brown."
"Great, in your new life, we'll call you General Drips-a-lot."
* * *
Inside the remains of what used to be a coffee shop, undead filled the room, staggering around with ceramic mugs and various other vessels. It wasn't their usual zombie stagger, but more of a drunken nature. Overturned tables and broken chairs mixed with broken glass and pieces of sheetrock. Behind the counter, zombies crowded around two large coffee makers, pouring the beverage into their cups. Vic led the General across the room. "This is our pub and the coffee maker is our version of a still. It's not like we get thirsty or need to stay awake. For some reason, the caffeine gives us a pretty good buzz. Our dead bodies soak the stuff up like a sponge. Considering, we can no longer feel anything with our senses, the ability to get drunk becomes a great pleasure."
Brown quickly held out his whiskey bottle as another living dead filled it with java. Vic pointed to the power cable behind the coffee maker. "We ran a line to the next building where there happens to be one live circuit. Nobody even considered using the power for electrical lighting, especially when booze is at stake. I imagine, if the humans knew we still had power, they would cut it off so we protect this place quite fiercely."
The General took a swig from his bottle. He leaned his head back as a few drips fell from his chin. A smile of relaxation and enjoyment spread across his face. "Yeah, that's what I was looking for."
Chapter 16
The full moon lit up the streets with an eerie gray light. Hundreds of ravens scattered on the sidewalks and streets searched for scraps of food. A few small fires glowed inside some of the empty homes. An unusual silence filled the streets with no military actions against the walking dead this night. A brisk chill hung in the air, causing Daniel and Wendy to pull their heavy coats close to stay warm. He said to his wife, "I had hoped the cold temperatures would have taken away that awful rotting meat smell that blows around the city."
Wendy pulled her knitted wool hat farther down around her face. "I remember how people would complain when the smells from the stockyards blew across town. Compared to the smell of the re-ans, the stockyards seem like fresh flowers." She cautiously glanced at the black birds gathered on the street and turned to her husband. "Are you sure this is still a safe place to walk? I thought the green line moved back to Federal. We're at least three or four blocks into the quarantine zone."
"That green line was moved to keep the population a safe distance from the front lines of the re-an zone, way down in LoDo." Daniel pointed toward the abandon downtown buildings off in the distance. "I talked to the military two days ago and they told me I might be able to move back into my lab on Wyncoop next week, because they're pushing the re-ans out of downtown. We're safe here, because there are military units all around us."
She scanned the area and blew warm air on her hands, while rubbing them together. "I don't see any soldiers."
He smiled. "That's because they're holding the re-ans back all the way over on Larimer Street right now. Besides, this shortcut takes three miles off the walk home. You're too weak to travel that far every night after your treatment."
Clouds blew across the dark sky and covered the bright moon turning the street in front of them dark. Shadows stretched into black areas of unknown. With the absence of light, each minuscule sound became a possible threat. Wendy said with an edge of caution in her voice, "I have a bad feeling about this area. I think I can walk the extra miles if we stay in the green zone. Look around, we're the only one's here."
They came to the corner of the block. Daniel pointed to the large three-story building, which had stood since the early 20th century, and said, "Look, all we have to do is cut across the North High School campus and we'll be one block from the green zone and four more blocks from home."
As they approached the old red stone building topped with a bell tower, flocks of ravens blanketed the open ground with several large vultures mixed in the population. Daniel looped his arm through his wife's and helped her pick up the speed of her walk. The sporadic sound of crunched leaves or the crack of a stick made his nerves slightly jolt with fear, but he tried not to show it so he wouldn’t worry his wife. He wondered if there could be re-ans just out of sight hiding in the darkness, but he kept his focus on the illuminated streetlights several blocks away. They indicated the edge of the green zone, which meant their home and safety.
As they rounded the north side of the building in the parking lot, he saw several vultures feeding off the remains of a dead body. Ravens fought for space between the giant birds as they picked the bones clean. As they pecked and tore at the dried decayed flesh, the carcass would flinch as if it tried to come back to life. Still trying to keep his wife calm, with a nervous tone in his voice, he said, "Maybe we should pick up the pace a little more. I'm sure you're just as eager to get out of this cold air as I am."
Walking around the corner of the building, they came face-to-face with six re-ans. The living dead, with gray deteriorated skin and dried blood stained clothes, pinned them against the building. Daniel stepped in front of his wife trying to shield her from the demons. A zombie with stringy dark hair in a waitress uniform, pulled out a sword from around her waist and held the tip against the scientist's throat. Another undead, wearing a canvas kilt and leather vest with a sword strapped across his back, held his hand up and moaned in their strange language. The waitress lowered her sword with a hiss and they all groaned and tightened the circle around their human prey.
Wendy asked, "What are they doing? Why aren't they trying to eat us?"
A dead woman in a blue nightgown, moved close to her and scanned her body with her grayish-white haze covered eyes. Wendy shook with terror and tried not to move as the dead woman sized her up with curiosity expressed on her dead face. The zombie reached out and jerked the knit hat off the human woman's head, revealing her bald head, which caused the dead to moan even louder intermixed with hisses. Wendy screamed to her husband, "What are they doing?"
Daniel pushed the nightgown undead back and the waitress pressed the tip of her sword into his chest moving him a few steps away from his wife. A dead young soldier with bright green eyes, decayed gray skin and dried blood around his mouth, slowly staggered toward Wendy, who could no longer move out of fear. The zombie let out a deep moan and stood inches from the cancer victim. He raked his bony fingertips down her shoulder, across her chest and stopped at her abdomen. She began to cry with her body trembling, while trying to hold back screams of panic. Her husband tried to come to her aid, but two of the other undead held him back. He yelled, "Leave her alone, you bastard!"
The soldier clamped his cold dry hand around Wendy's wrist and brought her arm up to his mouth. Still crying, she pounded his chest and shoulder with her free arm. Unaffected, the dead man with the green eyes, opened his mouth revealing the decayed, blood stained, blackened teeth and bit into her forearm. He didn't take a mouthful of flesh. He only punctured her skin and then he released her.
Wendy looked at her bleeding arm and the round bite mark. "No. I don't want to become one of them." The zombies released Daniel and he wrapped his arms around his wife. She continued through the tears, "Don't let me become a re-an. If I start to turn, decapitate me, or burn my body, do something. Promise me, I won't become one of them."
He held her tight as tears streamed down his cheeks. "You're not going to become one of them. You're not going to die from this. It's noth
ing but a scratch. We can take care of this. I've seen much worse."
They both slid their backs down the wall of the building onto the cold concrete. Wendy sat in front of her husband wrapped inside his arms. The zombies slowly turned and staggered away, as if their mission was simply to recruit a new member. They disappeared into the dark shadows surrounding the building.
Wendy squeezed her hand over her wound and said through the tears. "I was barely holding onto life before this. With my immune system fried from the chemo, I know this is going to hit me fast." She gazed up at the sky. "Cremate my body. I don't want those birds eating me. Spread my ashes on a warm beach somewhere. When all of this is over, you can come visit me. You'll finally get to relax and read a book without me constantly pestering you to get in the water with me."
Daniel replied, "I have the initial batch of the antivirus in my lab. It's sitting in the vials ready to go. I'll give you the first dose. We have some volunteers coming in next week for the primary round of testing, but you can be the first. I know it will work."
His wife didn't say anything.
"Who knows, this anti-virus might even attack your cancer. In a few weeks, this re-an uprising will be over. You’ll be strong and we can go to that warm place together. You can pester me all you want about going in the water."
She still said nothing. He noticed his wife had stopped crying. "Wendy, did you hear me. I'll get the military to take us back to my lab and you can have the antivirus. We can do it tonight. All I have to do is find the closest unit."
His wife's body went limp in his arms. He jostled her and said, "Wendy."
Loosening his grip, her body slumped over onto the ground. While crying, Daniel lay down next to her and placed his arm over her body. "Don't worry, when the sun rises, we'll wake up and go to my lab. You'll see; it will all be okay."
Daniel cried next to his dead wife through the cold night. As the first glimmer of sunlight appeared on the horizon, he felt Wendy's arm nudge. He sat up and placed his hands on her shoulder and hip. Her hand slowly closed and opened again. "That's it, Wendy. I knew you would pull through. I'll find some soldiers who can take us to my lab. By this afternoon, we'll be sitting in the dining room, drinking wine."
She bent her legs and moved her head as her bones cracked from stiffness. Daniel let go of her and stood up. Ravens moved closer, almost as if they tried to surround him. He lunged toward them to scare the birds away. "Get away from her! She's not dead."
He reached down and grabbed her hand to help her stand up. "That's it, sweetie, you can do it. You're doing great."
With an emotionless white face, Wendy slowly and awkwardly stood. Daniel smiled and said, "I'm so glad you made it through the night. Everything is going to be just fine, you'll see. I'll get you to my lab and we'll-"
His wife moaned and grabbed his shoulder. Confused he asked, "What are you doing?"
She tried to pull him closer, trying to bite him. Daniel pushed her away and backpedaled. He watched her stagger toward him with her hand outstretched, while groaning and hissing at him. The bite wound on her arm had turned purple and black. Her skin sagged on her bones. Daniel said, "I'm sorry, I can't kill you. Please forgive me." He turned and ran away.
* * *
Prometheus, along with Greg, Patricia, Princess Rachel and Midnight wandered across the abandoned remains of a high school campus on their way back to the library in downtown Denver. A large flock of ravens bounced along the ground behind them, as hundreds more blanketed the open ground around the building. The moon provided just enough light for them to make their way through the night. Midnight asked, "How hard is it to find these supplies in the abandoned areas of the city? What kind of items are we looking for?"
Greg answered, "When the descendants depart a new area, they leave behind many items, we can use to provide light, use as weapons or clothing. About the time, we pick an area clean, they seem to vacate another area."
Staggering out of the shadows of the building, they saw another living dead move toward them. As he came into the moonlight, they saw a tall deceased man with a clean-shaven head and Van Dyke beard. The new zombie called out, "Can you help me? I do not know where I am or why I am in this body."
Prometheus replied, "You must have recently died and have been brought to this life by the gods."
Walking closer, the dried blood from his mouth and nose became visible. "Is this heaven? I never put much thought into it before, but this is…so…not what I expected."
Greg told him, "Far from it, my friend. You have been sent to an evil place to perform an important mission."
Prometheus asked, "What is your name, my new friend?"
The man stopped in front of the group. "My name's Jason. I was at the airport helping the Air Force prep the passenger planes for military use. This Airbus suddenly dropped out of the clouds in a nosedive, right on top of our location. We all ran, but I'm guessing I didn't make it far enough away, because now I'm in this strange body, wandering around the quarantined zone, wondering why it doesn't feel so cold."
"Yes, brother," the Greek man responded, "we have all been placed in bodies, which do not belong to us."
"But the owner of this body, I don’t understand why he would do this."
Midnight asked, "What are you talking about."
"The metal ring you put through the nose of an angry bull so you can control him. There is one of those rings through his man part."
Greg blurted out, "Itaiyo!" as he cringed and grabbed his groin.
"What did you say?" Midnight asked.
Patricia responded, "I believe he said ouch in his native tongue of Japanese."
Prometheus patted the man on the back. "Come with us, friend. We will explain this and many other parts of this strange world."
As the group came to the end of the building, two living humans walked around the corner. The man and woman were caught off guard, just as much as the undead. They pressed themselves against the red stonewall with terror across their faces. Patricia pulled her sword from its sheath and said, "We shall feed on these two and add to our strings of life. I will cut them to pieces so we can eat like civilized demons."
The two livings screamed out in their strange language of moans and hissing. It was clear without any translation, they begged for mercy. Before she could cut into the humans, Princess Rachel stopped her. "Wait, this human looks familiar." She turned to the others. "Where have we seen him before?"
"You're right." Greg said as he threw his hand in the air. We have seen this living before. He is the apothecary where they tortured our brother Gunnar. We should avenge the punishment they placed upon him."
Patricia lowered her sword and said, "I give the honor to you and your blade. You had fought next to the Viking."
Midnight stepped foreword, scanned the woman behind the man. "There is something wrong with this woman. I see a disease through her body. It's black and it is eating her on the inside. I think she has the cancer." She reached up and pulled the knit hat off, revealing the woman's baldhead.
Princess Rachel responded, "Brother Prometheus, don't you carry the cure for this plague called cancer?"
"Yes, the strings of life that I carry are for this affliction."
"Even though you do not have the blue eyes, perhaps the green eyes can still help her. If this man with her is the apothecary searching for the reason we are walking dead souls, he may understand our purpose for being."
Prometheus examined the woman and reached out with his hand. He gently ran his fingertips across the front of her body trying to figure out how he can help. "How can I give her my strings of life?"
The Princess pointed to the woman's arm. "Perhaps if you bite her, but do not eat her flesh. If your saliva touches her blood it will attack her illness."
"I will give it a try."
The Greek man in the soldier's body, held the woman's wrist while she pounded on his chest, with her free arm trying to get him to release his grip. Listening to her screa
ms, he slowly bit into her forearm. The taste of her blood gave him a quick intoxication, which made him want to take large mouthfuls of her flesh. He fought against those urges and released his bite after his teeth had pierced her skin. He savored the fresh blood by licking it off his teeth and from around his lips.
"You have great discipline, my friend." Greg told him. "I would have not been able to stop myself from eating her entire arm."
The human man swept his arms around the woman as the two livings slid down the wall and sat on the concrete. Prometheus turned to his friends. "We should leave them be. If our plan works, we should see them again, as they will seek us out to find why my bite held the cure for the cancer."
The living dead turned and staggered off in the darkness, leaving the humans holding each other next to the building.
Chapter 17
Living dead staggered through the remains of the library, with the early morning sun streaming down on them. Through the broken windows, across the remains of the city center, smoke from the previous night's fires continued to loft through the air under a gray sky. The nightly battles with the military had reduced the business district from a forest of shining skyscrapers to the desolate ruins of a ghost town. Black and gray scorch mark, twisted metal, broken glass, and concrete fragments with protruding rebar dominated the landscape in all directions. Blast holes filled the streets and exposed the portions of the steam vents which once brought heat to the older buildings. The original red bricks, which formed the first roads and had been paved over for the past century, once again came to the surface.
Prometheus stood at the large table listening to the morning gathering of the council. Captain Bartholomew pointed to the two new arrivals both wore hunting attire with gunshot wounds to the chest and head. "We be having here Rainart and Isaiah who have journeyed here all da way from a land called Texas. They be bringing us news from other clans."
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