Savannah's Only Zombie (Book 2): A New Darkness

by Josh Vasquez

  Lexx gave Jeremy a nod and fired his gun again, this time his aim more accurate. A splash of crimson and black sprang from the fountain of a z’s neck.

  “Hey dudes! I need help!” The man on top of the car yelled.

  He was swinging his shovel wildly at the crowd of undead behind the car. The shovel connected with an arm and sent a hand flying.

  “Dammit, José! Get your shit together!”

  The cop with the machine gun yelled. He spun around and volleyed bullets into the crowd of dead. The tall, white man shot more like an actor in an action movie, as opposed to a trained police officer. Without really aiming, he rattled off shots until his clip ran dry. His training was evident in his switching magazines.

  A lone zombie, an old man in a hospital gown, reached out to grab the officer, who, lost in his own movie role, was oblivious to the imminent threat. Jeremy put the old zombies head between his sights and pulled the trigger.

  The shower of brain residue splashed onto the cop, who turned in disgust, but shrugged it off, and went back to shooting.

  Jeremy and the others popped off a few more rounds each, bringing down the last remaining zombies in the building’s foyer. Jeremy ran over to the cop car and kneeled down next to the other officer.

  The man was younger than his counterpart was and different when it came to shades of skin. His nametag read, “Officer White.”

  “Hey,” Jeremy said. “Do we have an opening to get out? We have a truck outside. If we can get to it, we can get away from this mess.”

  The cop looked over his shoulder behind him.

  “Maybe. Where’s the truck?”

  “If we can make a break through the gift shop, the truck is right out there.”

  The cop nodded and turned to his tell his partner. The man looked at Jeremy, then back at his partner. He blind-fired a few shots into the mob and then jumped from the top of the car.

  “C’mon José!” He yelled.

  The third man jumped off the car and ran over to the group.

  They all ran through the gift store and out the hole in the wall. They lifted the cart into the bed of the truck, not wasting time with the lift gate. Everyone piled in after it, while Jeremy and Josh ran around to the cab.

  Josh wasted no time putting the keys in the ignition and getting the engine running. He paused to look back at the hospital.

  “We’ll come back to get the rest in a few days man,” Jeremy said, placing his hand on Josh’s shoulder. “We have to get out of here.”

  Josh nodded and stomped on the gas.

  ***

  Once they were a good distance away from the hospital, Josh pulled the truck over in a pawnshop’s parking lot.

  “What are you doing?” Jeremy asked.

  “Time to find out where these cops came from,” Josh replied before stepping out of the truck.

  Jeremy checked out the area first before opening the door. It appeared to be free of any dead. While he was just as curious to where the police officers had been, he also really wanted to get away from the city. He let out a sigh and got out of the truck.

  “So, who are you people? And what did you steal from the hospital?” The loud-mouthed cop asked.

  “Steal?” Lexx said, standing up in the truck bed. “Did you see that place?”

  The cop stood up, staring down Lexx as he did.

  “Yeah. This stuff ain’t yours, is it? Any of you doctors?”

  “What does it matter if we are or not?” Tori said, standing as well.

  “Everybody just calm down,” the black cop said.

  Everyone began to talk at once. Jeremy tried to make out what everyone was talking about, but everyone seemed to be occupied with their own questions.

  “HEY!” He yelled.

  Everyone’s eyes fell on him.

  “We all have questions, but we aren’t going to get anywhere talking all at once.”

  They all looked at each other suspiciously.

  “My name is Jeremy. These are my friends, Josh, Lexx, and Tori. Can we start with your names?”

  The two cops shared glances.

  “My name is Michael White and this is my partner, Will Black-”

  “Wait,” Lexx interrupted. “Your names are Black and White? And you’re black and white? But Black is white and White is black?!”

  Officer White looked down and took a deep breath. This obviously was not the first time he had this conversation.

  “Yes. Our chief thought it would be amusing to pair the two of us together because of that reason. Now we know each other’s names, what were you people doing at the hospital?”

  Josh stepped towards the truck.

  “My wife is pregnant. We were just trying to acquire some supplies to help with the birth.”

  White nodded his head and gave a shrug to Officer Black.

  “How far along is she?” He asked.

  “Eight months. Roughly.”

  White raised an eyebrow.

  “Eight months? So, she’s pretty much ready to pop then?”

  “Yep,” Josh said.

  Jeremy smiled at Josh, who seemed worried. He knew that Josh was worried about the rest of the supplies. They still needed the oxygen and the resuscitation equipment. They would have to try again in a few days. Let the zombies wander off.

  “So, where are you people staying?” Black said, leaning against the iron gates of the truck.

  “My family owns a cabin not far from here. We been there since the beginning of the outbreak. It’s fortified and secluded.”

  Lexx stood up.

  “I’m sorry- No, I’m not, but where the hell are all the damn cops? Or any government for that matter?”

  The two officers looked at each other, both looking unsure how to answer.

  “We,” White started. “We don’t know. Everything happened so fast the day the dead came back to life. We were out on call, arresting José here for dealing pot to the college kids.”

  José shrugged.

  “We started getting calls about human attacks. People attacking other people. After answering several of those calls, only to find gruesome crime scenes, we radioed back to the station. There was no answer. We went straight back and everyone was gone. We haven’t seen any of our friends since that day.”

  “Yeah, the whole Statesboro PD, just up and fucking vanished,” Black added.

  White shook his head, thinking over the events of the past month.

  “We’ve been holed up in the station, waiting, just in case someone came back. No one has. It’s just been us and José.”

  José smiled. His teeth were crooked and in need of a good brushing.

  Several beats of silence passed. No one knew how to respond to that. It had always bothered everyone, whether outright, or just in the back of their minds: Why were there no police anywhere? Where was the government? No police, no Army or Marines, no nothing. It was like the United States of America just up and left. It just did not make sense.

  “Help me out here, but you two have no idea where anyone went? Did you not get the memo or something? ‘Hey, we’re going to disappear today. Ssh, don’t tell the civilians!’” Lexx said.

  “I don’t know what else to tell you,” White said.

  Lexx threw his hands up in the air. Tori placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

  “Do y’all have any supplies at the police station?” Josh asked.

  “We have the armory, but we’re low on food. That was part of the reason we were out and about today. We’ve been hitting places around town, trying to find non-perishable items. We saw your truck at the hospital and noticed it was out of place. While in the parking lot, we, um, lost control of the vehicle and ran straight into the building.”

  “Yeah, lost control,” Black said, looking at José, who seemed embarrassed.

  White shook his head at his partner and turned his attention back towards Josh.

  “Is there room for three more at your place? We’ll be willing to
add our stockpile of weapons in exchange for food and a safe place to sleep.”

  “Uh…” Josh said, his eyes falling on José.

  Picking up on what Josh was getting at, White chuckled.

  “Don’t worry about him. He’s harmless. He’s not even that good of a drug dealer.”

  “Hey…” José started.

  “Calm down Scarface,” Black said.

  José didn’t argue. Josh thought it over for a moment. The only cons he could come up with were there would be more mouths to feed, but there would be more people to work, so it seemed to even out. Once, the baby was born, maybe he wouldn’t have to go out as much. They were somewhat local, so perhaps they knew the area.

  “Okay. You can come with us. We’ll have to return to the hospital to finish our supply run. We’ll retrieve your weapons then. Any objections from y’all?”

  Josh turned his gaze towards Jeremy, Lexx, and Tori. They all shook their heads.

  “Your house, your rules man,” Lexx said.

  Josh nodded.

  “Okay then. Let’s get going if we want to be home by dark. The light is leaving fast.”

  Chapter Twenty One

  Abraham Archer Armstrong, or Archie to his close friends and family, all of which were dead, stood over the semi-dressed couple who kneeled before him. He looked at them with a disapproving look.

  “The shame of it. To be out here, in the good Lord’s nature, going at it, like animals. It’s undignified.”

  Chris struggled to explain that Amy was his wife, his mouth gagged with a rotten t-shirt. He struggled against the hold of Archie’s men.

  “Fornication is a sin and there is no room for fornicators in Beulah Land,” Archie continued.

  His drugged-out lackeys nodded in agreement, brainwashed by their leader and totally devoted to his teaching. And his supply of crystal meth, heroin, and other drugs.

  Archie leaned in close to Amy’s face. It took everything in her not to cry, but she was tired of crying. She would cry no more.

  “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” He asked, his breath hot against her cheeks.

  Also gagged, she made no effort to speak, but silently stared at her accuser.

  Archie smiled, his teeth shining the way a politician’s would on the campaign trail. He placed a finger on her face and slowly ran it downwards, to her neck, and then resting it in between her cleavage. His hand slid under her open shirt.

  Every muscle in Chris’s body tightened, the two men who held him back struggled to keep him down. He screamed through the gag.

  Archie turned his smile towards Chris. One by one, he ripped the remaining buttons from Amy’s shirt. Chris screamed again.

  “Well, my daughter, your sins can be forgiven, and you may join us in Beulah, but first you must atone. It’s not difficult, is it boys?”

  The two men nodded, but shame covered their faces.

  Archie began to unbutton his pants.

  Chris broke free. He felt the rage he felt at his house when his daughter was bitten. It coursed through his veins, like tidal waves of anger. He snapped towards Archie, his hands ready to tear out the man’s throat. That was exactly what he was going to do. He was going to tear this man to pieces.

  There was a loud crack and the rage began to disappear. Amy screamed. Chris felt his body slow down and his strength left him. Looking down, he saw red on his chest. His shirt was wet.

  Archie leaned in close to Chris, who was gasping for air and not finding it.

  “May you rest in peace, son.”

  And with that, everything went black.

  ***

  When CJ returned with his grandparents, they found his Aunt Laura with a gun pointed to her head. Dennis had one arm wrapped around the pregnant woman; the other held a chrome Smith & Wesson pressed tightly against her head. Virginia held a sawn off shotgun, pulled from underneath her oversized jacket. She pointed it in their direction when they stepped on the porch.

  “Alright now! No funny business!” Dennis yelled. “We don’t want things to get messy! Set the guns down!”

  CJ looked at his grandfather. The man nodded and CJ’s stomach twisted into knots.

  “Do as he says, CJ.”

  Reluctantly, CJ removed the rifle from his shoulder and placed it on the ground next his grandfather’s weapon.

  “That’s right. We don’t want things to get out of hand, so why don’t y’all come down here, away from those weapons,” Dennis said.

  CJ and his grandparents walked down the steps. CJ felt helpless without his gun. He should have not come back outside. He should have stayed in and watched from a window. And when things went bad, he could have shot them both.

  Why didn’t I think of that sooner? He thought.

  “Now, y’all three just sit there and wait for my boss man to get here. He’ll explain everything to you.”

  As Dennis, finished speaking, CJ saw three figures appear from the woods. None were his parents. It turned out to be three men. Two of them were scrawny, like Dennis and Virginia.

  The third man seemed to be in good health. He was older, maybe as old as CJ’s grandfather. He had a graying beard and short salt and pepper hair. His smile was as wide as his face. He wore a white button-down shirt, tucked into a pair of blue jeans. His eyes fell on CJ.

  “Hmm… I believe I just met your parents. It’s a shame they won’t be able to join us in Beulah.”

  “What?” CJ spat out.

  The man continued to smile.

  “Hello, my name is Abraham Archer Armstrong, but y’all can call me Archie. I am somewhat of a prophet and a beacon of light in these here troubled times. I was sent to this earth to lead the righteous into Beulah Land. Where is this Beulah Land, you might ask? Well, thanks to you good people, it’s right here beneath our feet.”

  He lifts his boots up one at a time, inspecting the ground beneath.

  “Your parents were… unrighteous. They could not be allowed to stay here in Beulah. It would contaminate the purity of this refuge.”

  “Wha-What are you saying?” CJ stammered.

  “I’m saying, you’re parents are dead boy. You better learn to accept that.”

  Everything in CJ’s world began to spin. It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be. His parents could not be dead. His stomach turned and he felt the vomit rush up his throat.

  “Let it all out boy, it will all be over soon.”

  ***

  Archie held the glass of sweat tea up in the air and inspected it. Condensation beaded up on the side of the cold glass, the ice tinkling within the glass cup.

  “It is truly amazing what you people were able to accomplish here.”

  He took a long sip from the glass.

  “Could use a tad more sugar for my taste though.”

  CJ and his family were all bound and gagged. His mouth was dry and his shirt wet from throwing up. The rope around his wrists tore into his skin, burning with every pull he put on them.

  “It is a shame it had to come to all this. If this Joshua fellow had just accepted Dennis and Virginia, and done the Christian thing, we would never have had to meet like this. But no,” Archie spoke, after finishing his tea. “This was just the way it had to be. To have all this comfort and not share it, in these end times, it is truly sinful.”

  He walked over to the recliner and sat in it, propping his feet up.

  “Now, when do you expect this Joshua home?”

  Silence. Archie motioned for one of his henchmen to ungag Laura. She worked her jaw once it was free. Her eyes were red from crying, but not from fear or sadness, but in anger.

  “Well,” he said waiting for a response.

  “Bite me,” Laura answered.

  With a flick of the wrist, he motioned for her to be re-gagged. She squirmed and fought, but was overpowered. Archie motioned towards CJ’s grandmother. Her mouth was freed and he waited for her response.

  “We… We don’t know…” She said.

  “Mother
!” Laura yelled through the rag.

  Archie was to his feet quickly and laid the back of his hand across Laura’s face. It hit with a loud “thwack.” She grunted and held her head down.

  “Let your mother speak!” Archie bellowed.

  CJ felt something touch his hands. It was cold and metallic. He recognized it almost instantly and eyed his grandfather. The man eyes said to be quiet. CJ unfolded the knife and began to cut away at his ropes.

  “I don’t know!” Anne screamed. “He could be back today, he could be back tomorrow! They went all the way to Statesboro! They might not even come back!”

  CJ felt the ropes loosen. His right hand was free.

  “They?” Archie asked.

  “Yes, there are three others with him,” Anne babbled on.

  “Mother!” Laura said through the gag again.

  She received another slap, this time putting her to the floor, where she stayed.

  CJ’s other hand was free. He placed the knife back into his grandfather’s hand.

  “Three others, hmm? Well, no bother. They will answer for their own sins,” Archie said, sitting back down in the recliner.

  He eyed Laura cautiously, waiting for her to try and say something again. George began to mumble something through his gag. Archie ordered for it to be removed.

  “What is it old man?” He asked.

  After letting the saliva build back up, George looked at CJ.

  “I just want to say something to my grandson, if it’s okay with you to give him some words of comfort.”

  “Go ahead,” Archie said, scratching his groin.

  CJ looked at his grandfather. His eyes were warm and loving. Despite everything that was happening, the man was on a different level.

  “CJ, no matter what happens, no matter what you hear, you don’t stop running, you hear me?”

  With that, George dove forwards with the knife, plunging it into the chest of one of the junkies.

  “RUN, CJ! RUN!”