“Too late, I’ve already interpreted that you were calling me fat and I hate your guts.”
“I wish the zombies did, too.”
Lily rolled away from Clarkson and grabbed one of the knives. She stood up, walked back to Mate and cut the ropes tying his arms. Once free, he returned the courtesy. They grabbed their respective weapons and stood in attention.
Silhouettes became visible, forming a circle around them. They slowly approached the newcomers until Mate and Lily could have a clear picture of what they were.
And they were…
“Zombies?!” Mate said outraged. “So that’s what this whole mystery is all about? That’s very disappointing!”
The circle of living dead closed on them, blocking their way in all directions. They seemed to give a lot of importance to style when it came to garment, though.
“Well, at least we’re in luck.” Lily raised the hockey stick. “Alright, boykie, you know the drill. Let’s do this by the numbers and show these gods we’ve got a prayer for them.”
“I know you make a living slaying the dead,” a walking corpse said “but that would be an exercise in futility, not to mention rude, considering we just want you to be comfortable.”
17th MOVEMENT
The shining air-vehicle made its final approach to the big complex private heliport.
Robert Hedgiest greeted the passengers, shaking hands with them.
“Welcome back, sugar plum.” He said.
Amy just nodded.
“Karl, could you please take our guest of honor to her new quarters and make sure she’s comfortable?” Allison requested.
“My pleasure” Karl replied. “Come on, sweetheart. If there’s anything that is not to your liking, please let me know and I’ll have it fix immediately.”
“I’ll be fine.” Amy sighed.
Karl wanted to walk hand in hand with the girl, but she refused his hand. They walked away side by side.
Hedgiest watched them go. After making sure they were out of earshot, he said:
“Is everything alright?”
“Everything’s perfect.” Allison answered.
“Is Lily Master out of our hair once and for all?”
“We won’t be hearing from her anytime soon, I guarantee. It was surprisingly easy to catch her. I told you her skills were overrated. I can’t believe Shane let herself be killed by that girl.”
“So, I gather we have a go to proceed.”
“Oh yes. Phase 1, Operation Cleaning, is complete. Earth population is drastically reduced. Our dear zombies did a thorough job. They’re still doing it.”
“And, in spite of one or two mishaps, Shane was able to determine that it’s possible to spread mind control to a wider area, as long as we have a bunch of antennas properly deployed.”
“Or a couple of satellites properly orbiting, which takes us to Phase 2, Operation Awakening.”
“But there’s one thing that’s making me a bit uncomfortable.”
“What is it, Robert?”
“Operation Awakening is a very top-secret project. Only the personnel directly connected to the Chancellor were supposed to know about it, including you and me, of course. But I can see little Amy was also made aware of it.”
“She’s the key to the whole thing, that’s why I had to test her skills. It’s just fair that she knows what she’s getting into.”
“She doesn’t seem very much in line with the team.”
“She’s a hundred percent in on it. I totally vouch for her behavior.”
“And where all this confidence comes from?”
“Amy’s beloved tutor Nancy has resumed her regular duties and the baby is under her care. They are not in Devasta Land, keeping company with Lily Master, if you get my drift.”
“Very well, then.”
“See you at the stockholders’ lunch?”
“Well, I should watch for my cholesterol, but I won’t resist.”
“Great! And now, time for the children to finally meet the Big Mambo King!”
“So, is everything okay for the strategic meeting tonight?” Karl spoke on the phone.
“Same place, same time” The Chancellor replied on the other end. “See you there.”
“Hum, sir, just one more thing. I know you’re busy, but if I may…”
“Sure. What is it?”
“I’d like to talk to you about Allison’s behavior, sir. I mean, I hate to bring this up, but I’m afraid it’s necessary.”
“No problem. What happened?”
“During our last assignment, she was extremely disrespectful and undermined me in front of prisoners and employees. This is terrible for morale and makes me look bad.”
“Have you talked to her about this?”
“Well, no. I… I thought you could talk to her about it. The way I see it, this is an administration issue…”
“Fair enough, I understand. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you, sir. See you at the meeting.”
Karl waited until the Chancellor disconnected the call on the other end before turning off his cell phone.
Among the beautiful trees and green grass of a carefully maintained park, Karl walked the gravel path to an outdoor restaurant, where General Prentiss was waiting for him while taking a coffee.
“General.” Karl said.
“Please, have a seat.” Prentiss replied. “Are you having something to eat?”
“Yes, but not now. It’s better if I order only after you’re gone.” Karl responded and sat down. “It’s not a good idea for us to be seen having lunch together.”
“You’re probably right, straight to the point then.”
“The Chancellor will be in the conference room for our meeting.”
“And I’ll be there waiting for him.”
“I’ll get there within a little delay, time enough for you to perform your little deed.”
“Why, you’re not going to watch it?”
“I’d rather not.”
“You executives just don’t have any stomach, now do you?”
“Anyway, the gun will be taped under the table, in front of the third chair from the door, on the side that faces the bar. Got that?”
“I’ll remember.”
“Are you sure this is going to work?”
“Without the Chancellor, Corporate will have to embrace a new leadership fast to avoid chaos. And I’m all they got.”
“Don’t you think Corporate will find your actions a little extreme?”
“In the beginning, yes. But with the Chancellor dead, they won’t have much of a choice. In time, we’ll show them how better things are run under the military.”
“What about Hedgiest?”
“The man’s a coward. He won’t dare to stand in our way. We’ll have him in our pocket in no time.”
“Allison?”
“The zombies will have a field day with her. I just hope they don’t mind nauseating perfume.”
“That serves her right. I don’t even know how they let her lead this project in the first place. She’s arrogant, incompetent, ill-mannered, lenient with employees, got no authority over anybody.”
“We’re on the same page then. Don’t worry about the bill. It’s my treat.”
The general stood up, but Karl held his arm.
“Just remember our deal, General. I don’t mind you calling the shots as long as I am the new Director of Operations.”
“What? Do you think I forgot? Jeez, I’m not that old. Relax, will you?”
Prentiss released his arm from the other’s hand with a bit of disdain and went his way. Karl called the waiter.
Karl arrived at the main office building and approached his badge for the biometric reading. But his credentials were refused. He was forced to enter his personal override code on the numeric panel to access the building.
When he got in, turmoil was in charge. Deafening sirens blared. Security guards and men in black suits strode eve
rywhere, from one corner to another, walkie-talkies in hand and talking frenetically. One of them stopped in front of Karl, blocking his way.
“You cannot be here, sir!” He announced gravely.
Karl just stood in front of the man, his name and position shining through the laminated badge.
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir.” The guard promptly acknowledged. “I didn’t know it was you.”
“No problem. What’s going on?”
However, indistinguishable voices overlapped on the man’s radio.
“You’ll have to excuse me, sir.” The guard declared and walked away.
“What could it possibly be?” Karl talked to himself in a fake innocence.
Without caring for all the agitation around, he calmly walked to the main elevator. He knew his company privileges would still get him everywhere, even in an emergency situation.
Karl stepped out of the elevator in the fourth floor. He casually headed toward the conference room, hands in his trousers pockets and whistling a tune. The whole sector was awfully empty, but Karl knew it was protocol to evacuate departments in the event of a serious emergency.
He got to the conference room and brought his badge close to the reader. The green light flashed and the door slid open. He entered. It was empty.
Karl walked around. Nothing seemed out of place. He looked up to the ceiling in an automatic gesture. The alarm siren stopped all of a sudden. That was when a thought hit Karl, as a punch right in the mind – how come his credentials worked on the conference room door in an emergency situation? The whole building was supposed to be sealed. And yet, he didn’t have to enter a single override code.
He ran to the door. It closed fast on him. He tried the button that opened the door on the inside. It didn’t work. Karl was locked in the room. He loosened his tie knot and collar so nervously he nearly tore them both. He could feel sweat drops forming right above his temples.
He turned around over and over again, like a dog in distress. Another thought came to mind. Karl stumbled to the big table and fumbled below it. He found the gun exactly where it was supposed to be, still cold and loaded. No shot had been fired.
Karl stood up, and only then his eyes met the Chancellor’s, staring back at him behind a glass window. The big boss stood tall, apparently enjoying good health. Most of all, he was clearly still alive.
Karl fired against the glass, but it did not budge. The Chancellor didn’t even wink. Karl shot at the entrance door until running out of ammo, to no avail.
“Sir, please, I can explain!” Karl mumbled under the terrible realization that had caught up with him. He had the distinguished impression his pants were getting wet. “I… I just…”
His speech was interrupted by the sound of another door sliding open. Karl turned around.
From the break room, General Prentiss made his grand entrance. Only it was not him. Five-star generals don’t usually snarl with horridly deformed teeth and blurred eyes. Still, he was in his gala uniform, just a little stained by his own drool.
“AHHHH!” Karl screamed and ran.
That was when he noticed there were no chairs in the room. They had probably been removed to deprive him of any kind of defense. Speaking which, he hated himself for empting the damned gun. It could have saved his life. The Chancellor must have calculated he would act in such despair. If only he knew what they had in store for him. It was all part of the mockery.
“Sir, please!” Karl implored.
But he had no time to talk. The zombie-general came to him like an infuriated beast. It chased the poor man around the table, like two kids playing a game. Karl even tried to get into the break room, which would have been futile anyway since there was no way out through there. But the door to that place slid close to his face as well.
“Ah Karl, I had so much hope in you.” The Chancellor lamented through the glass. “You should know what to expect when you’re not aligned with the great ideals of this so important undertaking. And punishment is even worse for traitors. Now, you and the general can have your last dinner together.”
Eventually, Karl ran out of energies, while his persecutor could go on and on, until his body completely turned to ashes. Considering how large the general was, that would not be happening any time soon, especially in an air-conditioned room.
The living corpse grabbed the table that separated it from its prey and threw it to the side with incredible force. The voracious undead finally captured its victim and started the banquet.
Amid fear and confusion, Karl still managed to roll his eyes up and noticed the Chancellor was not alone in the anteroom.
“Funny how they always begin by the guts” Allison said.
“Well, I know the general was partial to spaghetti.” The Chancellor replied.
After a while, the screams of pain ceased and Karl stopped moving. But the general was still busy feasting on him.
Taking advantage of such distraction, Colonel Driscoll opened the door to the conference room and entered. He pulled out his gun and shot Karl and General Prentiss in the head. The colonel saluted his former, now departed commanding officer and went to the anteroom.
“All done, Mister Chancellor” He announced.
“Very good, colonel, or shall I say general” The Chancellor replied. “Congratulations on your promotion. I hereby appoint you as our new Secretary of Defense.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“And I assume everything is clear also to the Military Joint, am I correct?”
“Yes, sir, they’ll play ball.”
“I’m sure they will. But, just in case, you remind them we have ways to know everything that happens in here, and please tell them what we do to traitors.”
“Sure thing, sir.”
“You’re dismissed.”
Driscoll bowed and left the room.
“Excellent job, my dear” The Chancellor turned to Allison.
“Not as nice as the little theater you put together downstairs.” She responded.
“I couldn’t resist. Now tell me, how did you find out about this plot?”
“Little Amy read Karl’s mind in the helicopter. It was all there, like a written confession.”
“Very clever.”
“Thank you.”
“Can we trust Amy? She does have quite a talent.”
“She’ll cooperate fully. She knows what at stake. Thanks to her, Operation Awakening will be the breakthrough we’ve all been waiting for.”
“I’d say thanks to you, Allison. You’ve been doing an extraordinary job and I won’t forget it.”
“I’m glad to see you understand my ways. I’m not a politician, I speak my mind, I don’t kiss ass and I despise who does. That’s why Karl over there annoyed me so much. But you can always count on me to get the results we need.”
“Oh, we do have a lot in common. And don’t worry about politics, I handle that part. After all, I have to do some work around here, right?”
They both laughed.
“If you excuse me, sir, I still got some things to do tonight.” Allison said.
“I’m sure you do. And on your way out, don’t forget to have the cleaning staff sent to the conference room.”
“I won’t.” Allison smiled.
18th MOVEMENT
“Um, Lily…” said Mate “Is it me, or that zombie just talked?”
“We prefer to be called disgusting rotten bodies.” The defunct replied. “You know, to be politically correct.”
He was wearing t-shirt, jeans, red jacket and a cap with a propeller toy on top.
“No, it’s not you, partner.” Lily answered. “We’re either having a collective hallucination here, or this is the most elaborated costume party of the whole post-apocalypse.”
“Wrong on both accounts” the corpse continued. “We don't know how it happened. It just did. We belong to the first batch, the ones who got the fever. Like many, we died, resurrected and stayed dead. The difference was we came back smarter. Body stopp
ed functioning, but mind got sharper. It's not hard to believe I was never brilliant in high school, always charming, but never clever. Now, I am both. Too bad I'm rotting away.”
“The virus must have mutated in your bodies somehow.” Lily said.
“That’s a reasonable assumption.” replied the cadaver. “But only this particular group was affected, or gifted if you will. The ones we bit turned regular living dead, too much snarl, so little substance. We were forced to finish eating them; disgusting but practical, otherwise delicious.”
“I’ve always thought zombies never ate each other.” Mate said.
“And we don’t.” The dead man replied. “We cook them first.”
“Do you have a name?” Lily queried.
“Oh, pardon me.” The reanimated corpse responded. “I got many names.”
“Why’s that?” Mate asked. “Do you consider yourself some kind of legendary hero?”
“No. Actually, it’s because my family loves to keep maiden names. But you can call me as everybody here refers to me as, Zomboy.”
“And I assume you know who I am.” Lily spoke.
“Who doesn’t?” Zomboy opened a congenial, twisted smile. “Welcome to my humble town, Apocalily. I was waiting for you.”
Apocalily Series (Book 2): The Almighty Lady of Tomorrow Page 13