Death Plague Omnibus [Four Zombie Novels] (43 page)

My monochromic vision showed me the scenes with the saturation bled from every colour; it tamed my experience of witnessing my first mass slaughter. Looking back, I guess that this was a kind of defence mechanism, allowing the tainted blood now running through my system to allow me to readjust to what I was to become.

The colours did return but the lines and shapes became indistinct. I saw myself looking down at my fallen body, watching streams of blood waterfall down the stairs as I rose towards the ceiling.

Paint, plaster, and wood proved to be no obstacle for my new form of existence, I passed through seeing a couple of mice fighting over a pen top, and I even saw a rolled up ten pound note lying on a bed of wood shavings. I found myself grinning as I wondered if that was the same note that Mrs Gillsome accused my sister of stealing out of her purse two days ago.

The irrelevancies of that stray thought made me wonder if I really was dead, and perhaps I was now going to a better place while leaving my shell down there to murder in my name. I felt no guilt if that really was the case. I felt no guilt over anything now. In fact, I didn't feel much of anything. I carried on rising, past the body of our next door neighbour. She won't be accusing anyone of stealing money now. She laid quite still, the front of her dress ripped down the middle, exposing her generous breast. She only had one left intact as her husband was currently eating his way through the other one.

I continued to rise, leaving Mr Gillsome to finish his meal in peace. Just before I vanished through the ceiling, the now dead Mr Gillsome stopped chewing off lumps from his wife's left tit. He turned his head and looked directly at me. He growled deep in his throat while stretching his arms out across the body. It sent a tiny shiver across my corporeal shape. This thing could see me, and more to the point, he was warning me off, acting like our old cat whenever anyone came close to his food bowl. I think right there, something inside me began to wake up, whispering that perhaps I might not be dying after all, although the news wasn't treated with any fanfare. After all, if I wasn't going to die, what was going to happen to me?

My body slid through the plaster and wood, this time I saw no mice or no money. This appeared to be my final destination as my velocity slowed then stopped, leaving me floating four feet from my parent's bedroom floor.

It felt as though I was caught in amber. I couldn't move anything, not even to blink. Lying there in a prone position with my eyes facing forward, I watched my naked mother pick up her ornate silver clock and fling it to the left of her. Something beside me growled, making a similar sound to our zombie guy on the next floor down. I didn't need to see to know that noise came from my dad.

My mum dived on the bed, passing within inches of me. I guessed that at least she was oblivious to my presence. My dad though, he could see me alright. This huge slavering lump of pale white meat stopped directly in front of my still form. It lowered its body until Dad's milky blue eyes stared into mine. A moan so loud, it hurt even my ghostlike ears, rumbled from his deep chest.

My dad had turned. He had changed into this dead thing without being bitten himself. The bedroom lock was still engaged, and until I had rose up through the floor, all he wanted to do was to munch down on my mum. He lunged forward, his head disappearing into my body while his teeth opened and snapped shut on empty air.

I silently shouted to my mum, telling her to get the fuck out of here, to flee while this thing was busy. Only she didn't, my mum just slid down the wall, grabbing the blue quilt on the way down and covered herself with it whilst crying, big wet tears rolled down her cheeks as she hugged the quilt tight.

The woman had given up. Unlike me, her resistance had crumbled. It made me wonder why. After all, it wasn't as if she hadn't been given a second chance to escape. Right there, I think another trigger inside my mind snapped shut. My dad had all but given up on trying to bite my spirit and was turning around to face his other potential meal, obviously deciding that at least this one was solid, and by the looks of it, wasn't going anywhere.

Can you believe that the silly woman started to smile? She dropped the quilt and opened her arms, wrapping them around this monster as he leaned down. Her apparently calm demeanour shattered when her sudden amorous action overbalanced my dad. He fell forward, his hands landing on each side of her face.

Her screaming erupted when both his thumbs dug into her eye sockets, his digits pulping her soft globes. Blood and grey jelly streamed out from the ragged holes and slid down her cheeks. My dad dropped to his knees, and while keeping his thumbs hooked inside her skull, he pulled mum's head forward and slammed it against the wall. The cracking of bone could clearly be heard over my mum's shrieking. The dead thing repeating this action three times, each impact leaving more and more crimson mush splattered against the lemon coloured floral wallpaper.

The scene then faded away, leaving me with the last image of my dad letting the body fall forward before he pushed his mouth into the back of her ruined head.

When I awoke, I found my sister, the only person who'd lived through the whole encounter, cradling me in her lap while wiping a damp flannel across my forehead. It looked like I really was alive after all. I looked up into those tear-filled baby blue eyes and smiled, actually believing that the worst was now past us.

Chapter Three

Feeling a little better

How had my sister managed to survive through that initial horrifying attack? By rights, she should have been the first one of my family to succumb. I’m not being cruel here, it’s really what I expected. Just like mum, Danielle should have just given up the ghost and rolled on her back like a shivering dog.

It just goes to show how accurate my judgement was back then. Danielle didn’t just survive, that beautiful girl positively thrived in this terrifying new environment. Right at the start of this nightmare, she became my rock.

Okay, so maybe I hadn’t spent that much attention watching Danielle, is that so unusual? Come on, only a grade one creeper would do something like that. We both had our own lives, and our own interests. Apart from sharing parents and the occasional breathing space, we were practically strangers. Even so, I had always considered our Danielle to be your typical seventeen year old annoying sister. As I previously explained, she was beautiful. I know what I just said about not being a grade one creeper, but I can't deny the obvious fact that Danielle had the looks that drove men and boys crazy. I include my old mates in that category as well.

She cared more about what her online friends thought about her than what her own family did, loved shopping, and going all gooey eyed over this month’s hot boy band. Like I said, a typical fangirl.

Danielle's story and how she reacted when she found out exactly what her little brother had become could wait for a little longer, as right now I sensed that my alone time with Adrian's corpse was about to come to an end. I sensed three men outside the room, currently rushing up the stairs.

The bite from that rotting dead fuck not only altered my body, my mind changed as well. As I previously demonstrated with dead Ade over there, I now have the ability to ‘read' a person's thoughts.

Do I sense scepticism? Sure I do. I mean, it’s all just load of cobbled together bullshit, a bunch of fairy tales designed to scare kids. Yeah, well, sorry to be the bearer of shitty news, but it’s all true. Are you ready for the kicker?

The millions of dead things have this ability too. Oh, don’t start panicking just yet. They can only share with each other.

Look, don't think I've completely lost it here, it's not like they these dead things have cosy mental chats over brains and coffee, discussing the best places to catch a running snack.

They operate more like a very simple hive mind, connecting with each other, the group becoming greater than the sum of its parts. The shambling dead only exist to consume human flesh, and in the past two decades they've done exactly that, and to great effect. Before the Great Rising, it's estimated that there were over six billion humans living on this planet. I bet that there's less than a few million left now. They're becoming an endangered species.

Most of the shambling dead have collected into vast hordes numbering millions, each one migrating from one area to the next, and like locusts, these hordes eat anybody stupid enough to get in their way.

Looking back, I should have taken that into consideration when I first heard about this place. It shouldn't even exist. The humans quickly realised that having a nomadic existence was the only way to stay alive in this foul world. But, I digress.

As I said, like the dead things, I too can pluck out strong thoughts from human minds, only right now, thanks to whatever this dirty bitch ate, this ability wasn't working too well. I did pick out that all three were armed, so I guess that these guys weren't Jehovah's Witnesses, wanting to talk to me about Jesus. The guns they carried kinda put paid to that notion.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I did feel rather concerned over this dramatic turn of events. The odds didn't faze me; even the guns didn't make me reconsider. Believe me, I've taken on far greater odds. What did concern me was the simple fact that I'd just eaten a Hunter's equivalent of a dodgy curry, meaning that I was on the crappy side of delicate, and I really couldn't do with the hassle.

Those men were now right outside the door. From what I could make out, their bovine thoughts were full to the brim of just one subject. I frowned, sitting up as one of them tapped on the door.

I caught just enough imagery from the three of them to understand the purpose of their visit. I looked down at the man’s messed up body and shook my head in annoyance. “You dirty little shithead,” I murmured. This could get very awkward. It now appeared that this cockless vermin had found another avenue to subsidise his vile existence. “So, you’re a pimp. Oh fuck, this could only happen to me.” I slowly got to my feet, purposely ignoring the set tap on the door, and walked over to the other door in this room.

God, what an amateur. I hadn’t even checked this room. Oh, I knew that this joker had no pals hiding under any beds, but I should have at least had a bit of a nosy before pulling off his cock.

“Oh, just terrific.” I pushed open the door, gazing at the single bed and the filthy sheets. It wasn’t exactly a pleasure palace, but its intent was obvious.

In my eagerness to pump him for my required information, I hadn't anticipated that life around us would carry on. Then again, I also hadn't anticipated that Adrian's flesh would almost kill me. I wiped the back of my hand over my lips, seeing spots of blood mixed with my saliva. It reminded me yet again that I still wasn't right. Not that I needed any more sodding reminder, the fact that I still felt like shit and my mental processes weren't working as they should told me that.

I listened to that sex-starved dork tap on the door again, this time accompanied with a vocal enquiry. Some important fact was missing from this whole situation, something that my damaged brain hadn't picked up.

My eyes craved the for their skin covers. And the rest of my tired and aching body so wanted to crawl into a nice warm bed. My wishes would have to wait though, as my three guests weren't in any mood to leave me alone. The taps had bypassed the knocking phase and jumped straight to banging. The old wood already showed signs of splintering. Those men would be through that door in moments if I didn't act right now.

"Go away!" I yelled, in my best angry but surprised voice. "I haven't finished with her yet." I considered adding in a high pitched groan of pleasure, just for added effect. I backed out, though. There was no need to go over the top; I only needed them to bugger off so I could get back to the crucial task of getting my body back in form before continuing my search for Danielle.

Their incessant banging didn't stop; I guess that these guys really were eager to get their rocks off. I cursed my inability to only pull out glimpses from their thoughts. It put me at a severe disadvantage.

I brought my fingers up to my face and wiggled them, trying to count how many humans these supple digits had extinguished. "It's a lot." I had to concede that, right now, I couldn't remember. Instead, I decided to start my count from today.

"That's a little easier," I murmured, getting to my feet. "That number is one, soon to be four.” Strange how all those nagging aches just faded into the background as my urges woke up. This body was no fool. As soon as my intentions were revealed, it flooded my system with a huge cocktail of chemicals.

The doorframe cracked and splintered. I moved to the far wall, a metre from the open window, knowing that immediate focus points for them would be Adrian, followed by the window. They were human, therefore completely predictable. As I slowed down my heart while resting the back of my head against the cracked plaster, I smiled as the first figure burst through the door.

His mouth formed an ‘O' when he saw what I'd done to Adrian. His horror wouldn't slow shock him for too long, though; I guess he'd seen far worse injuries. By the looks of his clothing, this guy had most likely caused plenty as well.

The newcomer's black uniform hung from his thin frame. The butcher and chef in me had already mentally jointed this living skeleton. A disappointing find, not that I would be able to eat him, this guy would no doubt be tainted, just like the man with no penis. I put away my thoughts of food and got ready to jump. I just needed the others in here before jumping on them. I was in no condition to start chasing any of them down an unfamiliar street.

I saw two more shadows and paused, something here felt so wrong. Now that the wood was no longer between me and them, I now sensed exactly what had been missing from my early probing. These guys were part of this town's squad of enforcers. They weren't here for sex—at least that hadn't been their primary goal. These fuckers were after me.

His two colleagues strolled through the opening, both giving Adrian a cursory glance before they found my figure. I froze solid, experiencing something that I hadn't felt for years. The two men grinned, showing me their large teeth. I saw no fear in their eyes. Then again, why would they fear me?

I blinked, gaping at two of my fellow kind, a pair of hunters, their thickly muscled bodies straining to burst from their black uniforms. Drool and blood dripped from the sides of their mouths. They both licked their lips and moved further into the room, unable to take their eyes off me, each one running their gaze up and down my body, admiring me like a starving man admiring a thick steak. Their crimson thoughts threatened to drown me in visions of my own demise. I tried to see through the blood, swimming through the muck, desperately looking for some common ground. These creatures were of my species; this was the first of my kind that I'd seen for almost ten years. I couldn't fight them, I just couldn't. It would be like wanting to kill myself.

The hunters both stopped at the same time, turning their heads, as if waiting for some unspoken gesture from the little man still on the floor next to Adrian.

It shocked me to find that the human was their commanding officer. How could that be? Hunters were slave to no human. I growled low in my throat, feeling my hard nails push through my palms. It disgusted me to see them flinching as the human barked out instructions, and ordering them to calm the fuck down.

  Does that sound like insanity to you? Sure it does. I mean, it's obvious that these guys only have one thing on their minds, they intended to eat me. From what I'd found out to my own distress, the local dishes were bad news, meaning that these hunters probably hadn't had fresh meat for a long time. We can survive on the food human's eat, but it doesn't mean we enjoy it. So why am I defending them? Considering they really did see me as the largest steak they'd ever see.

If the humans were endangered, then we would be classed as almost extinct. I've been a hunter for twenty years, and never once met a female of our kind. Just allow that snippet of information take root before judging my actions. You see, if there are two hunters in this room, how many more could be hiding in this anomaly?

Still, knowing that I wasn't about to end up as food gave me some appeasement, although after what I'd done to Adrian, I doubted that any of them were about to escort me out of town with a going away present of cake and beer. "Be careful what you do next," I warned. "Your hunters might be able to subdue me, but rest assured, human, you won't see it."

My speech wasn't meant to be amusing; nevertheless, all three of them began to chuckle. It was at this juncture when I realised they had raised their weapons. I tensed. The human was convinced that their weapons would drop me. I couldn't care less about that overconfident little shithead. What concerned me was that the hunters shared his conviction. We're not immune to bullets, but thanks to our unique metabolism, it would take more than three light weapons to put us down.

They took aim, still grinning. I did the only course left to me. This town had already thrown up one shock, and that had almost killed me. I was in no mood to discover what other nasty surprises were in store for me. I stepped to the left and threw my body out of the window.

As I fell, I saw three enraged faces getting smaller. The ground rushed up to greet me, its violent embrace, smashing the bones in my left leg. I shook off the pain and limped towards a small brick built hut, seeing another face watching me from behind a window. For the first time, I sensed a comradeship, and whoever it was, they wanted nothing more than for me to escape the clutches of those enforcers.

The door opened and an old man ushered me inside the brick building. It took me a moment to realise that this human knew exactly what I was and yet showed no fear of my presence. He, like Adrian, was protected against consumption, but he'd be no match for me if I suddenly decided to kill him, just out of spite.

The old man directed me to a homebuilt wooden bench draped in thick cushions.

"Sit here, rest and heal, hunter." He turned his head and nodded. "Come on out, you know what we have to do."

I sensed movement behind me and tensed.

"Calm and still your turbulent thoughts, hunter. Direct your energy inwards. We're here to help."

Three more humans emerged from a room behind the bench. An older female aged around forty tentatively passed me, her eyes never leaving my form. Behind her, following like ducklings, I watched two teenaged boys, each one carrying a cricket bat, give me a shared curious stare before taking up position at each side of the door.

"Just what the hell is going on here?" My mind swirled in total confusion at how quickly events had changed. I hated not being in control, and this situation was about as far as out of control as I could get. My blood rose, and finding the old man's hand on my arm only exacerbated my stress levels. This food animal had the audacity to tell me to calm down.