Slow Burn: A Zombie Novel (49 page)

Soon we crossed over the river and made a stop at the bridge operator’s building. After pounding on the door for several minutes, I was greeted by Frank, who was overjoyed and very surprised to see me. This time it took no convincing at all to get him to come back to the prison with us. He had used up most of his food and had been running out of options and more importantly, hope. Frank was all smiles as he boarded the school bus and shook everyone's hand, including a reluctant Dan.

"Told you I would come back for ya!" I chided.

"I-I still just can't believe it!” Frank stammered. “Thought I was a goner."

Shortly thereafter, we came across the street that had been barricaded under the railroad viaduct. I had to admit that whoever it was, they had picked a good spot to block the street. Elevated tracks sat atop an earthen berm and provided a natural barricade against the undead along their eastern flank. They had the river on their west and only had to block off a few side streets to seal off several square blocks of territory.

Stephen told Dan to stop to check it out, as we could see several people on the other side.

“
I am going to go talk to them,” he said. "Cover me."

“
You sure that’s a good idea?” Chris asked.

“
We need to see what they are up to,” Stephen answered. “Like it or not we may need their help or need to trade for supplies with them one day. Now if they shoot at me, kill ’em all! ”

Exiting the bus with his hands held out to the sides, Stephen approached the barricade cautiously. A guard on the other side told him to halt and demanded to know what he wanted.

“
Just wanted to introduce ourselves is all,” Stephen replied loudly for all to hear. “We’ve got a compound to the north of here and wanted to talk to whoever is in charge, see if we can help each other out.”

The guard said something to the man next to him, who hopped into a truck and drove away northbound.

“
You’d want to speak with Father Kettle then,” the man replied sternly. “He should be here in a bit.”

Stephen tried to make small talk with the guard while they waited, but every time he tried the man just ignored him or asked him to wait for Father Kettle. The man did allow Stephen to hop over the barricade and stand just inside. Eventually the truck returned and a slender man in his early forties, dressed in clergy robes, exited the vehicle and approached him. He was of average height and weight and his thinning brown hair nearly reached his shoulders. The man spoke a few words to the guard who replied and nodded his head towards Stephen. He next touched the guard on the shoulder, stepped past him and walked up to Stephen.

“
Greetings, good sir, what is it I can do for you? My name is Father Kettle,” the man said.

“
My name is Stephen, and we wanted to introduce ourselves and see if we can work together for protection and supply purposes.”

Father Kettle nodded and looked past him to the bus.

“
An unusual mode of transportation, but in these biblical times we must make do with what we can. I take it you have companions inside, yes?”

When Stephen said that he did, Father Kettle continued, “Well then, bring them out. I would love to meet them.”

Stephen turned and called us to come up and introduce ourselves. We climbed over the barricade and gathered behind Stephen. He introduced Chris to Kettle and then me. I tried not to crush his hand, but a man can tell a lot about another by the way he shook hands. Kettle had the grip of a girl, all limp and weak, and his eyes were narrow and shifty. As I let go I could also see a glimmer of hatred in his eyes as he worked his sore fingers.

When Dan was introduced, he just stared at Kettle for a few seconds.

“
Do I know you from somewhere?” Dan asked, still not offering his hand.

Father Kettle seemed surprised. “I do not believe so, young man. I am not from this area and have only settled down here due to the current tragedy that has plagued mankind due to his evil ways.”

Dan’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t forget a face, and I know I seen yours someplace.”

“
Could be that you have seen me on television preaching sermons,” Father Kettle offered. “I am, after all, a man of the cloth.”

“
Doubt it was that,” Dan replied. “Only TV I watched was Fox News or porn. So which one did I see you on?”

Kettle seemed disturbed at that. “You need to come to my sermon, son, every night at the former St. Joseph’s cathedral. You definitely need it.”

“
That’s where you have set up shop?” Stephen asked.

“
Why yes,” Kettle replied. “I was passing through town on a missionary tour when God set this plague lose upon mankind. I found the church abandoned and have since made it my home.”

“
You really think God has anything to do with this?” Mattie asked. “Because a lot of innocent people have died, including little children.”

When Kettle gazed upon Mattie, the man’s demeanor abruptly changed.

He went from a seemingly kindly priestly man to something slightly off kilter.

“
Oh my, what a beauty you are, my dear,” Kettle said as he held Mattie’s hand with both of his.

"Thank you, Father,” Mattie replied gracefully.

Kettle’s eyes scanned appreciatively down Mattie’s physique, drinking in her shapely body.

“
And to answer your question, yes I do,” Kettle continued. “If you read from the Old Testament you will find many examples of God punishing the unbelievers, man, woman and child.”

Stephen decided it was a good time to butt in. “Well, we must be going. It was a pleasure meeting you. We will have to stop by for a visit later on.”

Kettle was still staring at Mattie and holding her hand.

“
Yes indeed, it was a pleasure. You are definitely invited to return to join me personally for a private session,” he replied while staring into Mattie’s eyes.

Kettle let go of her hand and stepped back. “You all are welcome to join with us in prayer at our church or even join forces with us here. It is quite safe and secure.”

I reached over and pulled Mattie behind me as Kettle stared at her intently.

“
Thank you. You have been most kind,” I said, trying to let the preacher down gently, “but we need to see to our other group members, talk it over with them and see what they want to do.”

“
The invitation will stand,” Father Kettle replied before leaving. “God be with you! Guards, see that these fine travelers depart unmolested by the soulless demons that surround our sanctuary.”

Several of Kettle’s men opened fire at several zombies who had gathered around our van. I had to admit that they were decent shots, and I would not want to exchange rounds with them if I could help it. As we piled onto the bus and drove away, we all tried to talk at once.

“
What the fuck was that?” Stephen asked.

I said he shook hands like a sissy, and I didn’t buy into his doctrine. Dan tried to guess where he saw Kettle before as he drove, coming up with one wrong guess after another. Mattie said she was totally freaked out by him. Stephen gave us a detailed description of the weapons the guards were using, mentioning that the one guard was using a PTR-91.

“
You’re the only one here who knows what that is,” I reminded him.

Chris was the least impressed and instead said he was hungry and didn't give a shit about the freak. The matter was quickly forgotten by us all as the large stone prison came into view ten minutes later.

"Our new home at last," I told Mattie with a gentle rub of her shoulder. “With any luck we will have an opportunity to settle in and get some normalcy back.

* * * * * * * *

Back at the church in his personal quarters, Kettle turned to the five hard looking men standing before him.

“
I do hope they decide to join us,” Kettle said excitedly. “In the meantime, in case they don’t, I want you five to follow them. Study their compound and learn their strengths and weaknesses. Most of all, when you get the opportunity, I want you to bring the woman, Mattie, to me, if possible. Do not harm a hair on her head. I want to purge her of her evil unclean thoughts. After I am finished with her you five can do with her as you please.”

The five men all wore wicked evil grins at the thought as they knelt in front of Kettle for their blessings before embarking on their mission. As they filed out the door, Kettle called out an order to the last man.

“
Send in the redhead that was brought in yesterday.”

A short time later, the struggling woman was dragged into his chambers and thrown onto the bed. The young woman began to cry and plead for mercy as she was tied to the bed posts.

"What’s your name, young lady?" Kettle asked with a soothing voice. "Don't be afraid, dear! I am here to pray with you."

"My name is Holly, sir," the beautiful young thing replied. "Please don't hurt me! I’ve been through so much. I was trapped in my car for days when this all started, and I barely escaped the high school before it exploded. I’ve lost everyone and everything, please sir, show me some mercy."

Kettle immediately began to feel aroused as he approached the bed and stroked the whimpering woman’s bare leg.

Yes
, he thought,
so many sinful women to be purged of their wicked ways. It is a sign from God that I was spared death to save them all. Mattie was so full of sin, it was all I could do not to take her right there in the street.

As Kettle prepared to cleanse the sobbing woman, in his mind’s eye all he could see was Mattie.

I must have her!

The twisted, evil expression on Kettle’s face sent terror surging into Holly as he roughly entered her.

“
The Lord shall forgive you,” was the last thing she remembered hearing.

Matvei lay still, soaked in his own sweat. On the inside he was full of turmoil. He was safe in his Arizona compound with nearly a hundred of his best men but had just, for the third time this week, awakened from a nightmare where he found himself surrounded by flesh-eating lunatics. He always tried escaping them down a dark and narrow hallway, but just when he thought he had reached safety in a secured room, he heard a strange gurgling noise behind him. He would turn around and find himself face to face with a sickly, gruesomely deformed Javier. They exchanged no dialogue, but Matvei was overwhelmed with fear…fear of what he knew was coming, his own death. In all his days of combat, he had never feared it. He awoke from his dream before the attack, but as he sat there, he could not shake the growing tide of guilt deep in the pit of his stomach. Had he really turned them into those terrifying creatures?

Tamera noticed he was awake and sat up, still sleepy eyed. After a few moments, she kissed him lightly and asked if everything was okay. He did not respond.

“
Are you having trouble sleeping, baby?” she then asked. “I have some pills for that.”

Still, there was no response. She noticed his skin was clammy, and he seemed to be lost in a trance.

“
Did you have that nightmare again? Come on, baby, lay back down. I promise I’ll make it better.”

He wasn’t even listening but all of a sudden he felt her warm mouth on him. He looked down and saw her beautiful dark hair shining in the dim light, her mouth and tongue waking him up and getting his full attention. She knew just how to touch him, how to stroke it and how to move. It was the primary reason he couldn’t get rid of her. She had an amazing sexual appetite and always allowed him to have his way with her. Matvei tried to resist but soon her sounds began to drown everything else in his head out and he felt the darkness slip away.

Later, while smoking a cigarette in bed, Matvei tried again to clear his thoughts. Tamera was now asleep, her nakedness covered by a thin sheet. Over the last week his hand had been forced yet again. It seemed that the crew of the ship he had waiting off the coast of Mexico had split for God only knew where. Probably to save their own families after the virus went global, thanks to his former bosses. They were supposed to link up with the contingent of his men located outside Houston, but they never did. With that fallback option now gone, he knew he would have to be even more careful. Matvei had learned again the hard lesson that, although a good leader, his physical presence was often necessary to keep order. A few days ago, he received word that his largest command, which had reached the outskirts of Dallas, Texas, was now split into three groups to gather up supplies and survivors. The first was located in Mesquite, the second in Hutchins, and the third in Duncanville. All three had dug in defensive perimeters and sent out recon and raiding parties.

At first everything was going well, but now they were beginning to receive heavy contact from the infected. Matvei could tell from the tone of their voices that the men were on edge. He knew he could not afford to make another mistake and would need to oversee the Dallas operation personally. He would leave the men at the ranch behind for safety, traveling with only a small contingent of guards. Matvei's compound was stocked with enough weapons and supplies to last him a lifetime, and it must be protected at all costs. The ranch, located outside of Burch, Arizona, was in a sparsely populated area, and there had only been contact with a few zombies. They had been taken care of at the distance of almost one mile by Matvei's sniper teams. Matvei wanted to keep the zombies a very long ways off from his property.