The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (32 page)

Maria quickly accessed her wristlet.
“
Denman, you need to get in here. Something is wrong with Jameson.
”

Pouring the contents of the can into his mouth, Jameson reached for yet more food. His body trembled as he fumbled with the cans.

“
Kurt,
”
Maria said in a gentle voice, using his first name.
“
Kurt, you can
’
t be hungry. We don
’
t need food.
”

“
I
am
hungry!
”
he shouted.
“
I can
’
t stand it anymore. Being so hungry all the time!
”
He swept the cans of food onto the floor and fell to his knees. With trembling fingers, he pried the cans open.

Maria could hear Denman
’
s approach as he rushed through the ruined house. He burst into the kitchen and gasped.

“
What the hell?
”

Jameson didn
’
t even acknowledge them as he continued to cram food into his mouth. He wasn
’
t even fully chewing, just swallowing.

“
He says he
’
s hungry,
”
Maria said, not able to comprehend what was going on before her.

“
Hungry!
”
Jameson howled.

Maria and Denman froze, then both
dropped
into defensive stances. He sounded like Ryan and the first attacker.

“
You can
’
t be hungry. We don
’
t need to eat because of the virus,
”
Denman said in a very calm voice as he approached Jameson.

Covered in bits of food, gravy, and syrups, Jameson continued to eat with a ferocity that was disturbing. Squatting beside him, Denman pulled out his scanner and aimed it at the young soldier.

Belching, Jameson fell onto his side, gripping his stomach.
“
Hungry!
”
he howled again.

Maria pushed a table away and cleared the area around Jameson. Fear was slowly uncoiling within her and she could see Denman was unnerved as well. He was clo
se enough to get a reading, yet
at a safe distance.

With a blood-curdling cry, Jameson doubled over and violently vomited everything he had consumed. Great sobs of despair filled the room as Jameson fell onto his side again. His body seized with terrible tremors and he vomited again.

“
What the hell is going
—
”
Maria started to say but
was cut off by Jameson
’
s cry
.

“
Hungry!
”

The soldier lunged at Denman, who scrambled out of his way. Jameson started to crawl after him but was seized by another spasm. Again he threw up. Instead of food, he vomited small pebbles and pieces of plants.

“
Hungry!
”
Jameson
cried
again and hurled himself toward Maria.

Maria knocked him
away
with a powerful punch. Jameson fell into the kitchen counter and howled. Lurching forward, he screamed. Maria again hit him, knocking him
to the floor
.
Denman
grabbed one of Jameson
’
s arms and twisted
it
up between the man
’
s shoulder blades.

“
I need restraints!
”

Maria cautiously stepped forward as she activated her wristlet.
“
Cormier
, bring me restraints immediately. I
’
m in the house.
”

“
Yes, sir!
”

Maria felt her disquiet growing. Maybe Jameson had just mentally snapped, but the distress in his voice as he howled was too similar to how Ryan and the other
Anomaly
had sounded.

By the time Cormier arrived with the restraints, Jameson was incoherent in his
cries. Denman secured his arms,
then hauled him to his feet.

Twisting around in Denman
’
s grip, Jameson tried to bury his teeth in the man
’
s neck. Luckily, Denman saw the movement in time and brought up his arm, deflecting the bite. Maria grabbed Jameson and flung him to the floor again.

“
Hungry,
”
Jameson howled.

“
What the hell?
”
Cormier gasped, staring at Jameson in horror.

“
What are we going to do with him?
”
Denman asked, stepping back from the raving
soldier.

“
Leave him here.
”
Maria heard the coldness in her voice, but she saw no other choice.
Jameson
was incoherent and they couldn
’
t drag him around with them. He had snapped
,
or worse.

“
Leave him?
”
Cormier gasped.
“
What
’
s wrong with him?
”

“
He
’
s cracked,
”
Denman responded in a tired voice.
“
He
’
s mentally unhinged. There
’
s no point taking him with us.
”

“
We just can
’
t leave him here,
”
Cormier protested.

“
Yes, we can,
”
Maria said in a firm tone.
“
He doesn
’
t need to eat or drink. He
’
s fine here. I
’
ll turn off his alarm and he
’
ll go into torpor. He
’
ll be safer here.
”
Maria
regarded
the growling man at her feet.
“
We can
’
t deal with what
’
s wrong with him right now.
”

Writhing on the floor, Jameson
’
s incomprehensible cries and howls tore at Maria
’
s nerves. She knew she was right. There was nothing they could do for Jameson. They didn
’
t even know what was wrong with him. Perhaps it was a psychotic break. They had all been under so much duress with little to no time for anything other than killing. But she feared it was something much worse.

“
Did you scan him?
”
Maria asked Denman.

The medic was still staring at Jameson as he nodded.

“
I want a full report as soon as possible.
”
Maria turned to
Cormier
.
“
I want the carrier up and operational within the hour
, and
I want to run scans on the area.
”

Cormier saluted,
stooped
through the doorway and was gone.

Maria and Denman stood in silence over Jameson. Maria wondered how long it would take for torpor to come.

“
The
Anomaly
bit him,
”
Denman said after a minute or so.

Maria looked at him sharply.
“
What are you saying?
”

“
That out of all of us only the one bitten by an
Anomaly
is
—
”

The soldier at their feet screamed.
“
Hungry!
”

Chapter 23

The door to the flat slid open and Lindsey stepped aside to let Dwayne in.
Within
an hour the city would be plunged into darkness as the mandatory nightly blackouts took effect. Only emergency services would retain power. That meant a curfew in all areas of the city. They didn
’
t have much time to speak. Dwayne had come as soon as Lindsey had contacted him.

Dwayne was
surprised to see another person in Lindsey
’
s home
.
It was a lanky young man with
wild dark hair falling over his brow. Slightly tilted eyes and strong cheekbones gave him a Slavic look. Dressed in jeans, a faded t-shirt, and flip-flops, the man regarded Dwayne with suspicion.

“
Dwayne, this is my boyfriend, Vaja. Vaja, play nice.
”
Lindsey slid into her chair and
focused on
her screens.

“
I don
’
t like you getting Linds involved with all this,
”
Vaja said in a slightly accented voice. His pale blue eyes were accusatory.
“
It
’
s not safe.
”

“
I can
’
t make Lindsey do anything she doesn
’
t want to. At least not when we
’
re off duty,
”
Dwayne answered, flashing his more charming and disarming smile. He extended his hand to Vaja.
“
It
’
s a pleasure to meet you.
”

Vaja reluctantly shook his hand and slumped against the ladder to Lindsey
’
s elevated bed.

“
Vaja is a very suspicious person. But
helpful. He
assisted
with some of the inscription problems I was having. He has a brain like a computer.
”

“
Which is why she likes me,
”
Vaja said with a shrug.

“
I don
’
t have a lot of time before curfew.
”
Dwayne rested his hand on the rail of Lindsey
’
s bed and leaned over to peer at her screen.

“
I love how no one is complaining about the mandatory blackout,
”
Lindsey groused, her fingers flying over the screens.

“
They
’
re willing to sacrifice for the greater good now that they know the gate is closed and that they will soon be free of the
Inferi Scourge
,
”
Vaja said
sarcastically
.
“
Excha
nging liberties for security. W
asn
’
t that
what
everyone did when the
Inferi Scourge
started to take over the world?
”

“
Didn
’
t do us much good, did it?
”
Lindsey grumbled.

Dwayne frowned as he started to understand what Lindsey was loading onto her screens.
“
Security feed from the subway?
”

“
And sewers.
”
Lindsey pointed at several vids as they played.
“
Remember that little incident you wanted me to look into?
”

“
When the SWD blocked off my neighborhood
?
Yeah, I remember.
”

“
It just took me awhile to find these. They were deleted as soon as they were reviewed by the SWD.
”

“
But nothing is really deleted if you know what you
’
re doing,
”
Vaja said with a grin.

“
The night you saw that commotion outside the subway station in your neighborhood, there was a breach
in the subway system. Not
within the city, but outside.
”

The furrows in Dwayne
’
s brow deepened.
“
Outside? The wall?
”

“
Yep. There was a breach in one of the old stations out in the valley. The one next to the hydroelectric plant.
”
Lindsey expanded one of the vid feeds. It revealed two shadowy figures huddled near the sealed door. It took Dwayne a second to realize they were trying to activate the panel and unlock the door.

“
What
’
s that they have between them?
”

“
Not sure yet, but whatever it was it had enough juice in it to activate the panel and watch...
”
Lindsey pointed to a section of the vid. On screen the door yawned open. Both figures slipped in before the security programs overrode the breach and shut the door.

“
Who the hell are they? How were they outside the wall and not attacked by
Scrags
?
”
Dwayne couldn
’
t believe what he was seeing.

“
Just watch the vids. This is where it gets interesting,
”
Vaja said, his smile cold and a little cruel.

Dwayne watched as the two figures rushed through the subway station, running to each locked exit, desperate to get out
into the city
.
“
Constabulary armor,
”
Dwayne said, his fear growing.

“
No insignias. No markings of any kind,
”
Lindsey agreed.

Since the cameras were recording with night vision it was impossible to truly make out the faces of the two people running unheeded through the subway system. Reaching
another exit, one
started to try to open the door using a manual override.

“
Which station is that?
”
Dwayne asked, though he already knew.

“
The one in your neighborhood.
”

“
They got that far into the city?
”
Dwayne checked the timestamp on all the vids. The two intruders were in the subway for close to
two hours
by the time they reached the station.

The figure on the screen worked feverishly on the manual override as the other person stalked back and forth. Their movements were somehow disconcerting
,
though Dwayne couldn
’
t quite determine why.

“
So at this point, the one trying to unlock the door manages to actually do it. But the door doesn
’
t open. They
’
ve all been disabled so they don
’
t open automatically when unlocked.
”
Lindsey narrated as the rapidly-
pacing o
ne flung itself at the doors. Together, the intruders
tried to pry it open.
“
They actually got the door to open six inches.
”

“
And then...
”
Vaja pointed at the screen just as a
search and d
estroy squad arrived. The screen was illuminated with gunfire, the flares blinding the cameras.

“
Recovering the vids was the easiest part. Getting the SWD report on the incident was far more difficult, but I managed. Then it was encrypted. Which is when I asked Vaja to help.
”
Lindsey pulled up the report.

Dwayne squinted as he read.
“
There are still words blacked out.
”

“
That
’
s how it was written. Those blank spots are deliberate. As if the person reading it would already know how to fill it in,
”
Lindsey explained.

“
So these unknowns that the SWD know about infiltrated the subway system and tried to break into the city,
”
Vaja summarized.
“
They killed the two in the station, but were afraid there would be more. So as they reviewed the security vids, they also dispatched a cleanup crew to make sure the neighborhood was secure.
”

Overwhelmed by the information, Dwayne shook his head in disbelief.
“
It can
’
t be.
”

“
That there are people outside the walls?
”
Vaja asked.

Lindsey was watching Dwayne thoughtfully
. H
e suspected she had come to the same conclusion he had.

“
No, that there are
Scrags
smart enough to infiltrate the city,
”
Dwayne answered.

Incredulous, Vaja laughed.
“
C
’
mon. There has to be another answer. A human settlement has to be in the old facility. Maybe outcasts or criminals.
”

“
If only it were that simple.
”
Dwayne said nothing more, uncertain of how much Lindsey had divulged to her boyfriend. He hoped it wasn
’
t much mor
e than Vaja appeared to know
. From the confused expression on the younger man
’
s face it was clear he was havin
g difficulty accepting what was
obvious to Dwayne and Lindsey.

“
How can
Inferi Scourge
be thinking?
”
Vaja asked at last.
“
All they want to do is infect. I don
’
t get it.
”

Pressing her lips together, Lindsey began closing down the
vids
, saving all the information to a removable drive. She shot Dwayne a quick, furtive look. It was not difficult to ascertain she was beginning to worry about having drawn Vaja into the matter.

“
Someone answer me,
”
Vaja said sharply.
“
I helped you. I deserve to know.
”

“
We don
’
t know yet,
”
Dwayne answered honestly.

Maria would have told him if any of her people had abandoned the mission
. A
fter her
reports
about the attack
s
by the speaking
Inferi Scourge
, it was clear to Dwayne that there was much more going on than the SWD had revealed to the public.

“
Maybe they evolved,
”
Lindsey said softly.

“
The government, the SWD, whoever, kn
ows that
they
’
re
evolving then? Trying to get to us?
Why haven
’
t they said anything?
”
Vaja
’
s voice was terse.

Dwayne remained silent, averting his gaze by staring at the tips of his boots. The young man was smart. Maybe too smart. Again, Dwayne wondered if it had been wise to involve Lindsey in this whole situation. It was becoming increasingly clear that the SWD and
perhaps
the governing powers of the city had gone to great lengths to suppress the information Lindsey had uncovered.

“
Shit,
”
Vaja exclaim
ed, throwing up his hands.
“
Shit! They made them, didn
’
t they? The fuckin
’
SWD somehow made them and now they
’
re trying to get into the city.
”

“
We keep this quiet and among us,
”
Dwayne said in
an
authoritative voice.
“
They
’
re
trying to suppress this information for a reason.
They
’
re
going to great lengths to make sure that the general public and even the Constabulary doesn
’
t know about these...
anomalies
.
”