The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (51 page)

Plunging into the deep gloom of the trees, they were among the
Scourge
before they realized it.
A cluster of
thirty
or so stood in the
pines
staring silently toward the
rock face
of the mountain.

Maria gasped, her heart beating violently in her chest. She tugged at Denman
’
s hand, trying to escape his hold and the
Scourge
surrounding her
.

Instead of letting her go, Denman pulled her into his arms.
Cradling
her against him,
her back to his chest,
he slowly scooted
them
past the swaying forms.
Maria clutched his forearms
with her fingers, her eyes wide with fright.

She was alive again.
Would they sense her?

The
Scourge
remained silent as they passed.
None even acknowledge
d
their presence.

“
Your father said that
it
’
s
the virus inside that tells the
Inferi Scourge
which are their own,
”
Denman whispered.

Maria kept herself pressed against the hard surface of Denman
’
s armor. The
y
moved carefully
in sync
past the swaying
Scourge
, the pine needles and dry twigs crackling under the
ir
feet.
The
milky eyes and vacant faces
didn
’
t
alter in the wake of their pass
ing
.
At the edge of the trees, Denman let Maria slip from his arms and took her hand.

Studying the path they had just taken, Maria noted that not one
Scourge
had
awakened
from its torpor. For a second she considered going back and hitting one of them to see if it responded.

Instead, she followed Denman
over
the rugged ground.

Chapter 34

“
Dad, this is so beast!
”

Dwayne couldn
’
t help but grin at his son
’
s exuberance. Studying his
child
, he could see
his
genetics stamped on his features.
This was true immortality. Not a virus.
One generation carrying forward the genes of the former.
“
Hunter, is Allison with you?
”

“
Yeah! We
’
re out near the capital with our friends. You should be here. It
’
s wild!
”
Hunter
’
s face kept blurring across the screen as he
was jostled about by the crowd
.

Allison
’
s cute face pe
e
ked at her father. It was off-center
on the screen
, but he could see her bright blue eyes gazing at him happily.
“
Dad, this is so freakin
’
cool!
The Maelstroms sound
ed
like thunder! This party is so wild. I wish you were here with us!
We keep trying to reach Caitlyn, but I guess she
’
s working.
”

Caitlyn shook her head, keeping out of frame. Like her mother, she wore her emotions
too clearly on her face
. It was best if her younger siblings didn
’
t see her
,
or they would know something was amiss
.

The twins scrunched their faces together so they could both gaze into the camera and smile at their dad.
Dwayne felt his heart stutter and the overwhelming love he had for his kids stole his voice for a few seconds.
The twins chattered on about all they were seeing, gleefully carried along by the crowd converging on the capital building.

“
No more
Inferi Scourge
,
”
the crowd was chanting.

“
Dad, come see us soon, okay? We totally need to celebrate as a family,
”
Hunter said excitedly.
“
Maybe you and mom won
’
t even fight.
”

Dwayne chuckled.
“
Maybe.
I love you both. You know that, right?
”

“
We love you, Daddy!
”
Allison shouted as the chanting of the crowd drowned out all other sound.

“
You
’
re beast, Dad!
”
Hunter yelled, then cut the feed.

“
Beast?
”
Dwayne looked at Caitlyn curiously.

“
Old slang that is making a comeback. I
’
m pretty sure it
’
s a compliment.
”
She hesitated.
“
You
’
re not going to tell them.
”

Dwayne shook his head sorrowfully.
“
Can you tell them goodbye for me?
”

The sheen of tears made her eyes sparkle as she nodded.
“
Yeah.
”

Commandant Pierce was overseeing crowd control per President Cabot
’
s request. Constabulary patrols were in the streets trying to maintain order. The command center was once again a hub of activity.
Dwayne and the others had relocated to another room off the main center.
Vaja
had joined Lindsey an
d wore a special badge on his wo
rn
and patched
black sweater.
Dr. Curran had finally shaken off her malaise.
She was on a secure workstation diligently putting together a report that would be leaked to the media.

Petra slid in through a door, struggling to heave the heavy bags she was carrying into the room.
They had SWD emblems on them.
Dwayne rushed over to alleviate the burden. The heavy black bags contained everything he would need.

“
You
’
re the best, Petra,
”
he said with a grin.

“
I just hope you don
’
t get yourself killed,
”
she said with a sigh.

“
I
’
ll get Maria and Denman
back in here safe and sound,
”
Dwayne promised.

Petra stared at him for a long moment, then said,
“
Chances are you won
’
t. But if anyone can pull this off, you can.
”

“
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
”
Dwayne dragged the bags to one side of the room and opened them to examine their contents.

“
Dad, I just got a call. I have to go.
They expect me down at the capital.
”
Caitlyn
drew near
, running her hands over her blond hair to smooth it.

Standing, Dwayne gave his daughter a firm hug.
“
Take care.
”

“
Don
’
t die, Dad,
”
Caitlyn whispered into his shoulder.

“
I won
’
t give your mother that satisfaction,
”
Dwayne said with a wink.

Caitlyn laughed.
“
You
’
re the best, Dad. I know I don
’
t tell you enough. But
you a
re
.
”

Touched, Dwayne squeezed her shoulder.
“
I love you, Caitlyn. And you
’
ve been a pain in my ass more times than I can count, but I couldn
’
t be prouder of the woman you
’
ve become.
”

“
Thanks, Dad.
”
She pressed a kiss to his cheek then
hurried
out of the room.

Dwayne scanned the small room with its banks of work stations. All the
vid screens
save the ones Petra, Dr. Curran, and Lindsey and
Vaja
were working on showed the massive crowds descending on the capital.
Most of the Constabulary and a big chunk of the SWD security would be occupied taking care of the crowds.
He had to move fast to have any chance of saving Maria and Denman.

Rifling through the bags, he began to organize his armor, weapons, and supplies.
He was busy checking the systems on the armor when Dr. Curran
’
s
high heels
appeared in his vision. Looking up, he saw her pinched face staring down at him.

“
Can we speak?
”

“
Certainly.
”

Rising
, he stared at her curiously before leading her into the
c
ommandant
’
s ready room.
Fresh coffee was bubbling in a pot and heated containers of food waited for the commandant and her staff whenever they were able to get a break.
As the door shut behind them, Dwayne and Dr. Curran sat at the small conference table in one corner of the room.

“
I lied to you,
”
Dr. Curran said in her point
-
blank way of speaking.

Dwayne squinted at her, confused.
“
What do you mean?
”

“
In the SWD
i
t
’
s
very competitive among the scientists. Everyone has been trying to find a
cure
to the
Inferi Scourge
Plague
. Ever since this city was created, the SWD
has tried
to find a way out of this horrific mess we
’
ve made for ourselves. My whole life I dreamed of finding that
solution
. I never modified the virus I told you I used.
It was a small sample, lost in the massive cold storage vaults. That is the one I used on Maria Martinez.
The virus administered to the other members of the squad was modified
from the one used in the
failed attempts
.
”

“
What are you saying?
”

“
Denman can
’
t come back into the city. He will turn into an Anomaly.
And Maria can
’
t return because she has immortality in her veins.
”
Dr. Curran sighed, rubbing her eyes.
“
You can
’
t go out there, risk your life, and bring them back. They both need to die out there.
I suppose, ironically, the SWD is right.
”

“
If Maria is the solution to mortality, she should come back into the city!
”
Dwayne protested.

“
Why?
So a
nother SWD scientist
can figure out how she returned to life?
I
’
ve been reviewing my data.
I can fool some people with it, but it won
’
t take long for someone in the SWD to realize that something is amiss. And once they see Maria on the news vids,
alive
, what do you think will happen?
”
Dr.
Curran stared at him pointedly.

“They
’
ll isolate her. Test her. Maybe if we discover a way to mass infect—
”

“I am
assuming
that she is immortal.
I don
’
t know for certain. My data is preliminary. She is back to life, but for how long?” Dr. Curran tapped her pad thoughtfully.
Her eyes grew distant as she pondered the situation.
“I may be jumping to conclusions, or hoping in vain. Something wonderful is happening to her, but I
’
m not truly certain of the end results. Maybe after you kill her you can bring me a sample of her tissue and blood.”

Regarding the scientist with cold anger, D
wayne didn
’
t speak.
Dr. Curran was already scribbling away on her pad. Dwayne thought of all the lies that had been told from the very beginning.
He was also haunted by Gideon, the man who had immediately turned into an Anomaly when given a modified version of the virus. Dr. Curran said the virus given to Maria
was without
modifications, but what did that mean? For Maria? For the city?
Or maybe it was all a lie. Maybe Curran just wanted her handiwork dead and a new sample to work on.

Dwayne closed his eyes, pressing his knuckles against his lids.
“
You said you modified it. You can create a cure.
”

“
I modified a virus that was already doomed to fail.
I gave Maria the virus from the vault on a reckless whim.
”
Dr. Curran snorted.
“
Call it scientific
curiosity
or just plain stupidity.
Neither can be brought into the city. They
’
re both unsafe.
”

Opening his eyes, Dwayne fastened his fierce gaze on the woman.
“
You doomed them all.
”

“
I wanted to save them!
”
Dr. Curran insisted.

“
You lied and doomed them.
Denman has to die because you lied!
Maria can
’
t come home because she
’
ll end up in the bowels of the SWD
as an experiment because you
’
re not sure what she has truly become!
You fucking lied, Dr. Curran,
and people have lost their lives
.
”