The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (53 page)

“
Maria,
”
Denman whispered, peering down at her with his red-ringed eyes.
“
How long ago did you start to feel hungry?
”

“
I
’
m not,
”
Maria answered, her teeth chattering.

“
Strange,
”
Denman said, shrugging.
“
I am.
”

The tidal wave of pain hit her and shoved her
consciousness
down into a place of darkness tinged with red. Struggling to remain awake, she gripped his arm. But the red waters of agony swallowed her whole and she faded from the world.

* * *

“
You
’
ll exit here and head directly to this area.
That subway ex
it i
s
very close to where
Maria
’
s wristlet is
reporting they
’
re holed up,
”
Lindsey said
,
pointing to the holographic image projected above the table.

In his armor, Dwayne felt more like a soldier than he had in a long time. His backpack was packed with everything he needed to get to Maria.
Petra had even provided weaponry
for both of them
with silencers
.

The
holographic
image was reflected in the dark eyes of Commandant Pierce as she studied the route Dwayne was taking out of the city.
They were the only three in the small room off of the command center.
Petra and
Vaja
had retired to the ready room to eat and rest upon Commandant Pierce
’
s not
-
so
-
subtle hint.
Dr. Curran had been assigned quarters inside of the
C
onstabulary and was under guard.
Dwayne had not told anyone about their discussion.

“
Where does he
exit the city
?
”
Commandant Pierce asked.

Lindsey pointed at the subway entrance that was sealed at the bottom of the Constabulary.
“
I can make sure they don
’
t detect it opening.
Any of the others will take more time.
”

“
Then I
’
m willing to risk it.
”
Commandant Pierce decided.
“
Once we get Denman and Martinez back inside the city, we
’
ll be able to secure them inside of the
C
onstabulary for their own protection.
”

Lindsey nodded in agreement.
“
Vaja
and I almost have the worm ready that will deliver all the nice goodies about the SWD to every wristlet in the city. I can also, technically, take over the newsfeed.
”

Commandant Pierce laughed.
“
Where did you find her?
”

“
Lindsey?
Her dad and I were friends
,
”
Dwayne answered.

Lindsey glowed under the praise. She was crippled physically, but her mind was her true weapon.

“
I think she
’
s due for a promotion,
”
Commandant Pierce decided.

“
Aw, shucks, ma
’
am, I mean, sir.
”
Lindsey blushed.

“
So at oh eight hundred hours you can make sure every single person in the city will have all the information?
”
Dwayne asked.

“
Absolutely.
Vaja
even uncovered the little stash of deleted communiques from
Admiral Kirkpatrick
to Mr. Petersen whe
re they laid out the entire pla
n for the coup against the government.
”
Lindsey
’
s grin widened.
“
Add in the
Inferi Boon
, the manipulation of the food resources, the crippling of the Constabulary-
”

“
And you have all the steps of a coup
d
’
état
.
”
Commandant Pierce rolled her shoulders and set her hands on her hips.
“
We have them. Despite their
maneuverings
, the Constabulary outnumbers them.
”

“
If we can
successfully
pull this off, we will have stopped a hostile takeover of the city. The Constabulary will never be under the heel of the SWD again,
”
Dwayne said confidently.

“
So are you ready?
”
Lindsey asked.

Dwayne snagged the holographic image and dragged it to his wristlet.
It loaded onto the device and vanished from the table.
“
I
’
m ready.
”

“
Okay, just one more thing.
”
Lindsey handed him a small drive.
“
This will update the program installed o
n
Maria
’
s and
your wristlets. It will also install the new program on Denman
’
s wristlet.
It completely blocks out the signal to the city, but gives you the
ability
to contact me and each other.
If you get stuck out there, just stay low until the dust settles.
”

“
I
’
ll send someone out to get you,” Commandant
Pierce promised.

Dwayne slightly smiled.
“
This moment reminds me of why I am proud
of
be part of the Constabulary.
”
He saluted the
c
ommandant.

Her lips parted in surprise, then returned it.
“
I always believed in you.
”

“
Thank you. That means a lot to me. Thank you for allowing me to do this.
”

“
No one else has as much as you on the line.
I know you will do your best to save her,
”
the commandant answered
,
and a flicker of sadness betrayed her.
She was thinking of her husband. Unlike Dwayne, she
couldn
’
t
save the one she loved.

Dwayne glanced over at Lindsey. She was studying him with an intense gaze
. H
e felt as if she was hacking into his brain the same way she hacked into computers.
With a hitch in her step, she slid into his arms and hugged him tightly. Startled, Dwayne gently embraced her.

The surprise on the commandant
’
s face was comical, but she shrugged it away.

Pushing Lindsey gently out of his arms, Dwayne said,
“
Thank you for everything.
”

Lips pressed tightly together, Lindsey nodded.

Picking up his helmet, Dwayne headed toward the door.
“
Petra hates goodbyes. Let her know I left, okay?
”

Lindsey nodded again.

“
We
’
ll see you soon,
”
Commandant Pierce called after him.

Dwayne nodded and ducked out the door into the narrow corridor that would take him to the lift that would
deliver him
to the lower levels of the Constabulary and the city.

Chapter 35

The old subway tunnel was
as
black as the darkest depths of the ocean.
If not for his helmet
’
s
night vision
, Dwayne never would have managed to take one step. There
were no external lights
of any kind and the darkness was absolute.
Lindsey had done exactly as she had promised and unlocked all the blast doors.
Now he rode along the old track on a maintenance cart as fast as he dared. The old contraption shook as it rumbled over the ground. The length of time it would take him to pass under the wall and reach the foothills was of some concern. He needed to beat the sunrise.

His wristlet buzzed and he answered, the feed immediately transferring to his helmet. Denman
’
s face flickered into view.
Dwayne was immediately alarmed by the man
’
s bizarre eyes.

“
Castellan
Reichardt
, I have a bit of a predicament.
Vanguard Martinez has
collapsed
.
”

“
What do you mean?
”
Dwayne demanded.

“
I don
’
t think it
’
s actually a bad thing.
My scans are confusing me. I can
’
t seem to think straight. I suppose
it
’
s
the stress of the day. But...I think her body is repairing itself. All the damage inflicted on it over the years. If I were to
hazard
a guess, I would say that she
’
s in a healing coma.
”

The knot between Dwayne
’
s shoulders lessened slightly.
“
How are you doing, Denman?
”

Denman smiled slightly.
“
I think I
’
m about to follow in her footsteps. The virus app
ears to be altering me, too
. I
’
m feeling a bit...tired. And hungry.
”

“
I
’
m on my way
to you now
.
”

“Good to hear, sir.”

Shifting Maria
’
s arm
, Denman disappeared from view for a moment.
Dwayne caught a brief glimpse of Maria
’
s serenely
-
sleeping fac
e. He would do anything for her.

Denman
’
s uncanny red-ringed eyes came back into view.
They were eerie and disturbing.
Perhaps Denman was on the verge of becoming an Inferi Anomaly. If so, Maria was in danger.

“
Denman, why don
’
t you meet me at the subway exit
?
I
’
ll send the coordinates to Maria
’
s wristlet now.
”

“
Don
’
t you need me to help carry her?
”
Denman asked, worried.

“
No, I brought some equipment with me. I
’
d like to get you back into the Constabulary as soon as possible as a precautionary measure. There
’
s no use you both being stuck outs
ide the wall
.
”

“
I understand.
”
Denman nodded briskly.
“
When should I leave?
”

“
Now. I
’
ll be there within the hour, but it may
take you some time to arrive at the rendezvous
.
”

“
Agreed. I
’
ll see you soon, Castellan.
”

The feed went dead.

Dwayne accelerated.

* * *

“
Maria,
”
Denman
’
s voice whispered through her dreams of pain and darkness. Shadowy figures lurked in the recesses of her mind
,
calling out to her.
Denman
’
s voice was one of them.

“
Maria, can you hear me?
”

She wanted to answer, but her lips wouldn
’
t form words.
Deep inside of her a spider was weaving her back together again. It hurt like hell.

“
Maria, I have to go.
But it
’
s going to be okay. For both of us.
”

Screams died in her throat and echoed in her mind instead. She had se
en his eyes and knew he wouldn
’
t be all right. He was going to become the very thing he had tried to destroy.

“
Good
bye,
”
Denman
’
s voice said.

Maria struggled to escape the weaver in her body,
stitching
her pieces back together again.

* * *

“
Lindsey, I
’
ve reached the subway door,
”
Dwayne said into his wristlet. Standing at the top of the steps
of
the defunct subway station
,
he felt as though he were standing in another time. The station was nearly perfectly
preserved
except for the thick layer of dust and the
spider webs
draped in the corners.
Old
vid screens
waited to come to life again
,
running general announcements and advertisements.
It was a world he would never see.

There was silence
,
then her voice said,
“
Deactivating the locks now.
”

Dwayne watched as the blast doors retreated into the walls and the heavy locks twirled to life.
Sluggishly
, the doors to the valley crept open.
The weapon in his hand felt deadly as he cautiously inched up the dirt encrusted steps toward the world above.
Thick
clod
s of dirt crumpled under his boots as he hesitated on the
stairs
.
He could hear the tiltrotors in the far distance still making sweeps over the valley. The Maelstrom Platforms were silent. He had seen the footage on the
vid screen
. A thick
,
gory paste was all that was left of the hundreds of thousands of
Inferi Scourge
that had surrounded the city.

A figure darted out of the darkness. Raising his weapon, Dwayne waited in silence.
The bluish haze of the
night vision
washed over
Denman
as he leaped over the bent rail at the top of the stairs and landed near Dwayne.

“
Good to see you, sir,
”
Denman said with a wide grin and a salute.

Dwayne returned the salute and patted Denman on the shoulder.
“
How
’
s Maria?
”

“
Unconscious
still, but her readings were better. The virus is amazing.
Whatever Dr. Curran did to our batch is just stellar.
I
’
m feeling the changes myself.
Honestly, I
’
m so damn hungry right now I can
’
t wait to have a decent meal.
Maria isn
’
t having
hunger
pains, but I know that biochemistry may have an
effect
on which symptoms emerge first.
”
Denman
’
s eyes shifted constantly
.
Dwayne was rather glad he couldn
’
t see the red ring edging his brown eyes.

“
Where is she exactly?
”
Dwayne asked, revealing the holographic image he had downloaded to his wristlet.

“
Right here,
”
Denman said, drawing on the image
,
revealing a path to a cave high on the
rock face
.

“
Excellent.
”
Dwayne saved the information and it fed into his helmet.

“
Are you sure you can bring her down alone?
”
Denman asked
apprehensively
.

“
I
’
m sure. I got the equipment I need.
”
Dwayne hesitated, feeling uneasy about the task at hand.
“
You d
id a good job. Y
our family will
have a good life out here
.
”
Dwayne thought of his own kids being able to finally step outside the high walls and felt a lump in his throat.

“
I think of my kids running around in a big yard and my wife being able to have a real garden and I
know
it was worth it.
”
Denman sat on the steps, his body slightly shivering. He kept rubbing his hands together in an anxious manner.
“
How
’
s the Constabulary going to explain our return?
”

“
Commandant Pierce has a plan to reveal everything the SWD did to seize control of the city, including what was done to the
Inferi Boon
.
”
Dwayne kept an eye on Denman and the top of the stairs.
They were crouched in the darkness, not visible to the tiltrotors circling the city.

“
So our story will be told. People will know what happened to all of us.
”
Denman nodded, looking satisfied.

“
Yes,
”
Dwayne promised him.
“
People will know what happened to all of you.
”

Denman stared
longingly
at the doorway to the subway.
“
Sir, I hate to rush you, but I
’
m starving and I
’
d love to contact my family tonight.
”

“
Of course,
”
Dwayne said and extended his hand to Denman.
“
Thank you for taking care of Maria.
”

“
She
’
s a dear friend. We all must have a drink together one day.
”
Denman shook his hand
before rushing down
the last few steps to the doors.

Dwayne activated his wristlet.
“
Lindsey, open the door to the subway.
”

She didn
’
t answer this time, but the locks to the door audibly clicked. Denman gave Dwayne a quick salute, then stepped through the doorway.

Dwayne shot him
twice
in the head. The silencer rendered the shot
s
completely
inaudible
.
With a sigh, Dwayne trudged down the stairs and pushed Denman
’
s legs through the doorway.

“
Lindsey,
”
he said into his wristlet as the door swung shut,
obscuring
Denman
’
s body.

There was a long pause, then she said,
“
Yes
?
”

“
Denman was an Anomaly
.
Dr. Curran must tell Commandant Pierce what she told me about the virus she gave everyone
,
but Maria. His body
must
be destroyed immediately.
”

Another pause.
“
Understood.
”
A longer pause.
“
You
’
re not coming back are you?
”