No Mere Zombie: Deathless Book 2 (15 page)

Liz leapt into the air, keeping her human form as she landed nimbly near Blair. It was getting easier to perform super human feats without needing to shift. That was advantageous. If nothing else it saved her from losing yet another set of clothing.

“They’re Peruvian national police,” Blair said, staring fixedly at one of the men they’d captured. The man’s bearded face had landed in the mud, coating it in sticky brown goop. “This one is their leader. They were patrolling this area because someone wiped out one of their hunting parties here.”

The man’s eyes widened and he began to quiver. The scent of terror was overpowering. Blair turned to face her as Jordan moved cautiously to their position. “The bodies were eaten. All they found were bones, and they looked like they’d been gnawed. They assume we’re deathless like Irakesh. Better to shoot first and I can’t say I blame them. It’s been bad from what little I glimpsed.”

“You pulled all that from his mind?” Bridget asked. Liz didn’t think the awe was feigned.

“I’m used to having to deal with you ladies when using my powers,” Blair explained, offering a genuine smile. Why did it bother Liz so much that it was directed at Bridget? “These guys have no defenses. None. I can just sort of take what I want. Speaking of which, they have jeeps. Six of them. Back at their camp. There are about thirty-five of them and they’re terrified. They don’t know what to do other than hide in the jungle.”

“This one is the leader?” Jordan asked, slinging his rifle strap over his shoulder as he knelt next to the terrified man. “Can he understand English?”
 

“He doesn’t speak it well, but that shouldn’t matter to you. You can learn Spanish just by pulling it from his mind,” Blair explained. His tone was dispassionate, as if he were talking about reading data from a computer.

“You can’t do that,” Liz said, recoiling from Blair. “That’s rape, just in a different way. They’re not your playthings. Let them go.”

“Liz, if I let them go, they’ll try to kill us and we’ll end up killing them,” Blair protested, turning his full attention on her. “If you ask me to I will, but I think it’s a bad idea.”

“They aren’t going to kill us,” Jordan said, squatting next to the leader and withdrawing the hand cannon holstered on his thigh. “Just tell them we want to borrow a ride. They saw Blair do that Jedi magic shit. Bridget is a nine foot werewolf. They’re going to quietly do whatever we ask and hope we go away without killing anyone.”

“We’ll cooperate. Just do not kill us,” the man protested in ragged English. It sounded as if he could barely move his face. He looked pathetic in the mud there. Liz felt horrible for inflicting this on the man, even indirectly. “You can take one of our jeeps. We’ll even give you a little food. Just go away and do not hurt us. That’s all we ask.”

“All right,” Blair said. He gave a shrug and opened his fist. Their captives relaxed as one, suddenly in control of their bodies again. They scrambled away from Bridget as fast as they could, huddling near the giant gnarled roots of a capirona tree. “I do think Bridget should remain as she is for now. It might ‘incentivize’ them to follow through, and maybe it will mean I don’t need to poke around in anyone else’s head.”

I’m letting this go because you’re the leader and I don’t want to undermine you.
Blair’s voice echoed through Liz's mind.
But you cannot allow this sort of moral quandary to keep you from making hard decisions. Remember when we ran from what we’d become? What if we’d stuck around and woken the Mother immediately? How many more champions could we have created?

This is different.
She thought back, struggling to suppress her anger.
These are people, Blair. The people we’re supposed to protect. I know we’re fighting a war, but that doesn’t mean we use the same methods the enemy does. If we make that choice, what do we become? There are some lines I’m not willing to cross. You need to accept that.

All right.
He agreed, though she could sense his reluctance.
We’ll play this your way, but there’s a reason the good guy usually loses, Liz. It’s because the bad guy fights smart and isn’t hindered by arbitrary rules.

Chapter 24- Hidden Rebel Base

Blair stifled his frustration as he followed the Peruvian police into their hidden rebel base, a series of crude tree houses built at the top of the mighty capirona trees common in this part of the jungle. Each had a trunk wider than his dining room table, some rising more than a hundred feet into the jungle’s thick canopy.

Ropes had been strung over some of the wider branches, allowing people to flit safely between houses. It was ingenious, really. Staying off the jungle floor meant avoiding deathless, just as mankind's ancestors had once avoided predators back when they’d roamed the plains of the Serengeti. It also provided a vantage over the surrounding jungle, allowing them to spot intruders before they arrived.

That’s exactly what had happened when their group had approached. The camp had erupted into activity, every member taking to the trees and arming themselves with a rifle. Each and every soldier glared down at them, ready to rain death if Blair and his friends proved a threat. More than a few shot terrified looks at Bridget’s lupine form.

The center of the camp was a fire pit surrounded by logs set far enough back to serve as comfortable seating. It was ringed by the six jeeps he'd seen in the leader's mind, each battered vehicle painted with the same olive so many militaries seemed to favor. He wasn’t sure how they’d even gotten them into the jungle, but the jeeps must be nimble if they’d made it this far. That would prove useful, though he wondered if fuel would be an issue.

“They are scared,” Rodrigo said, glancing up at his compatriots before turning back to Liz. His face was still covered in mud but still noble somehow. Blair noticed that his hand never strayed too close to the pistol at his side. The rifle was slung over his shoulder, as non-threatening as he could make it. Having just been inside of the man’s mind, none of this surprised him. “I will not ask them to come down unless you insist. If all you wish is a vehicle, the sooner you take it the better for all.”

“We’ll be away shortly,” Liz said, pointedly ignoring Blair as she walked next to the dark-haired leader. That irked him, though he understood her reasoning. Maybe she was even right about him being too callous. It was a fine line to walk, one he knew he struggled with. “We don’t have time to waste. We’re chasing the thing that killed your people.”

“What did this?” Rodrigo asked, flinching when Liz reached up to comb her fingers through her hair. “We have run afoul of zombies, but there has been nothing else like the strangers who devoured our people. We heard the gunshots, but when we arrived they were all dead. They should have been able to reach the trees. Or at least run away, yet all of them were killed within just a few feet of each other. Their bodies were just…gone. It makes no sense.”

“Blair?” Liz asked, pausing at the circle of jeeps to face him.

“This was done by one of the deathless,” Blair explained, stepping forward to join them. He pointed up at the trees. “These defenses will work for now, because the deathless are still stupid and slow. That will change as they feed. They’ll get stronger and smarter. The thing that killed and ate your people was more advanced than the zombies you’ve seen. Much more. If we don’t stop him he’ll help his kind take over everything. Even if he doesn't you’re still going to face things you can’t deal with here.”

Bridget’s silver form joined their little group, but Rodrigo refused to look at her. He’d gone even more pale.

“How do we defend ourselves then? If we cannot hide here, we have nowhere else to go,” he explained, shoulders slumping. “Our people haven’t given up, but many are beginning to despair.”

“You’re not going go be able to do it here,” Jordan rumbled as he joined their little group. He gave an expansive gesture toward the southern wall of foliage. “You can escape quickly, but since it’s so open your enemies can come at you from all directions. You need somewhere with choke points so you can manage the flow of enemies. I don’t know that you’re going to find it in a jungle.”

“Even if we can, food is an issue,” Rodrigo admitted with a sigh. He leaned against one of the jeeps. “The jungle has enough of a bounty to sustain us, but many of our hunting parties do not return. Most went by themselves or as a pair. Yesterday we sent a larger party for the first time. As you know, they were killed by this, what did you call it? Deathless.”

“There is an option, but it’s dangerous,” Blair offered. It was crazy, but it was the only option he could think of. “There is a mine up in the mountains, about two days from here. Yanacocha. If you go there you will find a pyramid. Inside is a woman of incredible power, one we call the Mother. If you approach her and ask for aid, she can protect you from the deathless and see that you have food.”

“He’s right,” Liz agreed with a quick nod. Blair was genuinely surprised after their disagreement. “Getting there will be challenging, but if you treat her with respect, she’ll probably help you.”

“I’m guessing she’ll take you to Cajamarca,” he added. Blair removed his hat, squeezing it like a rag to ring out the sweat. “We’ve started gathering refugees there and they could use the protection you can offer. If some of you are willing to take a chance, you may even accept the gift from her. You could become like Bridget over there, strong enough to protect your people.”

“Whatever you choose is your decision,” Liz said, walking over to the jeep. “We won’t interfere, so long as you give us one of these. You offered food, but since it sounds like you’re struggling we don’t want to burden you further. We can fend for ourselves as long as you give us enough gas to get out of Columbia.”

“You can take this one. It has a full tank, which will get you as far as Columbia,” Rodrigo explained, opening the door and gesturing to Liz.

“How do we get out of the Jungle?” Liz asked, moving past Rodrigo and sliding into the driver’s seat.
 

“Follow that trail to the north. It winds down a steep road, but if you are careful you will be fine until it levels out. You will emerge along the bank of the Amazon, just across the border into Columbia. It’s not an easy journey, perhaps five or six days if you drive all day,” he explained, visibly relieved when Liz slammed the door behind her.
 

Blair removed his pack, moving to the far side of the jeep. He opened the rear door and slid inside. The pack fit neatly between his legs. Jordan jumped in the front passenger seat ahead of him, rolling down the window and positioning his rifle so he could fire if needed.
 

Bridget picked up her pack in a massive clawed hand, reaching inside for a camouflaged shirt. She began to shift, pulling it over her head as she did so. By the time she was human, she’d slid into the back seat next to Blair, her bare legs tantalizing. She gave him a knowing smile as she caught what he’d been staring at.

He stared at the back of Liz’s head, conflicting emotions raging between them. What the hell did he want out of all this? It was going to be a long trip.

Chapter 25- Waking Up

Trevor stared at himself in the small shaving mirror he’d taken from one of the corpses he’d devoured back in the jungle. Parts of it were familiar. He was still a freckled ginger, even if his face was more pale than it had been. His goatee was
exactly
the same. The hair had stopped growing when he’d died, so at least there was no more shaving.

He’d even retained the battered green baseball cap he’d brought when he, Blair and Liz had flown to Peru to wake the Mother. If someone didn’t look too closely, they might think he was the same man. That illusion was shattered the second he opened his mouth, especially if he smiled.

Every last tooth now ended in a sharp point, a mouthful of fangs sharks would envy. The scientist in him knew why of course. They were the most efficient way to rend flesh. Human teeth were largely flat because they were omnivores. He’d become a carnivore
and subsisted purely on flesh. The tastiest kind was living human.

It amazed him how gratifying the simple act of staring at the mirror could be. For weeks now he’d been a prisoner trapped in his own body, unable to exert even rudimentary control. That had changed over the last two days, as he’d fed over and over. Each brutal act had horrified him, but the worst part was that feeding was already becoming normal. It revolted him less than it had yesterday. How long until he began to enjoy it?

He glanced at the camp, sizing up his companions. Irakesh sat on a wide rock near their little fire, leafing through a pocket-sized copy of the
King James Bible
liberated from one of their victims. He turned each page with deliberate care, treating the battered thing with a reverence Trevor found surprising.

Cyntia was curled up in a sleeping bag on the opposite side of the fire. Her heartbeat was slow and strong, breathing even and deep. She was asleep, thank god. He liked her and had things been different they might have become romantically involved. That was no longer possible, given what he’d become. Even if it were he didn’t like what was happening to her. Irakesh had encouraged Cyntia to feed often, and Trevor could already see it having an effect. Her gaze had grown wild, and she was more prone to violence. He wished he could tell her to flee, to get away from Irakesh.

“Your world is a very strange place,” Irakesh began, closing the tattered black bible. It was the sort a soldier might carry into combat. Irakesh set it on top of the backpack he’d recently salvaged. “This tome contains such strange mythology. Do your people really believe this?”