The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (26 page)

Gutierrez
put some music on and turned up the volume on his pad
. It was very old rock music from a time when the
Scourge
didn
’
t
roam the earth. A game of poker started nearby with Cormier shuffling the cards while McKinney inflated a ball so he could play soccer with Mikado. Maria scrunched up her nose as her dinosaur died and left the gnome to fend off a pack of werewolves on its own. Her fingers danced over the screen as she maneuvered her little pink haired creature into an epic battle.

The sound of feet pounding on the hard-packed earth drew her attention from the game. For a moment she thought it was McKinney kicking the ball at Mikado, but a flash of movement drew her eyes toward the wall of
Scourge
standing a few hundred feet away. A figure exploded out of the densely packed crowd and raced toward them. As she scrambled to her feet, she took in the battered armor and desperate face of the running man. It took her another second to realize it was not one of her own people. He sprang toward Jameson and Holm lying on the ground.

“No!” Maria attempted to tackle the man, but only caught his feet, sending him sprawling.

Chaos enveloped the squad as they rushed in to help rescue Jameson
and Holm
. The snarls of the man and the screams from the soldiers filled her ears as she struggled to get a grip on the attacker. Holm shouted
for help while Jameson cursed at the man clawing at them, attempting to fight him off
. Holm managed to roll
away
, reaching for her weapon. Denman grabbed the man, trying to drag him off Jameson. The attacker kicked and twisted, smashing the bottom of his heavy boots into Maria
’
s chest and stomach. She registered the impacts, but continued to grapple with the man. She managed to get her knees under her, heaving herself upward, getting a hold of the man
’
s
armor
. Hooking both her hands into his collar, she tried to yank him away.

“Fucking shit!” Jameson screamed. “He bit me!”

Denman
and Maria
tried to
heave
him off the terrified young man.
Spittle and blood flecked the man
’
s face as he chewed the flesh he had ripped from Jameson
’
s hand. He continued to fight, but he seemed more intent on devouring the bit of meat. Denman exchanged a startled look with Maria
.

T
he squad tried to pin the attacker to the ground. He was abnormally strong and the bucking of his body knocked a few squad members away. Maria rested her full weight on his chest.

“Who is he?” Cormier screamed.

“
What
the fuck is he?” Maria gasped.

The attacker swallowed and grinned up at her. “Hungry,” he hissed, and lunged toward her exposed neck.

Holm brought the bolt weapon down on the man
’
s face. Blood burst from his ruined mouth and nose
,
spattering Maria and Denman, then Holm slammed the weapon down again, pulverizing his
skull
. The man finally stopped moving. Gasping, Maria fell back, her gloved hands wiping away the cold blood from her face. Denman sat back on his ankles as the rest of the squad let go of the
corpse
.

“He fucking bit me!” Jameson screamed. “He fucking tore a fucking chunk of fucking meat off my fucking hand!”

“Jameson, calm down,” Omondi ordered jogging into view. “Denman, take care of him!”

Visibly collecting his wits, Denman got to his feet and hurried to Jameson
’
s side, pulling his medical pack from his belt.

Maria stared at the ruined face of the man who had attacked them. He had looked alive, not like the
Scourge
. His eyes had not been milky, his skin had not be
en
gray. And he had spoken. Yet, he had attacked as savagely as any
Scourge
. Rolling onto her knees, she leaned over the dead man.

Omondi knelt next to her and stu
died the man
’
s armor. “Bastion
Constabulary issue,” he whispered.

“Yeah, I can see that. But no rank, no squad insignia.” Maria searched the man
’
s pockets.

“What happened?” Omondi asked.

Maria filled Omondi in as the squad gathered around Jameson and Denman.

“He didn
’
t look like
a Scrag
,” Maria finished in a low voice. “And….he spoke.”

“What the hell? Are you sure?”

Maria replayed the scene in her head, then nodded. “Yes. I
’
m sure.”

“What did he say?” Omondi asked, his brow
scrunching
above his dark eyes.

“One word:
hungry
,” Maria answered.

A slight narrowing of his eyes gave Omondi a thoughtful, yet frightening look.
Bowing
toward her, he whispered, “Tell no one.”

She acknowledged his order with the curt nod of her head.

“I
’
ll report it to the SWD. Maybe they will be able to explain this.”

“No I.D.” Maria said with a sigh
after
looking for dog tags or other forms of I.D. “Nothing.”

“Maybe he was from the last push.”

“But why wouldn
’
t he have I.D.?”

Omondi shrugged. “We
’
ll figure it out. Now, we need to get back to work.”

It felt as if the world no longer made any sense.

* * *

Physical exhaustion was a mere memory now and one that was quickly fading. Maria
’
s memories whispered that her limbs should be tired, aching, and sore, yet they weren
’
t. She felt strangely disconnected from the world, her own emotions, and her body.
She ruthlessly killed the
Scourge, dragged them to their funeral pyres, and watched them burn in the dying sunlight without feeling anything at all, physically or emotionally.

Her only real emotion throughout the day was worry when the first bonfire was lit.
A whimper of fear slid through her as she wondered if the
Scourge would be stirred into a rampage. Instead they scurried away from the burning pyre of their brethren. She supposed the fear of fire was innate in any creature. Watching the dead burn, she was glad that her senses were muted.
Tucking her scarf up around her nose and mouth, she returned to killing.

The day felt particularly long. Their breaks were short and tense. The squad watched the
Scourge with some trepidation. Fear that another anomaly might burst out of the horde and attack kept them all on alert.
Speculation was high about what had spurred the
Scourge to attack Jameson and Holm, but
Omondi
would silence anyone discussing the attack if he overheard.

"Keep focused. Keep alert,"
Omondi
urged throughout the long, tedious hours.

It was nightfall when Maria
’
s disassociation from the reality around her unleashed her from its numbing constraints and she felt the first sharp pang of remorse and fear slice into her mind.
The world swam sharply into focus and she could no longer ignore the truth. Despite slaughtering the
Scourge all day, the valley was still infested
,
and it would be months before she saw Dwayne again.

Turning away from the fires tossing sparks into the darkness, she was glad she could not cry.
She felt the need billowing up from inside of her, constricting her throat, but her eyes would not give birth to tears.
The heat from the fire washed over her back and she wished fervently that it could warm her cold flesh and give her life again.
Squatting down, she crossed her arms over her chest and starred down at the hard-packed, black earth.
He braid tickled her cheek and she flipped it back over her shoulder.

Closing her eyes, she tried not to see the faces of all the
Scourge she had killed today.
She tried not to smell their burning flesh.
She tried not to wonder about the lives they lived before infection.
And she tried not to think of all the
Scourge still filling the valley and the world beyond.

"It feels like we
’
ve been out here an eternity already," Denman
’
s voice said.

She opened her eyes and cast her gaze in his direction.
He was kneeling next to her, fussing with his med-kit.

"We have a long way to go," she answered, jerking her chin toward the crowd of
Scourge that started a few hundred yards away.

"Yes," Denman said, his voice painted with sorrow.
"We do."

"Then we go home, get cured, and start a new life."

"A better life.
My children will be thrilled to live outside the walls.
I
’
ve asked for a farm near the gate actually."

"Already planning to get married and have kids?" Maria asked.
She was glad he was speaking to her.
It directed her thoughts away from the burning corpses.

"I
am
married and I
have
children," Denman replied.

"I thought all of us were unattached.
I thought that was the recruiting requirement." Maria was surprised at his proclamation.

"Well, for my position they decided to make an exception."

"And you agreed to come out here away from your family?"

Denman nodded his head vigorously.
"Absolutely. There are four of us living in a two room flat. The kids don
’
t have a place to play."
Denman sighed.
"I just felt I didn
’
t have a choice."
Reaching out, he said, "Let me see your hands."

"Why?"

"
Omondi
is watching," Denman answered.

Yanking off her glove, Maria extended one hand. The atmosphere around them was suddenly conspiratorial.

Denman took her hand and studied it. "There is some concern that the virus will not keep the body in exactly the same condition it was in when we technically died.
There is a possibility of skin breaks, blisters, and other concerns."

"
Scrags
don
’
t get sick," Maria pointed out.

"They don
’
t talk either," Denman replied.
He took out some ointment and rubbed it on her knuckles.

"You heard it speak, didn
’
t you?"
Maria whispered.

A slight nod was followed by him gesturing for her other hand.

Maria complied quickly.
"Why didn
’
t you say anything?"

“What did the Chief Defender say?”

“He
’
s not sure he believes me,” she answered, shrugging.

Denman
’
s brown eyes lifted to stare into hers.
"I don
’
t know anyone out here very well. I don
’
t know you at all.
But I watched you today.
All of this bothers you more than it does the others.
It bothers you like it bothers me.
You and I heard that
Scrag
speak.
He said he was hungry.
He was wearing Constabulary armor."

"What do you think it means?"

"That the SWD is hiding something."

Maria tucked her treated hands back into her gloves and stood up.
Denman followed suit, fastening his med-pack to his belt.

"They
’
re not going to tell us.
They want us to just do the job," Maria said at last. "So that
’
s what we
’
ll do."

Maria caught sight of
Omondi
studying their interaction and she flexed her hands, then gave him the thumbs up.

Recognizing they were under scrutiny, Denman said, "Good as new. Nothing major.
If you notice any peeling around the knuckles, let me know."
He sauntered off toward Mikado.

Maria smiled briefly at
Omondi
,
then sat back down. Pulling out her pad, she
couldn
’
t wait to speak with Dwayne.