The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (29 page)

“I need a reading,” Denman uttered through clenched teeth, trying not to draw the attention of the riled
Scourge
.

Maria nodded as she moved to help pin the attacker
’
s upper body to the ground. Together, Denman and Maria pried the dirty, torn fingers from Denman
’
s armor and pushed the attacker
’
s arms downward. Denman rested his knees on one arm while Maria followed suit with the other. She pressed her hand against the creature
’
s shoulder and leaned in
,
utilizing her weight to press the
Scourge
against the ground. The snarling face was covered in mud and deep wounds. It snapped its teeth at her, arching its neck, trying to bite her.

“Hungry!” he howled.

A sharp stab of terror flowed through her as Maria experienced a note of recognition at the sound of the voice. Peering into the ruined face, she saw brown eyes rimmed with golden lashes glaring up at her.

“Ryan?” she rasped.

“Hungry!” he screamed
.

“Did he just talk?” Cruz whispered.

Denman shot her a dark look, shutting her up. He returned his gaze to his readouts.

“Ryan,” Maria said softly, anguish filling her voice.

Maria was certain it was him. The stained and dirty hair had glints of gold in it and the brown eyes were rimmed with a slight border of green. His face was torn and ravaged by the bites of the
Scourge
. Sweeping her eyes over his torso, she saw that his armor was heavily damaged and his nameplate was gone. Risking the snapping teeth, she yanked on the armor fasteners and pried open the chest plate wide enough to slip her had inside. His skin was cold and clammy, but she found what she was looking for. She yanked the dog tags off his neck and pulled them out of his armor.

SPECIAL CONSTABLE RYAN SHERMAN the tags read.

Maria closed her eyes,
overcome
by grief and fear.

“Hungry!” Ryan shrieked, then his voice rose into an
Scourge
howl.

Opening her eyes, Maria stared at her old friend unable to fathom this living nightmare.

“Finished,” Denman said, tucking his med-pad into his pack. He pulled out his weapon.

Maria
’
s hand lashed out and gripped his wrist, stopping him. Denman stared at her curiously.

“He
’
s my friend,” she said in the softest of voices.

“Hungry!”

Den
man hesitated as he studied her
, then handed the weapon to her.

Maria clutched it in her hand and for a second considered throwing it away, but she couldn
’
t bear to see what Ryan had become. He was howling in rage, his voice rising. He was like the other one. He wanted to bite, tear, and eat flesh. Ryan was no mere
Scourge
. He was something worse. Something terrifying.

Maria shoved the weapon against the side of his head, just behind his ear, and fired.

Chapter 21

Maria and Denman huddled together over Ryan
’
s body as the swarm of
Scourge
streamed
around them. Riled by Ryan
’
s howls, the
Scourge
were on the hunt for human flesh. How long they would remain in an agitated state was uncertain. It was difficult not to make a sound as the
Scourge
trampled over Ryan
’
s body
. Each time a
Scourge
stared down at her, Maria returned their gaze. Her dead face and eyes were her best protection.

She slowly rose to her feet, Denman following her example. Cruz and Jameson also stood, the
four of them standing shoulder-
to
-
shoulder in a tight circle, facing outward. It appeared the
Scourge
in the distance were beginning to falter. With no potential victims in sight, the
Scourge
were
gradually
less agitated. The edges of the group fell into torpor and the crowd progressively calmed. It was a domino effect. The stillness rippled through the crowd
,
bringing the horde to a standstill. The howls faded into soft moans as the
Scourge
swayed in the strong winds of the coming storm.

Falling to his knees, Denman hastily unfastened Ryan
’
s armor and tugged it open. Crouching, Maria stared in disbelief at the wounds. Ryan
’
s chest and stomach were a ruin of flesh.

“
What did this?
”
she whispered.

“
Keep an eye out for the Chief Defender,
”
Denman said in a
quiet
voice.

Jameson and Cruz hesitantly moved through the cluster of
Scourge
gathered around them.
Methodically, t
hey began to
dispatch the creatures
one by one,
shaping
a clear area
around Maria and Denman
.

Maria stood,
her eyes scrutinizing the crowd,
her weapon poised. Her wristlet buzzed again and she activated it.

“
Status,
”
Omondi
’
s voice demanded.

“
We we
re attacked by
a Scrag
,
”
Maria answered truthfully. Omondi
’
s face was dour and she could tell by the jostling of his wristlet camera that he was running. Most likely he was heading in their direction.

“
Any injuries?
”
Omondi
’
s dark eyes
didn
’
t
betray a single emotion.

“
No. We dispatched him. The rest of the
Scrags
are back in torpor.
”

“
Excellent. We
’
re on our way. I want to see the
Scrag
that attacked you,
”
Omondi said, then
cut the feed
.

“
Did you hear?
”
Maria asked Denman.

“
Almost done,
”
Denman responded. He was taking tissue samples while studying the grievous wounds.

“
What the hell is going on?
”
Cruz asked, kicking an
Inferi Scourge
body out of her way and killing another.
“
I heard that fucker talk.
”

“
Scrags
don
’
t speak,
”
Denman answered in a neutral tone.

“
Bullshit,
”
Cruz snapped.

“
I heard him. He said he was hungry,
”
Jameson protested.
“
I heard him talk!
”

“
Me, too!
”
Cruz glowered at Denman and Maria, a look of betrayal on her face.
“
What the fuck aren
’
t you telling us?
”

“
Drop it,
”
Maria said in a firm tone.

“
I heard it speak!
”
Cruz pointed at Ryan.
“
I heard it.
”

Maria winced, unable to think of Ryan as anything other than her friend. To have him considered any less was difficult for her to process.
“
I said to drop it.
”

“
I
’
ll talk to the Chief Defender about it then, Vanguard Martinez,
”
Cruz said angrily.

“
If you do, he
’
ll disregard it.
”
Denman yanked Ryan
’
s armor closed and began fastening it back in place.
“
He has been ordered to disregard any anomalies out here.
”

“
Why?
”
Cruz demanded.

“
Because his job is to make sure we do ours. Efficiently, quickly, and without questions.
”
Finishing his task, he stood up and quickly stowed away his med-kit.

Maria could tell that neither Jameson nor Cruz liked this answer even while seeing the truth of it. Both stared at the body at their feet.

“
But if they can talk, or think...
”
Cruz trailed off.

“
Like us,
”
Jameson added, his eyes widening.
“
Shit!
”

“
It can
’
t be. Ryan died in the last push against the
Scrags
,
”
Maria said.

“
You knew him?
”
Denman quirked an eyebrow at her.

“
Yeah. He was one of my best friends. I saw him dragged down by a pack of
Scrags
. He
’
s not like us.
”
Maria shook her head.
“
I don
’
t know what
’
s going on, but we don
’
t have all the answers.
”

Omondi and his group pushed through the wall of
Inferi Scourge
. The big man stopped at the body on the ground.
“
Constabulary,
”
he breathed.
Bending over
, he searched for the dog tags.

Maria discreetly tucked them into her pack as she stepped away from the others. She didn
’
t want to give Ryan
’
s tags to
Omondi
. She could still remember her last moments with Ryan before he had been
torn away
. She had always mourned not being able to bury him, but now she
could. The tags were sacred
.

“
So he just attacked you, randomly, for no reason?
”
Omondi asked, looking toward Maria.

“
He was howling, stirring up the
Scrags
. He pulled them out of torpor. They all went crazy and then he attacked us while we were distracted.
”
As the words left her mouth, she knew that Ryan had deliberately stirred up the
Inferi Scourge
. He had been hunting them.

“
And then you killed it?
”
Omondi asked.

A brief silence stretched a little too long for Maria
’
s comfort, but she wasn
’
t sure how to answer. Would the others keep quiet?

“
We held it down and I killed it,
”
Denman said at last.
“
Then we remained silent and waited for the
Scrags
to re-enter their torpor.
”

Omondi straightened and studied their faces one by one. Behind him, Mikado, Holm, and Cormier stared at the body on the ground. Their faces were
expressionless
, but their eyes were full of questions.

“
It said
‘
hungry,
’
”
Cruz said in a timid voice, her eyes darting toward Maria.
“
We all heard it.
”

“
You imagined it,
”
Omondi said, dismissing her comment outright.

“
No, it said
‘
hungry
’
and it was trying to bite Vanguard Martinez,
”
Cruz insisted.
“
We all heard it.
”

“
Scrags
don
’
t speak,
”
Omondi said in a tone that made it clear the discussion was over. Swiveling about, he gazed down at Maria.
“
Don
’
t you agree?
”

“
Scrags
don
’
t talk,
”
Maria agreed. She could feel all eyes on her, but she kept her gaze locked with Omondi
’
s.

“
Burn the body. Keep moving. We have a long day ahead of us,
”
Omondi ordered. He waded back into the throng of
Inferi Scourge
, his team
shadowing him
.

Grabbing Ryan under his arms, Denman pulled him toward a pile of
Scourge
.

With a growl of frustration, Cruz kicked a dead body. Jameson merely stared after Ryan, his hand tracing the bite on his hand.

Maria followed Denman.

It was difficult undressing Ryan for his funeral pyre. The wounds on his torso were terrible to behold. The armor wouldn
’
t burn, so it would be stacked with other salvageable items. Denman helped Maria lift Ryan onto the top of the pile of bodies.

“
I
’
m sorry about this, you know,
”
he said at last.

“
I saw them take him,
”
Maria
sorrowfully responded
.
“
He sacrificed himself so I would survive.
”

Touching Ryan
’
s torn cheek, Maria whispered a prayer in Spanish. Stepping back, she crossed herself.
“
None of this makes sense anymore,
”
she said at last. Drawing the small, handheld flamethrower, she made sure it was loaded, then fired at the pile. A fire instantly roared to life. The flames spiraled above the pyre as thunder rolled and somewhere in the distance rain began to fall. The smell of burning flesh and ozone washed over her.

Timidly, Denman reached out and rested his hand on her back. Touched by his gesture, Maria gave him a sad smile. Deep sobs came from deep inside her and she wished she could cry. Though her eyes remained dry, her body shuddered with her despair.

* * *

“
I have new orders,
”
Omondi
said hours later as the bonfires burned low and the squads sat in small huddled groups talking. He loomed over her, his face hidden by the darkness of the night.

Maria glanced up from the novel she was reading on her pad.
“
What are they?
”

“
We
’
re dividing the squad. I have orders to take my half to the
hydroelectric
station.
”

Widening her eyes slightly, M
aria set her pad aside
.
“
I don
’
t understand.
”