The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (31 page)

“
Let
’
s take a break,
”
Maria called out.

It was unscheduled, but she needed a moment. They were working harder than ever to destroy the
Scourge
. Even with half the squad gone, they were making enormous progress.
Omondi
was pleased with her nightly reports, but never relayed the actions of his own squad. The secrecy was beginning to annoy and frighten her.

The soldiers clustered together in small groups talking and relaxing. She noted Mikado and Cruz sitting aside from everyone else, discreetly holding hands. A few times they had sn
eaked
off together, but they weren
’
t the only ones. Since
Omondi
had departed, she had noticed a few clandestine hookups happening. A few jokes about necrophilia had been dropped in the early days, but now people craved to feel connected, to feel human. She didn
’
t blame them. Her longing for Dwayne seemed to increase every day without him.

Mentally exhausted, Maria didn
’
t feel like engaging
in
small talk. She strolled a short distance away, pulling her hair out of her braid and running her fingers through the silky waves. She was thankful for their recent dip in a pond. They discovered the
Scourge
avoided water and had been able to spend time washing up and relaxing instead of dragging the depths for the dead.

Squatting down, she ran her
palm
lightly over the soft grass and wildflowers that were growing now that the
Scourge
had been cleared. In the darkness of her days, the returning beauty of nature was a salve on her tortured thoughts. At times she felt like a ghost drifting through the valley. Separated from her family, friends and Dwayne, she was trapped in her own mind day in and out. Sometimes her mental fatigue was too much to endure. It was the small moments of respite that helped her survive emotionally through the long days.

A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see Denman
smiling down at her. Crouching
, he lightly touched the lavender petals of a wildflower.
“
Life is returning.
”

“
It gives me hope,
”
Maria admitted.

“
Considering how much we
’
re accomplishing out here, I would think you would feel very hopeful and excited.
”
Denman cocked his head and stared at her thoughtfully.
“More than three
-
quarters of the valley are cleared.”

She
directed her gaze at
the fields of green spreading out behind them.
“
I
’
m tired of killing. None of this has felt right since the beginning.
Omondi
leaving after Ryan attacked has me on edge.
”

Denman nodded solemnly.
“
About that…
”

“
You
’
re done with your analysis of your scans?
”

Drawing in a breath so he could speak, Denman again nodded.
“
Ryan had been partially eaten. His ribs showed distinct bite marks. Human teeth. At first I thought that maybe when the
Scourge
tr
ied to infect him they had mangl
ed him, but I am pretty sure he was being consumed when he died.
”

“
He said he was hungry. And I saw Vanguard Stillson have a pie
ce of flesh torn off of him.
I swear the
Scrag
was chewing it.
”
Maria frowned, her fingers lightly brushing over the grass.

“
He was even missing three ribs. They were broken and torn out of his body. The
Scrags
were never reported
to consume their victims
. I remember
from history class that
in the first days they were nicknamed zombies because they bit their victims and i
t was the bite that turned them. B
ut they were never reported as consuming their victims. Never. Something out here has changed some of them.
”

“
Maybe
they
’
re
evolving into a more dangerous breed.
”
Maria frowned.
“
Is that even possible?
”

“
Maybe. Maybe the virus mutated.
”
Denman shrugged his shoulders.
“
Hard to say. It
’
s not like we have proper equipment out here
to
make a proper analysis
.
”

“
True.
”

“
Are you going to tell
Omondi
?
”

Maria could feel Denman
’
s worried gaze resting on her.
“
No,
”
she said after a long pause.
“
No. I have a feeling he already knows anyway
.
I don
’
t want him to know that you scanned the body.
”

“
Agreed.” Denman sighed. “
These are bizarre times
. But at
least
within a
month or so, we get to go home. All of this will
be
behind us.
”

“
I never thought we
’
d make it to this point,
”
Maria confessed.

For weeks it had felt like the forest of
Inferi Scourge
was never-ending. The mass of ruined bodies had spread out in every direction, always in her vision, like ghosts haunting her. Then one day, she realized she could look to the south and see nothing but grassy fields and ruined structures. The trees and bushes were green and lush
,
and
,
to her surprise
,
she heard birds singing in the branches.
H
ope had filled her
in that moment
. She
’
d
clung to that emotion even when she was in the killing fields.

“
It
’
s amazing, isn
’
t it? Soon there will be houses out here with kids playing in the backyard
s
.
”

“
Your
kids playing in
your
backyard,
”
Maria pointed out with a smile.
“Little Michael Junior and Felicity.”

Denman
’
s usually
-
sorrowful expression lightened significantly at the thought.
“
That would be heaven.
Megan has an amazing green thumb. I can only imagine what she could do with a decent bit of land to cultivate.
”
Whenever he spoke of his wife, Denman
’
s face became absolutely handsome. The love he had for his family radiated out of him and made Maria ha
ppy and hopeful. N
ot only him, but her own future with Dwayne.

Bumping Denman
’
s arm with her elbow, she said,
“
Maybe we can be neighbors. Have cookouts in my backyard.
”

They were fast friends now as well as sort-of co-conspirators in their pursuit of truth.
It was Denman that kept her sane during the long days. They talked about their childhoods, their time in the service, Denman
’
s family, and anything else they could think of. She wished she could share Dwayne with him, but she never felt comfortable with doing so. Though she could easily imagine Denman and Dwayne sharing a beer and getting along, she couldn
’
t bring herself to talk about
her love
. The pain of their separation would become unbearable in that moment.

Denman became distracted.
“
I wonder what he
’
s up to,
”
he
said
,
standing.

Maria turned her attention in the dire
ction Denman
was
staring just in time to see
Jameson slipping into the ruined remains of a pre-fab house. The squad was still gathered in the shadow of the carrier playing cards and chatting.

“
I
’
ll go check on him,
”
Maria decided.

“
He
’
s been a moody son of a bitch lately.
”
Denman stretched and fussed a little with
his armor. After so many months
, they were all tired of
wearing
it.

“
I don
’
t think all of this lived up to his very unrealistic action adventure dreams,
”
Maria said with a light laugh.

“
But he
’
ll have great stories to tell once it
’
s all over. He
’
ll get plenty of women then,
”
Denman joked.

Jameson was always trying to hook up with the women in the squad. He was always rebuffed. Holm called him a
“
deranged, horny little puppy.
”
Now Jameson was called
“
Horn Pup
”
and he was not pleased with the nickname.

Maria walked briskly toward the house, stepping around the patches of weeds and flowers. She hated crushing the greenery under her heavy boots. The new life in the valley felt precious. A quick leap carried her over the ruins of the old fence and she landed in an overgrown yard. The building had collapsed at some point, leaving only one section still standing
. Ducking, she
crept
inside
.

Sunlight sliced through the broken roof illuminating the destroyed interior. The elements had taken
their
toll on the house and its furnishings. Wiring hung from exposed sockets and she
stooped
under broken pipes sticking out of the walls.

Maria opened her mouth to call out to Jameson when she heard a sound that she had not heard in months. It took several seconds for her mind to even process what she was hearing. Finally, it registered. It was the sound of someone eating. The slurping, wet sounds of biting and chewing were emanating from a nearby doorway. Slowly drawing her weapon, she crouched and
edged
forward. If another
Inferi Anomaly
was in the building, Jameson could be in serious trouble or worse. She knew they had cleared the building, but maybe the
Inferi Anomalies
were smart enough to evade them.

Sliding along a
sloped
wall, she held her weapon before her, ready to bludgeon anything that attacked her. Her feet were silent on the cold cement floor as she
approached
the sound
. She was glad for her lack of breath and her body
’
s inability to show the symptoms of stress. A sterile calmness filled her as she listened to the wet
noises
of someone gulping down food. Her thoughts flashed to what had happened to Ryan as she stepped through the doorway.

Instead of finding Jameson being consumed by an
Inferi Anomaly
, he was hunched over a kitchen counter shoving canned food into his mouth. Digging into the can in front of him, he pulled out a thick brown paste and thrust it into his mouth, eating ravenously.

“
Jameson?
”
Maria lowered her weapon, confu
sed by the sight
. The
Inferi Boon
didn
’
t
eat, nor did they grow hungry.

Swiveling toward her, he kept chewing, his fingers dipping into another can. Dragging out green beans, he stared at her as he stuffed them past his stained lips.

“
Jameson, what are you doing?
”
she asked in a soft voice.

“
I
’
m so hungry,
”
he gasped around the food he was eating.
“
I can
’
t stand it anymore!
”
Turning his back on her, he grabbed another can from a cabinet and pried it open.