The Ugly Beginning - 01 (37 page)

Finding Heather had sent his beliefs spiraling. One person immune to the bite was a terrible, wonderful thing. The possibility that a bite was not a one hundred-percent guarantee of death and undeath was amazing. But Cary…that was terrible. Had he awoke to find himself alone and defenseless? What sort of hellish nightmare had his inability to pull the trigger condemned Cary to? It would have been better to have killed him and discovered the possiblility of immunity than to have left him alive and alone, surrounded by zombies in a disabled car.

The bite scar on Abernathy’s shoulder was bright pink. Two people immune in such a small town? Of course the odds were slim, but who knew what factors led to immunity. There were certainly enough zombies walking about to remind Kevin that this was much more of a fluke than the norm. Add in that many of the attacks were viscious enough to be fatal in and of themselves.

“Well then,” Kevin leaned down into the man’s profusely sweating face, “let’s test another theory.”

Kevin looked around the room at the girls. Three were collared and kept in place by a long lead that was attached to an eyebolt in the wall. Taking a deep breath, he drew his long blade and walked up to the first girl tied into a desk. He drove the blade into the temple and then, carefully and methodically went around the room dispatching all but those three.

Next, he moved all the ones that he’d finished off over to one corner. He looked at the three that were collared. Their eyes followed him during his task. They had stopped trying to get at him at some point. Now, all three were almost with their back to the wall.

“Well,” Kevin stood with his hands on his hips, looking from one girl to the other, “perhaps there is at least a minimal understanding. Like the ability to comprehend the most basic aspect of being endangered. So let’s see what happens here.”

Kevin walked to the doorway and grabbed the chair by the armrest and pulled it into the room. He heard movement instantly and spun around to insure he wasn’t within reach. Looking at each of the three zombies, he noticed immediately that they were no longer paying him any attention. Instead, they were fixated on the man in the chair.

“Looks like some friends of yours would like to say hello.” Kevin watched how all three came for the terrified man tied to the chair.

Kevin pushed the chair back out of the room. He turned and watched for the reaction of the schoolgirl-zombies. They just stopped. It was like a switch. All three went to standing, swaying in place, or shambling back a few steps to ease the tension on their leads.

“Okay, one more test,” Kevin whispered to Abernathy, “then I’ll be done here.”

He walked into the room. Would they still equate him with danger? Their heads turned his direction almost in unison. Each began moving towards him, arms out. “Kinda like goldfish,” Kevin mumbled. Then, over his shoulder he called, “But they sure have
you
imprinted in their minds, because, even though they want to get at me, it’s not nearly as spirited as when I drag your ass in here.”

Kevin didn’t relish his next task. One of the three was totally naked. Stringy blonde hair hung down just above her breasts. Her one bite was on the left hand in between the thumb and index finger. Kevin walked up just out of the range of her outstretched, grasping hands. He feinted left and it followed. In a quick lunge to the right, he ducked under the hands and swept the feet out from underneath. Quickly wrestling it onto its stomach, Kevin yanked the clasp free on the ball gag and moved away quickly. A soft moan filled the room and made the hair on his arms stand up. He stood, sizing up the other two, one was wearing a cheerleader’s outfit, the other one was in lingerie that looked even more obscene due to the girl not possibly being older than fourteen. With similar tactics, he managed to remove the ball-gags. Now all three were mewling and moaning.

“Now,” Kevin walked back out to where Mister Abernathy still sat, pleased to see that the man was renewing his struggles, “let’s go say hi.” Kevin pushed the chair back into the room. The low sounds instantly changed to a hissing and the clicking of teeth as all three strained to the limits of their leads, snapping their jaws and clawing at the air.

“I want Heather to know she’ll never have to worry about you again.” Kevin yanked the gag from the man’s mouth.

“Please! I don’t think you understand,” Abernathy pleaded.

“Understand what?” Kevin snapped. “That you’re a sick fuck that preyed on children? Or is it that I don’t understand that you simultaneously turned them into fucking zombies so you could live out your fantasies? In either case, you’re right. I don’t understand. And what’s more, I hope I never do.”

“You have no idea what it’s like watching them day after day. Every year their skirts get shorter, they grind on every boy they can in plain view. They—”

“Shut the fuck up!” Kevin punched the man squarely in the face. “They’re kids, and you’re a sick motherfucker who doesn’t deserve to live.”

Kevin drew his knife and circled wide of the naked zombie. She didn’t even seem to register his presence—so intent on getting the man in the center of the room who was blubbering with a mixture of tears, snot, and blood running down his face.

“Sic ‘em!” Kevin cut the lead and the zombie sprawled face down on the floor. He quickly cut the other two loose, watching them flop face first as well, and then begin scrambling awkwardly to their feet.

One by one they rose and began their slow, lurching walk toward their intended prey. Kevin moved to the doorway, no longer surprised that none of them even glanced his direction. Abernathy continued to squirm and blubber, “Julie, Sasha, Sara…no…no…” over and over.

The naked one arrived first and leaned over like she was about to whisper a secret. Abernathy screamed as she came away with the right ear and a strip of flesh from the neck. Blood poured and splattered the cheerleader who now latched onto the right arm. Finally, the lingerie-clad one reached its target, still on its hands and knees. It reared up, and then plunged down, mouth clamping on the left leg. The thin, khaki pants tore away, exposing a white slab of upper thigh. Again it leaned in, this time finding the loose flesh of Abernathy’s flabby leg.

Another scream filled the room.

“I’ll leave you to get reacquainted,” Kevin said, although he was pretty sure he was drowned out by the screams. He closed the door and listened as the shrieks rose in pitch and volume.

***

“Is that…?” Heather clasped on to Mike’s arm like a lifeline.

“I don’t think Mister Abernathy will ever bother you again.” He hugged the trembling girl.

Together, the two stood, listening to the muffled screams. They seemed to ooze through the vacant school. Mike glanced outside, noticing a couple of nearby zombies turn in the direction of the building.
Not too many
, he observed. The combination of a small town, and a good number of the undead already put down was a definite bonus. Still, he didn’t want the numbers surrounding the building to grow. Currently he guessed there to be no more than thirty in sight. Of course, the stairs leading up to the main doors might explain the lack of zombies trying to get at them. He watched as one zombie in particular—a youngster who hadn’t been more than five—struggle with the first two steps, falling a couple times before finally shambling away. What had once been an elderly, white-haired old lady had the same problems and also gave up.

Still, almost a dozen made it up the stairs. He could hear them slapping at the entry doors. Heather clung to his side, also watching the zombies come and go. Occassionally she would whisper a name.

“Mike,” Kevin’s voice made both of them jump. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya. Let’s go down and see if we can zonk the ones gathered at the doors.”

“Then what?” Mike asked.
Yeah
, he decided,
somebody needed to be the leader and make decisions
. He’d speak up if he felt the urge, but for right now, he was perfectly fine with Kevin making the choices.

“We should be able to hole up here for a bit,” Kevin replied. Mike noticed that he was spattered in quite a lot of blood.

“What about Angela and the others?” Mike asked. “Shaw and his men?”

“It will take some planning.” Kevin flipped open the flap of a box next to him, peeking at the contents. “Before we do anything, I’ll want to check out their place and see if it is even feasible. Also, I am guessing they send out patrols for supplies as well as to maintain their claim. I’ll bet it is pretty easy to figure out any schedule they keep.”

“So let’s do this before things outside get any thicker.” Mike produced a long, steel-tipped poker perfect for jabbing into heads.

“Heather,” Kevin said to the girl, putting up his hands to keep her from following, “you wait up here and we’ll be back shortly. Watch from the window if you like, but stay up here.”

“Okay.” Her voice sounded relieved and tired.

“Once we’re done, we can rest, eat, and clean ourselves up a bit,” Kevin said over his shoulder as he and Mike left the room and headed for the stairs.

***

Eyes opened. The creature’s head hung awkardly to one side. It struggled to stand, but couldn’t free itself from the cords lashing it to the big, blood-soaked chair. It tried to work its jaw, but somehting hard and round was wedged in its mouth.

Much of its entrails were clumped in its lap, but the creature had no awareness of such things. It was oblivious to the three creatures laying in a row just a few feet away. All it knew was hunger. A hunger that drove it to struggle at its bonds so that it could search for something to satisfy that hunger…even though the creature possessed no concept of satisfaction.

It really and truly only
knew
one thing.

Hunger
.

The unthinkable has happened. The dead are walking!

Humanity’s fragile thread may be reaching its bitter end.

Individuals and groups struggle to survive…some at any cost. Will there be anybody left?

Or, is this just…

The Ugly Beginning
?

DEAD: the 12 book series

The Dead Walk:

Samuel Todd is a regular guy:

...Failed husband...

...Loving father...

...Dutiful worker...

...Aspiring rock star.

He had no idea if anyone would care, or take the time, to read his daily blog entries about his late night observations. But what started as an open monologue of his day-to-day life became a running journal of the first-hand account detailing the rising of the dead and the downfall and degradation of mankind...