The Village of Dead Souls: A Zombie Novel (19 page)

Wearing leather gardening gloves, Daniel carefully picked up pieces of broken glass and tossed them into the large trashcan in the center of his lab. The mess and destruction caused by the activists left all of his work in shambles, scattered across the room. Two of his assistants pushed the tall refrigerator back upright
,
as Dr. Tower tried to gather the paper documents scattered throughout the rubble. While gently pulling half a sheet of paper from underneath an overturned set of shelves, she said, "I really hope all of our data is still backed up on the server. It looks like we're not going to get it all back from our hardcopy notes. We should've kept them in the walk-in freezer
.
That
thing is like a bank vault. I'm betting it will still be here long after we are all gone."

Grabbing a push broom from against the wall, Daniel responded, "If we do have to start over from scratch, at least we know which direction to go. Once we have the lab back up and running, we should have the first serum in two or three weeks. Besides, Dr. Kolhoff and his team in
Miami
are just as close to isolating the parasite. By this time next year, the re-an outbreak will be a distant memory."

Lisa sorted through papers spread across a table. "I hope so. All the major labs have been so focused on this outbreak, we let the Omega Virus sneak up on us. There's indication it might be more destructive than the re-an if we don't get it under control."

"One theory circulating around, states the Omega Virus," Daniel swept some glass shards into a pile, "is a variant of the Reanimation Virus that
,
instead of placing the host into a zombie-like state
,
it overwhelms the vital organs."

Dr. Tower glanced up from her papers. "But, there have been
cases,
where a person who showed symptoms of the Omega
Virus
has been declared
dead,
only to have the re-an virus bring the body back to life. This would indicate
there
are two different strains. With our findings, the re-an may not be a virus at all
,
which means these are two different outbreaks."

"This is true. The Omega appears to create more re-an cases. It's a perfect storm of A4 outbreaks."

Lisa set the stack of papers in her hand down on the table and walked over to Daniel. He leaned the broom against the wall and wrapped his arms around her waist as she did the same to him. Holding each other close, she asked, "Have you had the talk with your wife yet?"

Daniel let out a breath and said, "She's dying of cancer. I can't tell her something like this right at the end of her life."

"How's her chemo going?"

"It's not going well. The tumors are continuing to grow. I'm afraid it will not be long before it spreads to her lymphatic system and then her entire body."

Lisa released her hug and placed her right hand on his chest. "I'm so sorry this is happening to her and to you. I wish this thing between us," she motioned her hand between her and Daniel, "didn't happen right now. I feel so bad
.
I really like Wendy and never meant for this to happen. The last thing I want would be to hurt her."

"I know. With our emotions running so high combined with all the stress of the outbreak, and her cancer, it was bound to happen with us spending so much time in close proximity. We've practically been living together in this lab."

As Daniel leaned in and gave Lisa a soft kiss on the lips, his lab assistant, Hutch, called out, "Hey Dr. Kissy-Face, some of these samples didn't break." He pointed to some Petri dishes on the ground. "Do want me to toss them or put them back in the cooler?"

Dr. Cronsworth stepped back from Lisa, cleared his throat and glanced at the
specimens
on the floor. "Let's keep
‘
em. I'll examine them later to see if they have become contaminated."

Dr. Tower's face turned red with embarrassment as she turned to walk back to her table with all the documents.

* * *

John Colton's police uniform appeared tattered and worn as he crawled through the dark field surrounded by his civilian militia. He came to a stop behind a large golden currant bush and pulled his machete from its sheath strapped to his back. In the distance, he saw two re-ans
standing
in front of the abandoned warehouse. Turning to the man next to him, he pointed to his right with his blade and said in a low whisper, "Go tell Frank and his men
,
we're going in when I give the signal."

His fellow soldier crawled away through the tall grass and quickly vanished into the darkness.
Colton
continued to watch the re-ans in front of the building. They moaned to each other as if they carried on a conversation. Through the windows,
the
shadows and silhouettes of other dead souls ambled across the floor. He leaned forward for a better view and his knee broke a dry twig on the ground. The snapping drew the attention of one re-an at the door. John froze so he
would
not make another sound. At the door, the two undead went back to their moans and groaning.

As one of the zombies walked into the building, the former police officer stood,
waved
his machete in the air and yelled, "Let's go!"

The militia of seventy men sprang up from all over the field and charged into the dim light emanating out of the building. As they poured inside the warehouse, the civilian soldiers met a wave of
well-armed
zombies. Pulled from a scene of a nightmarish ancient battle, the two armies collided with a clash of metal weapons.
Colton
and his militia called out actions to each other, "On your left! Watch out behind you!"
While
the re-ans appeared to communicate in their strange
uncomprehended
moans. The living dead poured out of the shadows from behind crates and far corners
,
giving the impression
that
their numbers were unending. The former police officer wondered
;
where did they learn to fight so well?
How did they make better swords than ours?

One of the militia ran up to
Colton
with his face and hands covered with blood.
The man's face had the
look of fear frozen on
it
. "They're everywhere! There has to be over a thousand of them!"

Four of the undead pounced on the man, taking bites out of his face and neck, tearing away pieces of his flesh with their teeth. Blood sprayed into the air
,
indicating his heart continued to beat and he remained alive while being eaten. Before John could help the man
,
two more living dead
,
attacked him with hardened swords made from pounded scrap metal. He swung his machete wildly, clashing metal on metal, keeping their weapons away from him while backing away from his attackers. Another one of his soldiers, armed with an axe, hacked at the neck of one undead until the poor soul's head came off. The two men, chopped at the other attacker until his body parts lay scattered across the ground.

Colton
surveyed the battle and realized how grossly they were out numbered. He saw three of his men hack and stab a
bright green-eyed
zombie, only to be killed by a sword wielding dead Harajuku Girl with a Panda bear backpack. To save the few men he still had, he waved his arm towards the door and called out, "LoDo Militia, retreat!"

His remaining bloody and wounded soldiers ran with him toward the exit. He left with only half the amount of men he brought to the battle. Outside, the living dead continued to chase them into the darkness. As they crossed the
Platte
River
,
Colton
stopped on the opposite bank, helped his men out of the water, and saw the dark silhouettes of their attackers turn and stagger back to their stronghold.

* * *

Candles and torches placed at all levels filled the warehouse and cast a yellow light through the building. The once small group of undead had now grown to hundreds. As they spread out across all parts of the large abandoned building, their numbers filled all the spaces
,
while they
wandered
about with nothing to fill their time. The inability to sleep forced them to find any type of activity to occupy the long stretches between searching for supplies and fending off attacks. Most resorted to pacing in small areas to place themselves into a trance so they would not be aware of how many minutes
had
passed.

Gunnar approached Prometheus and gently placed his hand on the Athenian's shoulder. "Walk with me
,
my brother. I have the need to talk to someone from the land of great thinkers."

The two men walked through the side door of the warehouse into the night, and saw the lights of the city form a glowing bubble in the dark sky. Between them and the lights lay a mile of dark empty buildings abandoned by living. As they stopped
at
the edge of the light, Prometheus asked his friend, "What do you need to talk about my friend?"

Gunnar glanced at the distant glow. "It's the war building between us and our fellow dead brothers. I am bothered by the feud."

"There are so many troubling facts about this existence. What troubles you about the Clan of Titus?"

"In all of the different lands I have fought, I have never seen brothers fighting brothers. I was asked to protect this clan
,
and for the first time in my memory, I have failed at such a task. My father and clan elders would be greatly disappointed in me."

"You have not failed
,
my friend." Prometheus stared out at the city lights. "Our numbers have only grown stronger and your soldiers have proven their worth many times over. The knowledge and skills you have brought us will help complete our mission."

"But I cannot protect our clan when it is divided. Titus and his people are still part of our brotherhood. A disagreement does not change this fact."

"Perhaps Titus no longer asks for your protection. You should relieve yourself of this burden
,
and focus your efforts on those, who still depend on your
shelter
."

"As you said, there are many troubling facts about this world." Gunnar glanced down at his strange clothing. "My life as one of the living consisted of conquering villages, drinking ale, and rousting with women. In this world, with iron wagons and ships which sail the sky, there are no more villages to plunder."

"But, there are still battles to wage. The villages are bigger
,
but the fight is still the same."

Gunnar took in a deep breath and let it out as he stared up at the stars. "I have led my entire life as a brave warrior
,
just so I would be rewarded with entrance into
Valhalla
."