Deadrise (30 page)

In the center of the clearing there was a large black craft, twice the size of an F-16 fighter jet. It was vaguely shaped like a multi-faceted teardrop, its angles sharp and defined, and it was resting on a trio of landing legs. A wide walkway had been lowered to the ground from the center of the craft. Standing around the perimeter of the craft were a dozen creatures that could only be superzombies. They were tall and skeletal, wearing green army battle gear and helmets. Their faces looked like leathered skulls with lidless eyes. In their hands were clutched M-16’s with M203 grenade launchers attached to the underside. Where the regular zombies radiated a cold, hollow psychic emanation these superzombies were like red-hot coals in Zack’s mind, burning with a single minded evil.

But strong as their aura was, they were not the
Other's
that had drawn him here. He sensed their white-hot presence before he saw them standing there beneath the craft. There were three of them. They stood no more that four feet tall and were covered by thick black cloaks. Again he flashed back to Summittown and the slimy, reptilian face gazing down at him with burning red eyes. Those same burning red eyes that peered back at him from all three of the dark cloaked figures. One of the three raised an arm and Zack felt something slither behind his eyes accompanied by another synaptic flash.

'Come…'

He heard the voice telepathically. Cold and inhuman, it bounced around the inside of his skull like a trapped animal trying to escape. The pain made Zack go weak in the knees but he managed to stay on his feet.

'COME!
'The voice was forceful this time and before he knew it Zack found himself staggering towards the trio of black-cloaked monsters. As he came to within a few feet of them he could see their snake like snout through the shadows of their cloaks. Their auras grew in intensity, burning through his mind like a blanket of pain. Zack gave a small cry and collapsed to his knees.

"What is happening to me?" Zack asked weakly.

One of the creatures spoke, its voice a guttural, inhuman hiss. Once again Zack felt something move behind his eyes with a stab of pain and amazingly he could understand its alien language. The voice was the same whispering hiss as before.

"No longer are you human."

Zack wanted to scream as the creature’s word’s echoed through his head.

No longer are you human...

"What did you do to me?" another bolt of pain shot through his head, bringing tears to his eyes and causing to press his face to the ground.

"You have been implanted with a Krylok embryo. The first stage of growth is very painful as your body’s natural defenses try to resist the supplication. You must feed."

Zack pounded the ground with his fist as he cried silently.

Two of the superzombies walked up the ramp of the black craft and several moments later came out leading four humans dazed with shock. They were cuffed at the wrists and ankles.

"Watch…" The voice in his head again, and despite his best effort to resist Zack raised his head.

The superzombies had pushed all four humans to their knees. Zack noted with horror that three of the four were women and the last was a teenaged boy. All had the glazed eye look of cattle. One of the black robed creatures walked over and stood behind one of the women. On her knees she was about even height with the monster. Scaly, three clawed hands emerged from the folds of the robe to pull the hood back, revealing a snake like head with mottled green and black skin covered with a thin layer of slime. The creature took the woman's head in its talon tipped hands and opened its mouth wide, revealing blackened gums and a few rotted stumps of teeth. It opened its mouth wider and out came a bloated black tongue dripping with foul, foamy pus. The tongue was tipped with a hard green, bone-like substance that came to a sharp point which it used to lightly probe the back of the woman’s head before plunging into her skull with a liquid crunch and a spray of blood. The woman gave single cry of pain and began to convulse. She would have fallen to the ground had the creature not held her up. The monster opened its mouth wider and the tongue flexed before sliding deeper into the skull. A loud slurping sound could be heard and continued for several seconds before the evil little creature pulled its head back, retracting the tongue from the woman’s skull. Several strings of brain matter were coiled around the tongue and the monster quickly gobbled them down once its tongue was back in its mouth.

"You must feed or die."

The monster let the woman’s corpse fall to the ground. It gave forth a loud hiss and half a dozen zombies broke from the milling pack and advanced towards the body, raising their arms and moaning in hunger. They fell upon the corpse, biting huge chunks of flesh from the face, chest and stomach. Zack felt his stomach churn with pain. But the pain was not from disgust, but hunger. He watched the zombies tear the woman’s stomach open and pull out her intestines and his mouth began to salivate and a fresh wave of hunger flooded his whole body. The other two alien creatures converged on the remaining women, feeding just as the first one had. The slurping sounds of their feeding and the scent of fresh blood consumed Zack. It was beyond hunger. It was a physical need. If he didn’t satisfy this hunger soon it might turn inward upon itself, devouring him from the inside out.

One of the superzombies produced a small hand axe from its belt and casually walked up behind the teenaged boy and split his skull with one downward stroke. He collapsed face first, his legs twitching lightly. It then looked to Zack with its rotted, eyeless sockets. He felt a psychic wave of submission from the superzombie, an acknowledgement that he was its master.

"You must feed!" One of the creatures hissed. The command from the black robed creature was over powering, and Zack began to crawl towards the downed boy.

No! No! Come to your senses Zack! Stop this madness!

But he had no will power of his own. He came to a halt beside the downed boy. His head had been split like a coconut, exposing the pink, blood covered brain.

"FEEEEEDDD!" The voice was like a sledgehammer blow to his head, overwhelming his mind. Unable to control his actions, Zack scooped a handful of the warm, moist brains from the boy’s skull and shoveled them into his mouth…

Chapter 29

Sunday, June 24, 2001

Park City, UT

3:30 PM

Ron stood naked in front of the mirror, looking at the stranger staring back at him, soon to be a walking dead-man. The rash was spreading by the minute, growing down his arms toward his wrist and down both legs to the knees. Where it had just spread was red and swollen but any part that had been infected for more that an hour had festered into cracked, pus filled flesh and greenish black boils. But the really strange thing was that aside from the discomfort of the rash he felt great. In fact, he felt full of energy. He had seen people die from a zombie bite. Within hours they had fallen ill then over the next 48-72 hours the infection spread until the victim died a pus-filled bag of shit. They didn’t grow the jungle rot over their entire body and die full of vitality.

Ron walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom. He looked at the clock. Nearly an hour since he had returned to his room. No doubt they would be here for him any time now. And he decided that he wasn’t going to let them take him. He knew what kind of experiments had been conducted on deadfucks back at the U. Things that would have made the old Nazi doctors proud. He didn’t want to be a deadfuck. Let alone a deadfuck on some butchers operating table. If taken into custody they would not terminate him but instead let him reanimate so they could carve him up.

No.
Better to take his life than go down that path.

He was going to miss his brother Rick. After his wife and children had been killed he had devoted himself to his brother’s family. His nieces, Mary & Tiffany, were the world to him. Every thing he did he did for them. He had only known Matt, Susan and the Young family a short time but he was going to miss them as well. He was even going to miss Jenkins; he and that black-hearted bastard had been partners since the beginning. He had really been looking forward to relaxing and fishing at Rainbow Lake, But he would finally be with his wife and children. He found strength in their memory, giving him the resolve to do what he knew he must do.

There came a knock on the door followed by a muffled voice. "Mr. Black? This is the Park City Militia. If you are in there please open the door."

Ron ignored them. Instead he walked across the room to the bedside table and grabbed his .357-magnum. It was loaded and he said a silent prayer before he put the barrel of the gun in his mouth. He heard the door break open followed by shouts for him to stop. Ron could only smile at the absurdity of the request. Stop? Not likely. He closed his eyes as he squeezed the trigger…

Chapter 30

Sunday, June 24, 2001

Park City, UT

3:45 PM

The Captain had been good to his word.

Someone had come in and taken them out of cuffs. A faceless Lt. told them they could pick-up their personal belongings at the main entrance to the hospital. The four of them proceeded to the main entrance and were in the process of getting their things when the Captain came out of the elevator and approached them.

"What do you want now?" Jenkins asked.

"The rest of your friends have been taken into custody save for one."

"Who?" Matt asked.

"He was identified as Ron Black by his brother."

"Identified?" Mac said. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It appears Mr. Black was also infected with the plague and elected to take his own life rather than be taken into custody. I can’t say that I blame him."

None of them said a word.

"Fuck him." Jenkins finally snarled bitterly. "Better him than me." Matt was about to say something but he saw that Jenkins had looked away, his face fighting to quell the emotions that churned within.

"Were any of the others infected?" Mac asked.

"Outwardly it didn’t appear so. But they will be here any minute and the blood tests will confirm it."

Jenkins finished tucking his things away, holstered his pistol and exited the room without another word.

Matt understood how he felt. He had only known Ron a few days but he had grown close to him. It had been Ron who had befriended him when they’d first reached the U. Ron who had gotten Zack a room in the Ft. Douglas hospital. And now he was dead.

"When can we see them?" Mac asked the Captain.

"They should be cleared in about an hour."

"We’ll wait for them." Susan said.

"I’m going to go find Jenkins." Mac said. "He and Ron dealt with the tariff officials. For all we know they have everything registered in their names. With Ron dead he may be able to steal everything right out from under us."

"I don’t think Ron would have done that." Matt said, surprised at Mac's paranoia.

"Jenkins would." Mac replied. "You don’t know that son of a bitch like I do…Ruthless. Ron was the only link binding him to us. Rick is Ron’s brother...not Jenkins partner."

"I think you’re being a little paranoid." Matt said. "Jenkins said he wanted to relax for awhile. He’s looking forward to Rainbow Lake as much as any of us."

"Suit yourself." Mac said. "But I’m going to go find him anyway. I’ll meet up with everybody at the hotel." He grabbed the last of his things off the counter and headed for the exit.

"If you want to wait here in the lobby I will send someone for you once they have been cleared." The Captain said.

"That’ll do." Matt said. He and Susan found themselves a seat in a quiet corner of the lobby. For a while they sat there, hand in hand, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Do you think we’ll make it?" Susan asked solemnly.

"Yes." Matt answered almost at once. "I do believe we are going to make it. We are so close I can taste it."

"What if they don’t find Zack and he leads the zombies to the lake?"

"I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it." They were silent for a long time then.

"I love you." Matt said. When Susan didn’t answer he squeezed her hand and looked her in the eye. "I know it sounds crazy. Hell it is crazy. But with everything that’s happened... Your dad, Zack, Ron. It’s like a nightmare that I can’t wake up from. Being with you has been the only good thing, the only right thing that has happened. I don’t mean to put any kind of burden on you but with things the way they are? Who knows what tomorrow may bring. So I just wanted to tell you how I felt. Just in case…" Matt knew there was no turning back from the things he was saying but he no longer cared.

"Let’s get married." Susan said. Matt gave her a jaw-dropping stare but she held up a hand to silence him and continued. "You are right. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? We may all be dead by this time tomorrow. It’s good to plan for the future but we can’t forget to live right now. And I know that I love you right now. And whatever tomorrow brings I want you to be there. I saw a Pastor when we first came down stairs. Let’s go find him and have him marry us right now." She said.