The Dead Hunger Series: Books 1 through 5 (93 page)

Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact.

There were several young boys and girls – and when I say young, I mean thirteen to sixteen years of age.  All in all, their orphan group had grown to around eight, with five boys and three girls.  All of their parents had died, either at the first onset of the disease, or at the hands or teeth of zombies.

Jimmy Dickson and his friends insisted on being on their own.  Reeves, Whit, Jacko – least of all the sisters, who did try to mother them a bit – none of them could convince these kids that they needed adults.  They wanted to survive on their own, and it didn’t seem to matter that it was hard.

It was something they wanted to do.  Nobody in town thought it was a problem, so long as they didn’t steal, threaten, or endanger themselves or others.

So far they hadn’t.  And important to all of us was the fact that the boys seemed to have great respect for the girls; they didn’t harass them or treat them any differently than their male counterparts.  As far as any of us could tell, they were all equals.

Imagine if the world started that way.  Reset. 

I was certain there were crushes between a couple of the boys and girls.  You didn’t get to be an adult without the ability to recognize flirting, no matter what form it took.

The trouble came when it was discovered that Trina and Taylor had been stealing food from the house and delivering it to the back door at predetermined times of night.

It had been going on for at least a few days when the girls, who were not nearly as slick as they imagined, were caught up at two in the morning, bags filled with boxes of macaroni and cheese, butter buds and powdered milk.

They spilled the beans – literally – and while they were scrambling to clean up their mess, Flex and Gem caught them red-handed. They told us right away, because we were on the other side of the house and had slept right through it. 

We all still shared the same house, and for now, we liked it that way.  It was a great family.

Anyway, Flex and Gem found out where the kids lived.  It was actually a great house, a two-story just three blocks deeper into the abandoned part of the city.  Flex didn’t give them guns, nor would anybody in town allow it, but we did teach them various methods of self-defense, including how to use a baseball bat effectively against a zombie, and they always had a good supply of urushiol, should they need it.

The wafers were in everybody’s home.  If anyone was going to a location, either within or outside of the town limits, they’d take enough to get them through.  I was working on a combination of caffeine and aspirin to somehow blend with the wafers to prevent the sleeping, but as of this writing, it hasn’t yet been worked out.

So, to wrap it up, the band of kids was learning.  And they even taught us a thing or two now and then.  It was going to be kind of cool seeing how they grew up; what kind of young men and women they became.

Dave and Lisa have decided to head out on their own.  I was sad to hear it, but nobody was sadder than Charlie.  She had grown to care for Dave, and I knew why: he was a bit like her, and a bit like Gem, and just a touch like Flex.  I still didn’t know what she saw in me, so you might notice I didn’t put myself in that bunch.

In private, Dave came up to me and said he was going to head out and try to find his own Charlie.  I don’t blame him, but she’s one in a million.

Since he told me that I’ve noticed him and Serena becoming close, and Charlie told me yesterday that Serena announced she wanted to join Dave and Lisa on their trip.

That’s good.  Serena reminds me a bit of Gem and my Charlie, and she might just be the one for Dave.  His Charlie.

They’re
heading to California, at least for a while.  Dave and Lisa have an uncle there, and they’re fairly certain, based on their known family history, that he has the immunity gene.  According to them, he’s a tough bastard, and is more likely a zombie-killing machine than a victim.

Either way, they’re going to find out.  They leave as soon as the weather warms up a bit.  Right now we’ve had snow every week, and it is, as Charlie says,
butt cold
.

I think about April we’ll be saying good bye.

While Gem and Flex have verbally stated their intention to settle down a bit, what with the new baby due in July and Trina really seeming to enjoy the daily routine, it’s hard to imagine.  They’re a true family now, and they deserve peace.

We all do.

As far as Flex and Gem becoming Ward and June Cleaver, we’ll just have to see about that.  Maybe Ward and June
with
cleavers.  Meat cleavers.

If you’ve been reading all of our chronicles, you might want to keep up with the
Sheridans – they are
quite
a family, though hardly traditional. 

But then again, just what is traditional these days?  Perhaps they
are
the new definition.

Either way, Charlie, Taylor and I will be here in
Concord for the foreseeable future, because we like it here.  We like the people and the idea of rebuilding a society from the ground up.  It’s almost like a small town in 1950s America where everybody knows everybody, and of course Flex and Gem are here for now and they’re our best friends.

S
o there’s that, too. 

I guess I didn’t mention that my Charlie’s pregnant,
did I?  Don’t know why not; it’s practically all I can think about besides the work ahead of me.  I never would have believed it.  Taylor’s going to have a sister, and I’ve lost twelve pounds since I found out about it.  Charlie says she knows where my weight went.  It looks great on her.

I’ve got a lot of work left to do, as I mentioned in my list earlier.  All those things have to be sorted out, and I intend to build a group of assistants and get them done.  Charlie loves the work, so she’ll be my right hand girl.  The rest will fall into place.  We’ll be sure to let you know about any new discoveries.

So we’re all settling down a bit, aren’t we?  As I said earlier, I think we deserve it.

Hell.  We might have actually saved the world.

That’s a bloody good reason.

T
HE END

Dead Hunger IV

Evolution

A Flex
Sheridan Adventure

By Eric A. Shelman

Dead Hunger IV: Evolution

is a work of fiction by

Eric A. Shelman

All characters contained herein are fictional, and all similarities to actual persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental, except of course, where characters are based on real people, but the personalities and relationships are pure fiction.

No portion of this text may be copied or duplicated without author or publisher written permission, except for use in professional reviews.

©2012 Dolphin Moon Publishing

Electronic Version

Cover Art By Gary McCluskey

PROLOGUE

It’s early in the 21
st
Century.  The end of 2012 and beginning of 2013 were cold as hell, which got me thinking about our decision to move to Concord, New Hampshire in the first place, granite or not.  As it turns out, I didn’t have nearly as much control as I’d imagined over whether or not it would be our permanent home, but more about that later.  This is just an intro here.

If you’ve followed our Chronicles, you already know that ratz and zombies rule most of the streets of the world and you’ve probably guessed that it’s something my friends and I intend to do our little part to put a stop to.  At least in the good ol’
USA.

I’m Flex Sheridan.  In another few months, my wife Gem is set to have a baby – the first born that I know of since this all began.  The doctors say everything looks fine.

Okay.  The doctor.  There’s only one now.  We had another, but he’s dead.  If you read Hemp and Charlie’s chronicles then you know how that happened.

The ratz.

Back to the baby news, and allow me to qualify what I said about this being the first birth since the apocalypse.  This will be the first
live
birth.  Another baby was almost born in Concord, but there was a problem – one that Hemp always warned was a possibility.

The mother didn’t survive and we had to put her little one out of its misery, too.

Charlie did the deed.  Gem would have, had she not been incapacitated.  So with Gem out of the picture, Charlie was the only one with the balls to, ironic as that shit is.

This particular problem falls into the category of
fucked up things to expect when you’re expecting.
  The worry?  Well, that your baby will metamorphose into a zombie inside your womb and begin to eat you from the inside out, of course.

Yes, it could be described as the most frightening  pregnancy complication ever.  Especially when you get a glimpse of the thing that was eating mom.

Not cute.  Not anymore.  Hard to tell if it ever was.

It started with gas.  Well, it all started with the fuckin’ gas, but that’s not the one I’m talkin’ about.  I’m talkin’ about the vapor.  The zombie knockout vapor.

The vapor presented as gas.  Only thing is, it’s pink, so when a woman starts putting out pink belches and farts, you should really start to worry.

And I’m not making light of this, I’m just tellin’ you about it.  You should know about it because if you’re lucky – if we’re all very fuckin’ lucky – either you or someone you know is gonna get pregnant.  That’s a beautiful thing because we have to start repopulating this world with living, breathing people. 

Less than a year ago I  never would have believed that I’d mean that in the literal sense.

Anyway, there is no way to make light of this.  You can tell someone about it and they might get a chuckle at first, but once that someone realizes that the woman who experienced this is dead, they might wipe that smile off their face.

Her name was Jennifer Rockford.  She was just twenty-two years old, and she was about the most naturally pretty girl you ever saw, both inside and out.  Not a lick of makeup and shone like a jewel when she walked in the room.  She had blonde hair just about to her shoulders, and only smiled with her mouth closed.  She had beautiful teeth, but they didn’t need to be a part of that smile in order to let you think she was really happy, and happy to see you.

Gem loved her.  Charlie and Hemp did, too.  And our Trina really did.  Jennifer was playful with her.  I think Jen dreamed that her baby would be a girl, and that she would be like Trina.

Wow.  Fuckin’ wrong on both counts.  It was – and I mean
was
– a male child.

One day Gem and I were playing pool and Hemp and Charlie were working on Hemp’s new lab – which is better than the one he had at Carville’s.  Not by much, but he can come and go as he pleases, which pleases him.

Anyway, so they were there, and we were at Three Sister’s Bar.  Everything is free, but you still gotta be served, because the ladies run it.

Yeah, you know ‘em. 
Vikki, Victoria and Kimberly, who now has decided she likes Kim better.  Pretty fuckin’ soon it’s just gonna be Vik, Vic and K.

Damn, I get sidetracked.

Back to it. 

So Gem is kickin’ my ass in pool, workin’ on the eight ball.  She’s lining it up in the far corner pocket on a bank shot that I insisted on, when Jen nearly folds forward in her chair, clutching her stomach.

Gem dropped her stick on the table and ran to her, kneeling down in front of Jen, her arm on her shoulder.

“Jen, what’s wrong?”

“I  . . . I . . . Oh, my God!” screamed Jenny, her bright, blue eyes squeezed closed.  “It feels like the worst cramp I’ve ever . . . aghhh, crap!”

“Where’s the pain?”

“It’s . . . right in front, Gem.”

“Does it feel like something’s wrong with the baby?”

“What else . . . oh, my God!  Something’s . . . I’m going to pass out I think.”

Jenny’s face had gone white, and she was trying to straighten her back in a sitting position, but there was no way for her to get comfortable in the wooden chair.

“Come here, sweetie,” said Gem, helping her up.  “Come over here.  Up on the table.”

I took the hint and quickly pushed all the balls into the pockets. 
Victoria had already gotten a moving blanket and spread it out as soon as the table was clear.

“Scooch up on the table here and we’ll help you lay back,” said Gem.  “
Victoria, yell for Kim to bring another moving blanket.”

Victoria
turned to call, but Vikki was already running out of the back, the extra blanket in her arms.  “What’s wrong?  Is she okay?” she asked, gently lifting Jenny’s head and sliding the blanket under.

“I’ll go get Doctor Jim,” said
Victoria.  “Get her some water.  Kim!  Where the hell is Kim?”

“In the bathroom,” said Vikki.  “Give her a minute.”

And suddenly Jenny started burping.  It was as though a valve had opened, and all at once her stomach expanded and contracted, and she expelled a pure cloud of pink vapor.

When the first big cloud of vapor escaped Jenny’s mouth, Gem had been leaning over her.  In seconds, Gem’s eyes rolled back, her muscles relaxed and Vikki ran forward just in time to catch her before she collapsed.  Had Vikki not acted quickly, she would have hit the linoleum floor hard.

Relieved that Gem wasn’t hurt when she fell, I stepped away from Jenny.  “Jesus fuckin’ Christ!”  I stared at Vikki, who had taken Gem underneath the arms and pulled her six feet away from the table.

I shouted, “Radio
Victoria and tell her to get Hemp.  We need the fuckin’ WAT-5, and we need it now!”

Vikki pulled the radio from Gem’s belt, pushed the button, and yelled, “Hemp!  Do you read?  We need you at the bar, now!  Bring WAT-5!  Bring the WAT-5!”

WAT-5 stands for
Walk Among Them Five-hour
.  It’s something Hemp formulated when he was being held prisoner in Ryan Carville’s house.  It allows anyone who takes one of the wafers to be aromatically invisible to zombies, both of the rat and human kind.  For a while, at least.

“Try to get the doc here,” I said.

Vikki radioed immediately.

“What’s happening to me?” cried Jenny, her body shuddering, her stomach churning and roiling like puppies trapped under a blanket.  “What’s . . . what’s happening to my baby?”

Tears ran down her face, and it was goddamned horrible seeing that young woman so frightened.

“Hang on, Jenny,” I said.  “You’re gonna be okay, girl.  We’ve got the doc on the way, so try to be calm.”

I was frightened.  I knew what that vapor meant.  What it had to mean.  That baby had turned.

Kim came in then, and I waved her away.  I had to keep my distance, too.  I’d be no good to her or anyone else in the same condition as Gem.

Speaking of my pregnant wife. 

“How’s she doing?” I asked Vikki, who was sitting on the floor next to her, cradling her head.

“She’s fine,” she said, looking up at me, her face filled with worry.  “But she’s out cold.”

Jenny continued to struggle, alone on the table.  We couldn’t chance getting any closer.  We could do nothing for her now, even as she cried out in pain.  Kim started to cry, followed by Vikki.  I tried to keep it together – at least on the outside.

We needed our damned doctor.  That damned doctor is Jim Scofield.  An older man, but one who had probably delivered more babies than the entire population of Concord as it stood today.

Jen’s screaming reached a fever pitch.  I watched as she tore at her clothing, pulling the maternity blouse away and exposing her distended, tumultuous stomach.

Then it started sinking in.  A small spot, just below her belly button.  Maybe two inches in diameter.

I was fucking horrified.  I was glad Gem wasn’t awake to witness this.  She would never be the same, and neither would I.

I don’t know how to finish telling you what happened.  I don’t want to finish.  It tore its way out.  How those tiny hands and that little, toothless mouth did the damage they did, I’ll never know.  I never wanna know.

But it came tearing out of Jen’s stomach like the fuckin’ Alien baby.  Jen’s face had gone white, and while she was still awake, I saw her dying before my eyes.  Her blood leaked out onto the blanket draped over that pool table, and the creature that had escaped her womb clawed and struggled, never losing any of its determination, if that’s what it could be called.

I knew what I had to do.  The only compassionate thing I could.

“Get on that fuckin’ radio and call Hemp again.  Call the doctor again too, Vikki.”  My voice was low, far more calm than I felt.

I walked around, trying not to look at the infant monster, and I moved around behind Jen.  Her head was about a foot from the end of the table.  I leaned forward and put my bare hand over her mouth, pinching her nose. 

I wasn’t killing Jenny Rockford in my mind.  I was just moving her along toward peace and away from the horrible pain.  I’d seen enough at that point that I knew the rivers of blood that poured from her body left her with too little to recover.  Not to mention the damage the little monster inside of her had wreaked.  
Concord didn’t have any significant blood supply, and Jenny’s fate was sealed the moment the apocalypse hit. 

Tears ran from my eyes as I felt and saw her chest rise for the last time, and it was then that I released my own breath.

I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding it.

The six-pound creature had scrambled free of Jen’s stomach, and rolled onto the table.

Three more minutes passed with that fucking tiny abomination, unable to walk, rolling around on the moving blanket.

I should have shot it.  Charlie ran in with Hemp behind her, and she stopped short, her face aghast.

“What the fuck is going on?” she shouted, staring at the horrific scene on the pool table, the creature that wasn’t a baby gnawing on the umbilical cord, making horrible sounds.

Hemp answered.  “The baby turned,” he said simply.  “My God.”

Charlie spoke without taking her eyes off of Jen and the thing beside her body.  “It’s one of them, isn’t it?  Is Jen dead?  My God, Flex, is Jen dead?”

I nodded and felt my lunch and a warm beer coming up.  I choked it back.  “Kill it, Charlie,” I croaked.  “Please.”

Charlie moved fast.  She pulled a Glock from her holster, moved to within three feet of it, and blasted the infant zombie in the face, flinging it off the table to hang from the cord that once provided it nourishment, tugging Jen’s lifeless body sideways.

Hemp calmly walked over to Kim, who had gotten another blanket, but stood there dumbfounded with it in her arms.  He took it from her, went back to the table and lifted the dead thing back onto it.  His expression grim and serious, he spread open the blanket and lay the creature atop it.

From his pocket, he withdrew a knife, reached down and cut the umbilical cord.  He placed the tiny creature in the blanket, and folded it over four times, sealing it in, and removing it, thankfully, from our sight.

He turned and looked at us.

“I’ll be in my lab,” he said.  “I don’t think I need to explain.”  With that, he walked out.  The lab was actually built in a storage room connected to the bar, accessible by a long hallway at the rear.  It had primarily been used to store extra equipment for the kitchen, but all of that had been long ago cleared out. 

Charlie stared after Hemp as he walked away, and I went and knelt beside Gem.  Three light slaps and she awoke.

Turns out the baby vapor isn’t as long-lasting as the more mature stuff.

Well, fuck it if that isn’t something, anyway.

There’s that.

Doc Scofield came in and got the shock of his life.  We knew Hemp and the doc would want to see what this thing did to Jen, so we got her wrapped up and took her to Hemp’s lab.