Zombie Mage
Authors: Jonathan J. Drake
Zombie Mage
THE FLESHED OUT EDITION
JONATHAN
J. DRAKE
This book is a
work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the
author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead
(including zombies), or historical events, is purely coincidental.
©
2011 Jonathan J. Drake. All rights reserved.
2nd Edition 02
December 2012
3rd Edition 29 January
2013
No part of this book
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means
without the written permission of the author.
29 – RETURN TO THE DARK CLOAKS
Not until death
are we made fully aware -
For when that
inevitable moment arrives and the mystery of life is finally revealed, only
then will we understand the true nature of the world in which we live.
Unless something
goes wrong –
For those of us
unfortunate enough to be returned to our physical shells, sadly, only horror
remains… along with a rotten stench and a terrible skin condition to contend
with.
THE READER...
If you do not fully understand something
then it is wise to be sceptical.
Just remember that you read this with
your eyes, or listen to this with your ears. You also turn the pages with your
fingers from your hand.
In a physical sense this seems simple
enough to comprehend.
But, one question remains –
What exactly is the your?
A fly landed on Olligh’s nose. He
attempted to swipe it away but his hand merely twitched uncontrollably by his
side.
“Umm,”
he said, trying to wipe his mouth. His lips felt dry and his throat hurt.
He
managed to stretch out, attempting to get comfortable on his bed but it felt
different – hard, almost bony. Opening his clammy eyes, he could see the sky
in the distance burdened with dark, troublesome clouds. This certainly wasn’t
his bedchamber.
“Urm?”
Another fly landed on his nose. This time, he managed
to swat it with his hand but his nose felt soft and runny. Something wasn’t
quite right.
Rolling on his side, he turned to face a dead man. He
was definitely dead; he had glassy eyes, rotten skin and, more importantly, no
body below his neck. Olligh backed away and tried to scream but he couldn’t.
Feeling his mouth, he realised it was stitched shut. He stood, wide-eyed,
trying to understand where he was and what was happening. All around him,
mangled corpses were piled. Many had missing limbs and others gaped
sightlessly at their new companion, as if sensing an intruder in their midst.
“Ummmmhhhh!” he said, hoping to alert somebody.
All remained quiet. Looking up, Olligh realised he
was at the bottom of a hole deep in the earth. It was a huge hole, with
concrete walls, but seemingly void of foot-holes to aid anyone unfortunate
enough to fall inside. From the corner of his eye he noticed slight movement
at the opposite side of the chamber. He turned for a closer inspection but
nothing stirred. He wondered if he’d imagined it, deliberating as to whether
or not it was a trick of the light. A muffled groan nearby proved otherwise.
He shivered with dread.
“Ummmmhhhh!” he said again.
Olligh heard some movement from above and a light
shone into the chamber, skipping from body to body until it found him. The
light hurt his eyes so he tried to cover them.
“Well, well, look what we have here!” said a man's
voice from above. “Jimmy! Come here, we’ve got ourselves another live one.”
Some muffled voices could be heard in the distance and
Olligh waited, wondering if they’d be able to help him. Before long, the
outline of another face appeared and the light shone back inside.
“Blimey! The poor sod. What shall we do?”
“What do you mean, poor sod? It’s one of them.”
“Well, it ain’t right. We can’t leave it down there
with all those stinking bodies.”
“Well, I’m not inviting it up here for dinner if
that’s what you’re thinking. It’ll be reaching for our heart and kidneys before
we have a chance to say pudding.”
Olligh didn’t understand. He waved his hands at them,
trying to show he was friendly. “Uyymm umm ummm!”
The men gaped at him, a look of horror on their faces.
“I can’t bear to look. It’s vile,” Jimmy said.
“Well, shoot it then. You’re the one with the
shotgun.”
Jimmy shook his head. “Nah, we’re running short of
shells. We’d best save them for when we really need them.”
“You can’t leave it down there. What if it gets out,
like the others, while we’re sleeping?”
“Okay, fine – I’ll kill it then. Anything to stop your
nagging.”
Olligh couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He waved
his hands at them, trying to show he understood and that he wasn’t a threat.
Jimmy reached for his shotgun and aimed it at him,
holding it tight to his shoulder.
“Try to keep the light on it, Stevie. I can’t see
what I’m doing.”
Just as Jimmy was about to press the trigger, Olligh
slipped on some bloody remains and stumbled backwards. There was a loud bang.
“Did I get it?” Jimmy asked, peering into the hole.
Stevie adjusted his position, trying to find him.
“Nah, you missed. Look, it’s over there trying to get up.”
Jimmy sighed and took aim with his shotgun once
again. Olligh groaned, trying to wipe the bits of splattered flesh and blood
from his tunic, horrified they wanted him dead.
“Light, light!” Jimmy said. “No wonder I missed.
How’d you expect me to shoot straight if you keep moving the light?”
Stevie leaned forward, trying to keep the light steady
while Jimmy concentrated on his target. Meanwhile, Olligh was beginning to feel
heavy-headed and faint. He wiped his brow and staggered forward, trying to
steady himself while the chamber began to spin faster and faster. Everything
quickly became splashed with bright, vibrant colours until he couldn’t see clearly.
There was another loud bang and all went black.
“Did I get it this time?”
The men peered into the hole, searching for their
prey.
“Not sure. It just vanished.”
“Vanished?”
“Yeah.” Stevie rubbed his eyes. “Just before you shot
it, I swear it vanished. That’s so weird.”
“Nah, I must’ve got it. You’re seeing things.”
Stevie stood and shook his head. “I really don't know.
I think I might be losing it; probably due to lack of sleep. Don’t forget, I’m
up half the night thinking I can hear things moving out here.”
Jimmy remained gazing into the hole. “Yeah, but that’s
why we get paid danger money. Don’t complain too much. They might cut our
wages.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Look, I’m going to have a nap.
You’re officially on sentry duty. If you see anything staggering towards you
and it’s ugly, just shoot it - no questions asked.”
“I’ve got you covered, Boss.” Jimmy smirked. “I’ll
keep my beady eye out for your ex-wife then.”
* * * *
Olligh’s head throbbed. It felt as though someone was
sticking pins into his scalp. Opening his eyes, he squinted. Curiously, the
sky was cloudless and bright; this was a strange contrast to the eerie gloom
before. He looked around, trying to determine where he was and what had
happened. He was no longer in the pit of rotten corpses. Instead, he was lying
amongst long grass in a forest clearing. A warm breeze touched his face and
the birds chirped merrily on the tree-tops above.
“Umm,” he said.
Realising his mouth was still stitched shut, he sighed
and lowered his head. Olligh noticed his hands. They looked grey and bony
with bulbous blisters almost ready to burst. Some of his finger nails were
black and others were missing. His memory remained clouded and he wondered who
he was and how this had happened to him. It was a most unusual feeling; a bit
like having something on the tip of his tongue but unable to recall it clearly.
On the bright side, at least he remembered his name. That was a start.
He felt his face, not sure what to expect. The skin
felt tight and lumpy, his nose remained soft and spongy. He wondered if he’d
somehow broken it so he attempted to sniff but it was completely blocked. Returning
his gaze to his hand, he noticed his fingers were wet with blood. Clumps of
grey hair from his head stuck to it.
“Ummmhh!”
Olligh shook his head in denial, hoping he was only
experiencing a realistically strange nightmare. If it wasn’t a nightmare then
he had to find help, and quickly. He stood and began searching for a way out
of the clearing. As he walked, someone screamed nearby. Olligh heard a heavy
thud on the grass behind him. Turning, he noticed a boy in rags sprawled on
the ground beside a tall tree.
“Mister!" a voice came from up the tree. “Seth’s
fallen. Is he alright? Can you help him?”
Olligh peered up and spotted a small, makeshift tree
house near the top. A boy’s face poked out from the window.
“Mister?”
Olligh nodded and hobbled towards the injured boy. For
some reason, his foot felt numb and he couldn’t put much weight on it.