Dying Days 8

  Dying Days 8

  Armand Rosamilia

  Edited by Jenny Adams

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without expressed written consent of the author and/or artists

  This book is a work of fiction. Names characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living, dead or undead, is entirely coincidental.

  Dying Days 8 copyright 2017 by Armand Rosamilia

  Cover copyright 2017 by Jack Wallen

  First printing June 2017

  armandrosamilia@gmail.com

  http://dyingdayszombie.com

  I want to thank all of the Dying Days zombie fans who’ve made this series into what it is. Without you I’m still a part-time writer and not living my dreams… so thank you!

  And thank Shelly for allowing me to live my dream by being so supportive!

  The Dying Days series from Armand Rosamilia

  Highway To Hell

  Dying Days

  Dying Days 2

  Still Dying: Select Scenes From Dying Days

  Still Dying 2

  Dying Days 3

  Dying Days: Origins

  Highway To Hell 2

  Dying Days: Origins 2

  Dying Days 3

  Dying Days 4

  Dying Days 5

  Dying Days 6

  Dying Days 7

  Dying Days 8

  Dying Days 8

  Chapter One

  The fires had finally died out but that just made it easier for the horde of zombies to breach The Promised Land from various angles.

  Darlene rallied the remaining survivors, pointing out chokepoints and spots where they could use makeshift blockades to minimize the number of zombies getting onto the streets.

  Even with all but one bridge at the bottom of the river, the zombies were still coming, driven by hunger and their Master.

  Why are you doing this, son? Darlene asked, as she tossed a fireball across the river where dozens of zombies had gathered to make the crossing.

  There was no answer, which further pissed her off. He had the balls to attack at her weakest moment, right after having to dispatch The Lich Lord, but he couldn’t take a second to explain his hatred.

  I gave birth to you, you little shit, Darlene thought and tossed another fireball. She could feel her powers waning already and she was fighting to keep herself conscious. If she wasn’t careful, she’d drain herself beyond repair, like an old battery.

  “We need to get everyone to Main Street. The original walls are still up. We might be able to hold them off,” Mimzie Hand said to a group of people panicking in the street.

  That is a great idea, Darlene thought to her. Gather up everyone still living and anything you can carry. We’ll make our stand there. I will join you shortly.

  If they could organize in a smaller area, they just might have a chance.

  Darlene put a call out, with her thoughts, to anyone living within a mile radius, telling them they were making a stand on Main Street and to bring anything they could scavenge to help, like weapons and food. She had a feeling this would be a long, drawn out siege.

  There wasn’t going to be enough people. They were outnumbered two hundred to one and more zombies were coming into range, lured by the call of her son.

  There was no way they’d make it.

  I’ll make it unless he wants to fight, one on one, while I’m weak, Darlene thought.

  All she could do was help the survivors right now.

  Darlene swept her hand and sliced through a dozen zombies rising from the river. They were about to enter through one of the holes in the wall.

  The zombies were crossing in droves, heads bobbing as they pressed across. The current was strong but, with so many zombies tightly packed, they were using sheer numbers as a natural bridge and other zombies began to climb on top of the flesh road.

  They were also doing it in several spots, some using the fallen bridge in the water for support.

  Darlene knew they weren’t thinking on their own. Her son had given them life and was manipulating their bodies to work efficiently.

  She’d thought it impossible for the zombies to be even more deadly before they had turned into the next mutation and had started to think. Now they had someone thinking for them.

  With everyone fleeing for their lives towards Main Street, zombies were beginning to enter The Promised Land from all directions without anyone stopping them. Darlene knew it was fruitless to try to fight every zombie.

  She could take down large clumps but individuals would need to be dispatched by a survivor. Darlene just hoped the undead didn’t get into the Main Street compound.

  Everything moved past Darlene as if in slow motion.

  The survivors were now inside the gates of Main Street. The first wave of zombies, stragglers and not in more than groups of three, were within a few feet of the inner walls.

  “So many choices. So many things for you to do. What will you take care of first, I wonder?” it was Darlene’s son, speaking in her mind, the words echoing around her.

  Don’t mock me. These people have done nothing to you. If you want to fight, I’m right here. No need for all this drama, Darlene thought.

  “I’m enjoying this. I can feel your fear. What if I wipe your precious survivors off the face of the earth? You’ll be alone. Only… you’re alone now. They don’t like you. They hate you. To them you’re just like The Lich Lord. Another would-be conqueror. If I let you or any of them live, you’ll see. They’ll turn on you. They fear being your slave. Can you even blame them?”

  This is between you and me.

  “It was never about us. It was about the world we live in. Used to live in, for you. I only know this shattered world you brought me into. I need to finish cleaning it up,” he said.

  What gives you the right to do it? I don’t remember anyone asking for help.

  “Humans are incapable of asking for help. They’re an arrogant lot. So arrogant it led to their downfall. Fitting, I think. While you are perhaps the second most powerful creature walking the planet, you still know so little about why this came about,” her son said.

  Enlighten me.

  Darlene was trying to stall for as long as she could. She tried to keep her thoughts jumbled so she could keep her son occupied so he didn’t directly join the battle and tip the scales, while also eliminating as many zombies as she could.

  As they breached the walls and got closer to the gates of Main Street, ignoring her, she struck out over and over with her powers. Short bursts, nothing fancy, just enough to lay waste to zombies in her range.

  She’d never be able to destroy them all but she could take down enough to maybe tip the scale. With the survivors inside and safe for the moment, they could regroup and fight.

  Tosha was on the top of the gate, shooting arrows at the zombies.

  Darlene had to smile. Whether she wanted it or not, Tosha was the new leader of The Promised Land.

  Her son had said things to be cruel but they weren’t lies.

  These people would never follow Darlene like they’d followed The Lich Lord. She was an outcast. No longer one of them. No longer human.

  Despite the overwhelming odds, the survivors were holding up. They rained down arrows and cinderblocks and anything heavy they could find on the zombies.

  Darlene made sure no new zombies were joining the horde from her direction, cutting them down with ease. She’d had a sword at one point but, in her weakened state, had no idea where it had gone. Now she could only use what was left of her powe
rs.

  “What happens when your reserve is all gone, mother? Shouldn’t you be saving some of it for our fight? I’d hate to walk across the river and simply eviscerate your unconscious body. Where’s the fun in that? These people won’t remember or care what you’ve done for them,” her son said.

  But I’ll remember.

  “So heroic. My mom the hero.”

  I’m done talking to you. Either come across the river and face me or shut up. I have work to do and don’t need you bothering me.

  Darlene swept her hand and a dozen zombies were obliterated. It wasn’t going to be enough. She started walking towards the gates, hoping to help clean up the mess there. If she could create a perimeter, maybe they’d still have a chance.

  The survivors were taking the zombies out but, as another zombie dropped, the one behind moved forward, sometimes falling but mostly standing on the downed one and getting higher.

  Someone from the gate shot an arrow which came within inches of Darlene’s face. She turned to see a man she didn’t recognize, with hatred in his eyes.

  He blames me for this. He wants me dead, too, she thought. She decided, if Main Street didn’t fall, she’d quietly go away. Help them from afar like she’d been doing when The Lich Lord was still in charge. She’d see what kind of mood Tosha was in and if her help was needed or wanted anymore.

  Another twenty zombies walked past Darlene.

  She didn’t know if she had the strength left to dispatch them. Maybe she’d die and the humans would survive this ordeal.

  Had she come this far to be stopped?

  Darlene used a burst of her power to destroy two dozen zombies directly in front of the gate, including some of the bodies on the ground.

  Tosha nodded at Darlene.

  That might be it for me. I can’t chance using anything more and passing out, Darlene thought.

  The zombies suddenly stopped moving.

  Survivors were still cutting them down.

  As one, the zombies turned and began to shamble away, using the breaks in the walls to return across the river, en masse.

  “Keep firing. This could be a trick or they’re regrouping,” Tosha yelled. “No one open the gate. We’re not getting caught in the open.”

  What are you doing?

  “I’ll be back, mother. This was only an appetizer for the upcoming main course. I just wanted to see you panic a bit. Make no mistake: in your very weak state I could crush you like a grape. This would all be over. My zombies would overpower your little group of survivors and it would all be over. I’d toss the world out of its orbit and plunge it into a new Ice Age. It would all simply go away,” Darlene’s son said.

  I still don’t understand why you’re doing this.

  “You don’t have to understand my motivations. It’s beyond even you. I’ve been tasked with ending all of this. The human race was slowly dying for so long. Now it’s my turn to help it get to the inevitable conclusion. Why let people suffer further? Their souls will thank me for ending it,” he said.

  All of this power you have. All of this knowledge. Everything at your fingertips… and yet… Darlene smiled as she thought it.

  “And yet what, mother?”

  And yet you lack such a basic thing: a sense of humor. Lighten up, little boy.

  Darlene could feel the anger before the connection was lost.

  Chapter Two

  Tosha didn’t bother picking through the smoldering ruins. This was once the school where the new arrivals had stayed before crossing over the bridge to The Promised Land.

  Charred bodies littered the parking lot where they’d taken a stand. Sheer numbers had overwhelmed them and, if it was any consolation, there were at least four times the number of zombies on the ground than former survivors. At least she figured they were zombies.

  A dozen armed survivors were surrounding the area, making sure the zombies didn’t return, especially in numbers. The sudden pull back could still be a trick. Let them think the zombies had changed their minds.

  Changed their minds? Stupid pun, Tosha thought.

  There was nothing worth salvaging from the school. All of these people had been so close to freedom and to a normal life. It was just over the bridge.

  The bridge that no longer existed.

  Tosha knew they were taking a big chance being away from what was left of The Promised Land. They needed to get back to Main Street and help with the rebuilding.

  If there had been any survivors, they could’ve helped, too.

  “I think we’re out of luck,” Bernie said. “If anyone escaped, they’re long gone by now. No way would they hang around waiting for the zombies to return.”

  Tosha nodded. “Time to head back.”

  She had a dozen survivors with her, all armed with the best weapons they had left. Ammo, food and supplies were low and every bullet needed to count at this point.

  “I need a report about the zombies within the hour. Even if nothing has changed,” Tosha said.

  The zombies had retreated since the attack but they’d only gone as far as I-95, to the west, about five miles. They’d lined up in neat rows facing the east. The last report had more zombies wandering in from all directions and joining the ranks as silent sentinels.

  Tosha knew it was only a matter of time before they began another assault and she knew they didn’t have time on their side.

  They needed to get back to The Promised Land. She knew she had a lot of work to do but wasn't excited about any of it.

  As soon as she got back to Main Street, the questions would begin. Everyone would want to know what Tosha was planning on doing. As if she wanted to lead anyone. This wasn’t what she’d signed up for. She was alive because she loved to kill. Fuck. Eat. Repeat.

  The last person who’d counted on her was her sister, Mathyu. She was dead.

  “Tosha? You still with me?” Bernie asked and tapped Tosha on the shoulder.

  “Uh… yeah. Just thinking.”

  “That’s never been your strong suit. We need to go. I’m getting creeped out and the smell is Godawful, too. I need a bath and something to clear my head of these images,” Bernie said.

  Tosha nodded. “I’m sure there isn’t much alcohol left and what is left needs to be used as weapons for the next attack.”

  “There better be at least a sip or two because I need it,” Bernie said.

  Tosha followed along as everyone boarded the pickup trucks and drove back to the one remaining bridge. There was no way they’d be able to rebuild it properly.

  “I wonder if Darlene could reset some of this with her crazy powers,” Tosha said to Bernie in a whisper. “Maybe raise one of the bridges or fix the walls.”

  “She might only be able to destroy things. I didn’t see her fixing much of anything,” Bernie said. “I didn’t see much of the woman I first met but I guess she was stressed out like the rest of us.”

  “Well, I’ve known her longer and she’s definitely changed. But we still need her on our side, despite what some of these assholes are saying. We definitely don’t want her on the other side. Bad enough her son is controlling the zombies,” Tosha said.

  “You know what people are saying, right?”

  Tosha frowned. “And you know it’s bullshit. Why would Darlene help us and wipe out so many zombies if she was really in cahoots with her son? It makes no sense.”

  Bernie laughed. “Did you really use cahoots in a sentence?”

  “I’m about to use fuck you in one.”

  They arrived back at the gates for Main Street and were quickly let inside.

  Tosha went right to the nearest building and went inside. She didn’t care who lived there or what it was for. She needed to sit down and relax for a few minutes. Her house was gone, ravaged by The Lich Lord and the zombies, and she didn’t want to see it.

  It was outside the walls. It no longer mattered.

  Tosha had the clothes she wore and a pistol with three shots left. Everything else had been stripped
away, lost in battle.

  Not for the first time and it won’t be the last, she thought.

  The building was clean but empty. All of the windows and doors were intact. She saw some marks on the floor. Maybe they’d used this as storage at some point, in the beginning of Main Street. Back when they were growing something real. Something to live and thrive in.

  “Hey, uh, Tosha… I have a question,” a guy she didn’t recognize said from the open door she’d just walked through.

  “Is the question about how hungry I am?”

  He looked scared and Tosha grinned.

  “I’m fucking with you. What do you need?”

  “What are we going to do now?” the man asked.

  Tosha sighed. She wanted to play dumb and ask him what he was talking about. But she knew. She could see it in the looks of everyone as she had passed them this morning, on her way out and when she’d returned.

  They wanted answers.

  “Give me an hour and pass the word we’re going to hold a meeting. In front of the stage. I want everyone but those on the walls. We need to keep watch but we’ll have word passed to them,” Tosha said.

  The man visibly relaxed.

  All they wanted were answers.

  Tosha didn’t think she had any for these people but she needed to do something. Even if she had no idea what needed to be said in order to calm everyone down.

  The man left and Tosha sat down on the bare floor and leaned her back against the wall.

  It was times like this she wished her sister was still alive, or at least dead and hovering around staring at her. She needed someone to talk to. A person she could trust to bounce ideas off of and get real feedback.

  Tosha knew she wasn’t going to be able to do this alone. She wasn’t a leader, in her mind. She certainly wasn’t The Lich Lord.