Dying Days 6 Page 17

  “I’m not going back,” Bri said.

  Mimzie stepped forward. “I’ll go. Were you messing around when you said my family was there?”

  Darlene smiled. “No. They are safe. I can let The Lich Lord know you’re coming and let them know you’re alive.”

  “I’d like that,” Mimzie said and picked up her backpack.

  “What about your baby?” Tosha asked, reloading her .22 and glancing at Bri. “Don’t tell me you’re giving up finding him.”

  “Never. I’ll go find him,” Darlene said and turned to Bri. “Where are your zombie boyfriend and my baby?”

  “I don’t know. He left and took him,” Bri said.

  Darlene read her thoughts. She wasn’t lying.

  “You’re telling the truth but Hayden talked about heading back to Canada. That’s where I’m heading. Alone,” Darlene said.

  “I’ll go with you,” Bernie said.

  Darlene shook her head. “I can’t have anyone with me. I’m changing and it isn’t for the better. I’m starting to feel less human each day. I have strong urges I will not be able to control much longer. If you were with me, you’d become my slave. I can’t have it. I still need to learn how to control these powers but I need to do it alone so no one else gets hurt.”

  “What do you want us to do then?” Bri asked.

  Darlene looked at Tosha. “I want everyone to lead these people to Daytona Beach. The Lich Lord knows you’re coming and some of his people will meet you and give safe passage back. Leave as soon as it is light out. I will be back soon enough with my baby.”

  “Darlene… I’m, uh, really sorry,” Bri said.

  “You stole my baby. Set all of this into motion because you followed a zombie like a sheep. You got many people killed and put my baby in absolute danger. I can never forgive you,” Darlene said.

  Tosha aimed the weapon at Bri’s head. “You want to do this or you want me to?”

  Bernie waved her hands. “You can’t just kill her.”

  “I can if Darlene wants me to. This little bitch is a liability to all of us. She’ll sell us out again the second she gets the chance,” Tosha said.

  “Don’t let her do it,” Bernie said.

  Darlene shook her head. “Give me the gun, Tosha. You’re not going to be my executioner.”

  Tosha handed Darlene the pistol.

  “Everyone gather your belongings and we’ll set up in the tunnels at the top of the stadium so we can leave together in the morning. I’ll lead everyone out of the city but then I need to turn north. I can send the zombies away in another direction. That will give you a good head start,” Darlene said.

  Mimzie clapped and started herding everyone towards the side of the stadium to lead them to higher ground.

  “I’m really, really sorry,” Bri said to Darlene.

  “Let’s keep moving,” Darlene said, hanging back to make sure everyone was leaving the field and following into the stands and into the nearest tunnel.

  Tosha was also hanging back with Bernie. Bri was standing next to Darlene.

  When the last of the survivors disappeared into the tunnel, Darlene lifted the .22 and pointed it at Bri.

  “Please don’t,” Bri said.

  “You can’t do this,” Bernie said and went to grab Darlene but Tosha held her back.

  Bri started to cry.

  “I’ll meet you in Daytona Beach. Soon. There are things now in motion none of us can control,” Darlene said and pulled the trigger.

  Epilogue

  Hayden wasn’t tired – he couldn’t ever be tired again – but he still got bored walking in a straight line, up through the hills and the desolate areas.

  There were few zombies left this far north. Vermont was beautiful but they didn’t have time to sit and watch the seasons change.

  He’d walked nearly thirteen hundred miles with the baby on his back.

  Nearly seventy-five miles a day, all of it through torched cities and passed thinning hordes of zombies. Hayden kept putting one foot in front of the other and kept an eye out for those living, the only real danger now.

  He wondered what today was. It felt like a Monday. Maybe September?

  In the last two days, the baby had grown, and not like a normal child would do after only being alive – or whatever he actually was – for a couple of months.

  The baby was twice as big now, and the gray eyes stared when Hayden stopped, keeping focus on the route ahead. He’d been able to sit up on his own accord, which freaked Hayden out. He knew it was unnatural to begin with but this was getting to be too much.

  The sun was going down and Hayden had stopped for the night. It was no use continuing in the darkness and falling down a mountain or being heard by hiding humans with a shotgun. Better to sit and think until first light.

  Montreal wasn’t too far, although Hayden didn’t want to enter the city. He was sure some humans had escaped the initial assault and might be rebuilding or hiding in wait for zombies. He could also sense a bad presence inside the city, and it didn’t bode well for them.

  The baby, lying on the ground next to Hayden, suddenly stood on little legs as if he’d been doing it for years.

  “Ha. What do you think you’re doing, buddy? Testing out the new legs or something? Have a seat and I’ll tell you another bedtime story even though neither of us sleep,” Hayden said.

  The baby started walking away.

  Hayden got up and went after him. It wasn’t too hard because even with the growth spurt he was still the size of a two year old.

  “You can’t wander. It isn’t safe,” Hayden said.

  “I beg to differ.”

  The words struck Hayden, coming from the lips of the baby. The voice was firm and words fully formed. When the baby turned back to Hayden and winked with a grin, Hayden thought he’d somehow fallen asleep and was dreaming.

  “You can’t dream, kid. You’re always going to be miserable and awake. This nightmare will never end for any of us, so get used to it,” the baby said.

  “How… what…”

  The baby shrugged. “I’ve been able to listen in on your thoughts the past few hours. You’re still a teenager at heart, which is a shame. You’ll always be the same age. You might be able to learn a few things and at least you’re not trapped in an old man’s body. But still… I will grow and evolve further than anyone. I can stop it whenever I want. Twenty sound good to you? Maybe a distinguished thirty? I’m trying to figure out what color my hair will be.”

  “This isn’t possible,” Hayden said.

  The baby put up a tiny finger.

  “But zombies are possible, right? Why not werewolves and leprechauns and unicorns? Would you be surprised if a mummy wandered past us? I wouldn’t. None of these things exist, though. Only the zombie and the evolutionary creatures from them. The vampire, if you will. Whereas I’m so far ahead of all of you in the food chain,” the baby said.

  “Then I’m a vampire?”

  The baby shrugged. “Maybe. Who knows? Who cares? I think you’re not Dracula or some sparkly emo bloodsucker. Heck, you don’t even drink blood. You’ve evolved past all that. Here’s the fun part, though: while you’re an evolutionary step past a mere human, I’m a leap past you. And it will only get better for me. You know why?”

  Hayden shook his head, suddenly scared. Since becoming a zombie with a conscience and thought he hadn’t dwelled on his dying days. He wasn’t too worried about death anymore, since he had one foot in the door already.

  The baby waved his chubby arms. “Don’t get all weird on me, kid. If I wanted you dead I could just look at you and smile as your head popped off. Don’t you get it? I’ve been riding along on your back, going through your mind and analyzing all of your thoughts and memories. Every zombie we pass on our journey still has their memories stored inside their dormant brain. I’ve been collecting all of it for days. Now I’m ready to do what I have to do.”

  “What can I do to help?” Hayden asked. What can I do to
live longer?

  “You can wait here. I’ll be back in two days,” the baby said.

  “What do I do if you don’t return?”

  The boy laughed, a weird sound coming from such a small child.

  “I’ll be back. You wait for me. If you see any zombies, kill them. I want this area cleared. Understand?”

  Hayden nodded and watched the baby walk off and disappear into the coming night.

  * * * * *

  The afternoon of the second day the baby returned and Hayden was startled. He wore jeans and a long sweatshirt but his feet were bare. He’d since grown to nearly four feet and blonde hair was forming on his head.

  He looked like he was a teenager.

  “I see you’ve been busy,” the teen said to Hayden, admiring the piles of zombie carcasses in the area.

  “I did as I was told. I don’t understand what the point of it was, though.”

  The teen shrugged. “I just didn’t want you sitting here bored. The only purpose it served was busy work for you. I wanted to see if you’d follow my command without question and you did a commendable job. I see big things for you in the future.”

  Hayden wasn’t sure if he was being condescending or sarcastic but he kept his mouth shut.

  "It's time for us to head further north. We're being followed and we don't have as big a lead as I'd like. If we can skirt around Montreal and turn east, we'll be at our destination in no time," the teen said.

  Hayden looked at the pile of zombies. "What are we going to do with them? Just leave the bodies where I piled them?"

  "What do you care? They don't mean anything. They're no use to me with their souls gone and their memories in the ether. I'm only interested in the ones with the little spark of light, although as they get more cognizant they need to be stamped out... but not before I've had time to steal their every thought. Do you know what a hive mentality is? A collective conscience?"

  Hayden shook his head.

  The teen laughed. "Of course you don't. You'll always be a dumb teenager. You'll learn things and master a few ideals and principles, but it will always come from the angle of a teen."

  Hayden figured he had much to learn and nowhere else to go so he got in line behind the teen, now leading the way down the hill and north.

  "Where are we headed?" Hayden asked after an hour of walking in silence. The teen was keeping up a brisk pace.

  The teen stopped and turned with a grin.

  "The obvious questions need to be asked before the journey. Haven't you ever read the Hobbit or at least watched the movies?" He asked.

  "I saw the movie."

  "Of course you did. Why read a book when you can see it all in three hours while eating popcorn and not having to think? We're heading to Nova Scotia. To an island." The teen sighed. "Now you ask me why."

  "Why?"

  "Excellent question. You're on a need to know basis right now and you don't need to know. It will all become clear soon. Maybe not for you, but for anyone with half a brain. I need to prepare my defenses so when she arrives she doesn't catch me unaware," the teen said.

  "Who?"

  "Dumb question but I'll answer it anyway. First... stop referring to me as The Teen in your thoughts. It's getting annoying. It’s still better than you thinking of me as The Baby. Within two weeks, I'll look older than you. I want you to address me by my name from now on. I imagine when my mother arrives she'll want to call me by my name, as if it will make me more human and less of a monster in her eyes."

  "Fair enough. What's your name?" Hayden asked.

  "John, of course. After my father. I'm John Murphy the Third, even though my father and grandfather are deceased and never coming back. I believe you've met my mother, Darlene Bobich?"

  "Briefly."

  "No matter. This will all be over soon enough. Once she's gone, I can begin to rework this horribly boring world into my own image. No more wars. No more disease. No more individuality. You'll learn what hive mentality is soon enough, my teenage zombie companion."

  Hayden began following again but stopped within a few feet.

  "Wait... what will you do when your mother arrives?" Hayden was wondering if Bri would be with Darlene and how pissed she was going to be.

  John Murphy the Third clapped his hands and grinned.

  "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to bathe in her blood."

  Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he's not sleeping.

  He's written over 100 stories that are currently available, including a few different series.

  he also loves to talk in third person... because he's really that cool.

  You can find him at http://armandrosamilia.com for not only his latest releases but interviews and guest posts with other authors he likes!

  and e-mail him to talk about zombies, baseball and Metal:

  armandrosamilia@gmail.com