“I fear that a couple of the zombies looked at her with a less than flattering stare,” Tomas told the man.
The man wouldn’t miss them. It was tough to feel sorry for the creatures that tore his wife apart in front of his very eyes as she fell from the ladder they were climbing to get up their apartment’s fire escape. He had thought about just letting go and joining her, but he wasn’t brave enough for that. Not brave enough to die and not brave enough to live. Eliza had come across him a week later, still huddled in the far corner of his apartment, covered in his own filth, too scared to even cross his own living room to get some water.
She had promised him a chance to strike back at those responsible for his wife’s death. Dean had never been a God-fearing man, but he knew the devil when he came across it, and the only thing missing on Eliza were the horns. It wasn’t that he believed her words, it was what he knew she would do to him if he didn’t join her. A coward is led. He felt this was his punishment for not dying with his wife. He had seen and done more acts of brutality, cruelty and evil in the last six months than any person should ever be exposed to, and all in the name of Eliza. He knew his wife was looking down on him, frowning, and that he would never see her again. There was no place in heaven for the likes of him, not anymore. Maybe at one time, he had the whole meek thing going for him, now he was certain he was damned. If he had not thought that, he would have killed himself months ago, but he was afraid of meeting whatever it was that had spawned Eliza. So, afraid of this eventual meeting, he had begged first Eliza and then Tomas to bite him. Eliza had laughed cruelly at him when his request came.
“You would give up your soul so willingly?” she asked, flashing her lengthened canines.
“More than anything, mistress,” he had groveled before her.
“You disgust me,” Eliza told him. “The only way I would bite your pathetic neck would be to drain you dry. To watch you shrivel like an exposed worm in the mid-July sun.”
“Please mistress! Have I not served you well?”
“Do not think I am fooled; you serve for preservation, not loyalty.”
Dean withdrew; was he that easy to read?
“I can see by your reaction that I know your heart,” she said. “Do you not wish to once again see this wife you were wailing about when I found you?”
Dean sniffed, wiping his nose clean, nodding his head vigorously.
“But you know now that there is no place for you in your God’s heaven, don’t you?”
Dean nodded again.
“You think I’m cruel?” Eliza said through thin lips. “How about your master that banishes his children from his garden because they merely thirsted for knowledge! Or floods an entire world because of acts from a few that he finds depraved. Or allows the undead to walk among his creations, devouring them because they went too far with the knowledge they had obtained? That sounds cruel to me!” she yelled. “How about letting a man’s wife be allowed into his heaven, but deny the husband entry!” she said as she picked Dean up by a finger placed under his jaw.
The pain was excruciating as his entire body’s weight was suspended by his jaw. Eliza’s finger had broken through skin and was threatening to come up underneath his tongue. He yearned for death at that moment, to be free from the pain she was inflicting on him. He cared not what happened to his eternal soul as she paraded him around like that for a few moments more. When she finally pulled her finger away, he crashed to the ground, staying there many moments longer, until Eliza beckoned him like nothing had happened at all.
“How far, mistress?” Dean asked as he drove away from the scene of carnage.
“Until I snap your neck or tell you to stop,” Eliza said, staring straight through the windshield.
And from the mood she was in, Dean fully expected the neck snapping to be the outcome.
***
Paul, Brian and Mrs. Deneaux worked themselves off the bridge long before Eliza had made her departure and were making as good a progress as they could. Brian was slowed considerably by his injury, but it wasn’t like Mrs. Deneaux was blazing any trails.
“Get in the woods,” Paul urged, “I hear someone coming.”
“Is it Mike?” Brian asked, hoping that was the case.
“Possible,” Paul stated as he ushered the small group along. “But there were also a bunch of people running for their lives from that raid.”
Mrs. Deneaux had just entered into the underbrush as three heavily armed men rounded a corner on the road up ahead. One of the men was holding his side like he had the mother of all stitches from running.
“Hold up,” one of the men said. “I thought I saw something.” He was pointing to where Paul and the others were now hiding.
All three had assault rifles. This will be a small scuffle, Paul thought as he tried to get his rifle ready with as minimal movement as possible.
“Whassa matter, Vinnie?” one man asked the cohort who was holding his side.
“I cut myself getting down off the truck,” Vinnie said.
The man who asked the question brought his rifle up to Vinnie’s head. “Lemme see the cut, Vin,” he asked.
“Come on, Lenny. I cut myself. Get that gun outta my face!” Vinnie yelled.
“What are you two hollering about?” the leader said, turning to face the other two men.
“Vinnie says he’s cut,” Lenny said.
The leader turned his gun on Vinnie. “You know the deal, Vinnie. Let’s see it.”
“It barely got me,” Vinnie cried, “it’s more like a nip.”
Vinnie collapsed to the ground as Lenny shot him through the back of the head.
The leader butt-stroked Lenny. “You fucking mook! You got blood and brains all over me!” he yelled at Lenny’s prone body.
Lenny’s face was swelling rapidly; broken blood vessels began to turn purple and blue. Lenny turned his gun on the leader. “You ever do that shit again, Sam, I’ll blow your fucking head off.”
“I hope you give me more warning than you did Vinnie,” Sam laughed as he reached a hand down to help Lenny up.
“I was really hoping they were going to shoot each other,” Brian whispered to Paul. Paul nodded in agreement.
“If nothing else, it looks like they forgot about us,” Paul answered.
Sam bent down and picked up the gun Vinnie would no longer be using. They walked past the hidden trio, more interested in what potentially lay behind, than to the sides.
“They’re heading towards our truck,” Brian said.
“Should I shoot them?” Mrs. Deneaux asked.
“No,” Brian said, “you won’t be fast enough with that bolt action and I can’t even hold my rifle.” He left unsaid Paul’s marksmanship skills or lack thereof.
“We’re screwed if they take our truck,” Paul said.
“Yeah, we’re also screwed if they shoot us,” Brian said.
“Maybe Mike is already back at the truck,” Paul said hopefully.
Brian was in the midst of standing when Mrs. Deneaux’s claw-like hand gripped his bad shoulder. He nearly swooned from the pain. But it had the desired effect as he fell hard to the ground. Brian was about to let loose a litany of choice swear words as a small tribe of seven speeders ran by.
“Fucking Grand Central Station,” Paul cursed, making sure the zombies were well past.
They could all hear the roar of an engine start up ahead.
“Well that settles that,” Brian said. “We need to get another ride.”
“This is all jacked now!” Paul said with some alarm. He was beginning to break down, Brian had seen it numerous times in combat. Some people just don’t deal well with accumulating stress.
“I sure could use a cigarette,” Mrs. Deneaux said.
“How is Mike going to find us?” Paul asked, his voice rising over the sound of the oncoming truck.