“I don’t see her abdomen moving, but that doesn’t mean much.”
“Why didn’t it
chew its way
out?”
“Too young, perhaps,” said Hemp. “No matter how strong, not equipped to escape.
I’m fairly certain the only reason Jennifer’s child was strong enough was because it was consuming the flesh around it from its live host, giving it strength. This fetus would not recognize its surroundings as food, because they’re the same.
”
“
God. That’s horrible.
Can you tell from the size of her baby bump
how far along she was
?”
“Such
reality show
terminology. But I’d say she and the baby turned when she was about
five
months along.”
“So,” said Charlie. “She was
five
months along when this gas started leaking, right? And they both changed at once?”
Hemp nodded. “That would be my guess. The baby ceases to grow once it dies. Because the mother dies at the same time, the baby may get its
initial sustenance
from the tissue surrounding it, but it doesn’t need to eat anyway. It will never die.”
“
I
s it tied to the awareness
they seem to have? The connection with one another
?”
“I’ve got some ideas,” said Hemp. “Still sorting it out.”
Charlie stared at the zombie on the table for a long time. She reached down and put her open palm on top of the creature’s stomach. It did not take long to feel the movement.
“
I feel like I keep saying the same thing over and over, but t
hat’s
terrible
,” she whispered.
“It is.”
“What’s
next? I’d
kinda
like to get this
over
with
.”
Hemp nodded. “
That Dremel saw over there. Did you notice how the fuel in the gen’s doing?”
“It was good for a few hours,” said Charlie.
“Okay. Put on your mask and goggles.”
Hemp pulled his on and she did the same. They had a good supply of standard, hospital-issue surgical masks and goggles at Hemp’s insistence.
As the Dremel saw with the two-inch circular blade began whirring, Charlie thought for the thousandth time how damned lucky they were to have this
wonderful
man and his vast knowledge
working for the benefit of mankind’s survival. Things could just have easily turned out otherwise
, she knew
.
As the blade bit into the
skull, the zombie in the cage behind them began screaming, sending chills down Charlie’s spine.
Hemp stopped cutting and looked at her. She stood, her hands held to her stomach, her face raised to the sky, and she screamed.
With what breath
she created this sound
, Charlie did not know.
“I’m going to continue,” said Hemp. “Draw that curtain closed, please, Charlie.”
Charlie pulled the curtain along the track in the ceiling, and blocked the view of the creature in the red dress. The screaming did not cease. The sound was a grave
l
ly
noise
that got inside
of
her brain
. It seemed not to be
generated by
breath at all
; it was more like
an intense vibration created the sound.
Hemp continued cutting, now about halfway around
Blue Eyes
’ head. Charlie stared down at her face, serene and unconcerned that the top of her head was being detached.
“Hemp, why is the other one screaming, and
the one you’re cutting on is
just laying here?”
Hemp spoke over the noise. “She has a self-preservation ability of some kind, but since she can’t see the tool I’m using, and can’t feel the pain, she likely has no idea this is happening to her.”
“Then how does the other one know you’re still doing it when she can’t see?”
Hemp did not answer. He moved the blade around the zombie’s skull and
bone dust
rooster
-
tailed
into
the air as he turned the
saw
upward
for his final cut to meet his initial score.
When he was done, he turned off the saw and put it down on the counter. The screaming stopped.
“That’s better,” said Hemp.
“Oh, yeah.”
Hemp moved around to the back of the skull, slid off the cloth gloves, leaving the nitrile gloves on. He gripped the crown of the female’s skull, and twisted it.
As he did so, he said,
“The self preservation is clearly separate from
the connection phenomenon. They all seem to have
a
danger awareness to some degree. But the strategizing and connection – that’s not the same. I’ve only seen it in these two
, and that’s not to say it wasn’t evident in others. I very likely missed many signs along the way.”
The crown detached with a wet, sucking sound, and as Hemp pulled it away from her skull,
the straggling hair dangled down like a jellyfish’s tendrils.
He pulled a
retractable
light
down
from the ceiling and turned it on.
“My God, Charlie.”
“What? Do I wanna see?”
“
It looks . . . my God, Charlie, half of it looks healthy.”
“The good half or the bad half?” asked Charlie.
“The half that recognizes threats and stores fear memories. The Amygdala. It almost appears swollen
, enlarged somehow
.”
Hemp put his hand inside and felt the brain, pushing on it.
“Fuck, Hemp.”
“Okay, now I’m Hemp.”
“You’re not honey right now.
That’s fuckin’ gross.
”
Hemp concentrated, his hand inside the zombie’s skull, squeezing and pressing, rolling the gray matter between his fingertips.
“Yes. It’s enlarged. But the part that concerns me is the neocortex. It looks downright vibrant. It should be withered and rotted, by all accounts.”
“What’s that part for?”
Hemp pulled his hand out and looked at
Charlie, his face grim. “Logic for one,
Charlie. The neocortex
, while it has many other purposes,
is
quite
instrumental in enabling
logic.”
*****
Within two or three tries, Flex had been able to back the Chevy from the metal building, the tires and gun intact.
After Dave finished testing it to make sure he could still move it all the way around, he sat back in the seat and took Lisa’s hand, who sat in back.
He put a WAT-6 wafer in it.
“
Take that now, before we get started. I’m so relieved
you’re okay, sis. I was scared as hell
,
”
said Dave.
“
You
were …
I
was.”
She popped the wafer in her mouth and took a bottle of water from the seat beside her. She chewed the wafer with a sour face and chased it with water.
Her head drooped. Dave gave her two minutes before softly shaking her shoulder.
“Wow,” she said. “The ultimate sleep aid.”
“Where were Whit, Jacko and Serena when you saw them last?”
asked Flex
, dispensing with the small talk
.
“Around the building
,” said Lisa.
“
T
here’s another big parking area with
a bunch of Jeeps and Humvees
. I saw the door I
ran
in when we drove around the buildings
earlier
, scoping things out.
They parked on the other side, but w
hen trouble came, I thought
it
was the
closest
place to hide. I guess they ran back toward the car.”
“
We’ve been around the building, except in back,” said Flex. “
The
ir
car is gone, but I’m still not sure why they didn’t
try to radio you
.”
“I hope they’re not in trouble,” said Lisa.
“Me, too,” said Dave, “but I
would like
some damned excuse why they didn’t come back for you
. O
r at least look for you.”
Lisa shrugged. “Let’s just find them.”
Flex turned the wheel sharply and rounded the rear corner of the building.
What he saw made his foot drop off the gas pedal, and as the three of them stared at the melee, the truck idled forward until Flex hit the brake.
“My God,” whispered Lisa.”
“Lisa, I want you
to stay
inside this truck. You know how to reload the AK?”
“Show me. I’ll learn fast.”
“This one is full auto. You eject the magazine like this.” He pressed the release button and the magazine dropped into his hand.
“The
n
put the next one in as fast as you can. It slides in, and only goes in one way. Once it’s in, you pull this knob back and let it spring forward. Now it’s ready.”
“Okay, move.”
Flex moved, and from the back seat Lisa reached up, dropped out the magazine, had a bit of trouble getting the next magazine in, but finally it snapped into place. She pulled the knob back, preparing the gun for full auto.
Dave hit the B button on the GPS. “Here’s your sight. 360 degrees. You spin, the camera moves with the gun.” He moved it.
“Pretty clever,” said Lisa. She was not smiling.
“It’s effective. Good job on changing the magazine, but remember that it’s a lot harder when they’re coming at you.”
“I know.”
“
Okay,” said
Dave
.
“
Now eyes peeled and stay put, Lisa. Please.”
“
Davey,
I’ve had enough excitement for one day,” she said. “Not going anywhere.”
“
Keep a close eye on the building you were in,” said Flex. “There are still a few of them moving around in there, I’m pretty sure.
If you
do need to
fire, make sure we’re
not in the distance.”
Lisa nodded
.
Dave reached back and took her hand. “We’ll get them back,” he said.
But Lisa’s eyes were focused beyond the windshield and on the pair of boot soles hanging out of the jeep.
“Some of them,” she said.
“Maybe. Be careful,” said Dave.
They prepared their weapons. Dave had his MP-5 like Hemp’s and his Walther PPKs, and Flex prepared the Daewoo
K7
with which he had become confident and familiar. Both Glocks were once again fully loaded and i
n the drop holsters on each thigh.
“Here,” said Flex. “Take another WAT-6, ‘cause I don’t know how long we’re going be out there and I don’t want us to get caught shorthanded.”
They swallowed the wafers without chewing. If unprotected and in a hurry, chewing them was recommended, as it shortened the amount of time between consumption and protection. If you already had it in your system protecting you, it was a choice.
And nobody chose to chew WAT-6 unless they had to.
Dave looked at Flex. “Let’s get this done,” he said.
“I’ll go around the driver’s side,” said Flex. “You circle around the back and go to the passenger side.”
Flex hit the unlock button and both men instinctively
scanned all horizons for trouble. Nothing moved nearby, but Flex pointed to a line of perhaps fifteen of the creatures making their way across a bridge perhaps a half a mile away.
“Shit gives me chills,” said Dave.
“I’m just glad
there aren’t
any ratz
around
now,” said Flex.
“But it makes me worry that they’re right around the corner.”
“Bite your tongue.”
They
swung their automatic weapons around to firing position, then as a simultaneous afterthought, both men reached
back
inside
the truck
for their bottles of urushiol
spray. These bottles were equipped with clips, which both men connected to their belts.