Drifters (3 page)

Chapter Five

Outside the forest I walked to where Jeremy wanted me to meet him, a small park north of the hotel I s
ee him on a bench. People that looked at me were whispering. I have mud all over my body and my hair red as it was tied on a bun on my head made me look like a hobo. I sure was a sight for them, but I am a drifter, mud and dirt is something I am accustomed to. When Jeremy saw me he smiles a little and as fast as it came he turned serious.

“I see you had a meal already so no point in going to a diner for breakfast.”

“I saw Alex.” I said not caring for his comment.

“Who’
s Alex?” he asked.

“Isn’t he who you want me to get for you?”

“So, the subject name is Alex.”

“Stop it, he is not a subject of you expe
riments understand.” I said as he put his hands up crossing them on his chest.

“Ok, were did you see him?”

“In the forest just some hours ago, he ran away, couldn’t fallow him he was faster.”

“Hum,” he said, “interesting.”

“What?”

“Nothing
.”

I sat beside him and we stayed in silence for a while. The sun was warm and good at my skin. I looked forward as people still
were looking at me whispering about my appearance and I look left at Jeremy.

“I need new cloths.”

“Yes you do” he said

“So?”

“Okay, I’ll give you money so you can get new stuff.”

“Thanks,” I said and looked forward not minding anymore the hushed whispers of the people around. I went to a clothing store a
ccompany by Jeremy, they didn’t let me inside the store for the way I looked so Jeremy had to go inside and buy the cloths for me. I told him all I wanted was a pair of jeans, black preferably and a shirt, black also. He came out with four bags of clothing. When I looked inside there was a pack of underwear, three pair of jeans, a skirt, six shirts, and a white blouse. The teller busted out the store and gave him another bag; it was a backpack big enough to put everything inside. I eyed him but said nothing. We went to the same park where we were before. I used the public bathroom to put water on my face and hair, he wanted me to go to a hotel or motel but I did not wanted to be in a private place with him you never know what he would do. I put more water on my face again from the sink and it felt good, cold water. I unbutton the flannel shirt I had covered in mud and blood, I unhooked my bra putting water on my breasts and then dabbed them with paper towels. I hooked my bra again and threw the shirt in the wastebasket. As I unbutton my pants there was a knock on the door.

“Sara, hurry up” Jeremy said from the other side and I did not respond I kept taking my pants off throwing them on the wastebasket too. I took my panties and discarded
them; a fresh pair would be nice, I thought to myself. I opened the pack and put one on, it felt well on my skin. I put one of the black jeans he had gotten me and one of the t-shirts. My sneakers were still in good condition that I did not have to discard them. I put them on and everything else went to the backpack. I moved out and Jeremy was still waiting, I thought he would get desperate and leave.

“Ah, my sweet Sara, you look ravishing.” He said

“You haven’t called me sweet Sara for a long time now.” I said

“I know.” he said extending his arm invi
ting me to a hug. I pushed it away. What was he thinking after all this time he now wants to be the father figure he once was?

“Have you taken care of the bodies?” I asked changing the subject to more important matters.

“No.” he said

“There’s only one day left. What are you waiting for?”

“I have no team.”

“What?”

“Our budget was withdrawn. The organization is gone. Targus is dead, Sara.”

I stayed mouthed open and not believing him so who are the
ones looking for in this town?

“You must be joking we hit a roadblo
ck when we got here and the cop there said they were looking for someone.”

“Yes they are here.”

“Who are they? O, wait, right. Targus is dead.” I said happiness inside me.

“Targus died
, but he appointed me on seeking them and the cataloguing of your kind, only me.” He said as we walked side by side straight to the morgue.

“
Who’s He, why don’t you have a team and is that why you want me to work for you?”

“Yes.
For him I am not in liberty to say, yet.”

“I told you I would help you this time. A
fter that we go our separate ways, Deal?”

“Deal,
” he said.

During all my trips
in twelve years, I have been to many morgues; to me they all looked the same; stainless steel walls, bed, knives, and drawers. We were lead inside by a woman with blond hair tied in a ponytail and red rim glasses. Her white skin made her look like snow white, if such character actually existed she would be the perfect example of how she would look.

Her white lab coat flapped sideways as we walked inside. I had the back pack strapped to my back and she kept looking at me if I was a red head weirdo with a head inside the
bag. I only smiled at her with every look. Jeremy stayed quiet walking, I was wondering what was going inside that twisted head of his. We stopped in front of red double doors.

“Who are you again?” she said
as she turned around eyeing Jeremy.

“This is a federal matter, want to check my ID again or should we continue.” Jeremy said
. I stayed with my mouth shut.

She turned around saying nothing else. She pushed the red doors with the palm of both her hands they swayed inwards as the light started flickering inside. Maybe there was a problem with the electrical line. Inside the room as always same stainless steel things nothing grand, I grabbed the back pack and let it rest on the floor near the door.

“How many?” I asked since I did not see how many body bags came out the hotel.

“
To many, those on the top four rows are the victims of the hotel.” She said. “Who would do something like that? They seem like if an animal had just torn them apart and eaten them?” I saw how she shuddered to the idea of someone eating her.

“Any other?”
Jeremy asked.

“Yes, this one is a bit of a mystery that is why we had him separated from the others.”

“Mystery?” I asked.

“Here come with me?” she said.

We fallowed her to the next room, where they had the body, but it wasn’t there.

“I don’t understa
nd, we had him here?” she said in a surprised state, she bends down on the table and looked both ways, another state of surprise came to her as she saw Jeremy take out his gun and looking to each side.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It is probably happening faster this time.”

“That can’t be.”

“Sara it has been years since we found you, it probably mutated by now.” He said still looking at each side when, from my back I saw Max naked scratching the back of his head.

“Ugh, what a drag, Alex is just a moron.” He said without looking up.

“Max?” I said and he looked up.

“O, hi there M
iss Sara.”

“Are you okay”

“Yea just a little disoriented.”

“But
, but, but, you were dead,” said the woman with the red glasses clearly scared and moving backwards.

He looked up at her and he smiles, “Yea I know.”

“Max, I must ask you. What happened in the hotel?”

“Alex went on a rampage, broke my neck and started
his frenzy.”

“What are you, you know?” Jeremy asked

“No not really, I know I get this hunger from time to time and all I have is to eat some flesh and that is it.”

“Is Alex same as you” I asked

“No he was like you on the side of the road, drifter he called himself.”

“
No, I mean like you with that hunger? You were talking to him like he was your friend.”

“He is
. He’s the one that taught me to control the hunger. He once said that he would one day completely turn and that I would have to take him down.”

“Completely turn?” I said and thought about me. I have had this all my life and I have never completely turned. I looked at Jeremy and he was about to put a bullet in Max’s head when I
stepped in front of him between the gun and Max extending my arms to each side.

“It was you, you replicated me, and you made them.”

He said nothing.

Chapter
Six

“Speak, tell me I am wrong?” I said infuriated by his silence as Max stumbles to the table with a hard metallic clank, the table moves forward an inch. I looked and Max’s awkward neck made me think of all the stabbing the bullets holes and the broken bones. I have never recovered this fast, but I eventually recover faster than most humans. I gave Jeremy and angry look and stormed out the room that was Maxes storage while he was dead.

I walked back to the morgues main storage and wher
e my bag was; I heard the gargling again and looked back. Jeremy clearly had knowledge I did not and knowing that he made others like me made even more furious than what I was already since I saw him in front of the hotel. I just wanted to leave the town to the fate I knew was coming to them. The sound came louder, a thump then a clink as the locks of the drawers broke and the undead was crawling out of its early grave. I ran to it and shoved my hand up its mouth as it tried to bite it and drove my hand all the way as I did the fawn, straight to its brain and closed my fist to it. The body limbs and I breathe. Jeremy storms inside asking what I was thinking.

“What am I thinking you tried to accelerate the fucking process? That is what!”

“What do you even mean?” he asked as he nudges his shoulders upward and confusion in his face.

“Look at me, really look at me. Why the fuck you think I have a hand up this guy’s mouth.” that’s when I saw him and it was J
ane, the passenger of the yellow car, the one with the snorting laughter.

“Do not let that woman see you.”

“What would she say, that I violated a corpse by its mouth, get real. He was the first to wake so the other will be close by. We need to take care of this before all of them start spreading it.” I said still my hand on Joan mouth and jerked three times just to let it be free.

The sound of other clinking and rapping on metallic walls was heard and I looked at Jer
emy. He knew that time was closing to deal with what is coming from the first row as the red rim glasses woman said, snow white, were a total of six corpses were coming back. There were six animated corpses rising to a hunger they could never comprehend. If they could they would talk and be like you and me. Yes I am dead as for human standards, I don’t have a heartbeat. Yet I think and I have a more glacial life than most living people I have encountered on my drifts.

Jeremy runs to the box next to mines and holds it shut as I got my hand off the brain of J
ane and my red glove reappeared.

“You still got it Sara.” Jeremy said as Max and the girl came forward, Max now with a Johnny shirt and covering his nakedness, which I was glad.

“What is all that sound?” said the woman

“Stay away!” Jeremy screamed as the first of 6 drawer busted open and the mindless beast tried to wither away from the closed room he had. Max runs and grabs the corpse by the head and rips it off, clotted blood fall to his face and he licks it off.

“Max, control,” Were the only words that came from me as he laughs and sits and the woman with the red glasses screams at the sight of Max’s action.

“Well, you are in trouble, let me see, six wakers or more over five now, one revolver with what, six bullets? I wonder how much of a sharp shooter you are.”

“Max this is no game.”

“I know, I know just Alex told me it took three days, and it only has been one.”

“We need to have a chat as soon as we take care of this.” I said as Jeremy took out his gun and with every broken and flying door of the morgues drawer, one by one that got out he took the shot, taking one in the head as they got out from their enclosing.

“I am that good.” He said glaring at Max.

#

Once the bodies were left ‘re-dead’ we talked to the woman and found her name was Jenny she did not had her name tag cause she just had started her shift and it was still in her pocket when we came in. We told her not to say a word of what she just saw, that everyone was still in danger and if there was any other victim we did not heard of. She nodded her head
; her eyes still opened wide her face full of fear. I went to a sink next to the red doors and washed away my red glove. Max had already started to dress with a pair of jeans from one of the victims that were clean enough while looking for a shirt inside a bag, my bag.

“Hey,” I screamed taking my gaze of the mirror in front of me and looking at Max, “that
’s mine stay away.”

“O, sorry Miss Sara, did not want to i
ntrude.” He lifted himself from the crouched position he was closing the bag in front of him. I turned my head forward again looking at the mirror a hot flashed struck my body and I wobbled a little, backwards and left, closing my eyes for a second as Jeremy grabbed me. When I looked up I saw in the mirror that Alex was the one that grabbed me and he was pale blood oozing from his eyes as they were gone he was smiling as I see his teeth were rotten and black some even missing, he put a finger over his mouth like saying don’t say a word. I closed my eyes and looked at the mirror again. He was gone and the image was Jeremy.

“Sara you okay?” he asked with concern in his voice. I looked back at him twisting my body, meeting his eyes.

“What have you really done?” I asked and he knew what I meant. He looked down and let go of me I felt better as he started walking away and his evil arms were not touching me. I grabbed a small towel that was hanging on the sink and dried my hand. I looked at Max with a red shirt now. Not red cause it was its color, red from a crimson stream where it was dabbed to its new color.

“Well this was the cleanest of them all.”

“Here.” I said as I got near my bag opened it and threw him one of the new shirts Jeremy had bought. I had six so I could spare one.

He grabbed it in midair as Jeremy returned to speak to the women, Jenny, about what had just happen. I could see her hands flying all around to the mysterious words of don’t say a fucking thing Jeremy was concocting so she would not reveal to anyone what had just o
ccurred here. Jeremy is a great liar and I give him credit for it. I remember once at fifteen, he talking to me about the hunger, how they were trying to find a cure, I wasn’t that naïve then and I was not that naïve now. I know he planned something, but what?