The Age of Zombies: Sergeant Jones (33 page)

It seemed too late for Vanessa, too.

Jones sunk his teeth into her face, and ripped off a chunk of cheek.

Vanessa kneed Jones in the groin. The move bought her enough wiggle room to slide out from beneath him. She rushed over to protect Emma Jo.

The hunk of flesh sated Jones for now. He retreated to the far corner of the cell, and licked his chops. He savored the bloody cheek. He found it to be tender, moist, and sweet. His enjoyment increased with the psychological factor that he once laid kissed on that very cheek.

Vanessa’s face bled horribly. She took off her shirt and wound it around her face. This slowed the bleeding. Vanessa stood her ground in front of Emma Jo, who was hysterical now. Vanessa attempted to comfort her daughter by rubbing her shoulders, but the effort proved futile. Nothing could comfort Emma Jo. Her papa had gone stark mad, and her mother suffered from a brutal attack.

Above ground in the Imperial Palace, Radoula and Boul congratulated each other on their first speech. They took a break from the crowds and each slugged a bottle of fine cognac. They had to take the edge off their first official appearance. They didn’t realize how stressful it would be in the spotlight.

They also took this time to perform an important task. The three million Orobu beneath the mountains were starting to stir. The twins were ready to wake them. They held hands and concentrated on the Orobu who were buried in tombs deep beneath the Ural mountains. With eyes closed and with one pointed determination, the twins were able to connect with the Orobu and wake them from their long slumber.

Like lemmings, these Orobu arose from their ancient crypts and marched into the light. The sky above the Ural mountains stretched out into infinity. The Milky Way bore witness to their procession, which splintered off in a half dozen different directions. They stepped out into the world in silence, each of them following a programmed directive that was given to them by the twins. Their minds were on autopilot. Their single objective was to fill their bellies.

Humans in the camps and cities around the world shuddered. Something wasn’t right. They could feel their death coming, the same way cattle know they’re headed for the slaughter.

“They’re awake,” Boul said with a satisfied look on his face. “They’re finally awake.”

“And they’re hungry,” Radoula said. “I’m so glad our preparations paid off. They will find food. There’s plenty of it now.”

The twins reemerged from the palace to the excitement of the crowds. They walked back up to the podium and raised their hands in a gesture of silence. The crowd followed suit.

“We have an announcement,” Boul said. “This is a proud moment of the Orobu. Over three million of our brothers and sisters, who have been in hibernation for 12,000 years, are now awake. They will be joining us in the coming days and weeks.”

Radoula turned to her brother, and smiled with pride. “We are confident that the Orobu and the human races will live in harmony, together, as one. Let us continue to celebrate. Let us--.”

Radoula heard a rumble in the sky. It was another black military jet. She looked up into the night sky, illuminated by the city lights below. Boul looked up, too. As the jet emerged into their vision, he realized what was about to go down.

Boul turned the microphones off and faced Radoula. “We must find shelter,” he said. “This is an attack.”

Radoula gasped. She looked back up into the sky, and realized that her brother was right. “Let’s go,” she said.

Radoula grabbed Boul’s arm and they rushed back into the Imperial Palace. They hurried down the stairs that brought them to a long corridor. They ran as fast as they could to the shelter of their underground bunker.

They would be safe here. The black jets dropped BLU-109 bunker busters on the Forbidden City. The entire underground palace, along with the dungeon and the corridors, suffered immediate structural damage.

In the matter of minutes, these bombs leveled the ancient place. Thousands of human bodies disappeared in a flash of firepower. The world saw the initial flash of the bomb, but nothing else. The cameras were destroyed and screens around the world went black. The carnage at the flashpoint of the BLU-109s was stark.

The twins threw themselves to the ground in pain. Although they were safe in the bunker, hundreds of the oldest, wisest Orobu were vaporized in the attack. They were nothing but particles, shadows, screams. The intensity of the attack was too much for the twins to stomach. Their bodies writhed on the floor, purging their guts. Their vision was obscured with a deep, saturated red. Crumzchek’s attack had worked. He successfully delivered hell to the Orobu.

Jones was thrown to the ground. He hit his head hard against the wall, and was dazed by the impact. Vanessa didn’t fair much better, but she avoided impact to her skull.

The walls of the cell cracked, and several huge chunks of concrete had fallen. Emma Jo bled from her nose and legs. Vanessa looked over at her daughter and saw that one of the blocks of concrete had struck her in the shin. It had snapped in half like a dry twig.

Vanessa scanned the cell and saw Jones shaking off his injury. She knew she had to act quick. She ran across the cell, scooping up a jagged, pointy chunk of concrete along the way. She let out a battle cry, and smashed the concrete into the top of her husband’s skull.

The skull cracked open like a melon. Shards of bone splashed in Vanessa’s face. Jones let out a groan. He drooped to the ground. Deep red blood splattered all over the concrete, and across Vanessa’s chest. She fell on top of Jones, who was out cold. Vanessa lifted the rock and smashed it into his skull again. It busted open and dozens of fat white worms crawled out.

This is what Jones had turned into.

A body colonized by the worm.

A member of the Orobu race.

Vanessa let out a battle cry, and lifted her stone for another strike. Just then, the iron doors of the cell flew open. Orobu guards rushed in to stop the attack. A guard seized Vanessa and threw her over his shoulders. She kicked and screamed and reached out for Emma Jo. Another guard lifted up the little girl, whose face contorted with tears and sadness. The guard carrying Vanessa disappeared down a dark corridor. Vanessa’s wailing echoed through the underground palace.

Jones laid face down to the ground. Dark red blood pooled around his head. Vanessa’s screams pierced his ears. Emma Jo’s sobs stirred him. Blackness filled his vision. He lifted his arm, reaching for something, anything. But nothing was there in that cold concrete cell.

Emma Jo stared at her papa through watery eyes as the Orobu guard carried her out of the cell.

“Don’t leave me,” Jones sputtered. “Don’t leave me, Emma Jo.”

Dear Reader,

As an author, it is a great honor that you got this far. It means you travelled with my characters, my mind’s creations, through their twists and turns along the pages. Or maybe you just skipped to last page to see how it would all end.

Either way, I am humbled for the opportunity to share my work.

You know how hard it is for independent authors to produce high quality stories for their readers. As an independent author, I work countless hours to bring you the wild and intriguing stories that percolate in my mind. It’s hard work, but it’s work that I love.

If you enjoyed this story, please feel free to share it. Really, I mean it. Share the story with a friend. If you need a free copy, let me know.

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Thanks again, and expect the next installment of
The Age of Zombies
to be out by January, 2015.

Cheers,

B Rockow