Authors: Julie Cooper Brown
“That’s what he Able Infected do, so it’s possible, I guess. But after so much time, I would hope that all traces of memory of their lives would be gone. Either way, we can’t look at these things like they’re people anymore. And if they are still in there somewhere… they’ll hurt us anyway whether they want to or not, and we will be putting them out of their misery if that’s the case.”
“I know, Kate. It just makes it harder.”
Chapter Seventeen
Jillian slowly made her way down the ladder and stumbled on the last few stairs and landed on the floor beside the bed, the only sound, a muffled thump. Preston was in the bathroom and heard the noise, but when he looked in to see what it was, he did not see her. He resumed washing his face in the sink. Preston thought that he heard something and looked out into the hall to see what it was. He saw no one and there seemed to be no movement coming from the bedroom where the infected lay slaughtered. He continued to wash his face. He smiled and checked his teeth. Turned his face from side to side, he needed to look his best. Tonight would be a big night for him. He was going to fulfill the fantasy he’d had about these two since he met them.
He would pretend to be asleep and sneak down and he would shoot Dave in his fucking balls, right before he shot him between the eyes. He’d have to remember to gag and tie Kate before he shoots Dave. Kate would not hesitate to kill him once she saw her friend being attacked. His plan was getting more difficult with every thought. He’d tie her up and then he’d have Kate’s hot ass in any position he wanted. He’d show her what a real cock looks like, up close and really personal. Then after her death, he would have her again before she reanimated, just as he did to Jansen, the Marine he had stolen the uniform from.
“Fucking bitch thinks she’s too good.” He wanted to rip her pretty red hair out while fucking her from behind. She would scream all right. She would scream for mercy. He thought her disrespectful and planned to teach her to never disrespect him again. “I’ll bet he’s been fucking her, this whole time,” he said in a low whisper while staring at himself in the mirror “I see the way they look at each other. They can’t wait to get away from me so they can
fuckfuckfuck
. Well, tonight they’ll be fucked for sure.” He had so many plans for them he couldn’t decide on one. He rubbed the bulge in his pants as he anticipated the night ahead.
Jillian got up off of the floor and saw the bodies of the Infected all over the room. “
I remember…. someone ran into the other room when we woke up. I hear water running and there’s a man in the bathroom… Who is he talking to? Is there someone else here? Maybe he will help me… I can’t wait until this is over. But he smells so good! Maybe I can get just a little taste …”
Preston was unaware that she had risen and was looking right at him. “
What am I thinking? I don’t want this, and if I bite him, he’ll be this way too. I don’t want this for anyone!”
Her hands went up to grasp her hair at both sides of her head, but she didn’t realize that her body had begun to react to certain thoughts inside her head. “
Well, it doesn’t matter what I really want... I’ll just go with the flow and pray he has a gun.”
Chapter Eighteen
“I guess I’ll hit the couch again and try to rest since I’ve gotten that off of my chest. It was really bothering me. Thanks for listening. I’ll keep one eye open, though.” Dave stretched his arms out and yawned. “I’m beat. You can wake me in a couple of hours; I just need a power nap.” He walked into the living room and settled on the sofa that was barring the door. He kept one foot on the ground and his arm over his eyes. Kate began thinking about Jillian’s notes again. Jillian and Evan loved each other deeply, that was for sure, and though Kate wasn’t in the least bit religious, she sort of agreed with Jillian’s theory about why this happened to them and not everywhere else.
It is odd that the other countries around the world had been demolished by natural disasters and the United States we were being consumed by the dead. She hadn’t thought of it that way until she read the notes. She knew it was a slip up of someone within the CDC, but was it coincidence that the virus escaped while the rest of the world was caving in? Immersed in her thoughts, Kate did not expect what happened next.
“GET THE FUCK OFF ME!”
Preston screamed and Kate jumped out of her chair with the papers still in hand and ran for the stairs. Dave was already at the top, looking into the bathroom. Kate could see one white shoe with a pretty green emblem, Jillian’s shoe. She thought that Jillian was a goner and thought to herself that Preston had gotten what he deserved for kicking Jillian earlier. Dave had not shot yet, and she couldn’t figure out why until she recalled what he had said to Preston when he warned him about unwanted attention.
When Kate made it to the top of the stairs and looked into the bathroom as well, Jillian was sitting on the floor with Preston in her lap and her face buried in his neck, his hands trembling violently; preventing him from pulling his gun. His eyes rolled
back in his head as he fainted. Kate thought she would call out her name to see if Jillian would have any kind of reaction since she had mentioned both of them in her writings. She also wanted to know if they still have a conscious. “Jillian” When Jillian looked up at them, Kate could see that her right eye was turned down as if she had suffered a stroke and her temple looked like so much raw meat, the bullet grazing her temple after exiting Evan’s face. She had several teeth marks around her lips, a bite from Evan; their last embrace.
“That’s me! She said MY NAME...my papers in her hand… and praiseJesus, they have guns! I will be free…Why are you taking so long?! I’m a fuckin Zombie! See…see… a zombie! I a
m
eating this man, shoot!”
Kate was unsure if Jillian had responded to Kate saying her name or the sound of her voice, but Jillian’s face changed dramatically. It went from an evil, hungered expression; to stunned, then puzzlement and finally her eyes widened with recognition. Prestons’ blood and gobs of his flesh were dripping from her open mouth onto his chest. She cocked her head to the side and just looked from Kate to Dave, then back to Kate and back to Dave again.
“
Know them… Roland and Fraley… I know them! Oh please hurry! That’s right Roland, pull it out, baby. Thank you, thank you, and thank you! End it soon, end it now, PLEASE!!!
Dave was right, and Kate knew what she wanted, so she raised her gun to shoot Jillian. She didn’t move to try to get at them, only closed her eyes and dropped her head. Her arms fell out to her sides, and if the dead could sigh, Kate would say that’s what she did.
“My escape at last. Now I lay me, down to slee-“
Kate shot Jillian in the top of her head, and her body slammed back against the side of the bath tub and she was no more. Dave shot Preston to make sure he wasn’t getting back up, either. Kate left the bathroom and Dave followed her down the stairs. “I told you, Kate. She knew us. They are still in there.”
“I know… what can we do about it? Not one thing. It’s not like we have a cure. I don’t think there’s anyone left who can come up with one. So, locking them all up until that happens is out of the question. We have to kill them. We are doing them a big favor by killing them. They don’t want to be trapped like that.”
“I guess not! She looked like she was ready.” Dave said while looking up at the landing where her foot stil
l sat just outside the doorway. “I read in her notes that she slowly watched Evan change and he was in the abled stage for a bit… she called them Halfers. Funny name for them but I guess it fits. And she did plan on killing them both, the gun must’ve jerked away from her sending the bullet through his head but only grazing her face on its exit, causing little damage.”
“Yea, but it looked like it entered the left side of her forehead at the temple. That had to be a brain shot.” he said.
“It couldn’t have been, she came back to life. Did you see the teeth imprints around her lips? I think she passed out, from shock or fright. It would have been after her death that the Abled infected got up there, or she would have shot it first. Also, she had kissed Evan during his change and was telling of headaches and nausea, tingling of the lips, it was working on her, too. She mentioned both of us in her notes. She talked about meeting you when Clark was bitten, how Clark showed them the video that wasn’t supposed to get out. I’d like to know how he got it, and she talked about me when I was trying to console the father of the two young boys. She really hated Clark, I’ll tell you that.”
“Did she say anything else that may have been useful?” he asked. “Not anything that we don’t already know. Get some sleep, I’m going back up to shut the bathroom door; just in case. Then I’ll take the recliner, since I don’t have to worry about Preston now.”
Kate stood outside the bathroom door for a moment and looked at Jillian. She removed Jillian’s cell phone from her pocket and looked at the pictures again, only this time she scrolled through them and found there were many pictures of Evan during the various stages of the infection. Some were pretty frightening and others were just sad to look at. Closing the phone and grabbing Jillian by the foot that stuck out past the door, she pushed it inside and leaned it against the sink. It was a tight squeeze but she was able to pull the door shut. As she turned to go back downstairs, a noise behind her got her attention and she felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. She spun on her heel and dropped to one knee while raising her weapon. Imagine her surprise at seeing a little girl standing there.
Chapter Nineteen
Kate scared her when she drew her weapon, the girl jumped and put her thumb in her mouth, her other hand clutched a fluffy teddy bear wearing blue pajamas and nightcap, decorated with crescent moons and stars to her chest, and she began walking backwards.
“Hey.” Kate holstered he gun and sat back on her heels. “I’m sorry, you scared me to death. I’m Kate. What’s your name?” The girl pulled her thumb out of her mouth just far enough to speak. “Angel.” She popped her thumb back in her mouth.
“Your name is Angel?” She nodded her head yes. “How old are you, Angel?”
“I’m six years old, I think.” Her two front teeth were missing and ‘think’ came out as ‘fink’.
“Why don’t you come downstairs with me?”
Kate asked.
“Are you gonna bite me?” She asked, with a worried look.
“No, Honey. I’m not going to bite you. I’m not going to hurt you at all. I want to help you.”
Kate stood and held out her hand. Angel smiled brightly and Kate thought that it was the most beautiful thing she’d seen in weeks. Angel took Kate’s hand and they went down the stairs together into the kitchen. Dave was finally sleeping and Kate didn’t want to wake him, he’d find out soon enough.
“Do you have any food? I haven’t eaten in decades!’ Angel said so seriously. Kate laughed and said “Of course. I have an orange, do you like oranges?” and held one out to her. “I love oranges!” She said excitedly but ‘love’ came out as ‘wub’, and she snatched it from Kate’s hand and bit into it. Her face scrunched at the tartness of the skin and she pushed it out of her mouth with her tongue.
“Here, Kate said as he took the orange back and started peeling it. “I should’ve peeled it for you in the first place. Forgive me; I don’t have much experience with children.” Angel giggled, placed her teddy bear in the empty chair next to her and said, “It’s okay. I forgive you. I don’t have to peel them at home. I thought I could just eat it.”
She was adorable. Little golden pigtails that were askew on her head, one still supported by a wrinkled purple ribbon and giant almond shaped eyes that one couldn’t be sure if they were green or blue. They sparkled like diamonds in the light. She was wearing a filthy purple dress, frilly socks and white Mary Janes on her feet. She looked like a precious porcelain doll someone had tossed aside. Kate had finished peeling the orange, found a saucer to place the slices on and gave her a bottle of water.
“Don’t you have Kool Aid or somefin?”
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t. All I have is water, and water is good for you. You need the hydration.”
“What’s hydr… um, I can’t say it. What is it?”
Somehow Kate had forgotten that she was talking to a six year old. “Never mind, I’ll tell you some other time. Just trust me, you need it.”
“Okay.”
“Angel, do you live here?” Kate asked.
“No. Daddy brought me to here, it’s his Grammys’ house but she died. My Auntie Vibian lives here sometimes but she’s not home. Daddy said he should go look for her.”
Kate knew that it was unlikely but she asked any way, “Is your Daddy coming back?”
“No, he said he was prolly gonna die and that you would come for me. Even though I was scared and I cried but he said I would be okay and he left. He was gone a long, long time so I went outside to find him because I was hungry and the scary monster was trying to get me.” Angel made her hands into claws and raised her arms above her head when she said that, and then she began to cry.