Zombie Dawn II: A Zombie Apocalypse Sequel (9 page)

Chapter 30:    Jack’s Journey—Final
Push

Once we decided to go in, we only had
a few minutes to plan.  Mike explained to me that Kate was probably with Santos
and told me about where she’d be.

“Ian and I need to go kill Mariana
and her baby, and the other babies.  That thing is evil.  If we let it go, this
will never end.  You go get Mom and we’ll take care of the rest.”

Mike stared me in the eye while he
ordered me what to do.  We had unfinished business.  Maybe business that would
never be finished.

There was no time to discuss it.  We
loaded up and headed into the Armory.

Fortunately, no one in the Armory had
any idea of the attack.  Mike and Ian were in charge of security that day.  A
good portion of the humans  and many shamblers were off pillaging in St.
Albans.  Most of the wolves and brains were locked down in their chambers.  It
was just the dregs and the leaders left to fight us.

We silently descended down many, many
levels.  I was amazed at how deep this thing went.  Finally, we met some
resistance when a human challenged us.  Ian told him it was OK, then stabbed
the guy in the heart.  It was so quick and so silent.  Made me realize what a
beginner I really was.  After that, we were clear all the way down until this
redneck saw the three of us, carrying guns, and tried to give an alarm.

“Marvel, you ass, it’s just us.”
whispered Mike, motioning Marvel to come closer.  As he did, Mike dropped him
with a left to the solar plexus, a right to the snout, and a knee to the jaw.

“We’re here, Dad.  This is the level.”
hissed Mike.  “You go that way, to Santos’ compound.  The nursery is over
there,” he gestured.

I ran down one dark and filthy
hallway.  Mike and Ian ran down another.

Chapter 31:    Kate’s Diary—Showdown

Joumana hated me.  She’d always hated
me, but it had gotten far worse after I’d tried to burn her baby.  She came
into my cell, moving quickly.  I figured I was dead.  Even a bite or scratch
from her and I’d be finished.  Even without that advantage, she was bigger,
stronger, and meaner than me.  I squared up, awaiting her charge.

Instead of attacking, she pulled up
short, pulling a small piece of metal from a leather satchel she carried around
her neck.  It was a fragment of razor blade with tape around three sides.

“Take it,” she hissed at me.  “Santos
is coming to rape you.  You will have his baby.  Kill him.  If you don’t, I
will kill you and your baby.  My child will rule, not yours.”

“Put it down on that table,” I
replied, thinking she’d shank me if I got close enough.

“You are not so stupid, human,” she
spat.  “I would enjoy killing you.  Just not now.  Take the blade and fight. 
Kill Santos or I’ll kill you.”

I noticed movement in my peripheral
vision, then heard a gasp from the doorway.  Mariana had seen Joumana hand me
the razor blade.  I quickly took it, and placed it awkwardly under my tongue to
conceal it.  Mariana shrieked at Joumana, a soundless bellow of rage and
betrayal.  Joumana raced from the room, with Mariana hot on her heels.

I stayed where I was, waiting for
Santos.  Those two bitches could kill each other for all I cared.  I just
wanted to kill Santos.

He arrived, all right, but he was
ready for me.  He brought two of his henchmen,  and also Sadie and Bonnie.   It
was a full house in there.  I guess Santos wanted witnesses when he raped me.

These two guys were bad news.  One
was a skinhead, named  Dale Lehman.  The other was some type of ex-military guy 
named Darius.  They’d been around, but Santos had kept them away from me for
the most part.  I think he was jealous or something.

I knew Bonnie was on my side, but I
wasn’t sure about Sadie.  I hoped she’d help.  We were sort of friends.  But
who knew?  In fact, now that I thought about it, I wasn’t really sure that even
Bonnie would risk her life to save me.  “It is what it is” is the thought that
kept running through my head.  “Just do your job.”  That job was to kill
Santos.

After they came into the room, I saw
Luis in the doorway.  He was reeling, badly injured, and still covered in
blood.  Moving had reopened his wounds.  The others didn’t see him.  I hoped he
was another ally, but who knew.  This was happening so fast.  No time to think
and no real options.

I needed Santos close, so I took off
my top and my bra and held my arms out for him, smiling as best I could while
holding a fucking razor blade in my mouth.

Santos grinned.  He actually thought
I like him.  He must have thought I wanted to be raped.  As he took off his
pants, I saw his undersized junk and had to try not to laugh.  How had he ever
fathered anything with that?  But, I kept my welcoming look going and Santos
came to me.

Chapter 32: 
Mike’s Journal—Bloodbath

Ian beat me to Mariana’s chamber,
next to the nursery.  Joumana got there first, grabbing Mariana’s baby. 
Grasping it by the heels, she swung its head towards the floor, intending to
smash it in.  In the millisecond before contact, Mariana leapt into the room,
somehow intercepting the baby mid-swing.  She grabbed the baby from Joumana and
flung it into a different crib.

Ian and I watched as this “baby”
started to attack the one in the crib, biting and scratching at it.  The victim
fought back, but to no avail, as Mariana’s baby savagely tore its head from its
neck and sucked the reeking filth that passed for blood in its body.  This
thing was only a few days old.

Joumana went to a different crib protect
her own child, but Mariana leapt upon her back, grabbing Joumana’s long hair
and pulling her head back impossibly far.  She twisted Joumana’s head all the
way around, and savagely gnawed on her face and throat.  Mariana beat Joumana’s
head to a pulp, then grasped Joumana’s baby and used it as a club, pulping both
the child’s head and Joumana’s into a fine, greasy paste that sprayed the
entire room.

I was very lucky that Ian was with
me, because I was so revolted by the entire thing that I simply gawked. 
Mariana flung the corpse of Joumana’s baby at me, striking me in the face with
it and rocking my head back.  Luckily I had my mouth closed and my shatterproof
glasses on.  She was right behind it, coming at me with some type of blade she’d
picked up.

I had no idea that she even had a
sword, let alone that she’d attack me like a banshee.  Her protective
mother-blood was up, and she was a horrible sight, shrieking audibly and
blasting the room with her telepathic energy.  I simply could not raise my
gun.  I was in some type of fugue.

It was only reflex, not conscious effort,
that made me fall back and keep her swing from cutting my head off, but she
sliced deeply into my cheek from my jaw line all the way to my eye.  It burned
with a hot coldness.  It felt like it might match Ian’s dueling scar.  I lay on
my back, waiting for the end, as Mariana raised the blade for a final cut.  I’d
dreamed of killing this evil bitch, and now she was going to end me.

When I went down, though, Ian was
finally able to get a shot.  He was carrying a Mossberg 12 gauge pump loaded
with 000 buck.  It was the one he’d taken off Jack’s idiot friend.  He quickly
pumped 4 shots into Mariana but his angle was bad and he could not get a good headshot. 
He was able to sever her sword arm though, and both the sword and the arm fell
to the floor.  The buckshot blew other large chunks of Mariana off, including
her jaw and a bunch of her teeth, but she kept coming.

Mariana shrieked and raced at Ian,
trying to scratch him with her left hand and its filthy claws.  He missed with
his fifth and last shot , turned the Mossberg around and butted Mariana between
the eyes with it, buying a half- second.  I had come out of my fugue a bit, but
had no shot.  I tossed Ian my Beretta and, after dodging a few of her claw
swipes, he was able to drop Mariana with three well-placed headshots.  One in
each eye, one right in between.

“Back to Mom,” I screamed.  Or
thought I screamed.  My entire face was opened up, pumping blood.  Ian later
told me he had no idea what I’d said, since I only blew blood, spit, teeth and
air out the side of my face, but he also knew we had to get back and save
Kate.  He stuck my Beretta back in my belt, reloaded his Mossberg, threw me over
his shoulder, and we headed to Santos’ compound.

In the excitement, we forgot all
about Mariana’s spawn and the rest of the zombie babies.  Call it the fog of
war.  Bad call, though.

Chapter 33:    Kate’s
Diary—An Unpleasant Encounter

Santos approached, actually trying to
kiss me.  What kind of fucking sicko thinks that a rape victim would kiss
them?  I turned my head and brought my hand to my mouth, removing the razor
blade as he paddled at my breasts with his ice cold little boy hands.  This kid
had a lot to learn, but I hoped that he’d never have the chance.

It was almost funny how Lehman and
Darius looked away.  I wonder if that was some type of reticence, or simply
fear of Santos?  Sadie looked away, repelled.

In any event, only Bonnie was really
watching as I pushed Santos’ head back with my left hand, nuzzling his neck
with my almost-puking mouth, while I manipulated the blade with my right.  Once
I had  a decent grip. I drew the blade across his neck, right above his Adam ’s
apple, then cut him again and again, as fast as I could. I could hear a loud
noise; later I realized it was me screaming “Die motherfucker die” over and
over again.  I was seeing lots of blood, but I could tell my cut was not deep
enough.  The blood was not the deep crimson of arterial blood and it was not
spraying out, just pattering on the floor.

Santos, with a look of betrayal and
shock, smashed me in the face with his head while Lehman pried my blade out of
my hand.  Happy to say I cut him pretty good, too.

Chapter 34:    Jack’s
Journey—Almost the End

I raced deeper and deeper into the
bowels of the Armory.  Finally, I heard Kate, screaming like a banshee.  Others
were yelling and squealing as well.  I swung around a final corner and raced
into a small chamber crowded with bodies.  I passed a big Mexican looking guy
lying injured or dead on the ground outside the door.  Looked like the gorilla guy
I shot outside the Bat Cave.  I could see Kate, Santos and a few other people
in the room.

Santos was bleeding like a stuck pig
from multiple head and neck wounds.  Kate was practically naked, laying on a
bed in there in a daze.  I could tell what had happened, or almost happened,
and I saw pure red.  Things slowed down to super slow motion.

I lined Santos up with my Beretta,
only to notice that the slide had locked back.  There was no magazine in it.  I
must have dropped it, then fired my last shot.  And I had no more mags.  What a
fucking dumb shit I was.  Killed Mike’s girlfriend, ruined the element of
surprise, and showed up empty at the most important gun fight of my life.

Santos and the others, except for
Kate, all raced at me.  I flung my Beretta into Santos’ face but naturally
missed.  I pulled my Ka-Bar and braced for the attack.

There were two big guys, two women,
and Santos.  Five on one.  The first, a big skinhead, was holding a fire axe in
his bleeding hand.  The other guy had a framing hammer or something.  I could
see Kate trying to slow him down.  He went to whack her with the axe, but
Santos screamed at him to stop.  He did.

The women were unarmed.  I could not
tell what they were doing.  They did not seem eager to attack me, which was
fortunate because I was outnumbered.  But they were coming at me.

As I held my Ka-Bar in front of me
with my right hand, the skinhead swung the axe.  I tried to move back but hit
the wall, bouncing back towards him.  I went for his belly, but the axe hit me
in the arm and I dropped the knife.  My hand and arm were completely numb, and
I knew I was badly injured.  Maybe killed, I thought.

One of the women tackled Santos and
brought him to the ground.  I heard Kate scream “Bonnie--No” then Santos simply
twisted the woman’s head all the way around.  Her dead body dropped bonelessly
to the floor.  The skinhead’s feet got tangled up in the woman’s body, and he
lost his balance, going down heavily.

My last memory was the other guy
swinging that hammer at me.  I tried to block it with my right arm.  The other
woman tried to get in the way, but she was no solider.  Luckily for her, Santos
knocked her down before the hammer could hit her.  Just as I noticed that my
arm was just hanging there, limp as a noodle, the hammer nailed me above the
left eye.  I went under.

Chapter 35:    Kate’s Diary—Bitter
Reunion

I was in shock to see Jack. 
Amazingly, my first thought was embarrassment and shame at him finding me
“with” another man.  Followed by regret that I had been unable to kill that
bastard Santos.  It all happened so fast.

First, Jack rushes in.  He has a
perfect set up, but his gun is empty.  I can’t believe it, after all of his
lectures and speeches.  Standing there with his slide racked back and a
confused look on his face.  He’s done a lot of stupid things in his life, but
this is a masterpiece.