71: Ready to Grumble – Pt. 2

The news reports were growing increasingly more alarming. Dozens of stories were coming in about random, violent attacks around town with descriptions of the assailants ranging from “animal-like psycho with uncontrollable rage” to “raggedy, bleeding menaces who smell like death.” It didn’t take long to track the path the mob of newly turned zombies was blazing but it did, however, cause concern.

“If we don’t get a handle on this soon, they may infect the entire downtown area,” Victoria said, looking over the map she and Mike had created. Just as Derrick had predicted, the zombie population was growing exponentially and they had their hands full trying to track down their Patient Zero.

“How exactly are we supposed to stop them?” he asked. “I mean are they still people that have been affected by magic or are they…”

“Dead,” Derrick answered Mike’s inquiry. “And likely have been for quite some time but were glamoured by magic to appear as normal until activated.”

“Wait a second, you’re saying someone killed a bunch of people and have been waiting for a specific moment to unleash their undead horde on an unwitting city? Who would do that? Why?” Victoria asked.

“Who knows? But we’ll have plenty of time to figure that out later. The main thing now is stopping them before they take over all of Avondale, which is the topic of the moment. How do we stop them? How do you kill something that’s already dead?” Mike inquired.

“To my knowledge there are two ways. One: find the conjuring necromancer and destroy his or her shrine used to invoke this magic. Two: find an even more powerful necromancer to negate the previous spell.”

“So…shooting them in the head won’t do the trick?” Victoria asked.

“In contrast to any of your favorite horror films, zombies, REAL zombies are reanimated by magic, not a virus and cannot be easily defeated unless you have magic as well.”

“Great!” Mike sighed, throwing his hands up in defeat. “Where exactly are we supposed to find another necromancer to help?”

“Leave that to me. You two should work on trying to corral these walking corpses before people start taking matters into their own hands.”

“Derrick’s got a point. We need to get them off the street to keep them from causing more harm,” Victoria concurred.

“And where do you think we should ‘corral these walking corpses?’” Mike asked.

She paused a moment in thought before rebounding on an idea. “The freight docks. We can trap them inside the containers down at the port.”

“Great idea! And if all else fails, we can always ship them off to another country,” Mike joked.

“We should get started,” Derrick said. “I’ll call if I find someone to help; I’ll call if I don’t. Be careful, Victoria. Do not under ANY circumstances let these things touch you.”

“Derrick.” His name was a whispered sigh on her lips and he could sense her reluctance; her fear and the sentiments were mutually shared. He didn’t want her to go. He didn’t even want her to leave the house. But as much as he hated the idea of her going after creatures that could kill with the ease of a scratch, it was a necessary evil.  

“I’ll be fine, Victoria.” The ache inside him deepened. He knew what she was going to encounter. And despite that, he had to acknowledge the fact he was unable to go with her; this time. Lowering his head, Derrick pressed his mouth to hers as her eyes closed. Lifting his hand, he cradled the side of her face, indulging in the smooth warmth of her cheek against his palm and the way her pulse fluttered where the pad of his little finger rested below her earlobe.

She tilted her head to deepen the kiss, and he responded with a sensual sweep of his tongue.
No matter how many times he’d kissed her, the heat never dissipated. The urgency and the passion seemed to grow. It was too much and yet would never be enough. 

Victoria leaned into him, and though he tensed when she pressed against his chest, he did not stop her. Nor did he object when her hands came up to rest on either side of his lower rib cage. He just breathed more deeply of her scent, allowing the essence that was Victoria to overwhelm his senses. After a few long minutes, he drew back to rest his forehead against hers. He could not resist the temptation of savoring that moment. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered against his lips. “You be safe out there, too.”

“Of course.” Pulling away, he nodded toward Mike before disappearing out the door.

“Well, are you ready, Partner?” Mike asked. “You and I are a-goin’ huntin’.”

Mike drove the large tractor-trailer while Victoria drove his truck toward downtown Avondale and parked just outside the town square. The area had been cleared by law enforcement as a strict curfew had gone into effect. But other than emptying the streets, no other protocol was put in place with police believing it was gang related and would settle down soon. It didn’t matter; it suited their needs just fine. Based on their tracking, the mass of undead would be rounding the area within the next five minutes. That would give them a small window of time to prepare a trap.

Lowering the flatbed of his truck, Mike opened the doors to the cargo container, where strategically placed slabs of raw meat hung inside, and took position near Victoria. “Think this’ll work?” he asked, waiting and hoping their idea held out.

“I hope so. Otherwise, you’d better pray those designer loafers can transform you into an Olympic sprinter.”

“Me? What about you? Think you can outrun me?”

“Won’t have to,” Victoria answered with a smile. “I’ll just hop on my broomstick and fly away.”

Mike laughed. “Oh you little wi…”

A low moan resounded nearby and the two detectives immediately perked up. It was time. The horde of zombies was coming closer and closer, their smell becoming even more unbearable. They had deformed bodies, and limbs sticking out at odd angles. Their bloodshot eyes darted around, looking for food. Arms reaching, flesh peeling, in short, they were terrifyingly grotesque. Groans and moans came from their open mouths, wanting human meat. Mike’s heart was in his mouth as he gawked toward the putrefied army lumbering closer. “My God. This is unbelievable.”

“Just remember not to let them touch you,” Victoria reminded. “I don’t want to have to explain you joining the ranks of the undead to your family.”

“Same to you, Partner,” Mike added, preparing himself to face the monstrous corpses shambling along Main Street. Waiting until they were just behind the large container, Mike lit a fuse and instantly, the back of the truck ignited with snapping firecrackers. The sound of it caused the mass of monsters to turn toward the truck and soon the smell of the fresh slabs of beef were all they could sense.

As the zombies gathered into the truck, Victoria got a better look at the one closest to her. It’s dead, yellow eyes stared into hers, appearing so empty and void of life. The zombie’s skin was like old, crinkled paper, his lips the color of rusted iron, its gaping maw opened so wide she could see a set of rotting, black teeth. Blood was splattered like red paint all over his face and hands which had flesh almost falling off.

The emaciated man had dirt and grit all over his clothes and grimy body. His dark, grey shirt, which used to be white, was tattered and shredded mainly where his heart should be. Victoria should have taken pity on the unfortunate wretch but instead, she felt an unexplained loathing at first sight. Even from the end of the street, she could see his cruel, disturbing smile in a permanent sinister snarl. And when his sunken, milky white eyes of mindless menace turned to hers, she felt her heart hammer in her throat. “Uh oh.” Hearing her gasp, Mike looked up in time to see a small group of undead breaking off from the rest of the pack.

“Oh shit.”

“Yeah,” Victoria agreed. Four zombies were heading straight for them, with the demented businessman leading the charge.

His pathetic state was greatly surpassed by his evil temperament and mentally, she prepared herself for what she needed to do as the skeletal creature started shambling faster. As he got closer, she could see that he had a dislocated jaw showing his torn tongue and blood-stained, razor-sharp teeth. Unexpectedly, a flame of anger seemed to ignite within him. He let out a piercing screech and charged toward her with ape-like fury.

“Any chance we can get the rest locked away before they all change their mind about the menu?”

“And what about them?” Mike asked watching as the quartet continued their trek forward.

“Dealing with four has to be better than the entire undead army, Mike. Lock it now and we run, regroup and figure out something else.”

With remote in hand, Mike raised the flatbed of the truck while simultaneously pressing a button to shut and lock the container doors. Once the vehicle was secured, he turned his attention back on the clutch of corpses ten feet away. “Maybe we should…”

“Yeah,” Victoria nodded. The pair turned and started into the plaza behind them just as the lead zombie let out another terrifying shriek and charged forward.

“Fuck me! These things can run?” Mike shouted as he found the angry stiffs gaining on them.

“The diner!” Victoria urged as their pace quickened. The only building that still had any lights on, Moe’s Diner, was a welcomed sight for them as they searched in desperation for refuge. Bursting through the wooden doors, Mike and Victoria quickly pushed their weight against the entrance in time to stop the long, bony arm that crammed its way through the opening.

The putrid smell of rotting flesh filled the room as the infected hand swiped at them frantically. The mere sight of it filled Mike’s stomach with bile, but he held firm against the door, working to get it closed completely, pushing it in as hard as he could.

Victoria leaned over him; arms outstretched as she helped slide the door into the intruding arm. Mike tried to grab the hand and push it back, but it was swinging too wildly to catch it and he feared he would be scratched in the struggle.

Pressing his palms firmer against the door together he and Victoria finally forced it closed on the zombie’s arm. They heard a crack, bone breaking, and watched as the deformed, severed limb fell to the ground yet the possessed arm didn’t stop. Moving fast, Victoria stomped on the hand, feeling the fingers crack and crush beneath her heel as she slammed her foot down over and again.

Once she was satisfied the appendage was done, she kicked it beneath a nearby booth and looked over at her partner. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I guess. For now.” Everything had fallen silent. Stepping away from the door, Mike tried to catch his breath and calm himself down. His entire body trembled as his pulse skyrocketed; his heart pounded so hard he thought it would explode. “That is not something you see every day, nor is it something I want to. I—I don’t know, Vik. I swear sometimes I wish I was still blissfully ignorant to all of it.”

Victoria said nothing. Instead, she reflected on the thought that had she not foolishly told Mike about being a witch, he may have been able to continue living his life in the happy black and white he’d always preferred. And although he hadn’t directly said it, she couldn’t help but feel guilty for ever dragging him into her messy new life.

“You ok over there?” Mike asked, noticing her sudden change in demeanor.

“Fine. Just trying to figure a way out of here,” she sighed and glanced down at her phone. Derrick hadn’t called. He promised she’d hear from him one way or the other and it had been hours and still nothing.

Even though they were locked away from the zombies, they could still hear them. Groaning and sniffing at the other side of the door, hungry for them. The death bellows grew louder, becoming almost impossible to ignore. Looking back, Mike caught the wild-eyed stare of the businessman just as he and two others bolted forward and began furiously ramming themselves into the door. Reacting instantly, Mike and Victoria threw themselves against it to stop the monsters from breaking in. “What the hell? They’re working together now? These things are getting smarter! What are we going to do?” Mike asked, leveraging himself against the wall to gain a better grip. The zombies tried harder to get in, slamming against the wood repeatedly as they screeched and growled.

A crack started to form in the wood, and Mike locked eyes with Victoria, both of them coming to the same conclusion: these things were about to get inside. Together, they stood there, palms sweating, hearts pounding, hoping they were strong enough. Victoria’s arms began to tremble as she used all her strength to push against the door. As their faces contorted in fear and pain the corpses on the other side threw their rotting bodies against them again and again.

“What are you doing?” A female voice came from outside. “We’re closed for the night; don’t you watch the news?”

Victoria froze at the sound of her voice. They had been so desperate to find shelter they hadn’t stopped to consider why the diner doors were left unlocked. The crashing suddenly stopped and Mike sighed in relief, but was struck with anguish when he realized why the zombies had suddenly lost interest in getting inside. They had found easier prey!

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