Deadlock: Zombie's Path

7/28/2019 Deadlock: Zombie's Path

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...Their people will become like walkingcorpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyeswill rot in their sockets, and their tongues

will rot in their mouths.

(Zechariah 14:2)


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Chapter 1

I came around slowly, and I remembered nothing. I looked about

groggily, and could see that I was in what appeared to be a huge

warehouse. I was on a cement floor, propped up against the wall, and

piled everywhere were huge crates. Many of them were broken open,

with their contents spilling out onto the floor. Most of the objects

appeared to be farm equipment, such as an ancient pitch fork, hedge

trimmers, and some other tools that I couldnt name. I could also

see a wood chipper in one corner of the room, and several tractors

were parked against one wall. Most interesting were a number of

corpses on the floor in various stages of decay. I could hear

something thumping against the outside of the structure. But none of

this really concerned me much as I slowly rose from my seat on the

floor, for I could smell something through the scent of decay. I

could tell that there was some fresh meat nearby, and I was famished.

Slowly I got to my feet, trying to shrug off the effects of my

sleep. The floor seemed to be moving under me, but I knew it would

get better after I had found something to eat. I pushed aside a few

crates to find what I was looking for, and there it was. Before me

was a man, lying on his side and bleeding profusely from multiple

wounds. He looked pitiable, but I knew that he wouldnt last much

longer anyway, and I needed food. I knelt next to him and turned him

over, considering the best way to end his misery before I began my


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meal. The man looked up at me, not in fear, but more in sadness. He

opened his mouth and muttered something so quiet that I almost

couldnt hear it. I looked at him, wondering if he was trying to

tell me something.

Finish it, he said faintly.

He smiled weakly at me, before he closed his eyes. I didnt

know quite what had happened, but I felt a strange sense of dj vu

as I looked down at the body. I felt I should know this man, but I

couldnt quite figure out why. I almost felt sad seeing him die.

But my mind didnt linger long on this, for I was ravenous. I bent

over and bit into his neck, hoping to spare him any more pain, should

he still have some life in his body. I had barely swallowed my first

mouthful when I heard a large crack, and I turned to see what had

caused the disturbance. A large man, or what I assumed had once been

a man, was stepping through a hole in the wall a good distance from

myself. His body was almost completely devoid of skin, and his bones

were sticking out in many places. He was missing both eyes, but I

could tell by the way he sniffed the air and the presence of large,

prominent muscles that the thing could still be a dangerous opponent.

Go! he yelled. I eat first, new zombie eat last.

Several more things, zombies, as the creature had called them,

slowly filed in behind him. They must all have been as hungry as I

was, but they were obeying this creature and hanging back, waiting

for him to get his fill.

Away! he growled again.


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I realized that he was talking to me. It took me a moment to

wrap my head around this new piece of information. I myself was a

zombie now, and I was facing the alpha zombie and his personal hoard.

By now six zombies were behind this hulking beast, growling

threateningly. Another zombie hung back, looking at me with an

expression I couldnt quite put a name to, perhaps hope. But that

didnt make any sense.

Back! the hulking zombie yelled again.

All of these creatures were obviously well past their undead

prime, and the hunk of flesh I had eaten had been enough to

rejuvenate me from my earlier state of lethargy. I decided not to

let these mummies push me around.

No, I said back.

The zombies all looked at each other, obviously not quite sure

what to do. The leader snapped out of it first, and after a moment

pointed at me and let out a quick, sharp sound almost like a bark.

His six zombies all began advancing towards me, although I noticed

that neither the straggler nor the alpha made a move. I wondered

what these creatures were up to. But I didnt have very long to

think, for as slow as they were, the distance between myself and them

was shrinking at an alarming rate. I looked around for a weapon, but

nothing looked useful. Thinking quickly, I grabbed one of the rotten

corpses near me and threw it at the zombies with all my strength.

Two of them were knocked to the ground by the body, but I knew they

would recover soon to rejoin their companions. Quickly ducking


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behind a pile of boxes, I hoped to buy myself some time to find a

more effective weapon.

The creatures were taken by surprise when I threw the body, but

they recovered very quickly and redoubled their efforts to destroy

me. They began to move in on my hiding spot, as I made my way to a

second pile of crates. I could see the alpha zombie moving towards

the corpse that was rightfully mine, and I knew I would have to take

care of these lackeys quickly. I saw a forklift nearby, and the

zombies were approaching my second place of refuge. An idea struck

me then. I lurched towards the forklift, hoping I could get there

before those zombies got around the pile of crates. I made it in

plenty of time, and pulled myself into the drivers seat. The key

was still in the ignition, and I slammed my foot on the gas pedal.

The vehicle rushed forward, still operational after God knows how

long, crashing hard into one of the piles of crates.

My plan worked beautifully.

The already unstable pile toppled from the blow, falling on top

of the four hapless zombies, pinning them to the ground. The two who

I had hit with the skeleton had pulled themselves to their feet by

then and were moving towards me. I turned the forklift to face them.

They didnt have time to do anything before I had run them both over,

crushing their already mangled bodies into useless piles of flesh and

bone. The straggler I had noticed earlier continued to avoid me. I

decided to leave the creature alone. That left only the big zombie

to deal with.


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I turned my forklift towards where I had last seen him, but to

my surprise he was no longer there, nor was he on top of my precious

dinner. I looked around for him, and saw nothing except crates and

farm supplies. A sound came from my left, and I turned to look. A

crate hit me straight in the face and knocked me from my forklift and

sent me sprawling to the ground. I threw the crate off just in time,

to see the large zombie clambering into the forklift and turning it

towards me.

I considered running, but this wasnt just about the food. This

was personal now, and I couldnt back down. He sent his forklift

zooming towards me, and I rolled out of the way just in time to avoid

becoming a zombie pancake. He hit into a stack of crates, which

tumbled over on top of his vehicle. I heard him yell as he tried to

find a way out of the pile of crates. Thinking he wouldnt be able

to get out any time soon, I walked back to the corpse which we had

been fighting so hard over. But I hadnt taken more than a few bites

when I was knocked to the ground by a large body, that of the alpha

zombie. I tried to push him off me, but he had a better vantage

point, and he was larger than I was. He began to snarl and gnash his

teeth, trying to bite my face and neck. I held him back with both

hands, trying to keep him away from me. But his teeth were slowly

getting closer. I looked into his eye sockets. A pang of fear shot

through me as I looked into those cold, empty holes.

I let out a scream, and with all my might I kicked upwards,

finally knocking him off. I pulled myself to my feet, hoping that I


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hadnt taken any significant damage. The big creature was up almost

as soon as I was, and I knew that I couldnt beat him through brute

force. He began walking towards me with the slow limp of an elderly

zombie, and I looked around for a weapon of any kind. A crate near

me had been broken open by the collision with the forklift, and

inside were a pitchfork and a hoe. I grabbed the pitchfork and

turned to face my enemy. He paused for a moment and listened,

probably trying to figure out what I had just picked up.

I didnt give him a chance to figure it out as I lurched forward

and stabbed him with it, knocking him to the ground again. He let

out a bellow of frustration as I pinned him to the ground. I heard

some sounds behind me, and turned to see two of the zombies I had

pinned underneath the stack of crates pulling themselves out of the

heap. They glanced towards me, before slowly backing away. I began

to move after them, but stopped and turned to look at the big zombie

pinned to the floor. What I saw surprised and startled me. He was

struggling hard against the pitchfork, and the cement floor was

beginning to break up. With a large crack, the pitchfork came out of

the ground and freed the big zombie. He stood up and pulled it out

of his stomach, spilling a black liquid everywhere. If I still had

had a gag reflex I would have puked.

But I didnt, and so I prepared myself to fight this foe again.

He hurled the pitchfork at my head, and I ducked to avoid it. When I

looked up, he was barreling towards me much faster than I would have

thought possible for a corpse as rotten as he was. I threw myself to


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the side, and he turned to charge at me again. This was getting

nowhere, and I wasnt quite sure what to do. He made his charge, and

I jumped out of the way again. He charged towards me again, and I

moved out of the way again. It was almost like a deadly dance.

As he made another pass, I heard the sound of the wood chipper

starting up behind me. I wasnt quite sure why the chipper had

started, but I knew what I had to do. If I could trick him into

falling into the machine, I could turn it on and utterly destroy him.

I planted myself in front of it, and waited for the charge. He threw

himself at me, and I jumped out of the way. But I was a little too

soon, and he managed to change his directory in time to avoid falling

head-first into the open mouth of the machine. Unfortunately, he was

quicker than I expected, and he had me in his grip before I had time

to react.

You will learn your place, he said quietly.

I knew this wasnt going to end well. Maybe there was a zombie

heaven somewhere that I would go to if he killed me. I wondered if I

had been a good enough zombie to get in even if there was. But I

didnt have much time to muse, as he grabbed my head with one hand,

and slowly began to twist my neck. I knew it would break soon, and

then it would be over. I would be dead, and not the living type of

dead either. But my demise was cut short when a large metal pipe

crashed down on the other zombies head, hard enough to crack his

skull and send a good deal of zombie goo flying. The ghoul went

down, releasing his grip on me as he went limp. I collapsed to the


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floor, taking deep breaths out of pure instinct. I looked up at my

savior.

What I saw was the straggler who had been following the big

guys group. The straggler was slightly on the small side, although

he looked fairly well-toned. His body was missing almost all of its

skin, and he was missing his left eye. His right eye was so

shriveled and glazed over that I half suspected it was just as

useless as the empty socket. The teeth were slightly oversized,

although they may have simply looked that way because of his

shriveled gums. All his facial features were held together by a thin

covering of desiccated skin. All of the wounds on his body were

leaking a thick black liquid that soaked his oversized and torn green

t-shirt.

Thank you, I said.

No problem, He replied cheerily. I no like them. You help

me, I help you.

I hadnt met many zombies yet, and had barely had any time to

get to know this one, but he seemed a bit quirky compared to how I

figured most of them acted. Still, he had saved my life, and I was

grateful to him. He helped me to my feet, and we went back to where

I had left the corpse. We ate much of the body that the whole fight

had been over, before it took on a very unpleasant taste. Then, it

slowly began to stir, and we were forced to stop eating because it

had turned into another zombie. The new zombie looked up at us for a

moment, then opened its mouth and let out a little whisper, its


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damaged lungs and diaphragm straining to make even that much sound.

It flopped over, its lower body going limp as its already damaged

spinal chord broke under the strain, and began to pull its self

towards the hole in the wall that the other zombies had made. I

decided not to follow it; it would be easier to feed two zombies than

three.

Maybe we go now, said my companion. Zombies dont stay dead

long. They come back, unless you cut off head. Then they stay dead.

We should go now, before Big Man comes back.

This was an interesting piece of news for me, and I stored it

away for future reference. I wondered what would become of the two

zombies I had run over with the forklift for a moment, but quickly

concluded that even if they could ever function again they would

never be a threat to me. Only the alpha zombie would ever be a

problem, and I considered making a permanent end to him with the wood

chipper, but I decided against it. If I didn't need to kill the

helpless zombie, I really didn't want to.

I only realized that I had totally zoned out when I was brought

out of my trance by the sound of a car starting up. I looked through

the whole in the wall where the other zombies had come in, and saw my

new companion sitting at the wheel of an old pick-up truck.

You get in, he said. We want be somewhere safe before dark.

He paused for a moment before adding,

They like to hunt our kind this time of year.

I was slightly taken aback. There was something that preyed on


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zombies? That didnt make any sense, there was nothing about a

zombie that was remotely pleasant tasting, and my instincts told me

that most creatures would die from eating zombie meat. Still, my new

friend seemed to be genuinely frightened by the prospect of meeting

this enemy. He had been here much longer than I had, and I assumed

he knew what was going on. I got into the passenger side, and began

to wonder how he would drive with only one near-useless eye to see

by. This could get interesting.


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Chapter 2

The zombie, George, turned out to be a fairly good driver, even

if he wasnt on the road about half the time. And somehow, he

continued to talk while driving, so much that I suspected he would

have suffocated if he had needed air. I slowly zoned out and began

to contemplate what had happened to me. I didnt know anything at

all about who I had been, but I sensed that my former self had known

the dead man whom I had so recently devoured. Perhaps we had been

friends.

If I could only remember my past, then I could figure it all

out. I began feeling around the pockets of my leather coat and

jeans, hoping to find anything useful. In one of my pockets, my hand

came into contact with a small, flat object. I pulled it out of my

pocket, and it turned out to be a wallet. Opening it up, I saw my

face for the first time. There was a photo of myself and a young

woman.

I had been a young man, between the ages of 17 and 18. I was

clean-shaven, although there was a slight five oclock shadow. My

hair was a brownish color, falling in a messy way over my forehead

and long enough to hide my ears. Somehow it looked good on me

anyway. I was a fairly tall man, with broad shoulders and well-toned

muscles. The girl with me looked to be about my own age, with a mop

of blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. We were both wearing casual


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clothing, and we were standing in front of a brick wall. For some

reason, neither of us was smiling in the picture, and the girl in

particular had a strangely hunted look, like she was expecting an

attack at any minute.

As George chattered on about all the things we would do together

and how we would become the masters of all zombies, something he said

caught my attention.

Did you say vampires, I asked. Something about this word

sounded eerily familiar.

Yes, he replied, lowering his tone. You see them soon

enough. Vampires are horrible monsters. They keep all the humans

for themselves, and they come through with their big cars and take

zombies away. Maybe vampires eat them, or maybe they take zombies

away to hurt them. No one ever see them again. But zombies fight,

and we destroy vampires soon, then we eat them! We soon not need be

scared.

His speech droned on through the rest of the ride, but now I was

interested. I now knew what we were running from, and something told

me that I had encountered such creatures before. But I couldnt

quite bring to memory exactly how, or even what a vampire looked

like. A number of images ran through my mind, all of them humanoid

to one degree or another. The strangest thing I imagined was a

teenager with no shirt standing in a field glittering, which was

about as ridiculous as I could imagine. But somehow, I was fairly

sure that whatever these creatures really were they wouldnt be


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pleasant. If zombies feared them, the creatures had to be amazingly

powerful. A cold shiver ran down my spine as the idea of something

powerful enough to terrify a zombie sank in.

These thoughts were still running through my mind, and George

was still carrying a one-sided conversation as we pulled up to a curb

next to an old apartment building, smashing into the discarded car in

front of us. Thankfully, our airbags werent functional. We stepped

out of the car, and I examined my surroundings. The city seemed to

be almost completely overgrown, and several buildings had collapsed

as trees grew through their floors. There were cars strewn

everywhere, obviously abandoned as people fled for their lives.

There were a number of zombies wandering aimlessly about. Overhead,

the sun was slowly beginning to set, and the sky was turning a red-

orange color.

George and I walked up to the door of the ancient building. He

pulled a key out of one of his pockets and pushed it into the

keyhole. The door groaned in protest as he slowly pushed it open.

Inside it was nearly pitch black. All I could make out were vague

shapes in the gloom.

This where I stay when not hunting, George said. Come, me

show you something.

He started to walk away, before realizing that I couldnt see in

the dark.

You learn to use your other senses soon, but use flashlight

till then, he said.


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He reached under his shirt and I heard a sickening rip as he

fished around for the light. His hand came out from under the shirt

holding a small object that was covered in a black slime. I took it

from him with a moments hesitation and flicked it on. The dim beam

cut through the darkness, revealing the mess of overturned chairs and

broken tables piled haphazardly in the corners of the small check-in

area. In the middle of the room was a small pile of bones, most

likely the remains of a cat or small dog I thought, thoroughly

cleaned of flesh, and many of them had been broken and the marrow

sucked out. My companion was obviously desperately in need of more

substantial meals.

He led me through the wreckage to a staircase, and we proceeded

to make our way to the second floor. We entered one of the

apartments that faced the street. This room was surprisingly well-

kept, and there was a work table at one side of the room. There was

even a lamp.

This where I is making something special, George told me.

Soon, zombies no be pushed around anymore. These make zombies

invincible.

He pulled a large box out from under the worktable, and I went

over to take a look. Inside the box there were a number of unusual

mechanical devices, with a nasty assortment of spikes, small

firearms, and circular saws. I wasnt quite sure what I was looking

at, but these unusual devices looked like they might be interesting.

This one nearly finished, George said as he pulled a wicked


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looking buzz saw and an unusual looking metal cup out of the box.

It replace zombie hand, he explained. Zombies heal quick, so

maybe if me stick this on the end of cut-off zombie limb, it stick to

arm. The saw works, and can cut through anything!

I was pretty sure he was exaggerating about the saw cutting

through anything, but I was intrigued by the device. Carefully, I

took it from him and examined it. What he had said appeared to be

accurate enough (besides the saw cutting through anything). The saw

was attached to the cup in such a way that it spun easily, and I

could see that there was a powerful motor that could turn the blade

rapidly if it had a power source. And interestingly, the motor was

wired up to a battery pack. The cup contained two large spikes that

I assumed would be stuck into the exposed flesh of an injured

zombies stub, and then the muscle would grow into the cup,

permanently securing it to the limb. This was actually a fairly

clever invention, if it worked.

The other items in the box were equally interesting. There were

weapons of all sorts, and George explained how all of them were

supposed to be attached to various parts of a zombies body. All of

them looked like they would be very effective for destroying nearly

anything that got in said zombies path. As he explained everything,

a question entered my mind.

Why havent you used any of these? I asked.

George stopped talking and looked at me with his single eye. He

considered for a moment before he answered.


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Me would need to lose limb to use most of these, he replied.

I like make things. I no more do that without hand. I no want to

lose that.

This was interesting. I realized that as zombies we did still

have some small pleasures besides eating. Still, it was interesting

that he had picked this particular hobby. I was surprised that the

zombie had the ability to understand electronics well enough to build

any of these devices, especially considering that he was obviously in

an advanced state of decay. I certainly didnt understand any of the

technical explanations he had given about how these weapons worked,

but he had demonstrated that a number of the devices were quite

functional. This zombie was proving to have hidden depths that I

certainly wouldnt have imagined.

We heard a noise outside, and quickly went to look out the

window. In the street below us, a trio of police vans had just

pulled to a stop in front of our building. As we watched, two men

got out of each of the cars, making six of them all together. My

stomach growled as I thought about all of the fresh meat. They were

all carrying long poles with large loops on the ends, like a dog

catchers snare. They looked like they were very large men, but I

couldnt tell because five of them were covered in thick cloth

padding. However, the sixth man wore an entirely different outfit.

This sixth was wearing a long and darkly colored overcoat. I

couldnt see his face because he was wearing a black panama hat that

obscured his facial features. He looked a lot smaller than the


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others, but he was obviously in charge. Something about him was

extremely disconcerting.

That is vampire, said George quietly to me. They dont

usually come themselves. Usually humans get zombies for them.

The men set to work, slowly moving out into the alleys. I heard

several bellows as zombies were snared and dragged back to the vans.

I could even hear some of them screaming words, rather than the

mindless screams of the feral zombies. It was heart wrenching to

watch the unfortunate creatures being packed up to be taken away to

zombie God knew what. The men were swift and efficient, and the

vampire watched them, making an occasional motion with his hand.

I watched in horrified fascination as the unfortunate zombies

were brought to the vampire, who inspected each one of them before

the men shoved it into the back of one of the cars. They were

treated like animals, and perhaps to these monsters, we were

considered animals. One of the big men presented a zombie child to

the vampire, and I expected him to send it to one of the vans just

like the others. Instead, the creature reached out with one of its

thin, bony hands and touched the undead childs face, running its

talon-like fingers over the soft, decaying flesh. Then, with one

swift movement the monster grabbed the small zombies neck and

snapped it like a twig. The zombie let out a small whimper, before

convulsing a few times and falling limply to the ground.

I let out a small groan of rage at this. Yet as small as the

sound was, the vampire somehow heard it anyway, and he looked


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directly at me. All I could see were the eyes in the shadow his hat

cast. His eyes glowed like an animals, and I could almost feel his

hatred in that gaze. This creature actually frightened me in a way I

didnt understand, not like any of the other things I had seen so

far. He only held my gaze for a moment before speaking a few words

to his minions.

They approached the doors of our building. Finding them locked,

they proceeded to begin trying windows. I lost sight of two of them

as they circled around behind the building. I hoped that my

companion had remembered to lock the back doors.

We kill them if they come in, he muttered beside me. They no

take me, they no take me alive.

I decided not to comment on the fact that neither of us was

technically alive.

Are the back doors locked? I asked instead.

He turned and looked at me, and in spite of his disfigured

features, I could see the shock and fear written all over his face.

I guessed he had not locked the back entrances, and we would have to

fight the zombie catchers. George quickly picked up two large metal

tubes from the table, handing one to me and brandishing the other one

like a club. I heard a loud creak somewhere downstairs as someone

opened a door. There was some banging around and some shouting as

they made their way towards the stairs. George and I followed suit

and slowly stumbled towards the stairway.

The two men almost looked comical in their padded suits and


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brandishing dog catchers sticks, but I knew that they could well be

very dangerous. As the first one reached the top of the stairs, I

brought my pipe down hard on his head, hoping to knock him to the

ground right then. He only grunted as the weapon harmlessly

rebounded off of his helmet. The other one was right behind him, and

both George and I slowly began to lose ground as we frantically

knocked the snares away from our bodies. These guys knew what they

were doing. Somewhere downstairs, I could hear the sound of

shattering glass, most likely the other men had broken a window to

get in. I wondered why they didnt simply use the back door like

these guys had, but I had more important things to worry about.

George let out a groan beside me as his opponent threw the snare

over his head. The zombie continued to fight violently, but he was

obviously going to lose. The other man kept coming for me, and I

knew I couldnt keep this up forever. I turned and ran towards the

open door of the apartment as quickly as I could, and the big man

slowly waddled after me in his cloth shell. George continued to yell

as he was slowly dragged towards the stairway.

Suddenly, I realized I couldnt leave my companion to these

beings; I had to save him, whatever the cost. I stopped and turned

abruptly, taking the zombie catcher completely by surprise. His

shock lasted only a moment, but it was enough. I grabbed his pole

with one hand and viciously jabbed my pipe into his exposed throat

with the other. My blow was so powerful that the pipe stuck through

the back of his neck.


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He crumpled to the ground, lifeless. The other man stopped dead

in his tracks, in total shock at what had just happened. I rushed at

him in that instant, and he promptly screamed and let go of the snare

he had George in, trying to get to the staircase and away from my

furious assault. The man desperately fended off blow after blow as I

advanced. As he stepped back, his foot met nothing. He fell

backwards down the staircase, and I heard a satisfying collective

scream as his falling body slammed into the three men who had been

standing on the stairway. I could feel the hunger growing in me, and

I slowly advanced down the stairway, planning to finish all of them

off as they flailed pathetically on the floor.

As I reached the ground, a voice called behind me to stop. I

turned to see George at the top of the stairs beckoning frantically

for me to come back. I wondered what his problem was, when the black

shape of the vampire stepped into the room. For the first time I got

a good look at his face. He was so thin that his face looked like a

skull, with no traces of either fat or muscle. His mouth was

slightly open because his teeth were too long to be contained in his

mouth. The creature was so pale that it looked like there wasnt a

drop of blood in his body. His eyes were red and bloodshot, with a

faint glow in the pupils.

He looked at me for a moment, before he spoke.

Rise, he said quietly, in a voice that sent shivers down my

spine.

The four men on the ground pulled themselves to their feet


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slowly, as if they were locked in a hypnotic trance. He beckoned to

them, and they slowly walked to where he stood. With one final

glare, the creature turned and made its way to the broken doorway.

The zombie catchers slowly followed him, looking like dogs who had

been rebuked.

I slowly sank to the floor, and George was promptly there to

pull me back to my feet. We returned to the apartment, and watched

as the police vans turned and drove off in the direction from which

they had come. I could hear the groans of many zombies as they were

taken away to meet whatever awful fate the vampires had planned for

them. That horrible face of the vampire seemed to be burned into my

brain. Somehow, I knew that I would see that face again.


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Chapter 3

George and I spent the night in the apartment building, hoping

to avoid any more hunting parties. Thankfully, the remainder of the

night was untroubled by armored thugs or nightmarish apparitions.

Instead, the night was spent the way that any zombie would want to

spend the night: by eating the corpse of the zombie hunter in peace.

He was even better than the man in the warehouse! Even so, I could

feel in my bones that this wasnt over, and I would see a vampire

again sooner or later. I just hoped that my intuition was wrong.

After the events of the night, the dawn seemed to be forever in

coming. But it did come, and with the first rays of the sun I made

my way out of the building to check out the lay of the land. I

approached the little corpse of the zombie child, still lying on the

road where the vampire had left it. The little boy couldnt have

been more than seven years old when he died. I examined his body,

and was amazed at the damage the vampire had done. The head had

almost been twisted off, and black blood still slowly trickled out of

the wound. Even though I hadnt known this child, and it had most

likely been completely feral anyway, I felt a terrible pang of

sadness.

Even a zombie could never survive that kind of damage, and I

knew that it was quite dead (even for a zombie). I took the corpse

into my arms, and slowly stood up. A small number of zombies had


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come out to watch what I was doing. I began to stumble down the

road. The zombies followed after me. As I walked farther, more

zombies began to join the little procession. We walked on, all the

way to the edge of the town, where I finally found a patch of ground

suitable for a grave site. I couldnt leave the childs body to rot

on the ground.

I laid the body down, and slowly began to dig. The others

watched for a moment, before George slowly stepped forward and knelt

down by my side to help me dig. Then, another zombie, and another,

and another came forward and slowly began to dig. Soon, we had dug a

hole large enough for the little corpse. The other zombies stepped

back as I laid it to rest, and slowly pushed the soil over the

remains. A great cry came from the throat of one of the zombies, and

slowly more and more joined in. Together we let out one long, loud

bellow of rage at what had happened.

As the zombies slowly dispersed, I got a strange feeling that I

was being watched. I quickly looked behind me, and I saw it. In a

nearby building, I could see the pale face of a woman looking out a

window. She quickly darted into the surrounding blackness, but I

could have sworn it was the girl from the photo. I considered going

after her, hopefully catching and eating her, but something about her

appearance unnerved me. It almost was like looking at the vampire

the previous night. Could it be another one of them? I couldnt

imagine how. There was no reason for a vampire to be following one

zombie out of the thousands scattered everywhere.


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George and I spent the rest of the morning and much of the

afternoon searching for any fresh meat we could find. I got lucky

and managed to find a raccoon in a rusty dumpster. George was

extremely grateful to finally be eating well, after months of getting

only scraps that the rest of the pack had left. After that, we

simply wandered the city and George showed me the sites. There

werent many of them, but it was a fairly interesting day even so.

Still, as amusing as the day was I couldnt shake a strange

feeling that I was being followed. It didnt make any sense, but

there it was all the same. Somehow, I just knew that someone was

after me. By evening I was pretty thoroughly spooked, and feeling

extremely relieved to finally be returning to the relative safety of

the old apartment building. Yet as I approached it, I could tell

that something wasnt right. I wasnt sure what, but as we

approached it became increasingly obvious.

In front of the building, there was a sizable crowd of zombies

tightly packed around something, muttering to each other in a

combination of unintelligible groans and words. I tried to get a

glimpse of what they were looking at, but I couldnt see past them.

After a few moments, I threw my head back and let out a loud call. A

number of heads snapped around, and I quickly pushed my way through

the gathered mass, George following close at my heels. As we neared

the edge of the crowd I could finally see what they were looking at.

It wasnt exactly the most comforting thing I had ever seen.

Parked in front of the building was an ancient and battered van.


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The windows of the car had all been covered with dark fabric, making

it nearly impossible to see into the vehicle at all. And more

importantly, it hadnt been there that morning.

You no can let this person take my home, George whispered.

Is mine, you no leave me to get them out by myself.

I wont leave you to deal with this person alone, I reassured

him.

I picked up a wooden board that was lying on the ground and,

brandishing it defensively, I walked into the gloom of the ancient

apartment building. As I stepped inside, I could feel a wave of fear

sweep over me. I wasnt sure if this was normal fear, or if there

was an agent of evil at work here. I quickly looked over the

reception room, and saw nothing. George followed me closely, almost

seeming childlike in his fear.

I took a quick sniff, and immediately smelled something that

didnt belong. The smell reminded me of the vampire I had

encountered the previous night. But I wasnt quite sure. I turned

on my flashlight, and the beam of light immediately fell on a thin

shape huddled in the far corner of the room, its heaving with silent

sobs.

The being turned around quickly when the light fell on it. I

was stunned for a moment, realizing that it was the pretty blonde-

haired girl from my photo. I couldnt imagine why she would be here,

of all places. But she looked so different. She was thinner, paler,

with harder features and Suddenly I realized what I was looking at.


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My earlier impression had been correct, this was a vampire. Somehow,

the female form of the creature seemed even more terrifying than the

dark man I had encountered the previous night. Yet I wouldnt allow

myself to cower. I couldnt allow myself to cower before this

creature.

Please, she said quietly, staring up at me in terror. Dont

hurt me.

George was already making a crazy dash for the stairway, faster

than I could imagine a corpse moving. Even in its pitiful state, the

vampire was still terrifying, kneeling down so I could look her in

the eye.

What do you want? I asked her cautiously.

The vampire looked at me for a moment, tears brimming in her

eyes. Then, slowly, recognition dawned on her face. She looked

confused for a moment, before a broad smile slowly spread across her

face, in the process pulling back her bloodless lips to reveal the

vicious looking canines. She reached out her bony hands and touched

my face, feeling me as if to make sure I was still there. She let

out a little squeal and threw her arms around me. I gingerly wrapped

my arms around the sobbing vampire.

Jed, she murmured, pushing herself away and looking me in the

eye. For years you were my closest friend, and I never forgot about

you since it happened. Please help me now.

Suddenly, I broke through the haze that was my memory. My name

had once been Jed. I remembered this girl. I struggled to remember


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her name Veronica. We had grown up together, and she had been like a

sister to me. Various scenes from my human life slowly surfaced, but

I couldnt quite focus on them. Bringing back those memories was the

most painful thing that I had ever experienced, and remains so to

this day. I remembered many of these creatures, vampires, wielding

whips and viciously beating human workers. I could see their pale

forms biting into the living and sucking their blood. An image of a

row of human beings nailed to trees, still living humans, flashed

through my mind.

But the worst thing I saw was one vampire, holding onto

Veronica. His teeth were in her neck, her blood slowly dripping down

his face. He looked up at me, and screamed in rage. I still dont

know how I managed to escape, but I did, and I remembered a second

name, Mark. I remembered that name belonged to someone who had once

been close to me my brother. We must have survived, but I couldnt

remember how long. Another image skirted the edge of my

consciousness, a swarm of rotting figures, attacking me from every

direction. And I thought about the dying man in the warehouse. The

name, the face And I knew that I had watched my brother die, and

then I had eaten his corpse. The reality of what I had become struck

me then.

Veronica, I said, staring at the creature who had once been my

friend.

We looked at each other for a moment, before she lowered her

gaze.


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So you do remember, she whispered. Now please, help me.

Theyre coming to get me. I cant make it alone.

I watched you die, I said.

She shook her head at this.

I only wish I had, she replied sadly.

We knelt there together in silence for a moment, and I tried to

remember what she had once been like.

What happened to you? I asked at last.

I got bitten, she said.

By who? I asked.

Lord Kalden, she replied. He has power over other vampires.

I felt something then, but I couldnt understand what it was.

Sadness was probably the most appropriate term. But I couldnt

imagine what I could do for a vampire. I was nothing more than a

zombie, a corpse.

I am nothing now, I told her after a moment. Whatever we

were, that is dead now. Im dead now. Look at what I have become!

I know what you are, she said, shuddering slightly at that.

But youre all I have left. Please, dont let them take me.

I considered what she said for a moment.

Ill do whatever I can, I said at last.

She breathed a sigh of relief taking a moment to compose herself

before she spoke again.

Thank you, she whispered, standing up as she spoke. Ive

heard that there is a city, somewhere far to the south, where some


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still hold out against Kalden. We have to go there, Jed. Its the

only place where I can be free of him.

She looked lost in thought for a moment then, and it didnt seem

like she was having a pleasant daydream. Almost as if even speaking

of this vampire lord was enough to make her mind retreat into an iron

shell.

We should find my friend, I said, trying to divert her

attention away from whatever she was thinking about.

She nodded, and I turned back to look for George, who had by now

managed to escape up the stairs. We eventually found him cowering in

a corner of one of his workshops, brandishing one of his makeshift

weapons. After some coaxing, I managed to convince him to come

downstairs and talk with us. Then I tried to explain everything to

him. He was, not surprisingly, somewhat worried by what I said.

You want to leave? he asked in shock. Vampires not like

zombies, humans not like zombies. They find us in the wastes, they

kill us! You no can leave!

Besides, he said. Now we have our own vampire. We no need

by afraid no more. Everyone do what we want. Why do something dumb

when life get good?

Theyll find me here, Veronica replied unhappily. No matter

what we do, theyll find us.

I think that we should listen to her, I put in. Theres no

way we can hide from them in this city forever.

You brain already start rot, George said to me. We are


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zombies. Vampires no like us, and they take us away if they find us

alone. Here, we in city full of zombies. We can hide here just

fine. Three of us cant survive in the wastes. We die, AGAIN! I

dont want that. I wont die. Please, stay here! Dont get

killed.

He paused for a moment, before adding quietly, youre the only

friend I have.

George crumpled to the floor, a flood of black tears falling out

of his eye sockets, spilling onto the ground. I looked to Veronica

for assistance, not sure how to deal with the weeping zombie. But I

was soon forced to look away. There was something about her

appearance that still unnerved me.

I looked back to George. I had to do something, but I wasnt

sure what. It was awful watching him grovel like that. After a

moments hesitation, I got down on my knees next to him, and put my

arm around the pathetic creature. He clung to me, his tears soaking

my coat. I just held him there, knowing how extremely awkward this

must look.

Dont stay here alone, I said. Please, we need you, George.

I promise you that I wont let anyone hurt you.

He looked up at me with his one eye, the black fluid still

streaming down his face. It took me a while, but I managed to calm

him down. After he had stopped weeping, I helped him to his feet.

He looked me directly in the eye and said,

I come. I not let you die alone, we stay together. Even


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though we die, me help you. You is me friend, me not let you die

alone.

I couldnt believe what he was saying. He would go with us to

what he thought was sure death, because he was my friend. I wasnt

sure what to make of this level of devotion, but I knew that at that

moment George was the noblest being on the planet. I promised myself

that I would prove him wrong, and that we would all come out of this

in our various states of undeath.


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Chapter 4

I suddenly became aware of something wrong as we slowly made our

way towards the door.

Listen, I whispered.

We all paused and listened intently. We couldnt hear anything

at all except for the floorboards creaking under our weight. The

others were baffled for a moment, before George suddenly realized

what I had noticed.

Zombies no make noise he said, obviously understanding the

implications.

We only had a moment for the reality to sink in before I heard

the sound of the door slowly being opened. We all watched in horror

as a tall, thin man slowly stepped into the room. It was the same

creature George and I had encountered the previous night, but this

time he wasnt the only one. A second vampire was with him, and a

third. Both of these beings were slightly smaller than him, with

shorter fangs and claws, but I doubted that it would make much of a

difference in this particular situation.

Grab the zombies, the lead vampire told the two smaller

creatures. Ill deal with the traitor.

The lead vampire slowly approached Veronica, his eyes burning.

His gaze seemed to suck all the strength out of her, like a small

shadow disappearing in the darkness of night. Suddenly, he lunged


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forward. Veronica desperately tried to dodge his attack, but as fast

as she was, he was faster. The vampire latched onto her, lifting her

off her feet by the front of her coat. The other two vampires warily

approached me and George. I knew that I had to do something right

now; otherwise I would be forced to watch her die a second time. I

couldnt let that happen.

I let out a loud bellow of rage and threw myself at the vampire,

catching him in a choke hold. He let out a startled cry and released

his victim, who fell to the floor. The other two vampires made a

lunge for me, each one gripping one of my arms. I was yanked off of

the dark specter, which turned his attention towards me. His eyes

bored into mine with such intensity.

Well, well, well, he said, with a mirthless laugh. Its the

zombie I met yesterday.

He only held my gaze for a moment before he turned back towards

Veronica, but she wasnt where he had left her. Her massive talons

caught him right across the face, sending him reeling back with a

shout of pain and rage. At that moment I made a desperate attempt to

break free of my captors. With one movement, I yanked both my arms

as hard as I could. The attack was so powerful that one of them

couldnt hold on, and the other was swept off his feet. The latter

creature I slammed into the former with all the power I could muster.

They both went down.

They struggled to get to their feet, but they were quickly

tackled by George on one side and Veronica on the other. I turned


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back towards the dark figure on the floor. Slowly, he got to his

feet, spitting out a mouthful of blood and a couple of shattered

teeth.

The master may find a use for you. he snarled.

Then, with a shout he was upon me, viciously clawing at my face

and eyes. I slowly began to back away from the attack, and stumbled

over an overturned chair. He laughed cruelly as he made his way

towards me. He stood over me, and I could feel my strength slowly

fading away in the face of his power. But I knew I couldnt give up.

I threw my feet out viciously, my heavy combat boots connecting

squarely with his abdomen. He fell back once again. Slowly, I

pulled myself to my feet.

I looked around, and could see Veronica and George in a

desperate struggle with their own enemies. I knew that I was alone

in this fight. The vampire was back on his feet again, and I could

tell he was mad. With a scream, he hurled himself at me again. This

time though, I was ready.

I dodged out of the way, and threw my foot out in an attempt to

trip him up. I succeeded, sending him to the floor. Viciously I

kicked at him as he lay there, hoping that I might be able to end

this fight right here. Instead, he grabbed my ankle, swiping it out

from under me before jumping to his feet. His companions werent

doing well against Veronica and George, and he knew that he would be

facing all three of us soon, rather than just me. His gaze swept the

room for a moment, before he bolted up the stairs to the second


36/123

floor. After quickly making sure my friends were okay, I gave chase,

running after the vampire as quickly as my dead feet could carry me.

He saw me coming up the stairs, and quickly ran up the next flight of

stairs. I stopped for a moment, realizing that I might not be able

to take him on barehanded. There was a broken pipe on the floor near

me, and I picked it up to use as a weapon.

I chased him, floor after floor, until we reached the roof of

the building. The vampire stood there staring at me, his coat slowly

flapping in the wind. He had regained his composer, but he seemed

more wary of me this time. This was going to be dangerous. With a

scream, he lunged at me, and I dodged out of the way.

He spun around, and got a blow strait to the face from my metal

pipe. His head snapped back, and there was a hideous sound as his

jaw cracked under the blow. He turned back towards me and let out a

hideous, animal-like snarl as he lunged. I couldnt stop him this

time, and he slammed into me with incredible force, knocking us both

to the floor. We brawled together on the roof there, blood and

zombie oil flying everywhere. I could tell that I was at least as

strong he was, and there was no way I was going to let this monster

that had just tried to kill my friends win. As he landed another

blow on my face, I clamped down hard on his arm with my teeth.

He screamed in pain, and I managed to roll on top of him. I

threw punch after punch, and after every punch I heard another bone

crack. The broken and battered creature looked up at me, straining

to see through his puffy eyelids. And I could see that the fire had


37/123

left his eyes, something about him had changed, and not just the

blood on his face. He opened his swollen lips and tried to speak.

You cant win, he said quietly, heaving a labored breath. My

master will destroy you he wheezed again, blood trickling out of

the side of his mouth. All of your wretched kind.

He fell silent then. With one final blow, I broke his skull. I

heard a sound behind me, and turned to see one of the vampire minions

staring in horror at me. The other one was right behind him. I

snarled threateningly at them. Behind them came Veronica and George,

both brandishing makeshift clubs, and obviously ready to finish these

two off. Caught between a deadly vampire on one side and me on the

other, they both made a desperate leap from the top of the building

into the street below. Their escape was 50% successful. One of the

vampires rolled to his feet and ran off into the darkness. The other

one didnt get up, and soon a few brave zombies came out of hiding to

investigate and devour the unfortunate vampire.

I returned to my friends, who were both in a state of shock.

And, I realized, who wouldnt be? Here I was, one zombie versus a

vampire, and I had won. Not only that, I had killed the creature. I

looked at the corpse, and felt something I could only describe as

pride. I wasnt sure how I managed it, but I knew that I had.

Veronica recovered first, and she was quickly by my side.

George followed quickly behind her. They examined my wounds, and it

wasnt exactly pretty. I had lost an ear, my nose was broken, and

the vampire had managed to break a number of my ribs badly enough


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that they pushed through the skin. Still, I was alive (so to speak),

and that was much better than most zombies who dared to oppose the

vampires. Besides, most of the muscle damage would heal within a day

anyway, and the broken ribs werent really going to be too much of a

hindrance to me anyway.

Theyre going to be after you now, Veronica said.

Why? I demanded. I was defending myself.

Because you challenged them, she replied, a note of panic

entering her voice. We have to get out of here, before they come

looking for you.

George and I both agreed. We immediately gathered up everything

of any use in our hideout and packed it into Veronicas car. With

that, we drove off into the night, hoping to avoid any more

unpleasant encounters for as long as possible.

Our journey began well enough, we were loaded with weapons we

had a good vehicle, and we had already killed two vampires. We

hunted for food in the forests and abandoned towns we came to.

Mostly we traveled by night because Veronica found the sun to be very

irritating. We traveled two nights like this, before I began to

notice a problem. My body was beginning to rot, and I didnt know

what to do about it. It started out mild enough, with small black

patches on my skin. But soon, there was mold growing on my body, and

maggots were infesting the wounds that I had received from the

vampire. Just as disturbing was the way that I was constantly

leaking the black liquid that had once been my blood from every


39/123

opening in my body. Interestingly enough, though, all decay seemed

to remain in the skin. Muscle tissue that began to poke through the

skin appeared to be fairly healthy, if somewhat discolored. But I

didnt really trust that the deterioration would remain totally

cosmetic. I had seen those eyeless, desiccated zombies, and I needed

to get Veronica wherever she wanted to go before I had deteriorated

that far.

Then, on one particularly dark and dreary night, as we slowly

drove through the underbrush and the puddles, I saw something in the

distance. I strained to see what it was, but through the tinted

windows and the rain I couldnt tell what I was seeing. Perhaps it

was a walled city, full of humans to eat.

We approached slowly, not sure what to expect. As we went

farther, I started to notice some things, unpleasant things. There

were a number of long wooden pikes erected along the sides of the

road we were traveling, and strewn about the ground were a number of

bones. Yet somehow, this hellish nightmare looked familiar.

Veronica obviously felt the same way, and George didnt seem to like

it any more than we did, judging by how he cowered in the back seat.

Slowly, I pulled the car off to the side of the road, hoping to avoid

attracting any unwanted attention.

A little groan echoed into the night, setting my teeth on edge.

It was not a loud sound, but if all human suffering could have been

put into one noise, that small groan was it. I felt cold, not the

normal cold of death either, or even the cold of a vampires


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unnatural aura. This was something that I cant even describe.

The sound had come from above us, and I barely dared to look up.

But look I did, and what I saw was a shape on the top of one of those

wooden spikes. A human shape, with its hands and feet nailed to the

pole. And the person was still alive! My stomach growled for the

food and did a flip-flop at the same time. I could tell that my

companions were having similar feelings. And as I looked around, I

could see that the unfortunate person at the top of the pole wasnt

the only one. Every one of those spikes was crowned with a dead or

dying body. I couldnt even imagine the suffering of those poor

souls.

What we do? George asked. How we get them down so we eat

them?

I considered for a moment before I replied.

Break the poles, I said. We cant leave them here, and I

dont think well want to meet whatever has been putting them up

there alone.

Veronica nodded her agreement, and we began our task. I began

digging at the base of the pole. Bringing it down, I heard that

little groan again. As I looked into the face of one of the

unfortunate person, a young woman, I wondered what horrible creature

could have ever done this. Even vampires never did anything like

this on such a large scale, as far as I could remember. But then

again, I really didnt have a lot of memory to go on. The young

woman looked up at me with an expression of intense agony, tears and


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raindrops dripping down her face. I lowered my moth to her neck, and

quickly bit into the jugular vein.

I gently stroked her hair, as her lifeblood quickly drained

away. She was obviously in too much pain to resist, and I wasnt

sure if she would have resisted even if she could have. She was in

far too much pain to speak, but I could feel something pass between

us, I wasnt sure exactly what. Then, slowly, her eyes closed, and

she died. Only then did George and I begin to eat. Veronica was

going to have to find her own dinner among this forest of death.

After we had eaten our fill, we pulled the corpse off of the

pole and laid it down carefully on the ground. She would reanimate

soon, and she shouldnt be stuck on that pole. Veronica had found

herself a meal as well, and was already working on uprooting a second

pole. George and I did the same.

In all, we put seven of those unfortunate beings out of their

misery that night, before Veronica was forced to seek shelter as the

first rays of the dawn broke through the dark clouds. We quickly

found an abandoned gas station by the side of the road. But rest was

not a luxury I felt I could afford.

Im going to scout ahead, I told my friends.

You not go alone, George replied. Me come to, she take care

of herself fine.

Veronica nodded sleepily, too tired even to speak. I looked

down at her sleeping form for a moment, before I decided that if this

was the level of function vampires had during the day, there was


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little she really had to worry about. George and I both took up

metal pipes and started down the road. A number of the people we had

bitten the previous night were already stirring, and I wondered if we

could use the new zombies for anything. After the recent feeding,

none of them were in very good condition, but some of them might be

sentient, and any backup would be better than none. By now three of

them were on their feet, and the remaining four were beginning to

move groggily. I let out one long, low bellow. They all turned and

slowly began moving towards me and George. George let out a little

yelp as one that was still on the ground grabbed his hand. It was

the young woman that we had brought down first. She managed to pull

herself to her feet with Georges help.

The zombies fell in behind us, and we began slowly moving

towards the thing in the distance. Every so often, we would hear the

cry of one of those unfortunate people nailed to one of the poles,

and we would bring them down and end their suffering. Then we moved

on, towards what I wasnt sure.

As we walked, that shape I had seen became clearer, and I could

see that it was indeed a walled city. I wasnt sure what kind of

people lived here, but I knew that whoever they were they wouldnt

friendly and would have to be dealt with. But the closer we came,

the more I felt I knew the place. I wasnt sure why, but it all

looked so familiar to me.

Standing in front of the gate of the city, it suddenly struck me

like a blow. The reason I felt like I had been here before was


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because I had been here before. In fact, I had spent my entire life

in this very town. This was my home, and it was absolutely

decimated. The gate was slightly open, and through the crack I

couldnt see anything moving. The place looked dead.


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Chapter 5

My first impression seemed to be correct as I slowly walked

through my former home. There seemed to be nothing living at all.

But I knew that I had to remain wary. Those people had been nailed

to the poles recently; otherwise none of them would have been alive

when we found them. It was quite possible that whatever had put them

there was still in the city, waiting in one of the empty buildings.

I didnt want to lose any members of my new hoard to the unseen

enemy.

There was still a slight drizzle, and the gray sky made the

place look even gloomier. I sent the hoard to wander through the

streets, telling them to search for anything at all that could be of

use to us. We began looking through the houses, one at a time. The

first house we came to had been totally ransacked, as had most of the

others. But as I approached one of the houses, I felt a cold prickly

feeling moving up my spine. Somehow, I knew that there was something

in there, something dangerous.

Wait here, I commanded the small group of zombies.

They seemed all too happy to do just that, obviously having the

same feelings I was. George was the only one who seemed at all

inclined to stay with me. We both brandished the heavy metal pipes

that we had brought with us. I pushed the door open, expecting a

vampire or perhaps something even worse. Instead, there was an old


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man sitting on a mat, playing with a dead mouse like a toy. He was

wearing the tattered robes of a priest, and a small silver cross hung

around his neck. By his side he had a zombiefied woman on a leash.

The poor girl seemed to be the embodiment of submission, her eyes

downcast, and her hands hanging limply by her side. I was astonished

that this human had dared to do such a thing to any zombie, and even

more so that the zombie hadnt tried to eat him.

The old man looked up at me, and flashed an unsettling smile.

Putting down the little cadaver he turned his full attention to the

crowd of zombies standing outside his door. Yet he didnt seem at

all afraid like any normal human would be. Somehow, I sort of

doubted that he even was entirely human. He smelled human, and he

looked human, but somehow, I cant explain how, his presence felt

inhuman.

Welcome, he said. I know where youre going, Jed. You want

to go to the south, for your vampire friend. She thinks that theres

a free zone.

There was no way that he should have known that. Anyone would

assume that a group of zombies were simply searching for food. He

smiled again, this time flashing his row of extremely sharp teeth. I

suddenly felt a powerful urge to run. I looked around for an exit,

and saw George desperately clinging to my arm in an attempt not to

run away. I couldnt run from this this thing, whatever it was.

The old man continued to leer frighteningly.

But there is nothing where you are going, he said. Everyone


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is dead in the land you are going to. I dont think there are even

any zombies down there. And believe me; you really dont want to

meet the people who are down there

He threw back his head and cackled madly. The creature on the

leash winced at the sound. I couldnt even imagine what this madman

was doing with the poor girl. Yet I still felt powerless to raise my

hand against the old man.

Now, he said. Put down your pipes, I have something better

for you.

George and I slowly lowered our weapons, and the old man

painfully pulled himself to his feet. Then, he lifted up the mat he

had been sitting on, revealing a large trap door. He opened it,

beckoning us forward. We slowly moved closer. Under the door, there

was a chainsaw. It was slightly rusty, but it was full of gas and

looked more than capable of destroying a human, zombie, or even a

vampire.

Perhaps you can use this better than I can, the old man said.

You must go, destroy the bloodsuckers in this city before nightfall.

Now I must return to my important work.

He turned back to his dead mouse, and continued to play with it,

muttering something under his breath. I reached into the hole and

picked up the chainsaw. It was a good weapon, one of the best brands

that had been on the market. It was like this man had known exactly

what I would need and had prepared ahead of time.

Who are you? I asked the old man.


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He stopped and looked at me a moment, before he responded.

When I was still a priest, I was called Father Adrian, he

said. But thats not really important right now. Just go now.

I decided to follow the old mans advice, and we continued to

search building after building, dragging our dead bodies through the

mud and the rain. They were mostly empty, but every so often there

was something inside, either something worth eating, such as a dog or

similar animal, or some weapon that a zombie could use, and by the

time we had searched several houses our zombies were all armed with

wrenches, metal tubes, knives, or similar objects. Then, we found

something.

One of the houses we came to was locked and barred to keep out

intruders. I considered using my chainsaw to destroy the wooden

door, but decided against it, knowing that I would waste gas.

Instead, I threw myself at the door with a yell, and pounded with all

my might. The others joined me, and some of them tried to break

through one of the windows. The door quickly began to give way

before blow after blow.

I heard a yell from inside the house, and a man threw the door

open, driving us back with a ferocious swing of a cudgel. This man

was followed by another, and both looked ready to fight. They were

armed with a variety of weapons, and they were very large men. One

of them took a swing at me, and the other threw himself at George.

The small horde we had collected was swarming the house, and for some

reason the men didnt even bother trying to stop them. This struck


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me as slightly odd, but I didnt have time to think about it as the

thug swung at me again with his club.

I dodged the weapon, and trapped it with one hand, throwing a

vicious punch at the man with my other. He stumbled back and let out

a grunt as my fist connected with his jaw. He lunged at me again,

throwing a deadly punch towards my face. As I desperately dodged to

the side, I released my hold on his weapon, and he picked it up

immediately, swinging it with all his strength at my exposed side.

If I had still been one of the living, that blow would have probably

ended my life right then. It cracked multiple ribs, and I let out a

horrible groan as one of my lungs collapsed from the impact.

But I was one of the undead, and I used that moment my assailant

was off balance to grab his weapon a second time. And this time, I

immediately threw myself directly at him, knocking him to the ground.

As I leaned over the terrified thug, the unmistakable sound of a

gunshot echoed within the house. I paused for a moment, but I

decided that the man I had in my grasp was more important. I took a

bite out of his neck, making sure to take a chunk out of the artery.

Then, I stood up to see if I could help George with his fight.

Somewhat to my surprise, George was also victorious, holding his

bloody pipe in one hand and ripping pieces of flesh off of the body

of the human assailant with his other. I turned back towards the

house, and as I did I heard another gunshot, and another. I decided

I had better do something. I picked up my chainsaw where I had

dropped it, and quickly revved it up with a yank on the chord. Then


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with an undead war call I threw myself into the darkness.

Inside were three men, two of them wielding baseball bats, and

the third had a .22 pistol. My companions were scattered, some with

necks broken, and one lying on the floor with a bullet wound in his

head. The men were taken completely by surprise when I came in with

the chainsaw, and they scattered. The man with the gun fired wildly

in my direction, emptying the revolver. I think that some of the

bullets might have even hit my body, but it didnt really make much

of a difference.

Unfortunately for him, standing there clicking his gun wasnt

the best survival strategy. My saw took him down with one blow. The

other two made a dash for the door, and as far as I know they managed

to escape. I turned off my saw, and quickly examined the zombies on

the ground. Their injuries werent bad enough to kill them

permanently, so I began searching the house.

I quickly found what I was looking for. There was a room in the

back of the house, the door slightly ajar. I was getting that

feeling again, a slight prickling on my spine. I pushed the door all

the way open, and there, lying in that unnatural sleep of the undead

was a withered and emaciated shape. Slowly I approached the

creature. His chest moved slightly, but nothing else betrayed any

signs of life at all. Apparently, its slumber was too deep to be

disturbed by the skirmish. I wasnt sure of the best way to destroy

this thing, and I hesitated a moment to consider.

You find vampire? said a voice behind me.


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I turned around to see George standing behind me, holding a

large iron road spike. He handed it to me, and I turned back to the

creature lying there on its pallet. I raised the spike over my head,

preparing to drive it into the vampires heart. As I brought the

spike down, the vampires eyes suddenly snapped open, and it made a

desperate attempt to bat the weapon away.

But the creature was too late, and the spike struck home with

enough power to pin the creature to its bed. It let out a loud

scream of agony, and began convulsing violently. Then it went limp.

I waited for a moment before I tentatively reached out to poke at the

body. It didnt react, and I quickly took a bite out of the thing.

As soon as I took that bite, I knew that it was dead. And it tasted

good. Within a matter of minutes, George and I had reduced the body

to a skeleton.

Then, George and I left. What was left of our hoard was too

busy eating the remains of the vampires guardians to join us. We

had already eaten plenty of human flesh for quite some time, and I

doubted that I would be able to digest it all any time soon. So, the

two of us continued to search the houses, stores and any other

building we came across. By the time we had searched most of the

town, and had yet to discover a second vampire, the rain had finally

stopped. As the clouds began to disappear, I was shocked to realize

that the sun was already setting.

The sun slowly sank over the horizon, and I knew that we had to

find shelter as quickly as possible if we wanted to survive the


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night. George heartily agreed, and we darted into the nearest

structure, the town hall. This turned out to be a really, really bad

place to hide.

The dark interior of the building was absolutely crammed with

the still bodies of vampires. They were piled on the floors, leaning

on the walls, slumped in chairs, absolutely everywhere.

Lets get out of here, I whispered.

Too late, George whispered back. Sun is gone.

He pointed towards a window, and I could see that he was right.

The last rays of the sun faded, and with them our hope of surviving

the night. The creatures slowly began to stir. One by one, they

began pulling themselves to their feet. All their eyes slowly turned

in my direction, and I could almost feel the air thicken with the

unnatural fear these creatures seemed to produce. George clung to my

arm, hard enough that I could actually feel the pressure through the

numbness of my body. But I didnt really care much at that moment.

There had to be some way out of this, I just had to think.

They began to move towards us, appearing more curious than

hostile. But I knew they would realize what we were soon, and then

they would be upon us in a deadly swarm. George was praying under

his breath, and so was I as we slowly backed away from the advancing

wall of death. As they moved, their stiff limbs began to move more

and more fluidly, we didnt have much time to find a way out of this.

In desperation, I crossed myself once and fired up my chainsaw.

The noise echoed deafeningly through the big room, and sent the vamps


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reeling, falling to their knees and clutching their ears to keep out

the loud noise. They began screaming and running for doors or

windows, and I began cutting them down with my saw as they

desperately searched for any way out. The screams of the vampires

were only matched by the constant scream of my chainsaw. A few of

them tried to fight, but I put an end to their struggle almost as

quickly as it began. George stood at my back, viciously bashing in

the head of any vampire who tried to get at me from behind.

Within about ten minutes George and I had reduced the nest of

vampires to nothing but corpses. After a moment, I turned off my

saw, and we slowly began to survey the room. A few windows were

open, and I was sure that several vampires had escaped, but I doubted

they would be coming back any time soon. But I had made another

mistake, as I felt the unnatural chill of a vampires touch seep into

my bones. I spun on my heel, swinging my fist at my assailant. She

quickly countered, batting at my hand and deflecting it away from

her.

I think were still on better terms than kill on sight, said

a familiar voice.

Sorry, I told Veronica dumbly.


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Chapter 6

What happened? Veronica asked.

Her question was simple enough, but her expression said

everything as she turned to look at me. She looked almost awed, and

I could see a hint of something else in her flashing red eyes. I

wasnt quite sure what though. I moved closer to her to get a better

look, and she took a step towards me.

We go now, George called to us. Them might come back, your

saw might be out of gas. We no want risk that.

We drew away from each other, and she averted her eyes. I was

slightly confused by this response, as my gaze was still firmly

planted on her. But I knew George was right, there might be more

vampires nearby, and my chainsaw didnt have infinite fuel. We had

to leave before the survivors returned to exact revenge. This time

they wouldnt be slowed by sleep, and they might even have protection

from the saw. If that happened, our trio might well be in for a trip

to the morgue, not somewhere I really wanted to go.

Yes, I replied. We should probably get out of here.

Unfortunately, our retreat came too late. As we stepped

outside, I immediately knew something was wrong. Dark shapes were

moving about in the shadows, and I could see similar forms on some of

the nearby roofs. The creatures moved in, closer and closer. Their

eyes glowed ominously, and I knew that there was no way I could pull


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off what I had just done in the city hall again. In the open air,

the saw couldnt be loud enough to be any worse than mildly

uncomfortable. And even if it could, Veronica would probably be hurt

by the sound much worse than any of the other vampires because she

was standing right next to me.

Suddenly, one of the creatures was right in front of us, gazing

at us with those blazing eyes. His black coat billowed out behind

him, and his huge fangs protruded ferociously from his mouth. The

creature was huge, taller than any vampire I had seen until this

point, in spite of the fact that he was slightly hunched over. He

moved towards us, his movements slow, but so fluid that it was almost

graceful, like a cat stalking its prey. He was facing Veronica, his

eyes locked on hers. She tried to face him, but I could see her lip

tremble. She was soon forced to back down by this creature. With

one pale, bony hand he reached out and touched her face.

I knew that the creature towering above us was Lord Kalden.

Veronica, Kalden purred. Do you know what youve done?

Youve forsaken the company of your own kind, destroyed many of our

farms, killed four vampires, and all this for that man- he indicated

me, -and even so you were too late to save him.

He leaned towards her, and whispered into her ear All you have

left now is me.

Veronica let out an animalistic growl, backing away from the

dark creature. He simply stood there, smiling wickedly at her.

Then, he slowly began moving towards her, his arms outstretched, like


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he was going to embrace her. But she would have none of it, and with

a snarl she viciously slashed at his face with her razor-sharp claws.

He threw his hand up to his face, letting out a little grunt as he

did so. As he put his hand down, I could see the blood running down

the side of his face. He laughed mirthlessly as he looked at the

blood on his hand.

Kalden nodded to a group of vampires, one of whom pulled a long

rope out of the folds of its cloak. Then, the four vampires began

moving forward, and Veronica slowly backed away, until she was

literally up against the wall. Lord Kalden simply watched, an evil

smile playing across his lips. With a scream, I lunged at him, my

hands outstretched to get to his throat. He turned quickly and

caught me by the neck of my coat. He looked at me for a moment,

studying me carefully. Then, slowly, a look of recognition crossed

his face, and he snarled, throwing me viciously away from himself. A

pair of vampires caught me before I fell to the ground, doing there

best to restrain me as I screamed and struggled to get at Kalden.

I could see George standing by the sidelines, staring at what

was happening in horror. He made a move towards one of the vampires,

and I knew that there was nothing worse he could do.

Go! I screamed at him. Run for it!

George looked at me, and several of the vampires looked at him,

but he got the message. Picking up my saw, he darted inside of the

city hall, and the vampires ran towards the doors.

Leave the zombie! Kalden called to them. Just make sure that


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these two doesnt escape!

Veronica was still desperately trying to hold off her four

assailants, and they were actually taking some damage from her claws.

But soon, they had wrestled her to the ground. One of them viciously

twisted her arms behind her back, secured them with the length of

rope. She cried out as the rope tightened, and I desperately tried

to break free of my captors, screaming at them in rage. But my

struggles were in vain, and they soon had me on the ground next to

her, both of us bound tightly and gagged with strips of cloth. There

was no way out this time, I didnt know what they would do to us, but

if I was going down, at least I was going down fighting.

The vampires laughed cruelly as we writhed on the ground, before

their master silenced them. He stepped forward and examined us for a

moment, before he brought his foot down hard on my neck. I heard it

snap, and then blackness. I saw nothing, heard nothing, felt

nothing. I was dead again.

I wasnt sure how long I was down, but eventually I awoke. I

felt much like I had the first time I had re-animated, but this time

I remembered everything, at least post-zombification. Blurry shapes

moved around me, bending close to examine me. Viciously, I drove my

fist into one of the creatures. I heard a low groan as the zombie I

had struck fell back, and I realized that I was no longer bound.

My vision cleared quickly, and I examined my surroundings. I

was in a small stone room, with four other zombies. The room was


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completely empty except for the cot I was laying on. These zombies

were in an advanced state of decay, the little skin that still

covered their muscle had turned into leather long ago, and their

eyelids drooped sickeningly over their empty eye sockets. There were

insects everywhere, and I knew that I should get out of here as soon

as possible to avoid the rapid decomposition those insects would

cause. I heaved myself off the cot and made a move towards the door.

No can leave, one of the zombies said to me as I staggered

past it.

I looked at the creature, a hulking thing that had obviously

been amazingly powerful in its prime. Now, it was simply a thick

layer of muscle stretched over a brittle skeleton. I realized that

the zombie looked familiar, and after a moment I realized that it was

the same one that I had fought in the warehouse. He was in even

worse shape than before, and there was an air of total defeat about

him. The other three zombies were sniffing the air, taking in the

powerful scent of my rotting flesh.

Where are we? I asked the ancient creature.

We do what they say, he replied, pointedly ignoring my

question.

I remembered how I had met this creature the first time, and I

remembered how dominant it had been. What had been done to this poor

thing?

Suddenly, a man walked into the room through its single door.

Its awake I see, the human said. You four get out!


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The

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Deadlock: Zombie's Path