After- Undead Wars Read online

  Her skin color had previously changed but the veins were now distended. That’s when I noticed it. She might have been infected with the virus by a needle. I was more than excited. This was the first one I had knowledge of being injected, not bitten.

  As I was looking over the injection site and removing tissue from the spot, I received a whiff of her breath. It was the worst thing I had ever smelled. I could deal with most smells, but this was a combination of blood and formaldehyde- a repulsive odor with a bad aftertaste.

  I thought about sedating her, but it would deprive me of the knowledge I could obtain by observing her. I could still see an intelligence about her, despite the changing. She didn’t grunt like other zombies or moan. I’d have to risk freeing her to see her movements.

  Since I hadn’t taken her apart, I hoped for what would be fluid movements. I hesitated at removing her ankle restraints. She lifted her head with it tilted sideways.

  “I wouldn’t do that just yet.” The voice was gruff.

  I felt like I had pissed myself for a moment. I had to check my trousers. I looked down at her and stood closer without touching. She had no heartbeat, so was she a zombie? What exactly was she?

  “I am a zombie. Just not the bitten kind. You’ve heard of this serum the perfume manufacturers are using to create a zombie repellant? I created the formula, used my blood in it, and tested it on myself. I used my blood, so my body wouldn’t reject the tests. It was successful. At first.”

  I started to interrupt and noticed she had wiggled a hand free from its restraint. She waved it at me.

  “Small hands and big wrists. I can get out of handcuffs too. Back to the discussion at hand, please.”

  I wasn’t sure if I should risk restraining her or just let her talk. I decided to let her talk, but I went to the desk and pulled out the tranquilizer gun for my peace of mind.

  “A tranquilizer dart will only make me mad.”

  “It’s filled part tranquilizer, part formaldehyde. My formula.”

  “Oh. I haven’t heard of that combination. Guess it has possibilities. Don’t mind me if I resist being a further test subject. “

  “Continue what you were saying about your formula, please.”

  “Courteous. Thanks for that. The downfall is the formula deteriorates the skin and breaks down the blood cells. The only thing that would stop that is vampire blood, and you’re probably fresh out.”

  Vampires? “Uh, yeah right. I’m out at the moment. I don’t see many of them.” Never in fact.

  “So, I’m sitting her rotting, but you can take my blood and find a serum, antidote, make your own formula or whatever.”

  While she was talking, she tried to pull her other hand out of the restraint and the skin slipped off her bones. She was chewing on her top lip causing it to bleed.

  “See? Deteriorating. It will progress faster, so I suggest you get everything from me while you can. My throat is getting scratchy too. May I have a drink?”

  I took water for her from the fountain. She swallowed once, the second time she spat it in my eyes.

  “Why did you do that?” I was yelling at her and trying to find the first aid kit to flush my eyes.

  “For not killing me. Zombies don’t feel pain. They don’t moan out of pain, idiot. They’re dead. They are trying to communicate.”

  I flushed my eyes repeatedly once I found the kit.

  “By the way, you’re infected now.”

  I stopped. She had infected me on purpose, making me one of her test subjects. I was the one who performed experiments, not her.

  I decided to get on with it. I put on a safety shield then picked up a scalpel and removed more tissue from the injection sites, placing the samples in jars. I drew vial after vial of blood. It was the strangest blood I had ever seen. It was more pink than red, watered down in appearance to the naked eye. I looked at a drop under the microscope. It was red, white in the middle and gray on the edge of the cells.

  “What do you see?”

  I told her my findings. I took a sample jar of tissue and added a solution to it, placing it on a slide for the microscope. It immediately disintegrated. Looking under the microscope, there was nothing there. No sign I had added tissue to the slide.

  “By your skin sample, you don’t exist.”

  She slammed her hand on the table. You could hear the bones break. I expected a scream or tears. There was nothing.

  “I don’t feel pain. I don’t feel anything. I didn’t feel my skin come off. I was just trying to feel something.”

  I pulled a few strands of hair out of her head, making certain the follicles would still be attached. Next was to stick a needle in her spine to withdraw fluid. I needed brain tissue in case it disintegrated after she ceased to exist in whatever form.

  “A.J. I need brain tissue samples. If it doesn’t hurt, can I do it now?”

  “Kind of familiar, aren’t we? I agree though. If we don’t do it now, there may not be a later.”

  She lay back on the autopsy table. I brought over a sterile tray with a scalpel, the vibrating saw, skull chisel and a Hagedorn needle, which was what they used for sewing up the body after an autopsy. I doubted she was going to care about stitches if she survived the procedure. Or if she survived at all. I pulled her hair back in two sections. One I pinned to the top of her head, the other I pinned down by her neck.

  I cut the skin on her forehead from ear to ear to peel it back to get to the skull. There was no blood to wipe away as I had withdrawn all I could. All that remained was a waxy gel-like substance produced by a body which had experienced formaldehyde. Maybe she was telling the truth about her formula. I swabbed it for a sample.

  I placed a safety shield over her boned-face to catch any bone dust from my cutting into the skull. She didn’t talk or move anything except her eyes. She couldn’t blink. My first reaction was to check for a pulse, but she didn’t have one to begin with.

  Picking up the vibrating saw, I cut away at the bone which covered the brain, in a circle around the top of her head. Setting down the saw, I picked up the chisel, to gently tap away the bone to separate the skullcap, the calvaria, from the lower part of the skull. This exposed the brain and its film-like covering. I set the chisel to the side and picked the scalpel back up, cutting through the covering of the brain, the meninges.

  A.J. was tapping her foot as though she was becoming impatient. I reminded her to lie still.

  I was totally perplexed. The brain was nice and pink, as if it was still receiving blood and oxygen. I swabbed the brain and she laughed. Then frowned. I guess I found a section of emotion. Still holding the scalpel, I cut away a section of her brain. There was no response from her. I decided to go for it, cutting away half of her brain. Picking it up, I set it in a pan.

  “Are you almost finished up there? I’m bored.”

  “Yes. I’m getting ready to close.”

  I picked up the needle and showed it to A.J. as if to show my honesty. I set the needle down and pulled the rest of her brain away from her body. Leaving the spinal cord attached. She jerked once, then tried to sit up.

  I took a deep breath and cut the spinal cord. She was sitting up. How was that possible? No brain or spinal cord. I asked her to lie back down so I could attach the top of her head and her skin. She didn’t say anything, only did as I requested.

  The saw was within my grasp. Picking it up, I cut fast and severed her head from her body. She spoke to me.

  “I wouldn’t have thought you’d have the courage to do that.”

  Her eyes rolled back, only showing the whites of her eyes and that was the last movement she made.

  I felt invigorated, a real rush of adrenaline. I had more research to prove than I could ever have imagined. Victor would have been proud of me.

  Taking the spine board, I slid it onto a gurney and wheeled her remains to the incinerator. I wished her well in her next life and tossed her in, head first.

  A.J. went into the incinerator after collectio
n of body fluids and brain @ 2000.

  Going back into the morgue, I set up slides with blood, spinal fluid, the swabs, then sliced the brain for slides. I added the proper fluids to preserve the rest of the brain, along with the spinal cord.

  It was time to clean now. Grabbing the cleaner, gloves, disposable towels, I set to work. The instruments were put in the autoclave for sterilization. After the room was spotless again, I took off my gloves and sat down, exhausted from a couple of busy days.

  Pouring a cup of coffee, the front door rang. Someone was calling out, “hello”.

  I tossed off my apron and ran up the stairs.

  “Yes. May I help you?”

  “I’m told you can help me with a zombie problem?”

  “Well, it depends on what the problem is.”

  “The problem is, I’ve been infected and I’m going to turn into a zombie.”

  I looked at her carefully. Her pupils had not changed. I invited her to the morgue. My mental checklist kicked in. I observed her walking was fine, speech was okay, pupils reacted to the different lights as we walked to the morgue.

  “My name is Dee Kirah. A woman put together a group for testing the zombie repellant. I’m afraid she pulled a fast one on us.

  I don’t think it was to repel zombies, I think it was to make us zombies.”

  The woman was fidgeting with her hands while she spoke. She was peeling the skin off her hands, yet not only was she not realizing it, but she was not in pain either.

  I requested a list of names of the people in the test cases.

  “I don’t know all of their names. There are thirteen of us including me. There is a meeting tonight at the Presbyterian Hall on Fifth and Madison at 11 p.m. We aren’t sleeping and the light bothers us, so we set later times. But I’m not sure I’ll make it.” I asked if she would lie down. As soon as she did, I slit her throat.

  “Well, that was rude.” She showed no emotion on her face.

  She slid off the table, intending to leave. When she turned her back to me, I grabbed the saw and removed her head from her shoulders. Her skin was peeling off in flakes. I put her on the gurney and wheeled her to the incinerator. Tossing her in, I took a deep breath.

  “1 down, 12 to go.”

  Group of viral zombies, thirteen in number

  Dee Kirah incinerated @ 2120 Sunday, 10 September 2017

  After cleaning, disinfecting, and mopping I sat in my chair and downed my cold coffee, then poured a hot cup.

  I had about enough time to clean myself up before attending the meeting. I’d take the bus in hopes of transporting them all back here. All twelve were there when I walked in.

  A janitor had informed them that the air conditioner wasn’t working so it would stay too warm to have a meeting there. The temperature felt fine to me.

  “Excuse me, but you can have your meeting at my parlor. I have refreshments and you can visit. It is a pleasant environment.”

  Everyone was nodding yes and picking up their belongings to follow me. I suggested they ride together with me and afterward I’d return them here to pick up their cars or drop them off where they needed to go.

  The janitor nodded with a slicing gesture to his throat. He was warning me of zombies. I nodded a thank you and stepped back to let everyone pass. I looked back toward the janitor, who was smiling while leaning on his mop.

  This was too easy. I would take them downstairs or out of the room one at a time and dispose of them. When we arrived at the parlor, I requested they sign in on my visitor’s log. They all complied. I guess all it took was free food and drink.

  I played the perfect host. One needed the lady’s room. While others visited, I showed her the way. After she was done, I took her down to the morgue by the elevator. She knew where we were going and only said thank you. She lay down on the rollers and I closed the door.

  Lucinda Stout in incinerator @ 2329

  A couple of the men wanted to see the vehicles. While one was around the back, I opened the chute and pushed the other man down. He didn’t even scream. The first one came back and looked at the chute.

  “So, this is the end, is it?”

  “Pretty much. How would you like it to happen?”

  “I think I’ll just slide.”

  He acted like he was going to get in, then tried to punch me instead. He punched the chute lid. While he was bent over in pain, I kicked him down the chute.

  Reginald Verkley @ 2345 in incinerator

  Ace Hampton @ 2350 in incinerator

  I offered more tea and added a bit of taste in the way of knockout drops. Only one was drinking it. I offered to let her rest in my office, that the strain was a bit too much for her. She agreed. We went down in the elevator and I lay her on the metal rollers. She had said she was cold, so I turned up the furnace and closed the door.

  Cena Julian @ 2358 in incinerator

  Was this night never going to end?

  Her friend wanted to check on her a bit later. We took the elevator down and I broke her neck on the way. The incinerator was busy tonight. At least there were no bodies lying around.

  Ann Sherrill in incinerator @ 0020

  Another woman stopped me in the hallway asking if I would put her out of her misery. She said she couldn’t feel much, and it was getting hard to walk. She felt like she was ‘melting’. I offered to show her the furnace. She agreed and looked relieved when she saw it. She said it looked comforting. I helped her onto the rollers. She said goodbye and closed the door almost shut the entire way. I closed it the rest of the way. She smelled like vanilla.

  Sheena Hupton @ 2446 incinerated

  All of the others smelled the same. This one was different. But she was gone, wasn’t she?

  I grabbed a syringe while I was in the morgue. I loaded it with whatever was handy and went back up to my guests. A man was bent over tying his shoe. I stuck the syringe in and pushed the plunger. He stood up and fell back down. I asked for help and went to went to get a gurney. I wheeled him to the elevator then tossed him onto the rollers.

  John Hammill @ 2458 in incinerator

  I was glad the incinerator had dual chambers so two could burn at once. At least they burnt fairly fast.

  I wanted to do my research and make a master zombie. Instead, here I was, talking falling-apart zombies into taking their last step. I was looking at the fire ax in the kitchen when a man stepped out of my office. He’d been snooping had he? He was smelling one of my cigars. I invited him back into my office and lopped his head off with one swing of the ax. That taught that son of a bitch to steal from me.

  Scott Coleman @ 0115 in incinerator on Monday, 11 September 2017

  I brought a cart from the garage. I was getting tired carrying them around. I’d just toss them on the cart in my office then dispose of them all at once.

  A woman was raiding my refrigerator. I offered her a piece of the cake someone had swiped the icing off of with their finger. I was guessing it was her since she had a finger in her mouth and chocolate on her lips. Rude ass people. That wasn’t how you acted in someone’s home or business. She acted like she was going to swipe more icing with the finger that had been in her mouth.

  I grabbed the cake knife and stabbed her spine in two. The blade went to the hilt on my side and out through her chest on the other. I helped her walk to the back hidden entrance to my office. The cake knife was stuck so I had to move it around to pull it out. I placed her in the cart and cut her head off with it.

  Demi Harlow @ 0140 on gurney in office for incinerator

  Never, ever again was I inviting anyone over for any reason. One male and two women left. I served tea, coffee and big slices of chocolate cake. It was really good.

  The man stated it was time for him to go when I rejoined them. It was raining so I offered to let him go through the garage. Once there I hit him on the head with a hammer and tossed him down.

  Kurt Rockwell @ 0150 to incinerator

  When I went back into the room the other two were
arguing. I asked what was going on and to explain themselves.

  “We... I think people are dying here.”

  “She thinks you’re killing people.”

  “Well, to be honest, you’re already dying. You were given an injection of zombie virus not zombie repel.”

  The first one looked like she was going to burst, then nothing. The second one looked confused. I would have shown the bodies, but I didn’t take photos of their little group. I was too busy disposing of them.

  The second one looked at her hands and arms. If she had been capable, I think she would have cried.

  I asked them if they wanted to go down a chute.

  “Like in chutes and ladders? I liked that game. I’ll go.”

  “Yeah. Me too. I knew something was wrong. I just didn’t want to admit it. I tried to stab someone with my knitting needle in the park yesterday.”

  “Really? I stuck a crochet needle in someone’s hand, because they were smacking their gum and pulling it out of their mouth. That’s not normal is it?”

  What did I know of normal the way things were going?

  I escorted them to the garage and placed a blanket on the chute for them to slide down on. They asked to ride together. I was fine with that. They both seated on the blanket and I gave them a push. It sounded like they were having fun for a moment.

  Stacy Black @ 0200 down chute to incinerator

  Kristy Delaney @ 0200 down chute to incinerator. (They went together).

  I closed the door to the chute, pulled the garage door closed and locked it, then went back to my business office.

  The bodies were all accounted for. I wheeled the gurney to the elevator to take the last one down. Cake lady’s eyes were open, and her mouth was moving but no words were coming out. The sooner she cooked the better. I’d had my fill of virus zombies for the day.

  Once she was tossed into the incinerator, I checked the other that the two women went into together from the chute. It was all good.

  I sanitized the downstairs then went up and loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up.