This Plague of Days, Season Two (The Zombie Apocalypse Serial) (31 page)

“No! No! No!” the crowd answered.

“I was running from monsters, and then God got my attention. God said, ‘Xavier! Xavier! Xavier! Pay attention! Let go of your brain ego! To hear the message, God said, you have to listen with your heart!’ What did God say?”

“Xavier! Xavier! Xavier!” the crowd chanted.

Xavier’s voice boomed through the tent. “God was saying, ‘Hey! Hey! Hey!’”

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” the crowd answered.

“Strangle that mime!” Xavier rallied them.

“Strangle that mime!”

“Yes, you know it, don’t you? I’m here to wake you up and lead you to the Promised Land. If you listen to your heart, you’ll hear
His
truth in
my
words! Don’t listen to the street fiddler with a puppet! He’s not talking to you right now. God’s just using the little, bald fiddler’s mouth!”

The crowd answered with three claps of approval.

“New folks, you can see this isn’t our first rodeo.” Titters rose up from the crowd. “We’ve been on the road a short time, traveling north to the new Promised Land, expanding our circle as we go.”

“The worse things are, the easier it is to get a mob together,” Anna whispered.

Xavier shot a look her way and Anna sat straight. “It came to me in a dream. An angel said to me, ‘Run north.’ There’s a safe spot by a lake that’s been picked out for us. All through California, they’re dying of thirst, but for us? A beautiful lake awaits! There’ll be pure water and game and we’re all going to be disease-free.”

Xavier paced back and forth at the front of the stage, his head down. “We’re going back to the way God intended, before power-hungry governments and money-hungry men screwed up the planet.”

Scattered cheers of “Amen!” rose up.

“If I offered you a million dollars right now, could you eat it? No one’s money-hungry any more. We’re hungry for food! We’re going to be hunter-gatherers again!
You’re
going to be hunter-gatherers again! When we see the place reserved for us, we’ll know it! On that day, as we find our way through green trees, our
souls
will be fed. We’ll be safe.”

“Yes!” a man cried.

“And that’s where we’ll do what?” Xavier asked the crowd.

“Begin anew!” the crowd answered.

“We’ll do
what
?”

“Begin anew!” the crowd answered louder.

“So it is said, so it shall be done!” Xavier exalted. He raised his arms and flashed the peace sign with both hands.

Anna leaned close to whisper in her mother’s ear. “What do you think, Mom?”

“I think this guy doesn’t know who Richard Nixon is.”

“Who?” Anna said.

Jack glanced at her daughter and sighed.

The elderly man who had spoken before stood. His tone was defiant. “What do you propose exactly, Mr. X?”

Xavier looked at the old man, nonplussed. He tugged an earlobe and the second spotlight turned to focus its beam on the new people at the front of the crowd.

“What’s in it for me to go with you to this utopia?” the old man demanded.

Xavier pointed at the man. “What marvelous narcissism! I love this guy! This guy
gets it!
He’s asking the question no one asks if he’s living inside the box. If more boys had asked that question, they wouldn’t have died in a foreign desert. Can I get an amen?”

“Amen!” the crowd answered.

“Amen, amen. Since you’ve asked such a wonderful question — the only question that really matters — I’ll tell you, my new best friend. You get all of the benefits of being one of us without the taxes. We don’t tax, we share. You’ll have the protection of the group. There’s some ugly stuff going on out on these highways. Some of you have already seen the worst, most criminal behavior you could ever imagine on those roads. What’s in it for me, he asks. That’s so wise. Thank you, friend.
You so get it
!”

The crowd clapped three times in approval.

However, the old man wasn’t done. “I have an even better question.”
 

“Oh? Okay, quickly,” Xavier said. “We have to get some sleep soon. There are little ones in the crowd who are up way past their bedtime.”

The old man’s mouth twisted. “What’s in it for you?”

Xavier laughed and the crowd soon joined in. It sounded forced. The large man with the huge biceps stepped out from the shadows and put a hand on the old man’s shoulder. He sat.
 

“What you people don’t seem to understand is, a great evil has risen. Sometimes I see them coming for us in my dreams. They were once human, but not anymore. I’m reminded of movies about werewolves.”

“Great,” Anna murmured. “Advantage: werewolves and religious nuts.”

It was as if Xavier had heard her. He turned her way and seemed to address his words solely to Anna. “Some of the monsters are smart and others aren’t, but all they want to do is eat every single, last one of you. I think the ones I saw in New York were the dumb ones, but they were scary enough. Those things…that’s what I’m trying to protect you from. Maybe I was dreaming, but I do know the vision was real.”

Xavier stepped off the riser to stand in front of Anna. “The angel came to me and told me to do the right thing, to stay as pure as I can so I can see the Promised land. The messenger told me to take no lives, no matter who I met, as long as they were still human.” The spotlight on the crowd was extinguished.
 

“In the messenger’s eyes,” Xavier added, “I saw my reflection. I saw what I was and what I could become if I disobeyed. I was afraid.”

His voice shook when he talked about the messenger. Some of the newcomers doubted Xavier, but the story of the angel with mirror eyes? Xavier clearly believed that part of his spiel.

When Anna dared to sleep, sometimes she felt an angel’s presence, too, following their progress, nearby and always watching.

D
ELIVERING
KICKS
TO
YOUR
THIN
WALLET
AND
EMPTY
GUTS

A
s children ran screaming from the hospital’s daycare, Misericordia stood and wiped the blood from his chin with his forearm.

Two Alphas lay at his feet, one atop the other. He didn’t know these tribe mates well. He’d given the male the name Razor and he’d christened the female Cutter. Traitors to the code, he took their names back, along with their lives.
 

Misericordia felt the traitors’ blood pulsing through his system. He’d bitten many humans, but this was the first time he’d killed a turned vampire. He felt a new, more powerful rush through his brain. His chest felt lighter. He felt like he might levitate. Human blood was a strong drug. This was
much
better. This was the highest high, meth and cocaine and utter triumph packaged in sacks of meat and blood and bone.

A human appeared at a nearby doorway. He was the first human Misericordia had seen in days who had not run from him. The Alpha leader watched as the man held a door open, urging the children to run and escape the slaughter. Screams of terror echoed up the stairwells. The vampires were feeding.

After the last child fled through the door, the human stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, blocking the way. The man held a red fire ax. He stared at the naked vampire.

“You’re trembling,” Misericordia said.

“Must be rage.” His eyes flicked to the bodies of two dead children. A boy and a girl of no more than seven had been thrown against a far wall. They lay in bloody twists on the floor.

The vampire smiled. “I’d almost believe your brave words, but I can see your fear. It’s a yellow mist. It tastes sweet. You’re cake.”

The man shrugged, determined to stop the vampire from following the children. “Your eyes freak me out.”

“There’s no need to guard the children’s escape.” Misericordia gestured to the fallen traitors. “My orders were to leave the young alone.”

“I think I better stay, anyway,” the human said. “Obviously,
you’re
a good guy, but what about the others downstairs?”

“I apologize for my tribe’s lack of discipline. We are young. We have so few rules, it’s important we keep to the few we have.” Misericordia stepped forward, preparing to spring. He’d take the ax from the human first. Then he’d use it, but out of respect and to show mercy, he’d be quick.

“It’s about numbers, isn’t it? Your rule about not killing kids.”

“You’re smarter than you look.”

The man shrugged. “I was an accountant. Everything’s about numbers. A guy who does what you do, letting kids live is just planning for the future.”

“Future meals, yes.”

“I figured it couldn’t be because you were a nice guy. Cool British accent, though.”

The Alpha leader smiled again, wider this time. “A guy who does what I do? Do you
know
what I do?”

The human glanced to the dead children again.

“No! That’s not the allure at all. That’s necessary. That’s what nature requires of us. I’m talking about what I have become. I can smell the fear in your sweat. I can see the distinctive colors of doubt and anger and terror in the dim vortex of energy around you. I can run for hours and never get fatigued. I hardly feel the cold, or heat or pain.”

“No pain?”

The vampire saw the sting and ache in the man’s aura, from his right hip to his knee. “No pain.”
 

“What’s wrong with you?” the man asked. “What drugs are you on?”

“Nothing’s
wrong
with me. I’ve never felt better or stronger. This feeling…it’s like being high all the time on a wonderful drug you never have to pay for. No hangovers. No sadness. No doubt. It’s incredibly freeing.”

“Being a monster does that, I guess.”

“Not a monster. I’m the new model for the new world.”

“So…the drug you’re on gives you DOGS.”

“Hm?”

“Delusions of grandeur.”

The vampire’s smile disappeared. “This is what resolve looks like. This is what a man can be when he lives without fear. That’s what a vampire is.”

Misericordia watched the man’s head come up at that. He watched the colors of the man’s aura shift slightly. He saw his opening. “You could be one of us.”

“No. I couldn’t.”

The vampire chose that moment to move. In a blink, he’d closed on the human and wrenched the ax from his grip before it could be raised against him.

“I’m down two soldiers. I choose who can become like us and I choose carefully. Now that I have the ax, I’ll ask you once more. Which do you choose? Death or a new life without fear?”

The man took a long time to answer. His body shook beyond his ability to quell the muscle spasms. His heart pounded as he answered, “The equation has changed.”

“And, as you say, everything is about numbers.”

“I-I believe in math.”

“Soon you’ll be open to all sorts of new possibilities. Soon, you’ll see more than numbers. You’ll feel real freedom. What is your name?”

“Chris Evans.”

“Kneel, Chris Evans.”

He knelt, trembling.

“You swear not to kill humans under the age of twenty. You will be my weapon and I will choose your prey. The humans will call you a monster. That’s only because we are beyond their understanding. And you will have a new name.”

“I swear.”

Misericordia lay the ax blade on one shoulder and then the other, knighting his new tribe member. “Rise. Your name is Ax. Forget what you were so you can become something to be proud of. You will be an Alpha. You will begin again.”

The human stood. He squeezed his eyes shut. “How is it done? Do you bite me on the neck or — ” he rolled up his sleeve to expose his arm, “Will that do the job?”

The Alpha chuckled, pulled the human close, pinned his arms in a tight embrace and kissed him on the lips as gently as a lover. “I’m very proud of you. You are the first to choose us. Welcome to the next evolution.”

The vampire threw his new tribe mate to the floor. “When the transformation is complete, join us downstairs.” He paused to look at the children’s corpses. “You’ve never had a proper meal and might feel a little off at first. They’re already long gone, so don’t let that little boy and girl go to waste.”

Misericordia stuck the spike of the fire ax into the two dead Alphas and dragged them after him, leaving a bloody trail down the steps. He craved more vampire meat.

T
O
EXORCISE
DEMONS
,
WE
MUST
STAND
UP

“A
couple notes before we wrap things up.” Xavier addressed the group, all business again. “I know y’all want some news of the world. Our Worldly Information Team has been scanning the air for new information. The President of the United States is still reportedly in a secure location.”

Jack and Anna looked at each other quizzically. The radio had reported the president was dead of the virus in the early days of Sutr. Jack didn’t trust the cult leader, of course, but she wanted to believe this good news. Perhaps that’s all it took to form a cult or sell anything: give everyone something to fear; let them have something to hope for; and tell the rubes what they want to hear.

“That’s really all they’ll say about the president. I know all our prayers are with him and his family. Sorry, Canadians. Radio silence on uh…your Prime Minister…what’s-his-name? Your guy.”

Jack’s legs had fallen asleep. She rubbed and jostled her calves, fighting pins and needles. She’d need them lively if she and Anna attempted a run for the van.

“The problem,” Xavier said, “is that the only control our governments seem to be able to exert is sending out radio bulletins telling us to stay home, starve and die.”

Low, discontented mutters rippled through the crowd. “Good thing you didn’t follow that advice, hey, pilgrims? If you hadn’t got a move on, you wouldn’t be here!”

Xavier paused and searched the crowd. His shaved and waxed head looked like a lightbulb in the bright light. “We will give you more developments as we hear them. Please don’t pester us for news about your home town. Everyone has a home town. Trust us when we say that whatever we hear, we pass on to you. I don’t know what’s happened to all of your families and friends. God hasn’t given me the gift of knowing those sorts of things.