The Art Of Zombie Killing

The Art Of Zombie Killing [Chapter 6]

Chapter 6 

Meeting

"Griffon, my friend. You are asking too much of me," Adrian said with a light chuckle, sipping at a wine glass. I leaned over the desk he was sitting at and swiped it away, making it hit the wall with an audible clash that crumbled into a lot of tinier sounds.

"Why won't you stop this?" I shouted, smashing my fists against the desk. I lost control of myself and there was no point of return.

"I can't," Adrian yelled, the loudest I've ever heard him yell. It was louder than I yelled and there was a little growl in the tone. His face was suddenly very hard and more gruesome than it already was. When he finally composed himself, he continued. "You see, I didn't start this. Some testing facility over in Arizona called me one day. They said they had a offer I wouldn't be able to refuse and when I heard it, I couldn't. They offered 280 million dollars to get this infection shot into me and if it was successful, I'd get the money. Well, I thought since I wasn't going anywhere in this life, this would be perfect for me. They figured the infection would make a new generation. Smarter, stronger, faster people. They couldn't stop. They kept injecting it into people. It got to the point where it was out of control,"

"How do I know all of this, you might be wondering? I can tell by that look of bewilderment you have on your face. Well, I'll tell you why I know; I was being kept in a testing cell they had for us patients. I watched it grow, I watched it fail, I watched it crash. What was left was a bunch of smart zombies. Most of them are full, deficient zombies now. And at some point in the next few days, I will be exactly like that too. I don't even remember why I was telling you that story."

I was out of words. I couldn't tell if Adrian was making this stuff up, but it seemed pretty believable as I looked into his dark, eerie eyes. Larissa, who was silently sitting in the back on a bench by the door the whole time, walked up to us with tear filled eyes. Suddenly, I could feel everything she was feeling now; pain and sorrow, hurt and disgust.

"You two should spend more time together. You never know how much longer you have," Adrian said, looking straight at Larissa and lingering there, an obvious different meaning to what he had said. Larissa's hard glare was something I couldn't ignore, as it was new to me; something I've never saw her do. Anything but hate was usually filled inside of her, not what I was feeling. I had to resist striking him; her emotions suddenly taking over me.

"I remember what we were talking about now. So on that note, I can't summon them or make them go away like you think I can. I was just the first to experience it. I don't know why I haven't changed like everyone else. I think I'm the strongest is what your dreams are portraying, Larissa. I have things to do, so let yourself out the back," Adrian said then motioned his head to the door behind us in this dark shack. "Oh, and good luck, Brady."

"Let's get out of here," I was turned around, as Larissa was the first to say. When I turned back, nobody was there. It was suddenly very eerie, the strange reality of this situation and I couldn't get out fast enough.

~

"Larissa, Adrian meant something else when he said 'spend more time together' and 'good luck Brady'. Why didn't he say good luck to you and why did he say spend more time together?" Maybe I was just over reacting, maybe I lost my sense of humor when I found out about the zombie apocalypse, but I wanted to know anyway.

"Adrian's just.. I don't know. He's dumb," Larissa said, nonchalantly. That's it? That's all I was worried about? I pushed it into the back of my mind and continued down the long, lonely highway.

The sky showed a velvety kind of blue, the kind you only saw in portraits of people at a picnic in the 50's on the fourth of July, very warm and not a care in the world. I couldn't help but think of all the lifes that would be lost, all those who would suffer and all those who would regret.

As my mind came back from jumbled, depressing thoughts, I turned my attention back to the road and saw someone in the middle of the street, speeding to a stop, almost hitting them. They were looking at nothing, walking very slowly in any direction. The skin that I could see of this normal looking man, in a trenchcoat, was very pale and his pupils were red.

"Oh.. my," Larissa could only manage until the stranger turned his attention to us, which I hoped he wouldn't. His run was fast but jerky as he glided to the windows, trying to get us, trying to feast. "Brady, go," she screamed. I complied, pressing fast on the gas, looking at the zombie in my side mirror.

"We have to get you back to the hospital. I mean soon," I said quietly. The apocalypse was going to start and we weren't prepared if it were to break out here. I wondered if they noticed Larissa was gone yet, for it had been long, it seemed.

~

"Griffon, you've been sleeping all day. Where were you the past couple days?" My sister asked curiously on the other side of the door as I got out of the shower. She wouldn't leave me alone and I was starting to get pissed.

"It's none of your fucking business where I've been. Why don't you go play with your stupid ass friends?" I said, wiping the warm water off my naked body with a towel. There was a cut on my arm, something I didn't remember getting. There was a slight glow to it but I ignored that and continued to dry myself off. 

"Excuse me, Mr. Crabby pants," I heard her sigh then walk a few steps away from the door. "By the way, there's something on the news that might be of interest to you. So, hurry up."

"Thanks," I said, not really meaning it. I heard her grunt out something then walk away. I was pretty curious as to what it was, anyway. Only she seemed to know that I knew there was a upcoming zombie apocalypse besides Larissa and the guys at the institute.

I walked out and into the living room, looking around at things, noticing that everything just seemed to be at a stand still. The stove was turned on with a pot full of water on it, the tv on the news with the remote next to the recliner, the local paper turned open to a certain section, a check book lying open by the recliner.

There was a light banging sound coming from the other side of the house, repeating itself at the same loud and annoying tone. Despite that, I turned my attention to the TV and it was static. What if whatever was on it had been important, as in the zombie apocalypse? I shut the TV off and continued forward into the dark hallway, moving closer toward the banging.

"Help me, please," my sister shreiked from my parent's bedroom, snarling and loud thumping coming from there, too. I bolted down the hall and into the room, seeing her frightened face looking at the sliding glass door next to the bed. There was a zombie, trying desperatly to get my sister then suddenly, with a loud pop, something shot through his head, causing his body to smack hard against the sliding glass and fall to the ground. It left a trail of blood and body fragements on it. Out appeared a man with a cowboy hat, a vest with no shirt under it, cowboy boots and tight black pants. He carried a Sawed-off Shotgun, something I'd always wanted.

"Howdy," he said, tapping on the door with the weapon. "May I come in?"