The untold tales of The Dead Men

Night Of The Living Pandemic: Part 3

How long had it been? Hours? Days? Scapegrace didn't know. Time had become a blur, reality a unending spiral of stairs. The clime to the top floor was taking its toll on his body. Though he was dead and could no longer feel the pains of exhaustion, the exercise was straining his decrepit limbs.

A sudden crack echoed from his body, followed by the grinding of bone and a disturbed tearing of flesh. Vaurien looked down and saw his right leg had a bone protruding out of it. His ankle was rolled and his foot had gone all floppy.

"Oh not again!" Scapegrace grumbled fiercely and slumped into a step mumbling something about Thrasher's second rate job at stapling his leg back together. This is but a minor set back for the illustrious Zombie King, Varian mused as he jerked around his dangling foot, until it popped back into place. He then plucked a roll of Duck Tape from his jacket pocket. With great difficulty and only a small amount of swearing, he managed to reattach is leg bone.
"Wow" Scapegrace gazed down at his shabby leg. "Duck Tape really dose solve everything."

There was a sudden noise from bellow and Varian snapped his head up. A female's voice rang through the building. "Are you serious! Oh and of course the lift is broken!"
Scapegrace scrambled to his feet and sent the roll of tape tumbling to the bottom floor.
"Is anyone up there?!" Scapegrace recognised Tanith's voice.
"No?" He replied automatically.
There was no response.
Sanguine's harsh voice cut through the silence.
"You Idiot."

Varian made a mad dash up the final steps, his duck taped leg doing nothing but looking pretty.
"Scapegrace we know it's you." Tanith called, her voice closer than before. Panic was coursing through him now. He couldn't let them catch him, he refused to think what Sanguine would do to him if he failed. With a last push Scapegrace found himself at the top of the stairs and flung himself through the emergency exit. Though he didn't stumble into the open air, but a small musty room. It had plain walls, no windows and was empty apart from a tall basin with tubes flowing out of its body into vents.
Scapegrace stopped dead in the doorway, taken back by the sudden appearance of this intricately woven contraption. What the hell was he supposed to do now? There were so many buttons and lights and it made weird beeping and wising noises. Varian made a noise like a gasp, "Am I in Doctor Who?"

Scapegrace was suddenly jolted forward as Tanith rammed into him, not expecting someone to be standing in the doorway. Varian turned and yelped. He aimed to jump backwards but as it turned out duck tape wasn't that great at keeping bones together and his leg snapped in two. The Zombie King toppled backwards and hit his head so hard on the basin that his left eye popped out. He swung his head around and his eyeball followed and slapped him on the side of the face.

Tanith bent over, one hand on the wall, the other over her mouth. "Dear Lord" she dry heaved. "I can't...your just so... disgusting."
Sanguine waltzed in, followed by Ghastly.
"Tanith I want to go home." Ghastly said flatly when he saw Scapegrace and his eyeball.
"Oh come on it's not that bad." Vaurien was beginning to feel less and less like the zombie king now. He tried to push it back in but it squelched. It had fit before, why won't it now. He clumsily prodded and pocked at his eye. Twisting it into different positions.
"For the love of god would you stop that!" Tanith screamed in protest.
If only it would stay in. Maybe if he did it harder. Scapegrace began to violently smoosh his eye into his head.
Tanith drew her sword and swung it to his face. "If you don't stop that this instant, il chop you up into little pieces and feed you to the pigeons."
Scapegrace flung his hands up and his eye popped out.
Ghastly made a face of loathing.

Tanith lowered he sword but didn't sheath it. "Now give us the toxin."
"What toxin? I don't know what your talking about."
"Just give her the dam thing." Sanguine drawled, his head towards the floor.
Scapegrace hesitated then reached into his jacket and pulled out the vile and held out his hand for Tanith to take it.
She looked at his mangled fingers cautiously then said, "Just put it on the floor."
He was hurt but did as he was told.
She swiped it up then held it up to the light. "That wasn't to hard was it."
Ghastly made what she assumed was a noise of agreement.
Sanguine suddenly clapped his hands together. "Well we best be off. This moment of good faith has changed me. I have seen the error of my ways and will now be leading a clean life, absent of murder, theft and shocking war crimes." He swiveled on his heel and was blocked by Ghastly. "I don't think so. Even if you weren't wanted across the world, I'm not letting you leave because I don't like you." Ghastly warned.
"That's not very professional." Billy-Ray retorted.
Ghastly grabbed him by the collar but that was a mistake. As soon as Bespoke made contact Sanguine sucked them both through the floor.

"Ghastly!" Tanith shouted

Scapegrace saw his chance and lunged at Tanith and wrapped his body around her legs.
Tanith gasped and they both fell awkwardly to the ground. Varian reared his body up and dragged himself closer and closer to Tanith's face, clawing up her body.
"Get the hell off me." Low recoiled backward and thumped the side of his head with her swords handle. He didn't let go. She hit him again and again, until black sludge oozed from Scapegrace's mangled skull. Tanith squeezed her leg to her chest then lashed out and kicked him in the face. It was soft. Why was it soft? Scapegrace was forced backwards and Tanith instantly rolled up and away. She was covered in splatters of dark clotted blood. She picked at a large clot on her shirt.
"Is this a piece of your brain?"
Scapegrace looked up at her and opened his mouth to say something clever but his jaw dropped off and his tongue flopped out .
"Dear lord." Tanith revolted. "Of all the discussing, pathetic things I've fought in my life you are by far the worst."

Scapegrace began to laugh a manic laugh.Tanith did not like this. "What's so funny?" The Zombie King's whole body shook as he cackled, and his tongue flapped around what was left of his mouth. Tanith stood there and watched, horrified at the grotesque display. "What!?"
Scrapgreace reared back and howled.
"What god dammit?!" Tanith screamed, her hand on the hilt of her sword.
That's when Varian reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out the small gas canister. Panic shot through Tanith and she gasped. When did he get it!?
Low raised her hands and took a small step forwards. "Okay...Okay. Steady now"
Scapegrace shook the canister "uhh uh uhh." He gargled. The glass didn't seem damaged but it was covered in the zombie's black, sludge blood.
Tanith began to move closer "Alright Varian. You win. No need to do anything rash-" A sudden rumble reverberated through the room. Ghastly and Sanguine crashed through the wall. Both covered in mud and blood. Varian's eyes widened in horror. Not them! A mad scuffle broke out and Tanith dashed across the room. Scapegrace panicked and slammed the vile as hard as he could into the closest part of the machine. Clouds of green murky gas instantly erupted into the air. "Cover your face!" Tanith yelled. Thick fumes swarmed the room. Everyone but Scapegrace dropped to the floor and took cover.

Tanith couldn't see or hear. Her face was pushed into the ground and her eyes screwed madly shut. She felt the gas pass over her. It was dense and god did it burn! She dared not open her eyes to check for Ghastly. All she felt was the gas. She was alone with the cold hard ground, blind and deaf to the horrors around her. Then suddenly all sensation stopped. She didn't move. Ghastly? She pleaded in her mind. Are you there? The pulsating of her heart filled her ears. Tanith suddenly felt someone grab her arm. Her heart lept and she lashed out.

"Tanith." Ghastly's deep, comforting voice rushed through her ears. "Open your eyes."
Tanith sneaked a peak. "Are we dead?"
Ghastly looked around. "Not yet. But the day isn't done." He helped her stand. Tanith looked around. The room was the same. Her sword was still in its hilt. "What the hell happened?" Tanith mused. She whirled on Scapegrace. "What did you do?!"

Varian did not hear Tanith as she screamed and berated him. Varian hadn't heard much after he broke the glass. What had happened? Where did the gas go?

"HEY!" Tanith clapped in front of his face. Scapegrace barely acknowledged her. His eyes glassed over. Was he in shock?

Tanith waved her hands over the zombie's face but with no effect. "Is he broken? Oh is he dead?" She said with delight.

"Unfortunately not." Sanguine called. He was standing over the machine. His hands moving swiftly over the buttons and dials. "But we will be soon."

"What do you mean soon?" Ghastly asked.

"I mean, when that incompetent fool released the gas, it was sucked up into the vents and distributed onto the streets of Camden Town."

Taniths insides wrenched. They had failed. "How do we stop it?" She demanded.

Sanguine turned to face them and ran a muddy hand through his hair. "We can't. I had my own antidote as a safety precaution, but it's worthless now."

"Why would it be worthless." Ghastly questioned.

Sanguine sighed and flung a pointed finger at Scapegrace. "Because, his mouldy blood mixed with the toxin. Now we aren't dealing with a mortal virus. But a zombie mutated version."