Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Pennsylvania
Long’s Woods
Present Day



Kelly Roland had once been a beautiful woman, what one would call the trophy wife. Long vibrant locks of red hair once flowed down to her shoulders, glistening like fire. Her sparkling blue eyes always lit up the room, she had always received complements on them. Her eyes, everybody had loved her eyes. A busty chest had ran in the family for generations, and Kelly had been blessed by this “gift”, something her fiancé Mike had always called them. Being a dance instructor, her flat stomach and long legs had done wonders to her figure.

Kelly Roland was far from what one might call a trophy wife now. Greasy strands of dirt-caked hair ran down her face in a frizzled mess. Her blue eyes had lost their sparkle, and  was now replaced with milky-white bloodshots. Her one eye was, anyways. A soldier had shot her in the face earlier today, or was that yesterday? Time seemed to have no meaning in the afterlife. In that one blast of light, one of her once adored eyes was gone, and she was left for dead… again. When she’d awoken in the afterlife, her “gift” had also been taken away from her. Her left breast had been mauled away to a shredded mess. Her long legs were now covered with bite marks, thick chunks of flesh were missing in multiple spots.

And to think, she went from a beauty to a beast one what supposed the be the happiest day of her life- her wedding. Mike had complained about feeling sick that morning, he had argued with her to postpone it. But no, Kelly wouldn’t stand for it. This was her day, the moment she’d been waiting for her entire life. Relatives were flying in from all over the country, some from other countries. They were going to get married, and that was the end of it. Mike had no choice but to agree. He didn’t wear the pants in the relationship, she did.

Mike’s condition only worsened as the day went on, he became sicker and began to run a fever. She had assumed it was just pre-marital jitters, she’d been feeling them herself. But no, it wasn’t. Mike had finally turned on the alter, and she had been his first victim. In the blink of an eye, he’d lashed out, his teeth clamping down on her windpipe before she could react. In a swift jerk of his head, her larynx had been torn out, her own blood spraying over her fiancé as she collapsed on the stand. Everything started to fade away before her head even cracked against the floor, but she could have sworn she heard her friends and relatives screaming.

She’d awoken sometime later to find the chapel deserted, only a few corpses remained. Kelly had tried screaming out for help, but only a slight gurgle emitted from her throat. Upon shakily standing up and drunkenly stumbling over to the exit, she’d realized she was dead.

After a few days… or a few weeks (she had no recognition of time anymore) she’d realized she wasn’t like the other shambling stiffs in the streets, or at least she thought so. She’d tried communicating with them multiple times, but none of them acknowledged her. So she walked, it was about the only thing left she could do. That, and feed…

Oh, the hunger she felt! An insatiable urge was always in the pit of her stomach! Not long after leaving the church, she had made her way back to Mike’s apartment. Even though he did kill her, she still wanted to see if he was ok. Travel hadn’t been hard, the streets were mostly deserted by this point; everybody was trying to evacuate. Upon arriving, she’d found her would-be sister-in-law sleeping on the couch. Kelly had liked her, a lot. She’d even given her private lessons on occasion when she was up for it.

Kelly stumbled over to wake her, and it was only then that the true horror of her situation kicked in. Everything had happened so fat- it had been so quick, just like her own death. Something from deep within controlled her as she grabbed the girl’s head and took a meaty chunk of flesh from her neck. Kelly would have cried, she wished she could cry as she chewed it up and swallowed before leaning down for another bite. As repulsed as she had been, as utterly disgusted and feelings of self-hatred began to boil up- she enjoyed it. In fact, it had been the best tasting thing she’d ever eaten. The little girl’s blood had sprayed over her wedding gown as she continued feasting until her sister-in-law stopped struggling and gave in, too weak to fight on.

No matter how much she had tried resisting, tried running away and never looking back, Kelly had remained and continued to feast on the girl until she too rose from the dead. At this point, Kelly had regained control of herself- thank God. No, thank… something else, there was no God. He wouldn’t allow this to happen. He sister-in-law had simply sat up, her eyes milky-white, and looked around. After a few moments she got up and walked out the door, and like that she was gone. Kelly never saw her again.

It was then that she decided she wanted to be in isolation, somewhere where she wouldn’t hurt anybody else. Kelly knew there was a forest just outside of town. Dense, dense woods that went on for miles… that would have been the perfect place to spend the rest of her days. After a few days of walking, she’d managed to make it there. It was also there that she’d witnessed another horrific sight, one that made that insatiable urge in the pit of her stomach kick into high gear again. And once again, she’d lost control of herself.

Some of the… “others”, a name she’d come with herself, had been feasting on some fallen soldiers. Except these people were different. Something about them just seemed off, and even in her afterlife she could sense that. The thought was sure one to ponder about; all of her senses had been enhanced beyond belief. Upon stumbling over, she had her first and only encounter with a howler. (She heard one of the living refer to them as one) When she bent over for a taste of that sweet, sweet flesh, the howler had turned on her and beat down on her. If she was still among the living, she probably would have been suffering from internal bleeding, or dying from head trauma. Unfortunately, she wasn’t, and was awake for every moment of it. Kelly had regained control of the sick corpse she possessed and managed to get away. Some of the “others” weren’t so lucky. She watched helplessly as they were murdered in the streets, probably the same way they had been before their afterlife.

And without looking back, she had taken off for the forest. For the first time since her reanimation, Kelly had actually been at a peace of sorts. While there were many of the others with her, there weren’t any living. And that meant she wouldn’t lose control of herself. The days had seemed to flow by, and Kelly had gotten the most pleasure out of watching the sun rise and set. She’d been waiting for the sun rise one particular night, a bad one at that. It had been storming, badly.

Her senses had all kicked in at once. The scent of one of the living had waned through the air, his sweet flesh making her stomach rumble. Kelly had actually caught glimpse of the man, he’d ran right by her. Her primal instincts had kicked in then, and once again she’d lost control. Stumbling through the dense forest, she’d followed him to a clearing. It was there that she sensed some of the howlers close by… real close, and she regained control of herself.

The man had watched her the entire time as she stopped at the end of the clearing. The wind howled louder then the dead as thunder burst in the sky and rain came down in buckets. If Kelly’s lips weren’t rotten, and she had basic motor functions down, she may have smiled. The man had a rugged handsomeness to him. His face looked to be unshaved for a day or so. Thick, bulging muscles stuck out of his sleeveless uniform. She had read his nametag, “Barnes.”

What was he doing all the way out here though? She didn’t know, and was now afraid he was going to get hurt if he got any closer. If he so much as stepped out of the clearing, she would have torn his face off. But he didn’t, and that made her happy. Kelly had become ecstatic when she’d seen the gun in his hands, and would have jumped for joy if she could when he aimed it at her.

Finally, it would all be over. This sick nightmare would end, and she could finally be at peace instead of a walking mockery of the human life. The gun wavered in the man’s hand as he approached her, standing just on the end of the clearing. As if to emphasize the thread she was, Kelly began doing everything she was capable of. She snarled, thick globs of muck dripped from her neck wound and down her once extravagant gown. She tried showing her yellow teeth, her lips pursing in the process.

“You know something I don’t, don’t you?” The soldier had asked. Kelly had hissed again, wanting nothing more then for the gun in his hands to go off. It did, and Kelly had actually felt pain for the first time since her reanimation. Except that was it; she felt pain, and she wasn’t supposed to. She was supposed to die there, to bleed out and cease to exist. The son of a bitch had botched it; he’d shot her right through the eye, missing her brain completely. A dark fluid leaked from the back of her head as she had shakily climbed to her feet and watched the man run off.

She’d been there ever since. Watching, waiting. Time had no meaning, so it didn’t bother Kelly.

Five gunshots rang out in the night, snapping her out of a trance-like state she’d been in for… a day? Two days? She couldn’t help but snarl at this, and wondered if it had been the man she’d seen earlier. She hoped it was, at least somebody was surviving this never ending nightmare. The flaps of skin around her throat flapped as she hissed, her instincts kicking in again. The presence of the howlers suddenly vanished, and Kelly found herself stumbling through the clearing for the first time, almost jogging.

She’d never felt a stronger presence of fresh meat than she had now. There had to be more of them, survivors. Kelly’s mind screamed for her to turn back, but her body refused as she made her way through the brush. Her remaining eye swept the area she came to, a helicopter could be seen in a nearby clearing. That wasn’t what caught her gaze though, it was the man from the other day. He was still among the living, his gaze drifting up to the trees. Kelly looked up momentarily and saw a few of her own tied up in the trees and bleeding out.

He’d done them the favor, now it was time for him to finish hers. A stick cracked as her broken heel stumbled over it, causing the man to spin around. Yes, that’s it! She hissed in anticipation as he raised his gun. Come on, do it! Fucking do it-

The gun exploded in his hands, and Kelly’s head jerked back. She lost all feeling immediately and felt no pain as her lifeless corpse fell to the ground and her head split open. This time, she didn’t get back up.





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Tom held Katharina in his arms as they flew in silence. Katharina readjusted herself and wrapped her hands around his as the helicopter dipped to the side again.

“Keep the throttle straight. Just relax, you’re doing fine.” LaRouge said, still laying down by Jake’s chair. It had been a half hour since they had taken off, and Barnes hadn’t said a single word since getting back on. All he heard was gunshots, and lots of them… he could only assume things didn’t work out too well for his friend. Tom looked over at Rex, and saw him looking out a window, watching the tiny houses and specks of the undead pass underneath. After a moment, Barnes looked away and his eyes met with Tom’s.

“You alright?” Tom asked nervously, still unsure of how everything was going to pan out. Apparently not so well. The Sergeant grimaced.

“Don’t fucking talk to me.” He snorted, looking away and back out the window. Tom sighed as he felt Katharina’s grip tighten on his hands.

“It’s ok.” He whispered in her ear, kissing the back of her head. Nick looked over at Tom, shifting uncomfortably as Reese continued working on his leg.

“Did I miss something?” Tom averted his gaze, ignoring Nick. He scratched his arm uncomfortably, boy did it itch… It was one of the itches that only itched more the more he scratched it. Pain in the ass it was.

“I’m feeling some tension in here ya’ll.” LaRouge piped up from the front, a sly grin on his face. Reese rolled her eyes.

“Can it, Larouge.” The medic said as she poured a bit of peroxide on a cloth before dabbing it against Nick’s wound.

“What? Just sayin’ is all. We should all be ecstatic, we fucking made it!” He laughed. Barnes finally spoke up, but his gaze never left the window.

“You’re feeling good, LaRouge? Are you feeling proud?” The Sergeant growled.

“Damn right I am, Sarge!” Barnes shot the pilot an angry glance, causing Tom to look over.

“You’re a fucking coward, all of you. Every last person died back there. Good men, good people. Not a single god damn one of them made it out, and we ran with our tails between our legs. You’re proud of that, LaRouge?” LaRouge’s grin faded to a grim line as his head lowered. “Are you?”He roared.

“No, I guess not…” Rex grunted and looked back out his window.

“Didn’t think so. We made it- big fucking deal. We left those poor bastards to die, and now we gotta live with that.” Barnes muttered something under his breath. Whatever had happened at that cabin had seriously messed with him.

“You know, I’m going to have to agree with you on this one.” Nick said, his eyes squinting slightly as Reese silently finished with his leg. “The situation could have been handled better I guess.” Barnes just shook his head. Nobody said a word after that, the ride continued in silence except for the occasional pointer to Jake from LaRouge.

“You did everything you could.” Katharina turned her head up from his lap and looked up at him with a weak smile. “You’re still my hero.” She whispered, as if scared to speak. Tom returned a fake smile, knowing all too well that Barnes was right.

“And you’re still my bundle of joy.” She snickered at this, sliding up a bit and causing his heart to flutter.

“Cut the cheesy shit Tom, you’ve already got me.”

“Do I now? Good, then I don’t need to try so hard anymore.” He whispered down. Tom noticed Nick glancing at them from the corner of his eye, causing him to look up. Nick smiled and looked away, letting them enjoy their moment.

“I wouldn’t go that far now.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Tom rubbed her hands and rested his head against the wall. It was hard and uncomfortable, and his ass was going numb from the constant hum of the Chinook… but right now he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. He’d made it, he fucking survived through nightmarish odds. He outlived his entire team, took on a sadistic bastard, and fought his way to the very end. And he still ended up with the girl. If this were a movie, the credits would be rolling in right about now, some happy-go-lucky song playing in the background as the helicopter flew off into the sunset and the screen faded out to black. But no, this was life, his never ending movie.

With a final squeeze of his lover’s hand, Tom slowly shut his eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

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“…ey, hey wake up!” Tom’s eyes shot open, and he instantly regretted it. His head was pounding, and he felt like he was going to vomit. He noticed his shirt was drenched, what the hell? Nick was standing over him, Katharina by his side. A deep look of concern was on both their faces.

“You alright?” Nick lowered his hand and helped Tom slowly stand up, and it was then that he noticed they had landed.

“I’m… fine. Where are we?” He opened and closed his mouth a few times, it was completely dry.

“We stopped at an airfield in Tennessee, place is ghost town. Just going to refuel before making the final stop in case things went to hell there.” Tom nodded, rubbing his eyes as he stepped out of the Chinook and into the rising sun. The storm had stopped, he could hear a bird singing off in the distance. He wobbly hopped out of the helicopter and into the gravel, his boots crunching against it as soon as they touched down. Boy, did his arm itch.

Tom took a few steps forward and collapsed on his knees, coughing violently as he did so into his hand. His fist clenched as soon as Nick and Katharina rushed to his side.

“Jesus Tom, you sick?” Tom stood up again, slower this time. What the hell was wrong with him?

“I- I’m fine… I just need to use the restroom is all.” He looked around and spotted a small diner down the runway; perfect. He stumbled away, his coordination way off.

“Tom-” He ignored Nick as he made his way to the diner.

“I’m fine, just give me a few!” He called back. Looking around, he saw the other’s running about, gathering supplies and a fuel truck. A hand wrapped around his arm, causing him to slowly turn. Boy, did his arm itch.

“Baby?” It was Katharina.

“I’m fine Kath, just let me freshen up. Never did like flying.” He nervously chuckled. He saw in her eyes that she wanted to believe him, but he knew she wasn’t buying it. “Really, I’m fine…”

“Ok…” She hugged him. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.” Tom smiled weakly as she walked with him the rest of the way, wrapping an arm around his and helping him go. One of the two glass doors of the diner was slightly cracked open, sunlight filling in to the small diner.

“I’ll be right out.” He smiled. With a slight squeeze to his arm she sat down on a bench outside and waited. Tom stumbled into the diner, slowly closing the door behind him. As soon as he was in, he collapsed into a booth, his legs giving up. He let out a groan as he opened his hand he’d coughed into; it’d been clenched the entire time. Small droplets of blood lined his palm.

“Just don’t like flying… that’s all…” Tom nervously chuckled as he pulled himself out of the booth and walked across the diner, the neon sign for the bathroom indicating the way. A few menus were scattered on the floor with the occasional piece of silverware. Other then that though, the diner was empty. The feint smell of grease lingered in the air, making his stomach growl. Shit, how long had he been out? When was the last time he ate?

Tom keeled over when he was halfway to the restroom, clutching his sides in agony as he threw up on the floor. His chest heaved and his sides ached as blood splattered the against the tile.

“Just don’t like flying is all…” He mumbled, his boots squelching as they smeared the blood against the floor. His walking became slower as he reached the other end of the diner, his hands still clutching his side. Tom collapsed against the wall, leaving a bloody handprint against it.

“Never did like flying…” He moaned, pushing the door open to the men’s restroom and stepping in. He collapsed against the sink, praying that there was still running water. His hands smeared blood on the faucets as he turned both of them, and a spray of cold water flowed out. He washed the blood off his hands, watching as the trails of red disappeared in the stream of water. Then, head splashed a few handfuls against his face.

It felt good, real good. He turned the faucets off, his hands gripping against the edges of the sink.

“Y-yeah, all better now.” His voice cracked as he looked up at his reflection in the mirror- and moaned in agony. His once tan complexion was replaced with a pale shade of white. His eyes were sunken in, dark circles underneath them. His body shook as he slightly raised a hand in disbelief and touched his face, poking as his once-soft skin. It was becoming rough. Yep, that was him.

Black dots formed in Tom’s eyes as he fell away from the sink and made his way to the bathroom stall, the urge to vomit arising again. His body weakly slammed into the door as he collapsed on his knees in front of the toilet. Somebody had left a load in there, and by the looks and smells of it, it had been there for weeks. That didn’t stop Tom from vomiting.

The brackish water splashed up as he hurled his guts out and leaned back against the side of the stall, his head bumping lightly against it. He slowly pulled his sleeve up where his arm was on fire, and screamed in misery at what he saw.

Dark, purple veins lined the rotting flesh. Three dark crimson lines ran down the side of his arm. What the fuck? When did that-

It all hit him at once, of course! Back at the airfield, in the plane… one of those fuckers had wrapped its hand around him. He’d haphazardly ripped the hand off and tossed it outside the window, not knowing or realizing at the time he’d been scratched.

“No…” Tom wept, banging his head against the wall.

“No, oh God, no…” Tom cried as he pulled his uniform up even further, revealing more dark veins. After all he’d been through, all the fighting and death- the sacrifices! It was all in vain; Tom was infected.