Mouthful of Carrion Read online

  Three Days until Midnight

  (Book one)

  Mouthful of Carrion

  By

  Ian Woodhead

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright February 2015

  by Ian Woodhead

  Proofed by Linda Tooch Proofreading Svc.

  https://www.facebook.com/LindaLTooch

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.

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  Chapter one

  Straight to the Point

  I rolled the ball down the side of my face, and after a moment’s pause, I gripped it tight and rubbed it down my cheek. I can’t deny that the sensation pleased me. As strange as it sounded, the experience took my thoughts back to a more pleasing time. Back to when we indulged in our excesses every minute of every hour.

  Then the world went to complete shit, and the dead things shambled across the face of the land, and like a vast plague of locusts, they munched down on anything not already dead.

  How any of us poor fuckers managed to live through the opening scene to Armageddon is beyond me. I guess that even the living dead underestimated our tenacity for clinging to this fragile life.

  Oh, wait. It’s difficult for me to continue this sombre tale without chuckling here. It’s the irony that’s causing the laughter. You see, all this ‘us’ business is really a bit of a red herring. I’m not really one of ‘you.’

  I sure hope that I haven’t upset your delicate sensibilities with that rather profound proclamation. By that, I’m really saying that I sure hope you haven’t fucking shit your pants.

  Yeah, you got it in one. Go to the top of the class. Collect a goldfish, and pin a gold star on your chest. I’m what you normals call a Hunter, and I won’t deny that I do rather like that title. It evokes a sense of fear, respect, and reverence. I say, if the gloves fits, then wear it.

  It also evokes repugnance as well as hate, but we can’t have it both ways now, can we? We’re mutants, hybrids, a creature halfway between zombie and human, or perhaps a melding of the two is more to your liking?

  We have your intellect yet we also possess the insatiable desire to consume your sweet tasting flesh. So I’d advise you to keep that plug firmly stuck up your arse, and hold on to something tight. You see, if you’re reading this, it can only mean that I’m not that far away. Wait, forget the holding onto something, just sit the hell down, I really don’t want you to properly shit yourself. I prefer my food untainted.

  Still here. Fuck me, ain’t you the brave soul. Fair enough, keep reading, and I’ll show you exactly what I do to ‘brave souls.’

  I rolled this tennis ball around in my fingers, hypnotised by how those two pieces of fabric just snuggled together to form my latest find, and such an ingenious design, two making one. They held each other so tight, like two babies holding each other as they slept. “Or perhaps brother and sister,” I murmured. I squeezed away that profound sense of loss, allowing anger to fill that vacuum. Anger was good. That particular emotion was my best friend; it would help me sort out this current situation. I knew how to deal with anger.

  Do you read sentiment there? Sure you do, so what? Just don’t take it as a weakness. Don’t you ever do that.

  This room, lacking everything save for two metal chairs, a window, and a single lightbulb, had one more occupant. Right now, this other person’s gaze hadn’t moved from the window as three strips of bright light squeezed out through the gaps between the wooden boards nailed across the frame. The lightbulb gave off the rest of the light, not that I needed it. My captive didn’t know what I was, although I supposed he suspected but had no definite proof. I decided it was time to allay his suspicions.

  I squeezed the ball tight, and the rubber beneath the fabric strained, but it stood little chance as I exerted more pressure. The material split open, spilling out its insides. It felt like I’d just killed one more piece of our old civilisation, and it was a good feeling. What made the moment complete was when my new friend’s mouth opened like a dead fish. Tiny spit bubbles rolled down his lips and dropped onto his knees. He didn’t notice, his eyes were too busy searching for a way out, a way to get past me and out of this room.

  You had to admire his optimism. The sheep was going nowhere. Those chains might be thin, but they were strong enough to hold his scrawny body in that chair. “So, I think we’re ready to start, Adrian.” His pure look of terror gave me such a cosy feeling. This really should be a piece of cake.

  I dropped the destroyed ball and walked over to the chair, taking my time. His fear, almost palpable, tasted like the sweetest nectar ever created. I knew I had to be careful here. If I allowed my enthusiasm to take control, I wouldn’t get anything from him.

  “To me, you’re dinner. Raw burger meat pushed into a sack of thin skin, and I see from your look that perhaps you have met one of our kind before.” I dropped to my knees and gently placed my thick hands on his thighs. It took effort not to chuckle when Adrian’s flesh rippled like a plate full of jelly. “Don’t fret, young man. You see, this is your lucky day. Perhaps it doesn’t seem like it right now, but believe me, this day will only get better from this point on.” I paused to run my tongue across my lips, it seemed like the correct action to choose. “You see, I wish to walk along a path with you, Adrian. It’s a simple, straight line where at the end, we both leave this shitty little room. Me with what you’re about to tell me, and you still in one piece. It’s what you want, is it not? We depart like men, to continue what this life, strange as it is, throws at us.”

  “What do you want with me?” he struggled to say.

  His ragged breathing suggested that he wasn’t having an easy time coming to terms that he was tied to a chair with a dark-haired fiend with a passion for human flesh, and just millimetres from his face. Yeah, I’m guessing that he was thinking that this wasn’t what he’d class as a ‘lucky day.’

  “Just some information, that’s all.” I gave him my most charming smile, and would you credit that this guy even smiled back? He showed me a mouthful of rotting gums with sparse outcroppings of blackened teeth stuck in there, standing like lonesome monoliths.

  “I’m kinda new here. Oh, don’t worry, I have no intentions of staying here. I saw the warnings. I know what you lot do to poor critters like myself.” These docile fuckwits actually believed that if they nail up a few rotting corpses to wooden crosses with the legend ‘Hunter free zone’ carved into the wood that it would keep their shitty little settlement safe. “You see, I know that my darling sister wandered into your quaint little town, and I so need to find her. She’s my only living relative.” I sighed heavily. “Blonde hair, intense blue eyes. She’s a looker; you would have noticed her, that I guarantee.”

  Predictably, this sad specimen shook his head. Perhaps sensing that his life wasn’t as over as he originally believed, that this might even be his lucky day, sensing weakness in me.

  “You are joking, man. Hell, the only stranger in these parts is you. Believe me, any gal, looker or otherwise, would have been noticed, not only by me but by every other man existing in this God forsaken hole.

  I nodded solemnly and sighed again, just for effect. I didn’t need to even look inside this slime ball’s head to know that he was lying. I waited a moment longer just to see if he’d retract his statement. Call me a big sof
ty if you wish, I’m cool with that. Hell, I’m willing to give anybody another chance, even this lying little fuckwit.

  When no confession issued I followed through with the only option he’d offered me. I pulled up the other chair and sat opposite him, then I gripped the sides of his shirt and pulled, the buttons flying in all directions.

  “What are you doing?”

  The alarm that I heard in his tone felt so good. “Hush now,” I said, placing my hand on his chest. Like most of the humans in our post-apocalyptic world, this guy looked like a skeleton wrapped in pink shrink wrap. His skin was stretched so tight, I could actually feel his racing heart pulse through my hand.

  “Fella, don’t do this to yourself. You know and I know that you’re lying to me.” I paused to run my tongue across my pale lips, taking my time, keeping my black eyes fixed on his, watching the blood drain from his face as my silent implication finally sank in.” I can feel your heart working, Adrian. It’s such a powerful muscle, and as much as I’d so love to start there, it’s doubtful that you’d be able to talk if I pulled that out of your body. I’d better start with something that won’t kill you straight away.”

  I settled my hand on his thigh, curling my fingers, my nails cutting through both fabric and skin. I jerked my arm back, smiling as both layers peeled away, exposing glistening muscle.

  His raw scream blasted out of him, and Adrian jerked against his restraints, shaking, crying, and mumbling while looking down in disbelief at the raw open wound currently pissing out his precious blood.

  Although I found his pain and noise so erotic, finding my own blood heating up, I couldn’t allow my instincts to rule my head. Taking off the brake pedal right at this juncture would end up with me sitting surrounded by the man’s wet pieces. “That powerful muscle is still pumping, Adrian. In fact, right now its beating so hard that if you don’t calm the fuck down, you’ll end up bleeding out in a couple of hours.” I brought the palm of my hand up to my face and pushed the edge of my finger into my mouth and bit down, feeling my sharp teeth cutting through my thick flesh. There was a little pain, but nothing too worrisome. As soon as I felt my own cold blood welling up, I slapped my hand down in the open wound, splaying my fingers wide as I pushed my nails into the wet muscle. The man screamed even harder. I guess he wasn’t expecting that.

  “Hush now” I said, taking his heaving body and pushing the man’s head into my chest. “The pain will ease shortly, believe me, Adrian. The chemicals in my own blood are even now helping your body to deal with the wound, numbing the surrounding area, filling your blood with a powerful coagulant. Don’t fret though, the effect is local. There’ll be no contamination.” I stroked the side of his head. “I’m really sorry for doing that, but you needed to experience some of the pain that tortured me for the last several months.”

  I lifted his head up. His eyes clouded over, looking now more like the glass-like orbs belonging to one of the shambling dead as opposed to one of the few remaining humans. “I know you have seen her, Adrian. You might even know where she is right now.” I removed my hand, satisfied that he would no longer bleed to death. Judging from his reactions though, my immune system might have overloaded his. I hadn’t anticipated that to happen. This poor bastard will be no use to me if he’d drugged up to the fucking eyeballs.

  “Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll even let you go.”

  The man blinked. His lips lifted in what looked like a drunken smile. “Go fuck yourself,” he slurred.

  I brought my hand to my mouth and licked the blood from the skin. He dared to hold my gaze, not even flinching when I viciously back handed him. Adrian’s chair toppled to the left as he and it crashed onto the floor. The man closed his eyes and rested the side of his head against the concrete.

  I confess that the frustration got the better of me. My fault for actually letting my optimism get in the way of my own realism. Well, no more Mr nice guy. My dear sister was somewhere in this vast collection of broken buildings. This time I fully intended to find her; to be reunited with my only flesh and blood before whoever had ripped her out of my arms moved on yet again.

  “You want to play rough? That’s fine by me, Adrian.” I dropped to my knees, grabbed what remained of his trousers, and ripped away the thin fabric, exposing his flaccid penis lying on his undamaged thigh. I nodded to myself, knowing exactly how to play this now. Adrian thought he’d won, and I was a fool for not realising my own fluids would give this pathetic specimen the equivalent of a good high.

  “That warm blanket of bliss won’t stay wrapped around your delicate frame forever. Your system isn’t designed for such a rapid repair. Even now, I can see drops of sweat rising from your clammy pale skin.”

  Why not take advantage of my fuck up? For the moment, this goon’s head was still dancing over multi-coloured clouds. It gave me time to improvise. I wrapped my thick fingers around his cock, gently squeezing, then releasing, coaxing in life, smiling when I found that not all of his blood had left his body. “You like that do you?”

  Oh yeah, he liked that alright. Adrian probably thought that he was being seduced by some human slut, bought for a tin of beans. My temper rose. What if that cheap human slut was my sister? I had no idea what those slavers had done to her, but whatever it was, her fate wouldn’t be a good one. My black mood served to bring on this man’s final lesson.

  Adrian’s moan quickly swapped from delight to shock when I squeezed a little too tightly. “Glad that that I really do have your undivided attention, my young friend.” I said, grinning as his eyelids snapped open, the glaze completely gone.

  “Oh Jesus!” he stammered, his body as rigid as the chair he was still shackled to. “Please, no. Look, don’t do that.”

  A violent shudder passed through his torso. I suspect that had more to do with the drugs than of what I gripped in my hand. “Isn’t it strange how these situations progress? I wasn’t lying when I said that I really did set out down one path with the plan that we both left this small room, me with my new info, and you with all of your pieces still attached to your spindly little body.” I saw his falling chair had pushed the tennis ball close to Adrian’s head, with its flattened appearance, with the rotten insides, now staining the floor. Crushing Adrian’s skull was going to be my final act if he refused to give me what I wanted. Now, though, I had something more elaborate planned. “Your arrogance or possibly naiveté well and truly fucked up that particular destination.”

  I bit into my other hand, and while waiting to taste my blood again, I pulled on his shaft, tuning out his shrieks, watching quite fascinated as his organ stretched, the skin more elastic than I first guessed. Something had to give though, the flesh couldn’t stretch forever.

  As my blood flowed from the wound, the skin around the base of Adrian’s penis ripped, and I squeezed tighter, I didn’t want the flesh to roll up like a sock. With a jerk, I pulled backwards, ripping the organ off. Adrian howled out, bucking his body backwards and forwards, his hot blood gushed from the ragged wound and splattered over my clothing.

  “Talk to me, Adrian. Tell me what I want to know or I really will let you bleed out. You know I can stop the bleeding. All it takes is for you to stop being so defiant.” Yet his mouth remained tight shut, and his blazing eyes told me that he still wasn’t going to talk to me. Seconds passed and my prey’s mouth opened to only release harsh gasps. The dirty bastard even had the nerve to smile up at me as the light is those globes faded away, leaving me holding a fucking carcass.

  There was nothing else I could do, nothing at all. Thanks to this stubborn piece of meat, the one lead that could have brought me to Danielle died with him. I dropped his severed penis on his face, watching it roll down his pale cheek, leaving behind a thin line of watery blood.

  Predictably, my stomach rumbled, and with me now left with no clues as to where she could be, I had nowhere urgent left to go. It left me feeling like I’d abandoned her, and yet my changed body could not allow my thoughts to take hold. M
y body needed fuel.

  I dropped down, wrapping my fingers over Adrian’s left thigh. It had been such a long time since I ate warm flesh. Drooling, I lunged forward and sunk my teeth into his ankle. I refused to let my search terminate here. There were other humans hiding inside this rotting metropolis. I could smell them.

  Chapter Two

  My own path

  Adrian tasted funny. Not like clown funny, just a bit weird. I couldn’t swallow the meat. Gag reflex wouldn’t allow me. I took out the chewed up lump that I’d bitten out of his leg, frowned, and rolled it between my fingers. It felt slimy, almost rotten, but without the rank odour.

  I slowly got to my feet, feeling so very sick. It took me less than a minute to realise what was going on here. “You dirty fuckers,” he snarled, folding over, and pressing both hands into my guts. Why hadn’t I seen the warning signs, not the stupid crosses at on the edge of town, but the simple fact that none of the shambling dead were anywhere near this place. I stumbled over to the window and prised off the boards, resting my chin on the edge of the window as the warm breeze cooled down my brow. Oh Jesus, I felt like I was on fire.

  These sly pieces of filth had found a method to keep the dead from their town. It must be something in their diet, some potion or herb tainting their flesh, making them poisonous to the zombies—and to me.

  My head filled up with thick mist. I watched the sun’s white disc tunnel down until only a single bright spot of light remained. My balance joined the rest of my body in rebellion, and I felt myself falling backwards. I didn’t recall hitting the floor; my senses had already left for other realms before that happened.

  ***

  Whatever foul poison that the inhabitants infected me with didn’t kill me, although I did find my eyelids, sticky with gunk, trying to open. I guess that if I had swallowed the meat, my body would have given up the ghost.