Merman - Romance

Chapter 13

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Chapter 13

“I heard something,” Jessell said.

“I didn’t…”  Mark began but he didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence as a zombie’s arm circled his neck and its teeth bit into his throat.

“Mark!”  Kate screamed.

“Shoot it,” Pete yelled rushing over to Ridec and gripping onto his leg fearfully.

“No,” Jessell instructed as she pulled the pair of daggers from the strap and raced towards the creature.  “You’ll only draw more of them.”

“Don’t hurt Mark.”  Kate was hurrying forward as well but she needn’t have bothered for Jessell had quickly put an end to the creature by slicing its head from its body with her blade.  It was like cutting through wood.  The creature had no running blood in its body; every vein contained hardened brown substance only a white jelly like fluid flowed from the bottom of its head as the decapitated member laid wide eyed on the ground.  It was not the pumping of a heart that drove these things to live; it was the viral infection alone that controlled their bodies.

“Be careful,” Kent yelled even as Jessell hurried away from the body which was still standing trashing about the same white jelly fluid oozing down its back.  The creatures were so contagious, the slightest scratch or bite could spread their disease.

“I’m fine,” Jessell muttered as Kent came hurrying over; he launched his body at the creature and caught it solidly in its chest with both his feet, it staggered back and collapsed to the ground.  He needn’t have bothered; Ridec thought angrily, the creature was already taken care of.

“Are you sure you didn’t get any of that white stuff on you?  It’s lethal,” Kent insisted.

The trashing zombie had collapsed to the ground and was only twitching slightly now.

Ridec couldn’t help but feel a little jealous at Kent’s take charge attitude and he found himself wondering if Jessell liked that, the fact that Kent was always there and always able to help.

“You think there are more out there?”  Pete asked staring ahead nervously.

“Of course there are,” Linda responded roughly as she hurried over to where Jessell had just turned around.

“It would be great if there was water around here somewhere,” Jessell grunted as she rubbed the daggers into the grass on the ground to clean them.

“It would be, unfortunately I have no idea,” Kent said.

“I think I hear something,” Pete muttered as Kate pulled off her shirt and pressed it against Mark’s wound.

“It got a vein; he’s not going to survive,” Linda said flatly.

“He’s been bitten before, his immune system is strong; he can make it,” Kate insisted.

“He’s bleeding too much, if the infection doesn’t kill him the lost of blood will,” Linda pointed out.

“Darn…”  Mark gurgled a trickle of blood running from his mouth.  “I didn’t hear it.”

“I think something else is coming,” Pete insisted his tiny hands gripping Ridec’s leg as if his life depended on the contact.

“I don’t hear…”  Ridec began.

“The kid’s right!” Jessell was swinging the daggers even as she spoke and just then three zombies burst into the area.

Linda pointed her gun.