Free Dead Pulse by A. M. Esmonde Page B

glance at Jack. “Compassionate,” she gripped him by scruff, “but you’ve killed one of our own.” Sam went to speak but was silenced with the woman’s raised palm. “The good news is you’re both going to live. There’s been enough death for one day,” she released Jack. Against the crowds heckles she address the crowd, “There will be no executions today! A far worse punishment lay ahead of these two,” she turned to Sam and Jack, “expulsion from safety of the shelter.”
    They were roughly ushered from the shelter under the female leader’s watchful eyes. The crowd still bayed for blood. They briskly walked past the humming electric fences, making their way out unscathed.
    “One peril overcome...” shrugged Jack as he dodged a falling can.
    “Yeah, but another faces us... at least eight hours of darkness.” Sam pulled up the collar of his long coat as they walked into the field.
     
     
    It was a dazzling and beautiful dawn. A small white kitten lay in the grass watching a butterfly. It arched its back, then, sprung forwards, the butterfly moved and settled on another flower. Again, the kitten watched and when the time was right pounced again. The butterfly escaped and the kitten chased, and so the game continued. Soon the insect flew into the sky and disappeared from view. The kitten sat with its tail flicking gently against the blades of grass. Purring it began to clean itself, first one of the front paws, then its soft shoulder...it gave out an ear-splitting, blood-curdling shriek. Its neck was tugged and bitten into, the bones crunching with the impact and the meowing ceased. A human-like creature wearing a suit began to eat the kitten like a barbecued spare rib. The white fur turned red and after a few minutes, what was left was discarded.
     
    “Sick,” Jack said disgusted, “we should shoot it.”
    “That would be a waste of bullets, it’s too far away,” assured Sam. They stood up from where they sat on the edge of a small rock face.
    They had spent a sleepless night in a water tower, it was safer up high and off the ground, where in turns they could keep watch and get some rest.
    Before them now was farmland as far as the eye could see. They stopped, sat down and supped the last of their water in silence.
    “Where do we go? You know, this could all be over,” Jack said to break the silence.
    Sam smiled and shook his head, “Over?”
    Jack became agitated, “No I mean it!” he barked. “Our last mission, we tested three rockets, we fired at a crowd of the dead. The rockets contained this innovative experimental pulse. At first we thought it didn’t work but then the dead began to react, some began to choke, some just stopped, keeling over where they stood. One of the rockets was amped up and their skin begun to fall away, burn and disintegrate, leaving chunks of flesh, bones and matter. Some of their eyes popped, it stank.”
    “Test number seventy-seven ...” blurted Sam.
    Jack eye s lit up. “You’ve heard of it, how?”
    “Carry on with the story then I’ll tell you.”
    Mystified Jack continued, “We arrived at the base, those things had infested it, and there was no one to tell. I am not a scientist by the way,” whispered Jack clenching his fist.
    Sam stood, “The main thing is it works, if what you say is true. We need to go to the base. Then I’ve got a friend to find.”
    “Sam, its overrun, and even if we did get in; we wouldn’t know what data we were looking for, there are archives there with hundreds of computers and documents, someone also has to build the rockets.” Jack explained scratching his head.
    Sam glared at Jack, through his frustration he knew he was right. They started to walk off as Sam quickly told Jack about Jayne. Thoughts rattled in Sam’s brain as they continued to walk, pieces came together like a jigsaw. Jayne, beautiful Jayne, she was a scientist and the key to all this.
    “I have to get to back to Jayne,” Sam stated