stabbing headache was gone. My eyes saw only darkness. My mind felt clear. My emotions no longer raged underneath the surface.
Stirring, I opened my eyes. Immediately, I recognized my pistol. It was clutched in the arthritic fingers of a withered hand.
And it was pointed directly at my face.
“Don’t move.”
The voice sounded uneven and scratchy, yet packed with raw emotion. Shifting my gaze, I saw a haggard man kneeling in front of me. From all appearances, Father Time hadn’t been kind to him. His posture, even while kneeling, was stooped beyond his age. His face, covered in wrinkles, looked ancient. Only his eyes, which sparkled with an odd sort of energy, retained any vestiges of his lost youth.
Colors flashed around the edges of my gaze. I took a few gulps of oxygen, sucking it in greedily. My lungs quickly filled and after a few seconds, the colors disappeared.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Call me Ghost.”
“Ghost? The real Ghost?”
“The one and only.”
“Prove it.”
“I don’t have to.”
Good point. “Okay Ghost.” I shrugged. “I’m Cy.”
“I know. Your companion told me that.”
Swiftly, I scanned the area and spotted Beverly kneeling on the ground. Despite the faint light, I saw long red scratches on her arms and purplish welts on her neck. “Quite the welcoming committee you’ve got here. I’m guessing you don’t get a lot of repeat visitors.”
“We don’t like visitors.”
“And I don’t like people attacking me for no reason.”
“You trespassed on our property.”
“It’s city property.”
“We live here. That makes it our property.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
He waved the gun at me. “This is our home. We’re not vacating it for anyone. I suggest you leave at once and don’t come back.”
“If you don’t get that thing out of my face, we’re going to have a problem.”
His eyes tightened and he stared at me with quiet anger. I returned the glare. After a minute, he relaxed and lowered the pistol.
I widened my gaze. Off to one corner, I saw the giant sitting on the ground. A brief smile crossed my face as I watched him clutch his arm, grinding his teeth in pain.
Rotating my head, I saw a ring of seven other people surrounding me. Their faces looked gaunt and their bodies showed signs of malnutrition and abuse. “What is this place? Who are you people?”
“This is our home,” Ghost repeated. “As for your second question, we’re a colony of like-minded individuals. A family if you will. No different than any other family.”
“Yeah, you’re just like the Joneses.”
“I’m sure we seem strange in the eyes of a surface dweller like you. For your kind, normalcy is endless war, consumerism, and perpetual debt.”
I stood up and eyed his band of ragtag starving colonists. “This is the best alternative you could manage?”
“Try to understand –”
“Understand what? That you’re hiding a zombie colony down here?”
He paused for a few seconds. Then, he gave me a peculiar look. “What do you know about Peter and Mary?”
“Who?”
“Peter Dask. Mary Kantz. What did you do to them?”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“Did you kidnap them?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why are you here?”
I didn’t want to alarm him by talking about people disappearing in the tunnels. Instead, I chose to focus on my secondary objective. “We’re looking for a man who lives in these tunnels. His name is Jenson. Fred Jenson. You can see his photo in my satchel.”
“I saw the photo when we searched your stuff. What do you want with him?”
“He visited a pawn shop a few weeks back. He tried to sell something that didn’t belong to him.”
“Well, I’ve lived in these tunnels for a long time and I’ve never seen him.”
“Would you tell me if you had seen him?”
“Probably not.”
“You’re a big help. So, who are these two people you mentioned? Peter Dask and Mary…?”
“Mary Kantz.
Stirring, I opened my eyes. Immediately, I recognized my pistol. It was clutched in the arthritic fingers of a withered hand.
And it was pointed directly at my face.
“Don’t move.”
The voice sounded uneven and scratchy, yet packed with raw emotion. Shifting my gaze, I saw a haggard man kneeling in front of me. From all appearances, Father Time hadn’t been kind to him. His posture, even while kneeling, was stooped beyond his age. His face, covered in wrinkles, looked ancient. Only his eyes, which sparkled with an odd sort of energy, retained any vestiges of his lost youth.
Colors flashed around the edges of my gaze. I took a few gulps of oxygen, sucking it in greedily. My lungs quickly filled and after a few seconds, the colors disappeared.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Call me Ghost.”
“Ghost? The real Ghost?”
“The one and only.”
“Prove it.”
“I don’t have to.”
Good point. “Okay Ghost.” I shrugged. “I’m Cy.”
“I know. Your companion told me that.”
Swiftly, I scanned the area and spotted Beverly kneeling on the ground. Despite the faint light, I saw long red scratches on her arms and purplish welts on her neck. “Quite the welcoming committee you’ve got here. I’m guessing you don’t get a lot of repeat visitors.”
“We don’t like visitors.”
“And I don’t like people attacking me for no reason.”
“You trespassed on our property.”
“It’s city property.”
“We live here. That makes it our property.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
He waved the gun at me. “This is our home. We’re not vacating it for anyone. I suggest you leave at once and don’t come back.”
“If you don’t get that thing out of my face, we’re going to have a problem.”
His eyes tightened and he stared at me with quiet anger. I returned the glare. After a minute, he relaxed and lowered the pistol.
I widened my gaze. Off to one corner, I saw the giant sitting on the ground. A brief smile crossed my face as I watched him clutch his arm, grinding his teeth in pain.
Rotating my head, I saw a ring of seven other people surrounding me. Their faces looked gaunt and their bodies showed signs of malnutrition and abuse. “What is this place? Who are you people?”
“This is our home,” Ghost repeated. “As for your second question, we’re a colony of like-minded individuals. A family if you will. No different than any other family.”
“Yeah, you’re just like the Joneses.”
“I’m sure we seem strange in the eyes of a surface dweller like you. For your kind, normalcy is endless war, consumerism, and perpetual debt.”
I stood up and eyed his band of ragtag starving colonists. “This is the best alternative you could manage?”
“Try to understand –”
“Understand what? That you’re hiding a zombie colony down here?”
He paused for a few seconds. Then, he gave me a peculiar look. “What do you know about Peter and Mary?”
“Who?”
“Peter Dask. Mary Kantz. What did you do to them?”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“Did you kidnap them?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why are you here?”
I didn’t want to alarm him by talking about people disappearing in the tunnels. Instead, I chose to focus on my secondary objective. “We’re looking for a man who lives in these tunnels. His name is Jenson. Fred Jenson. You can see his photo in my satchel.”
“I saw the photo when we searched your stuff. What do you want with him?”
“He visited a pawn shop a few weeks back. He tried to sell something that didn’t belong to him.”
“Well, I’ve lived in these tunnels for a long time and I’ve never seen him.”
“Would you tell me if you had seen him?”
“Probably not.”
“You’re a big help. So, who are these two people you mentioned? Peter Dask and Mary…?”
“Mary Kantz.
Similar Books
