Zombie Attack! Rise of the Horde (30 page)

“Control,” he said. “Keeping us in line. You see, the whole
process is supposed to be a lottery. All our names go into a jar and he
selects. God guides him to the sinner who must be cleansed, or that's what he
told us. We all know it's not true.”

“That's why he wanted us to stay,” Felicity said. “We're
sinners in their eyes.”

“Precisely,” Darren said. “Nobody is attached to you. No one
is going to miss you. They'll just assume you're paying for your earthly
transgressions. That way Bryan gets to keep his facade up and no one steps out
of line. He does this four times a year and almost every time it's been an
outsider. The last time, he kept a couple of hikers he found and locked them in
his house for three weeks.”

“Who was his first victim?” I asked, curiosity getting the
better of me.

“Town sheriff,” Darren said.

“Figures,” I said. “Get him out of the way. So why didn't he
chose me? I'm obviously the sinner in this group. Half of those people would
probably cheer to see me get eaten. Why pick a kid?”

“Less of a fight, I suppose,” Darren shrugged. “It's not the
first time this has happened. They make him feel special and welcome, like he
belongs, then once you are out of the way, they give him the bad news. By then
it's too late. They are probably telling him right now. From what I've seen
they don't like to wait.”

“I told him I was coming back,” I said. “How did he plan on
explaining Benji's transformation?”

“He wouldn't have to,” Darren said. “He'd just make up a
story that Benji had gone off in search of you and you'd never be the wiser.
Like I said, he's thought of everything.”

“What time is the Harvest sacrifice?” Felicity asked in a
panic. “They can't kill him right away can they? We've got to go back and save
him!”

“When the full moon reaches its peak,” Darren said. “Like I
said, they've probably already begun preparing him. There is a purification
ritual for the offering that involves prayer and a sedative. They want him as
docile as possible when the time comes.”

“If they give him anything like what they slipped us last
night he won't even know what's happening,” I said.

“Then we have to go now!” Felicity's voice cracked in
desperation. “Get in. You're coming with us.”

Darren didn't hesitate. We all ran back to the Lexus and
swung it around, heading back into town.

“You're going to have to forgive me for asking this,” I
began, “but why are you helping us again?”

“I will never forget the look in my wife's eyes,” Darren
said, lost in thought. “She wasn't afraid anymore. It's like she wasn't even
there. She was already one of them. Every day I go down to the pits to see her,
hoping for a sign of life in those dead eyes, something, anything that tells me
she remembers me. I keep hoping that he is right, that she is with the Lord and
that he can bring her back on Judgment Day, but I know now that's just a
bedtime story that they tell the small children. She's not coming back, not to
her old life, not to the world of sin. I can't let that happen to another
person. I can't bear that weight on my conscience.”

“Why did he choose your wife?” I wasn't trying to be
insensitive but I wasn't sure I understood. I wanted to know everything I could
before I faced him again.

“To keep me under control,” Darren said. “I asked too many
questions, challenged him. You see, I didn't think it was right that he had all
those young brides. My wife didn't either. She got me riled up and I began to
enjoy putting him on the spot in front of the others. I think I embarrassed him
over it one too many times.”

“And here I figured he didn't care what anyone thought,” I
said sarcastically.

“After her Harvest I stopped asking questions,” he said,
downtrodden. “I've blindly obeyed him until you came back into my life. I
thought he was the Messiah, sent to save us all, but now I can see I was just a
fool who wanted something to believe in.”

Felicity kindly patted him on the arm and he hung his head
down the rest of the way back. I raced back as fast as I could without flipping
the SUV in the narrow canyon curves. By the time I came around the corner I
could see a large crowd had gathered.

Darren was right
, I thought.

Bryan wasn't wasting any time at all. We'd been gone less
than thirty minutes and his diabolical plan was already well under way.

I drove the SUV right up and through the large crowd. People
moved out of our way like drugged-out sheep as we approached the inner circle
where Crowe was. I wondered if they were still feeling the effects of last
night's revelry or if they had been freshly dosed again.

It makes sense,
I thought.
It's not normal to kill
a child. The only way he can get them to go along with it is to keep them loaded
on the blood of the Lamb, whatever that concoction is. That way no one else's
conscience gets in the way.
Too bad he hadn't given a double dose to
Darren. Maybe he was planning on drugging him too. Maybe that's why he ran
away.

“The cleansing ritual has already begun,” Darren said,
pointing to a small figure at Crowe's side. Sure enough it was Benji, dressed
in white robes, swaying back and forth. I slammed the car in park and jumped
out with my sword ready to taste blood. Instantly a ring of armed guards
surrounded Bryan. He didn't seem the least bit concerned.

So that's why they sent us out on a tour of the promised
land
, I thought.
They were getting us out of the way while they prepared
the sacrificial ritual.

They could have slipped Benji something before we got back
so he'd be ready. Bryan knew we wouldn't stay. He knew that one way or another
I would leave. He'd been playing us since the moment we arrived, knowing he
could pull Benji away from us. He was truly evil down to the core.

“What are you doing here?” He glanced up and saw Darren
slinking out of the car. “Ah, I see. Judas has brought you back to spread
discord like a serpent in the garden.”

“Let him go,” I shouted, “or so help me I will cut your head
off where you stand and throw your corpse to the zombies.”

“You wouldn't make it three steps in my direction,” Crowe
said with a laugh. “You are in my world now. Mind your manners or I will make
things more difficult for you than you can imagine.”

“Benji! Benji get over here right now,” Felicity called out
to him but he didn't move. I could see his eyes were large and nearly solid
black. It was no use. They had already administered the sedative. He was so
drugged out; he didn't even know what was happening.

“It's too late for your friend,” Bryan said. “He's already
been cleansed and had his soul sent to God above. He was a very brave little
boy. He will be missed, but we will see him again when the Lord returns. Amen.”

The chorus of each loud, echoing amen was almost deafening.
Were they mad? They were willing to kill an innocent kid to appease some false
prophet? I wheeled around to see that many in the crowd had the same drugged
look on their faces that Benji had. They weren't crazy, or not entirely. They
were high.

“What did you give him?” I asked, fearing that he might be
poisoned beyond saving.

“He drank from the blood of the Lamb,” Bryan said. “His soul
is now clean as the fresh white snow and at peace. He is ready for the Lord to
receive him. When the moon reaches the peak of the sky he will enter into the
kingdom of heaven and take his place beside God at the throne.”

“The hell he will,” Felicity said, fighting her way through
them and holding Benji. She looked frantic.

“You promised to take care of him,” I shouted. “You lied to
us in front of all these people just so you could do your sick ritual!”

“I know it appears that way, but you are wrong. It's been
decided,” Bryan boomed. “Just as Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his only
son, just as God himself gave up his only child to save the sinful world, so
too now must we offer up this child to protect ourselves from the children of
the damned. It is out of my hands. There is no other way but his way. God's
will be done.”

“We're not going to let you take our friend and throw him
into a pit of flesh eating zombies, pal.”

“I don't see how you can stop me,” Bryan said in a smaller
voice so only the immediate circle could hear. “You are outnumbered in every
way imaginable and we have the might of the one true God on our side.”

“You will pay for this,” I threatened. “If it is the last
thing I do.”

“If you are suggesting violence, again I assure you it will
be the last thing that you do,” Bryan calmly replied. “Know that I am ready to
die for my beliefs. I have nothing to hide from my God. Can you say that?”

“Nothing to hide?” I roared. “Except the murder of innocent
people and your harem of child brides you mean?”

“This is pointless,” Bryan said. “Arguing with the damned
about God's sacred laws is like pouring clean water into a dirty cup and expecting
it to remain pure. You are obviously sent of the devil to disrupt a sacred
ritual during a holy celebration. Either you leave immediately and never return
or I will be forced to take matters into my own hands.”

“It's against spiritual law to spill blood on this day,”
Darren shouted, stepping up to Bryan. “You said it yourself. Only they who are
worthy to be received into the kingdom of God shall have their blood spilled on
this sacred day.”

“What's the policy on freeing the sacrifice and letting him
leave with the people who love him?” Felicity hugged Benji to her.

“Once a sacrifice has been selected the ritual must
proceed,” Darren said.

“There,” Bryan interrupted. “From the mouths of apostates
come truths even he can't deny.”

“However,” Darren continued, “A volunteer may come forward
to take their place. I didn't learn about that until after you took my wife
from me. If I had known, I would be in that pit right now instead of her.”

“She was chosen by God,” Crowe hissed. “You should be so
lucky.”

“Then I volunteer,” Felicity shouted. Darren, Crowe, and I
all spun around to her at the same time. In fact, she had the whole crowds’
full attention.

“There has never been a volunteer before,” Crowe mumbled,
shocked by her words. “Do you fully understand what you are committing to,
young lady?”

“I do,” Felicity said. “I will not just stand by while you
kill him. He's my family now, whether he likes it or not.”

“Fine,” Crowe said. “Release him and take her to the
cleansing room to be prepared.”

The guards immediately seized her.

“No!” I shouted, pushing my way forward.

“As for you,” Crowe said, “you are to take him and leave at
once. The devil and his minions are not welcome here. This is your final
warning or so help me God I will strike you down and make it another first
during this sacred day.”

“Darren,” I shouted. “Do something!”

Darren looked sick to his stomach as he watched Felicity
being pulled away. He seemed crippled with fear and unable to move. My mind
began to race, trying to think up a way to save her. Every approach I
considered seemed futile. Crowe was right. We were outnumbered. There was only
one way to win her back. I would have to take her place. I knew I could take on
zombies in hand-to-hand combat, but not if I was drugged out. Maybe if I tried hard
enough I could overcome the poison, or manage to spit it out. Either way, I had
to do something. I couldn't just let them take Felicity away and kill her. I
opened my mouth to speak but the words came out of Darren's mouth instead of
mine.

“I volunteer,” Darren said. “I will take her place in the
pit.”

Crowe groaned. This was turning into much more of a hassle
than he had imagined. I was almost close enough to him now to make a move, but
I knew his devoted followers would gladly take the impact of my blade in order
to lay down their lives for their savior.

“No,” Felicity said. “I can't let you.”

“Are you sure?” Bryan asked, looking almost bored by now.
“You won't be able to change your mind when she is gone you know. Think about
what you are doing, Darren.”

“I should have done it long ago,” Darren said. “I belong in
the pit with my wife.”

“Let her go,” Bryan said, practically rolling his eyes.
Felicity ran forward and hugged Darren.

“You are so brave,” she cried. “So amazingly, wonderfully,
brave and stupid.”

“It's the right thing to do,” Darren said. “I knew what he
was planning the minute you pulled into town. I should have said something
before. I'm not brave. I'm a coward.”

She silenced him with a long kiss that hushed the crowd. A
twinge of jealousy shot through me at the sight, but I pushed it back.

The guy is sacrificing his life for her
, I thought,
for
all of us. The least he deserves is a goodbye kiss from his first love.

Darren pulled back and smiled.

“I will never forget you,” she said, staring into his eyes.

“I never did forget you,” he said. “I love you. I always
have and I always will.”

“I love you too,” she said, as a fresh round of tears burst
out of her eyes. She hugged him tightly as he turned to me.

“Take good care of her,” he said. “I want you all to have a
long, healthy life filled with happiness and joy. I'm paying the ultimate price
for it.”

“I will,” I said, my mouth going dry at his words. “I
promise.”

“Time to go now,” Darren concluded, pulling away from
Felicity. “Don't worry. I won't feel a thing. I won't even know it happened.”

Two guards led Darren off through the crowd to wherever
Bryan did his purification ritual. I turned and glared at Bryan.

“Well?” He glared back. “You got what you wanted. What are
you waiting for?”

“Nothing,” I spat. Felicity grabbed Benji and led him to the
car. I got behind the wheel and slowly began to back up and out of the crowd.
They parted for us, leaving a wide circle to flip the car around. The last
thing I saw as I looked back was Bryan's shark-like eyes glaring at us in utter
contempt as we pulled away.