BESIEGED (HUNGRY Series Book 2) Read online

  BESIEGED

  Book 2 of the HUNGRY Series

  by Lawrence Herbert Tide

  All rights reserved © 2018

  ISBN-3: 978-2-9563654-5-7

  Table des matières

  Reactivity

  Inferno

  Ascertainment

  Resources

  Trespassing

  Surgery

  Surrounded

  Condemned

  Expedition

  Confession

  Discovery

  Anger

  Treason

  Revelation

  Reflex

  Rescue

  Stress

  Slicing

  Friendship

  Baptism

  Return

  Resurrection

  Choices

  Destiny

  Sacrifice

  Renaissance

  Respect

  Preparation

  Besieged

  Weapons

  Cracking

  Frail

  Intrusion

  Other Books by the same Author

  About the Author

  Reactivity

  Red had the impression of seeing a bunch of wild beasts jumping on them as the largely decomposed zombies attacked them.

  While she saw Mei leap on the American football zombie she felt abandoned in front of one of the undead. It had a whitened skull and peculiarly impressive red eyes. As the creature leapt toward her and put its bony hands on her shoulders, she felt lonely. Lonely like during that cursed day when, perched on the branch of a tree, she had witnessed the horrible end of her mother.

  But the sensation coming from the contact of the sharp, icy hands, initiated her acquired reflexes coming from her long time at the dojo.

  Reflexes that made her fall on her back, dragging in her fall the living skeleton that already sketched a grinning victory smile.

  The rotten jawbone of the creature opened because of the surprise when, rolling with the teen who placed her two feet on its whitened pelvis, it was jettisoned over her.

  The disgusting thing was thrown forward in the air thanks to the perfect judo flip of the young red-haired girl.

  The creature was violently propelled towards the nearest wall like a rocket.

  It crashed with a BAM, so much had it been swept away by its momentum.

  Its skull literally exploded like a crushed nut and the thing finally collapsed on the ground.

  Red did not have time to enjoy her victory, as she was horrified to see the zombie footballer jostling her adoptive mother. The thing had an amazing reflex reaction, maybe coming from its sporty past as a human being.

  Terrified, the girl saw Mei collapse on her back, seemingly in shock, while her naginata slipped out of her hand, falling a few meters away on the floor.

  The mass of the big zombie fell on the young woman who screamed in surprise while farther, another zombie slowly knelt near the immobile body of Hiroto.

  The dazzled teenager, now sitting on the floor, now had very dark thoughts, and said to herself that the old Japanese was somehow lucky: unconscious, he was fortunately not aware that his lineage was, soon, going to disappear with him.

  A warrior-like shout startled Red as she saw Johnny running towards the big zombie which had its back to him.

  The young man swiftly snapped the back of the creature with his wooden sword.

  Seeming to feel nothing, the creature, its ugly head above Mei's, literally drooled over her.

  Disgusted, she moaned and winced. Completely aware now, the young woman was lying on her back and had raised her feet, pressing them against the belly of the footballer.

  Thanks to her foot pressure, she prevented the undead, leaning towards her, from moving towards her and catching her. Thus, she began retreating as the monster, grimacing because of the frustration, was advancing.

  The now infuriated zombie continued to be hit from behind by Johnny, who was beating down with all his might, without the creature reacting to his attacks.

  The stressed young man gave a big blow to the side of the creature's face which burst its cheek.

  This provoked the spreading of a big sheaf of black blood.

  The zombie immobilized the wooden sword that had just hit it with a single stroke of its big hand.

  Carried away by the momentum of his move the young colored man, surprised by the reactivity of the monster, lost his balance and fell on the back of the zombie footballer.

  The creature turned its nightmarish head toward him and, glaring at him, roared with a furious look, while pulling violently on the wooden saber.

  More than ever carried away, Johnny lost his balance, and falling along the side of the zombie, he fell on his stomach and hit the ground with his chin.

  Vaguely conscious despite the severity of the shock, Johnny saw the ground within the limits of his field of vision, and, also, one of the dirty sneakers on the feet of the creature.

  The shoes disappeared from his field of view while, being groggy, he was lifted from the ground, his arms and legs hanging as if he was a disjointed puppet. The powerful hand that held him by the neck turned him around with ease, like a light toy.

  The face of the frightened young man now faced the decomposed and grimacing one of the zombie-footballer, which observed him with gleaming, furious, red eyes.

  Johnny was horrified to see the red and cold eyes disappear from his field of vision, then seeing them replaced by the gaping jaws of the rotten-toothed creature.

  The young man panicked when, still feeling numb, he felt the teeth settle on his forehead and the jaw of the thing begin to tighten. This monster will bite my skull as if it were a common apple!

  A very brief noise was heard, like the hissing of an object quickly cutting through the air like a whip.

  Johnny dropped suddenly to the floor before having time to shout in surprise when he crushed his nose against the hard ground.

  He raised his head painfully, blood flowing profusely from his nose, and saw, lying on his back near him, his old master, who was beginning to open his eyes. He watched him, clearly in a daze.

  Further away, Mei, obviously stunned by the brutality of her own fall, lay on her side, her eyes closed. The skeletal zombies squatted around her, but hadn't yet touched her, quarreling with each other like wild dogs fighting over a bone.

  Then the old man's gaze went upwards, staring at something. Johnny followed his gaze and saw that the zombie footballer was still squatting above them both, immobile.

  The undead looked at the stump of one of his cut hands. A stream of dark blood was flowing from it, while a horrible scent of rot pervaded the air.

  A pain ran through Johnny's neck, like a throbbing.

  Putting his hand on his neck, the young man realized that the creature's hand was still attached to it, and pressed intermittently, always animated by a form of life.

  Disgusted, the young man tugged on the hand and pulled it away, involuntarily pinching his neck painfully by doing so.

  He angrily threw away the hand and its trembling fingers, which, when it fell on the floor, rolled further over itself. It had a strange erratic movement because of the moving fingers.

  The big zombie emitted a deafening roar and closed its other hand on Johnny's throat, who began to choke, his face becoming red.

  Another whistling sound, and that hand came off the wrist of the creature, which, wincing, turned its ugly head to look in another direction.

  Johnny snatched that second throbbing hand away from his throat, rejecting it in turn, and then focused on what the zombie was watching. He saw that it was looking with its angry eyes at Red, who was standing near t
hem, her mother's naginata in her hands.

  She was breathing quickly while firmly holding the long stick of the weapon. Looks between the girl and the creature slowly crossed. The glance of the thing rested on the blade, on which still flowed, slowly, the red-dark liquid of its blood. Then it lowered its head, looking in turn at the two stumps where its hands had been.

  The zombie then uttered an animal roar, reminiscent of a mixture of lion and panther, as it was obviously full of rage. It slowly stood up.

  The huge ex quarter-back then leapt towards her, the reflexes due to its former athletic training seeming to coming back, and in a few quick steps it was near Red.

  The stumps in front of the zombie-footballer were avoided at the last moment by the girl, who was well trained to dodge.

  Not only did she let the thing go, but in addition she interposed the stick of the naginata, tripping the creature up.

  The huge roaring mass fell forward and swept away the skeletal zombies quarreling over Mei, who was opening her eyes.

  The giant zombie and the skeletal-looking one who roared in frustration crashed together in a loud thud against a nearby wall.

  The skeletal zombies were literally pulverized because of the huge clash between the wall and the colossus, which hit the wall very hard, then fell suddenly on its back.

  All the dust of the skeletal zombies fell like a gray cloud on the huge undead, which, growling, remained groggy-like on the ground.

  As Johnny began to get up, he helped Hiroto to stand. The old man, slowly and painfully, looked at her, while Red focused her attention on the creature lying on the floor.

  She walked toward the thing, which, turning its horrible head as it saw her approach, stopped moaning and groaned.

  Red raised the naginata...

  ... and was surprised to see it escape from her hands to find it in other hands, bigger and thinner.

  Fixating the latter, the girl turned around and saw that Mei was now standing behind her, the long weapon in her hand, and was smiling at her.

  The zombie ex footballer player, pushing on its stumps while trying to adopt a sitting position, roared loudly, and startled both.

  The beautiful face of Mei changed right under her daughter’s eyes. Her beautiful face, normally quiet and cheerful, was almost frightening because of her anger. This unusual thing surprised the young girl.

  The blade of the naginata cut off in a dash the head of the still sitting big zombie.

  Jumping up in the air because of the shock, the head fell on the floor and then rolled away. It hit a door, bouncing against it, and then stopped moving. Red was almost fascinated by the grimacing face of the creature, which seemed to be watching her.

  An angry glare that soon gave way to what seemed like misunderstanding, then sadness, and, finally, tranquility, when the eyes closed, definitely.

  The sound of a big thump startled the red-haired teenager.

  Turning around she saw that it was the decapitated and handless body of the zombie that had just collapsed on the ground near her. The body was trembling and impressed Red.

  Finally, it froze completely...

  ... not without a flow of black blood from its sliced neck, a casting literally making one think of a little black stream. A nauseating smell that made the girl feel nauseous, it was so pungent.

  As she watched the stream of rottenness finally dry up, much to her relief, she heard new hisses in the air. She knew that her mother was "clearing" the room of the last remaining living dead.

  Then, silence returned to the room, while the young red-haired teen contemplated the massive human body which was now motionless, lying on its back. This reminded her of the recumbent statues, those lying statues from the Middle Ages. Statues that her father had shown her in educational photos on his old computer, during their rare moments of quietness, during her family’s never-ending getaway.

  The memory of her lost beloved ones, such a powerful souvenir now, made a tear begin to flow down one of her cheeks.

  She swiftly and discreetly wiped her face. It was the time for action now, not for sadness.

  "Are you OK?" Mei asked anxiously, having stopped just behind her. She still held the naginata in her hand, the wooden bottom of its vertically positioned stick touching the ground.

  "Yes, thank you," Red replied with a smile, a smile to which her warm-hearted adoptive mother replied.

  Another smile appeared in her field of vision, one which she had seen very rarely. It was the one of Hiroto, who was slowly walking towards her, supported by Johnny.

  "You've definitely proven yourself as a fighter, Red," the old man said tiredly, quavering, but soft.

  Noticeably softer than what she was accustomed to ...

  "I'm genuinely proud of you!"

  These words said with strong conviction filled the girl with joy. It was as if she felt a heat wave pervade her.

  "I would be so happy to be able to share my pride with my old friend Larry Lafayette, who ended so tragically ..."

  The old man paused, looking toward the floor, sadness recognizable on his old wrinkled face.

  "I'm here!"

  They all looked with surprise to where the voice had come from.

  The branches of a tree were making noise, while its leaves were being noisily stirred. The people in the room raised their chins and looked upwards at a silhouette, hidden in the middle of a bunch of leaves.

  Suddenly Lafayette fell and caught himself on his feet, losing his balance and falling on himself.

  "Larry!" exclaimed Hiroto, advancing towards his old friend, still supported by his disciple, Johnny.

  "Hiroto ..." answered the elderly black man, getting up with difficulty. The young man helped him to stand up with his free hand, while at the same time supporting his Master.

  The old man finally stood up and said, resuming, "I thought my end might be nigh!"

  "But ..." intervened Red, who had come closer with her mother. "Who's been ..."

  "Shredded in pieces?" interrupted Lafayette, looking sadly at the girl and then at the dismembered remains on the ground, before resuming. "My young assistant, who was unlucky, he was surprised from behind. If I hadn’t been so light and quick to climb to the summit of that tree, I would’ve known the same sad fate. "

  "I'm glad you're safe, anyway," said the old Japanese, who had lost his smile, having now his usual, serious face, before adding, "Let's get out of here quickly, but let's stand on our guard. "

  While he had just said that, Mei had gone to the closed door.

  She turned the handle to open it, but failed. She had forgotten that the door had been locked from outside.

  "Who could lock us in here?" Johnny asked suspiciously.

  Hiroto pouted, and approaching the door with him, punched the door next to the lock.

  It deformed under the shock and the door unlocked, the distorted bolt now visible.

  Mei took the handle and turned it again, and the door opened...

  ... on a wall of flames in the adjacent hallway, flames that made them all back off.

  ***

  Inferno

  "Step back!" Hiroto shouted as his daughter complied before hearing his injunction, almost getting her face burned but protecting it from the big flames with an arm, releasiing the door handle.

  The impressive flames emitted a loud crackling sound which further stressed the trapped group.

  The surprise had made her let go of her naginata, which had fallen to the ground with a loud sound of wood and metal, the sharp blade barely failing to fall on her foot. The high heat made her squint while her face dripped with sweat, and Mei withdrew. Her heart beat hard in her chest as the crackling of the flames became much stronger.

  The door opened wide under the pressure of the hot air hitherto contained in the corridor, allowing a torrent of flames to enter.

  Red also shrank back in fear, hitting Johnny who was standing right behind her. In doing so he received the back of the girl's head in his face.


  "Careful!" shouted the young man, glaring at her as, surprised, she turned back and stared at him. But their attention was once again focused on the flames that began to come in through the entrance and lick the edges of the frame, while pungent smoke was beginning to invade the room. The crackling sound of the flames became deafening.

  Hiroto began to cough, Johnny still supporting him, who shouted, "We're doomed!"

  It was then that he looked up and, pointing at something, shouted to Lafayette, "Is this a fire sprinkler system?"

  "Yes," the old black man replied, frowning. His eyes were starting to turn red because of the heat and smoke. He continued, " I don’t understand why those sprinklers don’t activate."

  He glared at the sprinklers and said, "It's as if the smoke detectors have been rendered inoperative."

  "So, we're fucking screwed, as I said," Johnny shouted.

  He then coughed violently. His friends began to cough too.

  "Maybe not," exclaimed Lafayette, who, putting a handkerchief over his face, rushed toward a computer console that the other people hadn’t noticed.

  Lafayette tapped angrily on the keyboard before shouting to the others, "Not only do the sprinklers seem to no longer detect smoke, but what's more, my password for controlling them seems to have been erased ... "

  Hiroto, near Johnny, coughed again and began to collapse but was held just in time by Johnny, while Lafayette continued, "... But I’ve never told anyone about my secret Superuser password!"

  After tapping again on a few computer keyboards, he almost smashed a big green button named ‘Enter’.

  A deluge of water fell from the ceiling sprinklers.

  Red, Mei, and Johnny shouted in surprise as they felt the cold water fall on them.

  Their cries were quickly replaced by laughter.

  This refreshment suddenly relieved and reassured everyone in the room. Hiroto said nothing and looked, smiling, at his old friend who returned it to him, while continuing to strum on some keys of the control console, on which the water was streaming. Fortunately, obviously, this electronic equipment was waterproof.

  A deafening blast made all of them almost jump, covering the crackling sound of the flames.