Insurgent Z: A Zombie Novel by Mark C. Scioneaux, Dane Hatchell Page A
Authors: Mark C. Scioneaux, Dane Hatchell
Tags: Zombies
respect for the dead. Tim looked about and wondered who would be replacing Burl as Warden. There was no way the governor could leave him in charge. The buck always stops at the top.
A new fear started to creep over him. Would the governor close Paradis? He would lose his benefits and health insurance. Sure, he could go back and fish for a living, but that was a hard, uncertain life. Exactly what he wanted to get away from when he applied here. He liked the normal hours the prison offered.
What if Paradis was ground zero for a new epidemic? Maybe one of those new forms of influenza, swine or bird flu. What if this very moment I’m incubating the virus and the next to drop dead? The thought made Tim shudder.
The guards set the stretcher down, and Tim leaned his back against the wall. He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and felt his forehead with the palm of his hand. It was cool to the touch.
“You feeling bad?” T-Bob asked.
“I don’t know. All these prisoners getting sick are making me feel ill. I also got some other stuff on my mind.”
T-Bob scanned the room. “Eh, so what if these assholes die? They’ll just ship in a new batch of criminals to take their place. Fuck ’em. That’s less trash the taxpayers have to worry with. I don’t understand why there’s a life sentence anyway. If someone does something that bad, just kill ’em and get it over with. Why I’d—”
T-Bob stumbled backward and fell on his rear across the legs of an inmate.
Tim looked over. “T-Bob? Watch where you’re going.”
“Hey! This bastard’s got a hold of my ankle! He—ouch!”
The inmate’s back lifted off the floor as if powered by a springboard. The prisoner rolled on top of the surprised guard, digging fingers into T-Bob’s face, and tearing at his throat with his teeth.
The god-awful scream momentarily stunned Tim, but he quickly jumped into action. Leaping over to T-Bob, he slammed the point of his boot into the inmate’s side. Ribs cracked, but the desperate cries of pain and angst came only from the fallen guard. The inmate continued to bury his face into T-Bob.
“Get off him! Get off!” No matter how hard Tim kicked, it did not deter the inmate’s ravenous feeding.
“What’s going on over there?” Parsons dropped his clipboard upon hearing the scream. He took five steps toward the fray before two inmates in his path jumped to their feet. Their eyes were open, but vacant. Parsons looked into their black pupils, staring into the emptiness that death brings.
Parsons yelped and threw his hands up as if to stop a stampeding herd of horses. Each inmate took one of his hands by the wrist, and simultaneously, munched on Parsons’ fingers. The doctor fell to his knees, begging for mercy that fell on undead ears.
Tim gave up on his futile attempt to kick the inmate off T-Bob. He dropped on top of the inmate instead and managed to snake a half nelson around the inmate’s arm and neck, flipping the felon on his back, and pulling him off his friend.
Parsons screamed.
Tim could only imagine more of the inmates had awakened, and in their delirium, had begun a voracious assault. “Help! Somebody! We need help in here! HELP!” He felt his cries were too little, too late, as he struggled to keep the inmate pinned to his chest. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold out. Tim had wrestled for Johnson Bayou High and had come very close to making state finals. He had never faced another wrestler who had so much raw strength and single-minded determination. His arm had already started to numb.
A flash of pain shot up his right leg as a set of teeth clamped down on his shin. He craned his head enough to see another prone inmate chewing through his pant leg and gnawing on bone. Tim tried to shake the crazed man from his leg, but couldn’t. Blood flowed freely underneath his calf muscle and splattered to the floor.
Bright orange filled his view, as an inmate hovered over him, and bit into his
A new fear started to creep over him. Would the governor close Paradis? He would lose his benefits and health insurance. Sure, he could go back and fish for a living, but that was a hard, uncertain life. Exactly what he wanted to get away from when he applied here. He liked the normal hours the prison offered.
What if Paradis was ground zero for a new epidemic? Maybe one of those new forms of influenza, swine or bird flu. What if this very moment I’m incubating the virus and the next to drop dead? The thought made Tim shudder.
The guards set the stretcher down, and Tim leaned his back against the wall. He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and felt his forehead with the palm of his hand. It was cool to the touch.
“You feeling bad?” T-Bob asked.
“I don’t know. All these prisoners getting sick are making me feel ill. I also got some other stuff on my mind.”
T-Bob scanned the room. “Eh, so what if these assholes die? They’ll just ship in a new batch of criminals to take their place. Fuck ’em. That’s less trash the taxpayers have to worry with. I don’t understand why there’s a life sentence anyway. If someone does something that bad, just kill ’em and get it over with. Why I’d—”
T-Bob stumbled backward and fell on his rear across the legs of an inmate.
Tim looked over. “T-Bob? Watch where you’re going.”
“Hey! This bastard’s got a hold of my ankle! He—ouch!”
The inmate’s back lifted off the floor as if powered by a springboard. The prisoner rolled on top of the surprised guard, digging fingers into T-Bob’s face, and tearing at his throat with his teeth.
The god-awful scream momentarily stunned Tim, but he quickly jumped into action. Leaping over to T-Bob, he slammed the point of his boot into the inmate’s side. Ribs cracked, but the desperate cries of pain and angst came only from the fallen guard. The inmate continued to bury his face into T-Bob.
“Get off him! Get off!” No matter how hard Tim kicked, it did not deter the inmate’s ravenous feeding.
“What’s going on over there?” Parsons dropped his clipboard upon hearing the scream. He took five steps toward the fray before two inmates in his path jumped to their feet. Their eyes were open, but vacant. Parsons looked into their black pupils, staring into the emptiness that death brings.
Parsons yelped and threw his hands up as if to stop a stampeding herd of horses. Each inmate took one of his hands by the wrist, and simultaneously, munched on Parsons’ fingers. The doctor fell to his knees, begging for mercy that fell on undead ears.
Tim gave up on his futile attempt to kick the inmate off T-Bob. He dropped on top of the inmate instead and managed to snake a half nelson around the inmate’s arm and neck, flipping the felon on his back, and pulling him off his friend.
Parsons screamed.
Tim could only imagine more of the inmates had awakened, and in their delirium, had begun a voracious assault. “Help! Somebody! We need help in here! HELP!” He felt his cries were too little, too late, as he struggled to keep the inmate pinned to his chest. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold out. Tim had wrestled for Johnson Bayou High and had come very close to making state finals. He had never faced another wrestler who had so much raw strength and single-minded determination. His arm had already started to numb.
A flash of pain shot up his right leg as a set of teeth clamped down on his shin. He craned his head enough to see another prone inmate chewing through his pant leg and gnawing on bone. Tim tried to shake the crazed man from his leg, but couldn’t. Blood flowed freely underneath his calf muscle and splattered to the floor.
Bright orange filled his view, as an inmate hovered over him, and bit into his