Tim Meyer - Less Than Human

Ben knelt down. He put his hand on Josh’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

Laughing, Josh replied, “Don’t worry about it. We’re all going to die sooner or later, right?” A series of hacking coughs interrupted him. He spat blood onto the pavement. “I can feel it working through me. Won’t be long until I’m one of them, I guess.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Motherfuckers.”

“You don’t know that. I met a man in a house back there. He was bitten. A few times, from the looks of it. Days ago. And you know what?” Ben asked.

Josh shook his head.

“He’s still alive.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s true.” Ben held up his arm, displaying his injury. “I was too.”

“Holy fuck,” Josh coughed. Blood sputtered down his chin.

“Were you sick a week before the shit hit the fan? Before things went really bad?”

Josh shook his head. “Haven’t been sick in years, man.”

Concerned, Ben narrowed his eyes. “Hm.”

“Guess I don’t quite fit the bill then? Guess I’m not one of the lucky ones.”

“There must be something…”

Josh coughed again, filling his palm with sticky red fluid. “Go find your son, Ben.” He nodded toward the ugly green house. “He’s waiting for you in there.”

Droplets fell from Ben’s eyes. He lowered his head. “Thanks for coming with me. I know things didn’t quite turn out the way we wanted it, but I’m glad you came.”

Josh smirked. “Me too.” He hacked again, sickness ejaculating from between his lips. “Now go. Both of you. I don’t want you to see me as one of them.”

Ben nodded. He grabbed Emily’s hand. She waved to Josh, her face lustered in tears. Josh waved back weakly.

Together, they jogged up the walkway leading to 732 Crown Avenue. Ben hopped up the porch steps, letting go of Emily’s hand. “Step back,” he warned her. Nothing happened when he pushed the doorbell. He began banging on the front door, screaming Melissa’s name over and over again. Without waiting for a reply, he backed up, then kicked the door. It took him three tries, but Ben was able to force the door off of the hinges.

Shaking with fear, Ben stepped inside. Emily followed.

The living room decor almost brought Ben to his knees.

Pictures of Jake littered the walls and tabletops. There were pictures of Melissa too, arms shackled with another man, but Ben looked past those and concentrated on Jake. He was smiling in every picture. Happy. Tears sprinkled Ben’s face. Knees weak, Ben barely found the strength to shuffle forward.

Emily closed the front door as Ben wandered around the living room lackadaisically. She ran over to the window, peering outside. If Ben had been paying attention, he would have told her not to look. But he was too busy scanning the walls to notice. Emily spotted Josh. He lay in the street, twitching. Several zombies walked past him, as if they knew he was already a member of their clan.

Then, something— somebody —caught the corner of her eye.

“Mom?” she whispered aloud.

Ben’s head snapped toward the window. “Get away from there,” he said.

“But—?”

Ben put his finger over his mouth. “You’ll attract them,” he said quietly.

Suddenly, Ben heard something below them. Shuffling. Footsteps. Is that —yes. He heard them.

Voices.

“Wait here,” Ben said. “I’m going to check it out. I’ll be right back.”

Emily nodded.

“Promise me you won’t move.”

“I won’t move. Promise.”

Ben smiled at her, then jogged into the kitchen. He opened the door closest to him. It turned out to be a fully-stocked pantry. He waited a moment. Heard the voices again. Two of them? He couldn’t tell. He supposed it could have been his over-eager mind playing tricks on him.

Ben strolled across the tile floor, toward the only other door in the kitchen. Carefully, he opened it, half-expecting to be met with a disease-infested mouth.

Ben swung open the door and peered down stairs that descended into darkness. An orange glow flickered from somewhere beyond. Before Ben decided to run down the steps, he called to the unknown. “Mel? You down there?”

The stressful silence only lasted a moment.

“Who’s there?” a woman asked.

Ben felt his heart skip multiple beats. He wanted to speak, but couldn’t find the words. Overwhelmed with emotion, Ben wept. He rushed down the stairs, mindless of any obstacles that might have been placed in his way.

Within seconds, he found himself standing on concrete. He turned toward the orange haze and saw a woman standing before him. She held a candle in front of her, using its weak light to see.

“Mel?” he asked.

She looked ragged and unclean. Clearly she had gone a few days without showering. The candle wavered in her hand. For a brief second, Ben thought she would drop it. Instead, she placed it on the table next to her.

“Ben?” she asked. Her eyes widened. Her jaw dropped. He could hear her breathing heavily. “Is that really you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

She rushed him, wrapping her thin arms around his neck. She hugged him tightly, showing no signs that she was ever going to let go.

“Dad?” a voice asked from behind him.

Melissa let go of him. Ben turned. His heart nearly bounced out of his chest.

“Jake…” he said. Ben dropped to his knees. His lips trembled. His face grew wet.

He never thought he’d see his son again.

Victoria stood in the doorway. Emily glanced up at her mother. “Mother?” she asked, but she didn’t respond. A low, growling noise rose in her throat. Emily backed away like a child fearful of the neighbor’s dog. Victoria stepped forward, extending one hand toward her daughter. Behind her, Brittany emerged, her face cut and bloodied. She didn’t speak a word. Instead, she reached for her sister with bloody fingers.

Emily wanted to scream, but didn’t. She wanted to run, but couldn’t. She watched her family close in on her, powerless to their approach. She passed out before they began to feed.

Feeling his son wrap his bony arms around him was exactly how Ben imagined it. He whimpered softly has he patted the boy’s back. “I missed you, Dad,” he said, and Ben cried harder. “Mom said you were coming, but… I didn’t think you’d make it.”

Ben turned to Melissa. She smiled at him.

He went back to hugging his son. Jake nested his head on his father’s shoulder.

“I hate to interrupt,” Melissa said. “But we need to talk.”

“About what?” Ben asked, still gripping Jake in his arms.

“About…” She pointed upstairs.

“They’re going to break in any moment. There were hundreds of them in the street.”

“Jesus,” she said. “Was… David up there?”

David, Ben thought. The guy from the photos.

Ben shook his head. “Let’s go upstairs,” he suggested. “We need to get out of here. And quick.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Melissa said, her voice forlorn. Ben could see her trembling.

“And why’s that?”

She looked to the ceiling for answers, her eyes welling. Sadness invaded her voice. “Remember on the phone, when I told you everything east of Philly was going to be wiped off the planet?”

“Yeah…” Ben said suspiciously.

“Well… it’s not just the East Coast anymore,” she said, gulping. “It’s half the country.”

Glass shattered above them. Footsteps pounded the floor. Hell had broken free and it swarmed 732 Crown Avenue. Demons snarled. Their stomachs grumbled, craving the flesh of the living.