Don't Dare Call Them Zombies : Books 1-4 (25 page)

“You should put them out of their misery,” Jennifer said.

“But what if they have a soul? Reverend Sikes asked. “I understand there is a need for self-defense, but I cannot bring myself to kill a person that isn’t putting my life in danger. In God's eyes, that might be murder.”

“Listen to me,” I said. “I don't think a loving God would allow a person's soul to stay in one of these freaks. Once someone turns, I firmly believe that their spirit goes wherever it is supposed to go for all eternity. The idea that a human soul could be in one of these dead freaks is outrageous. I know you love your family members, but you need to honor their memory by putting an end to the abominations under this room.”

“I hope you’re right,” Reverend McMann stated. “It would be a great thing if angels carried their souls to heaven before they turned, but we cannot end their existence. The risk is there that we might be murdering them.”

“Well, you don't seem to be too concerned about the patrols outside killing freaks left and right,” I said. “Are you sure every last one of the killings were in self-defense?”

Pastor Sikes began to pace the floor.

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I am letting fondness for my family members get in the way of my better judgment. Perhaps I should hate the animated corpses below us as much as I despise the creatures that are trying to destroy my church. However, I'm not getting any answers from God Almighty. I have been praying almost nonstop for days and haven’t been given directions or guidance from the Lord. What happened to you was the first and only breakthrough I've had,” he said.

“So you admit to having a double standard?” I asked. “You want the freaks outside dead, but you cannot do the right thing for your family members.”

“I will admit to being a hypocrite. God forgive me, but even though I cannot bring myself to terminate what's left of my family, I would like to see all the other freaks dead.”

“So what do you want from me?” I asked him.

“I'm going to make you a deal,” he said. “I want you to pray over my wife, daughter, and two grandchildren.”

“What kind of prayer do you want me to make?” I asked.

“Prayer is powerful,” he said. “It says in the word of God that the prayer of faith can heal the sick. Also, a spirit filled person can cast out demons. I've seen it happen. I'm not sure how I want you to pray. I just want you to listen to the spirit and pray over my family members how you see fit.”

“What do we get out of it?” Jennifer asked.

“I’ll do everything in my power to assist in getting your vehicle fixed and back on the road,” he said. “Of course if you want to stay, you’re welcome to do so as well.”

“What if I go down there, pray over them, and nothing happens,” I asked.

I don't know,” Reverend Sikes answered.

“Do you realize that I'm armed?” I asked. “Right now I have several weapons on me. If the prayer doesn't work, do you realize I could put them out of their misery and there would be little you could do to stop me?”

“Yes, I realize that,” he said.

“Will you at least try to pray for them?” he asked.

“Of course he won't,” Jennifer shouted. “He isn’t going to go into your personal dungeon and pray over a bunch of freaks that should’ve been shot days ago. If you think he’d do that, you’re crazy!”

I looked at Jennifer and thought intently about the situation. I sincerely felt for the Reverend. If my mother had been infected, I don't know if I could have brought myself to kill her. Or, if Jennifer ever became infected, I'm not sure how I would respond. Almost certainly, the prayer would do nothing. I was sure of that. But what could it hurt? I still thought the pastor was wrong to keep them down there, but I did believe in God. If there was a tiny chance such a prayer could do some good, I should try.

I turned and looked at the pastor.

“My prayer probably won't do any good at all,” I said. “God has chosen to let this outbreak take place. I'm not saying he caused it, because he does not make bad things happen. Bad stuff just happens all the time. Mostly, it is due to people's free will. But there was some reason this has all been allowed to happen, and one prayer isn’t going to reverse a disease like this. I’ll pray for your family, however.”

Jennifer looked at me with an expression of shock.

“You’re an idiot,” she said. “Why are you doing this? Don't go down there!”

“I'm going. You can come with me or not,” I said.

“I shouldn't, but I’ll go with you. You left me, but I won’t leave you,” she added.

Her words were like a knife in my heart.

“I'm sorry,” I told her.

“It's okay,” she said.

I realized that I would need to use every bit of religious knowledge I had to pray for these creatures below. Although I was a Christian and believed in God, I was not an expert in these matters. I would need to draw upon every Sunday School lesson, every religious scene I had seen in the movies, and try to draw up every bit of faith in God that remained in my heart.

“I need a Bible,” I said.

Chapter Eight

The
Reverends led Jennifer and me down into the cellar. A single electric light bulb illuminated the dim room. Against the wall, in makeshift shackles, was the pastor's family.

“Thank you for being willing to do this,” he said.

I held a Bible in my hand as I looked at his family members. His wife looked about the same age as himself, but she had clearly turned into a freak. Looking at his daughter and grandchildren, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness. The two children were very young and didn’t deserve to die in such a tragic manner. I can only imagine the horror the poor children felt as they sat down here, burning with fever, while their mother and grandmother tried to help them. Probably, they were brought food and water, but to wait to die in a dungeon of a cellar like this must have been heartbreaking.

Immediately, I realized another danger they must have faced. If one of them had turned before the others, that individual would have attacked the remaining family members. Hopefully, they all turned at the same time. Of course the one granddaughter died earlier. She was killed in the house. I noticed that she was especially well bound.

I made sure I was a decent distance away from the freaks as I turned the pages of the Bible. I didn’t find any instant inspiration, so I decided to get on my knees and start to pray.

I remembered hearing a preacher say a long time ago that praying was mostly about faith and sincerity, and not about fancy words. I made sure to keep that in mind as I began.

“Dear God, I'm down here in this cellar today because I'm trying to pray for some poor people who were killed by a plague. You know this, I don't even have to tell you,” I prayed.

“I know I'm a sinner in so many ways, and you may not respond to my prayer. I may not even deserve for you to answer my prayer. But I have to try God, because I feel for these people. I feel for all the people that have been killed in this outbreak. I have seen the horrors and I know that there is so much suffering taking place. My heart cannot hold it all. I don't know how to pray or what to pray, but I need your help. The pastor says that I have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost, but I don't feel it. If I really do have the Holy Ghost, then reveal it God. Let it guide me and direct me,” I continued.

“Jennifer thinks I'm crazy for praying, but I don't care. She can think I'm a holy roller if she wants, but I have faith that you’re real. You may have let the world fall apart and the dead walk, but I believe you’re real. I sincerely believe it. There is hell on Earth now. If there is hell on Earth, there must be a heaven up there somewhere. The whole universe can't be this bad. When people die of this plague they must be going someplace better,” I said.

Deep inside of myself I started to feel something. It was like a force or power that was unifying my thoughts. My mind started becoming more focused and more coherent.

“I know, Father that I'm probably not going to continue living a Christian life like I should. I'm not going to lie to you and say that after today I'm devoting my life to you. That would be wrong of me. But for right now, I want you to be in control as I pray, and as I live my life I’ll promise to try and do better than I have in the past.”

My attention was now on the poor infected individuals in front of me. I didn’t know if the other people in the room were watching me or not; I didn’t care. As I continued to pray I felt the spirit start to grow inside of me. As I continued to pray I felt the spirit start to grow inside of me.

“God, I believe you’re real, all powerful, and if you wanted to do so you could heal each of these four infected people in front of me. There may be nothing to be healed, because you may have already taken their souls to be with you. But I know if you so desired, you could return their souls to their bodies and restore their health. I don't know what your will is on this matter, but I pray for you to bless these people. If you desire for them to be healed, please do so. I would like to see them healed, but I cannot command you to do so.”

Suddenly, the pastor's daughter began to shake violently.

“Dear God, please....” I heard Reverend Sikes utter. He then walked up to the shaking freak and took the gag out of his daughter’s mouth. Upon removing the gag, the freak lunged at him. Luckily, he was not bitten.

I then felt an urge to pray more strongly and vigorously. The Bible verse that said there was a time for everything under sun came to mind, and I felt as if it was my time to pray with boldness. I had already humbled myself, and now it was time to let the spirit fully direct me.

“Father please fill these four people with your spirit and especially this woman. Fill her with your spirit and let your will be done. If you wish to heal her, please heal her. If you wish to make her corpse drop dead, please do so. If you wish to remove any demon from her body please do so.”

Suddenly, the woman started to talk in a terrifying language. However, I couldn’t understand what she was saying. It sounded like the tongues that had been spoken in the church office, just before Ms. Teresa prayed over me.

A wave of fear filled me as I heard Jennifer gasp.

“What had I done? What had God done?” I thought.

Freaks were not supposed to talk!

Then in an instant, I felt the spirit giving me strength once again. I stood up and stepped closer to the freak.

“Dear God, if you want me to understand what this creature is saying please give me the gift of interpretation. If I am not, please eradicate the demon from this woman,” I prayed.

For some reason, I started to understand the meaning of certain words the creature was saying. However, most of the words were still gibberish.

“Who are you?” I asked the voice that was speaking through the creature.

More gibberish started to come out of the freak's mouth, but I tried hard to understand.

In an instant, I suddenly knew what every word meant. It was like learning a foreign language on the fly.

“Can you understand me, human?” the female voice said.

“I can understand you,” I responded.

The creature seemed to calm and stopped flailing about in the restraints.

“Good,” the creature said. “You can call me five million and four.”

“Who are you five million and four?” I asked. “What are you?”

“I'm what you call a demon. During our rebellion against God, I was the five million and fourth angel to side with the being who you call Satan,” the creature said in a sinister voice.

Part of me couldn’t believe I was talking to a demon through a zombie host, but I wanted answers. But I had to be careful; demons are known to be liars.