Immunosuppression:
By Jose Luis Solorzano
Copyright 2014 Jose Luis Solorzano
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ISBN 978-1-3108-5765-2
Waxing Darkness (A fantasy novel)
Short Stories of an Untreated Mind
For my donor, the unknown woman, who I will always love, because your heart beats in me.
“It surprised me that what before was desert and gloomy should now bloom with the most beautiful flowers and verdure.” – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
“’How do you amuse yourself?’
‘In the best way I can. They let me alone; but I have not many playthings. Ponine and Zelma will not let me play with their dolls. I have only a little lead sword, no longer than that.’
The child held up her tiny finger.
‘And it will not cut?’
‘Yes sir,’ said the child; ‘it cuts salad and the heads of flies.’”
-A conversation between Jean Valjean and Cossette from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Afterwards and Acknowledgments
About Jose Luis Solorzano
Connect with Jose Luis Solorzano
Other books by Jose Luis Solorzano
Immunosuppression: A Novella with Zombies
Chapter One
As the sun rose to its midday position in what once was known as the city of Los Angeles, California, Zack found himself in front of an abandoned Walgreens. It was one of the few stops that he would be making today as he planned to gather up as much supplies as he could. This specific trip was especially important to Zack; he could have gone anywhere for food, water and other necessities, but it was here where he needed something specific, something that was going to keep him alive.
The glass doors slid open. It amazed Zack that with the world in the state that it was currently in, there were still places that had working electricity. The lights were off in the abandoned store, but he felt he didn’t need them. In one hand, he was holding a flashlight that he had set up with fresh batteries earlier this morning. In his other hand, he held his katana, something that he had been dying to use for a while now. The handle was a bright red with designs of golden dragons placed across it. The sheath had a matching red, but only had a single dragon that seemed to be gliding itself down.
Before turning on the flashlight, he placed it aside as he went to the section that was reserved for alcoholic drinks. He had no interest to be like many others and get drunk in the final hours of civilization. Instead, he searched for a large glass bottle of wine. From the little that he knew, Zack could tell that the drink in his hand was relatively expensive. He threw the bottle as hard has he could, having it land several yards away from where he stood. Zack readied himself into his battle position as several growls echoed throughout the store.
Running through the aisles were the enemy, those who were once human. However, the two who were standing in front of him right now were infected with a virus that made them moving corpses. Back when the world still had a bit of sanity, the media merely called them The Infected, but the rest of the world were savvy into what they truly were. Zombies had leapt from the pages of fiction and entered the real world. Biological warfare at its finest, Zack thought as he prepared himself to attack. As they got closer, Zack took a running start towards his foes. He took a big stride, swinging at the taller of the two. Although he didn’t stop to get a glimpse, Zack knew that he cleanly cut off the creature’s head. There was no cry from the creature, for they were now unable to feel pain.
The second zombie tracked Zack’s scent, turning around. Being blind to the world around them, these soulless creatures strictly relied on their hearing and their sense of smell. Before the zombie could start his next move, Zack was charging towards him, letting out a battle cry. Zack sliced at the torso of his opponent, cutting through the creature’s body. While the more difficult part had passed, the battle was still far from over. While the bottom half of the torso ceased functioning, the top half was still moving, furiously crawling to Zack. At least here, Zack was able finish it off much easier, making another clean decapitation. He learned quickly that the only way to truly end a zombie’s life is to cut off the brain from the rest of the body.
With the battle finally over, Zack placed his lucky sword into its sheath, returning to where the wine bottles were to pick up his flashlight. He wasn’t going to allow himself to get sidetracked, not for this particular mission. He hurried towards the back of the store to where the pharmacy was. Thankfully, the window to the inside was left open, allowing Zack to jump through and quickly look for what he needed.
While searching, he was humming to himself a familiar song, one that he had kept inside his head for a while. It came from a musical that he had seen two years ago. It had a catchy melody, but was very manly in its lyrics. He wasn’t quite sure why he was so attached to this particular song; maybe it was something that reminded him of the life before the infected humans started tearing apart the already decaying world. It could be that he just thought it was a fitting song. Whatever the reason, he didn’t feel like bothering himself with simple formalities while on his search.
Half an hour passed by on his search, his findings being mixed. While he was able to find the medication that he needed; the bad news was that it would only last him for a few days. That wasn’t good enough. He knew that the best place to look was at hospitals, but those were to be his reserves. He only wanted to go there when all of his other options were extinguished.
While packing away the medicine into tiny orange bottles, he was able to hear rumblings coming from the front of the store. He ducked to hide under the counter. Although hiding was a reflex, Zack knew that it would only be a useless effort. If it was a zombie, they would find him; let it be his living scent or his beating heart, which was now going at a rapid pace. He could at least prepare himself to take them on, gathering up as much energy as he could.
Then he heard it.
“Crap! Will you guys just quit following me!”
It wasn’t grunting or unintelligible cries. It was a voice, speaking actual words. The voice of whoever the words belonged to sounded a bit feminine. It was the first human thing that Zack had encounter for several weeks. With his medications gathered and his backpack secured on his back, he quickly hopped over the counter to see exactly what was happening.
Turning through the aisles, he noticed that his assumption was right in guessing that it was a girl who the voice belonged to. She appeared to be shorter than he was, her long, brown hair dancing in the open air. He noticed how heavy she was breathing as well as seeing that she was wielding an axe! In front of her laid a headless zombie, but two others were in position to attack her.
Without even saying a word, Zack knew that he had to help her. He ran, pulling his katana from its secure holding place, raising it above his head.
“Move!” Zack called out to the girl in a grunting voice.
Thankfully, the strange girl did as he said, and just in time, since one of the zombie was starting to attack her. As it ran for the girl, Zack swung his sword straight down. The impact
stopped Zack and the creature both in their paths, but it was obvious who was going to win this standoff. Blood gushed from where the sword was penetrating as it kept cutting through the skull, cutting the zombie in half. The body fell to the ground, ceasing all motion.
Zack was ready to take on the other zombie, but saw that there was no need. The strange, brown haired girl seemed to have taken care of things herself, her foot pressing on the neck of the creature. She cried out as she forced down her weapon in the middle of its face. It violently twitched for only a second, but it stopped moving all together the next.
“Wow,” Zack whispered. Looks were definitely deceiving.
“Thanks,” The girl laughed as she tightly gripped the handle of the axe, still embedded into the zombie’s head. It was a bit of a struggle, but she was able to pull it out of the skull after a good thirty seconds. She picked up a towel that was on display in the store to clean off the creature’s blood, also tossing Zack one. “So, you got a name?”
“Zack,” he answered, careful to swipe the red ooze off of his katana.
“The name’s Anna,” the girl said before breaking open a bottle of vodka to use to help clean off the mess. Zack didn’t wish to make any commotion, but the smell of the drink was causing his stomach to churn violently. It was only adding to the headache he was having at the moment.
“Stay safe,” Zack said to Anna, putting the sword back into its sheath.
Without another word, he walked away from the girl, passing through the sliding doors, and leaving the store. Anna’s eyes widened, hurrying up her cleaning as she placed her backpack back onto her body. The commotion didn’t go without Zack noticing, even with his back turned to her. By the time he was almost out in the middle of the street, he could hear Anna’s footsteps hurrying to catch up with him.
“Wait up,” Anna called out to him.
Zack didn’t wish to comply though. He knew the whole formula of what would happen next: she would want to team up with him, making things safer for the both of them. But then what? We’re only going to be weighing each other down, Zack thought to himself as he continued walking through the abandoned streets. Yeah, she’s strong, no doubt about that, but she doesn’t seem that bright. And I doubt she’s willing to deal with the issues that I have. It’s just a bad idea to even think about.
Anna had finally caught up to Zack, running a few inches in front of him to block off the path. Her eyes were burning, as if she was ready for a confrontation. That determination is what caused Zack to stop in front of her instead of just walking right around her.
“Why are you ignoring me,” Anna asked, trying to keep a calm head.
“I’m not ignoring you,” Zack told her, “You probably have your own business to take care of, as do I.” With that, he resumed walking away from the girl. This time though, she was able to keep up with his steps.
“What a stupid thing to say,” Anna tells him. “I mean, look at the world the way it is now. Do you honestly expect me to be doing anything important? Oh right; I’m supposed to meet a guy in two hours to take me to the movies.”
Zack let out a mercy chuckle.
“Well, I do have somewhere to go,” he clarified.
“Let me come with you then.” Anna didn’t sound as if she was pleading. What caught Zack off guard was that she sounded like a strategist, as if she had prepared herself for something like this. Of course, he figured that it’s something anyone could pick up from popular horror movies. Still, was it a bad strategy? “I mean, at times like this, wouldn’t it be better for those of us still alive to stay together.”
“You can follow me if you want,” Zack instructs her. “I really have no interest in friends, only survival.”
“Which is why I’ll tag along,” Anna told him in a matter-of-fact tone. “After all, the best way to survive something like this is with strength.”
Zack couldn’t deny that; he was pretty impressed with how strong Anna seemed when she was able to take out the zombies only a few minutes ago. Slightly, he slows down so Anna can keep pace with him. While walking, Zack took in a big whiff of the air, his nose twitching. There was a very distinct scent that was in the air, one that didn’t seem to match the environment around him.
“Tell me, Anna,” Zack said, not looking at her directly, “are you wearing some kind of perfume right now?”
“Y-yes,” Anna answers, not sure why he would ask such a question.
Zack stopped. Anna was shocked by his abrupt motion, but she follows his movements. Deep down, she knew that the answer she had given him was not the one that he was looking for. There was no anger on Zack’s face. Deep down, he was irritated. This girl wasn’t very annoying to him, at first, but he now felt at risk with her following him.
“Get rid of it,” Zack ordered her.
“Excuse me,” Anna questioned. The tone Zack gave her was one that didn’t flatter her one bit.
“You heard me,” Zack said. “Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to carry around something like that? You’re putting my life, and not to mention your own, at risk.”
Anna didn’t liked it when anyone yelled at her, probably because she was young, or that she had dealt with that a lot when her parents were alive not so long ago. Either way, she was starting to regret wanting to tag along with this guy in the first place. The glass bottle of perfume that was tucked away into her backpack was a gift from one of her dearest friends…a friend that didn’t make it past the initial invasion of the infected.
Aggressively, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself from the situation. “Why exactly is it so dangerous?”
Zack picked up on the change of tone that Anna was, at least, attempting. He felt it only fair to return the favor, closing his eyes for a second to gather his thoughts. He felt that it would be common sense in a scenario like this, but of course the information he knew wasn’t something everyone could pick up.
“There was a report on one of the final news broadcasts, before the cable signals had given up,” Zack started to explained to her. The look on Anna’s face told him that the event was something that she did remember. It was clear that the television signals had finally ceased probably due to the fact that there was no one left to send them. “Well, a couple of doctors had gotten together and looked into what exactly made up these creatures. In their studies, they discovered that they had a strong sense of smell. They’re obviously attracted to the scent of human flesh, but they’re also curious to scents that are either foreign to them or just don’t belong.”
“I see,” Anna said, her voice echoing her understanding.
She swung the backpack around her shoulder, opening up the bag in almost a jerk. Zack quickly spied at the stuff that was in her bag: some dried fruit, a few pieces of candy, a mirror, a towel, a brush, and (of course) the glass bottle of perfume. Anna dug through the bag until she finally pulled out the clear glass with a swishing pink liquid. Zack remembered a vial similar to that his mother had owned, when she was still alive. He remembered that it was an expensive brand, so she only wore it on special occasions.
There was no hesitation in Anna’s movements. With her right arm, Anna chucked the bottle of fruity smelling perfume into the air with as much force as she could. It had flown for a few seconds, unintentionally impressing Zack. It landed several feet away from the two of them, smashing open on contact with the concrete. There was a small, prideful smile on the girl’s face, seeing what she had done.
“Taken care of,” Anna told Zack, her smile now cocky. “Is there anything else that you need me to do?”
“Actually, there is one small thing,” Zack said.
He approached the girl, his face uncomfortably close to hers. With his right hand, he reached toward the girl’s face, causing her to close her eyes and pull away a distance. Then, there was a light tugging from her scalp. Zack was lightly pulling on the girl’s lovely, brown hair. It flowed all the way down to the lower part of her back.
“Your hair,??
? Zack told her, finally letting go of the few strands that entangled his palms, “we’ll need to cut it. I’m sure you understand why short hair is much more appropriate in our current environment.”
Anna bit the inside of her cheek. It wasn’t that much of a big deal for her to have a haircut, but she was so used to having her hair like this ever since she had first started junior high school several years back. Of course, living now meant survival, and you couldn’t bother yourself with the luxuries of the life they had once lived.
“I understand,” Anna said in a flat tone.
“We’d better hurry then,” Zack told her, now starting to walk again. “We can look for some scissors at the place where we’re going.”
Anna wanted to ask Zack exactly where they were headed, but she decided against it. She could tell that he was in a hurry, whatever his reason may be. Anna followed him in silence to their next destination. Zack wasn’t in the mood for talking anyway. Even with all the side tracks that Anna had caused him, he was still focused on the main reason why he had left his shelter that day in the first place.