“Put him on the streets tonight.” Maxwell said calmly as the collar activated.
“He’s not for the fights?” The man asked. He looked very disappointed.
“Do as I tell you!”
Orlando wanted to emerge from his hiding place he wanted to confront Maxwell. ‘Why was he creating zombies?’ He saw Maxwell fixated on the blue fire.
“We have to clear out of here!” He shouted.
“Why?” The man asked as he was moving the zombie out of camp.
“There is a yellow light in the flames. He’s watching us.”
“Who is watching us?” He was confused.
Turning towards him Maxwell shouted, “Don’t worry about it! Just clear out of here. Now!”
Moving towards the fire pit he tried to put the fire out, it would not go out. Maxwell began to shout around the camp. “There is nothing you can do Fernando! No one will help you. You are just a dying Wizard. How many days do you have left now?” With a laugh, Maxwell fled the camp.
“They are gone now.” Fernie appeared near Orlando. “Do you believe me now? Do you finally see?”
“I do.”
“Good, because we do not have much time.”
“He said you were dying?”
“We are all dying.”
Orlando ignored his comment, “What is wrong with you?”
“He injected me with zombie blood.”
That was not something that Orlando had expected to hear, “Is there no cure?”
“My cure will be his death.”
Orlando did not know what to say. He had gone from believing Fernie was some crazy psycho to believing that Maxwell was the real psycho.
Orlando turned to find Fernie watching him oddly, uncertainty in his eyes. Fernie slowly began to speak, “We must end this soon.”
Chapter Nine – Betrayal
He didn’t know what to do. Should he share with his grandfather what he had learned about Maxwell? What about Ruben? Did he know what Maxwell had been doing all along? Orlando stood in the center of the camp. His hands rested on his hips.
He heard Fernie step out of the tent. He did not look up as Fernie said, “He left things here. His notes and some of the magik fix.”
“I thought he hated zombies, why would he make them?” Orlando bent down to look into the dying blue flames of the pit. “He said that his own father became a zombie.”
“Didn’t you wonder how his father became a zombie?”
The ‘how’ didn’t matter to Orlando. “Did he get bit or something?”
“Getting ‘bit’ doesn’t turn you into a zombie. It’s this stuff right here.” Fernie held up a vial of magick fix. “You take enough of these, thinking all your getting is a nice high when what you’re really doing is dosing your body with zombie juice.”
“That stuff has been making everyone into zombies?” Orlando rose and stepped over to Fernie. Taking the vial from his hand he examined it closely.
“It comes in many forms. Liquid, pills, whatever you want.”
“You said he left notes in the tent?”
Fernie gave Orlando a big smile before saying, “He did.”
“Where are they?”
“Have you agreed to help me then?”
Orlando nodded his head. He was sure, Maxwell had betrayed him. He had told Orlando that it was his job to hunt zombies, to put an end to them. But all along Maxwell had been the one behind their creation.
“Good. Meet me in an hour.”
A blue light exploded throughout the camp. Orlando had to cover his eyes from the intense light. He felt the light enclose over him and within moments fade away. Opening his eyes he saw that he was back in his room. His mother stood at the door with her hand resting on the door knob. She did not seem to realize that any time had passed.
“Go to bed,” she said closing the door.
A diagram appeared on the back of the bedroom door. It was a map of some sort. He traced it with his fingers. Small swirly lines with numbers … Orlando was going to Tijuana, Mexico.
He was going to need to take a shower first. After his trek in the park he needed it.
He showered quickly and returned to his room, the light on his cell phone indicated that he had a text message. It was Ruben. He wanted to meet him.
Orlando agreed.
They met at a bowling ally down the street from his house. Ruben looked like he had been in a fight. He had a bruise on the right side of his face and blood on his shirt.
“What happened to you?” Orlando asked as he sat down next to him at the bar.
“I was hunting, the zombie was pretty big. Didn’t expect it, but I took it down.”
“How did you find it?”
“Maxwell put me on the trail. Said he saw it, so I went. After I killed it I gave him a call. He didn’t answer but I knew where I could find him.”
The bartender approached them and Orlando ordered a coke. He listened as Ruben continued.
“He didn’t see me; at first I didn’t think anything of it. Then I saw that he was talking to somebody, so I got closer. He had at least two other zombies. He had them in cages. They were hooked up to tubes and looked like they were knocked out or something.”
“How did you know where to find him?”
“I learned a while ago that whenever I work with someone its best to know as much as you can about them. So I had followed him around for a while. I thought he seemed legit.”
“He fooled me too. He’s making them you know, he’s making zombies.”
Ruben turned to Orlando, “He’s making them out of us.”
“What?” Orlando was confused.
“Some of them are hunters.” He pulled a bracelet out of his pocket. “This belonged to a friend of mine.” He dropped it on the counter. It was a gold chain bracelet.
“Are you sure?” Orlando didn’t want to touch it. He saw red as he looked at it. They had trusted Maxwell. “What’s in Tijuana?”
“Tijuana?”
“Yeah,” he said, waiting for an answer.
“I know he goes there sometimes.”
“I’m going there, tonight.”
“Ruben!” They both turned to see who had called Ruben’s name. She stood at the door. She looked to be about Orlando’s age. “Ruben?” She stepped forward, “What happened to you?”
Ruben did not look pleased to see her, “Elodie I sent you a text telling you I was going to be late.”
“Did you press send? Because I didn’t get it! Look at you, you’re a mess.” She didn’t notice Orlando at first but when she did she asked, “What are you doing here? How do you know Ruben?”
Ruben answered for him, “Orlando this is my sister, Elodie.”
“Your sister?” He asked.
“Yeah, she’s why I had to leave early back in China Town. I had to pick her up.”
Orlando couldn’t look away from Elodie she had an intense look about her. It was almost as if she were trying to decide if he could be trusted. Ruben drew her attention back towards him with his next statement.
“I’m heading down to T.J. I should be back in the morning.”
“What? Why?” Elodie was surprised by this.
He simply said, “Hunting.”
She squinted as she looked back at Orlando, “with him?”
“I’m not new at this.” Orlando said in defense of himself. He didn’t like the scrutiny in her eyes.
“It’s your gamble.” With that said she left the bar.
Chapter Ten – The Hunt
They traveled down the 5 FWY, it was late and Orlando wasn’t sure if he was doing the right thing. Nothing seemed to be right any more. The last few days were one surprise after the next. No one was who they claimed to be. Orlando was not even sure if he could trust Ruben. He had just met the guy. He said that he had gotten those bruises from a zombie but he could be lying about it. Ruben was working for Maxwell.
Orlando tried to convince himself not to worr
y about it. He would see how things played out once they reached Tijuana. But first he had to make a quick stop. He had to meet Fernie in San Diego; the map that had appeared on the back of Orlando’s bedroom door had shown an address in the Gaslamp Quarter.
They rode up to a hotel, the Horton Grand Hotel.
Ruben looked up at the old building, “Why are we stopping here?”
Orlando simply said, “We are meeting a friend of mine.”
“I thought you were in a hurry to get to Tijuana.” Ruben watched as Orlando headed inside the building.
The lobby had vaulted ceilings, decorated mostly in white with columns along side the lobby’s walls.
Orlando stopped at the entrance; he spotted Fernie seated in a white wicker chair. Fernie’s eyes had settled on them, but his expression was unreadable. He rose from his chair and carefully walked over to Orlando and Ruben.
“You’re one of Maxwell’s hunters,” he held out his hand to him.
Without hesitation Ruben took his hand to shake, instantly he felt the sensation of sharp pins injected into his hand. He cried out in pain, his knees buckled nearly falling to the floor.
Fernie ended the connection by pulling his hand away. “Can’t trust just anybody, had to make sure you were clean.”
“What did you do to him?” Orlando asked mystified.
Ruben clutched his hand, the sensations were slowly ebbing. “You’re a wizard.” He said accusingly.
Fernie chose not to answer the question instead he said, “You know,” looking around the place, “Wyatt Earp lived here.”
Ruben was not ready to let the attack go. “What the Hell, I can’t even make a fist.”
“What did you do?” Orlando asked again.
“It was a test. He passed.”
With his other hand Ruben formed a fist and took a swing at Fernie who ducked. Not happy with that, Ruben lunged at him taking him to the ground. Orlando stood there deciding not to interfere; he folded his arms in front of his chest.
He watched as Fernie deflected most of Rubens assaults, yet he did manage to land one near his kidneys.
With a gust of wind Fernie pushed Ruben away. He landed on his back with a groan.
“We should get going,” Orlando had enough of this. He wanted to reach Tijuana and face Maxwell. He had a lot to say to him.
“Yeah, I’m done here.” Ruben rose and headed for the doors.
Before he made it to the door the three of them were surrounded by blue light. Orlando was familiar with this light. Fernie was a wizard, he traveled in the light. He was taking them to where they needed to be. Tijuana, Mexico.
Opening his eyes Orlando found that they were on a busy street. There was shouting, the smell of fear in the air. Without giving it another thought Orlando ran towards the sounds.
There were strange colored lights shooting up from the ground, and the people that the light struck were crying out in pain. Orlando watched in horror as they transformed into zombies.
“Don’t let the light hit you!” he shouted at Ruben and Fernie as they reached him.
The newly transformed zombies began attacking what was left of the crowd.
“Use your light!” Orlando shouted at Fernie. “Get the survivors out of here!”
Fernie did what he could, but the numbers of survivors were dwindling quickly, as the numbers of zombies increased.
Ruben drew his sword and ran into the thick of the zombies shouting his battle cry. Orlando ran in after him and took a swing with his fist at the first zombie he came into contact with. He had left his sword secured with his Sportster which was miles away from him in San Diego.
He gave a kick to another one; it was a good thing that he was wearing his Harley boots. A hand clamped down onto his head pulling him backwards. He fell flat on the ground. As he looked up he saw that his sword was no longer in San Diego, it was shooting down from the sky straight at him. It was not a sight that he was comfortable with.
Dodging the fall of the sword as he sat up, he grabbed the hilt as it pierced the ground and with it in his hand he swung at an attacking zombie. The head sliced right off.
He had to be careful that the lights that were still shooting out of the ground did not come into contact with him. He sidestepped a light as it shot up near him. Orlando used his sword as if it were a baseball bat and swung at the light. He hit it dead on. With its new direction the light shot out at a zombie hitting it in the chest. As the light made contact the zombie began to shake violently. Amazingly it returned to its human form sinking to the ground unconscious.
Orlando shouted at Ruben telling him what to do with the shooting lights. A few of the zombies ran off in search of prey elsewhere.
Fernie was knelling down beside a victim of the zombie attack. He was trying to help the wounded. His blue light surrounded all of the injured in a healing fashion. They were all absorbed into the comforting light.
“What happened? Where did they all go?” Orlando asked.
Ruben interrupted with his own question, “Dude, what was with the light show?”
Chapter Eleven – Injuries
The shooting lights had turned people into zombies. Orlando didn’t think such a thing was possible. It couldn’t be.
Fernie remained quiet as they tracked the two remaining zombies. Most of the zombies had fled the scene looking for prey elsewhere. Orlando, Ruben and Fernie had tracked and killed all but two. They were easy to locate. It was only necessary to listen for the screams of their victims.
Orlando looked back at Ruben who was bringing up the rear. He looked troubled.
“What’s wrong?” Orlando asked coming to a stop.
“Keep quiet,” Fernie answered in an irritated manner. “Keep moving. We have a lot to do tonight.”
Fernie took the lead, Orlando held back waiting for Ruben. “What’s wrong?”
Keeping his voice low he answered, “Fernie’s injured. He’s favoring his right side.”
Orlando looked over to where Fernie was waiting for them to catch up. He stood there tall and straight. It didn’t look like Fernie was suffering from any ill effects.
“It’s subtle but it's there.” Ruben commented before he looked back over his shoulder in the direction they had come. Something caught and held his gaze.
“He’s dying; Maxwell injected him with zombie blood.” It was then that Orlando noticed the look on Ruben’s face. His eyes followed to see what was responsible for the change.
There was something very small coming up along the street. It was rolling. It made its way closer until they were able to get a better look at it. It came to a sudden halt.
To Orlando, it looked like an old fashioned cannon ball. It began to move again. It rolled out towards the left of them and came around as if it were creating a circle. It began to move faster and faster. The size of the circle was growing wider.
“What is that?” Orlando asked.
The cannon ball suddenly halted. It now lay at Orlando’s feet.
“MOVE!” Fernie shouted from behind them.
Orlando could hear Fernie running towards him, but he could not move. The cannon ball held him transfixed.
It shot up at Orlando, hitting the center of his chest and knocking him backwards. He began to fall, although he did not touch the ground beneath him. Darkness overtook him drawing him in until there was nothing more.
Chapter Twelve – Lab
When Orlando woke, he found himself in some sort of lab. There was strange equipment and even stranger noises. It took him several moments to clear his head from the darkness.
He was strapped to a wall. The bindings were tight and he was unable to move an inch. His eyes darted in every direction, trying to find some sort of escape. The room was very dark. The only source of light emerged from the machines. He did not want to find out what they were for.
Orlando caught sight of his sword; it was lying on the floor several feet away from him. Above it reste
d several knives, they were each different lengths and all of them were affixed to the wall.
The door to the lab slowly creaked open. Orlando’s was startled to see his own grandfather enter the room. “Why would you come here?” he carefully asked his grandson.
“Grandpa! Get me down.” Orlando was not sure why his grandfather was there. He could be there for any reason, couldn’t he? It didn’t mean that his grandfather was working with Maxwell. Did it?
The door pushed further open revealing Elodie. She came rushing into the room. “We have to hurry! I hear them coming!”
“Elodie,” Orlando nearly growled her name. ‘What were they both doing here?’
She stopped as she saw Orlando strapped to the wall. She pushed past Orlando’s grandfather and began to release the buckles.
Orlando watched as his grandfather went back to the door. He was looking out, waiting. Orlando didn’t know what to make of it. He was confused. “How did you find me here?” He asked the question yet he was afraid of the answer.
Elodie was quick with the answer, “I didn’t trust you guys to come out here on your own. I told your grandfather what I knew and he agreed to help me track you guys down. I thought something like this might happen.”
There was noise coming from the other side of the door. Elodie had freed Orlando from the restraints.
The door began to vibrate. His grandfather backed away from the door, waiting.
The vibrations became stronger, the door shot open and slammed up against the wall.
“Maxwell!” Orlando’s grandfather shouted in a rage.
Maxwell entered the room. He did not look afraid, instead he looked smug. His hands were concealed in his pockets. A wide smile began to form across his face. Looking at his old friend, “You, sneak, into my home, like criminals, Ethan?”
“What have you done here?” Orlando’s grandfather looked about the room. His eyes filled with such sadness as he took it all in. Settling firmly on Maxwell he asked, “What did you have planned for my grandson?”
Maxwell removed his hands from his pockets, yet Orlando could see he kept something concealed in his right hand.
Orlando moved closer to his grandfather. He wasn’t sure what Maxwell was going to do.