Devour: I HOPE THEY HAVE BRAINS, page 1
DEVOUR
J. TRUESDELL
Copyright © 2023 J.Truesdell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems – except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews – without permission in writing from the author.
For permission contact:
Jtruesdell2020@gmail.com
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the authors. This book is sold in print and electronic formats and is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book, when in electronic format, may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person or use proper retail channels to lend a copy. If you are reading this book in print or electronic format and did not purchase or borrow it through proper channels, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
CONTENTS
The Beginning…
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
It’s Not Over Yet…
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by J. Truesdell
THE BEGINNING…
Ivy walked out of the back room, carrying a fresh tray of pastries, and placed them in the display case. The scent of freshly baked banana bread mixed with freshly brewed coffee caused her stomach to rumble. Straightening up, she looked around the empty shop, her mind drifting to the thought of what a long day it would be. Already nine in the morning and not a single customer. With a sigh, she turned her attention to the LG Television that hung in the corner. The news anchor she had thought was handsome had a fearful expression on his face.
“It’s the apocalypse.”
Ivy looked at her best friend and co-worker, Emma, when she spoke. Emma crossed her arms over her middle and stared at the screen. “I mean, what else can it be? The entire world is going crazy,” Emma added, not once taking her eyes from the screen.
“It’s not the apocalypse,” Ivy stated as she moved over to the coffee station, quickly pouring herself a cup. The reports started just over a week ago. There had been a disaster in a scientific lab in Russia. At first, it had been reported like any other news story, worse than it could have been. However, as the days passed, more and more information made it seem a little more serious.
“Biological weapons…” Emma spoke under her breath with a shake of her head. “How could they mess with that junk and not prepare for anything to happen?”
“Emma.” Ivy shushed her best friend as she moved next to her, both women listening as the anchor continued.
“Unable to contain what can only be called a silent destructor has begun to spread throughout China and Japan, with cases now being reported in the United Kingdom. Japan has now closed its borders, while the royals have evacuated the palace to locations unknown. Containment protocols have been put in place along the coast, as we now have reports along our soil.” Ivy glanced at her friend, the look of panic expressed along her features. “Our country has been placed on a mandatory quarantine…”
Ivy stepped back with the sound of the coffee machine finishing its brew. She knew that would be the next step. How could it not be after the news footage out of Japan surfaced? People going mad, attacking each other. Cities emptied like something out of a horror movie.
Although Ivy remembered the people in the video who looked infected with rabies, lost in madness, she couldn’t forget the white pus oozing from the corners of their mouths.
“I’m sure it’s just a mutated strand of flu or something,” Ivy attempted to reassure herself with her words. “Some type of marketing thing to make sure people rushed to the stores.” She continued, her gaze shifted to Emma, who remained locked onto the news.
“I’m telling you, this is the end,” Emma stated as she glanced in Ivy’s direction. Ivy shook her head with a smile as she turned from her friend, lifting a cup of coffee to her lips just as the bell over the door jingled. Ivy smiled as she watched an older gentleman walk in, making his way over to one of the booths.
Emma sighed and turned to grab the coffee pot, Ivy with a quick shake of her head. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this one., Ivy said as she sat her cup down, grabbed the coffee pot, and moved around the counter.
“You sure?” Emma asked as her eyes glued once more to the screen. Ivy smiled at her friend as she walked with a smooth stride in the man's direction.
As she approached the man, his head lowered as he coughed roughly. Ivy paused, giving him a moment before she stopped at the side of the table. Her eyes scanned him, the red patches along his neck, the sweat that rolled along the side of his face. His breathing, was raspy and short as though he struggled with each breath he took.
She wanted to ask him to leave, but instead grabbed the cup sitting on the table and started to fill it with hot coffee. She had never seen someone so ill, so oblivious to her presence.
“Are you okay?” Ivy asked softly. There was a single moment, just one. Her gut told her to leave when he looked up at her with a slow lift of his head. Ivy gasped at the sight of the man, his eyes reddened and bloodshot, a white hardened crust like texture at the corner of his mouth, his lips cracked from dryness. “Sir…” she started to speak once again but jumped back as he fell into a coughing fit.
“Iv?” Emma’s voice brought Ivy’s attention to her only briefly.
“I’m going to get you help.” She spoke softly, offering what comfort she could before turning and moving back to the counter with a quick dash.
“Ivy, what’s going on?” Emma asked as she moved to her best friend’s side.
“I just need to get an ambulance here,” Ivy responded. “He’s sick, very sick.” She added. Both women looked back at the man as he continued to cough, his whole body shuddering with a harshness. Did he have the same sickness they spoke about on the news? The question brought fear to Ivy, one she worked to keep from her already scared friend.
Just as she reached for the phone, the bell over the door jingled once again, and the town sheriff entered with a smile. It was normal for him to visit the store, no matter what. Ivy straightened up, her eyes locked on the friendly local. The smile on his face faded. “Everything okay?”
The two words he asked any other day would be harmless, yet Ivy knew better.
“I don’t know,” Ivy responded as she motioned to the man seated in the booth with a slight nod of her head. The Sheriff’s eyes turned toward the man and started with a slow, cautious stride in his direction.
“Sir, is everything alright here?” The Sheriff asked once he reached the booth. The man remained silent, his coughing finally stopped. Ivy stood close to Emma, her breathing picked up with nervousness. She could feel it, an energy in the air that thickened with each second. It was the time in a horror movie a creepy song would start, she thought.
“We need to go,” Ivy whispered. “Now.”
“But…” Emma started to question her friend, yet her words stopped with the loud snarl that echoed through the shop. Ivy jumped back at the sudden movement of the man, who had appeared near death just moments before. She grabbed Emma’s hand, both women’s eyes wide as he fell to the ground with a hard thud.
“CALL 911!” The Sheriff shouted as he lowered himself over the man. He leaned over as though to check for breathing. Ivy quickly turned to the shop phone that sat near the register. Two numbers had been all she managed to dial when the scream from the Sheriff moved through her.
Her eyes shot up, her breathing quickened, and in an instant, everything changed to horror. She froze, her eyes wide in disbelief as the sick man sunk his teeth into the Sheriff’s neck, blood shooting across the room.
The collar of his shirt was now soaked red. The man lifted his mouth, he growled as though satisfied at his act, the Sheriff’s flesh hanging from his mouth. “Run…” the single word was all the Sheriff could whisper, his voice broken, filled with fear and despair before the only sound he made was a struggle of life as the man latched onto him once more.
Ivy turned to Emma, who stood frozen, pale, full of terror. “Go, NOW!” Ivy growled, the sound of her voice bringing Emma’s attention to her. Emma moved quickly around the counter, followed by Ivy, as they rushed down the short hallway.
“What the hell was that?” Emma asked as she continued toward the exit. “He tore out his fucking throat! What the hell was that?” Emma’s voice rose and broke. Ivy knew she fought back tears. Both women lowered against the door, but Ivy knew there was no time to sit and catch their breath, not after what they just witnessed.
“Em, I need you to hold it together. I know you’re scared, so am I, but I need you to hold it together until we get to a safer place.”
“Where the hell would that be?” Emma asked. Ivy’s gaze swept the calm back lot, stopping on Emma’s car.
“Give me your keys,” Ivy demanded.
“I don’t have th
“Where is your purse?”
"The office," Emma said softly. It had been like all the sound in the world was sucked away.
Their breathing, the heavy and hard beat of their heart all that remained, until a sudden loud crash echoed from the front of the store.
“We need those keys,” Ivy stated.
“Ivy, no.” Emma’s voice filled with dread and fear. Ivy saw the plea in her best friend’s eyes.
“Stay hidden. I’ll be right back,” Ivy promised. Ivy inhaled and exhaled, building up all the courage she had inside her before she pulled open the door and made a dash inside.
She remained lowered, still, as she listened for the sounds from the front of the store. The news is still heard playing on the television. She glanced around the dimly lit hallway. She stood up slowly but remained bent forward as if trying to avoid being seen. One foot in front of the other, she moved toward the office without a sound, though her breathing shook with each exhale she made. She had nothing, nothing to defend herself, a fact she realized when she heard a sudden loud bang at the counter.
Ivy paused, her hands shaking as her stare locked in the distance. The office was only a few more steps; she thought. In a measured motion, she continued forward and slid into the dark room. With a soft, silent wisp, she closed the door, exhaling the deep breaths she had been holding. Ivy wanted to cry but knew better than to succumb to feelings of fear. With a quick movement, she rushed to the desk, grabbing Emma’s purse from the bottom drawer, then her own.
One strap than the other, Ivy secured the purses around her chest.
It was time to leave, to the Police Station, she thought to herself. Slowly, she pulled the door open and stepped into the hallway, glancing to the front of the store. Her breath rushed from her lungs instantly. She stood straight up, her heart pounding against her chest. “No, it can’t be.” She whispered, her fearful stare locked on the Sheriff, who stood at the entrance of the hallway.
Blood coated his entire front, and his neck had a huge hole where the flesh had been ripped off. His cheek had been torn apart, so much so that his teeth were exposed on the side of his face. His eyes were milky white and his skin a gray, pale color. This isn’t possible, she thought. Ivy closed her eyes, as though when she would open them he wouldn’t be there, standing with his stony stare locked on her. Her eyes opened, and she gasped, noticing that he was still there.
“Sheriff?” Ivy whispered.
He groaned, as though he wanted to talk but couldn’t. He took a single step forward, slow.
“Sheriff, please.” She pleaded with him to tell her something, though she knew he would not. She knew she wasn’t safe. She needed to run. Ivy swallowed back bile as she stared at him. His eyes looked vacant, dead. A shiver of pure terror raced through her body as she pulled herself out of her frozen state. RUN! She screamed inside her head.
Ivy wasted no time blasting out the exit so hard the door slammed against the brick building. Her eyes scanned the area, searching for Emma. She rushed to her friend, hidden behind a dumpster, and grabbed her wrist.
With a hard yank, she pulled Emma to her feet. Emma paused near the open door. “Sheriff?” Emma asked as the man they knew well groaned in the distance.
“No, not anymore,” Ivy answered. Emma gasped as she caught sight of him. With a forceful slam, Ivy shut the door and dragged Emma behind her as they hurried toward her car.
“It’s the fucking apocalypse!” With fear shaking her voice, Emma shouted.
“COME ON!” Ivy demanded, as though Emma wasn’t moving fast enough for her.
“Where are we going?” Emma asked as they approached their vehicle.
“Police,” Ivy answered simply.
“The police are zombies,” Emma said, both women with a brief pause as they looked at one another.
“I don’t believe in zombies,” Ivy stated.
“You better start, because we just saw a man we’ve known since we were kids get his throat torn out. He dies and then comes back to life. We are in our own horror movie.” Emma retorted.
Zombies. The very thought of them made Ivy laugh, even in the horror movies she and Emma regularly watched. Yet, what other answer could she have? She knew Emma was right. The man died. Nobody could have lived through such a violent and gory attack. How was he standing at the end of the hallway? How was he looking at them? How? The questions rolled through her mind, and yet Emma was right. What other explanation was there?
“Get in,” Ivy commanded. She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew they needed to get somewhere safe. If not the police, where? As both women climbed into the car, those questions ran through Ivy’s mind.
“What if nowhere is safe? Emma's question was something Ivy had thought of herself. She needed to be strong, and courageous. Not just for Emma, but for her own survival.
“We will figure this out.” Ivy attempted to comfort her friend, hoping the fear she felt wasn’t evident in her words. “Let’s just get out of here.” Ivy took both purses from her body, placing Emma’s in her lap when she glanced out the window. A woman shambled down the road, her steps sluggish. Whatever was happening had entered their town. The fear of what the news reported was no longer a story on television, it was a reality.
Home.
The single word repeated in Ivy’s mind. They would get home and be safe. They could wait it out. Put faith in their government to save the day. She wanted it to be true and figured if she repeated it enough in her mind, it would become so. Ivy pressed the button, starting the engine of the car. She exhaled and backed from the parking spot. Home. They would be safe at home. She continued to repeat the words in her mind, and yet as she pulled onto the main street, her gut told her otherwise.
The nightmare had just started.
CHAPTER
ONE
Six months later…
Ivy walked down the hallway of the old hospital, her heels tapping against the tiled floor as she made her way toward the stairs. It had been six months since that fateful day in the coffee shop. Six months since everything they knew was gone. Since their world turned upside down. The dead, or near dead, roamed everywhere. Killing and attacking anything living, they crossed. They were called the infected. More like infections on everything she had taken for granted, she quietly admitted. Were they fully dead? No one really knew.
It started with rumors of a biological experiment gone wrong. A Russian scientist attempted to create a string of viruses and ended up infecting himself. Had he done it on purpose? Infected himself only to be the one to find the cure and save the world, yet it got away from him too quickly?
It had been a thought Ivy often had, though others thought it was something more. A way for Americans to be destroyed. Ivy tended to ignore the gossip. What point was there to listen when nothing helped them? All they knew for sure, a scratch could infect you, and a bite was guaranteed.
That first day, after leaving the coffee shop, was the most terrifying Ivy had ever experienced. They had made it home only to realize what used to be their safe haven was no longer. The streets where they would take their nightly runs or walks were covered in trash cans on fire or broken bicycles. Neighbors they would say hello to, laying lifeless on their front lawns or standing in the middle of the road, blood on their faces. Their home was no more. Ivy knew it with each block they moved down and based on the saddened expression Emma had, she knew it as well.
Traveling through their town, they drove slowly with locked doors. Hours, that had been all it took for their sleepy little, normal, town to be gone. Taken over by this infestation. Could they be the last people in town alive? The question traveled through Ivy’s mind as they drove past the police station. The open door offered a clear shot of the dispatcher flung over the counter in front. Tiffany. While staring ahead at the road, Ivy quickly thought of her name. They had gone to school with her and attended her wedding just a month ago.
