Cage The Dead Read Online Free PDF Page A

quiet,” Gaia said, watching the half dozen zombies outside, still searching for the source of the sound. The trio quietly slinked back toward the center of the bus, took seats and waited.
    Gaia could hear the sounds of movement outside the bus, but after what seemed an eternity of remaining still, the noises dissipated. She dared a surreptitious glance outside and saw nothing and no one around.
    “Okay, I think they are gone.” But, before she could even shift in her seat, she heard the meager sound of repeated banging on the window right beside her.
    Gaia’s heart almost leapt out of her chest as she recoiled and nearly fell out of her seat. When she looked, realizing that the window was about eight feet off the ground, she recognized the familiar face of Maye, the recently missing capuchin.
    “Get in here,” she stated, opening the window and letting the monkey in and climb onto her shoulder. She held up her hand and the monkey high-fived her.
    “Now lemme have a look at that wound, Nick,” Gaia said, sliding into the seat next to him. She untied the knot under his arm, then had to slowly peel back the now-sticky fabric, caked with dried blood, and confirmed what she had initially seen, which was that a large hunk of flesh was torn mostly free. She had seen wounds before, had treated the animals in the zoo on many occasions, but this was truly gruesome and she almost vomited, but held it back.
    “It’s bad, right?”
    “Nothing I can’t handle. But, we need meds. And as I said, we really need to stitch it.”
    “I have a bottle of antibiotics left over in the car, along with some pain reliever,” Adam said. “But it’s way over there.”
    “Well, looks like Maye and I are going, then. Or at least, I am going,” she said, looking to the capuchin who remained silent in the rear of the bus.
    “I’ll go with you,” Adam said bravely. Gaia shook her head, saying nothing at first.
    “You're in no shape to do that and you know it, hon. Just sit tight and I’ll be back.” Adam tried to stand and immediately fell back into his seat. He was about to protest verbally, but no words escaped his lips.
    “Remember, there’s predators roaming free out there. Animals and…whatever the fuck those things are.”
    “ Zombies ,” Adam said. “I heard the word mentioned in one broadcast before I took off here to find Gaia. “One man, an expert in science, called them zombies . That was right before the TV station went to static.”
    He adjusted himself in the seat and then, unable to get comfortable, simply lay down, stretching his legs to the adjacent seat across the aisle.
    “Right, zombies ,” Nick reiterated. “Be careful, Gaia.”
    “You know I will, Nick. Besides, the Mustang is right there,” she said pointing across the lot to the car. It was a couple hundred paces away and she saw nothing around. Adam’s prized jet-black Mustang GT was a wreck in the front, the grill smashed and the passenger side headlight along with it.
    Gaia kicked something as she took her next step and found a lunch box on the floor. She opened it up and found a juice box and, as luck would have it, an ice pack, which she handed to Adam. “Keep this on your head. I’ll be back.” Adam again nodded his consent, though she could tell he was not happy about her decision.
    As Gaia unhinged the locking mechanism on the side and pushed open the door, she paused, listening for sounds. She could hear animals in the zoo crying, growling and roaring their protest against what she considered the exact opposite of nature’s glory—the living dead. These creatures were the most unnatural things to ever set foot on earth’s soil. She listened for another minute and nodded her head in agreement of the animals’ plight.
    They have every right to bitch about it.
    Something that awakens from the dead was the most malevolent thing she could think of. Zombies, recollecting from what she had seen in movies, were things that came back from the