

-02-
“You Don’t Want More, Xander. You Need More!”
Sergeant Xapper went back inside his hut. The chaos outside as the screams of soldiers and the groans of zombies continued. The cacophony was drowned out by the roaring in Xapper’s stomach. He thought of the zombies outside and his mouth watered.
“No! No goddamn way in hell am I eating zombies!” declared Xapper.
“But they look so tasty, don’t they, Xander?” asked Xeak.
“You wicked little stuffed piece of trash!” shouted Xapper.
“If I’m trash, does that mean you’ll eat me, Xander?” asked Xeak.
“I am not going out there and—”
“What about the soldiers out there, Xander? Are you just going to abandon them?”
Xapper gritted his teeth. The evil doll had a point. Good men were dying out there and Xapper had a duty to fight the invading horde. Xapper then went to his cot and reached underneath for a suitcase.
He opened the suitcase and pulled out a photo. He smiled at seeing it then he tucked it away in his shirt pocket. Xeak’s voice echoed in his head “Is that your daughter, Xander? Daughter, daughter, daughter?”
“Hush up, you. Talk shit about my baby girl and I will take you to hell with me.”
“It’s the end of days, Xander. Hell is here on earth.”
Xapper ignored Xeak’s commentary as he got himself ready. He put what belongings of his he could into his old rucksack he had since joining the military. He then went to his tiny gun safe.
The commander of the base, Lieutenant Pyre, had striked rules about personal firearms. Xapper was allowed to have his one antique gun, a Colt Peacemaker revolver. It belonged to his great-grandfather, who was a frontier sheriff, and it was passed down from generation to generation.
“Giddy-up, cowboy-Xander, hehehehe,” chuckled Xeak as Xapper put on his bandolier and holster belt.
“Laugh it up but this old girl’s still got some kick left,” said Xapper as he loaded and spun the revolver’s chamber.
The last item Xapper retrieved was his old metal baseball bat. In his youth, he had dreams of being in the major leagues. He took a few experimental swings and Xeak chuckled. Xapper ignored the doll’s mockery and attached the bat to his rucksack.
Xapper put on the rucksack and threw open his door. The fighting had moved away from Xapper’s hut and was migrating towards the armory. The armory was a bunker and made the perfect place for the soldiers to take shelter.
There seemed to be no zombies near Xapper’s hut. He stepped away from his door and noticed someone on the ground, leaning against the side of his hut. He recognized them immediately.
“Lieutenant?” said Xapper as he stared down at his commanding officer.
Lieutenant Pyre was covered in bite marks and his eyes were white. He was now a zombie, smiling wide, a carbine rifle in his lap. Pyre was loading bullets into a magazine with unsteady hands. He smiled at Xapper with a mad, undead gaze.
“Full. Metal. Jacket,” groaned Pyre.
“Awe hell no,” said Xapper.
He then drew his peacemaker and fired off a shot in one motion. He shot Pyre square in the head and the zombie fell sideways. Blood painted Xapper’s hut, it was black and smelled sweet with a hint of spice.
The smell made Xapper’s stomach growl. But out of respect to his commanding officer, he shuffled away from the body. Xeak was ordering him to eat but Xapper refused. He was willing to endure the pain to avoid eating a zombie.
Then, Pyre moved and started to stand up.
Xapper stared in disbelief. “No! I shot him in the head! That should kill a zombie, right?”
“Not these zombies, Xander,” said Xeak. “Shooting the brain isn’t going to stop them.”
Pyre reached out and staggered towards Xapper. His gaping mouth still grinned and dark blood dripped from his jaw. The closer Pyre came, the more Xapper salivated. Xapper’s new cursed instincts then kicked in.
He knew what he had to do.
“I gotta eat the brain, don’t I?” asked Xapper in despair.
“Get it!” Xeak encouraged him.
Pyre grabbed Xapper but Xapper was stronger. He easily wrestled the zombie off of him. Xapper then stuck his thumb into the bullet hole in Pyre’s skull. He then ripped open the top with ease, exposing Pyre’s brain.
“Why in the hell am I so damn strong?!” Xapper asked loudly.
“Against them, you are the perfect predator, Xander. Get it. Get it!”
With one hand, Xapper grabbed Pyre’s brain. It was green, slimy, and squirmed like a slug. He pulled but the spinal cord prevented the brain from completely being removed from the skull. Xapper put one foot on Pyre to add additional leverage.
The zombie was no longer smiling and it flailed out of desperation.
Xapper kicked hard and the spinal cord tore. A long piece of cord hung from the brain as he held it with both hands. Pyre stopped moving and the whole body ceased altogether. All but the brain and spinal cord.
The brain pulsated and squirmed. The spinal cord wrapped around Xapper’s arm like a snake. The spinal cord’s grip was crushing him. Xapper had no choice but to take a bite of the brain.
The brain matter tore like a stringy brownie between his teeth. The gray matter fell onto his tongue and . . . it was the most bland thing Xapper had ever eaten. It was so bland Xapper considered spitting it out.
Pyre’s spinal cord twisted and contracted his arm. And Xapper hurried, eating the brain as quickly as he could. It went down rough as he chewed little and quickly swallowed.
“Gotta eat more, Xander,” said Xeak. “Keep eating before you lose your arm.”
“Are you—lying to me—you sick little bastard?” asked Xapper between bites.