Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 02 Read Free Page B

than where we had just left.
    "We were taken to a tiny village of maybe one hundred people. They lived at the base of a mountain next to the most beautiful lake I've ever seen. It became almost surreal when the horrific events started to unfold.
    "My commander, Lieutenant Damon Elliot, and myself were lead to a small hut near the waters edge and set far out from the village center. My skin crawled, Morgan. That first time, hearing the moans of those monsters... I just wanted to crawl out of my body and hide." A shudder ran up Alex's spine.
    "Inside the hut, tied at the wrists and ankles were two emaciated bodies. I would never have believed them alive if they weren't moving there on the floor. Broken bones poked through large gashes all over their bodies, but there was no blood. We later discovered that this happened because the creatures twisted and turned their bound bodies in desperate attempts to get at their prey. They were literally tearing themselves apart."
    Morgan gasped and nearly retched on the floor, heaving and coughing, but able to keep her body under control. Alex gripped her arm and stroked her back, trying what he could to comfort her. "You don't need to hear anymore, babe. Lets get you some water."
    "No," Morgan said through the hand that was covering her mouth. "I want to hear this...I want to know what you saw."
    Concern etched Alex's face. "It's not all about what I saw... It's also about what I did. Are you sure you want me to go on?"
    It took a moment for Morgan to reply. Alex prayed that she would say no, but his prayers went unanswered. "Yes...yes please finish. I'll be okay."
    Alex took his hands off his wife's arm and back. There was a shame that he felt and didn't want to mar his wife with it. "You let me know when you've heard enough, okay? I wish I could say the worst was over, but its not." Morgan closed her eyes and nodded her head, her hand still covering her mouth.
    "The men in my unit were under strict orders to observe and report only. We were in no way to become involved with the events that we witnessed. That is easier said than done when you are thousands of miles away from any kind of governing authority, with only spotty communication with that authority. You tend to do what needs to be done, instead of what you are exactly told to do.
    "Over the next week and a half I recorded the events that the villagers went through. The two bodies were disposed of soon after our arrival, both of them being burned in a massive bonfire that consumed every last scrap of flesh and bone. Only the teeth remained, and those were gathered carefully and given to the local witch doctor for his remedies.
    "My commander had been quickly ingratiating himself with the village leader. The two of them were almost never seen apart, and I noticed that Elliot was beginning to take an active part in some of the activities of the village. Some of those included the capture and destruction of zombies in the surrounding forests.
    "Everything came to a head about two weeks after our arrival. We couldn't quite figure out why, but the villagers kept talking about a celebration of sorts. Our limited ability to converse with the locals made it hard to understand exactly what was going on. It became all too clear one night.
    "A large bonfire had been erected in the center of the village and everyone had gathered around it. There was some excited talk amongst the villagers, but none of us took much notice of it. Soon, a young woman was dragged from the village leaders hut, bound and the wrist and ankles and gagged so that her protests were muffled. Then Lieutenant Elliot came out."
    Morgan watched as Alex's eyes glazed over and his voice became distant. She realized that at that moment, Alex was back in the village, reliving everything that had happened.
    "There was a mad look in his eyes. Something that you didn't realize had always been there, but now you wonder how you missed it all those other times. An older man followed