34 Chapter 30: Some Things Can't be fixed

Joseph had dragged President Grump to the edge of the White House roof overlooking the carnage below where the defense line once stood. He looked at the once arrogant man lying on the ground clutching his leg where the now severed tendon is.

Joseph stares at Grump then back at the horizon that looks majestic with its multiple hues of orange and slight tinge of red near the surface, which was nicely decorated with the smoke of several buildings in the foreground. Joseph didn't really care for the scenery, but he at least believed that everyone should die after seeing something as beautiful as a city burning.

"So am I gonna have to really ask and make your death more drawn out than it has to be, or are you gonna make it easy on yourself and tell me what I want to know about why you took everything from me," Joseph said with his usual southern accent that made people swear they were talking to Sam Elliot himself.

Looking over the ledge at those on the ground being devoured, President Grump looked back at Joseph while trying his best to ignore his leg's pain and said, "Fuck... you!"

Joseph looking at Grump with weary eyes, turns his head back toward the wonderful scenery before them and shrugs his shoulders and says, "Alrighty then, I tried my luck. I guess when it comes to making deals, I'm not as good as the big guy, but no one can say I didn't try."

Finishing his last words, Joseph began walking toward Grump as he tried to crawl away with the help of his one good leg. Just as he extended it to make a little distance between him and his pursuer, which was insignificant due to Joseph's walking speed, he felt the cold and stiff grasp of a hand around his ankle. Fearing the man he once betrayed and labeled a terrorist, he knew what was to come was worse than a knife to a tendon. With one last thought of wanting to at least die on his own terms, he attempted to roll off the ledge and fall to his death.

Although it would have been an excellent strategy to escape the more slow and painful death by cannibalism if a regular zombie grabbed him, but the zombie that had grabbed hold of his meaty ham hock he called a leg, more specifically, his ankle was non-other than Joseph. A specially trained assassin and strategist turned general of a secret army under the U.S. and finally a general of the undead horde that now threatens to knock humanity off the throne for the earth's ruler.

Grump rolled off the edge and fell, but not too far as Joseph still had him by the ankle. With the torque from him rolling off the edge, he generated enough speed to continue turning even though he was being held by Joseph and inadvertently twisted his ankle past the breaking point, snapping it.

"AAARRRRRrrrrggg," Grump screamed out loudly as his ankle snapped in the hands of Joseph.

"Well Well Well, looks like your doing my part for me," Joseph said while lifting Grump and throwing the large man behind him with one hand.

Grump hitting a bloody AC unit coughs up blood, adding to the scattered bits and pieces of flesh near the unit. His back and nerves soared with pain as his shattered spine communicates its horrid status. Looking at the man he betrayed toss him like a rag doll he knew that there wasn't much he could do now but bargain until reinforcements arrived, but he didn't know how long he could last with his only option.

"Look! Look! I think I ca..." Grump was about to say when Joseph stomped on his good knee, crushing his left knee cap.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH..." Grump yelled out in blinding agony.

"I hope you weren't hoping on stalling for back up. Cause ya see storming what's supposed to be the most important building in the country would be damn hard even if you didn't already have a few soldiers parked out front. So I played my role in my new position as an undead general and attacked every base with large amounts of cannon fodder until they got overrun or ran away until my boss crippled wireless communication around the world. Now timing this shit here was a lil difficult when you know your new boss was going to fuck silly every signal around the world today, but just not what time. So imagine it like this; your playing the shell game with three buckets. Each has a chance to be the right time, the wrong time, or an angry ass rattlesnake, and you can only pick one bucket. If you didn't get it, well, you will in hell or as a cannon fodder. I got other ways to find out why you did it. I was just trying to get you to tell the truth like a grown man we both know you are."

Grump, too weak to move from the stress and pain and wanting to faint, is suddenly jolted back to his sense as a set of teeth sinking into his left leg. He screamed as he tried to swat away the zombie who was tearing out flesh after flesh from his leg. He looked back at Joseph and asked, "Please make it stop, please!"

Joseph looked around as more zombies began to converge to their location on the rooftop and said, "Yea, I'll make it stop alright, but you ain't gonna like how."

After hearing Joseph's last words, Grump takes a look around and sees the crowd of zombies walking around the AC unit he's lying next to. A few seconds go by and the last few screams from the white house, which belonged to the president, quickly died.

...

Back to the present within the room of the central chamber of the Gravemind.

"So, have you accomplished what you wanted?" John asked Joseph from his throne.

"Yes, master." Joseph replied with a smile.

"And what have you gained?" John said with his fist to face as if to show his boredom.

Joseph pulling up president Grump who was now a zombified head with only a spine and ribs said, "A lot."