There was screaming. Twisted and mangled limbs. Flesh being torn from the bone. The Zombie Mall had become a Chamber of Horrors.
Henry grabbed Tori by the arm and tugged her up.
“Stay with me!”
Pop! Pop!
Bullets zinged past Henry’s head, blasting the plaster off the walls behind him. He dashed behind a metal trash can.
Pop!
A voice screamed behind him. He checked over his shoulder. An intern in zombie makeup collapsed to the floor. Two zombies piled on top of her.
“Henry, what about Rudy!”
Rudy was crawling over the floor. The Zombie Soldier stepped on his leg. Pointed the gun at his face. Rudy covered his face, screaming. “No man! No, man, not in the face! Bawk!”
Pop!
Tori choked a heavy sob.
Henry felt a fire ignite inside him.
“Give me that shotgun!” He snatched it from Tori.
“Don’t leave me!” she cried.
He pumped the handle, charged, yelled at the top of his lungs. The shotgun rocked the hallways.
Boom!
He caught the zombie in the back. It whirled.
Boom! Boom!
He blasted it off its feet.
“Damn, Henry,” Rudy said, rolling over to his side. “That was brutal.”
Dumbfounded, Henry said, “You’re alive!”
“It missed. Point blank, it missed!”
“Can you walk?”
“No,” Rudy said, dejected. “I’m done for. I’m done for!”
The zombie soldier rolled from side to side on the floor. Henry jumped over and jammed the shotgun into its neck. Pulled the trigger.
Ka-pow!
“Henry!”
It was Tori, pointing.
More Zombie Soldiers were coming, walking down the hallway. Pistols pointed at them. Henry snatched the gun from the Zombie Soldier. He handed it to Rudy. Helped him to his feet.
“Argh!” Rudy shouted. “Just go, Bawk! You and Tori go! I’ll hold them off!” He looked at Tori. “Good-bye, Sweet—”
“Oh shut up!” Tori grabbed one arm. Henry grabbed the other. They dragged him down the hall. “We’re getting the Hell out of here!”
Pop! Pop!
***
“Will somebody hit something! You missed a man point blank! You’re wasting ammo!” Dana said. She pointed at the LCD screen. “See those people? They’re the targets! Hit them!”
There were twelve treadmill like contraptions with real men on them. They wore suits with small balls all over them and heavy helmets covered their heads. They were moving, walking, trotting. What they saw through the Zombie Soldiers’ eyes was on the screen. Most of the screen showed a man and woman dragging a man. The others were taking aim everywhere.
A door opened in the back of the room. Jake entered.
“What’s going on in here? We’re supposed to be killing them, not them us!”
“Oh, shut up!” Dana said, marching up to his face. “It was decided to arm the subjects. Did you really think they wouldn’t fight back, Fathead!”
“Get it under control, Dana! Ravenloft is here!”
She turned her back. Eyed the screens, shaking her head.
“It’s just a matter of time.”
“The way they’re shooting they’ll run out of bullets. Then what?”
“It won’t come to that, Idiot. They don’t have anywhere to go or hide. We have plenty of cavalry to send in for clean-up. I’ll do it myself if I have to.”
“You better hope it doesn’t come to that,” Jake said. He slammed the door behind him.
“Jerk!” She kicked the wall. “Alright, men! Listen up. Quit wasting ammo, you trigger happy bastards! The next one of you that misses a point blank shot is going in. As a zombie!”
***
“Where are we going, Henry?” Tori said.
The first priority was Rudy. He was dead weight, just not dead yet. There was no way he could climb up to that skylight.
“In here!”
He turned into a small women’s clothing store. They dragged Rudy clear to the back. Headed into a dressing room. Henry tied a shirt he’d grabbed around Rudy’s leg.
“Just lock yourself in,” he said. “We’ll lead them away.”
“But, Bawk?”
“I’ve got to find a way out of this. I’ll come back.” He squeezed Rudy’s shoulder. “Survive.”
“Ziggy says that’s not likely.”
“Just keep quiet. We’ve made it out before.” He grabbed Tori’s hand. Closed the door. “Keep down,” he whispered.
Numma Numma.
Jaws clicked and clacked. Bodies of Zombie Soldiers pushed through the clothes racks.
Henry’d figured one thing out so far: the zombies weren’t good shots. He kept crawling towards the front. The booted feet of zombies were all around him. He could see out into the main hall. More Zombie Soldiers waited. Skull Faces scanning all around. Trapped. What’s the plan now, Henry?
Numma. Numma. Numma. Numma.
The moaning was worse than the sound of gunfire. Tori shuddered behind him. He reached back and grabbed her hand. I should have hidden her with Rudy. He knew she wouldn’t leave his side. Not now. Worst case, they would fight and die together. He took a breath, summoned his courage.
“I don’t think they can hear us,” he whispered back.
The Zombie Soldiers started pushing over the racks.
Tori squeaked.
He and Tori would have to make a run for the skylight. Climb up and out somehow. With zombies and Zombie Soldiers everywhere. He had to lead them away from Rudy first. He lowered the shotgun barrel towards the nearest zombie’s foot.
“Cover your ears. Get ready to run.”
Ka-Pow!
The zombie teetered. Crashed to the ground.
Henry made a dash at the Zombie Soldiers in the hallway.
Ka-Pow!
He blasted one in the chest. Surged between the others.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The zombies’ shots were erratic. He kept sprinting. Handguns were only good at close range. The more distance the better.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
“Agh!”
His shoulder caught fire. The shotgun clattered on the shiny floor. He stumbled. Fell.
“Henry!” Tori huddled over him. “Get up!”
“I can’t! Run, Tori, run!”
The Zombie Soldiers closed in.
“I’m not leaving you.”
They were surrounded. Barrels all around.
Henry grimaced. Struggled to rise.
Numma. Numma. Numma. Numma.
The moaning was worse than the pain.
“You sick bastards going eat us or shoot us!” Tori screamed.
Pop! Pop!
CHAPTER 30
Nate’s head sagged into his chest. His stomach turned. He’d seen many die, but not like this. He couldn’t stand the thought of his friend being blown away on the TV screen.
“We could fund all our projects if we could just televise this,” Leslie Mckinley said. “Reality TV at its finest ―with zombies!”
“You people are sick,” Walker said. He spat on the floor. “Demented.”
“Depends on your perspective,” Julie Edgerd said, checking her nails. “When you’re rich and powerful, you can be all the demented you want.”
Ravenloft threw his head back and laughed.
“Excellent, point. Excellent.” He placed his finger over his mouth and under his nose. “This reminds me of the days of Caesar. At the arena. The days when they had gladiators. What the Romans would do―give the fallen warriors the thumbs up or thumbs down.”
Charles and the other technicians were typing commands on their stations.
“Charles,” Ravenloft said, “don’t kill them just yet.”
Nate’s eyes went back to the screens. Henry emerged from the clothing store blasting away. A charge went through hi
s legs. Go Henry! A moment later Henry fell.
Ravenloft and his people let out a cheer.
“Excellent shooting, Charles! Well done.” He clapped. “Everything I’d hoped for. Now we have them, so let me see a show of thumbs. Do we shoot them or let the zombies eat them? Thumbs up for mercy. Thumbs down for mutilation.”
“Oh, that gal has some potential. She’d make a great candidate for the catwalks,” Leslie Mckinley said.
“Interesting,” Ravenloft said, rubbing his chin. “And look at that arm of hers. She’d be a star. Hmmm. Well, how about the man then. Bawkula. Mercy or mutilation?”
Nate wanted to scream. People were dying right in front of him. Others were turning into zombies. All he could do was sit there, cheeks flushed, sweating.
“We need to be quick now. The flesh eaters will be on them soon,” Charles added, eyes shifting back and forth.
“Mercy!” Nate blurted out. “Mercy, for God’s sake! He’s been a WHS employee for years, and I don’t think he’s ever not done what he’s been told.”
“Noted,” Ravenloft said. “Seems you’re a bit overwhelmed, Nate. So how about I show you and Walker some mercy. Put them against the wall.”
The two security guards pulled them out of their chairs and shoved them against the wall.
“On your knees,” one security member said, shoving him down.
“Ow,” Nate said, grimacing.
It was over. He lifted his chin. He’d heard a preacher say once that death in all its forms was ugly. Inevitable.
“I’ll spare you the horror of your friend’s demise. But now it’s your time to go.” Ravenloft was on his feet and made his way over. He took a machine gun and handed it to Ashley. “Time to prove your loyalty.”
Her eyes widened like moons.
“Can you do this?” Ravenloft said in her ear.
She took a breath. Nodded.
“Then make it quick and soon you’ll be having dinner with the rest of us.”
She leveled the weapon, aiming uncertainly.
“Pick one or the other,” Ravenloft said, stepping aside. “You don’t have to do them both.”
“Just shoot me, Ashley,” Walker said. “Don’t miss.”
She flipped the safety off. Took aim.
“I won’t.”
CHAPTER 31
He was moving. His neck itched. Burned. He heard ... Rustles. Screaming. Snarls. Wails.
Where?
Images changed. Shifted. He was one with others.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Guns?
He saw his hands. Weapons filled them. There were men. Familiar. He didn’t think but he followed.
Two figures lay on the floor. Blood on their clothes. On the floor. Chests heaving. Mouths panting. Skull faces loomed over them. Pointing weapons.
Henry?
The woman was screaming.
His back burned. Itched. He wanted to scratch. He couldn’t move. He should move.
Who am I?
Pop. Pop.
Memories appeared. Snapshots. Family. Friends. An eight sided arena. A sign in the crowd.
The Black Python.
***
Henry jerked his pistol out. Screw em! Aimed for the biggest one. Squeezed the trigger.
Blam! Blam!
The bullets ricocheted.
This was it. The end. Filled with screams and moans all over. The world was in for it. All over again. The madness would never stop.
He grabbed Tori’s hand and squeezed it.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you too,” she replied.
The big Zombie Soldier’s arms started to shake. The weapons remained locked in its palms.
***
“What’s the problem?” Dana said to the man on the treadmill. “They want the big guy to waste him. Squeeze the trigger.
“I am,” the man said, pulling his finger back and forth. “He’s not responding. Use another one.”
Dana slapped a man at the computer terminal in the back of the head.
“Get it working.”
***
The big Zombie Soldier raised his arms up and jammed his barrels under the Metal Skulls to either side. Squeezed the triggers.
KaBlam!
The zombies crumbled to the ground.
“Henry … run,” it said.
It dropped one pistol and tore the cords from its neck.
“Aaaag!”
Another Zombie Soldier started blasting into its chest.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The big zombie grabbed it by the eyelets and ripped the helmet off its head.
KaBlam!
Tori shot it in the skull.
“Henry, go!”
“Rod!” Henry Exclaimed.
Rod stuck his pistol in another zombie’s mouth.
Kablam!
“Black Python…”
Kablam!
“Let’s go!” Henry said. In agony, he got to his feet, grabbed Tori’s hand, and started running for the skylight.
A pair of zombies wandered into their path. It was Alice and Weege.
“Num. Num.”
Henry and Tori opened fire.
Blam. Blam. Blam. Blam. Blam. Blam. Blam.
“That was long overdue,” Tori said.
“Over here! Over here!”
A man was waving at them. He was with two women. It was Paul or Craig, with Jo Ann and Karen. They all held baseball bats with zombie ooze all over them. Two zombies lay twitching at their feet.
Tugging Tori behind him, Henry made a run for it.
Two Zombie Soldiers cut them off.
They opened fire.
Blam. Blam. Blam. Blam. Blam. Click. Click.
The soldiers took aim and fired back.
***
Bullets riddled his body. Bones cracked. Rod fired back. He jerked helmets off heads. Put bullets in them until there were no more.
He could think. He could fight.
He ripped a soldier’s pack off. Grabbed its head. Twisted till it snapped.
Bullets ricocheted off his face. Punched into his body.
He didn’t feel them. He only felt one thing. Strong. Fast.
He picked a zombie up and tossed it into the others. Two more tackled him. Drove him to the ground. He tried to laugh, but couldn’t.
I’m awesome!
He broke their necks. Got up. Looked for Henry. Tori.
CHAPTER 32
“What just happened?” Ravenloft said, gawping at the screens. “Charles, what happened! One of the zombies just shot the others!”
Charles’ fingers drummed on the keypad.
“I-I don’t know.”
“YOU BETTER KNOW!”
All eyes were glued to the screens.
Screw it! Nate thought. I’m not going down like this. Hail Mary, full of grace!
He hopped up on his feet, lowered his shoulder and barreled into the security guard.
“Oof!” the man said.
Nate drove him into the table. Gunfire went off. The guard elbowed him in the nose. He stumbled backwards. Got slugged in the gut. Then the chin. His face was bleeding. A machine gun blarred.
Takka-Takka-Takka-Takka
“Walker,” Nate said, looking back at the wall. Walker was gone.
Takka-Takka-Takka-Takka
Takka-Takka-Takka-Takka
Ashley blasted away. The target. Ravenloft. His chest filled with holes and lead.
The guard swung his weapon around at Ashley’s back.
“Ulp!”
Walker jumped on his back. Gun blasts went into the ceiling.
Ashley whirled. Shot a burst into the guard’s chest.
The man sagged to the ground.
Jake burst through the door, big guns blazing.
Ka-Choom! Ka-Choom! Ka-Choom!
Everyone dove to the floor.
Takka-Takka-Takka-Takka
Takka-Takka-Takka-T
akka
Jake’s body sagged to the floor.
Walker lay on the ground with the guard’s gun barrel smoking.
“Take care of them,” Walker said. He slammed the door shut. Locked it. Grabbed Jake’s knife. “Cut this off, Nate.”
Numb, Nate did as he was told. Walker cut his hands loose.
“What just happened?” he asked.
“Vengeance,” said Walker.
“Justice,” said Ashley, checking the bodies on the floor.
“Did you kill all of them?” Walker said.
Charles’ bloody face was on his laptop. Unmoving. The other lab coats were dead too.
Julie and Leslie were goners.
Ravenloft lay pressed against the wall, chuckling a mouthful of blood.
“You can’t stop this,” he sputtered. “Nothing can stop the evil.”
Blam!
“Unless you got a bullet,” Walker said to Ashley. “Great plan, Girl. Secure the room.”
Ashley smiled. Walker grabbed a laptop and started typing. “Find some smartphones, will you, Nate?”
“Seriously, what just happened?”
“You saved the world again, Bub.”
“I didn’t do anything. Nothing!”
“Sure you did. We used you to draw out Ravenloft. We never would’ve gotten close on our own, so Ash and I devised a plan.”
“Did anyone else know about it?”
“Nope.”
“So, what was going to happen if Ravenloft hadn’t given Ash a gun?”
“We would’ve died. She’d have taken him out later.”
Nate sagged down in the seat. Touched his bleeding nose. “Ow.” So much had happened so fast he felt like he was forgetting something. “Henry!”
***
The Zombie Soldiers had the drop on him. He hugged Tori and turned his back to them.
“Numma. Numma. Numma. Numma”
No shots came.
“Come on! Come on!” voices yelled.
Henry turned. The Zombie Soldiers’ gun arms were down.
***
ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!
“What?” Dana said, looking over the computer tech’s shoulder. “What the Hell is going on?”
EVACUATE! EVACUATE!
Something crawled up her spine. She grabbed her radio. Charged the mic.
“Jake. Jake, come in, over.”
Nothing.
“Jake, come in, over.”
“Jake’s dead. You’re next, over.”
One of the men on the treadmill took his helmet off. The others followed suit.
“I’m out of here.”
“Get back on there!”
“You get on there, Ostrich Face!”
***
“Run! Run!” they yelled and pointed.
Another Zombie Soldier approached Henry and Tori. The big one.
Henry blocked Tori. Stood his ground at it approached.
“Rod?”
“Yes,” he said. His voice was eerie. Garbled.
Zombie Warfare: Impact Series - Book 3 Page 14