annoyed.
“Oh.” Fred said.
He glanced over at Fluffy whom walked on my other side.
“I bet he has a great name;” Fred said, “Something like Killer, Assassin, or Cujo.”
I looked at Fred and said bluntly, “Fluffy. His name is Fluffy.”
Fred nodded and said a bit foolishly, “That’s cool too. I guess it takes you by surprise when a dog called Fluffy attacks and kills a bunch of zombies.”
“Why are you doing this?” I asked Fred.
Fred glanced back nervously at Calvin behind us and then turned back to me.
“Calvin is insane.” Fred said, “I am a good person.”
I grunted, but did not believe a word he was saying.
“You have to believe me.” Fred said in a hushed tone, “Normally I do not associate with guys like him. Things have changed in the last few days. You will be surprised to what lengths people will go to stay alive… even eating squirrels. I would probably be dead if I did not join his group. I was a bank teller before all of this happened. I had a wife and a five year old daughter. The zombies got my wife.”
I noticed that he seemed agitated.
“What about your daughter?” I asked.
“Calvin has her locked up.” Fred whispered, “He said it’s his insurance that I cooperate.”
I’m not sure why, but I believed him. I guess it was the sincerity in his voice that gave away how scared he really was of Calvin. The more I got a glimpse into this group that held us hostage, the clearer it became that Calvin was one disturbed individual. Even during the worst times in history, a good man keeps his values while a bad man gets worse and worse. Calvin was a loose cannon and threatened the safety of people I cared about. Though all life was precious in the world of the dead, he had to be eliminated.
“I tried reasoning with him.” Fred said cautiously, “But he is a man who cannot be reasoned with. The story about Pedro and the food is not the entire story. We had a camp of about ten people just outside Kingston Valley. We got overrun and Calvin started killing our people… our people. He said he was doing them a favour by putting them out of their misery. Pedro and his sister fled with a bag of canned food, but he tracked them down and killed her.”
“What are you gossiping about, you turd?” Calvin called ahead.
“Nothing.” Fred called back.
“He’s a real charmer.” I murmured over to Fred, making him chuckle a bit.
“And Garth?” I asked.
I did not really want to know much about the man who hit mom, but I could not help it. It was the good in me that was intrigued.
“He said he was a teacher.” Fred said, “But I have my doubts about him. He has a violent streak in him.”
“I noticed.” I mumbled to myself.
I glanced back over my shoulder at the rest of the group behind me. Mom’s nose stopped bleeding, but it was swollen. Garth and Calvin walked behind mom and Michelle while Derrick walked next to Alex. Calvin and Derrick seemed to have the least amount of humanity left in them, while Garth was debatable.
“How much further is it?” Calvin demanded.
“Not much further.” I said.
I could lead him all over the town and down a cliff and just say that I got lost. I could lead him right into a group of zombies and hope they eat him. He struck me as the greedy kind – the kind of guy who would push a starving man aside to get to the food and then take the largest portion. It was this greediness that oozed from his demeanour that gave me the perfect solution to our little problem.
“It’s right up here.” I said and pointed, “In the hospital.”
We crossed the street and then stopped in front of the hospital in order for the others to catch up. I inspected the doors from afar. They were still intact as we left them, no intruders or zombies forced their way in.
Calvin and the rest joined Fred and I in front of the hospital. Calvin stared at the building with an oh why did we not think to pillage this building look on his face.
“This is where your stash is?” Calvin asked convinced.
“Yes.” I said adamantly.
He shoved Michelle with the muzzle of his shotgun and said, “Let’s go then.”
I took a deep breath and tried to stay calm and focused on the task at hand. I walked up to the entrance of the hospital and pushed open one door and then motioned for the rest to follow me inside.
“It’s pretty clever camping out in a hospital.” Calvin said, “You have the cafeteria food, medicine and secure doors.”
“The doors are made of glass.” Derrick said, “Does not look very secure to me.”
I could see that mom, Michelle and Alex was not certain as to what my plan was, but they played along.
“The glass is bulletproof.” Alex said hastily.
I led the group to the stairwell and up to the first floor. I glanced over at Derrick’s backpack that hung from his one shoulder. I needed my whip should something go wrong with the plan, but taking it from him would be a risk. I just had to try and get along without it.
“Over here.” I said.
I led them down the hallway on the first floor towards the incubating room. My heart was racing and I was not quite sure what to expect once we opened the door.
“In here.” I said and pointed at the door.
Calvin stared at the door like someone who won the lottery and then shoved Michelle aside.
“Get out of my way.” Calvin said forcefully.
“No need to get rough.” Michelle mumbled to herself.
Calvin was not paying attention to what Michelle said and stepped closer to the door. Garth stepped closer to Calvin as he turned the doorknob. They were pretty sure they had struck big on the food stash; why would we have reason to lie to them?
I carefully motioned for mom, Michelle and Alex to step back and they did so quietly without detection. Fred, however saw what was going on, but kept quiet. He gripped his shotgun tightly and stared at the door with anticipation while Derrick stood next to a window in ignorance.
Calvin turned the doorknob and carefully pushed open the door. He stood in the doorway a moment and then out of the darkness three dead babies scurried across the floor at an incredible rate. One jumped onto Calvin and the other two jumped past him and onto Garth. The two babies started gnawing down on Garth’s face and tore the skin off with their toothless mouths as he screamed.
Another baby scurried across the floor and jumped at Fred. He ducked out of the way and the baby jumped onto Derrick, scratching and biting. Screaming in pain, Derrick tried to fight off the dead baby and he crashed through the window; and probably – hopefully – fell to his death.
“Run!” I yelled at the others.
Calvin grabbed the dead baby and snapped its neck. Furiously he pointed his gun at mom, but Fluffy bit him on the arm. A shot went off and someone cried out in pain. It all happened so fast. Fluffy let go of Calvin’s arm just as three more dead babies jumped onto Calvin. I turned to the others while Calvin fought off the dead babies.
Alex lay in a pool of blood grasping at his right leg in agony. His leg was amputated just above the knee and he was losing a lot of blood. Michelle tried to apply pressure while mom tried to keep him calm.
“My leg!” Alex cried out in pain, “My leg!”
Fred stood in silence and watched in horror, not knowing what to do.
“Are you coming or staying?” I asked Fred.
Fred nodded and lowered his shotgun. He clipped it onto a holster in his belt.
“Grab his arms.” I told Fred. “We need to get him out of here.”
Alex was still hollering in pain as Fred and I each grabbed an arm and started to drag him away. I glanced over in the distance at Calvin as he wrestled with the undead babies. He fought them without screaming, but in the end everyone screams.
13
We dragged Alex over to the stairs and carried him down. He screamed all the way; not that I could blame him. He was missing a
limb. Mom tried to calm him down, but it did not help. He was in too much pain.
“You have to quiet down.” I told Alex, “You will attract the undead.”
Alex kept screaming as we reached the ground floor, and then he quieted down as he blacked out. It was probably for the best. I glanced over my shoulders at our dark surroundings, looking for the cafeteria.
“Where are we going?” Michelle asked.
“The cafeteria.” I said, “We have to cauterize the wound.”
We hurried down the corridor towards the cafeteria while mom hurried ahead and opened the swing doors for us. We rushed into the cafeteria and laid Alex down on a nearby table. I ran over to the kitchen, turned on a stove plate and grabbed a pan. I heated the pan on the plate until it was scorching red and then ran back over to Alex.
“He’s turning pale.” Mom said.
“I know.” I said frantically.
I grabbed his stump of a leg and then pressed the hot pan against the wound. The flesh singed and the aroma of cooked meat filled the air. Alex woke up, let out one scream of pain and then blacked out again. I ensured that I cauterize the entire wounded area and then lifted the pan away from his stump.
“Is he going to be alright?” Fred asked worried.
“I don’t know.” I said, “I hope so, but he needs blood.”
“A transfusion?” Fred asked, “Does anybody know how to do it?”
Michelle raised her hand and said, “I read up on it for a school project once. I should be able to do it.”
“We have to try.” I said, “But what blood do we give him?”
“O positive.” Michelle said, “It can be administered to both A and B blood groups.”
I nodded and said, “Right. There is a blood bank on the other side of the corridor.”
I noticed a door that said “blood storage” when I broke in earlier and had my little run-in with the dead babies.
The cafeteria doors behind me creaked slowly. I turned around and watched as Calvin pushed open the doors and slowly stepped in. His gun hung from his belt and his face was covered in blood. He seemed pissed.
“Calvin,” I said warningly.
I noticed that he seemed distant and non-responsive, and then I noticed that his eyes were black. He was infected. He finally got what he deserved, karma got him and now I could kill him without feeling bad about it.
Calvin growled as I stepped up to him. I balled my hand into a fist as he turned to face me. His empty eyes brought me satisfaction beyond words. I bashed him in the face and my fist went right through his skull. I retracted my fist and his lifeless corpse fell to the floor. Fluffy ran over and sniffed the corpse and then stared up at me with his tail wagging.
I turned and faced the others. They seemed lost and desperate. I needed to get the blood as soon as possible in order to save Alex’s life.
“I’m going to get the blood.” I said and shook the excess gore off my fist.
I know what you’re thinking; I just killed a man like it was an everyday thing. Who kills a zombie and then continues having a conversation like nothing happened? A cool person of course.
“I’m coming with you.” Fred said.
I looked at him, not sure whether I could trust him yet. I would rather trust him at my side than alone with mom and Michelle so I nodded. A lot goes through one’s mind when someone you cared about is hurt; one of them is putting yourself in harm’s way to save them.
“Let’s go.” I said.
I nudged towards the door and Fred followed me. We closed the doors, barricaded it with a couple of chairs and made sure the swing doors were secured. As we walked down the murky corridor, I wished I had my whip (or axe) with me. A wielding weapon is a must when fighting the undead. Not only does it keep the flesh hungry fiends at bay, but it looks cool too.
“I’m real sorry about your friend.” Fred said.
“You didn’t pull the trigger.” I said.
“I know.” Fred said hesitantly, “But I was the one that pointed out to Calvin that you were on the roof of the library. I swear I had no idea things would play out the way they did.”
I
Zac Zombie 2: World of the Undead Page 8