Knight of the Dead (Book 3): Fortress

by Ron Smorynski

  Dad looked from them to the gathering masses. It was still breathtaking, to see the swelling numbers filling the neighborhood streets. They were coming from miles around. It wasn't completely packed as they were spread out, as if each took a five foot radius, and just stood there. But it was many blocks deep, down to Sunset, up to Hollywood, and through the apartments and rich houses. The ones closer, repelled by the smoke, crowded each other, in lines five or six deep, in groups between cars and houses all around the perimeter.

  One alarm, one failed fire, and the whole thing would easily form The Horde, swelling and flooding over the school's fences and against their fortress.

  “Damn... it's like the smoke is a blessing and a curse,” Steve huffed, coughing a bit with his cloth mask. Everyone raised theirs. Now everyone wore a scarf loosely ready around their neck. They were larger than usual, able to fit over their helmets or under, whichever way worked best for each individual in their odd custom armor.

  “Keeps them away, yet attracts them from everywhere?” Nick remarked. “I do not get it.”

  “What's up with... why?” Randall wondered.

  “They know we're here. They're being led,” Dad said.

  The others looked at him.

  “Demonic?” Randall asked, eyes widening.

  Dad nodded.

  “Yeesh...” Steve could only say.

  “Jesus,” Dad calmly replied.

  They climbed up the ladder.

  They were now on the roof of the main building. Dad looked around more, all around. He walked to the other side. The main building was a high two stories. The roof had a nice brick plaster border, about three feet high with a metal truss covering the top, reinforcing it. If there was a last stand, a place to die, seemed it would better out in the open, up high, as close to God as possible, fighting together, till the end.

  No one wanted to be down below, hidden away, trapped and choked. Here, they could get eaten, or choose to leap off, or pull out their guns and shoot themselves. Now they each realized another use for their handgun. Better to die out here in the open, then suffocate down below.

  The most assailable points to the roof were from the one story buildings attached on either side, the auditorium roof and the east wing building. The east wing contained the classrooms that Jerry, Julianne, Robert, and Ellie stayed in. That building faced the courtyard and gardens, so they liked it.

  “What you thinking Ronan?” Steve asked, taking a deep breathe and tightening his muscles.

  “We're going to need to reinforce a lot of stuff. The walls, doors, these upper floor windows, this railing,” Dad said.

  He turned and scanned across the way, at the other apartment buildings. Steve followed his look.

  “There's a lot of steel doors in those modern apartments.”

  “Sounds like a lotta work.”

  “Yep.”

  26. Salvage

  Tom and Nick set the fires, creating a pathway to the nearest apartment complex. Amador had two drills ready, fully charged, and was pushing the school cart. Lisa, Lena, Dad, and Steve were armored up and ready to fight. The young guys, though armored and carrying weapons, were obviously the mule teams.

  Marcus, Darryl, Stu, Cory, Rick, Jake, Trek, and Eddie were all going to carry as much as they could.

  Robert and Jerry, old yet wanting to be of service, guarded the small back gate, their way back into the school grounds. They shook nervously in their ill-fitted armor, but felt they had to be part of the risk, part of the struggle.

  Randall was with Robert and Jerry. He had his motorcycle ready. It was just in case he would need to rush out and draw them away. Randall was anxious to do it, but Dad told him to stay there, help out. It may come to him using the bike, but not yet. Dad wished Sean was still with them. He couldn’t think on that now. He couldn’t go there.

  Dad looked up to Charlotte on the roof. She waved a blue flag, slowly, which meant all is well. She had a red one too. The kids, with their rifles, were up there watching all sides.

  Lena and Lisa marched out as Nick and Tom lit zombie parts and tossed them ahead. Dad and Steve stood ready. Lena and Lisa hacked away at zombies coming in. An alarm was made by a zombie and they buzzed in waves like bees coming in. But the smoke kept them at bay. A few that lumbered in, seemingly blind or choking, were quickly dispensed. Their bodies quickly hacked up and used as more fuel.

  There was an excitement in the air, that it was working. Dad felt it but kept stoic and smacked Lena as she got cocky, hopping in joy.

  They were at the narrow street in the 'back' of the school, with the small gated entrance. Though the gate wasn't necessarily stronger than the parking lot area, it felt more secure. It was on a smaller street and fewer zombies could see it from other blocks. The large apartment buildings shrouded the area, giving it an enclosed feel.

  Just opposite was the hell apartment building, with the dead gang. Dad wanted to get to the adjacent apartment. It looked bigger, nicer, and probably had newer, stronger materials to salvage.

  Tom and Nick tossed small smoldering parts into the crowd of zombies. Both got good burning flames going, then quickly patted the flames out as the flesh smoked horrifically. They then tossed them. They didn't want to light the place on fire, not this close to the school, but the smoke calmed the zombies, confusing their alarm and limiting the call to more. Dad was impressed that they figured this out. It seemed to be working. The massing of zombies, though still there, was weakening. And they didn't alarm zombies further out.

  Dad took advantage of it, calling forth two at a time. He got Marcus and Cory out as they were the closest. He went up close to them, speaking helmet to helmet. It wasn't like theirs were true helms, literally hats with sewn plastic pieces. They looked more like old style leather football helmets. It was definitely not the best protection.

  Some had on bicycle helmets or plastic safety helmets that they found at the school. His wife had added extra protection, better straps and flaps, better coverage. It was a hodgepodge of armor, nothing Dad would let pass at a medieval fighting event. He warned them, not to engage, but to swing and flee, getting back to the school. Dad, Steve, Lena and Lisa were to handle the real fighting, for now.

  However -- Dad saw an opportunity for some training while Tom and Nick slowly cleared a path to the apartment across the street.

  “Alright Marcus, Cory, I'm going to lead a zombie in. I want you to swing at it. Remember the motion, quick and easy, across the head. Got it?” Dad pointed at Marcus first.

  Marcus and Cory stood frozen. Dad expected that. He needed them to get through that fear, with experience, right now. He was in a hurry. He knew this was the best time to get them used to it.

  “I'll be right next to you. Just swing at it. Be careful. Not at me, swing at it. It will be blind,” Dad said. He walked out to the smoke perimeter, to the massing of confused zombies. He used his sword and slapped one zombie on the head. It turned confused and waddled toward him.

  It was blind and gaping, trying to discern through its senses, through the smoke. Dad coughed as well, but kept to the purpose, slapping the zombie with the flat of his blade, then finally able to use his sword against the zombie's back and push him within their area.

  Marcus stood frozen. Dad motioned. Cory looked then stepped forward. “No,” Dad motioned again. “Marcus, you first.”

  Cory stepped back, tapping Marcus with his shield. “Come on man,” he whispered with encouragement.

  Marcus stepped forward.

  “Just swing,” Dad hissed.

  Marcus swung. It's head lopped off. The others, inside the school fencing, jumped and cheered but immediately stopped, getting each other to calm down.

  Dad immediately walked up to Marcus as the zombie dropped. “Okay, good swing, but too much gusto. Don't swing that hard, that wild. More will be coming. Remember, you gotta be ready for the next and the next. So swing easy. The blade will cut.”

  Marcus nodded enthusiastically.

&
nbsp; “One more... then Cory, your turn,” Dad said. He did this with them all, over and over, bit by bit, as Nick and Tom got the path going, the smoldering piles and grills billowing and repulsing the zombies. It was a wide path. Nick and Tom looked like bad ass Mad Max style industrial hooligans, running to and fro, continually pushing out the hordes with the choking smoke.

  “Okay, let's go,” Dad said. He motioned for them all to move along. He felt most got the feel of the swing, killing one or two zombies each. Not all got great swings off. Rick, the comedian, was terrible. Jake superb. Darryl and Stu good. Trek pretty useless. Eddie had potential. Marcus and Cory were great. The few who let go and just did it, mechanically, killed the zombies immediately. The others who thought too much, in fear or gusto, were off, needing to use a second or third swing to bring the zombies down. He'd explain it to them later, in some Zen meditation way. Whatever, now, there were other things to do.

  He wanted them to get stuff quick. He motioned to the girls to say. Lisa and Lena, already knew to keep the pathway open if any blinded zombies strayed within. Nick and Tom were good and efficient keeping the fires or smoldering going.

  Amador pushed the cart through. Dad and Steve led the way into the apartment complex. They killed a few zombies within, quickly. Amador got to work right away, easily unscrewing door mounts and hinges. The guys took two doors at a time. With eight guys, in four teams of two, it was moving along quickly. They carried two doors at a time and hurriedly got them into the school grounds. The women had their task too. They carried them further in. The men returned and got more.

  They had dozens of steel doors stacked inside the school corridors. Then came the food salvage. The young men brought over bags, backpacks, and boxes full of food items, liquor, toiletries, and hardware. It was a smorgasbord of loot.

  Dad was getting excited. He and Steve fought very little in the three floors of apartments. There were a few zombie break ins but the zombies had left, killing whomever was within and leaving everything. They found a family, where the father had committed murder-suicide. Though given the circumstances, Dad didn’t consider it murder now. It was mercy. He sensed them all pausing to consider what happened there, but he pushed them along, to keep everyone looking for stuff to take back. It was obvious the parents succumbed to the epic tragedy and chose this.

  Dad stopped Steve from helping. Steve was loading stuff and Dad slapped him with his sword, nodding no. He wanted them to be fresh and ready for anything. So they looked like overseers, who kept watch as the rest slaved away.

  Stu and Darryl, being of the same size, had lugged doors together and therefore, went back and forth at the same time. They rushed in fast to the apartment building. “Ronan! Red flag! Charlotte! Red flag!”

  Dad stood a moment, frozen in the apartment corridor where they were packing stuff.

  A shot rang out.

  He blinked a moment, then hurried out.

  27. Ferocity

  Another shot cracked the sky. Dad motioned for Cory and Marcus who were returning down the stairwell. They hurried down after him. Dad didn't have time to think, to call forth all of them. He wasn't used to an alarm or what he was going to do. He just hurried.

  As he got down on the street amidst the smoky path, he grabbed Lena. “Get everyone back. Everyone back.”

  Another crack of Charlotte's M-4 echoed.

  Dad looked up to see Maggy waving the red flag from the roof. He hustled through the courtyard. Maggy then disappeared beyond his sight. He heard the crack-crack of the smaller 22s. They were shooting at something on the other side, where the parking lot was.

  He had to calm down but had to get there. Little Carl came running through the corridors. “Mr. Ronan, Mr. Ronan!”

  Dad continued past him. He knew what was happening. He knew why Charlotte was shooting. It, Them... the big ones... they were coming. They were there. Doing something. But oh God, what?

  “Carl, get Nick. Tell him to post up with the AK-47 on the roof. Tell Jake to go up with them!”

  Carl look confused, scared.

  “Get Nick! His gun! Get Jake!” Dad repeated simpler.

  Carl nodded scared and hurried away.

  Dad burst through the exit facing the teacher's parking lot. Cory and Marcus came out and stood next to him, frozen in fear.

  Beyond the fencing, the grills were knocked over and the outer fence was being pummeled. He saw one of the big ones rambling to another grill. Charlotte fired again. Smaller cracks of the 22s rang out. It ignored the small hits and kicked over the grill. It began to stomp out the weak flames, easily smothering the smoldering flesh. The zombies poured in as Charlotte fired again, finally killing the big beast with a head shot.

  Dad looked up. Charlotte saw him and yelled down in hysterics. “There were three of them! We got'em! But they put out the fires! They put out the fires!”

  A horde was forming and pushing against the outer fence. They would collapse it soon enough and pour in. The kids were firing useless 22 shots into the masses. The roar of the zombies, where the smoke was clear, was thunderous. The chain rattled all across the western perimeter. It did not look like it was going to hold for long.

  Rondo was barking up and down the fence. His bark was powerful and it actually seemed to confuse the massive hordes giving them a bit of time. But when he saw Dad, he suddenly turned and rushed back into the school. His job was done.

  Nick came running up with a propane tank, seeing the mass pile up of attackers. “Aaagghh....” He dropped it and it rolled with a loud clang. He tripped and fell, exhausted.

  Dad sheathed his sword and tossed his shield aside. He grabbed it up. “Nick you gotta light this mother fucker for me!”

  Nick nodded, getting back up in pain. Jake ran past them, up the stairs with the AK-47.

  Steve and the other guys finally came to the door, peering out. Lisa and Lena pushed through them.

  “Tom, make sure to feed all the fires behind us!”

  He saluted, retreating to the rear.

  Steve pointed beyond Dad to the lot. The others pointed and stepped back in utter fear.

  Dad turned. He saw something strange, what appeared to be a many limbed beast. Or was his mind playing tricks on him? They or IT was a flailing squirming configuration of a hundred arms and legs and screaming visages all working in one horrific abomination, as if it were a single grotesque creature. But it must be many zombies slamming against each other and a portion of the fence, pushing it. The barricade wasn't going to hold much longer.

  “Hurry!” Dad yelled to Nick as he stumbled forward.

  Nick hobbled to keep up with Dad, who hurried down the stairs to the inner gate of the parking lot.

  They ran up to the fence. Dad ran so fast he collided with the gate to stop. Nick got to the padlock, pulling out his own key ring. The outer gate, from the street held, but finally a portion of fencing on the corner gave. There was a crashed car on the other side where so many of them created a ramp or mound and others clambered over. The zombies poured over it, many leaping atop each other.

  The inner fence wasn't as large or as high. Dad did not want them to slam that massive force against it.

  Nick opened the padlock, yanking it away on its chain. Dad stepped in as the swarm of zombies flooded around the cars. It was still just the corner fence that gave. The zombies were tangled, rolling and smashing against one another as they piled over the crushed fencing.

  It was a mass of them rolling toward him, crushing the cars, exploding their glass and steel.

  Rick ran back into the school screaming in sheer panic. Marcus and Cory stood frozen. They were supposed to go forward with Dad. Lena and Lisa rushed forward. Steve hurried too. Marcus, Darryl, Stu, Cory, and Eddie were unable to sum up courage and head out as all looked ready to flee.

  “Let's just stay in here!” one cried.

  “We can hide!” another cried.

  “Look at us! No way!” Darryl made sure they all knew their armor, weapons and
skills were not ready for this.

  Dad held the propane tank as Nick twisted the valve open and lit it with a lighter. He burned his hand as the hot blue flame burst over a yard. Screaming in pain, he turned away leaping, slamming into Steve. Both quickly corrected. Nick fled in painful panic. Steve stayed.

  Dad felt the searing heat as he lifted the tank, throwing flames at the crazed fast zombies. It caught nearby zombies as they careened upon Dad. Beyond the mass of zombies, he saw the abominable many-limbed one. It was his height yet felt bigger because of its mass, rolling and scuttling as if the zombies were entangled yet fully capable of using the trapped limbs in unison -- like some big crab or spidery horror.

  Dad could hear Charlotte's pop-pop from the M-4. He saw bursts of flesh come off the tangled mass. He then heard the thunderous cracks of the AK-47 as it burst limbs and ripped heads. But they seemed like splashes in a mesh of bloody limbs. Dad waived them off with his sword though he doubted they noticed. The shots were getting too close to him.

  All the eyes of this wretched thing stared -- and the heads angled -- as this massive mess rolled toward him. He wasn't sure how to brace for such a thing. It would grab him with a hundred claws. He knew he had to stay out of its grasp. He stepped back as the thing slammed against a car. It grabbed the tank as Dad stumbled back. The tank twirled, causing its searing flame to flash along Dad's arm. He felt it through the armor. He jolted but it least the flame melted away several hands clawing at him. It gave him a split second to regrip his sword and flash it quickly. More limbs grabbed him but he twirled his sword in tight circles severing a dozen hands and fingers, freeing himself from the spidery like beast.

  He turned to hit against the fence, and used that momentum to rush up and across the hood of a nearby car. He hurried past the storage units to get away from the evil mass.

  Lena tried to sum up courage and advance but she couldn't. Lisa couldn't either. Steve hesitated a moment then pushed up against the gate, keeping zombies from rushing into the interior grounds. Lena and Lisa rushed up to help. Zombies were slamming and pushing against the gate, to get in and swarm their last line of defense.