by J N Wood
Jack started scanning the horizon. ‘Where?’ he asked.
I pointed her out. She and three other Green Team members were surrounded by a group that must have been twenty zombies deep, and more were coming. The four remaining humans had their backs to each other in the middle. Ali was constantly stabbing with two knives. I couldn’t see Michael and Shannon anywhere.
One of her fellow team members suddenly became a lot more animated. Her head snapped back, her face contorted with pain. She started to frantically swing her arms around, trying to reach something behind her. I couldn’t tell what was happening. And then all of a sudden, she was gone, dragged off into the horde, disappearing almost immediately.
I quickly glanced around us. The car park in front of us was full of hungry skeletal creatures, some rushing towards us, but mostly towards the source of the music. It was almost clear at the back of the SUV. Caleb hadn’t had too many issues when he went that way.
I looked at Jack.
He was already pointing at the mass of zombies between us and Ali. ‘These ones would just follow us over there.’
I think he actually read my mind.
‘I’ll go,’ I said. ‘You stay here and keep these ones distracted.’
‘What are you going to do when you get over there?’
‘No fucking idea. But I can’t just stand here and watch her get eaten.’
Jack let out a long breath. ‘Okay, try not to die.’
‘Will do. Don’t stay here too long. As soon as they look like they can get up onto the bonnet, make a move.’
‘Yes I know. Good luck mate.’ He reached his fist out towards me. I bumped mine against his.
I tried to smile, saying, ‘See you in a bit.’
Jack started to bang his axe against the window in the door. After the third hit, the window shattered. I took the opportunity to jump down, swinging my bat into a distracted zombie’s face after hitting the ground.
I kept my head down and ran towards the running track, avoiding numerous zombies as they reached out for me. I just had to make sure I kept moving.
They’re definitely slower now.
There were still a lot of zombies over by the edge of the American football field, but they were much more spread out. Most of them still heading towards the camp, attracted by the music, or the noise everyone must have been making on the other side of the inner fence. I just continued trying to avoid them, clubbing the ones I couldn’t.
What the fuck am I actually going to do here? Die trying to get to Ali, or just die once I’m next to her?
The tennis courts where we’d spent some of our quarantine were surrounded by zombies.
That must be where the music is coming from.
Fuck me this has been a disaster. Who thought this was gonna work?
I crept towards the horde I thought I’d seen Ali surrounded by. It was hard to tell now I was on ground level, and there were fucking zombies everywhere. The dead all looked the same.
Head Over Heels ended, and People Are Strange, by The Doors started playing.
A weird soundtrack for my suicidal rescue attempt. It’ll have to do I suppose. I’ve got no choice, just kill as many as I can.
The first head exploded under my bat. I raised it up again and smashed in another, and then another, and another. Their backs were still towards me, only a few breaking away to come for me. A vast amount of them still ran around the horde in front of me, heading for the source of the music.
A car horn blared out. I glanced to my right and a black SUV was speeding across the field towards me. Zombies were hanging off almost every part of it.
There was another flash of pain, this time coming from my arm. I brought the handle of my bat down on the zombie biting into my left forearm. Again and again, I smashed the thing in the skull, until it eventually fell away.
The SUV hit the edge of the horde in front of me, and carried on going. I was covered in a wave of blood and guts. I heard Jack whooping from inside as it hurtled past me. Zombies were sent flying, clearing a path and leaving a bloody trail of destruction behind it.
A lot of the zombies chased the SUV, but I still had to take out two of them as they ran towards me. The first fell after a swing of the Smasher to the head. The second, I took out at the knees first, then quickly brought the bat down on its head as it fell to the ground. I headed towards where I thought Ali would be.
The horn blared out again, making me hesitate. The SUV drove through the other side of the horde. I shielded my face with my hand as I was splattered with more zombie innards, even though I was a good twenty feet away.
Thanks to Jack, the horde was much smaller now. I reached the edge of it and started bashing in the back of more heads. I could hear screaming coming from the middle, making me swing harder and faster. I knew I wasn’t going to be quick enough, so I stepped back a few paces and ran at them. I got my elbows up in front of my face, and forced my way through the four or five thick zombie wall, stumbling and falling to my knees once I was in the middle. It was lucky I fell, because a sword flashed close above my head as I skidded to a halt.
Only one of the Green Team was still standing. It wasn’t Ali. I frantically looked around for her. A zombie clamped its teeth into my shoulder from behind me. I ignored the zombie, and the pain, because I’d seen Ali. She was screaming and shouting, lying on her back on the floor. Her arms and legs were wildly punching and kicking out, trying to stop the three zombies desperate to get to her. There were slashes on her face but I couldn’t tell if she was badly injured. We all looked as filthy as the things we were trying to kill.
The last remaining man in the middle was covering a lot of ground, basically fighting off the zombies on his own. He was swinging a massive broad sword, a fucking four foot long broad sword.
I gave him a wide berth, avoiding the swing of his sword. I barged into two zombies, whilst moving my bat to my left hand. I pulled out my axe and stepped behind the zombies on top of Ali. I used the blunt end of my axe blade to quickly cave in the backs of their skulls.
I felt another bite on my right arm, but managed to knock the biter off, smashing its head into another’s skull. I tried to put my axe back in my belt, but accidentally dropped it to the muddy and blood soaked grass. I didn’t have time to pick it up. I pulled the bodies off Ali and dragged her to her feet. She swung her knife at me, narrowly missing my shoulder. I felt a weight drop away from my back.
‘You had a zombie on you,’ she weakly said.
Holding Ali up with my left arm, I tried swinging my bat into another head. I missed and hit its shoulder, but it still fell to the ground. I kicked another in the chest, forcing it back into the crowd.
‘Come on, we’re leaving,’ I said to Ali. ‘Hey Braveheart,’ I called out to the man. ‘We’re fucking leaving.’
The man swung his sword, decapitating heads and slicing into the bodies of numerous zombies. He twisted around to look back at me. I took the opportunity, running towards him and putting my right arm around his back as we passed, dragging him along with us.
The three of us crashed into the zombies. We forced our way through, bones crunched and ligaments snapped as they tried to stop us. I desperately clung on to Ali’s back, kicking out with my legs as we ran, my knees crashing into soft, decomposing bodies. I was conscious of the fact her arms weren’t up to protect her face. Although neither were mine, my left holding up Ali, and my right dragging along Braveheart. Zombie faces slammed into my chest as we ran. I could feel their mouths trying to take chunks out of me, scraping across me as they fell away, unable to gain purchase.
We finally made it through. Once clear, Ali must have lost her balance, dragging me down to the grass with her.
Braveheart immediately spun around, his broad sword going to work, body parts instantly falling to the ground. ‘Get her back to medical,’ he called out, slicing three or four zombies up at a time.
I got back to my feet, dragging Ali up alongside me.
�
�So tired,’ she managed to say.
Yep, so am I.
I tried walking with her but she wasn’t going to be able to walk. Her feet were starting to drag. I turned around and kicked the legs out from under a zombie, crushing its head with the heel of my walking boot once it was on the ground. I then smashed the handle of my bat into another’s face. It toppled over backwards to the grass.
I quickly looked around for some help, trying to find the black SUV. Without the fireworks, thousands more zombies were spilling in through the gaps in the fence. They must have been following the hissing.
Fuck’s sake. We need to get out of here. This has somehow become even more ridiculous.
I heard him before I saw him. Jack was doing his very best to stop the oncoming swarms. The black SUV’s engine was loudly revving as it tore through the zombies. He was driving close to the gaps in the fence, obliterating the dead in their hundreds as they entered through the missing sections.
‘Nobody to help us Ali,’ I said, pressing my baseball bat against her. ‘Carry this for me.’
‘Okay Chris,’ she weakly replied, struggling to keep her eyes open.
Leaving my left arm around her back, I bent forwards and placed my right arm behind her knees, and picked her up. She laid my bat across her chest.
‘Go!’ Braveheart shouted.
‘Yeah yeah. We’re going,’ I muttered, and started running towards the tennis courts, the most direct route back from there. I’d been intending to run around the horde surrounding them. When I got closer, I spotted one of the other Zombie Patrol teams fighting in the tree line, not far from the edge of the fences surrounding the courts.
Fuck it. I’m going the long way back, the way we came in.
I crossed the running track and entered the American football field, stopping when I heard a vehicle skidding across the car park. I looked to my left to see the zombie covered SUV crashing into another car. With the loud squeaking of bending metal, the driver’s door opened and out stepped Jack. He leaned back into the SUV, coming back out with his axe. Hissing close behind me made me spin around. Ali murmured something unintelligible. Too many zombies to count were running in our direction.
We’re not making any noise. Go towards the music and leave us the fuck alone.
I started running for the alleyway between the school buildings. Wind of Change, by Scorpions played out as I cut a path diagonally across the field. I had to stop myself from whistling along to the tune.
I’ll come back and help Jack after dropping Ali off. He’ll be okay.
Ali began to stir. ‘There is music playing Chris.’
‘Yep, I know,’ I said, between breaths.
There was nothing between us and the alleyway. Just a shitload of zombies chasing us. I was beginning to feel really tired. The exertion of fighting for so long had really taken its toll. Then I remembered all of the bites. I hadn’t thought they’d been that bad. It wasn’t like they’d been biting chunks out of me.
Hopefully.
Blood loss would probably make me feel tired though.
I reached the alley and glanced behind me. They were still chasing us, but were far enough away to make me think we could make it.
They’re definitely slower. Two weeks ago they’d have easily caught me. We can fucking make it. We are gonna make it.
The alleyway was clear, so I just ran, forcing myself to only look ahead.
We were soon nearing the end. I could see the inner fence. It felt like Ali was getting heavier with every step. I started shouting for the people at the gates to unlock them, my panic starting to increase. The hissing was getting louder behind us.
Shapes appeared at the end of the alleyway as the hissing surrounded us. The shapes were zombies. They were running towards us, more and more following them into the alley.
Give us a fucking chance. I can’t run through that many, not while I’m carrying Ali.
Resigned to the fact that we were trapped, I stopped and gently lowered Ali down to the ground. I grabbed my trusty Smasher. Jack’s gift had been an excellent replacement for the bat I had lost. When I stood up straight, I felt lightheaded and had a bit of a wobble, having to concentrate on not collapsing.
I glanced over my shoulder to see which group was closer, trying to blink away the fuzziness that had suddenly fallen over my eyes.
I’ve no fucking idea how far away they are.
I placed a foot on each side of Ali, who was much too still for my liking, and waited for them to reach us.
I’ve just fought my way out from the middle of them a few times. I can do it again.
‘Hey fuckers,’ a Lithuanian accented voice shouted out.
Behind the zombies running towards us from the inner fence, three huge figures appeared, more than head and shoulders above them. Bodies started to fly in all directions, slamming into the walls surrounding us. The three figures were now roaring as they ran. It echoed down the alleyway towards us.
Filled with hope and immense gratitude, I placed my bat down on Ali and picked her back up. She let out a faint moan.
The zombies behind me were closing in. The zombies in front had turned at the sound of the roaring. I ran towards Gee, Andruis, and Matis. They were crashing through the zombies like three wrecking balls, shoving them into walls and crushing their frail dead bodies.
Gee’s expression quickly changed to a look of concern as we neared him. All three Lithuanians ran around us, moving towards the zombies at my back. They each carried a long scaffolding pole in their hands.
Without turning, Gee shouted, ‘Run Chris. It is clear to fence now.’
The sound of steel slamming into dead flesh, and then dead flesh thwacking into brick walls, rang out behind us.
We made it to the car park, turning right when I remembered where the gate was. I looked up to see two people now peering over the top of the fence. Upon seeing us, they both quickly looked down to the ground behind them. By the time we made it to the gates, they were already being opened for us. All my energy left me once we were safely inside, and I fell to my knees once again.
Chapter 18: Smile
Two people appeared from nowhere and took Ali from my arms, my blood encrusted baseball bat rolling to the ground in front of me. They carried her off somewhere, quickly disappearing into the crowds. I tried to see where they went, but there were too many people.
I felt hands under my arms.
‘Come on, we need to get you to a medical tent.’
I was lifted to my feet.
‘No,’ I said, shrugging off the hands and reaching back down to pick up the Smasher. ‘I need to go back out. I just need to rest a minute.’
I turned to see white teeth surrounded by a huge ginger beard.
‘You look like shit. You ain’t going back out there.’
‘I am. My friends are out there.’ I walked around him, heading towards the gates.
A hand gripped my shoulder, sending a wave of pain down my left arm. ‘Wait, just wait,’ Ginger Beard said. ‘Let’s get you bandaged up and get some fluids in you at least.’
I didn’t have the energy to pull away from his grip.
‘Come on, the medical tent is just over there.’ I turned to see him pointing down H Street. He handed me a plastic bottle of something orange coloured.
I struggled to remove the cap, before downing it in just a few thirsty gulps. ‘Okay, but just a few minutes,’ I said. ‘Then I have to go back.’
We passed by a group of people, just standing there in the rain. They all had blue strips wrapped around their arms. I spotted Fanny Fart Girl amongst them.
I stopped alongside them. ‘What’s going on?’ I asked the few closest to me. ‘Has Caleb come back? Has anyone told you what they’re planning to do?’
They exchanged glances, before Fanny spoke up. ‘We were told to wait here. Nobody has told us anything. We haven’t seen Caleb since you left.’
A short man stepped towards me. ‘What is it like out there? Ar
e we clearing the dead out?’
‘No, there’s fucking shitloads of them, far too many. It’s been a fucking disaster from start to finish.’
‘What should we do?’ one of the group shouted.
Ginger Beard stepped to my side, grabbing my arm. ‘We need to keep extra quiet now,’ he told them. ‘They’re just on the other side of that fence.’ He tried pulling me away, but I resisted.
‘Do not go outside the fence,’ I said. ‘Whatever any so called boss says to you, do not go outside.’ I went to walk away, but paused. ‘That being said, I am gonna go back out to help my friends. So if anyone wants to join me in about ten minutes, it would be very much appreciated.’
‘Come on now,’ Ginger Beard said, gently pulling me away.
I twisted around to look back at Blue Team as we walked away. They continued to stand there, looking lost and just staring at each other.
The medical tent was full. Every bed was occupied. People rushed back and forth, none of them wore scrubs, or anything else that made them look like medical staff.
I looked around for Ali, but she wasn’t in there.
‘They’re full,’ I said. ‘I’ll go.’
‘No, just wait,’ Ginger Beard said, quickly glancing around. He sat me down on a chair just inside the entrance. My back was to the side of the tent.
He handed me another drink. ‘Wait here. I’ll go and get someone to help you.’ He spun around and walked away, stopping people and talking to them, before moving on to another.
There was a clock hanging from one of the supporting posts inside the tent. Ten minutes had passed since Ginger Beard had sat me down. I was just about to get up and walk out, when he reappeared, having to fight to get around the walking wounded. He had a woman in tow.
She very briefly hesitated when Ginger Beard pointed me out, but then took the last few steps to stand before me.
She ordered me to strip down to my underpants.
‘All of these need to be sutured,’ she said, seeming to point at my whole body. ‘You probably need a blood transfusion. Jordan here says you only want to be patched up, so you can get back out there.’