by Smith, I. J.
Elle looked behind her, a huge explosion echoed across the night sky. “Jack...” she whispered under her breath.
Bray heard Elle, “He is as tough as they come, he’ll be OK!” Bray reassured her.
“We need to keep moving!” Frank told them.
They hurried on, “Over there!” Clare told them.
“That’s where they are?” Frank asked.
Clare nodded yes; they all kept on moving towards the museum. They were close to the museum when they stopped for a moment by an abandoned car.
“Let’s get inside!” Frank told them and a heated conversation followed.
“Wait, what about Jack?” Elle asked.
“We need to get off the street!” Josh replied.
“I’m waiting for Jack!” she told him.
“So am I!” Bray added.
Frank turned to them, “We have to move, Jack will find us!” he told his team.
As Frank began to move towards the museum someone shouted at him, “DON’T MOVE!”
A large figure appeared from the shadows, holding a gun pointed straight at Frank.
“It’s OK, we’re here to help,” Frank tried to tell him.
“Bullshit!” the figure replied.
Josh went to raise his rifle when two more figures appeared on either side of the team. “We are armed, and more than happy to kill!” the man in front of Frank said.
The figures got closer and came into sight; two scruffy, bearded men had their weapons pointed at them. “Put your weapons down, now!” a man’s voice said.
Frank concerned for his team told them, “Do what he said!”
The team laid down their weapons, the two other men picked them up. “Well, look at this, two little mice returning home!” the man in front of Frank said.
“I thought you would have been zombie burgers by now!” he continued.
Clare looked at the man in fear, “Sorry Clint we couldn’t get back, we were trapped!” she told him.
“Where is the food you went out for?” Clint asked.
“We... We... We... Lost it,” she stuttered while trying not to cry.
Clint walked to closer to Clare, “Look at me!” He demanded.
Clare continued to look at the ground, “LOOK AT ME!” he shouted again.
Clare raised her head slowly, she was crying. Clint looked at her and slapped Clare hard across the face and she hit the ground.
Bray started to run at Clint, “You bastard!” he yelled out.
Before Bray could get to him, another man hit him in the face with the butt of his rifle.
“Stupid... Stupid... Stupid, never interfere in a family dispute boy!” Clint laughed.
The man who hit Bray stood over him. “I don’t know where you come from and really I do not care, but this is our city!” Clint told the team, “and these two little mice are my property!” he continued.
The man standing over Bray spoke, “Boss, there is a fresh one here!” pointing at Elle.
“HA! HA! Peter, Julian you guys have first go!” Clint laughed.
“You two! On your knees!” Clint ordered Frank and Josh.
They both knelt down. “Tell you what, you can watch before we kill you!” Clint told them. Joe was helping his sister, who was still on the ground.
Peter and Julian grabbed Elle, “Hello, my beauty, you’re going to be nice to us, right?” they asked, while laughing.
Elle knew what they were planning; she also knew she was not going without a fight. Elle smiled and stepped towards them. Elle placed her hands-on Peter’s chest, “Are you first?” she asked him.
“Damn, right I am!” he smiled back.
Elle smiled and smashed her forehead into his face, blood exploded.
“Fucking bitch!” Peter shouted and punched Elle in the jaw; she fell backwards, landing on the ground.
Clint laughed at Elle. “I’m going to teach this bitch a lesson!” Peter shouted.
He started to lean down, he was about to grab Elle when he heard a pop, he looked up at Julian, who turned his head to reveal a hole in his face. A bullet had hit him straight in the eye. Peter started to turn to Clint when another pop sounded out, this time hitting Clint in the side of the head. Clint dropped to the ground.
Peter started to raise his gun; he turned just in time to see a large figure appear from the shadows. He tried to finish raising his gun, but the figure was on him fast. Punching him in the throat, Peter stumbled back, dropping his gun to the ground.
“JACK!” Elle shouted out excited.
Jack continued to move forward toward Peter. Peter dropped to his knee and raised his arms in surrender. Jack had no interest in surrender and kicked Peter in the face. As Peter lay there, holding his bleeding face Jack just stood there looking at him. Frank and Josh were back up, on their feet. Bray had gone over to the kids to make sure Clare was OK.
Elle was still on the ground. Jack reached out to Elle, “Come on,” he said while helping her to her feet, she got up and hugged him.
Frank approached Peter; who was starting to get back to his knees. Peter raised his hands in surrender.
Frank looked at him, “Never touch my friends!” Frank told him, taking out his sidearm and shooting Peter in the head. The others all turned to look at Frank in shock.
CHAPTER FOUR
LIVING EVIL
Clare was bleeding from her lip; Bray was comforting her and Joe. Frank still stood over Peter’s dead body. Josh was checking the bodies of Clint and Julian, taking their weapons. Jack was checking on Elle, the side of her face was already starting to bruise. Jack stroked his hand across her face, being careful not to hurt her.
“I’m fine,” she told him, looking him in the eyes.
“I should have got here quicker!” he replied.
Elle just smiled at him and took his hand. They looked into each other’s eyes when they heard groaning.
“Jack, we need to move!” Bray told him.
Jack noticed more zombies starting to appear, “Josh go and help Elle!” Jack told him.
Josh rushed over and helped Elle. Jack looked over at Frank; he was still standing over Peter’s body. Looking over at the museum, he could see it was the only option for them to get off the streets.
“Over there! Let’s get inside,” Jack told the team.
The team started to move towards the museum, Frank still had not moved, Jack rushed over to him.
“Frank, come on!” Jack told him.
Frank stood silent, “Frank, we don’t have time for this!” Jack continued to say.
Still Frank did not move, so Jack grabbed him by his survival vest, pulling him closer.
“MOVE!” Jack shouted.
Frank finally started to move, as they ran towards the museum a group of five zombies got in their way. Jack was low on ammo and could not run the risk of attracting more to their location. Jack pulled his knife out and rushed to the first one, stabbing the zombie under the jaw and forcing the blade up into its brain. Frank raised his rifle and started shooting.
Jack looked annoyed, but it was too late, he pushed another zombie to the ground and stamped on its face, he stamped his foot three times crushing the skull into the ground. Frank took care of the other three with his rifle.
Bray reached the side of the museum building; looking around at the windows, he could see they were all covered and secured with wood. With the others, he ran down along the side of the building.
All that could be seen ahead was more windows and doors that had been boarded up, as he took another step sound of his footstep changed. Looking down, he could see he was now standing on metal. It was a locked hatchway to the basement of the building.
“Over here!” he told the others.
Elle, Josh and the kids joined him, “This is our best option,” Bray told them.
Josh let go of Elle and went to help Bray. Looking at the padlock, Josh pulled out a small bolt cutter from his vest, snapping the lock opened, he looked at Bray. Together they
struggled to pull the metal doors open; they obviously had not been opened in a long time. Finally, the hinges cracking noise and they opened, Bray was first to go down the steps into the dark, he had his rifle raised and once below turned on his torch, which was mounted on his rifle.
Looking around the basement, he saw nothing but old furniture and papers everywhere. “Clear!” he shouted up.
The kids went down first, Elle then struggled down. “Wait for Jack and Frank,” she said to Josh.
“Just go, I will wait here for them,” Josh replied.
Josh stood at the top watching for the others, hearing a noise from his right; he turned in time to see Jack stabbing a zombie in the head. Frank also appeared, firing his gun at the zombies following them.
They both ran towards the building and Josh, “DOWN HERE!” Josh shouted, pointing downward.
Frank was first to arrive and quickly went down the steps into the basement. Josh started shooting at the zombie who was now approaching. Jack jumped into basement not even taking a step. Josh ran down behind him, pulling the doors shut behind him.
Bray held a torch up so Josh could see. With metal doors now shut, Josh was holding them down when Jack came over to him with a long metal bar. Together they pulled it through the handles of the door to secure it. It worked and nothing could get in and they could hear the zombies walking overhead.
They lit the room with their torches. Looking around the room, there were two doors, one was boarded up and secured, and the other closed.
“Before we go inside, somebody wants to tell me who those guys were out there?” Jack asked.
Frank was sitting in a corner on his own, with a guilty look on his face and did not reply.
“No clue, they just crept up on us. They did know the kids though,” Josh abruptly told Jack. Bray looked in anger at Josh.
Jack noticed the look on Bray’s face, “OK...OK! It’s not the time to fight amongst ourselves,” Jack told them, noticing the rising tension between them.
Elle was sitting with the kids as Jack approached them. “Clare, I need to know who those people were?” he asked her carefully.
Clare was scared, but after Jack saved her brother and then again saving them outside the museum, she knew she could trust him.
“They work for the soldiers!” she told him.
Elle put her arm around Clare to comfort her, “What do they do for the soldiers?” Elle asked.
“They make sure we all work, find food, and make sure the men are happy!” she started to cry.
Jack also looked upset, he took hold of Clare’s hand, and “Did they have you keep the men happy?” he asked through gritted teeth in anger.
Clare looked at Jack, tears rolled from her eyes and down her cheeks. She did not need to answer. Jack moved closer to Clare and hugged her.
“Bastards!” Bray said angrily.
Jack let go of Clare, “I need to ask you just one more thing. How many soldiers are there?” he asked.
“Seven,” she told him.
Jack kissed her forehead and turned to Bray, “Want to have some fun?” he asked.
Bray smiled, “Hell yeah!” he replied.
“Count me in!” Josh added. “I know I was against coming here, but I was wrong, those sick bastards need sorting!” Josh continued.
“OK, you two check what ammo we have, we move in five minutes,” Jack told them.
“Don’t forget me!” Elle added.
Jack knew she was hurt so he had to make her stay behind, Jack walked over to her, “I need you to stay and protect the kids,” he told her.
Elle looked annoyed, “You need an extra gun,” she replied.
“Please, I need you to stay here!” he begged. Elle hated it, but knew she would slow them down, so she agreed. Jack turned his attention to Frank, he had not moved since they arrived.
Jack walked over and sat beside him. “I know you heard everything we just said,” Jack told him.
Frank remained silent. Jack looked at him; he knew what was wrong with him. “First time?” he asked.
Frank lifted his head and looked at Jack, “Yes,” he replied softly.
“Taking life is not like the movies, you cannot kill a dozen people and then smoke a cigarette. No matter how much a scumbag they are, killing someone stays with you!” Jack told him.
“How do you live with it?” Frank asked.
“Honestly, the more lives you take the easier it gets, and I’ve taken a lot of lives!” he replied.
“Sorry,” Frank told him.
“Don’t be, I chose my path,” Jack replied.
“What now?” Frank asked.
“Now we deal with the living monsters,” Jack replied.
Frank smiled at Jack, he was grateful for his concern, “Let’s do it!” Frank said happily.
Together they both got to their feet, they walked over to Bray and Josh.
Bray handed Jack some ammo, “What’s the plan?” Bray asked.
Jack replied, “Ask the Corporal!” Frank looked at Jack with gratitude.
Frank loaded his gun, “Find the evil bastards and show them what a real soldier is like!” he replied.
“You heard the man, let do this shit!” Jack told them.
Josh and Frank walked towards the door, Bray walked over to the kids, “Everything will be fine,” he told them.
Jack walked over to Elle, “Anyone other than us comes through that door, don’t hesitate to kill them!” Jack told her.
“Just make sure you come back!” she told him. Both Jack and Bray walked to the door joining the others.
They opened the door slightly, just enough so they could see down what was beyond it. Jack looked out to see a long dark hallway, no light, and no sign of anyone. “Clear,” he whispered to the others.
Jack led the way, one by one; they followed him along the hall. The only light came from the torch on Jack’s rifle. Walking slowly, the dust on the floor was thick and every step they took made a fresh footprint. Reaching the end of the hall, there were three steps going up to a higher level. They walked up the steps, noticing that there was a turn leading to another door. Jack looked at the door and noticed a dim light flickering under the bottom of the door. Jack raised his hand, indicating to the others to stop.
Jack stepped forward and checked the door handle. Turning it slowly, he was relieved to find it unlocked. He started to open the door gently, looking through a small opening he could see candles burning on tables, there were cans of food and bottles of water stacked up high, but no one was in the room. Jack looked to the others and nodded his head to indicate he was going in. The door opened and Jack walked in with his rifle held high. As they all entered the room, screaming sounded out, echoing around them.
Listening the team could hear something terrible, “Please, please not again, please No!” a woman’s voice screamed.
“Josh with me!” Jack told him.
“We should stay together!” Bray told them.
“Go, Bray and I will secure this area!” Frank ordered them.
Jack smiled at Frank, “Let’s go!” he told Josh.
They walked out of the room, Jack and Josh were moving forward as the screams suddenly stopped, they continued on to enter a large room, who’s walls were surrounded with glass cabinets all full of objects, the floor was solid marble, they had walked into the museum. Candles lit the way; the candles stood all around the room.
They walked further into the room, when they heard footsteps; Jack and Josh turned towards the steps and aimed their weapons. Emerging from the darkness, a woman appeared; she had long black hair, a pale complexion and was dressed in dirty clothes. She stopped suddenly, looking at Jack and Josh.
“Don’t hurt me!” she whispered.
Jack lowered his rifle, “We’re not here to hurt you, we’re here to help,” Jack said calmly.
Josh lowered his weapon, the screaming suddenly started again, louder than before, “NO! NO! NO!” echoed around them. The black-haired wom
an looked down and covered her ears with her hands.
Jack approached her; she lowered her hands, “Where is that noise coming from?” Jack asked her.
She looked at him, and pointed to the back of the room. “Josh, stay with her!” Jack told him.
Jack ran off towards the screaming, “Jack…” Josh tried to get his attention but Jack disappeared in the darkness.
Josh stood there with the woman who looked scared, “I’m Josh and the guy running into the darkness is Jack,” he told her.
“Alina,” she replied quietly.
“Beautiful name, nice to meet you Alina,” he replied.
Josh was getting concerned about just standing around. “Where is everyone?” he asked.
“They are all on the other side of the museum, I should not even be here,” she told him.
“It’s OK, you’re safe now,” he reassured her.
Alina smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes. “How did you know we needed help?” she asked Josh.
“We found a couple of kids who told us,” Josh replied.
“Kids, they're safe?” she asked. “They are with a friend of mine,” he told her.
“Thank God!” she replied to him.
Frank and Bray both stood guarding the entrance to the basement, “We should have gone with them,” Bray said.
Frank did not reply he was busy looking around the room; he looked at the piles of food and water. He also noticed a pile of clothes, “That’s strange,” he whispered. Bray walked up behind him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked Frank.
“Look at the clothes,” he replied to Bray. Bray looked to see that there were kid’s clothes, adult clothes, most covered in blood and then he noticed what Frank had seen, soldiers’ uniforms. A noise behind them made them turn.
Josh offered Alina some water, “Here, are you thirsty?” he asked.
“Thank you!” she replied, taking the canteen of water from him.
Before she took a drink, she asked, “Your friend, Jack. He must be brave?” she asked Josh.
He gave a little laugh under his breath, “Honestly, he is the bravest man I have ever met!” he told her.