by Smith, I. J.
She finished her drink and handed back the canteen, “You have a lot of respect for him,” she replied.
“I admire him, when things are at their worst, he will just push through it. I wish I was like that,” he told her with emotion in his voice.
“Well, I think you’re brave,” she told him smiling.
“Thanks, but I’m usually the voice of reason,” he replied.
A noise from behind him made him turn, he raised his rifle. “Alina keep close to me,” he told her.
While looking for what made the noise. He moved towards the noise slowly, noticing a small white dog with a brown patch over its eye walking from the shadows. Josh laughed, as he stood and looked at the dog. Without warning, someone grabbed his head and ran a blade across his throat; blood sprayed out and ran down his chest. Josh grabbed his neck trying to stop the bleeding; he turned around and fell to his knees, with blood gushing through his fingers.
He managed to look up to see Alina with a knife, “Don’t worry, your friends will join you soon!” she told him.
Josh started to fade and he hit the ground, blood filling his mouth and blood flowing out from the cut on his neck. His breathing slowed and his face had lost all color as his lips trembled and he gasped his last breath.
Alina stood over his body, smiling, “Idiot!” she whispered.
Jack moved through the dark corridors, the screaming was getting louder as he approached a big double door. The door was not guarded, there was plenty of light behind the door, Jack moved closer, then stopped right next to the doors. He put his ear up against the door, all he could hear was screaming. The doors had big brass handles, he grabbed a handle and started to pull being careful not to make much noise. He raised his rifle and pulled the door open fast and ran into the room.
He stopped in his tracks looking at what was in front of him in complete shock. Three men stood pointing their guns at him, Half-naked women and men had their hands and feet tied up, and all sat next to the wall, looking at them, he could see the blood and bruises that covered their bodies. Jack's attention was at the center of the room; two children were on the floor in front of a big table. The kids were bloodied and unconscious.
Looking at the table a woman was bent over, with her trousers by her ankles. An extremely obese man was holding her down. He was trying to pull down his trousers, but was stopped when Jack arrived. Jack looked at him in anger, his eyes focused on the scum in front of him. He looked at the woman on the table her face was bloodied, tears ran from her eyes as she stared at him.
Jack looked at a face he recognized “Elle!” he said.
CHAPTER FIVE
BLOOD WILL FLOW
With his rifle still raised, Jack stood facing the scum in front of him.
“You have one chance, put down your gun, and let her go!” Jack told them in a hard voice.
The fat man laughed, “Or what?” he asked, still laughing.
“I will kill every last one of you!” he stated.
The laughs continued.
“I don’t think so,” the fat man told him. Jack felt something cold against his neck.
Elle panicked, “Jack look out!” she screamed.
“Put the weapon down!” a female voice told him.
Jack lowered his rifle; a woman appeared from behind him, holding a military side arm.
Jack recognized the woman, “Hello again, I never introduced myself before you ran off playing the hero, I’m Alina,” she told him. She took his rifle from him; she then took his sidearm.
“Where’s Josh?” he asked her.
She smiled, “Oh, where did I leave him, oh yeah. I left him on the floor in a pool of his blood!” she replied and laughed.
Jack snapped and punched Alina in the face, her nose exploded with blood spraying out.
The three men with guns ran to her and aimed at Jack, “You bastard!” she screamed aiming her gun at his head.
“Come on, you mental bitch!” he shouted at her.
“No, you’re going to die slowly,” she told him.
One of the men, stepped forward and hit Jack in the head with the butt of his gun, the side of Jack’s head cut open, dripping blood down his face, but he was still on his feet and did not move.
“We have a tough one here!” Alina laughed.
Another man stepped behind Jack kicking him the back of his knee, Jack dropped to the ground.
The fat man shouted out, “Can I break this bitch in now?” he screamed out.
“Not now Harvey, you can have your fun later!” Alina told him.
Harvey pushed Elle to the floor; she was quick to pull her trousers up and went to check on Clare and Joe, who were still unconscious on the floor.
Alina pointed to Jack, “Take this one and put him with the others!” she told the men around her.
Jack took one more look at Elle, she was looking back in fear, he winked at her, and she nodded in return. Jack was then punched in the face, he fell back, and the three men all took turns kicking him.
“Don’t break him, I think this one will be fun to play with,” Alina told them. They dragged him away.
The two men dragged Jack down the dark hall; they dragged him through the room where Josh’s body was still on the floor. Jack looked over at his friend’s body. They dragged him to another door, one man let go and unlocked the door. They then dragged Jack inside and threw him down. They slammed the door shut and locked it behind them.
Jack tried to get up when a voice spoke to him, “Jack, we got you!” Jack looked up to see Frank and Bray.
“Shit, they got you too!” Jack whispered.
They helped him to his feet, Jack started to move backwards when Frank shouted at him, “Careful,” Jack turned just in time to see a zombie launch itself at him.
“What the fuck!” he shouted.
He stepped away from the zombie; noticing it was chained to the wall. “They have a fucking pet zombie, any other time that would be strange!” Jack said.
He walked over to the opposite wall, leaned against it and slid down it to the floor. Frank and Bray joined him.
“Josh?” Bray asked.
“No!” Jack replied looking down.
They all went quiet. “Do you know if Elle and the kids are OK?” Frank asked.
“They have them!” Jack replied.
“How did they get you?” Jack asked.
“We found soldier’s uniforms covered in blood, we guessed they were not in charge. We were about to come after you when they sneaked up on us,” Frank replied.
“I see you both put up a fight,” Jack replied, indicating the marks on their faces.
“We tried, there were too many,” Frank replied.
Jack sighed, touching his head to check if it was still bleeding. “Are you OK Jack?” Frank asked.
Jack looked lost in thought, “I’m going to kill them all!” Jack replied.
He looked up to see the zombie pulling at its chains trying to get to them.
“Any of you notice that zombie is wearing a military uniform?” Jack observed.
Back in the basement where the team found refuge, the boarded-up door was now open. A torch still sat on the floor lighting up the room.
The metal door the team escaped through was rattling; the hinges broke off from the door. Falling through was a single zombie, the half-rotted mutilated corpse got back to its feet and began to walk.
The zombie walked through the open door that the team went through, dragging its rotting feet through the thick dust, walking over the footprints that were left behind.
It kept moving through the hall and then into the room until it smelled blood. Josh’s body was still on the ground, a small gasp of air came from Josh, he was still barely alive. The zombie slumped down beside Josh and sank its teeth into Josh’s face.
Elle was now tied up and placed with the other prisoners. Clare and Joe had regained consciousness and were also tied to the wall.
Joe cried as Clare tried to comfor
t him. Elle looked at Clare, “Are they the soldiers?” she asked.
“Yes,” Clare replied.
“NOOO!” a man said, interrupting them.
Elle looked over to see a man who had been badly beaten. Dressed in blood stained rags, his hair and beard covered his face.
“Who are you?” Elle asked him.
“Private Ryan Garrett!” he replied.
“You’re a soldier? “She asked.
“My Section was left behind after the evacuation; we helped survivors and fortified this place. I wish I had died in the outbreak. Some of the people we saved were animals, eventually they took over. The things I have seen, murder, rape, blood so much blood. They posed as soldiers to tempt in new survivors,” Ryan replied sadly.
Elle looked at the broken man, “Where is the rest of your team?” she asked.
“All dead, except for me,” he told her. Elle looked around the other survivors; she counted twenty including the kids.
Alina entered the room, Ryan lowered his head and moved, she walked over to Elle, “You, I need to know how you got here?” she demanded to know.
Elle laughed, “Go to hell!” she replied.
“Sweetie, we’re already in hell. So, tell me or I am going to feed you to the zombies!” she told Elle.
“Go ahead; anything is better than looking at your fucked-up face!” Elle replied in anger, looking Alina’s broken nose.
Alina smiled, “We will see if you feel the same after Harvey has had a chance to break you in!” Alina laughed and walked away.
“You should not aggravate The Boss like that!” Ryan told her. Elle ignored him and thought of Jack, and hoped he was OK.
Jack was standing in front of the chained zombie; he was just out of reach from it. “Jack, what are you looking at?” Frank asked him.
“The uniform, we’re not facing soldiers, we’re facing scum!” he replied.
Bray looked at Frank with concern, “Err... Jack, how does that help us?” Bray asked.
Jack turned to his two friends, “To kill evil you must become evil!” he stated. Bray and Frank sat there in silence, worried that Jack had lost his mind.
Someone unlocked the door, as it opened Frank and Bray stood up. Three men with guns walked in, “Sit down all of you!” one of the men told them. Jack laughed.
“You think this is funny?” the man asked him.
The man with the gun walked over to Jack and hit him in the stomach with his gun. Jack bent over in pain, but did not go down.
“STOP!” a female voice shouted.
Alina walked in the door, “Jack... now... now play nice,” she said with a smile. Alina came further into the room, “I think we should talk,” she told them.
Frank looked at her, “Who are you?” he asked her.
“The Boss!” she replied.
“She killed Josh!” Jack interrupted.
Bray was moving towards her, when one of the men hit him. Bray hit the ground, blood flowed from his mouth.
“Nope, Jack got close and did this!” she said while pointed to her nose.
“So, no one else is allowed!” she said and smiled.
“Bray, don’t worry. I’m going to kill that bitch!” Jack told him.
“I see now, you’re not in the mood to cooperate. So, I will go ask your female friend again,” she told them.
Alina started to walk out of the door when she stopped and turned back, “I don’t think we need them anymore,” she told her men and walked away.
One of the men approached Jack, “Any last words?” he asked Jack.
“You have pretty eyes,” Jack replied.
The man laughed, as Frank helped Bray back to his feet. The man stood closer to Jack, “Take a good look,” he told Jack.
“Can I have them?” Jack asked calmly.
The man laughed aloud again. Jack grabbed the man’s face; the two other men shouted “Let him go!”
Jack looked at them, and Frank and Bray grabbed ahold of the other men, wrestling them to the ground. Frank slammed the one man’s head into the ground; Bray punched the other man, repeatedly until he stopped moving.
They grabbed the men’s weapons and looked at Jack. He still had a grip on the man’s face, Jack squeezed his thumbs into the man’s eyes, and blood gushed out, his eyes popped like cherries popping in your mouth. The man fell to the ground screaming. Bray and Frank looked at Jack as he wiped his hands on his vest.
Jack took the man’s weapon and then helped him to his feet, “Are you hungry?” Jack asked.
“WHAT?” The man screamed in pain.
“I’m not talking to you,” Jack told him as he threw him into the arms of the zombie. Jack watched as the zombie ripped into the man’s flesh. The sound of the man’s screaming echoed throughout the room.
Bray stepped forward with a gun to shoot the man. Jack grabbed Bray’s gun and stopped him, “Let him suffer!” Jack told Bray.
“Let’s go!” Jack told Frank and Bray.
Jack walked out the room. Frank and Bray watched as the zombie continued ripping the flesh from its victim, “What the hell was that?” asked Bray.
“I don’t know, but we should go,” Frank replied, they both rushed out the door to catch up with Jack.
Weapons raised; they walked into the room where Josh was killed. A puddle of blood was still on the floor, “This is where they killed Josh,” Jack told them, indicating the place where his body had been.
He continued moving towards the room where he had last seen Elle. Jack walked towards the double doors, not caring; he just kicked the doors open and walked in. Two men stood by the table; Jack gave no warning and opened fire.
Killing the two men instantly, Jack turned to look at the people tied to the wall, he looked at the survivors. There she was, “Elle” Jack shouted.
He ran over to her and untied her from the wall, Bray and Frank started helping the others. They untied Clare and Joe, Joe hugged Bray. After her hands were untied, Elle put her arms around Jack.
He held her tightly. “Jack, we need to move!” Frank urged him.
Jack stroked Elle’s cheek, wiping blood away, “Not yet!” Jack replied to Frank and stood up.
“I owe someone a promise!” Jack said as he walked towards the doors.
Frank ran after him and grabbed his arm, “Jack, we should go, NOW!” Frank ordered him.
“I won’t be long,” Jack replied.
“THAT’S AN ORDER!” Frank shouted.
Jack carried on walking, “Good luck with that!” Jack muttered. Frank walked back into the room. “We need to make a stand here!” he told everyone. Frank closed the doors behind him.
Jack walked along a long corridor; he could hear talking at the far end. He walked towards the sounds, before he reached the room a big fat man walked out. “Hello Harvey!” Jack said smiling.
“Oh shit!” Harvey shouted as he ran back into the room. A man appeared with a gun and started shooting, Jack moved to the side against the wall. Jack shot back, shooting the man in the knees, he screamed as he hit the floor. Jack ran to the man, standing over him, he pointed his gun at the man’s head, “Boo!” Jack said to the man, before shooting him in the head.
Jack turned and walked back to the office door, “HARVEY! HARVEY!” Jack shouted.
He moved through the door, into the room and walked in laughing, “Harvey, I can see your fat ass!” Jack taunted him. Harvey was hiding behind a desk in the room.
“Please, don’t kill me, I’m sorry!” Harvey begged.
“What are you sorry for Harvey, killing people, raping women, raping children?” Jack asked.
Harvey started crying, as he stood up. Jack put his gun down; he walked over to Harvey and smiled as he punched him in the throat. Jack then grabbed Harvey and dragged him out of the office; he threw him against the wall and punched him repeatedly in the face.
Harvey face was bleeding heavily, his nose was broken and bent, and his eyes had swollen over. Jack hit him so hard a couple of
teeth dropped out of Harvey’s mouth and landed on the floor. Jack held Harvey up, refusing to let him fall down. Harvey cried out, Jack noticed that Harvey was pissing himself.
“Oh, Harvey...” Jack said.
He pushed Harvey to the ground; Jack then kicked him repeatedly in the groin.
“Time to die Harvey!” Jack told him.
He turned to get his gun, when a gunshot sounded out and a bullet hit Jack in the vest. Jack fell against the wall. Harvey started to drag himself away.
Jack looked up to see Alina walking out of the room; she had her gun pointed at Jack.
“You’re ruining everything!” she yelled at him. She was about to shoot Jack again, when Harvey started screaming again.
She turned to look to see a zombie ripping Harvey’s stomach apart, pulling internal organs out and chewing on them. Alina tried to shoot it, but missed. The zombie looked at Alina and stood up and started moving towards her. Alina shot again and still missed, she was now out of ammo.
She shouted “SHIT!” and ran back into the room.
The zombie turned to Jack, as it moved towards him, Jack recognized. Josh, I’m so sorry!” Jack said as he got to his feet. He looked at Josh and noticed a chunk had been ripped from his face, at that moment he knew that more zombies were in the museum.
Zombie Josh tried to grab Jack, but Jack moved away. Pushing Zombie Josh away, Jack reached over and pulled the fire extinguisher from the wall, “Rest in Peace my friend,” Jack told Josh, as he hit him in the head.
Zombie Josh fell to the floor, Jack raised the fire extinguisher and hit it repeatedly in the head, the skull crushed, blood sprayed all over the floor.
Dropping the blood-soaked extinguisher, Jack turned back to the office. He kicked the door open, no one was inside. The door at the other side was shut, but the window was open. Jack looked down out the window; he could see the boards that once covered the window were lying on the ground. Jack looked up; just in time see Alina running away into the darkness.
Frank was helping the survivors; Bray was guarding the door.
Elle walked over to Frank, “Where’s Jack?” she asked him.