Existing Dead

by Lyle Perez-Tinics

  Victor took the keys. “What are you going to do?” he asked.

  “I’m going to barbeque the fuckers,” Kyle answered with a smile. He walked toward the front of the building and peered down. All of the dead were inside the store. Kyle stretched his arm toward the doors and pulled them closed.

  “Go now!” Kyle yelled.

  Victor dropped the basket to the ground then jumped off the roof. He landed on a small mound of dirt and fell to his knees. The boy quickly got up, picked up the basket, and ran toward the truck. Kyle jumped off the roof with his shotgun in hand, landing in front of the doors. He grabbed the keys and locked the Existing Dead inside.

  “Hey!” Kyle heard Victor yell behind him. He turned to see Victor throwing a yellow bottle at him. Kyle caught the bottle with his free hand and looked at it. A fresh bottle of fluid was in his hands. An Existing Dead slammed the glass door behind him with its rotted palms. Kyle quickly turned. He dropped the shotgun onto the ground and squeezed the bottle through a crack in the door, spraying one of the dead with fluid. He made a trail of liquid leading through the door. Kyle took out a lighter from his pocket, he rolled the flint but it wouldn’t catch. Finally on the eight try, the flame stayed on and he ignited the fluid. He threw the lighter on the ground. The fluid caught quickly, and within seconds the creature burst into flames. It walked clumsily through the store, igniting the rest of the fluid and the Existing Dead inside. Within a few minutes, the entire building was on fire. Kyle put the bottle of fluid in his pocket, picked up the shotgun and walked toward the truck.

  He opened the door and got in. Victor looked at him, breathing uncontrollably.

  “Are you all right?” Kyle asked.

  “Yeah, I am. I’m just glad I don’t have to clean up this mess again.”

  Kyle laughed as they stared out of the window onto the front of the store. Bodies littered the ground, motionless. And beyond that the store was completely engulfed in flames. They could still see the moving bodies through the doors striking the glass, methodically and purposefully.

  Chapter Four

  “What are you waiting for?” Victor asked.

  Kyle stayed stationary inside the truck. He stared, in a trance, at the picture of him and Eddie, then looked at the picture of Jasmine.

  “Is that your wife and kid?” Victor asked.

  “No and yes,” Kyle answered. “That’s my boy Eddie and this is, Jasmine, the girl who should have been my wife.”

  “Are they …?” Victor couldn’t finish the question. He just nodded with a concerned look on his face.

  “Eddie is dead, killed by his own mother. I don’t know about Jasmine, she lives in California. I’m on my way there now to see if she’s alive,” Kyle said, completely void of emotion.

  “That’s fucking wicked man. When did it happen?”

  “A few hours ago.”

  They both fell silent.

  “Oh,” Victor said finally. “And you’re …” he continued, but thought against it.

  “I’m fine, I’ll grieve later. Right now I have to keep going.”

  “Okay,” Victor said softly.

  “Do you have any more rounds for that pussy .38 Snubby you pointed at me?”

  “I don’t have any more in the gun; I fired all five shots when that dead person came in. I grabbed the box of bullets from under the counter before we ran for the ladder.”

  “Good boy,” Kyle said, “give me the Snubby.” Victor looked at him for a second and handed the weapon he had in his pocket. “Listen to me very carefully,” Kyle started. “A gun is not a toy, this thing can really do some damage to yourself or the person you’re pointing it at. Did the store teach you how to use the gun?”

  “No, but I’ve seen a lot of movies. It’s not hard, you just need to make sure that the safety is off, yank the hammer thing back and pull the trigger.”

  Kyle sighed. “Okay well, I’m going to give you a crash course on this gun. First, don’t call them bullets; a bullet is what’s fired out of the cartridge. Call them rounds. This gun is pretty weak compared to what I have, but for you, it’ll work fine. Grab the box of rounds. This is how you reload. Push the cylinder release valve and the cylinder will pop out. Toss the used casings and load in fresh ones.” Victor handed him five rounds. “When they’re all loaded, push the cylinder back in.” The gun clicked. “When you hear that click you’re ready to rock and roll. Here.” Kyle handed the gun back to Victor and looked up at the boy. For a split second Kyle imagined that Eddie was sitting next to him.

  “Thanks, Dad,” he heard him say.

  Kyle quickly shook his head and looked at Victor again. “What did you say?” he asked.

  “I said, thanks, dude.”

  They heard glass shatter near the burning building. Kyle glanced outside the window and saw that the Existing Dead had finally broken the glass doors. Their flaming bodies began to push through the broken glass. They ignored any shards that might be in the way and pushed through. The few in front were squished up against the metal door handles. Some began to crawl on the ground and pushed themselves through a tiny opening. A foul and disgusting odor flew in the air.

  “Ugh, that fucking reeks,” Victor said, covering his nose. “Let’s go, what are we still doing here?”

  “That’s the smell of burning bodies, boy,” Kyle said, “let’s go before one of them ignites a gas pump.”

  Kyle turned the ignition. The truck roared to life. He looked at the gas gauge needle, which stopped at half tank. Kyle put the car in reverse and said, “Put your seat belt on, Victor.”

  Victor quickly buckled up. When Kyle heard the click he pushed down on the accelerator. The tires peeled out in reverse. He maneuvered the vehicle and ran down the zombie that was struggling to get up. Victor jumped forward when he felt the impact.

  “What was that?” he said looking behind him.

  “A flaming speed bump,” Kyle said, laughing.

  He put the truck in drive and drove away. He turned left without stopping onto the road. Almost instantly, the truck came to a screeching halt as they stared out onto the street.

  “Holy shit,” Kyle cursed.

  The road was completely filled with Existing Dead. Kyle guessed about a thousand bodies were on the road. All of them stared at the truck. There was no way to continue going in that direction. One by one, the dead began walking toward the truck. Kyle didn’t move.

  “Do something, dude!” Victor yelled.

  Kyle popped the truck in reverse and did a one-eighty. Victor stared back through the rearview mirror as they drove back up the hill. He turned back just in time to see the Burger King Kyle and Eddie used to eat at.

  “Hey, I used to eat lunch there all the time with my dad.”

  Kyle’s stomach felt hollow. “Shut up,” he said.

  Victor stayed quiet. Kyle passed the hill and continued on the road.

  “How do we get to your place?” Kyle asked.

  “Umm, we go through those zombies.”

  “Is there another way out of here besides using that road?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Kyle continued driving at an alarming speed. He knew another way out of town, but that would add a few hours to the drive. It also meant that he had to pass his house, where Mary had killed Eddie. He tried not to think about it and continued driving.

  The road was pretty clear. It seemed like all the Existing Dead gathered on that one point for some reason. Up ahead they noticed a figure lying on the ground with a metal spike through its heart. Its body was fried beyond recognition. Victor wasn’t able to tell if it was human or an Existing Dead as Kyle approached.

  “What the hell happened here?” Victor questioned.

  “That was me,” Kyle said.

  “You did that?” Victor asked with a tint of fear in his voice.

  “Yeah, I took out my anger on it,” Kyle said, stopping the car. “I had to leave because its friends showed up. Now I have a friend of my own.” Kyle got out o
f the car and looked at Victor. “This is what’s going to happen. You’re going to come out here with your gun and stand guard. If anything gets close shoot it in the head, understood?”

  Victor nodded and got out of the truck. Kyle searched the bed for the saw. He found it and walked it over to the body. He stood over it for a moment. Its eyes slowly opened and it began to thrash, snapping its jaw at him.

  “It’s still alive,” Victor said, stunned.

  “Yeah, the only way to kill it is by destroying the brain.”

  “How do you know so much about them?”

  “Before I made it to the gas station, I was listening to something on the radio that was talking about them. Some Doctor Greenly was doing an interview.”

  “So you just heard about them now? Where have you been?”

  “I was in the basement of my house with my ex-wife and son. I replaced the wooden doors with steel ones and welded them shut. There was no way anything was going to get down there. We didn’t have a TV or a radio. The only thing we knew was that the dead were returning to life and eating the living. We didn’t know why and we didn’t care. We just went into hiding. So, like I said earlier, something like being under a rock.”

  Victor gasped as he saw a small figure out in the distance. “Well, whatever you’re going to do, you need to do it soon. Look,” he said, pointing at the silhouette.

  Kyle glanced in the direction of the figure. It looked small, almost child like. Gary first crossed his mind. He looked down at his hands and noticed the saw in his grip. He walked up to the zombie and jammed his steel toe shoe into its mouth. Kyle felt the pressure of its teeth clamping onto his toes. He knelt down and put the saw on the edge of his shoe. He rubbed the saw down between the creature’s mouth and began sawing its head in half. It was easy until he reached the jaw bone, but he managed to continue. The noise of the blade grinding through the jaw bone made Victor gag. Blood and pus began to seep into the creature’s throat. A gargling sound emerged from its diaphragm which made Victor vomit. Kyle ignored the kid and continued sawing. The pressure on his toes loosened.

  When he sawed through the bone and reached the ear canal, it was much easier.

  “How much time do I have before Gary gets here?” Kyle asked as Victor vomited. “Victor, how much time is left before that figure makes it here?” he repeated still sawing.

  Victor didn’t answer.

  “Victor!” Kyle shouted. A second later three shots were fired.

  Kyle stopped sawing and rose to his feet. The creature’s jaw was completely sawn off; it could no longer close its mouth. Its head was still intact. Kyle scraped the creature’s head away from the rest of its body with his shoe. The top half of its head detached from its body. Kyle looked down and its eyes still moved.

  Victor fired two more shots then yelled, “Kyle!”

  Kyle turned in the direction of the scream. He drew his Glock and ran toward Victor. Gary was nearly on top of him. There were bullet holes on his chest and arms. Black visceral blood seeped onto his clothes as it oozed out of the wounds.

  “Help!” Victor yelled.

  Kyle held the pistol firm in his grip and squeezed the trigger. The gun clicked and the pistol slide kicked back. He forgot that his gun was empty and never grabbed a fresh magazine. Gary lunged for Victor bringing him to the ground. Kyle ran to them and grabbed Gary by the gray hoodie. He yanked him off of Victor and kicked him across the chest as he did earlier. Gary fell to the ground. Kyle turned and helped Victor to his feet.

  “Did it bite you?”

  “No,” he replied.

  “Okay, come on, get in the truck.”

  Victor ran and jumped into the passenger seat. He instantly began emptying the casings in his gun, loading fresh rounds. Kyle ran back to the top half of the severed head and tossed it into a large bucket in the truck bed. The creature’s eyes followed every move Kyle made. He ran into the truck and closed the door. Gary got to his feet. Kyle opened the side pockets of the robot backpack and took out a fresh magazine for the Glock. He ejected the old one, tossed it into the bag and replaced it with the new one. He pointed the gun at Gary through the open window. Before he could fire, Victor fired. The bullet shot into the air, hitting Gary through the right eye socket. The gun was not powerful enough for the bullet to exit. It bounced inside of Gary’s head, turning his brain into mush.

  Kyle looked at Victor as Gary’s body fell to the ground. Victor still had his gun pointed in Gary’s direction.

  “Nice shot,” Kyle said.

  “Yeah, it only took me six shots to get it in the head.” Victor smiled briefly. “What did you do with that other body?”

  “I put its head in a bucket. We’re taking it with us.”

  “What?” Victor said quickly. “Why are we taking it with us?”

  “I wanna see how long it continues existing.”

  “You’re fucking nuts, dude,” Victor said in a playful tone.

  Kyle turned the truck on and continued down the road. He clicked on the radio to see if the Doctor Greenly interview was still playing. He was back in an area that had a good reception; it was worth a shot. The interview was still being played, but it was repeating. The same information was coming through the speakers, as if the press conference had been recorded and being replayed on a loop. Kyle told Victor to scroll up and down the tuner while he drove. He wanted to know if another station was playing the same interview. There was nothing but white noise.

  They continued up the road and were nearing Kyle’s house. He felt butterflies in his stomach as he eased off the accelerator. The truck began to coast. Victor turned off the tuner.

  “There’s nothing but static and beeping,” Victor said as the truck slowly came to a stop. “Why are we stopping?”

  “That house over there.” He pointed at it. “The powder blue one with the huge tree on the side lawn?”

  “Yeah?” Victor answered.

  “That’s where I was for the past few days, or weeks. I don’t know exactly how long I was down there. My ex-wife and son both have gaping holes in their heads in the basement of the house,” Kyle said still with no emotion in his voice.

  “You don’t have to show me this, Kyle,” Victor said.

  “Yeah I do. I need to show someone. You showed me where you were for the past few days. Now I’m showing you where I was.”

  Victor started feeling uneasy and began to feel fearful. That was until Kyle began to sob uncontrollably. He put his hands over his face and wept. He cried for Eddie, he cried for being selfish and leaving his son. He cried for the love and affection he craved from his son. Kyle glanced at Victor and pictured Eddie sitting there playing with his video game and asking him if he wanted to play a few rounds of Donkey Kong. He reached over with his massive arms and hugged Victor tightly.

  “I’m so sorry, Eddie. I’m so sorry, Eddie,” Kyle repeated.

  “It’s okay, dude,” Victor said hugging him back. Victor was too young to fully understand what Kyle was going through. But he did understand that Kyle was grieving from a pain that might never go away.

  Kyle’s tears began to subside and he loosened his grip on Victor. He backed away and wiped the salty water from his eyes. “I’m sorry, Victor. I really needed that.”

  “It’s okay, dude. I may not know what you’re going through exactly, but as your only friend now, I’m here for you.”

  Kyle was shocked at Victor’s words. Kyle never had many friends and he found it comforting that he found one in this kid. “Yeah,” Kyle began, “we are friends. I’ll always look out for you if you do the same for me, okay?”

  Victor nodded.

  “HHHHHEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!” a female voice cried through the wind.

  “What the fuck was that?” Kyle asked looking at his surroundings.

  “It sounded like a girl,” Victor replied.

  “HHHHHEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!” They heard the desperate cry again.

  “It’s definitely a woman,” Kyle said.


  They got out of the truck and began looking around the area. They both stared down the road toward the east.

  “Four o’clock!” The voice said.

  Kyle turned right toward two o’clock and Victor did a complete one-eighty.

  “Why is she yelling out what time it is?” Victor asked.

  Kyle laughed. “I think she’s trying to tell us where she is.”

  “Four o’clock!” The voice said again.

  Kyle quickly turned to four o’clock and out in the distance he saw her. It was tough to make out specifics, but it was easy for him to make out the bleached blond hair that reflected the sunlight. The woman waved her arms back and forth.

  “She’s over there,” Kyle said, pointing. Victor turned and saw her.

  “What should we do?”

  “She needs help. I think we should be gentlemen and go over there. Do you have your gun?”

  “I’ll get it,” Victor answered. He went into the truck and found his gun. He grabbed some rounds from the box and stuffed them in his shirt’s front pocket. Kyle moved the truck to the side of the road and turned it off. He reached into his pack to get some shells. He loaded them into the shotgun and grabbed two more fresh magazines. He put them into his back pocket.

  Kyle looked at Victor and said, “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah,” he said, “let’s go be gentlemen.”

  They both held their weapons out in front of them as they ran toward the direction of the woman.

  Chapter Five

  The woman yelled continuously as Kyle and Victor weaved their way through the bushes. Kyle was carefully scanning the area to make sure the screaming woman wasn’t attracting more unwanted company. Victor ran ahead and began moving toward the woman’s driveway.

  “Wait up,” Kyle called out.

  Victor stopped only a few feet away from the garage door and turned. He was already mid-way up the driveway. The woman walked to the edge of the one storey house roof. Kyle reached Victor and looked up.

  “Susie?” he said to the woman.