Outbreaks

by T. L. Frost

  He managed to raise his baseball bat but the zombie had grabbed it, pressing forward with his full weight and pushing Chris against a wall. The zombie tried to bite but Chris ducked his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the teeth. Again and again it tried, moaning loudly now in frustration as Chris just managed to keep it from biting his face. Chris was tiring, the zombie pressed on relentlessly, driven by hunger, its prey tiring before it. Then it tilted its head back, mouth opening to scream. Chris felt his blood freeze in terror, one scream and they might all die. He pushed. With every ounce of strength he had, he pushed the large, heavy zombie backwards, one step, then two. Then it wasn’t there anymore. It had stopped pressing forward as the ground beneath its feet disappeared, sending it tumbling backwards down the stairs, still clutching Chris’ baseball bat as it fell. The noise as it bounced down the stairs was loud, mixed with moans of frustration, it crashed into the floor at the bottom and then everything was quiet. Chris looked on, breathing hard from the struggle, and the zombie moved.

  “Oh hell!” He said taking a few quick steps down towards it.

  The zombie had tilted its head back to scream again, Chris knew he would be too late, then Jim stepped forward and drove a large metal boat spike into the zombie’s mouth, stopping the scream. He twisted the spike, driving it deeper and Natalie joined him, smashing an iron bar into the zombie’s head, again and again, until it was dead.

  “Keep it down a little will you?” Asked Jim as he pulled the boat spike clear.

  Chapter 4

  They took everything from the café and loaded it into the boat.

  “Nice one.” Said Barry “Now let’s get the fuck out of here!”

  Chris shook his head “It’s not enough, we need to get more while we’re here.”

  The others knew he was right but still didn’t look happy as they walked back into town. Heading deeper into town they found a take-away, zombie free and stocked with rice and other goods. Chris sent Sarah, Bill and Jim back with everything they found, then looked a little further with Natalie.

  “This should just about do it.” Said Bill happily as they wound their way through the narrow streets back to the boat.

  Sarah and Jim agreed, it had been a successful trip. They got to the jetty and started passing the supplies to Barry.

  “I’m going to get some of those souvenir candles from that gift shop.” Said Bill “Be right back.”

  The others completed the loading of the boat then climbed aboard and sat down in relief. The cabin was more than half full of supplies and they shared jokes among themselves, feeling the tension ease away. A scream sounded, loud and nearby.

  “What the fuck was that?!” Said Barry.

  He climbed up onto the jetty to get a look.

  “What is it?” Asked Jim from the boat.

  “It’s just Bill, coming out of that shop…” Began Barry “Oh shit!”

  Bill had stepped out of the gift shop, a full box in his hands and had just turned towards the boat when he heard the scream. Down the row of shops and closed cafes, some zombies had stepped out of the small bakery. Bill took a step towards the boat then another, getting quicker, and a zombie spotted him. It screamed and instantly it ran for him. Bill stood in shock, mouth open in surprise, then dropped the box and ran for the boat. From out of the bakery poured more zombies, some crashing through the large glass window with its ‘Open for Business’ sign, others charging through the doorway. Bill ran for the jetty, the zombies closing quickly. More screams came from the other zombies as they saw Bill and also chased him.

  “Wait!” Shouted Bill as he ran “I can make it!”

  But it was too late, the first zombie caught him from behind, dragging him down. He hit the jetty hard, face smashing into the wooden boards and instantly more zombies piled on top, clawing and biting. Bill screamed, again and again as they ripped and tore at him. The screams seemed to go on a long time.

  “Any sign of the others?!” Asked Sarah from the boat.

  “No, just Bill.” Said Barry looking down.

  More screams sounded and he looked up again, one of the zombies had spotted him, it jumped up and ran, others hearing its call joined it, racing down the jetty.

  “Fuck!” Said Barry jumping into the boat “Cut the ropes!”

  He started the engine, gunning it into full throttle and it pulled against the ropes for a second as the others cut through them, then it surged away, bobbing wildly, spraying them all with sea water as it was suddenly released. They all turned to watch as maybe half a dozen zombies ran down the jetty. They were closing fast but as they neared the end most stopped, gnashing their teeth in frustration at the escaping prey, all except the front one, it kept running, its ungainly, stiff-legged stride carrying it towards the end of the jetty, and over. Jim stood, striking it with his iron boat hook, twisting and pushing it away. It hit the water and quickly sank without a trace.

  “That was close.” Said Barry easing back on the throttle “Way too fucking close.”

  “What about the others?” Asked Sarah “They might make it back.”

  Jim just shook his head as the screams of the zombies on the jetty were joined by others inside the town.

  “They’re on their own now.” He said.

  Chapter 5

  “What the hell was that?!” Asked Natalie.

  Chris shook his head “Nothing good. Those screams came from the jetty.”

  “Let’s get back there.” Said Natalie.

  Chris agreed and they started back until more screams sounded behind them, a lot more. They paused listening and the screams quickly got closer, sounds of running feet approaching fast.

  “This way!” Shouted Chris.

  They sprinted down a side street, coming out in front of the café they had emptied. Rushing inside, Chris locked the door and pulled Natalie through the rooms to the upstairs apartment. The dead owner was still there, a large pool of blood spread around him. They stepped over the body and went upstairs. In the living room the window overlooked the main street where they had entered. The screams got louder and within a minute a crowd of zombies rushed past. Fifty, one hundred, maybe more. Other screams could be heard all around.

  “There must be hundreds of them.” Said Natalie watching and listening, no wonder the rest of the town was so quiet.”

  They watched for a while as the numbers grew to a trickle, a few stragglers hurrying to catch up with the others.

  “We should get out of here.” Said Chris “In case they start coming back.”

  “What about the rest of the group, can we make it to the boat?” Asked Natalie.

  “No chance.” Said Chris “If they have any common sense at all they will be out to sea by now. It’s just you and me.”

  Natalie nodded “Right then, let’s get the hell out of this town.”

  They headed back the way they had been, the streets empty again as moans and screams sounded from behind them at the jetty. Ahead, towering over the other buildings, was the spire of a church. Chris called a halt and took a map of the town from Natalie.

  “That way.” He said pointing to the spire “Get to the church then turn right, that will take us out of town the quickest.”

  They raced along, both eager to put as much distance between themselves and the jetty as possible. The twisting, narrow streets of the old seaside town led them eventually to the church, the area around the building filled with overgrown lawns and wild flowers. They stopped to catch their breaths as they checked the area but everything looked clear. The double doors of the church’s entrance were broken and blood stained but nothing was moving.

  “Looks like that commotion at the jetty has drawn them all away.” Said Chris with a smile.

  “Yeah.” Replied Natalie “Must be our lucky day.”

  Narrow roads ran around the church on both sides and Chris pointed to the right hand one. Natalie nodded and they headed down it. Then more moans came from up ahead, a lot of them.

  “More of t
hem coming!” Said Natalie looking around.

  “Quick, into the church!” Said Chris and they ran for the entrance.

  The big doors were broken, ripped apart. Dried blood and pieces of decaying flesh clinging to the old wood. As they climbed over the pieces a strong smell of rotten meat hit them, making them pause.

  “That’s rank!” Said Natalie covering her mouth and nose.

  The interior of the church was dimly lit by the high windows, coloured glass giving it a surreal, peaceful atmosphere. From outside the sounds of the approaching zombies got louder, moans and shuffling feet getting closer.

  “No choice!” Said Chris “Head for the rear.”

  They walked down the aisle, wooden benches on both sides empty apart from scattered books and cushions. Nothing moved and they picked up the pace as the sounds from outside got nearer. The further they went into the church the stronger the smell became, almost making them gag at times. At the rear they found another door, slightly open. Chris went first, his baseball bat held ready, knuckles white as he unconsciously gripped it as hard as he could. The room they entered was some sort of waiting area, some seats and other furniture there to make people comfortable. There was nobody waiting there now. Chris and Natalie looked around the room in shock, it was a bloodbath. The floor was completely covered in old congealing blood, the walls and furniture too. Body parts were all over the room, most showing signs of bites or just being torn apart. The stench was almost unbearable and Chris staggered forward, coughing and choking on it as he dragged Natalie along with him to another door. Their feet clung to the sticky floor, the thick drying blood grabbing at the soles of their shoes making a squelching, sucking sound as they walked through it. The door at the other end of the room was locked and Chris took the tyre iron from Natalie, forcing its point in between the door and the frame, pulling it hard until the lock shattered. They went through and closed it behind them, both falling against it, finally able to take a breath. Chris turned, leaned over and vomited, short panting breaths gradually settling into normal breathing again as he recovered.

  “You ok?” He said as he turned and looked at the horrified Natalie.

  She gave a small nod, eyes slowly focusing again, then nodded again “Yeah, yes. I’ll be fine. Those poor people…”

  “Must have been sheltering in here. Looks like maybe twenty or thirty of them.” Said Chris as he wiped his mouth “Hard to tell with all the pieces.”

  “Let’s get out of here.” Said Natalie “I don’t want to be trapped like they were.”

  Chris nodded and they looked for a way out. More doors led away from the small corridor they were in and they carefully checked them. They led to a store room, what looked like living quarters for the priest and another had stairs going up.

  “That should be to the bell tower.” Said Chris “We can check out the area and see if it’s safe later. Right now I need a drink.”

  They entered the living room of the small apartment built onto the back of the church, Chris found half a bottle of whiskey and poured them both a glass, washing away the sour taste in his mouth. Then he sat down with a sigh.

  “You alright?” Asked Natalie, concern in her voice.

  “I’ll be ok.” Said Chris “Just never seen anything like that. Looked like whole families in there, all ripped apart.”

  Natalie moved forward. Placing her hand on his shoulder.

  “I feel the same, but we need to get out of here, right now.” She said.

  Chris nodded, seeming to pull himself together. Picking up his baseball bat he stood and looked around the room.

  “There’s a rear entrance here we can use to get out.” He said checking it, but it was locked “Let’s check out the view in the tower, I want to know what we will run into out there, and keep an eye out for some keys, I’d rather not have to break out.”

  Back in the small corridor Chris slowly opened the door to the tower and listened. It seemed quiet so they started up the wooden stairs, boards creaking as they crept up, dim light from above filtering down to light the way. As they reached the top the stairway opened onto a square room, a small arched window in each wall lighting up what seemed to be a storage area for books and other materials. Ladders on the opposite wall led up to a trap door in the ceiling which gave access to the bell in the top of the tower. A chair stood against one of the other walls and another was tipped over in the centre of the floor, but there wasn’t much else in the room. Except the priest.

  “Holy shit!” Said Chris as he stepped into the room, Natalie beside him.

  The priest was hanging in the centre from the bell-pull rope, swinging gently as if a breeze had pushed him, the rope above creaking slightly from the to and fro motion. In his hand was a bunch of keys on a large metal ring.

  “He must have locked that door when the zombies broke in.” Said Natalie watching in fascination as the priest swung back and forward “Looks like he was bitten though.”

  Chris saw the bloody wound on the priest’s arm, a large chunk of flesh was missing and his torn sleeve was soaked in dried blood.

  “Good, he got what he deserved.” Said Chris “Grab the keys, I’ll see if the way out is clear.”

  Natalie stepped forward, carefully reaching for the keys. She pulled them but the priest’s grip was unyielding. She watched for movement as she tugged at the key ring but the priest just continued swinging, his head tilted awkwardly to one side.

  “They’re stuck.” She said as she tried pulling harder, making the priest swing more.

  “Break his hand.” Said Chris turning away from the window.

  Natalie stepped back and lifted her tyre iron.

  “Let go of those keys asshole!” She grunted, and swung the iron bar, hard.

  The priest’s arm broke with a loud splintering noise and Natalie aimed lower, striking again at his hand, more bones broke and the keys dropped to the floor.

  “That’s better.” She said and leaned forward to pick up the keys.

  The priest’s eyes opened, pale and grey, looking around the room and fixing on Natalie, standing in front of him. His unbroken arm reach forward, grabbing the sleeve of her jacket as she jumped back in surprise. Natalie pulled away, dragging the hanging priest with her as she tried to free herself.

  “Get this fucker off me!” She said.

  The priest’s mouth opened and Chris raised his baseball bat.

  “Don’t let him scream!” He said about to swing.

  But all that came out of the priest’s mouth was a low strangled gargle, the rope around his neck cutting off the sound.

  Chris changed his aim and smashed down on the priest’s other arm. It snapped with a loud crack and the force of the blow broke his grip, sending the suddenly freed Natalie stumbling back a few steps. The priest swung away and Chris grabbed the keys before he swung back, broken arms reaching, legs kicking.

  “Got them.” Said Chris “Now let’s the hell out of…”

  The bell above them clanged, loud and sudden. Chris and Natalie froze, looking up in disbelief as the priest swung backwards again, still struggling. Again he swung forward, his momentum increased by his struggles, another, louder clang sounded. Chris raised his baseball bat but Natalie grabbed his arm.

  “Too late!” She shouted “Time to go!”

  Chris nodded and they ran back down the stairs as another clang from the bell sounded above. They raced through the apartment and Chris unlocked the back door.

  “Was the way clear?” Asked Natalie, raising her iron bar.

  “Not quite.” Said Chris, clutching his baseball bat and opening the door as the bell sounded again.

  Chapter 6

  Merrick sat in the driver’s seat of Demon Smasher. His hands gripped the steering wheel but other than that he seemed calm. Beside him Jim waited patiently. The boat had returned within an hour of leaving the jetty at the overrun seaside town and Jim had rushed straight to Merrick to let him know what had happened. Bill dead, Chris and Natalie somewher
e in the town. Merrick had been tempted to jump straight in the boat and go back to the town but he knew it was useless, from what Jim had told him the place was crawling with hundreds of zombies now, no way to get in or out by boat. So now he waited and watched. The sea covering the causeway was receding as the tide went out, slowly revealing the flat, smooth road, but even as it appeared they still waited. The barricade and crowd of zombies pushing against it blocked the end of that road. They would have to wait for the waters to either side of the causeway to get lower too.

  “The motorway will be clear so we can get close to the town from there.” Said Merrick calmly as he checked the fuel for the tenth time “We should have enough fuel to get there and back, no problem.”

  Jim nodded “Ok professor.”

  Merrick had gone over the plan four or five times now and Jim didn’t interrupt him, better that he kept his mind on that than what might have happened to his sister Natalie and Chris.

  “She’ll know I will come for her.” Merrick continued “Probably be heading that way now.”

  He stuck his head out of the side window, shouting to Barry who was checking the receding water with some binoculars. The truck was still parked behind the castle, out of sight of the zombies at the barricade. He didn’t want to get them worked up and risk them breaking through.

  “Not long now!” Answered Barry.

  So they waited, worry on every face, as the sea slowly receded.

  “Barry?” Shouted Merrick ten minutes later.

  “I can just about see the sand starting to show!” Said Barry staring intently through the glasses “Ten more minutes maybe.”

  Merrick waited five then started the engine.

  “That will do.” He said as he started forward.

  “Good luck mate!” Shouted Barry as they drove past.

  The road looped around the castle and down past the small harbour. Merrick accelerated down it and a roar from the barricade greeted them. Shouts and moans getting louder as they raced along the causeway.