Dead Island Ravenous

by Allen Gamboa

  “Anal cavity searches and digging through folk’s dirty undies, I get that. Might even find yourself a keistered bagel or two.” Cross put out a hand for Berry to stop then tapped on her headset. “We got definite movement at my nine.”

  “See it. Whatever it is, looks like it’s crawling.” Banjo said from behind the gun on the turret of the Humvee. The almost seven-foot-tall contractor looked like a jack in the box sticking out of the vehicle's turret. “I don’t have a clear line of fire.”

  “Cross?” Hale leaned forward in the passenger seat of the SUV and tried to get a better look at what was going on. Doc had traded places with Vannelli and was now behind the wheel of the big Yukon.

  “Doggy?” The medic asked as he squinted to see what was going on in front of them.

  “Maybe we can get us a big fat German Shepard to barbeque.”

  “Doc, you are one sick individual.” Hale said as he shook his head. “L-T, we have movement to the left of the Yukon.”

  “Roger.” Uribe said curtly, slightly annoyed by this turn of events. “Keep moving, we’re running behind schedule.”

  “Yeah,” Hale covered his headset mic with his gloved hand. “No shit.”

  “Don’t sweat it Sarge,” Doc tapped him on the shoulder with a closed fist. “Cross caps that doggy and we’ll be on our way. We can strap it down on the hood and I’ll cook it up when we get to the Nitrex plant.”

  “Really?” Hale ran a hand across his newly grown out goatee.

  “Yeah, Duley, tell the Sarge how good dog meat is.”

  “It ain’t bad Sergeant Hale.” Duley leaned forward in the middle seat and squished his upper body in between both men. Grinning, inches away from Hale’s face, the contractor nodded in agreement. “When the Doc and I got stuck on that recon with Sergeant….shit I forgot his name.”

  “Sergeant Cupp.” Doc smirked.

  “Oh yeah, that dipshit. Sergeant Cupp. Anyway, he got us turned around and fucking lost in Deader land. No extra ammo and no food.” Duley sat back in the middle seat. “Idiot almos’ got us all killed. Doc shot us this big German Shepard and roasted it up. Coulda used some hot sauce but it was awright.”

  “See?” Doc grinned.

  “Still not sold on that.”

  “You out a couple of days without food and you will be.” Duley said from the back.

  “Whatever happened to Sergeant Cupp?” Speedy asked from the rear seat of the SUV. Duley just slowly shook his head and ran a finger in a slicing motion across his throat.

  “Dude just never learned.”

  “You kill him?”

  “No, Speedy.” Duley shook his head amused by the younger man’s implication. “He went in a building without checking it out first. Lotta hungry things out there.”

  CHAPTER 29: BIGFOOT CROSSING

  “Sergeant Cross?” Berry’s voice cracked as he watched the dark shape start to slither out from behind the husk of a burned-out BMW sedan. Right now, Berry really wished the Company had sprung for night vision. Cross immediately drew a bead on the shape as it let out a growl and sprang in Berry’s direction. Berry screamed then ducked out of the way of the attacking shape. Cross steadily fired two rounds into it as the animal flew past Berry and smashed heavily to the ground. Ears ringing, the former TSA agent, tried to move in closer to Cross and away from the bloody body.

  “Damn Rottweiler.” The sergeant said as she walked over to the feral dog’s remains.

  “You two okay?” Hale asked weapon ready.

  “We’re good. I think Cherry Berry may need to change his underoos though.” Cross said as she rested a gloved hand on the younger man’s trembling shoulder. Berry just stood breathing heavily and staring down at the dog’s corpse. “Maybe you should take a break Cherry Berry.”

  “Yes…” Berry nodded. “Okay.”

  “I’m sending the bagel lover back to you. I think this was a little too much OJT for the kid, maybe get Duley out here.”

  “Right.” Hale nodded and glanced back over at the other contractor. “Feel like taking a stroll?”

  “Yeah, I got it.” Duley said grabbing up his rifle and opening the door.

  “Hey, would you mind dragging that doggy back here?” Doc asked.

  “Hells yes I would.” Duley frowned. “That’s a big fucking pooch.”

  “Cross,” Doc said into his headset mic. “Could you drag that doggy back here?”

  “That would be a big negative Doc. Dog is bigger than me.”

  “Leave it.” Hale said gruffly. “Damn thing is probably diseased anyway.”

  “What the hell is going on?” Uribe finally chimed in on his headset.

  “Just a hungry dog L-Tee. Berry and Duley are switching up, we’ll be moving shortly.”

  “Roger.” Uribe’s headset clicked off.

  “Hurry it up Berry.” Hale said into his mic.

  Berry just nodded, still a little shaken up by the near dog attack and Cross having fired off the rifle right next to his ears. As the young contractor reached for the Yukon’s door handle, a huge shape crawled out from underneath one of the wrecked vehicles and grabbed him by the legs, pulling him off his feet. Berry crashed hard onto the broken asphalt and let out a low groan. Berry was still seeing stars from striking his head on the roadway as his attacker struggled to climb on top of him. Berry forced his eyes open just in time to see a giant, blood stained panda bear reaching for his throat. Screaming, Berry tried to push the angry Panda off of him with his rifle.

  “Holy crap!” Banjo shouted from the turret of the Humvee. “Cherry Berry is getting attacked by a fucking bigfoot!” Banjo’s voice cracked excitedly in his headset. He tried to leverage a good shot from his machine gun but any shot would have ripped right into the Yukon. “I don’t have a clear line of fire!”

  “Bigfoot?” Uribe sat up straight in the passenger seat of the Humvee remembering Sergeant Hansen saying that there was a bigfoot running around. “No way!”

  “It’s fucking huge!” Vannelli shoved open the driver's door of the Humvee and pulled his M4 out from between the seats. The sergeant could see Uribe was fumbling around in his area for something. “Get off your ass Lieutenant!”

  “Fuck, there’s a Monster?” Finn climbed out of the rear of the humvee and followed Vannelli to where Berry was being attacked. Uribe finally found his rifle and slowly stumbled his way out of the vehicle.

  With its oversized paws, the giant Panda continued to try to tear into the downed contractor. Berry using all his strength, wriggled out from underneath the very angry and determined animal. Cross, doing a double take, turned to see the bear attempting to take a bite out of her partner. Without hesitating, she fired a burst into the giant bear's body. Three rounds ripped into the animal's shoulder, knocking it back for a brief moment and giving Berry enough time to shove the fur covered monster off of him. The creature stumbled backwards, landing hard on its ass.

  “What the hell?” Cross said raising her rifle to fire again. Before she could pull the trigger, Berry screamed and sprayed the creature with rounds from his M4.

  “Fuck!” Vannelli dove behind a burned out mini-van as bullets wildly smashed into the asphalt next to him.

  “AAY!” Uribe screamed as he jumped underneath the Humvee to escape the rounds that zipped all around him. Banjo dropped back inside the Humvee as a line of shells bounced around the vehicle’s turret. Finn, caught without any cover, flattened himself on the asphalt as bullets chewed up the roadway.

  “AIIIEEE!” Berry screamed as he continued to wave the rifle around, firing. A few of his shots hit the giant Panda as it awkwardly struggled to its feet. Doc climbed out of the driver’s side of the SUV and scooted along towards the rear of the vehicle followed by Duley.

  “What the hell is that?” Duley shouted above Berry’s wild shooting.

  “Looks like a Panda.” Doc said calmly, as he pushed himself against side of the Yukon.

  “No, shit!” Duley knelt down next to the big rear tire. “Someo
ne has to stop that fool before he kills us all.”

  “I suppose so.” Doc nodded. “Keep low, bagel boy is probably almost out of rounds!”

  The passenger side door of the Yukon suddenly flew open and Hale jumped out. He forcefully ripped the M4 from Berry’s shaking hands and grabbed the contractor by his harness, dragging him out of the way. Cross quickly stepped forward and fired three more rounds into the bear’s head. The big animal collapsed heavily onto the asphalt.

  “It’s safe now!” Hale shouted as he handed Berry’s M4 to Cross. “The Panda’s dead and Berry has been unarmed!” The other soldiers warily moved from behind wherever they’d gone for cover and slowly headed toward the Yukon.

  “What the fuck is a Panda bear doin out here?” Berry nearly screamed as he glanced over at the crumpled black and white corpse.

  “It’s okay Berry.” Cross said reassuringly.

  “What is this sergeant?” Lieutenant Uribe asked as he finally strolled up next to the Yukon.

  “Fuck if I know.” Hale kicked the bear with a booted foot. The big pile of bloody fur didn’t move.

  “No, I mean I was almost shot by my own men!” The veins in Uribe’s neck stuck out as he raised his voice. ‘I almost died!”

  “I can see that.” Hale glanced over at the others. “Speedy, Banjo, Finn, set us a quick perimeter!”

  “Right.” Finn shouted wiping dirt and rocks from off his tac vest.

  “We need to get moving.” Uribe said annoyed. “And I want that man fired! Leave him here Sergeant!”

  “Just wait a minute L-T.” Hale said raised a hand to stop the officer. “He’s a fucking rookie. He screwed up. We’ll keep him disarmed and let the company handle it.” The big sergeant looked over at Berry, who sat looking very remorseful and embarrassed. “First time he has been out of the wire and first time he’s had any real contact. We leave him he’ll die for sure.”

  “He almost killed me Sergeant.” Uribe placed his hands firmly on his hips. “As far as I’m concerned he deserves to die. What say you Onabanjo?”

  “Uh,” Banjo was surprised by the Lieutenant throwing his name out there. He shook his head. “Berry deserves a chance or something. Not to be left behind.”

  “Finn?” The L-tee asked the other soldier.

  “Just make him pay a fine or some shit.” Finn shrugged.

  “Vannelli?”

  “We can’t leave him Lieutenant.” The contractor said grabbing his left arm and walking over to where Doc stood. “He fucked up. Probably means he needs more training.”

  “Alright.” Uribe let out an irritated sigh then jammed a finger in Hale’s direction. “He rides with you and no weapons. Got it?”

  “Yeah,” Hale nodded. “Got it.”

  “I don’t know what the big fuss was about anyway. It was just a damn bear Sergeant.” Uribe let out an impatient breath. “Probably escaped from a zoo.”

  “Doubt that.” Hale slung his rifle and reached down near the Panda bear's neck. Using both hands he gave the dead animal's head a quick, hard, jerk. The Panda’s head made a loud pop and came off in the sergeant’s gloved hands. Drops of black blood and brain matter dropped from the neck hole. Some of the soldiers gave a collective groan at this.

  “Shit.” Duley cursed as he slowly dropped his rifle to his side.

  “Escaped zoo animal?” Hale tossed the Panda head to the Lieutenant, who automatically let out a squeal and jumped backwards as the head struck him in the side and dropped to the ground like it was a dirty diaper. “It’s a fucking mascot!” The sergeant pointed a gloved finger at the human head that stuck out from between the Panda shoulders. “A Deader in a bear suit. He couldn’t bite shit through that face mask.” Uribe just shook his head and stomped off back toward the Hummer.

  “It’s a fucking Furry.” Duley said still staring down at the costumed Deader. The headlights from the Humvee made the whole scene look a whole lot creepier.

  “What the hell is a Furry?” Speedy asked.

  “Folks that are into dressing up like animals and play hide the sausage.” Duley glanced back over at the Hispanic soldier. “It’s one of those..uh…fetish things.”

  “Damn,” Vannelli scratched his head and flashed his light along the Deader/Panda corpse. “If I

  ever have to dress up like Goofy to get some action, just shoot me.”

  ”You know some pretty weird shit Duley.” Hale said cautiously scanning the area around them.

  “I had a girlfriend that was into that.” Duley grinned. “She made me dress up like a Sloth.”

  “A Sloth?” Vannelli smirked. “No shit?”

  “Yep. She had a thing for Sloths.”

  “You’re one freaky little dude Duley.” Hale said as he turned back toward the Yukon.

  “Mount up, we gotta get moving.”

  “Hey Doc,” Vannelli caught the medic before he returned to the SUV.

  “Yeah Vannelli, I’m surprised you didn’t get hit.” Doc chuckled.

  “I did.” He said quietly. “Round grazed my arm.”

  “Shit, let’s see.” Doc watched as Vannelli raised his injured left arm. “Don’t look too bad. I’ll clean it real quick and wrap it.”

  “Thanks, I didn’t want the L-T to know. Might’ve pushed him to leave the kid here.”

  “Hale wouldn’t have let him.” Doc walked over to the rear of the SUV to grab his pack.

  “But that was a good call not letting the LT know, he ain’t what you call a ‘thinker’. Get your ass over here so we can get this done. You got a smoke?”

  “Sorry Doc, try Finn.”

  “He chews.” The medic said as he worked on Vannelli’s wound. “Now that's a nasty habit.”

  “And smoking's not? Ouch!” Vannelli groaned as Doc wound a bandage around his wound. “Easy Doc!”

  “Sorry.” The medic smirked. “I really need a smoke.”

  Hale walked over to where Berry still sat looking a little bewildered. Cross was squatting down next to the young man trying to calm him down. The senior NCO turned back to see Uribe stiffly climbing back into the Humvee, Hale was sure the officer was embarrassed by his behavior when the sergeant had tossed the Panda head at him. The big sergeant stopped in front of Cross and Berry.

  “He okay?”

  “A little shaken up.” Cross said as she stood up.

  “A little?” Berry looked up with wide, glassy eyes. “How about a whole lotta shakin’ up!” His voice cracked as he spoke and Hale could see Berry was on the edge of losing it.

  “You’re…not gonna…let them leave me are you?”

  “No. Not yet. That was a pretty fucked up move Berry. You could have wasted us all.” He stuck out a hand and helped the soldier to his feet. “You’re just lucky you didn’t hit anyone. Get your ass in the Yukon, we’ll figure out what to do with you later.”

  “Th…thanks ..Sergeant Hale.” Berry said quietly as he pulled open the SUV’s passenger door.

  “Shut up bagel humper.” Hale glanced over at Cross, who was now watching their surroundings. “Well, shit. What else?”

  “At least it’s not raining Sarge.” The redhead smiled as she looked up into the night sky.

  “Yeah.” Hale chuckled. “then it would smell like drenched Deader ass and wet furry. Get in the SUV sergeant, you’re driving. We need to move this turd parade along before it gets any later or any more fucked up.”

  “Someone told me it would be a cakewalk.” Cross smirked as she hurried over to the driver’s side of the vehicle.

  “Get your ass in there!” Hale growled. A pack of feral dogs began howling in the distance as Hale made sure the rest of the team had mounted up and were inside the vehicles. Satisfied everyone was accounted for, the sergeant climbed into the Yukon.

  CHAPTER 30: RUPAUL'S ASS

  On the Road Somewhere……

  “How’s the gas situation?” Washington asked from the passenger side of the SUV. The two soldiers had been driving for a while trying to distance themsel
ves from the destroyed airbase and the large group of undead that had attacked them. Jefferson, who was driving, glanced down at the gas gauge.

  “’Bout a quarter tank.” He said grimly. “Just enough to get us in a worse spot than we are.”

  “You know where we are?” The soldier scanned the rows of abandoned and ruined warehouse buildings that lined the streets around them. A handful of deaders staggered down the debris strewn road looking for something to eat. Every once in a while, a pack of desperate wild dogs would attack the walking dead and make an easy meal out of them.

  “Some kind of industrial area.”

  “No shit, but do you know where we are at?”

  “No.” Jefferson sighed, clearly annoyed at all the time he’d been forced to spend with his chatty partner. “But feel free to ask me again. Please.”

  “Just trying to make some small talk bro.” Washington said dejectedly as his stomach growled. “Man, I could go for a cheeseburger right now.”

  “I’ll let you know when we run into a Sonic.” Jefferson chuckled.

  “I wish. Don’t tease me. Hell, I’m so hungry I could eat a Veggie Omelet MRE right off Ru Paul’s ass”. Washington’s stomach growled as he reached over and turned on the vehicle's radio. Static greeted him as he scanned through the channels. “Damn radios got nothing on it.”

  “Pop that CD in.” Jefferson pointed at the disc lying in the boot of the SUV. “Try that.”

  “Yeah,” Washington scooped it up and read the title, that was scribbled in permanent marker, out loud. “BB Greatest hits.” He shrugged and shoved it in the player. “B.B. King?”

  “Probably Backstreet Boys. Right up your alley.” The Marine said as he watched the road. The speakers in the SUV suddenly came alive with the loud pop sound of the Beach Boys. Washington frowned and reached over to pull the disc out, Jefferson put out a hand to stop him.