by Jack Wallen
My gasping was answer enough.
Once I reassured Bethany and Susan that I was fine, we gathered everything we needed and went to the head of the escape route. We were as prepared as we could be to embark on a mission we probably shouldn’t be undertaking. But then, what else could we do? Rot in a room surrounded by zombies?
“Remember, even though we have our little noisemaker, we have to be as quiet as we can. We’ll only use our secret weapon if we absolutely have to. Are you ready?”
Bethany and Susan gave me thumbs-up signs, and we made our way back to the exit.
Once again, we made it back outside without incident. I couldn’t begin to describe how lucky we’d been so far. I hoped that luck didn’t change, not when I felt responsible for two other lives.
“We have to head towards town. We’ll take the long way to avoid contact. Just because we have the noisemaker doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be careful.”
As we took off toward the thicket of trees, I had to wonder if Bethany was going to have to knock me out again. All I could hope for was to at least get these two women to the station, on a train, and out of Munich. I wasn’t sure if I was going to set foot on that train or not. I was, after all, still infected. This plague could be wiped out, but if I escaped and survived there would always be a chance Zombie Nation could arise from the ashes and have another shot at exterminating mankind.
Or, I could be totally selfish and get on the train with them…try to build a life back in the States. Hell, I wouldn’t mind keeping this little family together for the long haul. I decided I would have to make that choice when we were face to face with a train car and ready to actually climb aboard.
The small clump of tree coverage didn’t last long enough, and when we stepped out into the clearing, all hell broke loose.
Susan wasn’t paying attention to where she was stepping and placed her foot on the opened skull of a corpse. When she picked her foot up, the skull decided to hitch a ride. Susan looked down, saw her shoe covered in corpse, and let loose another wailer.
“Susan, stop screaming.” I hissed.
“Bethany, help me out here.” I couldn’t manage to get Susan’s voice reined in.
“Susan, it can’t hurt you. It’s dead.” Bethany finally brought her best motherly voice into the fray.
“Oh, shit. Bethany, they’ve spotted us.”
“Jesus, look at them all.” Bethany’s voice seemed closer to wonder than fear.
“Run girls, just run.”
“Where?” Susan finally snapped out of her howler monkey fit, long enough to question me.
“It doesn’t matter…away from here. Follow me.”
“Susan, come on!” Bethany reached out for the girl as she spoke.
“Just carry her, Jacob!” I picked up the girl, forced her face into my shoulder to muffle the sound of her crying, and took off as fast as I could.
“Got her. Go!”
“Are we losing them?”
“I don’t want to look.”
And I didn’t. But I knew I had to know exactly what the situation was at all times. When I glanced over my shoulder, a tiny portion of me wanted to just give up. Gaining on us was a pack of screamers.
“Oh, shit.”
“What is it?”
“Screamers. Fast ones. We’re going to have to start cranking soon.”
“That’s going to take two of us. You’ll have to drop Susan.”
I had to think fast. If I had to drop Susan, I would only do so knowing she would be safe.
“A car! Susan, I’m going to put you down, and I want you to run to that car, okay?” It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was better than nothing.
“I’m scared.”
“I know, but you’ll be safe in there.”
Susan agreed. Her body was shivering with fear. There wasn’t time to waste reassuring her.
I gave Susan a count of three and put her down. She sped off exactly as I had instructed and closed herself inside the nearest car.
Bethany and I stopped, dropped to the ground, and readied ourselves for the coming attack.
“God, I hope this works.”
“That makes two of us, babe.”
“Don’t call me ‘babe’! The only thing I want you calling me is your girlfriend!”
“You got it. Okay, here they are. Ready?”
“You didn’t happen to bring earplugs for yourself, did you?”
“Fuck! No!”
“Then this is going to hurt.”
“I’m tough.”
I wasn’t.
“We’ll see.”
We would.
“Go!”
As soon as Bethany gave me the signal, I started cranking the device as quickly as I could. The sound started immediately.
Eeeeee Eeeeee Eeeeee
“Fuck!” I shouted. The noise was hammering the center of my head.
“Jacob, it’s working!” Bethany screamed, surprised.
Screaming.
“They’re stopping!”
“Ahhhh… Shit!” I could feel it coming on.
“Come on, Jacob, you can make it.”
Screams
“Goddamn it!”
Eeeeee Eeeeeee Eeeeeee
“Oh, my God, they’re turning back!” Bethany shouted.
I couldn’t take the pain any longer. I stopped cranking and grabbed my head.
“Jacob? Oh, no. Jacob…”
“No! Bethany, it’s happening. Not…now…ahhh!”
“Hold on, Jacob. I’ll sedate you. We can wait this out.”
“Beth…any…you have…to keep going.”
“Sorry, pal…not gonna do this without you. Here you go. This will make it all go away.”
“But, Beth―”
“I can’t lose you, Jacob. I won’t.”
Chapter 27: Salvation station
I wasn’t sure how long I was out. There was still a fragment of light out, but the sun was definitely on the side of waning. When I awoke, Bethany was at my side with the device, ready to start cranking. Susan was curled up asleep inside the wrecked car. There was an eerie calm blanketing the ruined city.
I couldn’t remember how many movies I’d seen that depicted a post-apocalyptic world, and even though those movies did a damn good job at setting the tone, the reality of Armageddon could in no way be fully realized on film. There was a coldness to ruin that really couldn’t be imagined or described. The only way I could relate was remembering being in the middle of New York City just days after the nine-eleven catastrophe―the silence, the stillness, the random cries and screams, the sum total of emptiness felt at being a survivor and knowing one who wasn’t so lucky.
I could only imagine that scenario played out one step further as the last human standing among that wreckage. That would pretty much sum up the overriding feeling we had. But even beyond that, there was a numbing, chilling fear remaining to grip nerves, all the while being nearly feverish with anxiety. That fear was the fear of absolute nothingness. That fear was real and immediate and made me want to join the dead to avoid the emptiness. Unfortunately, in our new world, joining the dead only avoided one thing―living.
“How did all of this happen?” Bethany’s voice was a mere whisper.
I could have started from the beginning and explained to her every step of the process that had led from normal to our new Mad Max-ian dystopia. Instead, I quietly wrapped my arms around her.
“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Let’s not find out.” The desire I spoke was truthful, but the truth was, we would find out. The minute my change was irreparable, Bethany would know a life without Jacob.
“Do you think we should try to make it to the station now?”
“Probably…before we lose what’s left of the light. Let me wake up the munchkin.”
“Oh, and the whole girlfriend thing…”
“Bethany, it’s too late. I’m already in love with you.”
“Oh, my God. That is the most wonderful thing I’ve heard…in days!” She paused, then added, “I’m kidding. Ever. Ever. I’m in love with you, Jacob. My zombie boyfriend.”
“Not at the moment, thank you very much.”
“Kiss me.”
Where that moment came from, I didn’t know. We were on the streets of Munich, being attacked from nearly all sides, and life was looking rather grim. I would still take that moment any day, any time.
Just as I was turning to pick up Susan, another moaner snuck up and took a swing at me. Something inside of me locked onto a rage I never knew I had. I started swinging punches, connecting with the monster’s face over and over. Of course, not a single blow had any effect. The zombie continued swinging and grabbing. Eventually, the thing was going to get its rotten fingers on me, and the whole ordeal would take a turn for the undead.
“Bethany, something to hit him with!” I screamed, hoping Bethany would find a pipe so I could crush in the skull of the son of a bitch. Bethany did me one better and, with the help of Susan, cranked up the device, which had the instant effect of sending the zombie screaming with its tail between its legs. Lucky for me, Bethany gave me the warning before she fired it up; otherwise I might have been joining the monster in its hasty retreat.
“Jacob, you okay?” Bethany was at my side as soon as all was clear.
“That…that son of a bitch machine is going to save our lives!”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m sorry. Thank you, Bethany. I’d probably be a zombie stew had you not thought of cranking up the tunes.”
“It’s what we made this little killer for, right?” Bethany was glowing with some serious pride.
With what was probably the first of many surprise zombies of the night dispatched, we set out for the train station. We decided at random moments to crank up our little sonic slayer hoping to ward off any zombie ninjas. In order for me to survive the blasts, I balled up moistened newspaper and shoved it into my ear canals. Although not perfect, it would keep the worst of the sound at bay. I could manage now. A little pain had become my standard of living.
As we walked, I had my eyes peeled for a gun. Even though the skull splitter was our best, first defense, it would bring me much comfort to heft a pistol in my hand. The first time I came across a deaf zombie, we’d be glad we had it. Deaf zombie? Had I lost my mind?
“How much farther?”
“Shhh…”
Susan was such a little kid right now. Just for fun, I so wanted to warn her not to make me pull this car over. I decided to keep my bad sense of humor to myself. Instead, a single finger came up to my lips in the universal signal for quiet.
No sooner had Susan silenced herself, when we heard a cry for help.
“What was that?” Bethany immediately grabbed Susan and pulled her in tight.
“Stay close to me.”
“Jacob, be careful.” Bethany’s warning might just as well not have been spoken.
I turned the corner and spied a living, breathing woman cornered by a moaner with a gaping hole in its side. It looked as if someone had attempted to take the thing down with some serious power but had missed the mark. I took off at a sprint with my eyes peeled for something to use as a weapon. As I neared the attack, I happened by a scaffolding with some extra pipe ready for swinging. I picked up one of the thicker pipes and prepared my approach.
“Duck, lady!” I yelled and swung. The pipe whistled through air until it connected with the moaner’s skull. The force of the blow knocked the moaner to the side.
“Over there.” I pointed the lady in the direction of Bethany and Susan. She got the clue and ran as quickly as her high heels would allow.
“All right, big boy, it’s just you and me now. What ya got? Huh? Come on!”
The zombie slowly and awkwardly swung its dead arms my way, missing by a yard.
“That’s it? My dead grandma is faster than that!” Again I swung the pipe, and the whistle and hum of the steel brought a confidence to my swing. The zombie continued his clumsy attack as my pipe continued to whistle its cold steel into his skull.
The pattern continued, until finally the skull caved in, and the zombie dropped to the ground. I had yet to see a moaner so desperate to cling to the undead life.
As soon as the monster had let go of what remaining animation its body had, the women rushed over and put their arms around me.
“Yeah, that’s right, bring on the hugs, ladies.”
“Wow! That was impressive, mister.” The newest member of our group smiled.
“That was―” Bethany started to add her two cents before I interrupted.
“–Out of character?” I spoke through heaving breaths.
“I was going to say scary as hell or maybe about to make me wet myself. But I’ll settle for out of character.” Bethany winked.
Our new addition, Sally, was, believe it or not, another reporter. This particular reporter was a TV newscaster from a U.S. network channel. Interesting how we media types tended to stick around…and together.
I tried to convey to our new member that it was imperative she remain quiet. I also told her where we were going and what our plan was. I left out the fact that she was in the presence of one of the infected. I figured if I told her, she’d run off screaming and draw more unwanted attention.
With our new trooper in tow, we set off toward the train station. I had no luck finding a gun. I was tempted, very briefly, to head back to where the device had been detonated. That hall had more fire-power than most major metropolitan cities in the U.S. But I knew I couldn’t chance losing that much time. We needed to get from Point A to Point B in the quickest, simplest way. So detours were out of the question.
“What if the train isn’t running?” Sally offered up the obvious question we had already considered.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” My answer was clichéd, but it was the only one I had at the moment, and it seemed to satisfy the group. Truthfully though, if there were no trains running, I would do everything in my power to get one started and drive the thing out of Munich. That plan wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibilities.
The next random moment we fired up the Obliterator―Bethany had given the thing a name―I took a moment to fill Sally in on more of the situation. She was impressed, but not convinced that the device would keep us safe since there were no zombies in the immediate vicinity. Sally would just have to take our word that a hand-cranked device that did nothing more than make a high-pitched noise could repel the living dead.
Of course, every time we cranked it up, I had to pretend it had no adverse effect on me, or else Sally would certainly get her freak-out on and bolt into the heart of the soon-to-be midnight-black city.
After we deemed it safe, we moved on. We took a right at the next intersection and came across something I hadn’t seen in a while. A moaner was dining on a prone, still-flapping, soon-to-be-one-of-them woman. No matter how often I had seen it and heard it, the sight and the slurping, crunching, swallowing sounds still made me sick.
And I had seen and heard plenty of it. Sally, on the other hand, obviously had not. Her last meal quickly made an encore all over her chin, clothing, and the street in front of her. As soon as the contents of her stomach had completed their exit, the contents of her lungs followed suit in the form of a very loud scream that could shame the screamers themselves.
Our new pal Sally was in need of a lesson in stealth. But before that lesson could commence, a different one had to be taught. Another moaner got wind of our little group and came storming after us.
“Crap, the pipe!” I realized the pipe I had used to cave in the last zombie skull had been left behind.
“The what?”
“The pipe I used to lay out that last zombie, I dropped it!”
“Jacob, start cranking!”
“We need to take some of these out. The more we take down the fewer we’ll have to face.”
&nbs
p; “No, sir. You need to start cranking so we can get our asses to the train station. Don’t go all hero on me now.”
Eeeeee Eeeeee Eeeeee
The latest victim of the Obliterator gave the nearest brick wall a couple of thumps with his head, and then took off running when he realized the sound wasn’t going anywhere.
“Did you come up with that other plan all on your own? We’re together, and our primary objective is to live, not to serve as zombie-killing vigilantes. If you want to kill them, at least wait until you find an efficient way of doing so. And a safe way! I won’t lose you, Jacob.” Bethany had obviously decided it was a perfect time to bust my balls.
Women. I thought I was protecting them. I thought they would be relieved that I was ready to do whatever was necessary to ensure their safety. My mistake was obvious―thinking.
Bethany was right, though; I couldn’t go around wasting all of my energy playing tee-ball with zombie heads. I needed to conserve as much as I could to make sure we all found our way out of this hell.
Out of this hell. The thought sounded too good to be true. It was amazing how quickly the city had deteriorated. I would have thought the concrete and steel of a modern city would hold out forever. Without human interaction and care, it seemed a city went to rubble fairly quickly. And I was sure the blast from Godwin’s device had a little to do with the degradation. Speaking of which…
“Did you manage to decrypt that last file?” I was afraid I knew the answer before the question left my lips.
“Mengele Virus? Now when exactly have I had time to decrypt a file? If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been fighting off zombies and taking care of your ass.” Bethany looked at me with a wicked, evil grin. “But I can’t wait to find out what it’s all about.”
“What’s the Mengele Virus? Does it have anything to do with what’s happened?” Sally made her ignorance of the truth known.
“Yeah…you could say that.” I explained to Sally that we had discovered that Hitler’s own Josef Mengele had begun the work on a serum to create a master race and that Dr. Godwin had been trying to complete his work. The encrypted file hopefully contained a cure, or at least something that would help us battle the infection back into fiction.