by West, J. D.
“GRAAAUUUHHH!”
“GRRRRRR!”
“Oh hell no!” cried out a startled Joe.
He gripped her clammy dead arm and flipped her over his shoulder and onto the ground. Joe quickly hauled her desk chair over his head and slammed it down into the she devils head. He was huffing and puffing like crazy before breaking out into robust laugh. It was short lived because the monster stopped for a second then began to stir again.
“GRRRRRR!”
Joe violently plowed the steel bottomed chair into her head until she fell stiff onto the floor.
“That's was one tough bitch!” teased Joe. “Let’s get the hell out of here just in case she has a sister!”
We exited the OR and rounded the corner to the main lobby. The once cozy interior was now in disorder. On the way across we saw another group stumbled in. I pointed at Maria and gestured for her to duck down. Everybody else did the same. We had to make a split-second decision and hide behind the large guest services booth in the middle of the floor. A large group with several dozen forsaken stumbled and lurched toward the ER. The decomposition process caused insects to crawl in and out their mouths, ears, nostrils and bite wounds. I wondered what primitive impulse kept them searching. It took a while for the roving horde to move past. Everyone could hear their awkward lurching footsteps echoing all around us.
“SHAMBLE! SHAMBLE! SHAMBLE!”
The moans, groans and growls made them seem even closer.
“GROOOWWWL!”
“GRRRRRRR!”
We were stacked so close together that we could hear each others hearts beat.
“No matter what happens don't scream!” I whispered to all of them.
The children shivered with fear and everyone’s breathing was labored. To make things worse the rotting bottom half of a woman was still behind the counter. She still had on a white skirt and sandals covering her French manicured feet. Her guts were spilled onto the floor and were covered in maggots and flies. They buzzed around our faces but we couldn't risk swatting them away. The corpse smelled rancid from decay and rot. It was hard for us to keep from vomiting. It was like being covered in trash or swimming in raw sewage. The worst part was the look of panic on the kids’ faces. Blair pulled Alex close to her as Latia pressed her head into Maria’s chest. Tears ran down her cheeks. It seemed like we waited forever for them to clear out. We were dangerously close to being discovered. Somehow they didn't see us. Luckily the stench covered our scent. Chunks of rotten flesh and decayed skin stuck to our bodies. Once I saw the last one pass by us we all moved slowly across the rest of the room. At one point a large forsaken male slowly approached us.
“GROOOWWWL!”
He was straggling behind the other group. I sent Joe to stealthy get behind the creature while it focused on the rest of us. As soon as he saw us he tried to attack.
“GRRRRRR!”
He used my boot knife to stab the straggler in the back of the head before it could react. With a twist of his wrist all brain function stopped. The lifeless corpse died for the second time as it slumped to the floor. Joe wiped the blade off on his pants and we moved forward.
“The front doors are right there!” said Kahleem. “Why don't we just run outside hop in a car and get the fuck out of here?”
“I'm all out of ammo and Carlos only has a few shots left! What are we going to do if we get outside?” I asked. “We need more ammo and supplies! That's why we‘re going to the security office!”
“Kevin is right! There are hundreds more of those things outside!” explained Maria.
“I'm with the doc and super cop!” added Joe. “Like me daddy use to say it’s better to be the hunter than it is to be the deer!”
“The only weapon we truly need is the Lord's word!” said the pastor.
“Even if that’s true I would feel a whole lot better going outside if we had guns!” said Blair.
“They won't stop until they kill and eat all of us will they” whispered Kahleem.
We walked past a row of elevators and exited the lobby. We stopped on the other side and stared down another hall. I could see what appeared to be corpses scattered around. Blood stained their clothes and formed dry puddles around them. The security communications office was at the other end. We carefully made our way down the hall occasionally stepping over skeletons without breaking stride. After several hours we had made it to the security office. Sixteen of us got trapped in x-ray but only nine of us made it this far. Standing outside the door we were horrified by what was in front of us. The room was tight and claustrophobic.
“Looks like we missed one hell of a party!” said Joe.
“Yeah! It looks like hell alright!” replied Kahleem.
Through the cheap wooden door we saw the bodies of a dozen dead forsaken piled up just inside. The corpses were riddled with bullets but head shots brought them down. Hernandez clearly put up a good fight. The pastor offered to say a few words for my slain friend but I told him now was not the time. I tried to hide the fact that my confidence in us escaping was shaken to the core. Our last hours consisted of only running, murder and death.
“Stay out here and I'll have a look around!” I whispered. “We need to make sure none of those creatures are still alive inside.”
It was hard to believe that much blood was spilled. It seemed like all the equipment and furniture was coated. Blood cast off and spray painted the ceiling and walls. The bulletproof glass window was left cloudy from a dry layer of blood. On the floor in front of the surveillance monitors I found what was left of Hernandez. His dismembered skeleton was stripped and picked clean. Maroon stained pieces of his tattered uniform were strewn about the area. It was hard to see my friend in that condition. My search came up empty and the office was deserted. The forsaken finished their meal and then moved on. I gave Carlos the clear signal and he and the other guys started dragging the corpses out. I used my keys to unlock all the drawers and cabinets.
I called Maria and Blair in to the room look through them for anything useful. They rummaged through everything. I had the kids searched through the lockers for something to carry stuff in. Inside our gun locker I found three full boxes of fifty count nine millimeter ammo. For a second I just zoned out and just stood there holding the box. It was the first time I thought about my own family. What if my mom was in danger? I wondered how far this thing had traveled. Maria came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me. Her warm body and physical contact brought me back to reality.
“Are you OK?” she asked.
“Yeah!” I told her. “I'm just tired of losing people!”
“Were all behind you one hundred percent.” she said while kissing me on the cheek.
Once again she was right. Now was not the time for self-pity. These people needed my leadership and guidance. I ejected my magazine from my gun and reloaded it.
“That is the way I like it!” I whispered to myself. “Seventeen bullets in the clip and one in the chamber!”
Then I tossed the box to Carlos to do the same.
“Here you go dog!” I told him. “Make all of them count!”
The bullets could tip things in back our favor.
“T hats what I'm talking about!” said Carlos. “It’s time for some payback!”
During her search Blair found Hernandez's empty gun under the desk.
“I think this might help!” said Blair.
I reloaded it and gave it to Joe.
“Now y'all going to see what a real man can do!” he boasted. “It’s going to be like shooting fish in a barrel!”
I didn't know if he was kidding or just full of backwoods machismo. He smiled then went back outside to keep watch in the corridor. Maria came across a box of road flares, a machete and a golf club some doctor lost. Kahleem
picked up the machete and nodded with approval.
“Now this was made to kill!” he said.
Blair placed the golf club on her shoulder and gripped the handle like a pro. She tried to have a positive outlook but it was tough.
“I guess this will work!” she mumbled.
Alex and Latia were also successful. They scavenged around and located a first aid kit, and large book bag. I unlocked the confiscated weapons locker and hit pay dirt. The victim of a hit and run accident had a Colt Commando .38 special on him when he came in. His family never had a chance to pick up his belongings. The bullets from his gun were placed in a zip lock bag and left with the gun. I loaded it up and gave it to Maria.
“Don't be afraid to use this!” I told her. “Your life and the life of those kids might depend on it!”
“I never shot a gun before!” she replied.
“Just hold it in both hands point it at your target and smoothly pull the trigger!” I replied.
“That’s it?” She asked.
“Yeah that’s it!” I responded.
The baton I gave her wasn't going to cut it when we get outside. I told the Pastor he could have his pick from everything else.
“Thank you son!” the Pastor told me. “But once again the only weapons I need are the words in this Bible! Just like a sword they cut both ways!”
I respected his choice but he was alone in his opinion. We were about to go to war not church. It was his mission to save souls but I was born to kill. There was a gang of undead walking around in the parking lot. We would need a plan to get past them. So I asked the group for suggestions.
“We have about two hours before it gets dark!” I said. “Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get past those things?”
“And what are we going to do once we get through?” asked Blair. “As soon as we open the doors they will attack us! There is no way we can outrun or kill all of them! Even though there are cars everywhere without keys they might as well be unicorns. ”
“I use to steal cars when I was little!” said Carlos. “If y'all can keep those things off my back I know I can start a car for us! I saw a lot of them out front!”
“If Gomez can hot wire a car then I know how to get through all of those monsters before they can go night of the living dead on us!” responded Joe.
“Trust me I can do It!” shot back Carlos.
“Oh! You can?” said Kahleem. “As long as it's not a cheap ass nineteen eighty eight Honda with a scratchy sound system and ten thousand dollar rims let’s do it.”
“Yeah and I'll do the rest!” said Joe. “When I was younger I took one of my granny's oxygen tanks then borrowed my pa pa's shotgun! I went out in the desert to the edge of our property and set up for some target practice. I sat the tank on top of an old Chevy we used for shooting. Then I let loose with the shotgun and blew a hole in the tank. That son of a bitch blew up and totaled the Chevy! I saw a wheelchair with a tank on the back of the seat in the ER waiting room. I say we strap a flare to it and blow a path through those things. Now that's how you kick some zombie ass!”
“Are you just pulling our leg?” asked Carlos. “Or are you just that fucking retarded?”
“I don't see you coming up with anything Pedro!” responded Joe.
“It's Carlos fat ass!” he shot back. “And that's the dumbest shit I ever heard!”
“Hold on Carlos!” I said. “I agree! It's unbelievably stupid and dangerous but it might work!”
“How do you know that he can even hit it?” asked Carlos.
“You just stand back and watch the fireworks!” boasted Joe. “Blowing stuff up is fun and anyone that disagrees is a gun hating liberal!”
“Trust me I don't have a problem with guns!” replied Carlos. “Just idiots!”
“That's enough! Either we try this now or we just wait for them to find us again.” I told them.
“Let’s make our move and get outside before it’s too late!”
“Before we go I would like to say that I know the Lord is with us!” proclaimed the pastor. “i know that our faith has been tested. Last night I had to kill a boy that I baptized and watched grow from a little snot nosed kid into a man. He cried on my shoulder when his dad died and I took up a collection at my church when he went away to school. I was supposed to marry him and his fiancee and watch him start a new chapter in his life. The lord works in mysterious ways but he will guide us through!”
“Amen to that!” said Maria.
We packed up everything except the flares. Kahleem went back to the OR to get the wheelchair and Joe rigged up his chair bomb.
“So we are really doing this partner?” asked Carlos.
“I don't think we have any other option!” I answered. “I don't know how this is going to turn out but as long as we are alive we have to keep fighting!”
“If it's OK.” asked the pastor. “I would like to say a prayer for God to protect us?”
“Why not Padre!” I responded. “At this point we need all the help we can get!”
When things fall apart and society goes to hell humans have always clung to their alcohol, guns and religion. Even if I didn't believe in divine intervention or destiny something had got us this far! Someone kept me alive during the war. The pastor said a quick prayer while we closed our eyes and bowed our heads. Kahleem said his own prayer close by. Afterword’s we carefully walked single file back down the hall to the main lobby. I moved quickly as I could to the corner and peered out into the open space. The horde had moved on and the lobby was empty. As we approached the glass doors we didn't see anything moving outside. This was probably a suicide mission. The forsaken would have us outnumbered a hundred to one. Maria and the kids stopped just shy of the exit. Through the glass I could already see the bodies outside. They were left in the spot the fell exposed to the elements. Some of them had been fed on by the dead and the few remaining cats and dogs.
“Is everybody ready?” I asked.
I looked around and could see that they all were focused. These poor people had horrifying experiences that left vivid gut wrenching images in their mind. Things that they couldn't conjure up in their worst nightmares. Even in Americas desensitized culture of violence. In only a few days civilization had crumbled and everyone they knew died screaming in pain and agony. Our rag tag group was a bunch of everyday regular people who survived long enough to find each other. Kahleem held his breath and breathed out deeply trying to quell the wave of fear and anxiety overtaking him. This was the moment when we had to put up or shut up. I pushed the door handle open and we all stepped out.
CHAPTER 21:
Survival of the Fittest
Outside the stench of decomposition was noticeable. The fading sun revealed how gritty we looked. Our clothes and bodies were stained from sweat, blood and grime. Splatter was caked in our hair and formed freckles on our skin. Several creatures shambled aimlessly around the lot in circles. Others just stood in one spot hovering with their eyes wide open. Evidence of the recent massacre was everywhere. Survivors tried to evacuate the building but got cut down. Now we were facing the same group of ghastly monsters. Some of the victims made it to the parking lot but others never got off the sidewalk. We followed the bloody trail in front of the building down the main sidewalk. The bones of more than two dozen corpses littered the area. Heads torso’s and other body parts cluttered the ground. We saw the deformed forsaken walking around in the late afternoon sun. The creatures searched the ground for scraps of meat. They saw us too and began stumbling toward us. Their undead eyes met with ours as we scrambled for safety. That's when we heard the moaning.
“GROOOWWWL!”
The sound alerted the others to our presence. I looked over to see a small group of forsak
en converging on us with their mouths open. Large amounts of filthy drool gathered in the corners. Their tongues and teeth were blackened from decay. Half of them were still dressed in scrubs and hospital gowns. The clothes of the forsaken were covered in grime and dried body fluids. Blood stained layers of bandages concealed some of their bite wounds.
“Don't forget to aim for the head!” I called out.
“My God there are so many!” whispered Maria.
“GRRRRRR!”
“Just keep moving!” said Carlos.
“Don't worry I'm two steps behind you!” said Blair.
She held hands with the kids along with Maria so they didn't get separated. The pack of forsaken creatures fell down as they stumbled forward. The children were frozen with fear and could not move. I maneuvered to the left dropping the first two undead and blocking the path of the others.
“BANG! BANG!”
I sent bullets through their skulls and sprayed blood into the air.
Carlos took the three on the right. He hit the first one in the knees before finishing him off by with a shot to the top of his head.
“BANG! BANG!”
Joe followed us pushing his wheelchair bomb with one hand and shorting with the other.
“Shoot!” said Joe. “Shoot them all!”
“BANG! BANG!”
“That's one for me! That’s two for me!” he said with a smile. “Just like beer cans on a fence!”
The ejected shell casings clanged on the concrete. The noise brought more of them out of the surrounding neighborhood. Maria, the kids, and Blair followed close behind. Kahleem and the Pastor brought up the rear. We all slowly moved forward. Joe gave the chair a big push and it rolled to a stop in the middle of the flesh eating horde. They ignored the chair and lurched forward.
“GRRRRRR!”
One by one the forsaken fell with a pop from our guns and a thud against the ground.
“BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!”
Soon our nerves got the best of us and our accuracy started to fail. Who could blame us? We were staring into the eyes of the walking dead. Some our shots went wide while others hit them in the body.