"We're not sure," Ant said. "A stone was thrown through the glass."
He pointed it out on the floor. "It's gotta be real people. I don't remember zombies being able lob rocks through windows."
"You guys sure it isn't one of those guys in the barn just trying to scare you?" Stephanie asked, "To keep you on your toes?"
"Could be," Joey said, "But I'm going out to check around, just in case."
Grabbing his revolver, he stepped over the trip wires and opened front door. Each wire was attached to a small explosive strong enough to take off a leg. Cracking the door just enough, he peeked out cautiously, listening. The only sound was the symphony of crickets until a noise to right of him made him step out into the night. Not wanting to draw more of the dead with the sound of gunfire, he took out his Bowie knife and crept around to the edge of the house. He was immediately and violently subdued by Malachi in a tight choke hold before he could cry a warning to the others. Micah proceeded to stab him quickly directly in the heart, giving the young man a quick death. Nodding at one another, they dragged Joey into the woods out of sight. One down.
Ant was getting nervous. Joey should have come back in by now. Peering out the window, he tried to spot him in the dark, but saw nothing but the glow of light coming from the barn. Ant knew he had to go check it out. Careful not to come close to the wires, he opened the front door cautiously, surveying the immediate surroundings. Seeing nothing, he opened the door wider and stepped outside. Shining his flashlight into the treeline, he did a slow sweep, trying to catch any movement.
"Joey!" he whispered loudly, "You out here, dude?"
No one answered him back. Walking to the corner of the house, he peered around it, and like Joey, was grabbed violently. Twisting, he took his captors by surprise and broke away, spinning around to see who had him.
"Wait! Wait!" he said desperately, "Don't kill me! Please!"
Malachi hesitated, his gun pointed at Ant's head. Einstein, always the thinker, went around to the back of the house to see if he could spot anyone in the house.
"Say your piece, flesh-eater, and it better be good."
"My name is Ant…"
"We don't give a shit what your name is," Micah said. "You’re a dirty freaking cannibal."
"No! It's not like that! I don't WANT to be here! He makes us stay or threatens us with our lives!" Ant argued. "Please, before you kill me at least hear me out."
Malachi nodded to Micah, who lowered his weapon.
Visibly relieved, Ant spoke, "I was surrounded by rotters when Simon found me. I had no choice but to stay with this group because I was alone. I only ate the meat because I was starving, I swear it! I can help you. If you let me go with you guys, I can help you."
"Micah, tie him up put him in the woods," Malachi instructed, "We'll let Josh decided what to do with him.”
"No! Please! Those things will get me, please don't tie me out there!" Ant pleaded, "I can help you. I'll help you take the house. Just please don't put me in the woods with the rotters."
Malachi looked at the house, wondering if he should do this without Josh's okay. Josh was easy going, but he also had a side to him that could be harsh if you disobeyed orders. Especially if it endangered the lives of the group. Thinking quickly, he decided that it would benefit everyone if they at least had control of the house. He thought of his father and how the man had always told him to follow his gut. This sure made sense to him.
"This is for you, dad," he whispered out loud to himself.
"How many people are in the house," he asked the young kid, "If you lie to me, we'll kill you."
"Hey, M, what're ya doing, man," Micah asked, "Josh said to kill everyone in the house that comes out one by one, not take them hostage and go in, dude. You know how he gets when people don't follow directions!"
"Yeah, I know, but think about it," Malachi argued, "If we can secure the house, that's one less danger they have to worry about. It's not like I'm a freaking idiot, Micah, I don't need Josh to direct my every move. Now let's get this asshole to let us in and we'll do the rest ourselves, got it?"
"I suppose," Micah relented, "but someone is gonna be pissed, I think."
"Now, how many in the house!" Malachi said again, pointing his gun at Ant's head.
"Two," Ant told him, "there was three, but I don't know where Joey went."
Ant saw the two young men look at each other, and he knew.
"You killed him? For real?" he looked at them disbelievingly,” He was just a kid, for God's sake! Oh, my God. I can't believe this."
"Yeah, a kid who would have killed US if he had the chance!" Micah spat back, "I swear, if your lying, we're going to tie you to a tree as rotter bait!"
"No, I swear, there's just Stephanie and Marcus left in the house. We don't usually stay in here, but Marcus and Steph wanted some privacy," he told them, "The rest are in the barn. About ten people including Simon."
"Sure about that, man? Cause like I said..." Micah started to say.
"Yeah, I get it, you'll kill me," Ant finished for him, "Now listen, Marcus and Stephanie are all about Simon. Joey was more like me, poor kid, he didn't want to be in Simon's group any more than I do. Just promise me, please, that I can go with you guys when this is over. Deal? Please?"
Malachi looked at Micah, who had already changed his mind about the kid. He nodded yes to Malachi.
"Okay, then, deal. But no funny business. Get us in, help us take care of the ones left, and you're in.”
Ant nodded, relief making him want to cry out with happiness. He finally had the chance to get away from Simon. He led the two men to the front door, waving them back. Opening it, he called out to Marcus.
"Marcus! Hey, can help me out here? It's Joey! He's hurt!”
Malachi and Micah waited in the shadows, ready to take Marcus out. Einstein made sure no rotters walked the property. They didn't need any distractions.
"What do mean he's hurt? He bit? If he's bit, shoot the sorry bastard!" Marcus said. "You know the rules, punk."
"No, he's not bit, he just needs help getting inside," Ant said, "I think he twisted his ankle, or something, the retard.”
Marcus came to doorway, stepping over the wires and peeked out. "Where is he, punk, I don't see him."
Ant waved him over the side of the house, using his flashlight to partially blind Marcus.
"Hey, stupid! Get that freaking light out of my face!" Marcus complained, "Now where is that idiot?"
Just as he stepped around the corner of the house, Micah slammed his head with the butt of his gun, knocking him to the ground. Malachi did the dirty work, slicing his throat before he could give a warning cry to the ones in the barn.
"God, you guys are brutal," Ant said, awed.
"Yeah? Well at least we ain't gonna EAT him!" Micah said, giving Ant a dirty look. "Now who's left in there, just the girl?"
"Yes, just Stephanie," Ant told him, "and she ain't nothing, doesn't even have a weapon."
A rustling in the woods put everyone on alert. With the moon casting its glow on the treeline, they could faintly see one part of the brush moving more than the rest in the gentle evening breeze. Sure enough, the dead came out of the darkness of the wood, the sight of them striking fear into the young men's hearts. To see people that should have been long dead shuffling like drunken bar hops in search of human flesh was something no one would ever get used to. It was just so unnatural. Too horrible to contemplate. There were five of them swaying unsteadily towards them in different stages of decomposition. Their stench reaching them from twenty feet away.
"Hey, I have an idea," Ant announced. "It would work, too."
"Well better make it quick, fly boy, cause here they come," Micah said just as Einstein joined them.
"Open the front door, let ‘em in, than put something in front of the door so she can't get out," Ant explained, "and if you want to go even further, once the others come out of the barn to see what's g
oing on, we can pick them off one by one!"
"Go open the door, Ant, now! They're coming!" Malachi said urgently, "Micah, come on! over there on the other side of the house before those trip wires are set off!"
As they ran for cover, Ant ran up the steps and opened the door wide, leaping off the porch just before one of the dead grabbed his shirt. He joined Malachi and Micah and Einstein, watching as the small herd of corpses found their way into the house. When the first one hit the wires, all hell broke loose. The explosion from the homemade bomb blew the first two into a splash of guts and gore with an ear-splitting sound that split the night. It took out much of the doorway, the fireball catching the curtains in the window on fire, then spread rapidly to the interior of the living room. The young men could hear Stephanie's shrill screams as either the fire or the zombies got her.
"Alright!" Malachi cheered, "Yeah! Now that what I'm talking about!" Fist pumping his accomplices, he pulled them into the safety of the forest to wait for the occupants of the barn to come out to investigate.
ELLI And SKYE
We heard the explosion clear as a bell as Shae slowly lifted the trap door that led into the stall of the barn. We heard yelling and excited voices as she guided the rest of us up and out of the tunnel. Whatever it was that Malachi and Micah did, worked perfectly. I just hoped they weren't hurt in the process. We crouched in the stall, hearts pounding, adrenaline pumping through our veins. We heard Simon screeching out instructions to his flesh-eating followers, ordering everyone out to the house.
"Where's Ant?" We heard him ask, "He was supposed to be in here helping Judith dry some meat, now where is the little bastard?"
"Who's Ant?" I asked Shae.
"He's the new kid Simon rescued last month," she told us, "Simon picks on him constantly, and you can tell he doesn't want to be here, but he's terrified of the asshole. He more or less 'disappears' whenever he can get away with it.
The stall was cramped with the four of us crouching in it, and I wanted out. Skye touched my arm, and looking at her, I saw she was turning that familiar shade of grey.
"Oh, no, Skye, not now. You have wait!" I told her, "You CAN wait, right?"
"I think so, let's just take these assholes out, Elli, I'm sick of dealing with them."
I agreed totally. They were like shit that's stuck in the grooves on the bottom of your shoe. Or that little line of dirt that never quite makes it into the dustpan. I remembered this kid in school, Eddy Bennet. He called me names, teased me at every turn, until one day he got serious and followed me home. It was a rainy day and I had my umbrella with me.
"Hey, Carrottop!" he taunted me, referring to my mop of red hair. "Redheaded rooster, redheaded rooster, err, err, err, err errrrrrrr!" He crowed like a rooster. "Hey freckleface!! I'm talking to you!"
I listened as he got closer, pretending I wasn't, and when I knew he was close enough I took my umbrella and swung as hard as I could, connecting with his head. The blow knocked him to the ground, and to my great surprise, he started crying like a big ole baby. That night, his father called my father and told him that he should keep me under control. But my father looked at me proudly, telling him that maybe he should teach his son not be such a sissy.
Now here was another bully ready to crack under an onslaught. The world was bad enough now without people like him in it. He was vermin, no, worse than vermin. The four of us listened as the barn grew quiet, all the noise concentrated out by the house. We had to make our move before they found Malachi, Einstein and Micah.
Shae, who was watching the action from a knothole in the door of the stall, opened it and waved us on.
"Come on!" she urged, "I know where they keep all of the weapons! Grab that burlap bag on the hook over there, Skye."
Skye looked to Josh for the okay, and he nodded his head in agreement. Grabbing the bag, Skye joined us as we followed Shae to the weapons room.
"Hurry!" she said, "In here. Every kind of gun, knife and sword you could ever dream of!"
Josh's eyes lit with pure pleasure as he surveyed the inside of the small room. Shae was right. It was a sniper's wet dream. I grabbed a high-powered rifle, delighted when I saw it had a silencer. We stuffed the bag with as many weapons as we could carry, then ran to the front of the barn to wait for Simon and his cohorts. Josh sent me to the loft with the sniper rifle, and I hid under a pile of hay waiting for the action. It didn't take long. Simon kicked open the barn door, and shoved someone inside roughly, making him fall. It was Malachi. I knew he'd purposely let himself be taken prisoner to let us know his business at the house was finished. Our turn.
I looked for Josh, Shae and Skye, but couldn't see them in my sights. Man, they were good.
"Who sent you here, asshole!" Simon screamed, obviously upset at the way he'd been bested. "I know it was that freak girl and her zombie friend, and you're going to tell me where they are, or you're going to join us for dinner tonight. As a matter of fact, you're going to be dinner tonight! Now, where are they?"
"I don't know! I swear it!" he said, "and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, you freaking baby eater!" Malachi spat, his face a mask of fury.
Simon's minion kicked Malachi in the small of the back, making him cry out in pain as the rest of the group filed in from outside. I knew I had to take the shot. From underneath hay, I took aim, shooting Malachi's attacker with a sound resembling high-pressure gas escaping from an air hose. A hole blossomed in the middle of the attacker's forehead spraying brain matter on the members of Simon's group from the back. The shocked silence that followed was the perfect chance for Josh and Shae to open fire. Standing up in the loft, I waved to Malachi to come up to where I was, killing another of Simon's group as he tried stopping him.
So, there I was, watching the whole scenario unravel from my bird's eye view up in the loft. Simon's group, now numbering less than six, was as confused as a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. Looking to their leader for guidance, they were sorely disappointed when he turned tail and tried to run. Josh took that moment to reveal himself behind a stack of old hay. Grabbing Simon from behind, he put him in a chokehold, yelling for me show myself and keep a bead on him.
"Don't anyone move a muscle, or my girl up there is gonna put a pretty little hole in your baby eating leader's head!" Josh yelled, "Malachi, Micah! grab some rope and tie this asshole up! Shae! Move his crew into one of the stalls, and where's Einstein?"
"Right here, Josh, and I brought a friend," Einstein said, walking into barn from outside, "Ant, wanna say hello to your FORMER group?"
"You freaking traitor," Simon said in deadly voice, "Your dead meat."
"Really, Simon?" Shae stepped out, as well, and I had the pleasure of seeing Simon's eyes widen at the sight of her.
"You!" Simon said, eyes narrowing dangerously, "I knew I should have slit your throat months ago, you skanky bitch."
"Too bad for you, asshole," She snapped back, "Don't look so tough now, do ya? Simon says, my ass." She proceeded to spit full in his face before she sauntered away with a new-found confidence.
I was starting to like that kid.
We did it. We had it all under control. Simon's group was packed in a horse stall, Josh had Simon secure, and we were top dog. But we all forgot what was happening in the world. We forgot to be vigilant and on guard. While we were dealing with the dredges of humanity, an even darker side of us was gathering outside. Not just four or five, or even ten. The next thing we knew, the sound of scratching and pounding was heard in every corner of that barn. The sounds of hundreds of hands smacking on the walls seeking entrance to nullify a basic need. Food. Right now, we were at the bottom of the food chain. Zombie food. I think one of the most horrible things in the world is the thought of another human being biting into your flesh with teeth not meant for ripping flesh. Dull, flat teeth causing ultimate pain as they try to tear through skin. For the moment, all of us in the barn were filled with the same mortal fear of being eaten alive,
and even worse, coming back to wander the earth in search of the same soft flesh.
I happened to look over at Josh and Simon and witnessed a look that I wasn't supposed to see. As everyone was thinking the same dark thoughts, Simon was thinking even darker thoughts. Ever the opportunist, his sleazy mind was coming up with ways to use this new scenario for his own benefit. But I was on to him, and I was sick of him. His was a demented reality that had no place in humanity. I knew what I had to do. As if in slow motion, I took out my revolver, checked the ammo, and slammed the barrel back in place. With purposeful strides, I walked up to him, my face a mask of hatred and intolerance. Placing the barrel of the gun against Simon's forehead, I pulled the trigger. The blast shocked everyone in the room, including Josh, who looked at me as if I'd grown two heads.
"Holy shit, Elli!" Josh yelled at me, wiping bits of brain matter from his face and hair, "Why would you DO that.”
Everyone was looking at me like I was the Antichrist or something, I lost it.
"Why are we wasting our time with that asshole, anyway?" I screamed, "You all know what he is, what he's done, yet you're all staring at me like I'm nuts! What the hell is wrong with you people?"
I pointed to the walls of the barn. "You hear that? That's the sound of death coming. Do you really want to deal with some sociopath while we have more pressing matters at hand?"
I looked at the six people in stall. "You! Did you like living the life of a cannibal? Was it fun? Is that how you want to live? If so, I'll freaking end your worthless lives right now! Cause ya know what? I'm sick and tired of trying to figure out who the enemy is! I'm still a human being! I still care about humanity! Those things out there? THAT'S our reality. THEY'RE the enemy, not us! Don't you see? If we're to survive this hell on earth, than we need to band together!"
I was crying hysterically by now, the stress of the past week emerging all at once. I wanted to just lay down and sleep like I've never slept before. Walking over to the people in the stall, I gave them an ultimatum. Either stand up and fight with us, or you can join your brainless leader right now. The boy who Simon called Ant, the one I saw right before my fall off the roof, moved to my side.
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