Dead or Alive

by William Harms

  #

  Paul shot a dead man in his face, which disintegrated into a blob of blood and brains and bone and teeth. His gun empty, Paul threw it at a dead woman whose innards hung out of her belly like a string of bloody ropes.

  “We’re fucked,” Paul said.

  “Looks that way.” John fired twice into the crowd, taking down two zombies in quick succession.

  Paul fired six quick shots from his other revolver. He grabbed some bullets out of his pocket and started to reload the gun. John moved in close to his brother and fired with his revolver, the shotgun empty. From the end of the street came the whinnying of horses. John looked up. “Down there.”

  Paul turned and looked. A wagon sat in the middle of the road, its horses pawing at the mud as the driver tried to turn the wagon around.

  “Let’s go,” Paul said as he ran toward the wagon.

  #

  Seth watched the two men fight an ever-encroaching mass of walking dead. Again he considered helping them, and again he decided against it. Suddenly one of the men yelled and pointed, and then both men were running, clubbing and shooting their way through the horde.

  Seth moved close to the window, straining to see where they were going. There was a flash of lightning and just for a moment he saw a wagon at the end of the road. If he could get to it, it’d be his best bet at getting out of here. Maybe his only chance. Even if he managed to survive the night, he’d still have to flee town on foot, a prospect that didn’t sound very promising.

  Seth double-checked his weapons, smashed out the window, and jumped down to the road. The dead were after him immediately, and Seth ran for the wagon as fast as his legs would carry him.

  #

  John and Paul raced toward the wagon. A dead woman tried to grab John and he smashed her in the face with his rifle. The butt of the gun shattered. John threw it aside and started to reload his revolver.

  The wagon was nearly turned around and a man in the back of the wagon had a gun out, firing at the dead.

  “Wait!” Paul yelled. “Don’t leave us here!”

  The wagon began to slowly move away from them and the man in the back fired again. The slug ripped past Paul and he heard a sickening crunch behind him as blood splashed across his naked back.

  John reached the wagon first and jumped into the back in one smooth movement. He immediately turned and opened fire with his revolver, trying to cover his brother. Paul reached the wagon and struggled into the back. He was exhausted and his legs felt like lead weights. John grabbed him by one arm and pulled him into the wagon.

  “Go!” Paul yelled as he collapsed to the floor of the wagon. “Go!”

  “Wait,” the woman said. “There’s someone else coming.”

  #

  Seth ran toward the wagon, the mud slowing him down. He fired only when he had to, aiming for the head. The wagon seemed miles away and the rain continued to fall in hard sheets, obscuring his vision. A bony hand brushed against the back of his head and he fought it off, firing blindly over his shoulder. The sound of the shot deafened him.

  “Wait,” Seth yelled, “wait!” The wagon was now thirty feet away and the driver was whipping the horses, which fought against the mud, their hooves tossing up clumps of moist earth.

  A hand clapped against the side of Seth’s head and he fell and was swallowed by the mud.

  #

  “We have to save him,” Esperanza said.

  “Fuck ‘em,” Paul said. He looked at Ed. “Get us out of here.”

  “I’m trying,” Ed said as he worked the reins.

  John had seen the man fall into the mud. His stomach churned as conflict tore through him. Unless someone did something, that man was dead for sure. He had to save him. After quickly reloading his revolvers, he jumped off the wagon and ran toward the fallen man, Paul’s curses chasing after him.

  Seth fought to get up, but a crushing weight sat on his back, pressing his face deeper into the slime. His mouth filled with mud and suddenly he couldn’t breath anymore; even though his eyes were closed, he saw brilliant white lights flashing all around him.

  A shot rang out and the weight disappeared, and a hand dragged Seth to his feet. Two more shots rang out. Seth wiped the mud from his eyes. One of the men he had seen out of the window stood next to him, firing nearly point-blank into the mob.

  “Get moving, ” John said to Seth.

  Seth ran for the wagon, which still struggled against the mud. The rear of the wagon whipped in the mud like a snake, the wheels sliding from side to side. Several zombies broke off from the main group and ran toward the wagon.

  Three more shots rang out behind him. Seth made his legs move through the deepening mud, the wagon drawing closer. The two men in the rear of the wagon fired at the approaching horde and the air filled with the sounds of shattering flesh and bone and the smell of burnt gunpowder.

  Seth reached the wagon and used the last of his energy to climb into the back. The wagon moved faster now, gaining speed against the mud.

  John reached the wagon and jumped into the back. He immediately turned and opened fire, striking a woman in the face. The woman’s face disappeared and her body fell to the ground and partially sank into the mud.

  The wagon pulled clear of the town, the horses gaining speed against the rain and the mud. Three zombies staggered out into the road, positioning themselves in front of the wagon. Ed whipped the horses and they rammed into one of the zombies, crushing it underfoot. The other two leapt onto the horses’ harnesses, their bloody fingers grasping at the leather. Esperanza set the lantern down and shot at one of the zombies, striking it in the right arm. The zombie struggled to maintain its grip on the harness for a moment before it slid off the horse and tumbled away and was crushed beneath the wagon’s wheels.

  The other zombie climbed on top of one of the horses and jumped onto the front of the wagon, colliding with Ed. The two of them tumbled into the back of the wagon and it veered off the road and into a water-filled ditch. The wagon groaned as it twisted at an odd angle, and the horses rammed into each other and nearly fell over before they separated. Esperanza grabbed the reins and struggled to gain control of the horses. The lantern turned onto its side and was extinguished.

  The zombie flipped Ed over and drove down with its mouth, blood and drool dripping from its lips. As it closed in on his throat, there was a single shot and the zombie collapsed onto Ed, oozing blood and foam from the wound. John and Paul grabbed the headless corpse and threw it over the side. Ed sat up and looked around. Joseph lowered his gun.

  “Thanks,” Ed said.

  Joseph nodded.

  Ed looked at the front of the wagon. Esperanza had gotten the horses back onto the road. Ed climbed into the front of the wagon and took the reins from Esperanza. She bent and picked up the lantern and relit it with some matches she kept in a small leather bag tied to her waist. The lantern’s glass had cracked when it fell and the light was haphazard and unfocused.

  Paul watched the town disappear behind them. Lightning flashed and for a second Paul saw the zombies gathering on the edge of town.

  “Any of you folks have any idea about what the hell is going on?” Paul asked.

  “The two fellas I was with both got sick,” Seth said. “One of ‘em died and then a minute later he was up and trying to kill us.”

  “You sure he was dead?” John asked.

  “Yeah, he was dead. I know a dead man when I see one.”

  “Darlene and Samantha were sick too,” Esperanza said. “And then, then…”

  “They tried to eat us,” Ed said. He steered the horses toward the middle of the road, where the ground was more solid. “Them and my Uncle Jerry.”

  “This is crazy,” John said. “Folks just don’t die and then get up and start walking around. That’s totally impossible.”

  “Well, we should be safe now,” Seth said. “We just need to put some distance between us and the town.”

  “We can’t push these horses much
more,” Ed said. “They’ve been working hard for a good hour or so. They’ve got to be damn tired from plowing through this mud; wherever we go has to be someplace close.”

  “What else is around here?” Seth asked.

  “There’s the old fort,” Ed said. “That’s about it.”

  “Old fort? Is it secure?”

  “Should be,” Ed said. “Last I heard, three or four soldiers still lived out there, keeping an eye on things.”

  “How far is it?”

  “About four or five miles. There should be a trail up ahead that will take us there.”

  “You think that’s a good idea?” John asked. “Maybe we should just head out into the desert.”

  “We wouldn’t last more than a couple days out there,” Seth said.

  “What if they follow us out to this fort and surround us? Then what?”

  “They’re not going to follow us. They’re not that damn smart.”

  “They were smart enough to get an axe and hack their way through a door,” Paul said. “If they can do that, they can figure out where we’re heading. I say we head out to the desert and hide. We can look for supplies during the day, maybe find a farm or ranch.”

  “Are you two listening to me? We can’t go out into the desert. We have no food, no water. And if this is some kind of sickness, there’s a chance that everyone we come across will have it.”

  “That doesn’t sound a whole lot different from the fort.”

  “If there are still soldiers there, they can send for help and bring an entire regiment in to take care of things.”

  “And what if there are no soldiers there?”

  “Then we fight.”

  “With what?”

  “There’ll be weapons there. You’ll see.”

  John shook his head. “And what if there aren’t? Then what the hell are we going to do? We probably have fifty rounds between us.”

  “Now look here,” Seth said, “I used to be in the army. They never completely abandon a fort, especially out here where there’s a chance of Indians stirring up trouble. And even if it is empty, there’s a good chance we’ll be able to scrounge up some extra arms.”

  “You’d better be right,” John said. “Or we’re all dead.”

  “And if we go into the desert without food or water we’re dead,” Seth said.

  “So what’s it going to be?” Ed asked.

  “This fella seems to have all the answers,” Paul said. “Ask him.”

  “The desert or the fort?” Ed said. “The road is coming up.”

  “I guess we’re going to the fort.” Paul said. He looked at Seth for a moment and spit over the side of the wagon. “Say, where did you come from back there?”

  “I was hiding in a hotel room. When I heard the shots I came out.”

  “Uh-huh. So you didn’t see me and my brother fighting for our lives?”

  “No.”

  “Uh-huh.” Paul nodded and looked at his brother. Despite the wounds from Trane’s whipping, John lay on his back, too tired to care about the pain. John’s bare chest was riddled with claw marks and bruises and his feet were bleeding. Paul closed his eyes and hoped that this would all come to an end soon. They’d get to the fort and wait until daybreak before figuring out a course of action. If they had to wait for the army to come in and clean things up, so be it. And if it turned out there were no soldiers at the fort, well, him and John would steal the horses and get the hell away from there. Nothing was going to stand between Paul and that money.

  Esperanza turned and looked into the back of the wagon. Joseph sat with the gun in his lap, and the man they had rescued looked out the back of the wagon, his fingers fidgeting with his gun. The other two men looked like they were trying to sleep. Esperanza looked at them. Those men looked familiar. She lifted the lamp a bit and looked closer at them. One of them opened his eyes.

  “Get that light out of my face,” he said.

  Esperanza turned around and put the lamp on the seat next to her. “Ésos son los hombres de la granja,” she said to Ed, taking care to speak slowly so he could understand her.

  Ed looked at her. “What are you talking about?”

  “Eran los hombres a que Jerry dio al sheriff. Robaron la etapa Occidental.”

  “Usted seguro?”

  “Sí.”

  “What’s that woman going on about?” Paul sat up.

  “Nothing,” Ed said.

  “Calm down,” John said, his eyes still shut.

  Esperanza turned around and looked at Paul. “You robbed the Western stage. Samantha found a receipt in your bag and Jerry turned you over to the sheriff.”

  “Shut your damn mouth.”

  Seth turned and looked at Esperanza. “These boys robbed the stage?”

  “The sheriff came out to the farm and arrested them.”

  Seth turned around, the revolver in one hand.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Paul said. His revolver was trained on Seth.

  “You going to shoot me for no reason?”

  “Looks like I have reason enough.”

  “Is she telling the truth?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Damn right it matters. I worked for that stage. I was in Jackson to take over the next leg of the trip.”

  “Interesting,” Paul said.

  Ed saw the wooden pole that marked the road to the fort. He turned the wagon off the main road and started down a smaller trail. Thunder crackled in the sky above and lightning fluttered through the air. Ed nervously looked into the back of the wagon. He thought about stopping the wagon but decided against it. That might just aggravate the situation, give everyone an excuse to start shooting. It was better to keep going, pretend that none of this was happening.

  “So how we can gonna handle this?” Seth said.

  “Depends on who gets shot and who doesn’t,” Paul said.

  “That how you see it?”

  “Yep.”

  Seth looked at Paul and John and then at the young man, who had backed himself into a corner of the wagon. Damn if this didn’t throw a wrench into the works. These two men were murderers and thieves and deserved to pay for their actions, but one of them did save his life. And then there was the matter of those things back in town. What if they did follow them out to the fort? Their only chance of surviving was if everyone in the wagon was fighting. Seth turned and spit off the back of the wagon.

  “So what’s it going to be?” Paul asked.

  “I tell you what,” Seth said. “Since he saved my life back there, I say we call it even until this whole affair blows over. But after that, we’re back to square one.”

  “Sounds fair to me,” John said. During the past couple of hours he hadn’t had much time to think about the robbery, but the finality of his actions were once again hitting home. No matter what he did, John was convinced that he’d never be able to put this whole sorry affair behind him. He had never put much stock in the idea of God, but he had no doubts now that someone was punishing him for killing those men and robbing that stage. First they had to deal with that craziness back in town and now, out of all the people that could have survived, it ended up being a stage employee. Why did he listen to Paul in the first place? He knew better. Maybe once this was over they’d be able to turn over the money and put this whole thing behind them, start clean.

  “You fuck with us, old man,” Paul said, “and I’ll gun you down before you have time to piss yourself.”

  “You really think you’re a hard ass, don’t ya?”

  “You want to try me?”

  Seth laughed and turned back to the rear of the wagon.

  Paul stole a glance at Esperanza. That stupid bitch, running her mouth off like that. First chance he got he was going to blow her damn head off.

  #

  The zombies collected at the edge of town. One of the dead, a young man wearing nothing but a pair of boots, moved to the head of the pack, chewing on a wad of soft flesh. His flaccid penis flappe
d from one leg to the other as he walked. The young man watched the wagon vanish into the night. Some part of his brain worked things through, considered where the meat would go, where it would hide. The desert was too dangerous, the farms too hard to find in the night.

  “Fort,” the dead man said as he started to walk forward. “Fort.”

  After a moment the other dead fell in behind the young man and they marched slowly through the mud and into the darkness.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The fort sat on top of a small hill, which afforded it a commanding view of the surrounding area. The fort’s wooden walls were stained with mud and water and two large crosses were nailed to both sides of the fort’s main gate. A couple of lanterns on the top of the fort burned in the night and the barrel of a Gatling gun hung over the front of the gate. Some of the fort’s boards banged in the wind.

  Ed brought the wagon to a stop a few feet in front of the fort and dropped down to the muddy ground. He walked over to the gate and pushed against it; it was locked. Ed turned back to the wagon.

  “It’s locked,” he said. He backed away from the gate and looked at Esperanza. If they couldn’t gain access to the fort they were going to be in a lot of trouble. There were no other roads out here, just the one leading back to town. And then there was the matter of the two robbers in the back of the wagon.

  Seth dropped off the back of the wagon and fired two shots into the air. After placing his gun back into its holster he walked over to the gates and beat on the faded wood. “Open up in there.”

  For a few moments the fort was quiet and the only sound was the falling rain. Ed walked back to the wagon and climbed up into the seat. Now that the excitement and adrenaline of battle were gone, he was cold and tired. The thought of laying down in a warm bed seemed so foreign to him now, and yet so inviting.

  “They’re not going to let us in,” Esperanza said.

  “I wouldn’t if I was them,” Paul said.

  Slivers of light slipped through the cracks in the gate and a face wedged its way into the space between the gate’s hinge and the frame.