Desolation

by Mark Campbell

  Throughout the base, the alarm wailed endlessly and inadvertently attracted more infected from the walking dead. Andrew made a beeline towards the courtyard, toting his newly acquired rifle. Jerri kept close behind with Jacob. A Humvee plowed through a row of hedges next to one of the dorm buildings and skidded to a stop in the middle of the courtyard next to the flagpole.

  Andrew quickly took cover behind one of the cement benches and pulled Jerri down next to him. Six soldiers wearing riot gear and gas masks hopped out of the Humvee and started systematically executing everything that moved. Within seconds, the infected that were staggering in the courtyard were dropped.

  Three healthy half-dressed soldiers ran out of one of the dorms towards the Humvee, terrified.

  The soldiers wearing gas masks quickly took down all three men with impunity. Andrew cursed under his breath and closed his eyes; it wasn’t good. He gripped his rifle tightly and got ready to pop up from behind cover and take out as many as he could.

  Taking a deep breath, he shot up from behind cover and pointed his rifle towards the masked soldiers–

  The six soldiers were standing in a defensive line, pointing their weapons towards Andrew’s direction.

  “Over there!” one of the masked soldiers shouted through his respirator. “Focus fire!”

  Andrew ducked back down behind the bench and closed his eyes just as the soldiers opened fire in unison. The gunfire was not directed at Andrew but rather towards the approaching horde coming from the newly breached east gate. Numerous corpses tumbled down to the ground as the bullets found their mark but the wave of infected kept pushing forward, staggering towards the soldiers with their arms extended.

  The masked soldiers dropped their empty clips and hastily reloaded. Andrew frantically searched for an escape route; the dead would soon be right on top of both of them. To his right he saw a dormitory with its front door opened. He knew it was his only option.

  The masked soldiers took a step back in unison and opened fire a second time.

  A couple of infected collapsed to the ground but hundreds more continued marching forward.

  The masked soldiers staggered backwards towards the Humvee as they hastily reloaded.

  “Fall back! Fall back!” one of the soldiers screamed,

  hyperventilating through his gas mask. “Regroup at the plane!” The soldiers hastily broke from formation and clamored into the Humvee.

  Andrew took Jerri by the hand and led her towards the open dormitory, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process.

  Jerri clutched Jacob tightly against her chest as she threw terrified glances over at the infected as they approached ever closer. The inside of the dormitory consisted of two rows of bunk beds lined along the side of a single long room. An army footlocker sat in front of each bed. Shower and toilet stalls were stationed at the far end of the room next to a fire exit door. The overhead lights were flickering and fresh blood was slathered over nearly everything in sight. Mauled human remains lay strewn across the floor and twisted inside their bed linens that were scattered everywhere. Tattered mattresses hung off of the beds and lay in the floor, many of which were soaked with crimson.

  Decaying corpses were huddled around some of the bodies lying on the floor. They were feasting on their victims, pulling out long strands of gory intestines with their bare hands and shoveling them into their gullets. The sick sound of flesh being torn apart by teeth filled the room along with the coppery aroma of blood.

  Andrew and Jerri watched with revulsion and quickly made their way down the center of the dorm.

  The infected were so preoccupied with their meal that they didn’t even notice the two living souls sneaking past them.

  Andrew pressed a finger up against his pursed lips and looked over at Jerri, signaling her to keep quiet.

  Jerri nodded earnestly; she couldn’t wait to be out of there. As they walked past of one the bunks, Andrew noticed that the footlocker next to the bed had been toppled over and a few uniform tops and pants were sticking out of its open doors.

  Andrew quickly reached down and snatched up an armful of uniforms; he knew they could prove invaluable if he wanted to get aboard the plane in one piece.

  He hurried towards the fire exit, kicked the door open, and ran outside with Jerri. Andrew closed the door behind him and let out a sigh of relief. He immediately started sorting through the uniforms he collected, tossing anything that wouldn’t fit onto the ground.

  Jerri stared at him, baffled.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  Andrew started to put on a pair of uniform pants, not even bothering to remove his boots or his other clothes. He groaned and struggled as he dressed in haste, throwing cautious glances over his shoulder.

  “I’m trying to make sure we have some chance of getting onto that plane alive!” he explained as he struggled to put one a shirt that was too small for him. He threw the shirt down and put on another.

  Jerri ignored him and held Jacob close against her chest as she kept the child bundled up tightly. She started to feel how cold and stiff his tiny body was and grew increasingly concerned about his health. On top of everything that was deteriorating all around her, she had to figure out a way to get away from Andrew and find a way to Canada with a sick baby.

  It felt like the odds were stacked against her. Andrew finished putting on the uniform and, in truth, looked ridiculous. His shirt was disheveled, his pants were baggy, his boots were scuffed and dirty, and he didn’t hold any of the disciplined appearance of a soldier. He was hoping that the others would overlook his appearance, given the circumstances.

  He heard snarling and moaning coming from around the corner of the dormitory.

  “Hurry up and put these on!” he plead as he held out a handful of clothes towards Jerri. Jerri shook her head.

  “I’m not wearing that…” she said.

  Andrew gave an aggravated sigh and stepped towards her, practically shoving the clothes against her chest.

  “What are you talking about?! Hurry!” he shouted at her. Jerri slapped the clothes aside and sent them fluttering down into the dirt.

  Andrew seethed with anger and spun around towards the noise behind him.

  Several shamblers emerged from the alleyways behind Andrew and Jerri and hobbled after them with their decrepit arms outstretched. “No time!” Andrew shouted, pushing Jerri forward. “Run! Just run!”

  They ran and the shamblers slowly followed. Andrew led Jerri along a path behind the barracks, checking the corners and clearing the alleyways with his rifle as they skirted their way around the living quarters and the massacre occurring in the courtyard.

  He spotted the edge of the tarmac ahead, just past the back of the chow hall. Much like the camp he came from, the chow hall resembled a large windowless gymnasium that was made out of aluminum. A large group of corpses had gathered around the front of the chow hall, slapping their open palms against the barricaded doors as they tried to get the prey that had taken refuge inside.

  “How much farther?” Jerri asked as she struggled to catch her breath. Her legs felt like jelly and her diaphragm ached.

  “The plane should be just ahead!” Andrew shouted as he kept his rifle raised and ready. “Don’t stop running! Get to the tarmac!” Just as Andrew neared the chow hall’s rear fire exit, the door flung open and two soldiers ran out into the alleyway, firing their pistols blindly behind them as they stumbled out of the building and closed the door behind them. There was frantic snarling and screaming coming from inside the chow hall.

  Andrew and Jerri froze at the sight of the two men. One of the terrified soldiers turned towards Andrew and stared at the Velcro name tag on Andrew’s uniform shirt. A baffled expression washed over the soldier’s face; he didn’t understand why the man standing in front of him was wearing his friend’s shirt.

  “Who the hell are you?! Why are you wearing Vasquez’s shirt?” the soldier asked as he slowly started to raise his shaky pistol. Andrew
quickly pointed his rifle at the man and fired a burst of automatic gunfire.

  The shots tore through the soldier’s chest and flung him backwards.

  The second soldier, startled, aimed his pistol at Andrew and fired three wild shots.

  Jerri shrieked but Andrew didn’t pay her any attention; the shots missed him.

  Andrew quickly returned fire and blew off the top of the soldier’s scalp.

  The soldier stumbled backwards a few steps and then collapsed on the pavement.

  Andrew tore the Velcro name tag off and cursed under his breath.

  Meanwhile, the shamblers were closing in behind them; he knew they had to hurry. “Come on!” Andrew shouted as he spun towards Jerri. He froze.

  Jerri was staring down at Jacob’s blood covered blanket in horror as she trembled, face pale. A bullet had torn through the side of the baby. The blanket was soaked with blood.

  “T-they…” she stammered, tears welting in her eyes. Her world started to spin.

  “Let me see him,” Andrew said as he held out his hands. Jerri shakily handed Jacob over as tears started to stream down her face. She looked close to fainting. As soon as Andrew took Jacob’s corpse, he felt how warm and fresh the blood was; he knew that it wasn’t the coagulated goop that filled Jacob’s rotting corpse.

  “You’re hit…” Andrew said as he stared down at Jerri’s bloodied right arm.

  Jerri sniffled and composed herself as she looked down at her arm with a sense of detached wonderment. “I am…” she said in disoriented confusion. The wound bled profusely. She grimaced as the pain started to register with her. She gripped her forearm and turned to look at the shambling entourage that was following them.

  The corpses were only a few yards away.

  “But… he’s not…?” she started.

  “No, he’s fine,” Andrew said as he held Jacob’s blood-soaked body against his chest. He was relieved that she had been holding the baby. The corpse softened the bullet’s impact and possibly changed its trajectory away from her chest. “But you’re not. We have to get to that plane so I can tend to your wound. Let’s go.”

  Jerri let out a baited sigh of relief.

  Suddenly the cafeteria's emergency exit door flung open once again and made Andrew stumbled backwards with Jacob. Three fresh corpses wearing combat fatigues stumbled out of the chow hall. All three of them were male and their uniforms were soaked with blood. Bite wounds covered their necks and chunks of torn flesh hung off of their bodies. Their eyes were clouded, their blood stained teeth gnashing.

  The three corpses lunged at Andrew and swiped frantically at Jacob’s bloodied shawl, attracted by its warm coppery scent. Andrew panicked, dropped the dead child, and quickly unslung his rifle as he stepped backwards to aim at the three snarling corpses. Jerri screamed as the child made a meaty smack against the pavement. The three corpses dove on top of Jacob and started to sink their teeth into blanket, sucking the warm blood out of the fabric. After biting through the material and into Jacob’s cold corpse a few times, the three unsatisfied soldiers turned their attention towards the nearest living prey; Andrew.

  Andrew opened fire and sent two of the corpses stumbling backwards but the third one kept lurching towards him– Jerri shoved the third corpse backwards and sent the man sprawling onto his back. She fell to her knees and grabbed Jacob, frantically trying to cover his battered body with the bloody shawl with her shaky hands.

  The soldier started to get back onto his feet, snarling as he stared at Jerri.

  Andrew shot the man in the forehead and sent him flinging backwards against the emergency exit door. Jerri examined Jacob’s bundled body with shaky hands, desperately trying to think of what to do. Her mind was a muddled mess and she couldn’t think straight. Her wounded arm continued to bleed and she felt dizzy.

  The moaning horde in the alleyway was almost right on top of them.

  “Come on!” Andrew shouted. He reached down and grabbed Jerri’s good arm and pulled her up on her feet. Jerri jolted as Andrew pulled her and was overcome with vertigo. She held onto Jacob as tightly as she could. Her legs were weak and her world was spinning…

  Andrew saw that she was out of it. He brought her arm around the back of his neck and supported her as they hobbled out of the alleyway onto the tarmac.

  In the near distance, Andrew saw a large black cargo plane sitting in the middle of the runway with its rear hatch open and its loading ramp extended. The plane had three propellers on each wing and had a small group of infected hobbled towards it from between the empty hangars that lined the expanse of the runway.

  Near the plane, the Humvee that the masked soldiers were riding in lay overturned and engulfed in flames.

  The plane’s propellers churned to life and started spinning. Andrew panicked and hurried towards the plane, struggling to support Jerri’s clammy body. Jerri was weak and dizzy as blood continued to spurt out of her arm. Her ears were ringing and her body felt hot. She looked over at Mitch and was grateful that he was there to help carry her towards the airplane… She couldn’t wait to get away to safety… She couldn’t wait to start her new life in Canada.

  Andrew looked over at Jerri with concern. He felt her body growing heavier and his shirt was soaked with her blood. He knew that if he didn’t help her soon, she would die.

  The plane started to slowly bank around on the runway, dragging the ramp across the asphalt. The uncoordinated infected tried to hurry after the plane but tripped over their own feet and fell flat on their face.

  “Thank you,” Jerri thought she said in her incoherent stupor. “I’m sorry for not listening to you… I’m sorry…” Cold sweat beaded across her forehead and her vision started to fade to white as she stared at Mitch and clutched Jacob tightly against her chest.

  Andrew looked over at her and tried to understand her slurred rambling but couldn’t make anything out of it. He limped towards the plane, nearly dragging Jerri alongside him as he supported her body weight.

  “Just hang in there and stay with me!” Andrew shouted above the roar of the plane’s engines. The plane started its trudge along the center of the runway with its rear loading ramp still extended. The ramp threw a shower of sparks as it slid across the tarmac. The gigantic craft started to gain momentum as it coasted towards Andrew and Jerri, not slowing down.

  The infected started to walk onto the runway from all directions, meandering out from alleyways and from behind buildings. Most of them were soldiers.

  “Fuck!” Andrew shouted as he saw the plane approach head-on. “Come on!” He made his way towards the center of the runway, nearly dragging Jerri’s limp body alongside him.

  Jerri teetered on the very edge of consciousness and mustered what little strength she had to hold onto Jacob. She hung off of Mitch as she flopped one limp foot in front of the other, staggering alongside him.

  Jacob kicked once inside the bloody shawl… The plane approached closer as it crawled along the runway at about 10 mph. The cargo ramp threw a steady stream of sparks as it scraped along the ground.

  “Get ready!” Andrew shouted above the roar of the propellers. He dropped his rifle and scooped Jerri’s limp body up in his arms and held her against his chest. He shuffled left and right, trying to place himself in the perfect position.

  He knew that the terrified pilots saw him but he also knew that they wouldn’t slow down for anything.

  The approaching plane reached 15 mph and was only a few yards away as its engines were finally warmed up. Andrew ducked with Jerri in his arms and quickly maneuvered out of the path of the front landing gears as the plane rolled over top of them. The whirling propellers and the roar of the engines were deafening.

  The plane passed over in less than a few seconds and Andrew found himself standing just a few feet away from the ramp as it scrapped past him.

  He sprinted towards the ramp, nearly blinded by the steady shower of sparks. Closing the distance, he ran halfway up the ramp and hurled Jerri’s body into
the plane’s cargo hold.

  Jerri let out a weak moan and landed hard against the metallic floor, clutching Jacob against her chest.

  The plane increased its speed past 40 and then 60 mph as it started its run towards lift. Andrew stumbled up the ramp and quickly fell onto his hands and knees, desperately sucking in air as the plane barreled down the runway at over 100 mph. Air was sucked out of the cargo hold and loose papers and supply boxes flew out the back.

  He knew that he had to close the door before both of them got sucked out of the craft.

  Andrew crawled away from the ramp and stumbled onto his feet. He squinted in the windy cargo hold as he tried to find the door controls. A dead soldier sat tangled up in the cargo netting next to the ramp’s control module. He thrashed lividly in the net, trying to free himself and lunge after Andrew.

  Andrew staggered towards the control box, shielding his face from the wild projectiles that flew through the air.

  The plane was approaching 140 mph and the nose started to lift up.

  Andrew nearly tumbled down the ramp. He caught his footing and trudged towards the controls… The dead soldier untangled himself from the netting and shuffled towards Andrew. The soldier immediately tripped and rolled out of the back of the plane, snarling as he went.

  Andrew sprung forward and caught himself on the dangling yellow control box. He quickly pressed the large green button and held on tight as the plane sped forward.

  An alarm started blaring and red strobes flashed.

  “Standby. Closing cargo hold. All personnel please stand back,” a voice on the overhead speaker announced.

  The ramp slowly rose off of the ground and started to close. The plane achieved lift and quickly ascended into the air, hurling everything inside backwards.