Welcome to Necropolis

by Bryan Killian

  The men, led by Jack, stood their ground refusing to relinquish their weapons.

  “We’ve survived this long with our weapons, I’m sure you see our view on the matter.” Jack yelled back.

  “Again, this is only a precaution. Please place your weapons on the ground.” Weissen yelled over the bullhorn.

  “Inform base of our situation.” Weissen told his radioman.

  The radioman followed the order and radioed base with the information explaining they had six survivors armed and unwilling to cooperate.

  “We have supplies in here for the survivors at the Convention Center. We need to get moving as soon as possible. If you help us we can get out of here within the hour.” Jack pleaded with the soldiers.

  “Place your weapons on the ground and step forward.” Weissen told the men, signaling his men to step closer.

  The soldiers of Grey Team moved in closer smiling at the men before them. They kept their weapons at their sides appearing friendly.

  From around the back of the grocery store came a compact vehicle carrying a young couple. The car stopped in the parking lot. The soldiers instantly raised their weapons to the ready. Weissen began yelling orders over the bullhorn while the men of the second supply detail stood in shock. From within the car a young male occupant exited the driver’s side dropping to his knees. He was bloodied but still alive. The passenger door opened and a young dark haired female, no more than sixteen years old stepped out with an infant child in her arms. She began running for the nearest soldier screaming, “Thank god you’ve come!”

  Without hesitation, the soldier raised his assault rifle to his shoulder sighting the girl. Her eyes grew wide.

  “Please help us.” The girl yelled.

  Weissen didn’t have time to call out the order not to shoot. The burst from the assault rifle ripped through the girls flesh driving her backwards to the pavement. She was dead before she hit the ground. The infant fell from her arms and began crying loudly. The male occupant of the vehicle regained his feet and charged the soldier.

  “What the fuck…” His words were cut short as several soldiers gunned him down. The bullets ripped through his flesh stopping his heart.

  Two soldiers were dropped in succession as the men from the second supply detail opened fire on them. The firefight Grey Team wanted to avoid was now upon them. Weissen swung around to see the men from the front of the store dive for cover and return fire at his men.

  “Motherfucker. I told them to drop their weapons.” Weissen said aloud as he jumped back into the Humvee. The radioman was busy sending information to base. Weissen exited the Humvee taking up position near the front fender using the engine block as a shield. “Call it in. We have two men down.” Weissen yelled to his radioman. He didn’t receive confirmation from the radioman and stepped back to the door. The radioman was slumped over onto the drivers seat blood pouring from his head.

  “Get behind the trucks. We need to get the hell out of here.” Jack yelled as he fired again. The men moved behind the trucks. The large ford Jack sat behind was still idling. He had no idea how much fuel was left but he figured it was enough to get him and his partners away from the psycho soldiers.

  “Everybody to the Ford. We’re leaving.” Jack yelled.

  Adam Derroll ran from his location to the Ford but was struck in the leg by a soldier’s bullet. He tumbled to the ground. The pain was immense. Blood spurted from his leg with every beat his heart took. The artery in his lower thigh was severed. He removed his belt while yelling for help. He tried in vain to make a tourniquet. He yelled again for help but it never came. The firefight was too intense. None of the remaining men from the supply detail saw him lying there in a pool of his own blood. Soon his body grew cold and he slipped into unconsciousness. Gunfire still played around the body of Adam Derroll as his heart ceased beating.

  Jack pulled the passenger side door open on the Ford and crawled in. Two more men followed him into the cab of the truck. He sat behind the wheel placing the truck in drive. Keeping his head low he began driving out of the parking lot. The two remaining men from the supply detail followed the side of the truck using it as shielding from the onslaught of bullets. The effort was for naught. The hail of high caliber bullets from the military rifles halted the forward progression of the Ford. Jack yelled for the other two men to get out and run.

  Weissen walked closer to the disabled Ford. The men inside were scrambling to get out. His teammates flanked the vehicle firing on the fleeing men. From the passenger seat Jack could see the soldier giving hand signals to the other soldiers.

  “Cut off the head of the snake.” Jack said to himself as he took aim with his .45. He squeezed the trigger slowly and discharged the bullet. The .45 caliber hollow point struck Weissen just above the armored vest. The bullet penetrated his upper chest, mushroomed and blew a large hole out his back just below his neck. His spinal cord was severely damaged leaving his appendages useless when he came back. His grey eyes could do no more than stare into the sky above.

  The remaining soldiers of Grey Team continued the fight. They flanked the truck effectively eliminating the threat. Grey Team lost a total of four men. The remaining soldiers gathered at the Humvee.

  “Radio base. We need to head back and regroup. These locals really fucked us today.” One soldier stated pulling the dead radioman from the front seat of the Humvee. “Gather the fallen. No man left behind.” He continued.

  Jack lay on the floorboard of the Ford. He couldn’t believe the soldiers hadn’t checked the cab. He remained still listening to them scurry around collecting their fallen comrades. He slowly raised his head to watch the soldiers in action. Behind the Ford sat the two remaining vehicles. Both of which had the keys in the ignition. He continued watching the soldiers carry their fallen teammates to the rear of the Humvee. Out of the corner of his eye Jack saw a staggering figure moving towards the soldiers.

  The former body of Adam Derroll, blood stained pants and all, caught the movement of the soldiers in his field of vision. He moved closer. From the Ford Jack could see the soldiers were not aware of Adam’s presence. He watched for a few seconds more.

  Son of a bitch, they don’t see him. Jack thought as he opened the driver’s side door.

  “Hey, behind you.” Jack yelled to the soldiers while pointing at Adam.

  The soldiers of Grey Team spun around raising their rifles in Jack’s direction. Jack dropped to the ground still pointing and yelling, “Over there.”

  The soldiers turned their attention. Adam was within five feet of the closest soldier. The soldier’s eyes grew wide at the sight before him. He had seen plenty of zombies but he had never seen one that had recently come back from the dead. Its eyes were a sparkling grey and didn’t blink. Its mouth, skin, hair, everything was still fresh. The soldier stepped back and fired. The back of Adam’s head exploded. His body toppled to the pavement.

  The soldiers turned their attention back to Jack. He held his hands up and dropped his weapon. He closed his eyes hoping he would be spared.

  The soldiers kept their weapons at the ready. The second in command of the team stepped around to the front of the vehicle. He signaled for the men to lower their weapons.

  “Life for a life boys. Let him go,” the second in command told the soldiers. They looked at him with a confused look. He ignored them and walked over to Jack

  “Gather your supplies and get out of town. Head south. We’ve already cleared I-5. If you hold up in Anderson or Cottonwood you’ll probably make it. Stay off the main roads until you pass the Knighton Road junction. Our caravan is just north of that. If you’re caught in the city you will be executed.”

  Jack stared at the soldier. He thought about what he said for a brief moment.

  “Do I have time to go back to the Convention Center?”

  “Negative. Go south now or we’ll be forced to kill you. You have fifteen minutes to gather whatever you need then you’re out of here.”

  “Fift
een minutes. Gotcha.” Jack turned to run into the store then stopped.

  “Why is this happening?” Jack asked.

  “The city will be cleared of all dead and living. It will then become the new home for the renaissance. A new beginning of sorts but we have to start fresh. Times a wasting.”

  Jack turned and ran into the store. He had set out with eight other men in an effort to save the survivors at the Convention Center now Jack stood as the only man left alive. He was now a simple scavenger trying to get out of the city alive with as much food and water as he could load into the black Chevy Suburban.

  The soldiers finished loading their fallen and drove away from the storefront.

  “We should have killed that guy.”

  “We didn’t know he was in that truck. He could have simply watched that zombie attack one of us but he chose to save us by giving up his position. He knew we would kill him. In my book, I owe him one.” The second in command made his statement then sat quietly as Grey Team drove back to Base.

  Sixty-Seven

  “Man, the military must be kicking some ass out there. I’ve heard shooting all day and there are two big fires in the south.” Jess stated peering out the top floor window with his binoculars.

  Ty sat behind the large desk, cleaning his .357. “I still don’t trust this. I don’t know what it is but something is off. I really didn’t like the question about weapons. Why do they care?” Ty continued cleaning his pistol, never looking out the window. “Just let me know when they get within three blocks.”

  “You’re paranoid. They’re the U.S. Military. They’re out there right now killing off those things and we’ll be out of here.”

  “Whatever Jess.”

  ***

  Sugar lay on a couch down the hall. In the office across from Sugar, Katie attempted to hash out her differences with Rick.

  “You don’t understand. It just happened. I wasn’t looking for it. I didn’t do it on purpose to hurt you. When you and your friend kidnapped me I thought I was fucked but you helped me and for that I will always be grateful.” Katie pleaded with Rick.

  “I chose you over my best friend. I protected you. You were meant for me. Once this bullshit is over we could be together.” Katie could see Rick’s hands shaking with anger.

  “I told you it just happened. I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I already have. Please don’t do this. Take a deep breath and relax.” Katie’s head began to pound again. The blow she took in the parking garage had taken a lot out of her but she wanted to get this thing between her and Rick out of the way. In the back of her mind all she wanted to do was leave with Ty and Sugar and drive as far from the Bixter Building as possible.

  Katie stepped back as Rick’s brow furrowed and his eyes squinted. “You don’t understand. YOU were meant for me. I chose you when we saw you by the river. The world is reverting back to caveman days, I chose you. You belong to me. I could kill them two fucks down the hall and take you.” Rick stood slamming his right fist into the wall.

  Katie backed up even further. “Why are you so angry? We’ve survived this far and it looks like help is near. You need to calm down and think about what you’re saying. I’m not a piece of property.”

  Rick stepped quickly to Katie. She didn’t have a chance to react. Shock overtook her and she froze when Rick’s large hands grabbed her around the neck. His hands clamped down hard cutting off her airway. She grabbed at Rick’s hands to no avail.

  The door to the office sat slightly ajar. Katie had purposely left the door open thinking Rick might get loud during their discussion. Sugar, sensing the tension in the air used her nose to open the door a bit more. Her eyes focused on the altercation and she knew the girl was in trouble. She never liked the man, sensed something wrong with him the first time she came in contact with him. She dipped her head and bared her teeth.

  Rick was going to teach the bitch a lesson in respect and then kill the rest in the building. He heard the growl. He turned his gaze towards the door just as Sugar leapt forward seizing his left arm in her powerful jaws.

  Rick lost his grip on Katie’s neck and began fighting with Sugar. The golden lab’s jaw clamped down harder on Rick’s arm cutting through tendons and rupturing veins. He punched her hard in the side but didn’t faze her. Katie fell to the floor gasping for air. Her neck was throbbing along with her head. She felt dizzy. She tried to call out for Ty but couldn’t muster the voice. Her eyes opened wide as she finally focused on the fight before her. Blood poured from Rick’s arm as he continuously punched Sugar in the side. Katie staggered to her feet and tried again to call out for Ty. A low raspy scream for help emitted from her throat. Rick was going to kill Sugar if she didn’t do something.

  Without thinking the situation through, Katie lunged straight into Rick’s side knocking him and Sugar down. Sugar released the arm and ran away from the man.

  “TY!” Katie’s voice returned with a furry. “TY!” Katie looked around the room focusing quickly on a semi-automatic pistol on the desk. She dove for it just as Rick turned his attention to her. Blood continued running down his arm. His mind worked fast settling on the fact he was screwed.

  Ty burst into the office with Jess right behind. Katie instantly wrapped her arms around him crying. He could see blood all over Sugars fur.

  “What the hell is going on?” Ty asked pushing Katie away slightly in an attempt to look at her face. She was crying and her neck was heavily bruised. He looked over at Rick lying on the floor holding his arm. He quickly put two and two together.

  “You son of bitch. Who the fuck do you think you are?” Ty said letting Katie go. He walked over to Rick drawing back his right hand to strike the man in the head.

  “No Ty.” Katie screamed in a raspy voice. Jess moved to her side and held her steady. He knew Rick had attacked her and knew Ty was going to kill him. What he didn’t expect was Katie to stop the commotion.

  “He wants to leave. Let him go. The military is close. He can go with them.” Katie said holding her throat but not holding back the tears.

  Ty hovered above the broken man he so desperately wanted to punish for hurting Katie and Sugar.

  “Ty please. We don’t have to do this. There’s been enough killing.” Katie sat down on the floor and covered her eyes, her tears flowing.

  Ty looked to Jess for confirmation. Jess looked back and shrugged his shoulders. No help at all. Ty looked back down at Rick.

  “I thought you and I had come to an understanding, but you up and do this? You hurt my dog and you tried to kill a defenseless girl. Pack your shit and go. Jess said the military is within blocks of here.” Ty stepped back and watched Rick, bleeding arm and all, begin packing what little supplies he had left in the room. Rick stopped for a moment wrapping a t-shirt around his wounded arm and using a belt for a makeshift sling. He gathered the rest of his weapons into a small duffle bag, slung it over his shoulder and walked slowly out of the office.

  “Adios, motherfuckers.” Rick walked down the hall to the stairwell and kicked the door open. He made his way down the stairs. Ideas of how to kill them all swirled around his head. He walked out into the main lobby knowing he was being followed. He heard their footsteps in the stairwell but didn’t dare turn around.

  Ty and Jess stepped out into the main lobby watching Rick stop at the main doors. Ty, gun drawn, walked to the main doors as well. He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

  “I really thought you and I had an understanding.”

  “You’ll all die in this building. Good luck with that skinny bitch.” Rick walked out of the safe confines of the Bixter Building. He drew his side arm and walked proudly into the open. He could hear soldiers nearby killing zombies. He walked passed slower moving zombies paying them little attention. He watched for Runners.

  Ty secured the doors while speaking with Jess, “I need to check on Katie.”

  “Probably a good idea. You’d better check Sugar as well. Make sure she didn’t get stabbed or wors
e.” Jess replied.

  “If he hurt her I’ll kill him.”

  “He’s already dead.” Jess said, walking back to the stairwell.

  Ty and Jess walked into the office Katie had called home for the past three weeks. She was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. Sugar lay on the floor with her head in Katie’s lap. Katie was gently dabbing a cloth in water and rubbing blood from Sugar’s fur.

  “Is she OK?” Ty asked, sitting on the floor next them.

  “She got punched in the side pretty hard. The blood is Rick’s. She saved my life.” Katie said, not looking up from Sugar.

  Ty and Jess stood in silence for a long time watching Katie caress Sugar. Ty’s mind enveloped the image before him. His dog, his long time companion had, without hesitation, placed her own life in jeopardy to save Katie’s. The idea that there was still good left on the face of the earth struck him deep inside and he dropped to his knees. He buried his face in his hands. Jess placed his hand on Ty’s shoulder. Katie looked up at Jess then back to Ty.

  In an attempt to break the awkward silence, Jess began speaking nervously. “Maybe we should watch to see where Rick heads off too. I know he’s a dick and everything but he may lead the zombies away from here.”

  The words worked. Ty shook off the last tears and stood up wiping his eyes. “Good idea.” Ty and Jess stood at the window.

  Katie remained on the floor cleaning Sugar’s fur. She had no desire to look out the window and watch Rick die. The sun shone brightly on the city streets. Plumes of smoke rose into the air in two separate areas in the southern part of the city. Jess scanned the streets with his binoculars looking for Rick. He found him easily. The big man with the white t-shirt and a blue backpack walked directly in the middle of the street with one arm in a sling and the other holding a pistol. He walked deliberately down the street staying just ahead of the slow rambling zombies. His head swiveled from side to side and every few steps or so he turned around and walked backwards looking for Runners.