The Demented Z (Book 2): Desolation

by Derek J. Thomas

  “We have to move.” Tom shouted.

  Not needing further encouragement, Eddie turned and ran down the hallway. They both knew this was the wrong direction, but they needed plan B.

  Tom fired a couple quick shots into the mass of infected, and then turned to follow him. Eddie was nearing the end of the hall where it split to the left and right. Tom watched him skid to a stop, raise his rifle, and begin sending rounds down the side hall out of sight. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. With each boom of Eddie’s rifle, Tom watched as his muzzle flashed with a puff of fire and smoke, a shell casing flew into the air, flipping through space, and then clanged to the floor. The brass bounced and rolled across the tile, slowly coming to rest in the groves that separated the large tiles. Shrieks and growls echoed down the long hall from behind him.

  Eddie was focused on firing at targets in front of him when a gray haired woman wearing a torn dress sprinted out of the dark hall behind him. Tom raised his rifle, firing several rapid shots. The woman pitched over, landing in a heap next to the growing mound of shell casings. Blood oozed from a wound in her head, forming an ever growing crimson pool, dotted with shiny brass islands.

  Spinning back around and dropping to one knee, Tom began firing at the oncoming horde. Panic welled up inside him when he saw dozens of undead staggering around the far corner. Focusing only on the demented, he continued to fire at them until only their slow moving brethren remained. From behind him he heard an empty magazine clatter to the ground.

  “Loading!” Eddie shouted.

  “I’m coming. “ Tom shouted as he stood. Running the remaining distance over to Eddie, Tom watched as he struggled to slam a fresh magazine into his rifle. Nerves and panic were taking over. He continued to fumble with the magazine. “Stay calm. Focus.” Tom shouted.

  Glancing each way, Tom could see the reason for Eddie’s panic and sense of urgency. Several demented sprinted at them from each direction. Staggering between lifeless forms on the floor were dozens of undead. Using his metal sights, Tom began firing into the nearest attackers.

  Two shots later his rifle ran dry.

  He knew the AR was running low, but his heart still sank when there was no reaction to his trigger pull. Angry growls and the sounds of pounding feet echoed toward them from all directions. Tom could hear Eddie fumbling with his rifle.

  Panic swelled in Tom’s chest. His stomach knotted up. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast he repeated to himself.

  “We have to move. This way.” Tom shouted while turning to make a break down the long hall to his right. He let his empty rifle dangle from its sling and instead reached for his sidearm. Next to him, Eddie stood cussing, unable to get his rifle to cooperate.

  Eddie did not understand what was going on. He had now tried several times to get the magazine to seat into his AR’s mag well and it would not click into place. The screams, growls, and thud of boots were piercing into his brain, making it impossible to focus. He glanced up to see Tom beginning his dash down the long hall. The thought of remaining behind and swallowed up by the rushing hordes was too much for him. A quick glance down the other halls and the sight of what rushed at him caused Eddie to drop his rifle and chase after Tom.

  The horde that raced directly toward them was led by three demented. One had got caught up in the bodies that were splayed out on the floor, and was crashing face first to the hard tile. A monstrous kid, with his huge belly swaying from side to side as he ran, raced past his fallen companion. It seemed impossible for such a large body to move so swiftly. Trailing both of them was an older man, dressed nicely, wearing a set of dark framed glasses. Nearly a dozen slow moving undead staggered in their wake.

  Tom knew their only hope was to get out of the hall. There were far too many to gun them all down. Not only was there those directly in front of them, but the angered sounds of dozens more reverberated from behind them.

  Pistol raised, Tom fired several rapid shots into the lumbering fat kid. Red splotches dotted his tight shirt. Not waiting to see the kid fall to the floor, Tom adjusted to the right, and squeezed off a couple rounds at The Professor. The first shot shattered his glasses, ripped a ragged hole right through his eye socket, and blew red and white chunks out the back of his head. The third demented was using the handrail along the wall to pull himself back to his feet. Next to him was a partially open doorway.

  Tom continued to race down the hall, holding his pistol out in front of him with one hand. He fired off several shots, catching the demented in the head and again in the neck. Blood spilled down his chest as he slid down the wall, leaving a large red streak behind.

  “Look out!” Eddie shouted.

  Just to the left of Tom was the huge kid rushing his way, nearly on top of him. Tom tried to spin his pistol around, but the kid was too close.

  Eddie’s pistol roared to life.

  A couple rapid booms.

  Blood, brains, and bone fragments exploded out of the side of the kid’s head, splattering the wall in front of Tom. The kid thundered to the floor.

  Waiting to thank Eddie until later, Tom covered the last few steps to the open door. Before going in, he took a quick glance back down the hall and was terrified to see the entire hallway filled with infected. The surging mass from one hall was spilling into the main hallway, colliding with those that followed directly behind Tom and Eddie.

  Both men raced through the open doorway. Tom turned and slammed the door closed behind them.

  There was a strange smack, like a hand slapping a table, as the infected from all directions descended on the door. Both the door and the frame shook with the beating from outside.

  With no deadbolt, Tom was only able to twist the small lock on the handle, which seemed almost laughable, but he did it anyway.

  Turning with his back to the door, Tom surveyed the room they were in. It was the high school’s library, containing row after row of tall bookshelves. The wall directly across from Tom was covered by large windows. Staring back at him through the glass were hundreds of angry eyes. They saw the prey that had eluded them outside and now began banging on the glass trying to gain entry.

  Knowing the large shelves full of books would be either too heavy or bolted to the floor, Tom instead pointed to a large wooden desk and said, “Help me grab the desk.”

  Eddie stood in place, staring at the long row of windows. His face was white with fear.

  “Eddie, help me out!” Tom shouted as he ran over to the large desk.

  Using his legs, Tom began shoving the desk over toward the door. There was an ear piercing screech as the metal on the bottom of the legs scraped across the tile floor.

  This noise seemed to dive deep into Eddie’s brain and pull him out of the stupor he was in. He quickly holstered his pistol and ran over to help Tom.

  After getting the desk up against the door, Eddie said, “That’s not going to stop them. What are we going to do? I can’t die like this. Why the hell did we come here?” He kept rambling on.

  The sound of cracking glass caused him to stop his rant and turn toward the windows. Several of the windows were beginning to split. Long slivers streaked out in multiple directions, splitting the glass into giant pie slices. Blood covered hands and faces pressed up to the glass. Their numbers swelled as others heard them and joined their ranks, swarming the library wall.

  Behind Tom the door continued to rattle on its hinges as the infected pounded into it.

  “What are we...”

  Eddie was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass. Shards of glass crashed to floor as the nearest window exploded inward, spilling infected into the room. They crashed to the floor in a pile of twisted arms and legs. Before the mass could rise, more continued to pour through the open window, growling at Tom and Eddie.

  “Run!” Tom yelled as he began racing between the aisles of books. He had no idea where to go, but knew staying put was certain death. Directly in front of him was a wall containing only a large corkboard with stude
nt’s documents pinned to it.

  Eddie shouted from behind him, “They’re coming.”

  Reaching the wall, Tom looked both directions and saw a door along the wall near the windows. Dozens of eyes stared at him through the cracked glass. The window looked about to shattered in.

  “This way, hurry.” Tom shouted.

  Both of them piled through the door and slammed it closed behind them.

  Breathing hard, Tom said, “This seems familiar. How many doors can we barricade?”

  Eddie did not respond. He wanted to throw up. The only reason he came on this mission was Liz. He hoped that acting tough, saving some people, and becoming the hero would make her notice him. Instead he was stuck in the worst nightmare he could imagine.

  “I can’t do this, let’s get out of here.” Eddie said.

  Tom stood with his back up against the door. He looked over at Eddie. “I don’t think that’s an option anymore.”

  Eddie started crying. He dropped his head and slumped to the floor in front of a long table lined with computer monitors. “I can’t...I’m done.”

  The door behind Tom shook as infected began pounding on it.

  Tom glanced around the room. They were in a computer lab that thankfully lacked windows. There was a single door at the far end, likely leading back into one of the hallways.

  “Come on, let’s get moving.” Tom said while reaching down and grabbing Eddie under the armpit. He lifted him back to his feet, looked him in the eyes, and said, “We’re going to get out of this.”

  Eddie’s eyes were watery and swollen. Using the back of his arm, he wiped his face and nodded his head.

  Rather than take the time to barricade the door, Tom made his way between the computer tables toward the far door. This door had a large glass window in it, allowing Tom to get a view of the hall beyond. Peering out into the dark hallway, he could see no movement, only an empty hallway and rows of lockers.

  “Looks clear...you ready?” Tom said.

  Eddie looked anything but ready. He nodded his head anyway.

  Chapter 5: Trap

  “Look at that.” Hank said from the top of the water tower.

  “What do you think is going on?” Dennis replied.

  Both men glassed the school and watched as a section of infected that surrounded the building began to swarm in agitation. There movements were excited. They growled angrily and huffed loudly, attracting more. From the angle that they watched it was impossible to see what was going on.

  “I’m not sure, something sure has them excited.” Hank said.

  “They’re quite a ways from the kitchen area.”

  “I know it...but it’s got to be Tom and Eddie.”

  Dennis laid his rifle on its side and looked over at Hank. “Those sounded like shots earlier. Think they’re in trouble?”

  Hank continued to spy the infected through his scope. Suddenly the surrounding horde began moving. “They’re moving.” He said. Continuing to watch them, he saw the infected moving toward the building out of sight. It was like watching a dammed up river that suddenly broke through, flowing easily.

  “That’s bad.” Dennis mumbled.

  “Agreed.”

  The sound of gravel crunching under feet caused both men to turn and look down the hillside in the direction of the hospital. It was Jenny and Austin approaching on foot.

  “Oh Yeah! You see that.” Austin said loudly as they neared the base of the water tower.

  Hank and Dennis watched as Jenny grabbed Austin by the shirt and quietly reprimanded him for being so loud. The two of them stood face to face for quite some time before Jenny let go of him and they continued toward the tower. Quiet thuds of boots on metal along with grunts of exertion could be heard as the argumentative pair made their way up the tower’s ladder.

  After a minute Jenny’s pretty head poked over the edge. “We drew off a bunch of them, worked just like planned.”

  “You did your part great...it was afterwards that everything went bad.” Hank said.

  Before anyone could respond, Austin came climbing over the top and said, “Where they at? I thought those pokes would be out by now.”

  “Shut up.” Jenny said. She looked back at Hank and Dennis. “What happened?”

  “A few of the infected noticed them making a break for the school. They started making noises, calling to the others. It went bad real fast.” Hank said.

  Dennis spoke up. “Smoke didn’t make it.”

  Jenny started to say something, but Austin butted in. “Wow, never thought that sneaky punk would kick it.”

  “You’re an ass.” Jenny said. The last few weeks had hardened her to death, but this one still hit hard. She had sat and visited with Smoke on a lot of lonely nights. It was tough to stay awake on watch in the middle of the night and they often kept each other company. Almost in a whisper, she said, “What about Eddie and the other guy?”

  Hank said, “Tom...Eddie and Tom made it to the roof. Went in the access door just like we planned.” He looked back over to the school. “Been inside ever since.”

  Dennis added, “We think we heard shots, and then all the infected grouped up over there.” He pointed to the area that was still clustered with infected. They still continued to siphon into the building through an unseen opening. “The infected are getting in somewhere.”

  “How long do we wait before deciding they’re taking an endless nap?” Austin said.

  “What’s your problem?” Hank said.

  “Hey, I’m being realistic. They are probably gone already.”

  Hank’s face was red with rage and he looked just about to punch him in the face.

  Dennis placed a hand on his shoulder. “Take it easy...both of you.” He looked over at Jenny. “Why don’t you and Austin get back to the hospital...Hank and I will watch for them.”

  Austin started to say something, but Jenny beat him to it and said, “Good idea. Come on big guy, let’s check on the others. I bet they would feel more comfortable with some guns returning.”

  After the two of them were down the side of the tower and on their way back, Hank looked over at Dennis and just shook his head. Dennis knew exactly what Hank was thinking and just shrugged his shoulders.

  Hank went back to watching the school through his scope. There was still at least a hundred infected remaining outside the building, most of them staggered around the open lawn, far from the buildings walls. A cluster of them were still swarming the far side of the building where they had gained entrance. There was no way to see inside, but both men knew there were now hundreds inside and if Tom and Eddie weren’t already dead, they would be having a very tough time.

  ******

  Just as Tom and Eddie stepped out into the large hallway, a mass of demented broke the door down that separated the computer lab from the library. Knowing it would only slow the rushing horde momentarily, neither of them took the time to close the door to the hall. Instead they started sprinting down the hall, unsure where they were going.

  Tom tried to picture the building layout in his mind and where they were at. When they went over the maps they made the mistake of only paying attention to the path from the roof access to the cafeteria and kitchen. Now that they were outside of this realm, neither of them knew where to go.

  The terrifying sounds of demented spilling into the hall behind them caused both of them to glance back. Dozens of infected had already emerged from the computer lab. They looked in both directions down the hall, trying to locate their prey. Several noticed Tom and Eddie. They screamed out in rage and took off in pursuit. A steady stream of demented continued to flow out into the hall, crashing into each other and the lockers on the far side.

  There were large wooden doors dotting both sides of the hall. None were open, leaving their contents unknown. Out of desperation they could enter one, but there was no telling if it might be filled with infected.

  At the far end of the hall stood a set of metal double doors, daylight spilling
in through their security glass. To use these would be calling the mission a bust, likely dooming any survivors that remained in the school. There was some fear of what lay outside the doors as well. They might end up running right into a horde of infected.

  “We have to get out of here.” Tom said.

  Eddie said nothing, but continued his sprint for the metal doors, which was answer enough.

  After all this time in the school, it was just now that Tom noticed the stench. It was a sickening mixture of feces, body odor, and maybe rotting meat. With all the fear he had not noticed it, but now it hung in the air, clinging to his lungs with each breath. The urge to vomit nearly overwhelmed him.

  They finally reached the far door. So ready for fresh air, Tom no longer worried about what waited for them on the other side. The horror filled noises that emanated from their pursuers only added to his desire to be outside.

  Tom and Eddie each hit the crash bars at full speed sending the doors flying open. Bright light smacked them in the face. Both doors slammed into the brick walls to the sides. Directly in front of them stood several groups of infected. As if controlled by a single brain, they all turned in unison toward Tom and Eddie.

  The nearest one, a short man wearing shattered glasses and a plaid vest, opened his mouth and let out a hollow groan. Several others followed suit, shuffling their way toward the school.

  Tom was relieved to see most if not all of the fast moving demented had made their way to the other side of the building. Or their directly behind me, he thought to himself.

  Eddie slowed, raised his pistol, and began firing into the nearest clump of undead. One of the rounds slammed into Plaid Vest’s jaw, blowing off the lower portion of his face. The head grotesquely flopped over to the side and then his body crumpled to the ground. Eddie continued to squeeze the trigger while walking across the overgrown lawn.

  Knowing the demented would be pouring out of the building, Tom looked over to Eddie and shouted, “This way, we have to move!”