The Demented Z (Book 2): Desolation

by Derek J. Thomas

  Eddie fired off a couple more rounds and then chased after Tom.

  ******

  “I’ve got movement.” Hank said while peering through his rifle scope.

  Dennis was standing at the back of the water tower taking a piss into the trees below. “ Whatcha got?”

  “Tom and Eddie! They’re out on the far side.”

  Quickly zipping up, Dennis raced over to Hank and scooped up his rifle.

  The two of them watched as Eddie began firing into a group of undead.

  Dennis said, “I don’t see any demented. Those things are slow, but look how many are headed their way.”

  Hank racked a round and said, “Let’s make it rain.”

  The two of them began rapidly firing down on any infected that got near Tom and Eddie. Initially Eddie was startled by the shots and slowed, looking around, but he quickly figured out what was going on and began following Tom again. The two men worked their way between pockets of infected, trying their best to keep some distance.

  Hank’s rifle ran dry and he quickly began cycling more rounds into it. While reloading he noticed movement at the school doors.

  Dennis must have noticed as well, because he suddenly said, “We’ve got demented...chasing from the school.”

  Both men continued to watch the river of demented pouring out of the opening. It was like water shooting from a hole in a dam. They just kept coming, packed so tightly together their thrashing arms and legs were indistinguishable from one another. After making it out onto the lawn they began to fan out, but still remained in pursuit of Tom and Eddie.

  “We need a car, they’ll never out run all of those and we can’t gun ‘em all down.” Hank said.

  “Few blocks back to the hospital.”

  Hank looked back to Tom and Eddie. Seeing them nearing the edge of the furthest undead, he felt comfortable that there was nothing more him and Dennis could do with their rifles. Watching Tom, Hank could see that he was steering them toward the forest that lay behind the school. “Let’s grab a car and see if we can track them down. We’re done up here.”

  The two of them slung their rifles over their shoulders, grabbed their loose gear, and began making their way down the ladder. By the time they reached the bottom, both of them were dripping sweat. They were glad to be down out of the baking sun.

  “Giddy up.” Hank said as he began jogging down the hill.

  The hospital was close and it only took them a few minutes to cover the short distance. Both men were winded as they got to the blockade of vehicles. Hank began climbing over one of the car hoods and stopped when he noticed Dennis wasn’t following him.

  Hank turned back. “What’s up?”

  Dennis stood looking up at the top of the hospital. “Just odd that there are no lookouts. We always keep at least two up there.”

  “Could they be...”

  He left it unfinished when he heard Austin’s voice from behind him. “Hey guys. Glad to see you back. Where’s Tom?” Almost as an afterthought he added, “And Eddie?”

  “We need a car!” Hank shouted. “Tom and Eddie got out, but half the town is behind them.”

  Austin stood for a bit and then said, “Hurry, get in here and let’s get some more guns and a set of keys.”

  Hank looked back at Dennis, who shrugged his shoulders and started climbing the car’s hood. “Okay, but we have to hurry. They were headed into the trees behind the school.”

  In front of them, Austin disappeared back into the front entrance. Hank and Dennis raced across the parking lot. Only the sounds of their feet hitting the pavement broke the stillness of the day. It was going to be a hot day. Blurry heat waves were already rising off the blacktop.

  Knowing Tom and Eddie needed them badly and likely wondered where they had gone, they both raced up to the door, flung it opened, and rushed inside.

  Directly in front of them stood several men, rifles raised, barrels pointed directly their way. Hank immediately recognized a couple of men. At one end stood Austin, no weapon in hand, but standing shoulder to shoulder with the rifleman.

  “Well, well, well. We haven’t had the pleasure to be introduced, but I believe you know a couple of my men.” Lincoln said.

  Chapter 6: Revenge

  Hank stood still, horrified to see Big Mike, Mikey, and some others he had never seen before. These were the thugs that had captured them in north Spokane and nearly beaten him to death. He had really hoped to never see them again.

  “Drive all the way up here just to say hi?” Hank said.

  Lincoln let out a low chuckle while scratching at his short goatee. “A funny guy. I like funny guys.” He pulled a long knife out of a sheath on his belt and held it up by his face. “But you know what is really funny?”

  Hank stood still, saying nothing.

  “What is really funny is how all those funny words disappear when I start really asking questions.” Lincoln said. He pointed the tip of his knife toward Hank. “Where is your buddy? I need to...visit with Tom.”

  “Last I saw him, he was riding a pony down to Mexico...it’s paradise down there.”

  Lincoln let out a loud sarcastic laugh. “There is that funny stuff. We’re going to have to take care of that.” He turned to one of the men holding a rifle and said, “Zip tie both of ‘em and put them with the others.”

  Austin turned toward Lincoln and said, “They told me both Tom and Eddie made it out of the school and were headed for the woods.”

  Dennis stepped forward, but before he could get far Big Mike put his rifle right in Dennis’s face and said, “Don’t even think about it. Get on your knees...both of you.”

  Dropping to his knees, Dennis said, “You’re a traitor Austin. I always thought you were a piece of work, but I never thought of you as a piece of crap rat.” His face was red with anger.

  “This is survival of the fittest and you’re just an old man.” Austin said.

  Lincoln looked over to Austin and said, “Come with me, I think you will be handy when we interview these guys.”

  Austin said, “Sounds great.”

  Lincoln and Austin took off down the hall, talking quietly back and forth. The remaining men began disarming Hank and Dennis. Once they had their weapons, they bound their hands behind their backs and stood them up.

  Big Mike stepped right up next to Hank, starring him in the face. “You and I have unfinished business.”

  “Maybe you should have your boy here finish what you couldn’t.” Hank said while pointing at Mikey.

  “ Take‘em to the cafeteria with the rest.” Big Mike said before walking down the hall in the direction Lincoln left.

  The remaining men led them through the halls, downstairs, and to the back corner of the hospital where the cafeteria sat. Inside were about two dozen people sitting on the floor, hands behind their backs. Hank saw little Sam leaning up against his mom, tears streaming down his cheeks. Even his tiny arms were zip tied together.

  Anger welled up inside Hank. He felt so helpless. By coming here they had brought terror to the hospital. These people were no part of their struggle with Lincoln and his men. Now here they sat. Their small zone of safety had come crashing down. On top of that was his worry for Tom and Eddie. They needed his help and now there was no chance of that. All he could do is hope they were not relying on his return and Tom would figure out a way to survive.

  Glancing around, Hank noticed there was an armed guard at each of the three entrances. One of them he recognized as Trips. Another one of the jerks that had nearly beat him to death. Hank was keeping a mental naughty list in case he ever got out of these zip ties.

  Not wanting to draw attention to Kelly and Sam, he pretended not to notice them and instead went and sat on a section of wall where there were no others. Dennis came and sat down next to him. Leaning back against the wall, neither of them said anything.

  ******

  Tom and Eddie made their way into the thick trees. Looking back they saw hundreds of demented rushing
their way. From past experience, their pursuit would be tireless. They had to find a way to evade, because there was no chance to outrun or outlast.

  As they reached the base of a steep incline Eddie said, “What happened to our snipers?”

  Earlier, when they finally broke free of the undead, Tom had noticed Hank and Dennis had stopped firing. He hoped they were looking for a solution to help out. There was no way they could gun down all the demented that followed. “Let’s hope they’re getting a truck.” In a perfect world, they would be waiting in an idling truck at the top of the hill. This was far from a perfect world.

  The forest got thick with trees and brush as they made the climb. Limbs continually smacked their faces. Their faces were slick with blood from all the scrapes they were getting. Unable to see more than a few feet in front of them, Tom just kept going uphill. The thick brush continued to slap at his arms and legs.

  Loud growls and the sounds of snapping branches trailed them. The noises continued to get louder as the demented gained on them.

  They had been at a near sprint now for several minutes. Both men were gasping for air. Their legs burned, filling with lactic acid. Desperate for a car, they were running on fumes, and knew this could not go on much longer.

  Thankfully, Tom was just able to make out black pavement ahead. Through the thick branches, he could see what had to be the edge of a road. “I see road.” He said.

  “Thank God...I can’t...can’t go much farther.” Eddie said between deep breaths.

  The two of them broke through the final thicket of trees. Before them stretched out a long, empty patch of road. No Hank. No Dennis. No truck. No help.

  Eddie slowed to a stop in the middle of the road. He dropped to his hands and knees, exhausted. “No more.” Gasping for air, he added, “Done...I’m done.”

  Tom stood next to him, looking both ways down the road. About a quarter mile down the road stood a large house and shop. A huge portion of the house was burned out from a previous fire, but the shop looked intact. In the opposite direction were some homes, but they were too far away to make out.

  Tom spun around when he heard branches breaking behind him. The thick foliage hid what had made the noise, but loud growls and more snapping made it clear that they did not have much time.

  “Get up. There’s a shop just down the road.” Tom said. When Eddie did not respond, he reached down and grabbed one of his arms. “Let’s go!” He shouted.

  Eddie reluctantly got to his feet and looked at Tom with tired eyes. Tom had expected to see fear, but there was none. Instead, what he saw was the look of hopelessness, quit, despair, just plain giving up.

  Tom said, “Not like this. You don’t want to die like this.” Tom began jogging down the road and Eddie ran beside him. “I’ve seen it...eaten alive...screaming. Nobody, not even my worst enemy deserves to go out like that.” After his little speech, he looked over at Eddie to see what he was thinking. Eddie just stared down the road. He kept jogging, but said nothing.

  A loud huffing noise from behind them could only mean one thing...a demented had made it to the road and spotted them. The call of the demented reminded Tom of the noise deer made when warning of an approaching threat. He had spent a lot of time in the woods and was always surprised by the bark-grunt-sneeze noise that deer made.

  “Get to the trees and make your way to the green shop.” Tom said.

  After seeing that Eddie began making his way off the road, Tom spun around while reaching behind his back for his rifle.

  At the edge of the ditch stood a tall man in shorts and tank-top. In another time he might have been a beach bum trying to hitch a ride to the next big wave. Instead he stood there, covered in filth, huffing into the air, calling to his friends. Tree branches behind him shook as several demented ran out from between them.

  Tom raised his rifle, used the sling to stabilize his forearm, and peered through his quick acquisition scope. He centered the dot on Tank-top and let loose a round. It was a perfect shot, hitting his temple. The huffing noise immediately stopped as he slumped to the ground, sliding down into the ditch. Shifting over, Tom saw the others sprinting his way. He knew these moving targets would be tougher to hit. Trying to remain calm, he took slow deep breaths, and slowly squeezed the trigger. The lead was hit in the shoulder, spinning him to the side, but not dropping him. Several quick shots later, he finally pitched forward, skidding across the pavement.

  Two more demented raced toward Tom, and from behind them he could see more beginning to emerge from the thick trees further back. Continuing this would only delay his demise. He fired off a volley of shots, killing the nearest two. He got off one more round before his rifle ran dry. Knowing he only had a single magazine left, he slung the rifle around to his back and turned for the nearest trees.

  Before entering the trees he heard another demented begin issuing the loud huffing noise.

  Taking one final glance back down the road, Tom saw dozens of demented climbing up out of the ditch onto the road. More were continuing to pour out of the trees.

  Rather than make a direct line to the shop, Tom headed straight north, perpendicular to the road. The forest was not nearly as thick as it was on the hill, making travel much quicker. Continuing to sprint through the trees, he occasionally glanced back to see if the road was still in sight. Once he could no longer see the road or any demented, he ran another fifty feet and then took a sharp turn in the direction of the house and shop.

  It didn’t take long before he broke out of the forest and onto the side lawn of the burnt out house. Directly in front of him, across the front lawn, sat a large metal shop. In a small window next to the man door, Tom could see Eddie peering out through the dirty glass.

  Tom checked the forest behind him for follower. Not seeing any movement, he listened intently. In the distance, he could hear growls and the occasional snapping branch, but nothing sounded close. He quickly turned around and made his way toward the shop.

  The house looked to have been in the center of a war. All the windows were shattered. The front door was splintered and broke off of its hinges. Through the door’s opening Tom could see bodies strewn about the hallway and a set of stairs straight ahead. One side of the house was badly burned, only a charred shell remaining. Black husks of what used to be bodies were scattered about. A couple of burnt bodies had made it out of the house and now lay in an overgrown flower bed that bordered the walls.

  Trying not to think too much about what happened here, Tom made his way across the gravel driveway to the shop.

  Eddie had the door open and stood waiting. Nodding his head, he said, “Glad to see you.”

  Closing the door, Tom put his hands on his knees. Hunched over he gasped for air and then retched up what little food he had in his stomach. Acid stung his throat and nostrils.

  “Did you sprint in here just so I could see that?”

  Between breaths, Tom said, “Check the window.” After a brief hesitation he added, “Stay low though. Don’t let any see you.”

  Eddie moved back over to the window and carefully leaned his head out in front of the edge of the window. Hesitantly he slowly moved his head further out and stood surveying the area in front of the shop. After a few seconds he hunched down out of view and said, “None in the yard. There’s movement in the trees.”

  Tom stood with his back to the door and then slowly slid down to a sitting position. “Let’s stay down...out of sight.” He looked exhausted. “Rest...let’s rest.”

  ******

  Hank’s eyes blinked open. He glanced around, confused. Seeing all the people, hands behind their backs, sitting up against the cafeteria walls, brought it all back to him. Lincoln, Big Mike, and Austin...the trap to draw them into the hospital. Looking over, he saw Dennis still sitting beside him.

  “Welcome back.” Dennis said.

  “How long was I out?”

  “Maybe a couple hours. I crashed too.” Dennis peered out through the cafeteria windows. “Think i
t is late afternoon.”

  Hank sat up a bit, trying to get comfortable by shifting his weight off parts of his butt that stung from the hard floor. Looking at all the faces in the room, he saw depression, sadness, and fear. Little Sam had fallen asleep, and now leaned over in Kelly’s lap. Hank looked her in the eyes.

  She looked back and mouthed the word “Tom” as a question.

  It was clear she had been crying and Hank mouthed “alive,” hoping that would alleviate some of her worries.

  She nodded her head slightly, clearly looking relieved.

  “They’re going to kill us all.” Dennis suddenly said.

  Hank turned toward him and nodded his head. After a bit, he said, “Unless we do something about it.”

  Dennis let out a low grunt, almost a laugh.

  The two of them sat in silence for a bit and then Dennis said, “Where’s Brad...I don’t see him?”

  Hank scanned the faces again, looking for his huge grin, but Dennis was right, he was not in the cafeteria. “Was he here when we first came in?

  “Not sure.” Dennis sat, looking at the floor, trying to think back. “I don’t think he was. I sure can’t remember seeing his face, but I was trying not to draw attention to anybody.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  A few people on the far wall suddenly started whispering to each other. Hank turned to see what they were looking at and saw Big Mike standing in the main entryway talking to Trips. He could not make out what they were saying, but Trips kept nodding his head while Big Mike spoke. After a few minutes, Big Mike patted Trips on the shoulder and headed toward Hank and Dennis.

  “Well, well, well boys, now is when the fun begins.” Big Mike said as he approached.

  “Trip to Hawaii?” Hank said.

  “Somethin’ like that.” Big Mike said with a grin. Pointing a large revolver right at Dennis, he said, “Okay ladies, we can do this easy or hard. Get to your feet.”

  Rather than delay the inevitable and cause a scene, both men spun to their knees and slowly stood. Hank was surprised how tough it was to stand up with your hands bound behind your back.