The Undead the Second Week Compilation Edition Days 8-14

by RR Haywood

  ‘Back to the middle quick,’ he mutters urgently. We jog back to find Clarence and the other two coming out of their corridor.

  ‘Did you see them?’ Clarence asks with concern.

  ‘I did, look down there,’ Dave replies pointing out of the window down to the street.

  ‘He’s fucking trapped us,’ I say in shock at the sight of zombies shuffling across the road towards the hotel.

  ‘There’s fucking loads of them,’ Blowers says through gritted teeth.

  ‘Shit…here they go,’ I murmur needlessly. We can all see they’ve frozen on the spot with heads turned up to the now darkened sky. The howling splits the night air and we freeze as the unmistakeable sound is echoed from deep within the hotel. There are several of them by the sounds of it, but the noises from outside and the old fashioned layout of the building make it impossible to pinpoint the exact direction of the sounds. My heart rate increases and I feel a surge of adrenalin coursing through me; that all too familiar sensation I get before a fight commences. Staring back outside I see Darren standing in the road roaring into the air, he stops and looks up at us. Without thinking I draw my pistol and fire through the window, just missing as he ducks down out of sight. I know what I’ve done as soon as I pull the trigger.

  ‘Fuck it, I’m so sorry,’ I apologise, knowing the shot will bring them all in our direction.

  ‘Forget it, I was going for mine too,’ Clarence rumbles.

  ‘Me too,’ Nick adds.

  ‘My fault for leading you in here,’ Dave says flatly.

  ‘You didn’t, I did, and you said he could have gone over the wall or round the other side,’ I reply. All of us try to make each other feel better.

  ‘Well, I blame Cookey,’ Blowers says, I can’t help but chuckle quietly.

  ‘Cookey, this is your fault,’ I say to him.

  ‘Sorry Mr Howie, it won’t happen again,’ Cookey replies quickly.

  ‘Yes well I am making a note of it for your yearly appraisal,’ I say in a mock officious tone, ‘well I guess we’d better find somewhere to hold up.’

  ‘Top floor?, at least we get a nice view then’ Clarence suggests.

  ‘Why not, top floor it is.’ Dave takes point and we follow him up the spiral staircase. Going slower now because of the dark. Bangs and scrapes sound out all over the building and my already strained nerves are straining even more than normal.

  Second floor and Dave pauses, staring hard at the entrance to the darkened corridor. Just before I hear the fast footsteps he’s already away, running to the entrance and stepping to the side just as a naked undead comes flying out of the shadows, his teeth already bared. Dave steps up behind him and slices through his neck with ease. The undead goes down noisily, crashing down the stairs and tumbling to the floor below.

  ‘Stop staring at his arse Cookey,’ Blowers remarks as the almost decapitated corpse tumbles past them.

  We follow Dave up the stairs, going faster now. Clarence at the back. I hear footsteps and a low growl and turn to see an undead running up the stairs at us. Clarence holds for a second then steps in, sweeping his axe round and driving the undead over the low wall and crashing down into the chandelier on the ground level. I lean over and catch a glimpse of many figures running across the lobby towards the base of the stairs. The moonlight shining on their pale skin.

  ‘Fucking shift it, loads of them coming,’ I say loudly. Dave increases his pace with us following in his wake. We reach the third floor landing as an undead comes out of the corridor, Dave doesn’t even break his stride. Lashing out with one blade to sever through the throat and kicking the zombie back down the corridor. A dark spray of blood arcs into the air as he falls.

  ‘I’m not built for running,’ Clarence rumbles behind me, his breathing sounding laboured.

  ‘Almost there,’ Dave calls back.

  At the top I can see the landing is well illuminated from the unobstructed moon shining through the windows.

  ‘Hold here, Blowers and Cookey you take the left corridor. Nick and Dave take the right. Clarence; you and me will take the top of the stairs.’ They shout affirmations back at me.

  ‘Use the shotguns down the corridor, one fires and one loads,’ Dave calls out, heading over to his corridor entrance with Nick. I drop my bag on the floor quickly pulling the shotgun and cartridges out while Clarence covers me. I finish and take over, holding central position and listening to them thundering up the stairs. Low growls, groans and snarls rise up ahead of them adding to the already terrifying atmosphere.

  ‘CONTACT,’ Blowers shouts before unloading both barrels down the corridor, the sound is immense and booms out into the quiet building.

  The first undead turns the corner of the curved staircase, his rotting face glinting in the pale moonlight. He snarls and bursts towards me with a fresh surge of energy then loses his head as I swing out and take him clean through the neck. I shove out with my foot and send his cadaver thumping down the stairs, his body crashing into the undead following in his wake, knocking them flying to both sides like bowling pins. Clarence joins me and I move over so we have an equal share at the top of the staircase. Shots indicate they’re attacking in the corridors at the same time as the staircase. More reach the top and Clarence and I both swing out, striking into them and chopping through their bones like a hot knife through butter. Our axes almost clash as we swing, the long handles proving to be unwieldy for two men standing so close together.

  ‘KEEP GOING,’ stepping back I shout at Clarence, he shifts position to stand in the centre, already making use of the increased space and taking wider swings with his axe. I drop my axe and take up both shotguns. Leaning over the banister I point the shotguns, one in each hand down at the staircase. Four shots is all I have and I take them quickly, each one booming out in quick succession.

  The effect is awesome, the reduced length of the barrel means the pellets spread out quickly and from this range the zombies are cut to pieces. Firing down onto them also means the pellets strike their heads first, exploding skulls and smashing brains apart. The bodies fall back down the stairs, straight into the path of the zombies still coming up. They stagger over their fallen undead while I drop down and break each gun to re-load the four barrels, snapping them back together and leaning over to fire again.

  A few get through and are quickly sent packing by Clarence’s almighty swings. I glance up while reloading and see him take a massive upper cut, driving the blade into the groin and nearly splitting the body in half through to the shoulders, he roars as he pulls the axe back out and swings again. Steady shots from both sides of me indicate they are getting multiple contacts from the corridors too

  ‘There’s too many,’ Blowers shouts loudly. I stand up, snapping both my guns shut and run towards them, diving down to stretch both hands through the gap between their legs. I unload the four barrels down the corridor and see the thick oncoming horde being blasted backwards. I shuffle out and move back to the bags, re-loading the shotguns as fast as my hands will allow.

  ‘Dave are you clear down there?’ I shout over.

  ‘We can be do you want it cleared?’ He yells back.

  ‘The other corridors thick with ‘em, we need to move out.’

  ‘Got it, hold your fire Nick.’ Glancing up I see Dave drop his shotgun and draw his knives before running into the corridor. Thumps and bangs mark his progress as he slaughters undead with graceful ease. Nick stands there holding his shotgun, his mouth hanging open.

  ‘Nick, support the other side,’ I shout, he snaps to attention and runs over to help Blowers and Cookey. I lean over the wall just in time to see the stairs are thick with undead and Clarence struggling to hold them from gaining the top. I unload the barrels into them and watch with satisfaction as many are blown away, but it’s not enough and they are quickly replaced with more growling snarling beasts.

  ‘DAVE ARE YOU CLEAR?’ I shout.

  ‘CLEAR,’ he yells back.

  ‘FALL BACK TO DAV
E’S CORRIDOR.’ I shout, after re-loading both shotguns. Clarence turns and scoops up both our bags then, brandishing the axe with one hand, he takes another mighty sweep through the heads of the front row of zombies, cleaving their skulls open. I drop back to the corridor and turn to face out.

  ‘NOW,’ I bellow. Blowers, Cookey and Nick all turn to run past me. Clarence roars as he takes another sweep then quickly backs away, going into the corridor. I aim one shotgun at the staircase and the other at the mouth of the other corridor. Pausing just long enough for them to come through. I fire both guns with both barrels and snarl with satisfaction as I see them blown backwards.

  ‘FALL BACK,’ Dave shouts behind me. I move into the corridor and run down a few metres. Clarence is now at the front, giving protection from anything coming up. Dave fires his shotgun, one barrel in each direction. Blowers steps in front of him and repeats the action, followed by Nick and Cookey.

  ‘FIND A CLEAR ROOM,’ Dave yells. I’ve just re-loaded both my guns and I push the closest door open. Luckily the door swings straight into the male zombie standing behind it, causing him to stagger back slightly. I fire one barrel into his face and pull the door closed before moving down the corridor to try the next one. This time I kick the door open and see two undead inside. They get the remaining three barrels and the faded floral wallpaper is freshly layered with zombie gore. The door is pulled closed and I drop down to quickly re-load the shotguns. Clarence roars and I glance up to see him standing at the end of the corridor, chopping undead down as they surge from another staircase. Constant shots from the other end tell me they’re still busy too. With both guns re-loaded I try the next door. Nothing apparent so I enter the large room. An old bed frame, side cabinets and a dressing table. Two doors in the wall. I kick the first one open and step back, bathroom; all clear. The second door leads to an adjoining room. Also clear. I head back to the corridor and deliver the news at the top of my voice.

  ‘COVER ME,’ Clarence shouts. I move in his direction while he backs towards me. We pass each other and I fire two barrels at the advancing undead while moving backwards. Dave orders the others to drop back while he covers them. Blowers, Cookey and Nick move down the corridor and enter the room. I pause in the doorway watching Clarence run into the adjoining room and lug the old bed frame across to the external door, wedging it tight. A quick check down the corridor reveals more undead coming towards me. I fire down at them and remember Chris’s words about how devastating these weapons are at close range.

  ‘CLEAR,’ Clarence shouts.

  ‘DAVE FALL BACK,’ I yell out as Nick joins me in the corridor, firing his now re-loaded shotgun into the horde. Dave drops back quickly and chucks his shotgun into the room before shoving a flashlight into his mouth and drawing his knives. He runs back up the corridor before I can say anything and commences a thirty second killing spree, the torch light dancing about as he spins, drops and leaps in the darkened corridor. Blowers and Cookey step out, see Dave and turn to fire their weapons down the corridor. The light dances down towards us as Dave runs back, removing the flashlight from his mouth as he enters the room.

  ‘Better now?’ I ask him pointedly.

  ‘Much better thank you,’ he smiles back at me as Blowers slams the door shut. We quickly push the old furniture against the door. Me, Dave and Nick in this room and the other three in the adjoining room. We all step back at the same time, staring at each other through the connecting door, chests heaving and smiling like idiots.

  ‘Fuck me, that was intense,’ Blowers mutters.

  ‘We’re in a hotel, not tents,’ Nick quips back.

  ‘Very funny captain Blackbeard, what now?’ Blowers asks.

  ‘Eat, drink and be merry,’ Clarence calls from the other room, ‘for tonight we fight,’ he makes his voice even deeper than normal, sounding like a Hollywood voice over man. The guns are re-loaded quickly, and we take the opportunity to do as Clarence jokingly suggested. We drink water and eat food taken from the stores back in the fort and use anti-bacterial wet wipes to clean ourselves down. Thumps and bangs come from behind both doors but the furniture is wedged in tight and it will take them a while to beat their way through.

  ‘Nice view,’ Cookey remarks, finding the balcony door and looking down the hill at the sea.

  ‘Have you seen more naked men?’ Blowers asks.

  ‘Fuck you Blowers, but shit…take a look at that lot.’ We join him out on the balcony and look down to see the hotel is surrounded by thick crowds of zombies.

  ‘Stitched up like a kipper,’ I mutter.

  ‘What?’ Dave asks.

  ‘It’s a saying,’ I answer him.

  ‘Oh, do kippers get stitched up then?’

  ‘I don’t know, do they?’ I ask to shakes of heads and shrugs of shoulders. Looking down the hill I can see the inky black of the water, but where this would have once been clearly defined by the lights of the mainland, it’s now completely black. The only lights are the flashing green and red buoys in the sea. Staring down at the zombies surrounding us, a thought process forms in my mind.

  ‘They must be locked out,’ the others look at me, ‘this hotel is huge and they could easily fit inside.’

  ‘Good spot,’ Clarence says, ‘that means we’ve got a finite amount in here with us.’

  ‘If I’m right,’ I reply quickly.

  ‘I think you are,’ Dave says, ‘they’re not going anywhere, just waiting,’ he nods down at the ground as he speaks.

  ‘So Smithy did trap us then,’ Nick says, giving voice to all our thoughts, ‘he put them zombies in the rooms, led us up here, let more in and then shut the doors so we can’t get out.’

  ‘Clever fucker,’ I murmur, ‘I bet he’s nearby watching.’

  ‘Or he’s done it to buy time so he can find our group before we do,’ Dave adds.

  ‘If we’ve got no idea where they went, how will he know?’ Cookey asks.

  ‘But if he’s got control over the other zombies, couldn’t he tap into what they’ve seen or heard? Maybe some of them saw our group moving about,’ Nick says.

  ‘Why set the trap for us then, if he knew where they were? He could have taken this lot and gone straight for them, like he did with us in the fort,’ I say.

  ‘So he set the trap for us to buy himself time to find them?’ Nick asks.

  ‘Most likely,’ Dave answers and coming from him we accept the glimmer of hope that Darren hasn’t figured out where they are yet.

  ‘Options? We fight our way out, but that means taking on that lot in the corridor and then those outside, and any others we find on the streets. Or we try and sit it out for a few hours.’

  ‘I think we should wait Mr Howie,’ Dave says firmly, ‘If Darren knew where they were then he wouldn’t have set this trap. He would have gone for them straight away and not wasted resources by throwing this lot against us. We could fight our way out easily enough but then we’d be running and fighting all night.’

  ‘Everyone agreed?’ Nods all round, ‘right, we’ll do that. Sit and rest until either those doors give or daylight comes…whichever is sooner.

  Ten

  This feels wonderful. Completely wonderful. The world has gone to rat shit and everyone is either turned into a zombie or is hiding away with their heads under the bed sheets. Not me though. Not now. I can walk these streets with impunity. Nothing can touch me now. I’ve no doubt that Howie and that cuntrunt Dave could fight their way out of the hotel, but that would leave them stranded on the streets in a strange place with no idea where to go and the area crawling with my charged up lovelies. No, they’ll stay there, tucked up safe and sound. Buying me a few hours of darkness to figure out where those fucking piggies went. Walking along a side street I come out into the town centre, another steep hill but this one full of shops and pubs. The pier is at the bottom of this street and the whole area is covered with bodies. Stacks of bodies. There’s loads of pubs here so I figure that the town must have been packed when it all started. S
eeing the bodies rotting on the street makes me tut, what a waste of perfectly good bodies that I could have used.

  The smell of death is different to that of my brothers and sisters. Sure, they smell rotten and rancid, but not dead. The difference is clearly distinct. Still, the stench doesn’t bother me, it’s quite nice really. The weather is warm, Howie and his cunts are having a stressful time and I’m wandering the streets hunting for his little bumchums.

  Thanks to fuckwit Howie giving the game away, I can safely assume he did send them over here. The speed in which they got over the water tells me they’re worried. But also that they don’t know where they went either. Otherwise they wouldn’t be charging around after me and stopping to have a scrap. So they don’t know where they went and I don’t know where they went, so where did they go? There must have been quite a few of them so they would need somewhere big enough to hide away. Why doesn’t Howie know where they are though? He must have figured we’d get the information if we caught them, or tap into their cerebral knowledge with our amazing zombie powers. Fuck I wish I had those powers back. That old boy was connected to me, it must have been because I bit him. I need to find some more survivors so I can bite them and have them under my control too.

  The cellar under the hotel, that’s full of stupid panicking survivors. But all my babies are busy and it would mean doing it all myself. Still, it’s only just got dark and I’ve got a few hours to kill, Ha hours to kill! I make myself laugh. Fucking cunts, hiding away while I’m up here doing all the work, struggling and for what? What I ask you? For nothing. That’s what. Fucking wankers, they deserve to die. Sitting down there eating shit and drinking piss and making that old man come out on his own. Fucking cowards, I saw them throw him out. Poor old boy was terrified too. Yeah, they should suffer. There’s a big pub here with large plate glass windows. One of them modern things that doesn’t play music but where everyone sits down pretending to be smart and clever. Fuckwits, fucking fuckwits.