The Undead the Second Week Compilation Edition Days 8-14

by RR Haywood

  ‘Fuck it, that’s got them going,’ I say as the horde starts running towards us and I just catch a glimpse of some of them stumbling over the bodies of their fallen comrades in death.

  ‘Get going,’ there’s no need to give that order because we’re off. Jogging up the side of the café on the narrow road which starts off as a gentle slope but soon becomes a steep incline and within a couple of minutes I can feel my thighs starting to burn from the exertion.

  ‘Shitting hell,’ Nick groans with the same discomfort.

  ‘Stop moaning, it’s only a small hill,’ Lani smiles at the lads, looking fresh and unflustered she strides easily and clearly has a level of fitness like Dave who is also powering up without issue. The incline increases and the hill seems to go on forever, draining our legs and sapping vital energy. Glancing back I can see the front of the horde are nearly at the café with Darren and what looks like a beautiful woman out front.

  ‘Darren’s got a girlfriend,’ I pant with ragged breath.

  ‘Has he?’ Blowers, Nick and Cookey all twist round to look, ‘she looks crumpet,’ Blowers smirks.

  ‘FUCK YOU SMITHY,’ Cookey bellows as he sticks two fingers up. Blowers and Nick repeat the act and I turn back to see Darren running with one hand up, extending his middle finger in our direction.

  ‘Does this hill ever end,’ Nick grumbles again after a few more seconds of constant running.

  ‘Not far,’ Lani replies. We trudge up, one foot in front of the other, chests heaving and muscles straining with exertion. None of us slow down though. If we stop now we won’t be able to get going again.

  ‘Dig in,’ Clarence encourages the others, desperately willing them on despite the pain and agony, ‘keep going, not far now,’ I can see he is suffering. Maybe more than us as his thigh muscles are massive and a man of his size is not designed for rapid stamina work like this.

  Groans, growls, moans sound out between us as the bastard hill just keeps going. ‘Don’t worry about them,’ Clarence catches Steven glancing round, his face red and sweating freely, ‘just keep moving.’

  ‘Give it here,’ Dave drops back to take the axe from Nick who is clearly struggling and I watch Lani discretely moving to take the same from Cookey. He gives it up with barely a response. Dave and Lani run easily, each holding two heavy hand weapons while the rest of us feel the vomit rising in our stomachs and throats.

  ‘Almost there,’ Lani points up ahead with the giant meat cleaver which barely trembles in her grasp. Dave glances across at Lani and he looks as devoid of expression as normal I can tell from the constant time we’ve spent in each other’s company that he’s impressed. The hill continues to rise as the car park they took the van from drops further and further behind. If Lani thinks we can make it to the top she must be crazy. Then I see it. A small entrance on the right leading into a narrow lane.

  The sight of the lane gives us a final burst of speed and we reach it with our lungs gasping for more air and our legs feeling like lead. Turning into the lane I notice it’s bordered on one side by a thicket of dense trees and on the other by a high wire fence. The sudden relief of not having to power against gravity is amazing and we half run half hobble into the lane that’s only wide enough for two abreast. I drop back with Dave and Clarence and urge the rest past me, eventually bringing up the rear with Clarence at my side and Dave behind us.

  The lane twists through the trees following the high wire fence that soon gives way to a high brick wall.

  ‘Here,’ Lani shouts and stops, pointing up at the wall, ‘go over here.’

  ‘Why?’ I shout from the back.

  ‘The wall has broken glass all along the top apart from this bit here; we can go through the grounds of the nunnery and come out further along.’

  ‘Do it, quick get over,’ I shout forward and watch Clarence push the rest out of the way to reach the front. Dropping his axe he grasps Lani round the waist and launches her on to the top of the wall with ease before twisting round to grab and hoist the next one up. With Clarence throwing people, the lads scrabbling up and Dave leaping like a gazelle we get over the wall and slump down getting our breath for a few seconds.

  ‘Shotguns…get them ready,’ I gasp and stagger backwards a few steps to make sure the horde can see us through the wire fencing. I reach back and draw mine out as the front of the horde comes into view. They’re undead zombies but even they are blowing out their arses at having to charge up that bloody hill. Darren and the woman are out in front, he slows down and we lock eyes for a few seconds. On seeing me he surges forward only to be grabbed and pulled back by the woman, he turns and says something to her but she yells and pulls him back just as the horde surge past him, giving safety to them with their bodies.

  ‘YOU LOOK LIKE A TWAT IN THOSE JEANS DARREN,’ Cookey bellows to sniggers from Nick and Blowers. Tom and Steven exchange nervous glances as they hold their shotguns ready.

  ‘FUCK YOU COOKEY I’M GOING TO EAT YOUR FUCKING FACE OFF,’ Darren screams out from somewhere in the midst of his horde who are all trying to squeeze down the narrow lane.

  ‘THAT WOMAN IS FIT DARREN WHAT’S SHE DOING WITH YOU?’ Blowers yells out, ‘SEND HER OVER FIRST SHE LOOKS NICE.’

  ‘Get a few now,’ I step towards the fence and fire both barrels into the densely packed horde the other side. Loud metallic twangs sound out as the pellets strike the fence but the damage to the zombies is awesome. A second or two later and eight more shotguns fire two barrels each and we watch with unabated glee as they start dropping from the fire.

  ‘COMING OVER,’ Dave shouts a warning as the first of the horde gains the top of the wall and drops down on our side. Lani darts forward almost as quick as Dave and I watch Dave hold back at the last second and let Lani swing the cleaver round, taking the zombies head clean off its shoulders. Re-loaded we fire again into the horde as Dave yells to start moving back.

  The zombies spread further down the wall climbing onto the broken glass and dropping down with blood pumping from fresh cuts and fingers hanging off from the sharp shards.

  Dropping back steadily we re-load and help each other to shove the shotguns back into bags and I quickly glimpse the flush of excitement on Tom and Steven’s faces from what could be their first kills. The grounds slope down to a large detached house and we start jogging to gain distance as the undead breach the walls en masse. The wire fencing begins to buckle as the horde start powering against it in a synchronised effort that must be the work of Darren controlling them.

  ‘Fuck it’s a zombie nun!’ Cookey yells out with alarm. A black and white robed figure staggers into view from the side of the building. More follow until there’s a line of black and white penguin-like zombie nuns.

  ‘I’m not killing a nun,’ Blowers shouts.

  ‘It’s not a nun,’ I shout back.

  ‘Sorry Mr Howie but I can’t kill a nun.’

  ‘This way,’ Lani steers us off to the left away from the undead nuns, weaving through a collection of outbuildings and down a driveway to a set of gates that hang open. Large dried stains of blood spatter the ground, smearing the approach to the big house.

  ‘Don’t take us back up the hill,’ Nick pleads as we burst out into a quiet residential street to see the same evil incline rising off to the left.

  ‘Okay just for you,’ With a smile Lani leads us down the hill and cuts down an alley at the side of another big house. We run through perfectly manicured lawns and trample flower beds as we climb low fences and break through to a main road, again on a bloody great big hill and facing more large Victorian houses.

  ‘Every bloody street looks the same in this shitty town,’ Blowers growls looking up and down the hill. Thankfully Lani leads us down the hill this time back towards the seafront having taken us in a big loop. Still jogging but with a steadier pace we’re all sweating and flushed, apart from the two weird fitness freaks among us. As we near a junction at the bottom of the road the horde start bursting out of the gardens we’ve
just come through, staggering into the road and hardly breaking stride as they continue their hunting.

  ‘Oh my god Mr Howie!’ Cookey yells out, standing still with a terrified expression on his face. He puts his fist to his mouth and turns back quickly to glance at the horde coming after us. ‘I think we’re being chased by zombies!’ the stance he adopts with the mock expression of terror sets us off and we burst out laughing. Grinning like an idiot Cookey starts jogging again. Knackered, breathing hard, sweating, armed to the teeth and being chased by several hundred zombie creatures we crack up laughing as we run. Giggles of mirth sound out and I know it’s just the nervous excitement manifesting but it still feels good to be laughing. A little surreal but good.

  Turning into the junction Lani continues to lead us down quiet side streets and it’s not long before we start to see signs of the devastation that Darren has wrought, bringing our laughing and frivolity to an abrupt end and reminding us of how much death and suffering must have taken place just hours before. Windows and doors smashed, bodies strewn everywhere. Some are old and already decomposing, festering in the hot summer sun and writhing with the bloated fat white bodies of maggots. Some are fresh kills still with glistening injuries that hardly look human due to the amount of flesh eaten away. Entrails, organs and limbs have been hacked apart. The sour, metallic tang of filth, blood and rancid half cooked meat fills the air mixing with the smoky scent from the fires still raging nearby like the aftermath of some macabre barbeque.

  Our pace stays steady, we keep the horde a few hundred metres behind us and I only wish we had greater fire power to whittle them down as we run. The Saxon and the GPMG would make short work of this bunch and it makes me think that without weapons like that and the people that know how to utilise them this ongoing battle could be long and drawn out if we’re reduced to using things like shotguns and axes.

  Breathing gets harder and the dull aches in our legs spread as we power on. Dave orders everyone to draw water from their bags and to sip it down as we jog but not to gulp it too quickly. Helping each other we take the bottles out, squirting the gloriously cool liquid onto our faces to rinse the stinging sweat from our eyes. Even Lani is starting to look a little red in the cheeks and her beautiful silky black hair starts to stick to her glistening forehead. Tom and Steven both keep pace and look neither fresher nor more knackered than the rest.

  ‘We have to go back uphill but we can stagger it using side streets,’ Lani says her voice still strong and confident. She jogs just ahead of me and I watch her lithe athletic body running with so much grace she’s like water running down a stream. Each movement is precise but relaxed, no energy wasted, her arms stay relatively still and don’t pump away, her head stays relaxed and sways gently as she bobs along, her feet come up enough to propel her along and no more. So much like Dave and I wonder how people are made so differently. Clarence with his enormous strength and huge heart must be suffering more than any of us having to carry his weight along. He doesn’t moan once and I know that so many years in the forces must have left him with more stamina than a big guy like him would normally have. His face is set, serious and focussed. All our faces are as we start to climb another hill and have to internally change to a lower gear to keep the momentum going.

  ‘Keep going, it’s not far,’ Lani urges us on, dropping back and speaking in low tones to some of the lads, offering to take their axes but I see their stubborn pride showing and they refuse.

  ‘Go right Mr Howie,’ Lani points to another junction further up the hill and again we dig in and drive on desperate to reach the flat street. As we turn I feel a sense of victory, the worst of the pain eases off as the ground levels out and I call out encouraging everyone to keep moving and not slow down.

  ‘They’ve gained a little distance,’ Dave says loud enough for us all to hear, ‘don’t speed up lads, keep this pace,’ Dave adds at the burst of power applied at his bad news, sounding more like a drill sergeant than ever before.

  More houses with shattered doors. More broken windows. More blood. More devastation as we go deeper into this town following the route that Darren took on his quest for food. Our lives are so entwined now and I can sense him behind us, the infection or disease or whatever dirty thing that his filthy heart pumps round his body driving him on, making him think and believe that killing us is the answer to every problem he’ll ever have.

  He must realise that this is futile. That by killing and turning everyone he is eradicating his own food source which only serves to give him a finite existence.

  ‘Church or pier Mr Howie?’ Lani asks, breaking into my morbid thoughts.

  ‘Church Lani.’

  ‘Please say that’s downhill,’ Nick groans.

  ‘Left and uphill again but only for a minute or two,’ Lani turns and gives the struggling lad a huge gorgeous smile and I know it’s just what he needs and must be making him feel like he’s floating on air.

  ‘DIG IN,’ Clarence roars as we surge into yet another junction and turn to start working up the incline again. Growls come from Blowers as he lets some rage into his system, Tom looks tougher already and I can see Steven is struggling but determined. Nick worries me though, I can see he is really struggling to keep up with the relentless pace.

  ‘Give me your axe,’ I drop back and hold my arm out.

  ‘I’m okay Mr Howie,’ he pants.

  ‘Now Nick,’ I insist, a harder tone to my voice and he hands it over without question. Dave drops behind him and starts tugging his rucksack off, telling him to drop his arms down.

  ‘I’m okay,’ Nick protests again but is not left with any choice as Dave pulls the bag off and carries it one handed. Clarence drops back too, raises his water bottle over Nick’s head upends it and pours the cool liquid over his face.

  ‘Keep going Nick, you’re doing well,’ For once Dave doesn’t rely on fear but adopts a softer tone urging him on.

  ‘Go right,’ Lani yells as we gain the next junction and I could kiss her for staggering the run like this instead of just assuming we could keep up with her and run straight up this hill. Cookey starts to flag next, he reaches the junction and starts well on the flat level ground but it’s not long before I see his face grow pale with exhaustion and his steps begin to falter. Clarence notices too and drops back to grab his wrist and pull him on, yelling for someone to give him some water.

  ‘They’re gaining,’ Dave keeps his voice calm but alerts us once more to the horde behind.

  ‘We can stay flat for a while now,’ Lani keeps us going along one wide avenue until we reach a crossroads. The hotel we used the night before is just down to the left with the seafront further down the hill providing a dazzling blue backdrop to the huge fire still raging away. We go over the crossroads and into the main town area, running past deserted shops and seeing more carnage from the night before. Decaying bodies and dried blood stains are everywhere. Dave runs to Lani and hands her Nick’s bag then sprints off ahead disappearing into a shop doorway. Loud smashing sounds follow and within a few seconds he sprints back out carrying armfuls of Lucozade sports drinks. He runs back and hands them round to ragged thanks and grunts of approval. The flat Isotonic drink pumps welcome glucose into our systems, the risk of cramp is high but we need an instant energy fix more than anything or we’ll grind to a halt. Tom, Steven and Lani aren’t suffering the same as the rest of us, but then we’ve been solidly at it for the full nine days so far. Bad rest periods, sporadic food and constant movement has worn us down.

  The drinks work, revitalising us within seconds and giving us just that extra bit of energy to keep our legs moving one foot in front of the other. That and the flat ground helps us push on. My legs feel like rubber, weak and shaky. My chest is heaving and I can feel a dull ache in the back of my head. The drink is downed within seconds and I can taste the syrup on my tongue and lips. Dave sprints off ahead again and this time he powers into the main doors of a large bar which already looks wrecked and destroyed with all the win
dows smashed and bits of furniture strewn about. He’s gone longer this time and comes out just as we draw even with the building. Instead of carrying refreshing drinks he’s got armfuls of spirit bottles, each one with the top unscrewed and a torn piece of rag hanging from the neck. He drops down and uses a lighter to ignite the rags.

  ‘KEEP GOING,’ He yells as we stop to help, his powerful voice repels us away and we do as we’re told, jogging on as he picks the first bottle up and sends it high into the air. Two more are thrown before the first one impacts with a shattering whoosh and I glance back to see the liquid igniting into a thick pool of flame. Dave spot throws the bottles and creates a line of fire across the road before jogging back to us and taking Nick’s bag from Lani.

  ‘Good thinking mate,’ I pant the words out between breaths, vowing to never smoke another cigarette again. The flames won’t slow them but it will hurt a few and maybe ignite some clothes in their densely packed ranks. Through the town centre and we jog round to the left and up through the High Street. Again it starts off as a gentle incline but rapidly gets steeper until we’re at risk of failing. But each time that happens we reach another junction and turn onto level ground.

  ‘How….far?’ Nick gasps.

  ‘Just round the corner I promise Nick,’ Lani urges him on and Clarence drops back to grasp his wrist again. ‘There’s the top there,’ Lani points over the tops of the building ahead of us and sure enough we can see the top of a church tower pointing into the heavens. The sight does more than any sugary drink will ever do; it gives us hope and a visible finishing line.

  ‘Dave, Lani, we need to make sure we can go straight in,’ I shout out.

  ‘Let me take Nick’s bag,’ Tom holds his hand out as Dave passes it over and I can see the young policeman still has energy left in his system. Lani passes me Nick’s axe and they race off side by side. The young Thai woman easily keeping pace with the ex-special forces soldier.