The Undead the Second Week Compilation Edition Days 8-14

by RR Haywood

  ‘Fucking look at them two…’ Cookey gasps. We urge, cajole, threaten and push each other on. Not one of us could have done this run on our own. The mental anguish would have been too great but together we’ve just about achieved it. Behind us the horde gain with every junction we pass. The church is dead ahead of us now. A massive structure just as Lani described with high narrow stained glass windows and a huge single tower that gradually thins to a sharp point at the very pinnacle.

  ‘Lads,’ I take a deep breath and judge that we’ve only got a couple of hundred metres left to go, ‘we need to sprint…NOW….MOVE…NOW…’ Clarence takes the order up and repeats it in his loud deep voice. With nothing left but pure spit we lengthen our strides and sprint it out. For the first few seconds it actually feels nicer to be moving at a different pace and the longer strides seem to stretch out sore thigh and calf muscles but that’s it. Those few seconds. After that it’s utter hell and quite possibly one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life.

  But, we do it. We reach the church and the low wall running round it. Dave is off to the left waving us to follow him. We turn and head in his direction and he leads us down a side path to a surprisingly well built annexe. I was expecting a cheap structure cobbled together from the hard pressed church funds but this has been made with decent stone and strong modern windows. We go round to the back and into an open rear door. I have no idea who or how they got this open and I don’t have the breath to ask right now. One by one we run inside and Dave slams the door shut then starts gathering furniture to stack against the inside of it. Creating a barricade behind us.

  Rage fuels us and with grunts of animal anger we grab bookcases, desks, chairs and anything else we can find and ram them high and deep against the wall.

  ‘Shutters,’ Lani says and I glance round to see the inside of the windows have wooden shutters. They are more decorative than anything but they’ll slow the horde down and we spin round the large room closing them to and snapping the thin locks down.

  A door opens into an office, through which is a thicker door leading to the church. Dripping sweat and swearing like the soldiers they are, Cookey and Blowers ransack the room in seconds until one of them is holding a big old-looking key up and shouting in triumph.

  The key fits the door and it swings outwards, giving us the blessing we need as it means they won’t be able to smash it in so quickly. The door is solid and would once have been the churches main rear door. We go through into the cool dark interior, our breathing and heavy footsteps echoing round the high room.

  Dave gets the door closed, uses the key to lock it and slams thick bolts home at the top and bottom. We start towards the back looking for the main doorway that Lani mentioned but Dave waves us down, telling us to get our breath while Lani shows him the door which is further back along the church and off to one side.

  ‘Two thick wooden doors, they’ll hold for a while,’ Dave calls out. I nod back from my position of bent almost double, my chest still heaving. The sweat pours off my forehead, big drops continually falling to a puddle at my feet.

  ‘Water,’ I shrug my bag down and take a bottle out, nodding and motioning for the others to do the same. They need little prompting and we gulp the liquid down quickly. Second bottles are opened then drained just as swiftly. Dave passes us on his inspection tour en route to the front where the vicar or priest or head god man would normally stand. He opens another door and slips out of view, returning a minute later.

  ‘The tower entrance is through here, there’s a toilet with running water too,’ he calls across.

  ‘Lads, get the bottles re-filled we could be here a while,’ they scoop down to pick their bags up and head through the door. Muffled bangs suddenly sound out from the annexe then after a couple of minutes we hear more bangs on the main doors and the noise of glass windows being smashed. Looking up I see the windows of the church are not as narrow as I hoped but they are high up, depicting glorious images of saints bathed in golden light, crosses casting vibrant shadows and one that appears to show God bearing down on a demon like creature.

  ‘Very apt,’ I mutter and note that the window panes are lead lined. They’ll take some damage to beat them out and make a hole big enough for a man.

  ‘Good choice,’ I shout to Lani as she appears from the door leading to the tower. She’s used the running water to soak her hair and face and I watch as she steps through, pulling her wet shining hair back into a ponytail. The front of her top is drenched and clings to her frame. I glance away quickly hoping and praying she didn’t notice me looking at her in that way.

  ‘Thanks Mr Howie,’ she replies and walks over to stand next to me, ‘glad you let me come along then?’

  ‘Very,’ I smile at her and quickly look away again as she stares back holding eye contact.

  ‘I’m er…I’ll go and get some more water,’ l can’t believe that after running like that and everything that’s happened I still get nervous around pretty girls, especially when they’re wearing soaking wet tops and sexily pulling their hair back like that. Going through the door I see yet another solid wooden door propped open and thick stone steps leading away into the gloom. That must be the tower. A single bolt is on the inside but it will be enough to slow them down and we can do a fighting retreat. Buying time, that’s all this is.

  In the toilet I see the lads have stripped their tops off and are noisily splashing water over their bodies and holding their steaming heads under the running water, giving appreciative groans of pleasure. They make way as Dave and I enter and like them we strip, dunk our heads under and gasp as the beautifully cold water hits the backs of our necks. I soak my top in the running water and use it to wash the sweat away from my upper body. Clarence stands at the end wash basin bent over and keeps his huge bald head under the running water for long minutes.

  I gulp the water down and keep going until I feel full knowing I’ll be pissing every few minutes for the rest of the night. As I lift my head I catch my reflection for the first time in what feels like years. I’m not me anymore. Some bloke with a dark beard and curly dark hair stares back from the mirror. He looks tanned and any trace of fat he once had on his face is gone.

  I find a dry top in my bag and quickly pull it down over my head and tuck it into my trousers, remembering Dave doing this very same thing back in the supermarket when we met. Was it really only nine days ago?

  ‘Ready?’ the lads nod back, looking fresher and revitalised. We head back out into the main church room and hear loud bangs coming from all around us. Echoing off the big empty room. Groans sound out every few seconds and I look up at the darkening windows knowing that night can’t be that far away.

  We walk up towards the back of the church and peer into the recessed doorway. Two thick wooden doors are locked and bolted shut.

  ‘It’s too wide; if they break through together we won’t be able to hold them. Grab some of these pews and shove ‘em in there.’ Easier said than done Howie. The long pew benches weigh a ton and it takes three of us per pew to manhandle it into the doorway. Apart from Clarence who drags one along on his own, scoring deep scratches into the ground from the end left on the floor.

  ‘Get some more and turn them round to make them like hurdles. It’ll slow them down and give us a chance to get a few shots in before we get through that door to the tower.’ Again we pull more pews over and stagger them in lines going away from the door and leaving just enough room to squeeze through.

  ‘Right, Blowers and Tom you stay close to that back door, Cookey, Nick and Steven you stay close to this door and try to rest. Get your shotguns ready and make sure you have cartridges to hand so you can re-load quickly,’ the last bit is said more for the benefit of Tom, Steven and Lani but I know the others will keep a close eye on them.

  ‘Fuck me Dave, that was evil,’ I mutter as the lads start to sort through their bags and get their weapons ready.

  ‘What was?’

  ‘That bloody run! What did you
think I meant?’

  ‘Oh that, yeah it was quite long.’

  ‘Quite long he says…’

  ‘You did well though Mr Howie.’

  ‘Thanks mate, the lads did well and that Lani is bloody fit.’ He looks at me with that gleam in his eye that I’ve come to know so well.

  ‘I meant fit as in running and stuff…’

  ‘Yes Mr Howie.’

  ‘Dave, I didn’t mean it like I thought she’s fit like hot or something.’

  ‘Okay Mr Howie…is she not pretty then?’

  ‘Fuck me Dave, are you asking my opinion on a woman?’ I reply shocked.

  ‘No Mr Howie.’

  ‘You just did.’

  ‘I was asking your view Mr Howie.’

  ‘That’s the same thing Dave.’

  ‘Is it? Oh okay Mr Howie.’

  ‘Well I guess we just wait now. I might have a cigarette…don’t look at me like that Dave…’

  Fourteen

  ‘Why didn’t you make them go faster?’ Marcy demands as I stare up at the church looming above us and watch my babies probing the outside and looking for weaknesses.

  ‘Because they still need air and blood the same as them…’ I point to the church, ‘and the same as you and I. Just because they’re zombies doesn’t make them fucking Olympic athletes Marcy.’

  ‘Don’t swear at me Darren.’

  ‘I wasn’t swearing at you my love I was swearing in conversation.’

  ‘So that’s Howie with the beard and the dark hair?’

  ‘Yeah why? Fuck me Marcy you’re always talking about him.’

  ‘No I’m not Darren I was just asking. The small one was Dave, the big one Clarence who were the rest then? And who was that woman?’

  ‘Three of them were Blowers, Cookey and Nick. They’re the ones that shouted at us and said you were fit,’ she gives a big grin at that, just like she did when she heard them shouting for me to send her over first back in that lane, ‘I don’t know who the others are.’

  ‘That girl was pretty,’ she muses.

  ‘She was,’ I reply and catch a sharp look from her, ‘what? You were grinning when they said you looked fit.’

  ‘That’s different Darren.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Because I’m still a woman and any woman likes to be complimented.’

  ‘Yeah well…double standards if you ask me.’

  ‘It’s a good job I’m not asking you then isn’t it,’ she smiles acidly, ‘so what now?’

  ‘Wait for night, they’ll get all powered up when it gets dark and we can start sending them in.’

  ‘Right we need a plan, there are two ways in; one through those big doors and the other through that side building. I suggest we split them up and send one group in through the back, another attacking the main doors and some more smashing those big windows to see if we can get through there.’ She stands with her hands on her hips looking like a sultry army general ordering troops into battle. ‘What do you think?’ She turns to face me.

  ‘Well…’

  ‘And once we’ve got an entry opened up we go back to the original plan and send the group one in first and then the rest as we discussed,’ she cuts me off having clearly made her mind up.

  ‘Did you hear what they said about my jeans,’ I remember the insults and it’s only now that we’ve had the time and the breath to mention it. ‘I told you I looked stupid.’

  ‘They’re just jealous, what about the plan?’

  ‘I felt stupid,’ I mutter.

  ‘Oh baby, don’t look like that. They were just being mean for the sake of it. You look really nice dressed like that.’

  ‘Do you think so?’

  ‘Of course my baby Darren sweetie! Those nasty boys were just trying to upset you… come here and have a bite of my neck and feel all better,’ she rubs my back as I nuzzle away and draw some refreshing blood down, ‘there…that’s better isn’t it,’ she says soothingly. I nod back and she wipes the blood from the corner of my mouth. ‘Don’t worry, you will have the last laugh when we get in there and eat them.’

  ‘Okay baby,’ I reply feeling better but still feeling stupid dressed in these stupid clothes.

  ‘Now about the plan my sweetie, what do you think?’ She smiles up at me and holds my hands in hers.

  ‘It’s a good plan baby.’

  ‘Really?’ She smiles, ‘do you think so?’

  ‘I think it’s a great plan Marcy,’ I nod and she grins proudly before turning back to watch the church.

  ‘Okay my lover, can you split them up for me and send them where we said.’

  ‘Okay baby,’ she gives a little clap of joy as the horde suddenly stop moving freely and start responding to the control given from my mind. One group start towards the big doors. Another start towards the annexe and the last lot I get mooching round for rocks, stones and anything that can be thrown to start breaking the windows.

  ‘Oh we’re so clever,’ she claps excitedly again at the sight of our babies working to the plan she devised, ‘You and I Darren my baby are destined for big things,’ she throws her arms around me and slathers me in kisses before dropping her head down to bite into my neck and give herself some nourishment.

  Tonight Howie. Tonight will be your last night on this earth so make the most of it you fucking little prick.

  Fifteen

  Daylight fades and the interior of the church grows gloomier and darker by the second. Stacks of candles are discovered in a big box at the back the church and these get handed round with strict instruction to make sure they don’t fall over and set fire to anything, seeing as we’re now effectively trapped.

  ‘Also, if we start retreating then snuff ‘em out as you fall back,’ I call out and get a series of responses. With the candles lit the inside becomes soft and inviting. The stained glass windows reflect the flicker of the naked flames casting a warm orangey glow over everything. The general noise from outside suddenly ceases and the silence that follows becomes oppressive. All of us are waiting to see what happens next. What does happen is that the horde become directed and concentrated with two distinct attacks taking place. One at the main set of doors and, judging from the muffled sounds in that direction, the other from the annexe

  ‘He’s split them into teams,’ Clarence says quietly looking first at the annexe door we came through then back to the main doors. Cooled off and re-hydrated we’re left feeling a bit shaky and very drained from the massive expenditure of energy and excitement. Our breathing has become steadier and I can feel a sense of weariness starting to descend. Cigarettes are lit and I wonder when anyone was last allowed to smoke in here.

  ‘How long will it take for them to get in?’ Lani asks standing close to me and holding her shotgun one handed down at her side.

  ‘Not long, it’ll be night any minute and they’ll get frenzied.’

  ‘Once they get through we fall back to the tower and try to hold them off?’

  ‘Yep, we’ll get as many as we can. Try and reduce the numbers but ultimately it’s about keeping them focussed and busy, letting Darren think he’s got a chance of getting us otherwise there’s a risk he’ll move off to try and target our group.’

  ‘Why isn’t he doing that now? He could split his zombies and have some here and some going for the others, or just go for the others and leave us here.’

  ‘I don’t think he’ll be able to control them so well if he splits them like that, also he knows that if he moves away from here we’ll go after him and pick his horde off as they fall back, we are the primary objective I’m afraid.’

  ‘But why? Why go after you so much? I get that there’s history and stuff but if he left you alone you’d go back to your fort and he could do what he wants.’

  ‘I don’t know…he must be obsessed.’

  ‘He knows we’ll come after him,’ Dave adds in a quiet voice, ‘and kill every one of those things in the process.’

  ‘Really? Would you do that if you
had the choice to just live safely?’

  ‘Yes we would because we wouldn’t be living safely. It would only be a matter of time before he comes back and tries again. We’ve got no idea how long those things can last for, shit it could be years if they get enough nutrition to keep them going,’ I reply.

  ‘Or just a couple of weeks,’ she says hopefully, ‘if they’re dead and their bodies are slowly dying then it can only be a matter of time. They don’t eat and even if they could eat humans it wouldn’t be enough to keep them going surely. Some of them look like they’re falling apart.’

  ‘That reminds me, Dave did you see the state of the zombies at the front of the horde?’

  ‘I did Mr Howie. I think he’s putting the worse ones at the front and keeping the others back.’

  ‘He’s doing what?’ Nick calls across.

  ‘You must have seen the state of those zombies at the front, they were falling apart. It looks like Darren is keeping the best ones for last.’

  ‘What an utter cunt…sorry Lani,’ Cookey spits.

  ‘I’ve heard worse,’ she replies.

  ‘Oh here we go. Make ready,’ I call out as all noise from outside ends. We all know what’s about to happen but knowing it doesn’t make it any less scary. And standing in an old church with hundreds of those things outside just increases the tension. Long seconds go by with nothing, no noise, no sounds apart from our breathing and thumping hearts. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and then it hits.

  Hundreds of voices bursting out as one. Howling into the night sky. Filling the air with horrendous screaming roars that send a shiver down my spine. The sound isn’t human and it stands as testament to the sheer threat of what we’re facing. Hundreds and hundreds of guttural voices going as loud as they can. High pitched, low pitched and every pitch in between but they’re combined and synchronised and truly, utterly terrifying. Lani steps closer to me but she looks as poker faced as Dave. All of us stare round at the walls and I feel my skin crawling as the howls continue.