by RR Haywood
They charge again and so we do. Just me and the dog hacking them to bits. She senses my movements and works to protect my sides as I swipe out. Together we hold them off, bodies dropping, limbs severed to fall with an unheard thump onto the ground. Glancing back I see the Saxon almost upright with the front high in the air. The rear wheels drive into the bodies, churning them up and spraying bloody gore like mud puddles. Like a beast it rocks and bounces as Clarence refuses to give in. He knows the limits of the vehicle and pushes it harder. Dave spins round, unable to fire forward so he shoots over my head deep into the ranks coming at us.
With Meredith savaging them, my axe chopping and Dave firing we clear the space. Meredith doesn't try to run forward but stays next to me.
A loud thump and the Saxon reaches the apex of the bodies, tilting over as the front drops quickly. The weight of the vehicle condenses the bodies, forcing them into the ground and the front wheels drop to find purchase and grip like hell to drag the back end free.
‘NOW,’ Dave shouts. I grab the dog’s collar and start running for the back. She gets the idea and bounds ahead of me, her agile body using the corpses as stepping stones to leap up into the rear of the Saxon as it drops back down.
I’m not so agile and slip, slide, trip and curse my way over them. I throw my axe in and go to jump but slip down to land amongst the bloody cadavers, one hand plunging into a chest cavity and I can feel the warm gooey insides squelching between my fingers.
Back up and I keep going, hands reach out and grab my arms heaving me into the back where I land on my back grinning like an idiot at Lani standing over me with a face like thunder.
‘What the hell?’ She shouts, ‘you happy now?’
‘Yeah,’ I laugh, ‘much better.’
Bouncing back down the hill of bodies and Dave spins to start firing at the front again as Clarence picks the speed up to use the solid metal front as a battering ram.
Suddenly they break apart and dive to the sides giving us an empty road which he makes full use off to accelerate us out of danger.
‘Round one to us you fuckers,’ Cookey stands near the back doors showing them a finger, ‘hear that? Round one to us.’
Clarence gets us out of the lane back onto the coastal road, slowing down a little once we’re fully clear with a good distance from them.
‘Good girl,’ I laugh as Meredith sticks her nose in my face, licking my ears and neck as her tail wags excitedly. I ruffle her neck and stroke her head and she drops down to rest her front paws on my chest.
‘We fucked ‘em off didn’t we girl…yes we did…yes we did!’ She barks high pitched with the speed of her tail threatening to spin away any second.
‘She’s a good girl!’ Nick drops down to rub her back and with two of us giving her a good fuss she gets even more excited with a look of pure bliss on her face and bloodied chops.
‘That was bloody good thinking Nick, well done mate.’
‘Cheers boss,’ he replies quietly.
‘Fuck that,’ Cookey exclaims, ‘that was fucking awesome…can we go back and go over them again…’
‘We only just made it that time,’ Clarence rumbles, ‘did you see that tactic? That was incredible.’
‘Pull up a minute mate,’ I shout out, waiting for the vehicle to come to a stop before I push the dog off and slide out the back. Grabbing water bottles I start sluicing the gore from my arms and hands as Nick starts washing Meredith’s face and paws.
‘You alright Mr Howie?’ Dave drops down from the top, then down onto the road, taking a bottle to swig from.
‘Yes mate, what was that?’ I ask, still flushed from fighting.
‘That’s what I was just saying,’ Clarence walks round, ‘they were trying to ground the vehicle…clever fuckers.’
‘Almost did it too,’ I reply, ‘good driving though, you got us clear.’
‘Only just, for a second I thought we we’re gonna be stuck up there.’
‘Why did they pull back?’ Lani asks, ‘they just stopped and let us out.’
‘Cos they lost,’ I shrug, ‘like Cookey said, round one to us.’
‘You think so?’ She asks, ‘what so…like they were losing too many so they dropped back? That’s smart,’ she shakes her head, ‘too smart.’
‘Evolving,’ Dave says.
‘We need to get to that town, they don’t know the hordes have split,’ I say quickly.
‘Come here,’ Lani grabs a bottle to pour on my hands, using her own to wash the bits of gore off. Then grabbing a pack of anti-bacterial wipes she starts on my face, roughly swiping at my skin as I yelp and try to duck, ‘stay still, you’re covered in it,’ she smiles, ‘and what was that?’
‘What?’ I ask innocently.
‘That?’ She asks, ‘charging out on your own.’
‘I wasn’t on my own, Meredith was there.’
She grins and softens the swipes, rubbing more gently as she works to clear the gunk from my cheeks then my neck, ‘well, just tell me next time so I can go with you,’ she adds softly.
‘Will do,’ I grin as we lock eyes for a second until Clarence coughs pointedly.
‘The hordes?’ He prompts.
‘Eh? Right yeah…the town…let’s go, it’s getting dark already.’
‘You can have your car back,’ he grins ruefully, ‘I think that’s put me off driving for life.’
Thirty Five
‘Maddox, it’s Jagger bruv, they coming down that road.’
‘Yeah Jagger it’s Maddox, you on the roof?’
‘Yeah bruv, I can just see ‘em.’
‘Is Howie at the front?’
‘Nah bruv, I swear down I can’t see him.’
‘Did you hear that?’ Maddox asks Paula stood next to him, the sudden look of worry on her face tells him she did hear it.
‘Look for muzzle flashes,’ Roy speaks up, ‘can he see muzzle flashes?’
‘Jagger you see any muzzle flashes bro?’
‘No Mads, don’t see nuffin’, just them.’
‘We’d hear the guns if they were firing,’ Paula says, ‘it’s so quiet we’d hear them a mile off.’
‘Summin gone wrong then,’ Darius adds, ‘he should be at the front shouldn’t he?’
‘POSITIONS,’ Maddox shouts, ‘they’s comin but Jagger can’t see Howie or his vehicle, we stick to the plan you get me?’
‘Mads, there’s two loads coming, one on the road and the other coming into that open land where the kids play park is.’
‘That’s okay,’ Paula says quickly, ‘they have to converge at this point.’
‘Unless they work round the back or try and come in from the sides,’ Roy says, ‘or worse they go right round and come in from the other end…it’s too dark here, we need to give them something to aim for…’
‘Make some noise,’ Maddox shouts, ‘COME ON YOU FUCKERS,’ he roars into the air, waving his arms to get everyone else to join in. The youths need no further persuasion as they give voice, screaming abuse and insults in a cacophony of noise.
‘Mads, ‘they’s comin’ quicker now bruv…both of ‘em are running.’
‘ENOUGH,’ Maddox shouts, the shouting drops out plunging them into silence save for the increasing noise of feet drumming across the ground. ‘The vehicle ain’t coming so listen for my voice…’ Maddox shouts. The crews for the fire trucks were prepped to set them off once the Saxon had passed and was into the main street.
‘Where are they?’ Paula mutters with concern.
‘Fuck ‘em,’ Maddox growls, ‘we worry about us right now…here they come…’
‘Oh my,’ Roy says mildly as the moonlight illuminates the dark shapes emerging from the shadows. Silent figures running towards them, their features becoming more apparent as they get closer. The drumming of feet slapping against the road getting louder with every second.
‘WAIT…’ Maddox shouts, watching them come he knows they are too far off. The gathered group all stare as the front of the ho
rde reaches the open land and, as predicted, make immediate use of not being funnelled by spreading out. They keep order and maintain the same pace, almost slowing down to give themselves time to spread across.
The column from the coastal road comes first, quickly joined by the spreading darkness of the second group coming across from the park. Silent and eerie, like shadows growing out of nothing. The blend of black and greys of the night make it hard to see clearly, so they merge and form, drift and grow.
‘WAIT,’ Maddox shouts again. The temptation to fire now is strong but most of shots would be wasted, going too high or low. The youths can all shoot but none of them are trained or experienced enough to judge great distance and adjust accordingly.
‘WAIT,’ Maddox watches the closest lad and the way his fingers grip the trigger, using him as a guide for the rest. ‘NOT YET,’ Maddox shouts again, the boy flexes his hand, quickly stretching the fingers out in a subconscious effort to alleviate the sudden build-up of tension.
The youths are hardened and even before the outbreak they were toughened against the ordeals of hard living in a tough place. But even the bravest find the sight of the awful dark figures emerging from the gloom frightening. Like something from the worst nightmare, monsters that gather and come forward. Silent and gruesome. They all expected to see the Saxon working a fighting retreat as it fired into the masses. They were ready to gather at the sides and join Howie and his crew as they cut the monsters down. But the Saxon isn’t coming and without it they suddenly feel very alone, very young and very outnumbered.
‘WE IS GONNA FUCK ‘EM UP,’ Maddox booms, ‘THIS IS GONNA BE HARD BUT WE…WILL….FUCK…THEM….UP!
‘COME ON…TELL ‘EM…TELL THEM FUCK’S WHO WE ARE…’ Maddox screams as loud as possible, sensing the ripples of fear running through his crews. Giving them a release of that nervous energy by screaming defiantly. They respond and again start shouting, the noise builds as they push their fear into their voices. Boys and girls yelling and screaming.
The merging hordes respond, and almost as though they detect the lightness of tone of the youths they give back with deep adult tones, bass filled and resonant. Deep and evil, showing they are strong and many. Two jeering sides that scream at one another across a once calm expanse of open land of a pretty seaside town.
Maddox, knowing they won’t hear him give the order to fire, lifts his assault rifle and pauses for a few seconds, waiting that excruciating extra bit of time to make sure they are well within range of all the guns.
With a hard grin, eyes glinting in the darkness he squeezes the trigger. The rifle booms louder than all the shouting and every gun is lifted, every hand grips and squeezes and the air is split apart by bright muzzle flashes all across the front of the line they form. The noise is incredible and unlike anything any of them have heard. A solid boom of guns being fired and the first volley slams into the front ranks dropping scores of undead.
‘KEEP FIRING,’ Maddox booms and presses the trigger again. His assault rifle is kept on single shot, indicative of his character by giving him complete control over every single shot fired instead of holding the trigger down and hoping for the best.
Guns fire, assault rifles crack, shotguns boom and rifles retort. After the first solid volley the firing becomes erratic, still sustained and constant but the different weapons fire at different rates.
The charging figures are cut down in their droves but still they push forward, as though sensing the young bodies just metres away. They charge with utter determination and at first they go head on, running flat out into the guns.
Then they start swerving, turning the solid mass into a writhing undulating twisting sea of figures that bob, duck and weave. Some of the youths become confused, and instead of just firing into the central mass they try and track individual targets. The firing becomes slower, the four elders stood in the middle of the front row realise the danger.
‘FALL BACK,’ Maddox roars, ‘FALL BACK…FALL BACK…’ The order takes several precious seconds and both Maddox and Darius start grabbing to pull the children back.
Some turn and fire as they fall back which just about holds the front of the horde off for that vital few seconds but they are getting dangerously close.
‘NOW…FIRE THE TRUCKS NOW…FIRE THE TRUCKS…’ Maddox screams with all his worth. For a second nothing happens and they all fear the crews have been wiped out in the darkness.
Then the hose in the junction starts spraying pungent fuel high into the air, the powerful spray is directed up to rain down and soak the ground. The second hose on the beachside starts up with a second jet that just meets the first one in mid-air above the heads of the charging horde.
Roy pauses and draws the arrow prepared with a white spirit soaked rag tied onto the point, pulling back he nods at Maddox who applies a flame, igniting the end. Roy lifts and looses, the arrow soaring high to plummet down in a bright arc to plunge into the roaring jets of fuel.
The fuel ignites and the air comes alive as the darkness is banished by huge flames that give light to the whole area.
The effect is far greater than any of them could have hoped for. Paula grins with delight as the area becomes impassable. The undead still try and push through, flaming bodies bursting from the flames staggering towards the junction but they drop within seconds.
Even from their position the heat and the smell hits them hard. The stench of chemical fire, diesel and burning flesh fills the air. The group drop back further into the junction, backing away from the awesome spectacle of two giant flame throwers.
The end of the first hose starts to melt from the intense heat, the metal fitting simply unable to withstand the high temperature. It distorts and softens, slowly turning to liquid and dropping away. Without the metal end the material of the hose burns quickly, opening up to spray fuel from tiny crevices that ignite. Those smaller flames burn more material away which bursts the hose apart in a long fireball that shoots down the length right back to the truck. The flames shoot inside the internal working of the pump. Inch by inch the liquid ignites within the vehicle until that first tiny flame reaches the tank.
The resulting explosion is fantastic. A majestic screeching of metal bursting apart and flames that mushroom up into the air. Whole swathes of undead are eviscerated as the pressure wave removes them from existence.
Scorching hot metal fragments embed into soft fleshy bodies in one direction, and in the other they bury deep into the surrounding vehicles. With the fuel caps all opened the fumes from the petrol contained within the many vehicles starts to ignite. The vans and lorries closest to the fire truck go first. Exploding with less force than the fire truck but still with enough power to render the area just a sea of death and destruction.
Swarms of undead, already trying to clamber over the vehicles to outflank the survivors are taken away from this planet and put back into the most basic form of carbon.
Fuel tank after fuel tank goes up. Then the home-made bombs within the tubs, stuffed into the vehicles go up too. Boom after boom fills the air. The nails and screws burst out destroying more swathes of undead.
The second fire truck goes up in the same manner as the first. Exploding into a bright fireball that scorches the air. The burning fragments burst through the windows of the neighbouring hotel, starting small fires in the old wood furniture and exposed wooden floors.
Youths duck and drop back as the sight and noise threatens to overwhelm their senses. The human mind simply unable to compute the constant explosions going off in such quick succession.
Paula stares with wonder, never imagining it would be this effective. She catches sight of bodies still trying to get through the flames. But less now, almost as though they are probing and sacrificing just ones and twos to find a way through the fire.
As spectacular as the exploding fire trucks are, the flip side is all the fuel is burnt off in one go, the hoses gone and the middle ground is now without solid sheets of flames. Sporadic burning section
s as the grass stays aflame or bodies smoulder with thick smoke coming from them.
They charge again. A trickle of a few that find a way through the flames. More follow and within a few seconds the mass of them is coming once more towards the youths.
They don’t wait for the order this time but start firing as they work their way back along the street. Maddox imagining the crews racing through the streets to get to the second position.
The undead reach the front of the High Street and find a rain of plastic bottles dropping down onto their heads. Plastic bottles filled with highly flammable white spirit, stuffed with long burning rags. The trails of light look almost pretty and serene as they drop from the top of the buildings. They land and splatter the contents out, igniting from the burning rag and creating more fire that flames up.
More bottles come down amongst them as a cheer erupts from the youths fighting on the ground. Jagger had timed it perfectly, getting some of crew throwing the cocktails and others firing weapons down.
Now with two sides attacking them the horde suffer greater losses but still they surge in with ruthless determination to get at the youths.
Maddox pulls them back slowly, resisting the temptation to work back faster in order to get more of them into the street. Paula and Roy both fire assault rifles, using single shot like Maddox to pick their targets.
Shotguns spray hundreds of pellets that wither and drop the zombies. Rifles send good solid rounds through chest cavities and skulls. Assault rifles blow heads away or strike multiple rounds into legs which drop the things to crawl and get trampled.
The flames from the cocktails bathe the street in an orange glow that flickers and dances in reflection from the fronts of the buildings. Thick black smoke now billows from that first hotel set aflame from the fire truck.
A pause in the firing above as Jagger moves his crew to the next roof and starts again with more cocktails prepped and waiting. Light trails falling gracefully from the sky to land amongst the ranks.