The Undead the Second Week Compilation Edition Days 8-14

by RR Haywood

  Do something. Do what they are not expecting. Take the fight to them and do it harder than ever before.

  ‘GET IN,’ I bellow across to Lani and Cookey, pausing while they get into the passenger door, Cookey diving straight over the seat to give Lani room.

  Back inside I slam my door and twist round, ‘CLOSE THE BACK AND BRACE.’ They respond instantly, Clarence ceasing firing as the two lads ditch their rifles to the side and lean out to slam the doors closed.

  I’m already moving off, pushing my foot down to gain speed as I aim straight for the middle of them. Strung out like they are and I had already noticed they wouldn’t be able to try the grounding trick so I let the Saxon get some kills for a change and roar with pleasure as the beast slams them aside, ploughing through as we crumple, squash and pulverise every figure that’s stupid enough to get in the way.

  Using a side street I complete the turnaround quickly, reversing out to drive back down the road and get the ones we missed the first time. The lads crowd to the front cheering as we slam into them again and again. Dave continues firing, rotating round to fire towards the front and then the rear as we sweep down the road.

  The car park comes back into view. A solid mass of writhing pushing undead still trying to force their way inside. The section that broke away for the charge had already dropped back to re-join the main horde. On seeing us they charge again, about turning smartly and instantly at the run.

  ‘Hold on tight,’ I growl, gripping the wheel I keep the speed decent and aim for the middle. The front of the Saxon meets the charge with brutal efficiency and we feel the bumps, bangs and thuds as the bodies bounce off. Some try to jump high to gain the top but Dave has already switched back to firing at the front and he rips them out of the air.

  Still going and I veer slightly towards the entrance of the car park, coming in at an angle so the passenger side will be facing the ramp.

  Lani grips the dashboard as I show no signs of slowing down, pushing on towards that wall of undead bodies.

  They seem to realise what the plan is at the last second, hundreds turning as one to come at us but it’s too late. I drive the front of the Saxon deep into the middle, taking a whole swathe of them away from the entrance. The engine roars as it finds increasing resistance from the bodies squashing with a concertina effect. Driving my foot down and the Saxon responds, driving us further and further into the crowd as we batter them down. Dave firing on sustained and he takes many more out at the sides.

  Coming to a sudden stop I select reverse and quickly back up, feeling the jolt as we bounce over bodies. I spin the wheel and push the back end into the middle of the street and aim the front of the vehicle towards the ramp. Back into gear and I floor the pedal again, not giving them chance to react.

  They do react and they do it far quicker than ever before, bodies lunging down between the wheels as they try to create a high wall and prevent us moving off. But we still have that little bit of surprise and momentum so we surge over and through them, getting onto the ramp and increasing the speed as we go.

  Those undead already on the ramp try to throw themselves at us too but we’ve got the winning hand for now and we push on, slamming them away, running them down and still Dave fires, shooting down the back of the ramp to get anything the vehicle has missed. Rounds ricochet inside the concrete enclosure, pinging off the walls and ground to bounce off the armoured panels of the vehicle.

  ‘DAVE FIRE AT THE FRONT,’ Clarence booms as we get to the first level and find the entrance to the ramp up to the second level clogged thick. Dave pauses, turns and commences firing again within a second or two. Bodies get cut down as I push the front of the Saxon into them, using the weight and power in addition to the GPMG to force a path through.

  ‘LADS, BACK DOORS,’ Clarence dives down to his second gun, the rear doors get opened and again the air is filled with the thunderous roar of multiple weapons firing. Meredith barking like mad, desperate to be released from the lead so she can charge out and attack them.

  Second level and still they’re thick and heading towards the last ramp to the top level. Lani grabs the loudspeaker handset, pressing the button down before shouting, ‘MADDOX…WE’RE COMING…HOLD YOUR FIRE…’ She repeats it several times as we batter and shoot the undead out of the way.

  The powerful headlights illuminate twisted faces full of hate and fury, blood encrusted skin, lips pulled back and red bloodshot eyes everywhere. Gruesome and intensely frightening but the adrenalin is up now and at least we did something they didn’t expect, and took out a whole shit load of them at the same time.

  We might now be just as trapped as they are but fuck it, we can fight together and show those dirty diseased bastards that we stand as one.

  The Saxon bursts out onto the top level, into the open air and the sight of a thick line of children holding guns high and cheering at the tops of their voices. Maddox and Paula in the centre and now looking very relieved, Roy off to one side wearing a big pair of goggles.

  ‘You took your time,’ Maddox grins with a shake of his head.

  ‘We’re here though…there are fucking thousands of them coming…the whole street is full.’

  ‘You got ammo?’ He asks quickly.

  ‘Plenty for now, Blowers, get the magazines out to hand round…listen in,’ I shout across at everyone, ‘we’ve got enough fire power to keep them back for now so take the chance for a drink and a quick rest, we’ve got loads of water in the back.’

  ‘I’ll do it,’ Lani shouts running to the back with Cookey, as Blowers appears with Nick handing out new magazines to the youths with assault rifles.

  The armoury has been stripped bare by the looks of it and all the guns we got from the refinery are now up here, and well used too judging by the thick carpet of shell casings on the ground.

  The youths look haggard and drawn. Paula drinking from a bottle of water as Roy stands quietly to one side keeping an open line of sight to the ramp.

  ‘You okay?’ I call out to her, knowing we’ve got a few seconds before they run from the bottom to the top.

  ‘Very glad to see you,’ she smiles grimly, ‘but there’s no way down other than the way up.’

  ‘S’alright,’ I grin, ‘let them come to us for a bit, we got enough guns for a while.’

  ‘But you said there’s thousands…how long will the ammunition last?’

  ‘Probably not long enough,’ I reply quickly, taking the offered smoke from Nick.

  ‘So,’ Maddox scratches his head, ‘what you doing here then? We’re all trapped now.’

  ‘We are mate, but we stand together…that’s how it is.’

  ‘Very dramatic,’ Lani scoffs as she walks past with a crate of water bottles, ‘just need some theme music to go with that line.’

  ‘Paula,’ Dave calls out, ‘you did well with the town, good work…’ he adds racking the bolt back and taking aim at the ramp.

  ‘Thanks,’ she nods.

  ‘Any losses?’ I ask Maddox softly.

  ‘Nah,’ shaking his head, ‘one of them cut his finger open on the razor wire and another tripped over but that was it.’

  ‘Seriously? No losses? That’s very good mate.’

  ‘INCOMING,’ Clarence shouts from the back of the Saxon.

  ‘Shit that was quick, they must have legged it flat out up those ramps,’ I say to Maddox as we both run to the back. Dave opens up from the top, filling the roof space with the beat of the GPMG.

  For a few minutes it looks like he will be able to hold them on his own as they come out in a steady trickle, but those are obviously just the fitter ones who could get up the ramps quickly.

  The rest surge up as one. Presenting a solid writhing mass of undead surging up the ramp to spill out onto the flat concourse. Like a super organism, a huge snake of one form that just pours onto the roof in a never ending wave. Every foot of space between that top ramp and going all the way to the ground must be filled with undead coming up.

  C
larence and the lads open fire. The surge is so powerful, so sustained that even with all our guns firing we only just hold them back. Bodies that take multiple rounds to the chest and stomach keep pushing on. Innards and guts spill out but still they charge in. The ones we cut down are trampled and booted aside. Undead work to shift them, not allowing the fallen to hamper their progress.

  ‘MO MO, Look over the wall, how many in the street?’ Maddox shouts as he changes magazine. Youths come forward to join us, firing whatever weapons they’ve got as the surge is just too strong to hold back.

  ‘Whole fucking street is packed,’ Mohammed shouts as he runs back.

  ‘STAIRS,’ Roy yells. I spin round to see the double doors leading to the stair well bursting open spewing another solid massed horde that surge out. Roy fires his bow, slamming an arrow into the front centre. Guns turn to fire at them, reducing the fire power we have to hold the ones coming from the ramp.

  The air is filled with solid gunfire. Children shouting at each other and undead howling like crazy, a vicious roar coming from them as they give voice, sensing they are so close to taking us.

  ‘MAGAZINE,’ Dave bellows and for the few seconds it takes for him to feed a fresh belt in we’re watching them slowly encroach. The body count is mammoth with so many being killed but still they come on.

  Every single one of us fires and fires, empty magazines being thrown aside as we scrabble with hurried hands to get new ones in. Blowers running back to the Saxon to dump fresh cases of full magazines down. Maddox gets youths running them to the groups firing. Relentless and utterly despairing as we can all see just how determined they are.

  Then they stop and there are no more undead surging out from the ramp. I spin round to see the same at the stairs. Silence descends as we all stare at each other, looking about to see what’s going on.

  Mohammed runs to the wall and climbs up, taking care to look down at the High Street without falling off, ‘still fucking packed,’ he shouts.

  ‘Are they still coming in?’ I call out.

  ‘Yep,’ he answers.

  ‘They’re doing something,’ Clarence growls, ‘this is going to be a big push so get ready…’

  ‘Blowers, get the axes and hand weapons out and ready, tie Meredith to the end so we can unhook her quickly,’ I shout the instruction as he jumps back into the vehicle, passing the axes out and Lani’s meat cleaver.

  ‘You all got hand weapons?’ I shout to the rest of the group.

  ‘Only knives and shit,’ Maddox replies.

  ‘If it comes to it then you take the stairs and we’ll hold the ramp…get the youngest into the vehicle and if you see a chance to drive down then take it.’

  ‘Me? You want me to drive down?’

  ‘If you get the chance yes mate, take the youngest and go.’

  He nods, scanning his crews as he mentally picks out the ones to be protected, they all look away, not one of them wanting to be taken away from their mates.

  Groans come from the ramp and the sound of movement and things being dragged, something flies out of the dark opening to land with a thump on the ground just feet in front of us. The item rolls and comes to rest. The head of an adult male, the face contorted with the lips still pulled back and the red eyes showing. We all stare at it in confusion, then another one comes flying out, then another and within seconds the air between us and the ramp is thick with body parts being thrown out. Torn off limbs and heads starts slamming down amongst us. Sickening and gruesome with blood and bits of flesh spinning off. Several of the youths are hit by the grotesque lumps of meat. A heart lands inches away from my boot, intestines and organs, hands, arms and legs all launched out.

  The filthy dirty evil fuckers are ripping the corpses up and using them to batter us. Infected blood and flesh starts coating out clothes and the throws get harder, sailing higher to drip down and land on us.

  ‘GO BACK,’ I shout, running for the Saxon to pull it out of range of their missiles. Clarence keeps the rest in order, stepping back until we’re free from the barrage.

  Laughter floats out from the ramp as I run back to the line. A single solitary laugh that echoes and rolls round the roof space. High pitched and maniacal, others join in slowly at first but building as more and more of the undead start laughing. Loud and sustained and it grows to hysterical all out laughing, the kind of laughing you associate with mentally ill people. More body parts fly out, landing in wet thumps on the ground, legs and arms with bloodied stumps.

  The youths look round aghast at the sight and sound. Disconcerting to hear such a maniacal human sound while they tear up their own kind to throw the bits at us. Inhuman and evil, showing us exactly what they are and it sends shivers of fear rippling through the group.

  At the top of a shitty grey multi-level car park in some unknown town, surrounded and trapped with thousands of diseased undead. Fires raging down the street, smoke billowing along and clogging our lungs. The heat is still unbearable and sweat pours from our blackened faces. Shell casings lie amongst the chunks of body.

  Tears start streaming down the faces of the young. My lads look appalled and horrified at the sight and the laughter grows in intensity. Every undead gives voice, all down the ramps, the stairs and on the street.

  Maddox walks into the middle of the group near us and speaks quietly to one of the girls. She looks young and frightened but nods back and follows him towards me.

  ‘How do you make the loudspeaker work?’ He mutters. I take him over and show him the controls for the handset. Nodding he gets the girl to climb into the passenger seat and carries on talking to her in low earnest tones. She cries with hot tears that spill down her cheeks but she nods and takes the handset, holding it close to her mouth. Closing her eyes she takes a few deep breaths and seems to almost fade away, like her body is here but her mind is elsewhere.

  With her hand pressed on the button the air is filled with the sound of her breathing, a soft noise that does nothing to help the situation. Maddox steps away and glares with complete defiance towards the ramp and the noise of laughter coming out.

  Children’s heads start being flung out. The faces of the young and innocent sailing through the air to land and roll towards us. Teeth get knocked out of the detached heads, noses broken and the white spinal column sticking out the end. Sobs break out and someone vomits.

  Our energy and more importantly, our will to fight is being eroded by the psychological warfare being waged against us.

  A long quavering tone fills the air from the speakers as the girl starts singing into the handset, a soft trembling voice that grows in volume and strength until it fills our ears with perfect harmony.

  Amazing Grace from a pure strong gospel voice, the long notes quavering perfectly. Every head snaps to the Saxon as the girl squeezes her eyes closed and sings. She gains in strength and confidence as her amplified voice rolls around the roof-top.

  They get louder but so does she. They are course and hysterical. She is pure and human, full of love and warmth. Voice soaring and carrying the chilling notes in glorious harmony.

  The laughter goes up a few notches but the thousands of voices they have cannot, and will not ever defeat that one girl singing her heart into that handset of an old battered British army APC loudspeaker.

  Bodies stiffen and stand taller, the hairs on the back of my neck prickle and stand out. Chills run up and down my spine and for a second I close my eyes and let that sweet voice transport me somewhere else.

  Hope is given to all of us. Those that know the words join in and give voice. Clarence looks defiant, his eyes fixed and his jaw set. The lads stare with those hardened eyes at the opening to the ramp. Lani tilts her head back and lifts her top lip. Paula just stares fixed, Maddox looks at his youths and nods.

  The girl sings and fills the air with beautiful music made just by her. The undead try and get louder, they try and compete but we win. We have the girl with a pure voice and love in her heart and for that they will always be wa
nting.

  Reaching the end of the song she starts again from the beginning, louder and more powerful this time. The notes longer and stronger, almost as though she knows that sound produced by her will lift our spirits higher than anything else can at this moment.

  Movement from the ramp and the laughter ceases as the missiles end. A dragging noise comes and we watch with expectant defiance as the girl makes our chests swell with pride. Adrenalin begins to pump but more than that; a sense of honour, of humanity. That we chose this fight and we chose to do this.

  A solid wall comes into view. Dead bodies all prone and being presented to us as a hard compacted wall. The undead carrying their fallen brethren in front of them as a shield. Dave starts firing but even the large calibre bullets have little effect, ploughing into the thick bodied corpses that must be two or three bodies thick. How there are being held is beyond me, but they are. The living dead hiding behind the true dead as they inch forward, pushing the heavy wall in front of them.

  Rifles start firing, guns opening up but all we do is send rounds into the dense material of human corpses, maybe a few get through to the pushers on the other side but not enough.

  ‘CEASE FIRE,’ I bellow, the order repeated as the guns die off, ‘CLARENCE WITH ME…EVERYONE ELSE STAY HERE BUT DO NOT FIRE….DAVE BE READY…’

  ‘On it,’ he shouts down.

  Ditching my rifle I grab my axe as Clarence hefts his, ‘Nick, release the dog.’

  He jumps up, unhooking the lead and holding the huge straining animal by her collar. We start towards the corpse wall, walking at first then jogging that builds up in pace as the fury within me is unleashed.

  ‘NOW NICK,’ Meredith bounds from the back of the Saxon, her legs opening up as she sprints forward with an ever increasing growl that grows into a snarl as she leaps high. The whole wall shudders from her impact alone. Then Clarence and I are there, axes swinging as we roar and hack away. Clarence destroys so many with his strength. Meredith grabs limbs and drags them, twisting and ragging the bodies.