The Undead the Second Week Compilation Edition Days 8-14

by RR Haywood

  As the undead before us, we have no choice but to use the stacked and fallen corpses as a ladder. Screeching sounds of metal warping against metal come from the gates.

  With the rising tide starting to lift the obstacles put in place behind the outer gates, we know it’s only a matter of time before those gates burst open.

  Splitting up we start the climb, our feet sliding into the soft squidgy bodies, hands gripping whatever we can find, gore and body parts coming away under our fingertips. Dave, as ever, climbs like a monkey and gets up quickly. Clarence and I don’t fare so well and struggle with the cascading water pouring down on us and the bodies slipping and shifting under our weight

  Clarence and I are only halfway up when the gates finally yield to the pressure of the waves battering them.

  Screeching metal, huge thumps and bangs boom out as the makeshift barricade is lifted and pushed down the alley towards us. Huge vehicles, vans and trucks surging along as the tidal wave propels them down the alley.

  We can both see what will happen and lock eyes as the first of the vehicles impacts on the base of the corpse wall we’re climbing up. Another vehicle behind it, then another and the concertina effect removes the bodies from the bottom.

  Like a deck of cards the wall starts to crumble and Clarence, being closer to the surge than me, is the first to go. As the bodies start tumbling down he nods goodbye and slides to plummet into the roaring mess beneath us.

  Glancing up and I can see hands reaching down, I could make it. I could move quick grab a hand and get pulled up but that isn’t our way.

  With Clarence being so big, I catch sight of his enormous frame landing in a gap between two vehicles. The bodies falling after him push him down under the surface. The tidal pressure forces the vehicles closer until they’re colliding and there’s no way out of it. He’s trapped under water with several tons of vehicles over his head.

  A gap, off to the side. It’s the only chance and I take it without hesitation. Pushing off from the wall I feel myself drop, landing on a mixture of hard edged car and soft, yielding bodies.

  Twisting onto my front, I slide across the bonnet and slip headfirst into the pulsing, pitch black water so foul and littered with hard objects that bang into me from all sides.

  Groping about I feel body after body and have to work my hands to the head, feeling for Clarence’s bald skull. It’s so dark but opening my eyes makes them burn with excruciating pain. Diesel and chemicals leaking from the vehicles are mixing with the water and already I’m feeling light headed and weak.

  Something here, warm and hard. His bald head, his arms reach up feeling for my hands. I guide his grip and pull, tugging and forcing his body out of the confined space. No good, he doesn't budge but tries to push me away, telling me to go now while I still can.

  I need air so I break away and rise to the small gap left between the vehicles. Sucking in huge lungful’s I push back down and head under the constantly shifting vehicles, using my hands to grip wheels and exhaust pipes to get along. Finding his head again I press my lips against his and start blowing a steady stream of air out. He gets the idea and holds still while I fill his lungs with the air from my own.

  Once done I work down his body, feeling the obstacles trapping him in place. The vehicles have trapped bodies underneath them which have piled up on top of one of Clarence’s legs. Tugging and pulling in a swaying motion, my chest longs to draw air. I try and find something that will shift position, anything that will move and give me leverage.

  Again I need air so to the surface, giving a quick prayer that the small gap is still there. Back under and to Clarence first, giving him air before I start groping for limbs and torsos.

  Finally something shifts, only a few inches but by straining, pushing then pulling I work it free of the pile. Upside down with my feet against the underside of the car I prise with all my strength until the body finally slips free.

  Fearing I’ll black out, I head back up and draw more air in as a violent surge moves of us along by a couple of feet.

  Pummelled by the water I cling on to a wheel and wait for a second hoping it will settle again. The water is coming from the waves which are hitting the front wall. Those waves will keep coming so I have a few seconds between each crashing wave.

  Down again and the shifting has freed some of the bodies, just a few to grip and heave and finally his leg gets free as another crashing sensation hits the wall and sends a vibration through the water. Within a second, we feel the fresh surge and get thrown about, colliding with each other, with vehicles and dead bodies pounding us from all sides.

  Scrabbling in panic, we fumble and pull ourselves along underneath the vehicles trying to find a gap but the constant wave surges have pushed them all together.

  Clarence grips my hand and guides me to a smooth metal surface, trying to show me something so I grope about until I find a familiar object. A car door handle. One of the vehicles must have rolled onto its side. Grasping the handle I wrench the door open, sensing more than feeling Clarence trying to do the same. Slowly it gets prised enough and the big man is pushing me inside the pitch darkness of the inside of a flooded car.

  Seats, steering wheel, gear stick, I pull myself over them to reach the other door, working along the inside to find the handle. I find it and push, slowly creating a gap.

  Then I’m being propelled through the gap by Clarence pushing me from behind. Up I go and I clear the door to flop down on the side. Reaching back in, I help pull Clarence free as he sucks in air with frantic gulps. We look about at the scene of devastation around us.

  Aware that we could get sucked under by a wave again at any second, we get on top of the car and start scrabbling along. Slipping, sliding and doing everything we can to try and get to safety.

  ‘ROPE,’ We hear Dave’s voice above, turning to see many hands waving at us. Heading that way, we feel the vehicles moving beneath our weight, precarious and ready to tip, roll or slide away. Eventually, we find the thick rope hanging down.

  ‘GO,’ I scream at him.

  ‘YOU,’ he gasps, ‘GO FIRST.’

  ‘GO, JUST FUCKING GO…NOW!’ With that he grips and starts climbing. He is strong but he’s also very heavy and the exertion on his drained and oxygen depleted muscles must be terrible. Through will power alone he gets up that rope, with me right beneath his feet.

  With both of us clinging on we feel it start to lift, we’re being hauled in. Waves batter into and through the ruined gates, the alley fills as every object is lifted from the ground to be sent crashing into every other object and the sides. Knuckles get skinned as we are lifted up the side of the course wall, water cascading down, thunder booming everywhere, lightning forks that flash with long jagged sword like points.

  Hands grip my arms and lift, more under my armpits and onto my belt. Clarence is already pulled over and I join him, wrenched the last few inches to get safely onto the top of the wall where I lie flat out panting and feeling the rain pelting at my face.

  ‘Said I’d bloody kiss you,’ I gasp at the big man lying next to me.

  Sixty Two

  Only there isn’t time to rest. There is never any time to fucking rest. Maybe two, three minutes we lie still, until the sense of danger and urgency once more has us up and moving.

  Crawling we all start aiming for the top of the vehicle ramp, snaking along to get beneath the top of the wall. More survivors are left than I hoped for, many more. People are getting better at fighting back, even the meek, mild and downright terrified can pick something sharp up and use it to stab out.

  Mind you, if it hadn’t been for the flatlands flooding we wouldn’t have stood a chance. Thinking of which, with the outer gate gone the inner gate can’t be far behind.

  We crawl and snake past survivors hugging and holding each other. They’re grouped together in one long human chain of closeness. Men hold other men and everyone clinging on in abject terror at the noises and sensations battering our nerves.

>   Reaching the ramp, we crab down enough to huddle together and view the inside of the fort. The rear gate is busted in and rapidly flooding with each wave that crashes against the back wall. Already a deep layer of water covers the ground and it’s going to get worse as the night goes on.

  The roof of the visitor centre has already been shorn off and lying off to one side smashed to pieces. None of the tents or other flimsy structures remain anywhere.

  The inner gate holds. Darius, or whoever took care of it, made sure they used big, heavy vans and the digger has been put there too.

  ‘The children are in the locked rooms. We need to get them out and up here on the ramp in case the inner gate goes…then we find a way of blocking that rear gate up…’ I shout the instructions and watch as they get passed along the line. Men start breaking away to crawl down, glancing down at the rear wall and the debris floating about.

  ‘Kids first, then everything else after…Go.’ We jump up and start running down into the fort. Off the top wall, the wind is just slack enough not to rip us from our feet. We get to ground level and start wading through the water, tripping and falling as our feet get snagged on the tents and things floating about.

  The children are screaming with terror at the prospect of drowning when we reach them, the water already seeping through to drip and cause minor menacing floods.

  We work quickly, ushering and carrying the little ones to the ramp where they are gathered at the halfway point.

  ‘There’s water pouring in the front but it’s looks solid enough for now,’ a man shouts at me, having just run down to the front gates.

  ‘Okay, you know about these things yeah?’ I ask him, still having to shout to be heard over the noise.

  He nods, ‘structural engineer, Kevin,’ he holds a hand out.

  ‘Kevin,’ I nod quickly, ‘Howie, guess what?’

  ‘What?’ He asks with concern.

  ‘You’re now in charge, tell us what you want and we’ll do it…Clarence, Maddox…this is Kevin, structural engineer…’

  ‘Kevin,’ Clarence nods, ‘you told him he’s in charge?’

  ‘Just done it.’

  ‘Where do want us?’ Clarence repeats.

  ‘Alex!’ Dave shouts at seeing Cookey and Blowers walking past.

  ‘Yes Dave?’

  ‘You might be immune but you’re still on brew duty, either get it done or find someone who can…’

  ‘Yes Dave.’

  ‘Right Kev,’ I grin at him, ‘tell us what you need?’ The poor man stares out at the many faces waiting for their instructions, utterly overwhelmed.

  ***

  Kevin is a nervous man, and after the events of the evening no one can blame him. He quickly finds his feet as boss though, after he realises that the group in front of him only kill zombies and bad people.

  Work groups are organised. Materials from the visitor centre roof are stripped down and used under Kevin’s supervision to build a make-shift dam to block the gate at the rear.

  Constant checks are done at the front and orders are given to keep the area clear in case it buckles.

  Cookey is soon relieved of his brew making responsibility as everyone starts working at the tasks they are capable off. More tea than we can handle is brewed up with a never ending flow coming out in any liquid holding receptacle found available.

  Blowers leads a room clearance party, getting everything off the floor and onto the shelves, tables and chairs. Generators are lifted and put under constant use to boil water. Gas bottles are exhausted to heat and boil more water.

  With the threat of the undead gone for now, the storm continues to rage. In fact it builds and becomes worse, with an increasing ferocity to the driving rain and the wind. The thunder rolls and booms, the lightning stays with us all through those dark hours but we work, oh we work.

  The brews give us something to share, a few seconds of stolen rest as we gather to sip at the beverages. Jokes shared, banter gets thrown, weak at first as people struggle with the terrible events that befell us, but the camaraderie grows. The new arrivals to the fort soon understand that this is their place too; this is home for all of us. Characters start to step forward, leaders and doers and of course, the whiners and shirkers.

  Paula works with us at first but is soon claimed by Lenski to help with the overall planning and organisation, a role she seems perfect for.

  The hours of darkness pass by. The storm rages but within these walls a sense of safety starts to build. That we’ve survived the very worst that can be thrown at us.

  As the first grey streaks enter the torn sky so the storm appears to move on. Not abating or weakening but simply going somewhere else for now. A vast monster that I am sure will sweep across many lands, I can only hope it aids others as it has done with us tonight.

  Frequently we speak of Nick, of where he is, if Roy and Lilly made it to them. As the flooding eases so we start thinking of moving out. As tired as we all are, we cannot rest until we know Nick is safe.

  All of our vehicles are ruined, and the Saxon was taken by Roy, but we’ll swim or wade if we need to. Gathering in the offices, we leave Kevin the unenviable task of working out if it’s safe to open the front gates so we can get out, and if not, then to find a way out.

  ‘Everyone okay?’ I walk in last from speaking with Kevin to find everyone gathered, the exhaustion evident on their faces, bodies smeared with grime and soaked to the skin.

  Nods returned and I notice Paula, Maddox, Lenski, Darius and Sierra are all seated amongst my team, not separate and on their own, but together. Unity.

  ‘So,’ I grab a mug of something black and hot and remain standing. ‘Cookey then,’ I grin, the first chance we’ve had to talk properly.

  ‘Yes!’ Cookey grins, ‘feels like winning the lottery.’

  ‘You just liked having your arse groped by Mr Howie,’ Blowers says.

  ‘I did,’ Cookey nods, ‘and it was very nice, thank you Mr Howie.’

  ‘You’re welcome.’

  ‘So we all immune then?’ Cookey asks with that expectant gaze that assumes I know the answer to every possible question.

  ‘All immune?’ Lenski asks, reminding me we haven’t had time to explain the events of the last day or so.

  Its run through quickly, the briefest facts outlined so everyone understands everything. No secrets now, nothing held back. Lani, me and now Cookey, and Meredith of course.

  There’s a long silence after I tail off, everyone deep in thought. Why us? Why us three? Or is it just us three?

  ‘Nick?’ Cookey asks, breaking the silence

  ‘Kevin is seeing how we can get out, you all happy to go once we find a way?’

  ‘Of course,’ Blowers nods.

  ‘No doubt boss,’ Cookey says in a rare serious voice.

  ‘I’m in,’ Paula adds, ‘er…if that’s okay that is.’ She suddenly looks awkward, like she invited herself to a party.

  ‘Ah, you love us Paula!’ Cookey quips.

  ‘Definitely, we’d love to have you with us,’ I add once the laughter dies down.

  ‘Not just for this either,’ Lani is quick to say, ‘but all the time, god knows I need another woman with this lot.’

  ‘I’d like that,’ Paula smiles, ‘thank you.’

  ‘So what this mean?’ Lenski asks, ‘you immune and Lani and now Cookey, I don’t understand this.’

  ‘Neither do we,’ Clarence rumbles.

  ‘We still don’t know anything,’ I shrug, ‘we’re still in the same situation we were before, without doctors, without scientists, without tests…’

  ‘We’ll get there,’ Maddox cuts in, ‘the fort will get cleared up, you’ll find Nick and after that…plenty of time,’ he says with confidence.

  ‘Until that lot come again,’ Blowers says, ‘which will be in about half an hour I reckon.’

  ‘Not yet,’ Dave says flatly, ‘they’ll need time to re-group.’

  ‘Guys?’ Kevin bursts in, ‘you better see t
his.’ The urgent tone in his voice has us all scrambling to our feet. Weapons grabbed and we start jogging, the tiredness gone in an instant.

  Outside the wind has gone completely, the rain has stopped and it actually looks like the sun will be coming through again.

  ‘Jesus mate,’ I whistle. The inner gates stand open, with a large pool of water sitting on the surface and the vehicles all moved back.

  ‘The walkway between the walls is still deep but it’ll drain,’ he calls out. Running together we reach the front of the fort and push through the gap between the gates.

  ‘Fucking hell,’ Cookey is the first to say something as we stand in silence, staring at the sea in front of us.

  There’s a small strip of land in front of the main gates but that’s it, the rest is water stretching away to the estate in the distance. Unbroken sea from left to right, the flatlands gone, taken away.

  With the storm gone now, the sea is flat and calm, just a gentle sway of the waves as they roll by.

  ‘Will it stay like that?’ I ask Kevin.

  ‘I’ve been out a few metres and it’s deep, there might be some shallower points but…time will tell. It’ll either stay as it is, or it will drain anyway to be like it was before. I just don’t know.’

  ‘Be better if it doesn't,’ Maddox says quietly, ‘this is perfect.’

  ‘It is,’ I nod in agreement, ‘completely cut off…like an Island.’ I turn back to look up at the solid walls of the fort.

  ‘No bodies,’ Lani remarks nodding at the sea.

  ‘They’ll be well gone,’ Clarence replies, ‘they’ll be popping up on beaches all over the place.’

  ‘Still loads in the walkway between the walls,’ Kevin explains.

  ‘We’ll get that cleared,’ Maddox says, ‘nothing that can’t be fixed.’

  ‘We’ve got incoming,’ Dave says in his flat tone.

  ‘Where?’ I ask scanning the view ahead but seeing nothing.

  ‘Over there, boats…several of them,’ he points away to the left at the sweeping bay. Straining my eyes, I can’t see anything.

  ‘You sure?’ I ask, which is pointless as Dave doesn't even speak unless he’s sure.