Sorrow: A Novel Written by Brian Wortley

by Brian Wortley

  The mental force over him grew even greater but still Brady would not succumb. He retained enough of his will to know opening the beast’s cage would be disastrous. The zombie straightened to his full height and snorted at the newcomer as if in reaction to his defiance. It glared at him through evil eyes no doubt killing him slowly in his mind. Like fingers the creature’s mental hand desperately tried to dig its way into Brady’s mind but could not. The creature finally stepped back in terrific disgust once Brady clearly kept his sanity. A slight smile graced Brady’s face as if he’d passed some initiation test.

  “Brady, where are you?” came the Captain’s voice over the radio. “You’ve been gone for over an hour.”

  “I’m on my way back, sir. Something else came up.”

  “Get back here.”

  Thankful for the distraction from Leonard’s gaze, Brady found himself much more aware of his purpose. As he turned to leave, Leonard pleaded in his guttural language attempting to seduce Brady. But, for now, the magician’s spell had been broken. With a quick glance towards the monster, Brady exited and left the miserable thing to its dark solitude.

  ∙ • ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙

  Images of Leonard filled Brady’s mind all the way back to the command center. He flew up the stairs quickly rejoining the Captain.

  “Did you find anything using the satellites?” the Captain asked as soon as Brady entered the room.

  “I haven’t checked yet. I’ve been working on closing the doors like you asked.”

  “What was the thing that came up?”

  “I went to make sure the zombie they brought here from Peterson was secured. The logs mentioned his location. I thought it’d be worth my time. The last thing we need in here is a zombie on the loose.”

  “Was he secured?”

  “He was in his own quarantined room, yes sir.”

  “Still alive?”

  “Barely from the looks of him. He’s already withered away to almost nothing.”

  “Very well. Are we ready to shut the outer doors?”

  “On your command, sir.”

  “Do it.”

  Brady switched over the commands and watched the large doors closing on one of the security cameras. Next he brought up the satellite imagery on one of the main command screens. This captured the Captain’s attention.

  “Zoom into Colorado Springs,” he ordered as if Brady forgot what they were doing.

  Manipulating the view of the satellite, he zoomed in on Colorado. At first, they saw mostly isolated groups of lights. Brady let his curiosity get the better of him and proceeded to look into a larger light in the mountains west of Denver. Some type of unusual fortified structure sat looming in the high hills.

  “What do you think that is?” the Captain asked.

  “I have no idea. Looks like an upside down bowl.”

  “Is it on fire?”

  Brady squinted at the screen as if that would help him see the image clearer. “It looks like fire is just burning in front of it. It’s like it has a castle moat but with flames.”

  “Some insane hermit probably who’s been predicting the end of the world for years. He’s the best prepared of all of us now. Crazy kook.”

  When they’d both examined everything to be seen, Brady turned the focus to Colorado Springs. Through shifting windows of clearing dust, they managed to see snippets of the broken city. They discovered an abnormally large amount of activity in the downtown area. Zombies scattered about as if in panic. The rest of the city seemed mostly uninhabited besides the usual allotment of foes. Nowhere did they discover lights betraying the presence of human settlements. The mere shadow of the city’s former glory shocked Brady. Nature’s work alone made some parts unrecognizable.

  While they scanned the city for anything interesting, Brady thought he’d venture a theory. “I have an idea about that TV.”

  “Let’s hear it.” Just then several of the teams came walking through the door. They explored until their hunger got the best of them. Brady would rather not give his theory in front of McCoy but decided he had no choice.

  “The military confirmed that there are three stages of zombies. The first is primitive interested only in feeding, but then the last stage is actually fairly intelligent. It’s possible that the zombies setup the TV and made an ambush out of it.”

  “Ha,” McCoy mocked, “I’ve been telling you all that since the beginning!”

  “You’re telling me the zombies are highly intelligent?” the Captain asked with an unbelieving voice.

  “At least some of them seem to have the ability to lead and organize. I’m saying it’s a possibility we shouldn’t rule out.”

  “Well, yesterday, I would have called you crazy. But I don’t know what to believe after today. Can you see anyone moving around outside the facility? You think we’re safe in here?”

  “The doors are closed. No one is moving around outside. I think we’re good.”

  “I have to give you credit, Brady. This is an amazing find.”

  The rest of the group settled in from their exploration finding places to sit or lay down. Most broke open the military meals they discovered and started eating hungrily.

  “It’s finally starting to smell better in here,” Alex noted. The others agreed with little other comment.

  ∙ • ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙

  The silence came to an abrupt ending along with their peace. A ghastly howl, such as none had ever heard, echoed down the corridor and ripped tranquility from their calm hearts. The terror of it ran along their spines like the shivering fear of ghosts to children around a campfire. Each member paused and shot a disturbed look around the room. Mouths stopped chewing leaving the food in their mouths to be little more than half-eaten lumps. The noise sounded inhuman. It screeched like an animal in the throes of death. The team stood readying their weapons, gripped by fear.

  “Brady,” the Captain started, “you said that zombie was locked up. Did you kill it?”

  “No, it was in a cage. I’d have to break it to kill him. I thought it best to leave him.”

  “Any chance he got out?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  As if the disturbing howl weren’t unsettling enough, the lights flickered softly and went out. Flashlights came on and immediately pointed towards the entrances to the room. The sounds of pattering feet could be heard beyond the bends in the tunnels. The enemy gathered.

  “You hear that?” one of the soldiers said. “There are dozens out there if not more.”

  Brady wasted no time. He pointed his flashlight to the side of the server he’d been controlling and yanked off the side cover.

  “We’ve been had,” the Captain yelled. “This has all been a trap.”

  “How were we supposed to know?” Alex asked.

  “We’re all going to die in here,” a soldier panicked.

  “Not if we keep our heads,” the Captain replied. “We just have to be smart. Brady, open the outer doors!”

  “The doors are on electronic controls,” Brady protested while still disconnecting wires on the computer. “We have to get the generators up first. They may have a manual override on the doors themselves but I don’t know.”

  “Isn’t that what you went to flip awhile ago? Can’t we just head to the doors themselves and flip them over to manual again?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean? Where were the controls you switched?”

  Brady found himself in a hard spot. “I didn’t switch over any controls. I needed an excuse to go see the zombie they’re holding here first-hand. I didn’t think you’d let me go otherwise. The only way I know of to open the outer doors is to get the generators back online and use this computer to reopen the doors. There may be a manual override on the doors themselves but we shouldn’t risk it.” He removed the metal box he’d been fiddling with inside the computer and stood to say, “We need to head to the generators first or split up and go to both.”

  The C
aptain weighed his options quickly under the pressure of the mounting foe. “Did you know the infected were in here?” The Captain pointed his weapon Brady’s way. “You’re not a traitor, are you?”

  “I swear to you I didn’t know!” Brady screamed back. “You said yourself this seems like the perfect place to hide out in an apocalypse. I just thought the same!”

  This seemed like enough to convince the Captain. “Let’s split up.” He started to divide his team into two groups but his orders became irrelevant as gunfire erupted. One of the soldiers fired on a zombie making his way into the room. The foe fell quickly but soon others followed. The team broke from their gathered position into defendable spots. When the first few zombies died and no more came to take their place, the Captain quickly ordered some of his men forward into the first bend in the hallway. They could retreat into the command room later if needed. The Captain powered up a flood light they hauled earlier. Luckily these ran on batteries. The Captain switched it on and pointed it towards the ceiling where it would give the most light.

  Silence fell upon the troops as they waited. A second unsettling howl came through the dark hallways. As it progress it changed into an almost childish taunting sound. Once it finished, the team could hear the raspy breathing of the monsters just beyond the bend. Suddenly, with tremendous speed zombies burst into the hallway on all fours like dogs. Gunfire tore the silence as the initial zombies were pulverized by the burst of multiple M-16’s. The roars of the guns echoed deafening everyone in the tight passageways.

  Now both passageways into the room swarmed with zombies. The team hid behind boxes and monitors or anything promising cover. The Captain’s men successfully held their own despite the waves pouring in for a series of minutes.

  When the onslaught finally slowed, Alex yelled, “I’ve never seen anything like this. What are these things?”

  “This ain’t no Night of the Living Dead where you’ve got 8 hours before they cross the room to eat you,” McCoy replied. “These are Y2K zombies, man!”

  “What?” the Captain asked.

  “When they first started coming out with the fast zombies in movies my friend and I started calling them the Y2K zombies. And how fitting since the virus was introduced around that time!”

  “With the doors to the outside locked,” the Captain began, “at least they only have a limited supply of reinforcements.”

  “Who knows how many zombies they stashed up in here,” Val replied. “We could be here for days. We’ll run out of ammo first I’d bet.”

  “Let’s split up like I said before. You six go that way, and we’ll take this way.” The team did their best to comply but the zombies beyond the bend in the tunnels were far too strong. They beat back any assault the humans could muster against them. Their attempts to break through only made them all the angrier and they rushed into the command room for a second attack.

  The slower zombies took the forefront while the faster ones ran through the ranks jumping out without warning. Two of the faster ones broke through the human’s lines tackling two soldiers to the ground. Tearing their victims to shreds, the zombies leapt up seeking a second target. But their rotting eyes found only gun barrels awaiting them.

  Alex grabbed one of his grenades and hurled it over the heads of the oncoming crowd. His attempts at warning the others went unheard. He alone braced himself for the explosion. The terrifying roar created by the explosion proved enough to knock half the humans off their footing. Alex, who greatly underestimated the severity of the noise, found himself in a world of muted sound. He looked about him as if in a daze hearing only muffled ringing. His mind slipped into panic and he ran into what he believed to be safety. But instead of comfort, he found the living dead awaiting him. The others watched in terror as they tore his body limb from limb into a bloody mess. Those unable to feed on the corpse simply continued their assault forward.

  Those blown to the floor by the explosion soon found zombies on top of them from the same blast. Hand to hand combat quickly erupted as the humans found themselves inundated with foes at close range. Many received scrapes and gashes from zombie teeth but eventually they killed the intruders and regained the line. Although several of the men now needed medical attention the fight did not permit time for such frivolities. McCoy found the strength to grab a M249 Saw and set it up to help the fallen line regain control. The little room seemed to shake with the sound of the powerful gun. Most thought if they did survive the incident, their hearing would be permanently impaired.

  With the larger gun in place, the battle on the weaker side of the room turned for the better. The M249 was ideal for mowing down large groups of incomers. They had a much easier time of it until McCoy felt a stabbing sensation in his leg. He whirled around to find a hideous face looking not unlike stringy pumpkin guts with teeth. With the intact part of his face, the zombie devoured McCoy’s unprotected leg. With his hand, the zombie immediately attacked McCoy’s face as he turned to become aware of the villain. The foe’s thumb dug into McCoy’s eye ball and he screamed in agony.

  As soon as one of the soldiers heard the scream and killed the legless zombie, a new wave pushed in. This onslaught forced the troops on the other end of the room back into the command room from their hallway position. When the hallway soldiers reformed the line, one of the faster zombies whirled around the others, making his way down the vacated tunnel. He leapt forward jumping off the wall flying sideways in the air. With Olympic-like finesse the zombie whirled through the air with gaping mouth and landed his teeth precisely on the Captain’s throat while the Captain reloaded. The two tumbled backwards into the command room. Brady made a valiant effort and killed the zombie but not before the Captain’s throat literally hung open. With one hand, the Captain desperately tried to close the gap in his throat. Brady watched in horror as the bleeding fluids created a rasping sound every time the Captain tried to breathe. With eyes full of fear and surprise, he grabbed Brady’s pant leg as if in a plea. It turned Brady’s stomach to watch and though he felt great desires to assist, there was nothing he could do.

  The company’s efforts reacted to the Captain’s death and from there things only got worse. Several on the front lines were killed. McCoy, doing his best to continue firing with his one bloody and dislodged eye, accidentally shot one of his own men. Someone switched positions with McCoy. Now standing off to the side, McCoy fell prey to some lesser zombie he never saw coming. His body laid there ripped, spewing for a time, before a zombie finally managed to drag it back into the crowd. Another soldier was taken whole from his position kicking and screaming under the feet of the crowd. Both sides of the room suffered zombies breaking through the lines in regular intervals. The amount of humans quickly grew smaller and the foes showed no signs of slowing.

  Finally, when all hope was lost, one of the soldiers withdrew from the fight and began to look around the room. In the light of the flood lamp, he discovered a ventilation grate on the ceiling. He quickly began to pile things up towards it. Brady saw what he was doing and climbed to the top of the pile. He shot the ventilation cover until it gave way. Using the piled items, Brady managed to jump high enough to catch the rim and pull himself up. Peering inside, he found it tall enough for a person to crawl through. He struggled his way into the opening and then turned to help the other soldier up. A second soldier grabbed for Brady’s hand and soon he joined them in momentary safety. Val jumped up the pile and soon took Brady’s hand. While helping her up, Brady ordered the other men to start making their way down the shaft to disperse the weight. He feared too much weight in one area would bring the vent down.

  With Val up, Brady turned to one of the last soldiers. He panicked and jumped barely grasping Brady’s arm. The pile of boxes collapsed underneath him but this did not keep a zombie from leaping up and grabbing onto the man with all four appendages. The two dangled there in the horizontal light with Brady straining above under the weight of both bodies. Below the hanging soldier, Brady watched the floor no
w fill with enemies. No one else besides them remained alive. The two hung there suspended in space for a moment. But eventually the man fell when the zombie’s teeth cut into sinews enough that the weight of the two bodies tore the man’s arm off. Brady watched in shock as he was left holding only the man’s arm.

  Brady looked down for a moment hoping to see the end of the masses pouring in. But as he watched, more and more piled in until they pressed up against each other filling the room. The floodlight, now on its side, made eerie shadows as dozens of feet passed before it. The zombies crowding in on one another gave them the idea of climbing up to the vent. Brady watched in horror as they started stacking themselves towards the opening. He quickly pulled two grenades from his jacket. Pulling the pins, he quickly threw them in different parts of the room and retreated to join the others.

  ∙ • ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙

  “Well we’re dead!” Val greeted Brady.

  “I threw two grenades that will hopefully buy us some time. They were climbing up so let’s get moving.”

  “You’re still trying to get to the generators?”

  “It’s our only way of opening the doors and getting out of here.”

  “What about a secret exit?” one of the soldiers asked. “Surely this base has one that comes out on the other side of the mountain or something.”

  “There’s no way to know. I don’t think it’s worth our time to search around for one blindly. It’s just as likely the secret exit would require electricity anyway.”

  “If the zombies are this smart, won’t they guard the generators?” Val asked.

  “It’s likely,” Brady replied. “I’d love to be able to sneak up on them and take them by surprise but without lights that’ll be difficult. Keep your eyes open for any night vision goggles or anything useful like that. We’ll split up into two groups. If you three can find the generator room and power on the electricity for even a few minutes, I’ll open the doors and meet you there.”