“I’m staying with you,” Bill managed to say between pants.
“So you’re the poor loser who drew the short straw?” Bill couldn’t make a reply. “Alright, Short Straw, inside.” Xavier looked up at the sky and then followed Bill into the building.
∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ • ∙
Like some powerful demon straight out of a fantasy novel the space shuttle growled off in the distance. Its low roar could be felt in the company’s hearts. They ran like rats towards the majestic creation as it loomed against the hateful sky. Several more asteroids pierced the cloud cover and a reddish-purple light shone through in columns.
Connor glanced behind him to see the zombies gaining on them. They already swarmed the Kennedy Center. This made him forget how weary his leg felt. With the shuttle in sight, Holly and Kristi ran ahead at full speed. This left Connor hopping along by himself. He watched enviously as they scurried up the gantry without him.
From the stairs, Connor dared a glance to see the innumerable horde following them. Everything in his body wanted to stop. His leg ached. His lungs burned. He never seemed able to force enough air through his throat to get a full breath. His whole chest felt like it was on fire. With only three flights of stairs left, his leg refused to go any more. The constant hopping up the steps had used up whatever adrenaline he had left.
Kristi took note of his collapse and flew down the stairs. “You’re not dying here,” Kristi said yanking him violently to his foot. She half pushed and half carried him up the remaining stairs.
At the top, Connor found a rope spanning the distance between the gantry and shuttle. The rope disappeared inside the hatch-like door beside the word Discovery. Kristi helped lift Connor up onto the rope.
“Do your arms still work?” she asked him.
“I hope so,” Connor said looking down at the long fall and the zombies now running onto the bottom of the gantry. Connor painfully made his way across. Once he reached the other side Holly grabbed him and yanked him inside. Without a word, she returned to the opening to help Kristi in.
With a quick glance to see how high up the gantry the zombies progressed, the two women cut the rope and sealed the door.
Below, the zombies recklessly threw themselves onto the platform scurrying like drowning rats. Those unable to squeeze onto the gantry simply ascended the starship itself.
From inside, the roar of the engines seemed all the louder. Their intensity picked up as soon as Kristi stepped onboard. Completely undaunted by the start of the launch, the zombies continued to claw their way up the exterior tiles on their way to the cockpit. Then, like the blessed sound of their rescue’s arrival, the deafening thunder of the engines coming into their own shook the earth. Try as they might to overwhelm the craft imprisoning it to the dying planet, the crushing might of the engines burned against them with an unchallengeable strength. There under the dark sky their evil grasps broke, giving way to hope.
As a fist shooting up from the grave, the shuttle burst upwards shaking loose zombie soldiers and sending them to their second deaths. The ones fortunate enough to be caught under the afterburner were rewarded with a quick death. Those remaining gazed up dejectedly into the heavens at their lost prize.
Like a giant dragon, the craft scaled the sky and broke through the layer of overshadowing clouds into the shining brilliance beyond. As effortlessly as a horse shakes water off its mane, the starship released even the most resilient zombies into the churning sky.
Holly managed to scramble into the next room but Connor and Kristi were slammed against the back wall with all the other loose objects. Connor looked over at the shaking blur that was his companion. She looked back at him unable to say anything above the noise. Connor thought she smiled. He almost smiled back but a flying wrench hit him in the chest. Connor felt where it hit him and surprisingly found an intact rib. Several more objects came raining down from the room above. A few missed his head by only a few inches. With Kristi’s help, Connor scooted over so he would not be directly underneath the opening. A few seconds later, a screwdriver fell point first piercing the wall where Connor stood only moments ago.
Connor smiled at Kristi. He breathed deeply and rested his head against the quaking wall.
∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ • ∙
Sliding down the ladder at full speed, the man barely let his boots impact the concrete floor before he went darting off towards the wall. He dashed between the two suspended machine gun nests and straight into the last human refuge. His feet didn’t stop until they stood before Adus.
“Talk to you in private?” the man yelled breathlessly at Adus.
Adus, knowing this man returned from scouting, knew it could not be good news that brought him here. The two moved into a room where they could whisper.
“The lightning’s back,” the man reported. “I’m afraid it killed Richard.”
“I didn’t suspect it would be working again so soon. Has the shuttle already launched?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen it. But I haven’t had time to watch for it either. Especially with the lightning.”
“I hope they got out while they could.”
“In the zombie ranks, there are some completely unlike the others.”
Adus sighed. “How do you mean?”
“Very strong. Eyeless. Brutes of a thing. I’ve never seen anything like them.”
“How many did you see?”
“I counted three. But I’ve only seen a fraction of their army. I’d be willing to bet there are more.”
The sound of gunfire echoed through the concrete walls.
“Have all the scouts come back to the base,” Adus yelled as he ran towards the noise.
Adus almost jumped out the wall door and into the corridor. There he saw a dead zombie shot by one of the suspended guards.
“He was running for the door,” the guard said. “I had no choice but to shoot him.”
“You did right,” Adus replied. “Be prepared for more.”
Adus jumped back through the door in the wall and found almost everyone gathered in the main room. Adus took a moment to close and lock the door. When he turned around again, he found everyone surrounding him. As best they could, they put their hands on him.
“Adus,” one of them said, “you have led us well. We follow you to whatever end. Thank you for your strong leadership.”
“It has been my great pleasure,” Adus replied. “I love you all. So much more than I could ever say.”
Another burst of gunfire echoed down the corridor.
“Quickly now!” Adus yelled. “Get to the holes in the wall!”
As everyone found their own slit in the wall to shoot out, Adus looked up and saw Val who had come out to see about the gunfire. He saw the question in her eyes and nodded to answer it.
∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ • ∙
Val returned to find a shaking Sara. Maya did her best to calm her, but even without contractions, Sara seemed to be in great pain. Her forehead glistened with sweat and she often swallowed loud enough that Val could hear it. Her heavy breathing sounded more like a quiet locomotive than a human.
Sara looked up into her friends’ faces but saw only skulls engulfed in flames. Sara started to cry not knowing if she saw something in time or altogether different. She felt each tear roll down her hot cheeks. Both women tried to speak to Sara but she could not understand their words. Instead of being comforted, she shrieked as both unnatural faces approached and frightened her. Sara tried to climb up backwards onto the headboard but a strong contraction stopped her. Instead of retreating, her body doubled over and she squeezed her eyes closed.
When she opened her eyes, something tore. As if reality ripped underneath her and she fell through it, she found herself swallowed whole by the halls of time as never before. They absorbed her almost in her entirety into their essence. Without warning, she transcended into a new type of experience.
∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ • ∙
Adus knew almost nothing
about the advanced foes his scout mentioned. He feared they might be the kings Brady mentioned in his story of saving Sara. If so, he thought he remembered some possibility of mind control. He desperately hoped a cured person could not be turned. But nevertheless he kept the thought in the back of his mind.
Adus watched from a slit in the wall as several more zombies came running around the curve in the tunnel. He recognized their agile bodies as the zombies usually used as scouts. Their advances were easily ended by the two machine gunners outside. Even with the short bursts of the machine guns, Adus’ ears rang. The noise bounced around the concrete walls several times before stopping. Adus tried to open his jaw in a way that might block some of the sound but he had no luck and far more pressing matters to consider.
Before anyone could react, a body fell down the circular entrance that went up to the manhole cover. Adus’ eyes darted to it and recognized it as an infected as opposed to a corpse. It clawed the air towards the wall for a brief moment just before its body crumpled into the floor. The machine gunners turned their weapons towards the ladder leading to the surface knowing soon more would follow. Adus had hoped the manhole would have protected them a bit longer.
Another zombie fell by the ladder and landed on the first. This one immediately died as well but the third diver managed to only break his legs. With inhuman determination, the zombie clawed his way forward towards the gunners and the wall. His eyes were wild with the sight of fresh meat. It grunted almost happily as it dragged its body closer to the humans. A barrage of bullets ended its hope of food.
Adus thought there must be some way to exploit this reckless pursuit of meat. It was a question he’d thought a lot about when things were quiet. If he wasn't able to solve it then, he surely couldn’t now.
At last, a full wave of zombies pressed in from the curve in the tunnel. What they lacked in speed, they made up for in numbers. They advanced like a rising tide and took the full attention of both suspended gunners.
The ground started to shake under the feet of so many. As best they could, the ones from behind the wall fired into the onslaught as they started filling the tunnel outside from wall to wall. As the guns tore the front zombies to shreds, their bodies fell and were trampled under the relentless march of the ones behind them. Like a grape press, the fallen were smashed between the toes of the others. Soon the initial fallen became little more than bloody bones and ruptured organs. And still the zombies showed no signs of slowing.
Adus watched as newer, faster zombies arrived within their ranks. He tried to target these before they could threaten the suspended gunners. But these spider-like creatures slid quickly through the horde. One jumped off the back of another and grabbed onto the ledge of the right machine gun nest. Adus tried to help but couldn’t angle his gun far enough out of the slit to shoot the foe. One of the other soldiers behind the wall managed to shoot it off, but almost instantly another took its place. With unnatural rage – even for zombie kind – the infected swung up behind the gunner. With his dead hands he grabbed the man’s head yanking it backwards to expose the throat. Before the man’s hands could even leave his weapon, the zombie clamped down onto his throat. The gunner struggled for a moment to push him off. But soon his hands fell limp. His bloody screams of agony finally ended and within a minute parts of the gunner’s body dangled from the nest.
The other machine gunner stopped to pull out a grenade. He barely had time to pull the pin and toss it towards the back of the tide before they threatened to climb up to him. He knew the pile of bodies below him would eventually be his demise.
The grenade detonated much quieter than the gunner would have thought. The gunner watched as an unsatisfying two zombies fell to its explosion. He figured the grenade must have been lodged underneath some fallen dead. Though he wanted to toss another, the gunner noticed that the last few bullets slid into the gun. The weapon fell silent and he was forced to reload.
Several zombies seized the opportunity and charged up the fallen bodies to his position. Those behind the wall shot the legs out from underneath many of them but still one valiantly charged up the slippery hill and jumped up. The zombie startled the gunner as he looked down to see its growling face. The gunner pulled out his sidearm but accidentally dropped it. In a last ditch effort, the soldier pulled back his leg and stomped the zombie in the face. This succeeded in breaking its grasp on the platform but only managed to transfer it to his foot. The zombie dangled from the man’s leg and bit into his boot. Even though he violently shook it, the zombie refused to let go of his leg. Those behind the wall fired bullet after bullet into the foe's body but its determination would not break. Using one of its hands, the zombie peeled back the upper lining of the boot and exposed the gunner’s foot. In horror the gunner watched as the zombie bit into the top of his foot. Only after one of the soldier’s toes had been eaten, a bullet struck the zombie through the brain and he stopped moving. It dangled lifelessly for a moment from the man’s leg but he easily shook it off onto the pile.
In a great effort to ignore the searing pain in his foot, the gunner turned to reload the weapon. He found the actions of his hands unsteady at best. Try as he might, he could not make his arms stop shaking. This made reloading the weapon much more difficult. In three times the normal amount of time it took him to reload, he finally got the line of bullets put in the gun and began firing again.
To Adus’ surprise zombies now flew into view. From behind the curve they soared through the air and collided into the concrete side. Adus had never encountered flying zombies. He paused at the sight of it. Only after he considered it for a moment did the cause come into view. A massive zombie – easily twice the size of the largest normal zombie – charged through the ranks knocking several into the air and crushing others. With no regard for those he killed around him, he ran with burning rage at the suspended machine gunner. As effortlessly as a man might pluck an apple from a low branch, the monster reached up and snatched the soldier out of his nest.
The behemoth landed and stepped backwards awkwardly. Its large muscles caused it to waddle. While it did, the beast thrust the living soldier into its mouth and easily crushed the man’s skull between its teeth. Brains and blood came oozing down the giant’s jaw and chest. Like a cat might carry a mouse, the soldier’s body limply hung from its murderer’s mouth. When it backed up enough, the brute charged forward crashing into the wall at full speed. Several soldiers behind the wall fell back into a sitting position from the impact.
Adus stepped back to watch the effect on the wall. Though it held, Adus feared what several of these impacts would do to the welding.
Rounds of bullets tore into the brute until it seemed more like a bloody stump than a creature. Strands of muscle dangled off it like broken cords. Obviously it felt no pain for it charged again and again into the metal wall until its fastenings became loose. The soldier’s body fell to the floor allowing the brute to pant heavily like a dog.
With several of the top fasteners completely detached, Adus ordered everyone to retreat into the hallways. The sound of gunfire ceased as everyone took their new positions. This meant the only sound was the ominous thud of the creature’s repetitive crashing into the wall.
Without the guns to keep them at bay, lesser zombies came against the wall and poked their arms through the holes. Adus looked at the horde knowing it would be the end soon. Without the wall to protect them, they’d soon be overrun. He had wished they could make more of a stand. But now that he considered it again, perhaps a quick death would be best. Soon it would all be over.
Adus looked about him at his troops. As if in slow motion, he watched several scramble to new spots or ready bazookas. Silently he thanked them all for their loyalty and service.
The deafening collapse of the wall brought Adus back to reality. Parts of the metal scraped across the concrete as it fell and sent little crumbs of concrete down with it.
The creature beyond tumbled over the fallen wall and collided face firs
t into the floor. It stood like a bloody hunk of animated meat. A rocket screamed through the air and impacted its right side. The explosion sent the beast flying off to the left. It crashed into the wall and slid down. The right side of its torso and entire arm had been completely blown away. It fell like a slab of meat and it did not rise again.
A cheer went up from the humans as they could focus again on the lesser zombies.
Another rocket flew down into the lesser ranks. A dozen or more went soaring from the impact. Between the guns and the bazookas, Adus realized they could hold their position longer than he thought. But that pleasant thought quickly vanished with the appearance of another brute. It came charging into view from the curve in the tunnel. Without a wall in-between, Adus knew they stood little chance against it.
Adus literally saw hope drain from his soldiers’ faces. So while the soldiers with bazookas reloaded, Adus charged into the open. He stood like a valiant knight between his soldiers and the brute. Adus yelled and fired a whole clip of bullets into the thing. The beast barely noticed and charged for Adus. It lifted Adus by the arms into the air. Adus took the opportunity to kick it in the face. As if it boasted some type of intelligence, the creature’s face recoiled and came back with an angry look. In reaction to the blow, the creature effortlessly spread his hands while still holding Adus. The gesture tore off one of Adus’ arms.
The creature surrounded Adus’ chest with his fingers and started to squeeze. With his one hand, Adus clawed at the creature’s hand but barely broke the callous skin. As the creature’s grasp tightened, Adus could feel his ribs cracking one by one. Fading out of consciousness, Adus looked up into the eyes of the uncaring beast. Finally, Adus’ vision failed him and he knew only the pain of his captor’s grip.
The human soldiers below watched in horror as their captain’s body squeezed out of the brute’s grip. Blood and intestines came oozing out between the monster’s fingers. When the beast finished, he dropped Adus’ stick-like body to the floor. Only the spine and clinging muscle connected the head to the legs.
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