by Jeff Olah
Unlike her earlier self, the new Marie had rapidly lost the appearance of calm she portrayed minutes ago. Screaming into the walkie, her world began to quickly unravel. “CHRISTIAN… BEHIND YOU… CHRISTIAN!”
The chaotic shouting and crying coming from the skybox, combined with the hysterical screams of Savannah, drowned out any chance Marie had of notifying the man on the field of Justin’s approach. The intermittent squawks barely made an impression on him. He figured the ruckus coming from above was simply the two groups fighting over the first of his targets, now directly in front of him. “Goodbye sweetheart,” Christian said as he kissed her forehead, leaned back and held the barrel against her left ear. “Stop fighting, it’s almost over.”
Pulling her hair tight, Christian wrapped the index finger of his other hand around the trigger and looked to the east. As Savannah went quiet, one final signal from the walkie, in the form of Marie’s voice, was all he heard. “LOOK…”
With the gap now closed, Justin leapt forward, coming down with everything he had behind the blunt end of the axe. When the weapon made contact, it left a six-inch long jagged part down the back of Christian’s skull, slicing through hair, skin and bone. Fragments of each glanced off Justin’s face as the three bodies rolled together into a twisted mess at midfield.
Lightheaded and sliding toward unconsciousness, basic movement failed him. Standing and walking were foreign ideas at this point. Christian slid his hand across the back of his head, pulling back a chunk of damp, red hair. He now crawled toward the gun dropped in the collision as Justin desperately urged Savannah to her feet. “LET’S GO! GET UP!”
While Savannah stood from a kneeling position, Justin calmly walked over to his opponent, turned to the side and kicked him in the face, knocking him flat on his back. Justin grabbed the axe, as Savannah picked up Christian’s gun and stood over Adam’s executioner. She leaned over and set the barrel against his head, as tears began to move down her face once again, this time not for Adam. The emotion now came from what this world had turned her into.
As she hesitated, the man beneath her boldly mouthed the words “Do it.” Justin stepped in next to her and hugged her. “Not like this, I have an idea.” He motioned for her to give him the gun and she complied. He set the axe on the grass next to them and slid the gun into his waistband. She looked at him and asked, “Is he dead?”
“I don’t think so.”
Savannah nudged Justin to the side and picked up the bloody axe. She rained down two blows to each of Christian’s knees, breaking them in multiple places. It was evident that this man was still alive, if not completely coherent. The crushing strikes caused him to writhe from side to side and scream out in sheer agony. Savannah was surprised at how much this bothered her, even though she was prepared to kill him only seconds ago.
Justin hesitantly gave Savannah back the gun and asked that she not use it just yet. He knelt down picked up the axe once again and clutched a handful of Christian’s left pant leg. “Grab the other one and pull.”
“Where are we taking him?”
“Just pull.”
Slipping in and out of consciousness, they dragged the ex-convict toward the locker room Justin exited only moments before. His head randomly skipped off the uneven areas of the dirt and over the concrete lip at the entrance to the dugout, as the two struggled to keep an even pace. “Why are we doing this? Why not just kill him here? He deserves to die. And I want to do it before I lose my nerve”
“We will, just keep pulling,” Justin said.
The steps down into the player area of the locker room proved to be more of a challenge than he imagined. More than once, the pair was impeded by the debris left behind by the things that no longer could be categorized as human and who were now trapped behind a gate just outside this room. Justin’s heart was about to burst out of his chest, only he couldn’t determine whether it was from the exertion of his current situation or the anticipation of what was next. He wanted this and wasn’t going to let this man hurt any more of his friends.
Continuing backward, now under the bright unforgiving lights of the building’s interior, Savannah studied the man whose fate was still a mystery to her. From the front, his face and head appeared untouched, although the damp red stain he left along the carpet as they pulled him along told a much different story. The mangled mess that his knees had become had her almost feeling sorry for him as his jeans began to tear under the pressure.
As they reached the entrance to the corridor that led to the rest of the building, Justin stopped pulling and Savannah, unprepared, dropped Christian’s pant leg and stumbled backward. Now in the middle of the hall, she got her first glimpse of the Feeders trapped behind the gate as they started to stir. Savannah froze in place for a brief second before hurrying back to Justin.
“Stay in here until I call you out,” Justin said as he continued alone to drag their victim into the middle of the hall. Once in place, he dropped the axe on the ground next to the gate and returned to Savannah. “When I tell you, go straight up the hall until you reach the stairs. I’ll meet you there. Don’t stop. We need to find everyone else before we leave.”
“What are you doing Justin?”
“Making sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else.”
“We could have done that already.”
“Savannah you don’t want to live with that on your conscience. Now go. I’ll be right behind you.”
This kid was much older than his years. Savannah kissed him on the forehead and turned to walk away. She had seen enough and just wanted to be alone with her thoughts as she made her way up the hall.
“Savannah, you may want to hurry,” was the last thing he said to her before he turned back to Christian. “Wake up,” Justin said as he slapped this man in the face, hoping for just a few minutes of lucidity. Slapping him harder still he said, “Come on you idiot, wake up!”
Christian slowly opened his eyes and Justin moved off him and back to the gate, picking up the axe as he did. Scanning the rotting mass, he located the giant he was hoping for and to his delight it turned to face him once again, pushing others aside to get closer. Justin wasted no time in finishing what he came here to do. Raising the axe as the monster made his way through the crowd, it only took two quick swings to disintegrate the lock and free the horde.
The gate exploding under the pressure sent Justin reeling backwards, and stumbling into the opposite wall. Christian regained just enough sense to understand his current situation and cursed the boy for bringing him here. As the crowd began pulling him apart, his defiance continued. “You and your friends are going to hell. I promise you.” As death pulled Christian down, Justin responded, “We’re already there.”
Turning to reunite with Savannah, he realized the crowd pouring out had also turned their attention to him.
It was too late; as he turned to run they were already on him.
63
Witnessing a boy not yet able to drive take down a man most everyone in the room feared left the group in silence. April was inconsolable as Mason held her tight and watched the standoff between his once reclusive neighbor and a woman who had only moments before ordered the execution of one of his own. Randy pulled the short man to his feet and struck him repeatedly with that same weapon used on him as he followed Marie to the door.
“YOU ARE NOT TAKING THEM!” Randy said, as William unwillingly opened the door open for Marie who was pulling Karen along as a human shield, gun held to her head.
“Randy, let us go. Please don’t pull the trigger. We can figure this out later,” William said as the three exited the room and closed the door.”
“DAMNIT!” Randy said as he struck Samuel once again.
With April still a mess, Mason leapt to his feet then over the last row of chairs meeting Randy near the bar. “Let’s go! We need to get to Justin and Savannah.”
“Mason, you and April go after the kids. I’m gonna find out where she’s taking Will and Karen. We need them back.�
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“What about him?” Mason asked pointing to Samuel lying on the floor.
“I’m taking him… for insurance.”
“For insurance?”
“Yep… let’s meet downstairs in the hall near the rooms,” Randy said as he pulled Samuel to his feet once again and headed for the door.
. . .
Hitting every stair on the way down and bypassing the first floor in favor of the basement, Marie directed William to open the door once again. “Where are you taking us?” he asked.
“Don’t worry about it; keep moving. I’ll tell you when we get there. No more questions!”
“Haven’t we earned a right to know?”
“You haven’t earned anything yet. Open the door.”
The sign just to the left read “B1”. Hundreds of empty vehicles sat in quiet desperation waiting for their owners to return. They never would. Marie shoved Karen forward and into William. The two walked as their nemesis hastily guided their route.
There were large white pick-up trucks with equipment racks alongside big black SUVs with headlights that stared off into the grey dullness of the surrounding basement walls, yet not a vehicle in sight seemed to interest Marie. “Where is it? Where on earth did you park?”
In and out, back and forth through the rows, Marie pointed the way with the end of her nine millimeter pistol. The three hurried along like rats in an elaborate maze. “What are we looking for? Maybe we can help find it,” Karen said as they continued walking through the massive underground parking garage.
“Stop!” Marie quietly ordered as they reached the halfway point and she held a hand in the air clutching an alarm remote. A distant chirp came from the far end of the garage near the stairwell that led to the player areas. “Of course, I should have guessed.” Marie cursed under her breath and pointed, once again nudging William in the back. “Let’s go, we need to hurry.
William stood and turned to face Marie, placing himself between the two women. Karen leaned to the side to watch the conversation as her husband defiantly objected. “Hey, you just murdered one of our friends and we have been very cooperative. How about you fill us in on what the hell is going on and what the plan is. I realize you’re the one with a gun, although how do we know you’re not going to get where you need to go and then just kill us both?”
“Well, I haven’t yet. You’re just going to have to trust your gut instinct and hopefully it’s telling you that…”
The interruption initially came from every corner of the garage as the sound of snarls and groans wrapped in death was all too familiar. William swallowed hard and smacked his hands together as he knew what would follow. Turning side to side, finally pinpointing the source, he grabbed Karen’s hand looking for an escape. The door to the third stairwell, only thirty feet behind burst open as the horde Justin had released minutes before flooded through in search of anything that still had a heartbeat.
“RUN!” Marie said as she pushed passed the couple and headed in the direction of the car her husband had parked here just before this nightmare began. She still remembered the cheap biting cologne he smelled of as he dropped her off in front of the building and kissed her goodbye only to return four hours later for their special lunch and tour. He must have reapplied the cologne just before they met as she could still smell his presence long after he was chased down the hall by those things.
She pressed the alarm remote button once more as the trio neared the silver oversized SUV unlocking the doors. This also alerted the remaining Feeders in the garage of their location, sending the entire horde in their direction. Marie pointed the gun at William and ordered the couple into the back seat as she jumped in behind the wheel, locked the doors and turned the engine over. “We’re leaving; either of you so much as blink at me the wrong way and I’ll shoot you where you sit.”
. . .
In a panic, the stairs were difficult to navigate for the foursome as they headed toward the ground level of the stadium. Stopping at the door leading to their former rooms, Randy asked, “Is this where Justin left the group?” April confirmed with a nod of her head and looked at Mason.
Randy handed Mason the gun and tightened his grip on Samuel’s shirt as he continued to squirm. “Take this and get back here QUICK! I’m going for Will and Karen.” Randy kicked the door open for his friends and continued with his hostage down toward the basement.
With a single flight of stairs left, Randy shoved the little man down the remaining metal steps, bruising or breaking every part that wasn’t previously injured. Samuel now lay in a wrecked mess against the door to the garage as Randy stood over him breathing fire. He couldn’t separate his anger from the guilt he felt for not giving up the location of their weapons and the terrible outcome of that decision.
“So, how proud are you now that you were the one who knocked me out?” Randy said through gritted teeth.
“Listen… buddy. I was just following orders and I’m just as scared of that woman as you are. She’s insane.”
“That’s where you’re wrong my little friend. I’m not scared of her. I am going to kill her once I find her. Then… I’m going to kill you.”
“Please let me go, I’ll tell you where to find her.”
“I don’t need you, I’ll find her myself. Let’s go!”
Much to his surprise the door leading to the garage began to open prior to either of them touching the handle and the beast coming through the opening appeared just as shocked to find them so close to the threshold. Using the outward arc of the door and Samuel as a shield, Randy pushed against the single curious Feeder knocking it to the concrete.
Samuel craned his neck backward, glancing at Randy, expecting to be thrown to this thing, now fighting to right itself and clawing at the pavement. “Please Randy… don’t, I’m begging you.” Randy lunged backward as the two men were caught off guard by the large SUV driven by Marie barreling toward them. He couldn’t let her escape; he’d already let enough people down for one day.
With little more than a second to react, Randy took Samuel by the collar and shoved him head first into the path of the SUV.
64
Hundreds poured out into the connecting corridors and other zones of the stadium, rabidly hunting the few that remained. Savannah lacked the conviction to make it all the way to the stairs without being overrun and was frightened more than she had been since she first witnessed the infection take her best friend. The broom closet left ajar became her retreat and to her complete astonishment, not a single bump against the door was felt as she sat in darkness gripping the knob and waiting for the horde to move out of the area. “Where was Justin? Did he get out?”
The last Feeder had either moved on to another part of the building or was downed by the now bloodied axe Justin used to push from the floor to a standing position. Six corpses lay strewn across the partially carpeted area just outside the gate as trophies of the battle he’d claimed victory over. Testing his badly wounded ankle, Justin hobbled up the hall as Savannah emerged from the closet. She was surprised by his current shape and ran to him. “Justin, are you OK?”
“Yeah, most of them just went around me. A few jumped on top and I fought them off. When I knocked the last one down, they were all already gone.”
Resting his arm on her shoulder, they cautiously worked their way toward the end of the hall and turned the corner. Justin winced in pain as he tried once again to support himself on the bad leg and fell to the floor. “Justin, we have to go find your parents…right now!” She extended her hand, pulling him up once again as the door to the stairwell opened and Mason peeked through spotting the pair.
. . .
The SUV slid to a stop glancing off the supporting beam and sending the B1 sign through the back window of a brand new Seven Series BMW, throwing shards of glass in every direction. Samuel’s body came to rest under the rear passenger side wheel of the SUV as Marie struggled to regain her composure. She spotted Randy making his way to the back door attem
pting to free his friends and lowered her window. She wildly fired off a round missing by more than a few feet.
Moving to the rear of the SUV as the horde approached, Randy struggled in vain to open the rear hatch. The locked door wouldn’t budge and there wasn’t any time left. Marie punched the gas once again, darting forward and releasing Samuel’s lifeless body as two Feeders smashed through the rear passenger window. Bits and pieces of glass rained down over the interior, covering William and Karen.
With no way to exit the moving vehicle and one Feeder still halfway into the SUV, Karen slid to William’s side and they both kicked and punched at their attacker. Sweat poured down his face as he began losing the most important tug-of-war of his life. As this thing pulled Karen closer and he started to lose his grip, William begged Marie for help. “Please stop the car and help us,” he said as his nemesis took its first taste of Karen’s flesh. Biting right through her jeans and tearing away large chunks with each pass, this thing wouldn’t be stopped. Karen cried out for her husband in agony, although with each breath her voice weakened.
“William, I love you,” were her last words.
Marie turned the last corner on a dime and punched the accelerator, throwing them to the right and almost out of the broken rear window, smashing through the exit. The gate snagged the Feeder still halfway in the SUV, ripping it out of the vehicle and in doing so also pulled Karen to her final resting place among the infected beasts still following.
With nothing left to lose, William reached from the back seat and clutched Marie’s windpipe and began to clamp down. He had never wanted to take a person’s life until this day and he wanted to do it with his own hands. Holding tightly he could feel her slowly beginning to fade. She gasped a few times, although she never once looked back, took her hands off the wheel or her foot off the pedal. This actually seemed to cause her to focus that much harder, as if William wasn’t even there. Marie pointed the SUV at a two foot retaining wall and pushed the gas to the floor. The SUV lunged forward and into the air as William’s grip was broken and without his seatbelt his head bounced off the roof of the interior knocking him out cold.