Even with the large bush slowing her fall, the impact was brutal. She let her legs give way, buckling at the knees, and trying to roll with the momentum, but the branches caught her up. They tore at her flesh, ripping away the first few layers of skin. The cuts stung, but were superficial. She was much more concerned with her legs and mobility. She pulled herself out of the tangled branches, and was glad to find that her ankles and knees functioned without issue.
Before she had time to look back up at the window she heard a loud whumpf-thud of someone else crashing through the bush and hitting the ground. This was not followed by a scream of agony, which she felt was a good sign. Nate’s grimacing face popped out between the branches. He was bloody and scratched, but otherwise in good shape.
He shook his head. “Stupid bush.”
It was Jake’s turn. They both looked up expectantly. He was at the window, but hadn’t yet started to climb out. Instead he just stood there looking down at them.
Abby gave him a quick wave with her hand, a “come-on” motion.
They could hear the sound of splintering wood, followed by a loud growl. Jake turned away from the window and screamed. Neither of them could see what he saw. A dark form slammed into him, sending both of them backwards into open air. His scream continued all the way to the ground. Their momentum had taken both of them beyond the forgiving branches of the shrub. Instead Jake landed hard on the cement sidewalk. The impact made a dull whump along with a sharp crack that was surely the breaking of bones. Scarface’s body landed on top of Jake, but his head slammed into the concrete, crushing in his forehead. Both of them laid still.
Another man appeared in the window above. He let out a loud bark. The sound echoed off nearby buildings. As if in response, the morning erupted with shrieks and howls from all directions. The man quit barking and then leapt out the window toward them. Nate jumped back to avoid getting tackled. The crazed man landed hard on the sidewalk, his legs snapping under the impact. Oblivious to the pain he tried to rise and go after the two of them, but his legs would not cooperate.
“We have to get out of here.” Abby said.
There was no argument from Nate. The two of them sprinted down the street, running past the burnt out SUV. They were horrified to see one of the grotesque bodies that had been nearly ripped to pieces was still moving. The lifeless eyes watched them as they ran past and one of its hands clawed desperately at the pavement.
Abby thought about her dad. He lived in a small town on the Washington coast. If this is hitting everywhere, she had to think that towns and rural areas were the place to be. It was difficult for her to picture crazies tearing apart the quaint tourist getaway. Her mom lying helpless in a hospital bed flashed through her mind. Unable to control her mind it shifted to swarms of infected descending upon her mom with nobody around to help. Unheard screams.
“Almost there.” Nate said between labored breaths, pulling her out of her thoughts.
Abby was barely winded by the two block sprint, but she did far more than this on a daily basis - for fun. The streets were mostly empty. A few cars were left parked on the street, probably from days prior. Blood stained the sidewalk and pavement but there were no bodies to mark their source. Had it not been for the surrounding sounds of chaos and thick plumes of smoke ahead of them, the city would have seemed deserted.
It was when they reached the final intersection that they saw where most of the missing people were. Partway down the side street was a huge horde of bodies surrounding several cars. It was impossible to tell if people remained in the vehicles, but Abby knew. Her heart went out to those that were trapped, but she knew there was nothing to be done for them. Nate must have felt the same, his stride never slowing as they both raced through the intersection.
Abby could see a small diner directly in front of them was fully engulfed in flames. Orange tendrils licked the brick wall and smoke poured out of the windows into the street. Several demented were sprinting out of the swirling smoke directly toward them. They looked like ghostly apparitions materializing out of a thick fog.
Abby began to slow and shouted, “We can’t fight them.”
“Hurry, we just need to make the alley.”
Halfway between them and the demented was a narrow alley that led to the back side of Nate’s apartment building. A wrought iron fire escape would get them to the second story and into his place. That is, if they made the alley.
The demented growled loudly. One of them slowed and let out a loud huff-bark noise, animal like and savage. From behind them came dozens of angry growls of response. It was primitive, but an effective notification to the others. Meat.
Nate and Abby raced for the alley. Abby drew on every bit of energy she had, knowing that it was going to be very close. Even with their awkward movements the demented were incredibly fast. They were nearing the alley’s entrance at the same pace as the demented. The sounds of pounding feet and angry growls behind them were indications that if they got caught out in the open they were dead.
Abby hopped the sidewalk curb, running up beside Nate. He was breathing hard, pumping his arms, running at full steam. The two of them raced past the broken out windows of a small bakery, their feet crunching through the shards of glass. They hit the corner at full sprint, their bodies just out of reach of the grasping demented. They were so close Abby she could smell their fetid breath. The demented were not prepared for the turn, both of them overshooting and crashing into the bakery wall, buying Nate and Abby a bit of time.
The narrow alley had a large dumpster sitting up against the brick wall of the bakery, garbage bags piled around it. The cracked pavement was littered with torn newspaper pages and the last remnants of fast food stops. Beyond the dumpster, on the opposite side of the alley, was the fire escape mounted to the exterior of the four story building. The metal ladder looked impossibly high. Neither of them had thought about the implications of using the escape in the opposite direction than it was designed for.
Angry growls caused Abby to glance over her shoulder. Not only were the two demented back up and running for them, but right behind them were several more that had rallied to the battle cry. She turned back to see demented streaming around the corner ahead of them. They were pinned in.
As they neared the ladder, she could see that it was about nine feet off the ground, locked in place by a latch above. Nate was only a shade over five feet tall, but used his incredible vertical leap to launch himself in to the air, arms outstretched. His hands caught the bottom rung. His feet swung wildly, carried by his momentum. It was enough. He held on and began pulling himself upwards, one rung at a time. Abby stood below, staring directly up at him, knowing the lowest rung was out of reach, even with her best jump.
Nate got one foot up on the bottom rung, while dangling his other leg as far down as possible. “Grab my leg.”
Relief flooded over her when she found out that he was not going to just leave her to fend for herself. Abby had no reason to believe Nate would callously leave her, but she had only known him for a little over a year. On top of that, people did strange things when fearing for their lives. She reached over her head and used both hands to get a good grasp on Nate’s ankle. His powerful frame began pulling her upwards.
Screaming demented raced her way.
“Hurry, hurry.” She shouted up at Nate.
Even with his incredible might it felt like she was rising unbearably slow. She glanced down and saw the demented were nearly to her legs. As soon as she neared the bottom rung of the ladder, she reached out with one arm, grasping it and using her own strength the take some burden off of Nate. With the weight off of his leg, he quickly began scrambling further up the ladder. Abby’s toned arms began rapidly grabbing rung after rung, flying up the ladder. She felt something brush against her shoe, just before it was pulled up out of reach.
Nate helped her the rest of the way up onto the metal platform. They were both breathing hard. They looked each other in the eyes. Nothing was said,
just a shared look of “holy crap.” Abby broke away and looked down below. There were nearly a dozen demented directly under the fire escape and more continued to stream into the alley from the streets. There were all types of people – young, old, male, and female. Some were drenched in blood, while others looked as if they had just gotten ready for a day at work. She sat mesmerized by the sea of crazed faces.
“Abby! This way.” Nate shouted from inside the nearest window.
His voice, barely audible over the roar of the demented, pulled her back. He had busted out the nearest window and climbed inside. This was not his apartment, but she knew his was straight across the hall. She followed him in through the window, leery of the darkness. The sparsely furnished apartment appeared empty. The place was a mess, possibly the norm. Abby sniffed at the air, unsure what she was going to determine from it, but figured she would know if she smelled it. She smelled garbage and maybe the stale scent of dust, but nothing unusual.
Nate waved for her to follow him and whisper-shouted, “Come on.”
Abby trailed after him, tiptoeing through the clutter. They both quietly crept out of the main door into the central hallway. They were just crossing the hall when a noise caused them to pause and turn. Several paces away stood two men, staring at them. They each wore blue jeans and t-shirts, looking like a pair of all American youth. Both pair of people stood frozen, afraid that any movement would incite an attack.
After several seconds of unblinking eyes staring at each other Nate hesitantly said, “Deshawn…that you? You…normal?”
Surprise crossed both men’s faces.
“Nate. Uh…yeah, we’re cool.” He glanced back at the other man briefly, back at Nate, and then whispered, “Where you goin?”
“Back to my place. Gunnin’ up.”
Both men perked up at “gun.” They began walking toward Nate and Abby. “You have guns?” Deshawn whispered.
Abby was worried. She didn’t know either of these guys, and had no idea if they had other intentions. Nate knew at least one of them, putting her in a difficult spot to say anything. She silently hoped Nate would stop them.
Instead he said, “Yeah, in my apartment.” He then pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, ushering them all inside.
Once inside Nate made a b-line for the bedroom, the two men trailing like puppy dogs. Abby remained in the living room, wanting to get a look outside. She cracked the blinds, peering through the narrow gap. The street was like rush hour in New York, all four lanes packed with cars. At the far end, nearly to the end of the block, was an overturned beer truck. Silver Coors Light cans were scattered across the pavement and onto the sidewalk. She knew the world had gone bad when beer was left lying on the street.
There were several people staggering amongst the cars. They were slow, awkward. Many were covered in blood and wounds…mortal wounds. She could tell these were different than the demented, and guessed that they were the dead that had risen. Her mind flashed back to Brent and the bathroom. He had been dead, she knew it. Her thoughts turned to her dad. Would he go to the city to try to get to mom? Unlikely…he was rarely there for her in the good times.
She turned toward the bedroom when she heard the clang of metal on metal. They were going through the weapons. She could hear them whispering.
“Where do ya know her from?”
“…couple of my college classes.”
“You hook up?”
“No, she…”
“…hand me that one.”
“…amazing body, I’d…”
They went on, oblivious to the fact that she could hear most of what they were saying. Boys, she thought to herself. She walked over to the main door that led to the hall and placed her ear up to the door, listening. Today there was far less gunfire and screams outside. That was probably a bad thing. The hall was nearly silent. There were low growls and occasional grunts. They sounded distant, maybe from the floor below.
“Abby, pick a gun.” Nate said from behind her.
She turned to see what he had. Before leaving for college she used to go out hunting with her dad, so while not an expert, she was familiar with guns and knew how to handle them. Nate held out a pistol and what looked like an Uzi. “I’ll take the pistol.”
“Mac-9 too much for you?” Nate said with a smirk.
Abby grabbed the pistol and said, “I can more than handle whatever you have.”
Chapter 3: Run
They spent several minutes going over their weapons and ammo. Deshawn had a pump shotgun and his buddy, Markus, was holding a semi-auto rifle. Ammo was limited, but they all had some.
“We have to get out of the city.” Abby said.
They all agreed with that, but did not agree on the best way to get it done.
Deshawn pointed toward the window and said, “My wheels are just down the way. Let’s book it and roll out of here.”
“Have you been in the streets…or even seen them? We’d get jammed up and overran within a few blocks.” Nate said.
“We pound through.” Deshawn said.
Markus rapidly nodded his head. “Yeah man, we make it happen.”
“You don’t get it. It’s hell out there. Cars, trucks, fire, demented, zombies, and the list goes on. No way, we’d be food. We’re in the middle of the f’n city man.” Nate said.
Abby jumped in. “The river is only a few blocks away. I say we get there and find a boat…stay off the streets.”
Nobody said anything for a while, letting it soak in.
Deshawn began rapidly nodding his head. “I like it.”
This got Markus and Nate nodding their heads as well.
Nate led the way, slowly cracking the door open just enough to peer out into the hallway. Once he determined it was clear he opened it the rest of the way and quietly shuffled out in the hall. A quick glance each way proved the hall to be empty. The others padded out behind him, the whites of their eyes easily visible in the semi-darkness.
“This way.” Nate whispered while moving along the hall.
As they passed some of the rooms they could hear angry grunts from within the thin doors. Abby could picture the rage filled demented inside, likely stumbling around, unable to find the exit - a death trap for anyone that entered. The four of them moved as silently as possible to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
At the end of the hall they came to the back stairs that Nate had said led to the side street. They stood at the top of the stairs, looking down into the darkness below and thinking their plan sounded much better in the well-lit apartment. Weapons raised, Nate and Deshawn led the way with Markus directly behind them, and Abby taking up the rear. She continuously glanced back, images of demented silently sneaking up and pouncing on her from behind kept flashing through her mind. Each time she looked back the stairs were empty.
Halfway down the stairs they made a ‘U,’ dropping the rest of the way to the bottom floor. Nate eased his head out into the hallway, looking the length of the hall. He turned back to the group and whispered, “They’re in the hall.”
“How many?” Deshawn asked. It came out louder than he meant.
The dementeds’ reaction was immediate. Angered growls echoed down the hallway. The sounds made the hairs on the back of Abby’s neck stand up. They were close, loud, and terrifying.
Deshawn stepped out into the hall with his shotgun pressed tight to his shoulder. Boom. He racked the pump. Boom. Each shot was deafening in the enclosed space. Bright flashes lit the hall.
Everything sped up. Nate dropped to a knee in the hall and began firing his mac-9 rapidly. Deshawn continued to fire, racking the pump between shots. Markus panicked and turned to run back up the stairs.
Abby put her hand out to stop him. “No, we have to get out.”
His eyes were white with fear. He knocked Abby’s hand out of the way, pushing past.
Rather than waste time with him, Abby moved into the hall behind Nate and Deshawn. The space beyond them was filled with demente
d. The front doors that led into the apartment building were busted out, allowing a steady stream of infected to pour in. They were going to get overran.
“I’m out!” Deshawn screamed. He reached in his pants pockets for more shells.
With only Nate’s MAC-9 firing, the demented were surging down the hall. There were dozens of them, all with single minded intensity. Those in the lead were falling to the gunfire, but were immediately replaced by others, barely slowed by the mounds of dead.
“We have to get out of here!” Abby shouted. She watched as Deshawn continued to jam shells into the breach of his shotgun. His firepower would be returning to the fight too late. She raised her pistol and fired several rapid shots into the oncoming horde. She couldn’t tell where her shots landed, but there were too many to miss. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the glowing green exit sign with an arrow pointing into a hall around the corner, out of sight. “Exit behind us, let’s move!” She shouted.
Rather than wait to see if anyone was going to listen, she turned and made a break for it. The back hall was narrow and dark, but clear of attackers. At the end, light spilled in through a glass door that led to the street. She hit the metal crash-bar at full sprint, sending the door flying open and slamming up against the exterior wall with a loud crack.
She immediately regretted her rush to get outside. The street was mostly clear, but halfway down the block were several infected staggering around a wrecked car. At the noise they all perked up. The nearest one, a tall man in a shredded business suit, looked up to the sky and let out their signature huffing noise. He remained in place, barking into the sky.
The sound of pounding footsteps echoed out of the exit hall. Abby looked back and saw Markus leading Nate and Deshawn out. Markus must have heard the call to retreat. Behind them the first of the demented slammed up against the wall before turning the corner in pursuit. The surge overwhelmed the narrow side hall, filling it with a solid mass of reaching arms and legs.
The Demented Z (Novella): Confliction Page 2