Zombie Apocalypse Series (Book 1): The Fall of Man

by Jeff DeGordick

  Sarah looked up at the scene of carnage and tried to get to her feet. Her legs wobbled, and she was still having trouble breathing, but she was able to move. At last, David's eyes opened and he weaved through the mass of bandits being torn to shreds and picked up the Glock that Sarah had tossed on the ground. He ran up to his mom and grabbed her by the arm, helping her up to her feet.

  "Come on," he said, "this way!"

  He parted the line of zombies in front of them and pulled her through.

  The bandits had stopped firing at this point, completely overwhelmed by the sea of mindless flesh eaters. The smell of metal filled the air as the carnival grounds were littered with the dead bodies of men deserving a fate even worse than the one they were getting.

  They moved toward the boat ride at the end of the carnival. They passed a guessing game booth and wound their way around the corner past a small building with a few broken down bumper cars inside. The boat was off in the distance, standing tall over the remaining booths and rides ahead.

  Sarah staggered along the ground, one arm wrapped across her stomach, still trying to gather her breath and refill her lungs. She wanted to tell David that she had to take a minute and stop, but she knew that they had to keep going.

  They came to a high striker game with a big metal stump that you had to hit with an oversized hammer to try to get the highest score.

  Just as they came to it, Jericho leapt out from behind it. David tried to run past, but Jericho caught him and wrapped his arm around David's neck, pulling out a big knife and pressing the blade to his soft skin.

  David's arm broke out of Sarah's grip, and she fell onto her knees, her legs finally giving out. "No! Don't!" she cried.

  David was scared, and Jericho just laughed.

  He had some cuts and scrapes on him, but he looked like he had managed to escape the zombies otherwise unscathed. His forehead was cut open and blood trickled down his face.

  "Please don't," she pleaded, still struggling to breathe.

  "You're really making this hard on yourself," Jericho said. "For every time you resist, I'm gonna pay it back double. But I think I changed my mind about all this. I was going to keep you as a slave like all the rest, but you've made it too difficult to do that now. I don't know how I can even look you in the eyes while I fuck you anymore. So I think instead, I'm just going to amuse myself by torturing you. Every day, I'll take a little bit more from you... a beating here, a lashing there. Maybe I'll even start cutting off your fingers one by one. And then when I finally get bored of you, I'll send you on your way to Hell. But before I do all that, I'm going to kill your son. I'm going to take my knife here and cut all along, splitting him open while you watch." As he talked, he hovered the blade of his knife over David's skin, simulating where he was going to cut. "I'll cut him into little pieces, one by one, and you're going to watch every second of it."

  Sarah finally got her breathing under control, and she began to calm down. She stared into Jericho's face. "That's it, right there," she said.

  He raised an eyebrow.

  "Just remember," she said, "breathe slow and don't let your hands shake. Just keep looking at where you want it to go, and slowly squeeze the trigger. Don't pull it, just squeeze it nice and slow."

  "What the—" was all Jericho could get out in time.

  As he held the knife beside David's head, David had his arms pointed out below, the Glock in his hands, aiming at Jericho's foot. He squeezed the trigger nice and slow like she taught him and the gun went off. The final bullet ripped into Jericho's foot through his shoe and he screamed out in pain, staggering backward. David wormed his way out from his grip and ran to his mom's side.

  Before Jericho could recover, Sarah sprang up to her feet and charged at him. She shoved him against the wall of the high striker game and he bounced off, spinning and falling to the ground. She pulled the knife out of his grip and stabbed him in his lower back with it. He screamed again and his fingers curled. As he twisted around, trying to fight back, she pulled the blade out of him and stabbed him in the arm. He held his hands up in front of him, trying to shield the attacks, and Sarah swung the knife back and forth, gliding the blade over his hands and cutting them. He pulled his hands back and tried to crawl away but she went after him and stabbed him over and over in the legs and back.

  He kept screaming and tried to crawl away on his elbows, his legs uselessly dragging behind him. She stabbed him a few more times, and the screams stopped, replaced by guttural noises. She pulled the blade out and held it by her side, his blood dripping down onto the grass. He very slowly dragged himself away from her, finally turning onto his back, a look of agony contorting his face. Blood poured out from the corners of his mouth as he shimmied away from her.

  He inadvertently crawled underneath a sign in the lawn for the high striker game and got stuck at the hips, his torso coming out one end and his legs out the other. He wiggled like a worm, trying to free himself, but it was useless.

  Sarah walked up to him, the bloody knife gleaming in the sunlight, and he raised his arms up in front of him, trying to open his mouth and let out a plea for mercy, but the blood just gurgled in his throat. She stood next to the sign he was pinned under and raised the knife. His eyes grew wide, and she threw it down. The blade sliced through the air and buried itself into the ground next to his head. His eyes lowered and he let out a strangled sigh of relief.

  She walked away from him, and he thought that she was showing him mercy, but she went up to the high striker game and picked up the oversized hammer leaning against it. She returned to his side, holding the hammer across her waist.

  As he looked up, he saw her head blocking out the sun, a dark silhouette with the hammer in tow, standing in front of him like the Angel of Death.

  She turned her head to David, who was kneeling on the grass nearby, and said, "Cover your eyes."

  He did as she said.

  Jericho's eyes widened and his body trembled.

  She raised the hammer above her head. It was so heavy that she could barely do it, but she found the strength she needed; she made sure of that. She wanted so badly to wipe his horrible face out of her memory, but she would get to that.

  She swung the hammer down as hard as she could on his crotch. It hit with a heavy thud and he shrieked. His real eye bulged in the socket as she lifted the hammer up and swung it down, hitting him square in the crotch again. His throat made all kinds of inhuman noises as she hammered his genitals into jelly.

  When she was done, his black jeans were soaked with blood and his legs shook uncontrollably. She dragged the bloody hammer across the lawn and moved up to his head.

  He was still alive, but just barely. He stared up at the sky, his face twisted into pure terror and pain. His fingers were curled into gnarled claws, and he let out very shallow and sporadic breaths.

  She took all the strength she had and raised the hammer again. Before he took his final breath, his good eye looked at Sarah, looked at the woman who rose up against him and took his life. He looked away at the last moment and tried to let out a scream, but the faintest of whines was all that came out.

  She dropped the hammer and it smashed against his face. She picked it up and threw it down again. She wasn't sure which was the exact strike that killed him, but on the fourth one, his skull cracked like a watermelon. When there was nothing left of him, she dropped the hammer on the ground.

  She turned and stumbled over to David, exhausted and her limbs feeling like rubber. She made sure he was still covering his eyes and she took him and led him away from the scene of Jericho's violent death and toward the boat.

  After they were clear, she told him he could open his eyes, and he helped her move on, without looking back or asking questions. He knew what happened, and he knew his mom had to do it, and he was glad all the same that he didn't have to watch.

  They passed more rides and carnival side games as the boat got bigger and bigger in their vision, towering above them. It sat in the
back corner of the carnival like a beacon of hope.

  Her heart seized up in her chest and she couldn't handle the suspense. They crossed one final row of booths in front of them and came out to the boat ride.

  It came into full view, standing at the back of the carnival in all its glory. It was a huge ride that stretched high up into the air where it attached to the fulcrum. Behind the ride, there was a big sign advertising it, and at the top of the sign was the exact same symbol on the card in her pocket: an image of a brown boat riding blue waves. That was it. It was Noah's Ark.

  But it was just a ride. An old, broken down ride that was long abandoned and had sat untouched and weathered over the years. There was no one else around, just an empty patch of grass surrounding it, and the fence that stretched behind it, closing in the back of the carnival grounds. Noah's Ark was just a carnival ride. It wasn't a safe haven. They came all this way for nothing.

  They stared up at it, as if expecting it to perform some kind of trick and spring into life or reveal some kind of oasis behind it, but it just sat there looking sad and dilapidated.

  "I don't get it," David said. His face contorted with emotion and tears streamed down his face. "Where is it?" he sobbed. He broke down crying uncontrollably, and Sarah cried too. They were both so exhausted and so disappointed that they couldn't help themselves. "Where is it!" he shouted in between sobs, anger in his voice.

  "I don't know, honey! I don't know!" She kneeled down and wrapped her arms around him.

  He pushed himself away from her and marched off to the fence at the back of the grounds. There was an open gate in the fence that led out into an empty field, and he stormed through it. She followed him and caught up just beyond the fence.

  The grassy field extended in front of them, overgrown and untouched by man for a long time. It extended down a hill in front of them and disappeared below their line of sight.

  She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to a halt. "David, stop!"

  "What does it matter!" he yelled. "It was all for nothing!"

  She fell to her knees again and pulled him in tight, wrapping a hand around the back of his head and pressing his forehead to her shoulder. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm so, so sorry. I know it's not fair."

  They were both exhausted and couldn't take any more. They held onto each other for support and they both just cried.

  A hand fell on David's shoulder. Its fingers gripped his muscles tightly and jerked him back out of Sarah's grasp.

  She looked up to see a bandit with a pot belly and blood running down his face, holding David against himself by his neck. He held a gun in his hand and he pointed it at the side of her son's head, the warm, hard steel digging into his skin. His teeth were bared in a scowl and his chest rose and fell heavily, like he'd just exerted himself tremendously in fleeing the zombies.

  All three of them were motionless for a long moment as time seemed to grind to a standstill. Then, very slowly, the bandit turned the gun away from David's head and pointed it at Sarah.

  He huffed and puffed, his mad eyes glaring at her, as if she had been the sole cause of all his miseries. His dry lips peeled open and his hot breath rolled out into the summer air. "You goddamn bitch," he said. "I'm going to kill you and make your boy watch." His meaty hand pressed David's fragile neck into his belly like a vice grip, and David watched his mom with wide eyes pointed out the side of his face.

  "Don't hurt him," Sarah croaked. "Please. You can kill me, but just let him go." She kneeled on the spot, powerless. She was unarmed, as was David, and they were completely at the bandit's mercy. "Did you hear me? Just let him go and you can have me," she said, clasping her hands together. "I'll let you do anything you want to me!"

  The bandit tilted his head down to David. "What do you say, boy? Does that sound like a good deal to you?"

  "I want you to be happy," David said, looking at Sarah.

  "I am happy, sweetie," she struggled, trying to keep a calm demeanor and show him that everything was going to be okay despite their circumstances. "I am—"

  "I want you to be happy," he repeated, as if he wasn't even listening to her, but instead focusing. He squeezed his eyes shut. "I want you to be safe." He repeated these words over and over again.

  Sarah choked on the breath rattling in and out of her lungs. "David, NOOO!!"

  Four zombies spilled out of the gate from the carnival and came up behind the bandit before he could turn around. They set in on him immediately, sinking their teeth into his neck and shoulders, even the back of his head. The bandit sank to the ground like a stone, pulling David with him.

  The events played in slow motion and Sarah saw all of it. But she moved in slow motion too, and her stupid limbs couldn't work fast enough to get her there in time. It was too late.

  In one instant, David decided he wanted his mom to survive. He loved her so deeply and wanted to do anything it took to make sure she was safe. Sarah had never realized it, but to David this journey was for her; he'd seen her become so miserable and detached and he just wanted to see her happy. He wanted to give her a chance. She had given him everything, and even if there was no Noah's Ark, his final wish was that she carry on. And for that he was willing to pay the ultimate price.

  The zombies ripped apart the bandit's flesh, then one of them began chewing on David. He went into shock immediately as he remained pinned under the convulsing bandit's arm. The zombies spread out and set in on him fully, falling over top of him and eating him.

  Sarah's whole body went numb. She ran at the zombies, trying to pull them off, but she was too weak. "No!" she screamed.

  But they didn't even notice her, quite content to keep to the meal they already had.

  She tore at them like a savage animal, but it did no good.

  "Hey!" a voice yelled from behind her. A set of strong arms wrapped around her midsection and yanked her off the zombies. The man was tall and strong, a good-looking man with wavy brown hair and blue eyes.

  She tried to throw herself at them again, but the man pulled her back.

  "It's too late!" he said.

  "No!" she screamed again. "My baby!"

  "It's too late!" he repeated, pulling her away. "He's gone!"

  Two men stood behind him, both armed with assault rifles. Their eyes scanned around the area as they aimed at the zombies piling on top of David.

  "Come on, we have to go! It's too late for him!" The man dragged her away to the other two men behind him, and they all retreated down the hill.

  She looked at the pile of zombies on her son as she was dragged away. Her arms were stretched in front of her, reaching out for him as they went down the hill, and her son disappeared from her view forever. Her arms fell by her sides and her body went limp. Her eyelids slid down and everything turned black.

  24

  NOAH'S ARK

  Sarah woke up in a white room. She was lying in a bed, her arms and legs strapped to it. Bright sunlight shone through the windows next to her, highlighting the stand beside her bed. There was a vase with a couple of purple daffodils in it on the stand, and a black woman sat on the other side of her, reading a book. When Sarah began to fidget, the woman looked up at her.

  "Well hello there, missy," the woman said. "Glad to see you're finally awake."

  Sarah turned her head toward the woman, who was smiling at her.

  "Where am I?" Sarah asked.

  "Most folks call this place Noah's Ark," the woman said.

  Sarah tried to struggle against her restraints. Her body shook in the bed as her arms writhed under the brown leather straps. The woman stood up and hunched over the bed, grabbing her arms and pinning them down.

  "Now calm down, there," she said. "There's no problem, this is just a formality. We can't have you getting up and wandering around and hurting someone or yourself."

  Sarah ignored her and continued to struggle, but she was weak. Her strength failed her and her eyelids got heavy. They closed and darkness greeted her again.

&n
bsp; When she woke up again, the room was empty. It was remarkably clean for something in the apocalyptic world they lived in, and she started to wonder if she was in some kind of dream. She was in a big room with about twenty beds next to her, but they were empty. The brown leather straps still covered her body, keeping her from escaping. She looked down and saw that she was dressed in a hospital gown under the covers. Her skin was clean and they must have undressed her and cleaned her up when they put her here. The necklace that David made her was still tied around her neck, the letters all lined up and in place.

  She broke into tears and tried to put her hands to her face, but they uselessly pulled against the restraints as her tears rolled down her cheeks.

  The same black woman came into the room and looked at her with a concerned frown. "Oh, honey, it's okay," she said. She walked up beside her bed and placed her hands gently on her arm. She lifted a rag off the stand next to her bed and wiped her tears with it.

  Memories of her son's death flooded her mind in vivid detail. She could still feel him in her arms as she looked up and saw the bandit pulling him away, that scared look in his eyes as he was trapped on the ground and the zombies chewed on him. Such a savage and useless end to a beautiful life. It made no sense. How could something so horrible happen to someone so beautiful? He did the bravest thing in sacrificing himself so she could live, but she would never ask for that, and she found herself hating him for it. It made her feel guilty, but she couldn't help it. She would do anything at all to get him back, but there was nothing she could do. He already made the choice for her and it wasn't fair. All the hope she ever had, all the things that David taught her about hope, it was all gone. There was no God and she knew that now. All she wanted to do was die, die and join her husband and her son.

  Her arms struggled in the restraints again and the woman tried to hold her down. Sarah looked at the woman. "Kill me," she said.