by Steven Till
After a brief pause, he continued on. “I just figured we could go around and introduce ourselves. You know, just like in school.”
A rather portly man stepped from behind an end-cap display of anal beads and introduced himself. “My name is Carlos Moreno. I’m a chemical biologist at Bayer Corporation. I guess you can say I’m the group’s spokesman.”
“Thank you Mr. Moreno, it’s a pleasure,” Sam replied.
Carlos had broken the ice, as people started to follow his lead, stating their name and occupation. Pete took notes as everyone took turns with the pleasantries. He had watched enough movies to know that the more you know and understand the people you’re surrounded by during these types of situations, the longer you can live. He took out a notebook and scribbled down every word. Later, he even added some personal observations about everyone. When the feel-good, get to know you session ended, Sam suggested that they take stock of their weapons, ammunition, and supplies.
Pete looked down at his notebook and reflected on his sociological observations of the group, more than impressed with his level of detail and cognizance.
Carlos Moreno, 43: Fat guy. Sweats a lot. Thinks he calls the shots. Says he’s a big shot biologist or something for some drug company.
Ethan Rhodes, 22: Thinks he’s a thug, but he’s white. Considers himself to be God’s gift to women. All women hate him. Dreams of being a famous rapper, but will most likely get eaten by a zombie.
Theresa Roorbach, 54: Housewife. Seems kinda mousy and shy. Sort of pretty in the face for an older gal. I think she said her husband got eaten.
Shawn Dunlevy, 35: Cold motherfucker who always seems to be pissed off about something. Pretty ripped, maybe he’s a cop or something. Doesn’t say a lot, but he grumbles a shitload. Every time he talks, he does it through clenched teeth. I think he hates the fact that their group listens to Fat Carlos.
Alison Trotter, 23: Pre-med student at the University of Pittsburgh. Curvy, but a bad complexion. Doctors are good to have in these scenarios. Hope she’s not stupid.
Daniel Nishimura, 18: Video game virtuoso. See this kid in GameStop every time I’m there. My girlfriend’s sister is in his grade at school and says he gets horrible grades. That’s weird, since he’s Japanese.
Suresh Chattopadhyay, 28: That was really fucking hard to spell. Don’t know much about this guy aside from the fact that he's fucking monstrous. His biceps are bigger than my thighs and he must be 7-8 feet tall. He hasn’t said a single word since he’s been here, so I think I’m going to call him Chatty. Ha! That’s pretty ironic, huh? That Daniel kid appears to be friends with him and says that Chatty is from someplace called Bengal in East India.
Evelyn Gray, 31: Sam’s neighbor. Super-hot! I’d totally do her if she wasn’t engaged or whatever. Sam tells me that she’s a writer or something. Don’t know how useful she’ll be, but she looks like she can kick some ass.
Rachel Cowan, 44: Rich, elitist bitch. Willing to bet she hasn’t worked a day in her life on account of all the servants that she no doubt employs. Stuck up. Useless. Hope she gets eaten soon. All she’s done so far since she’s been here has been bitch and moan about everything.
He admired the beginnings of his dossiers and rolled his notebook up and shoved it in his back jeans pocket. He then picked up a box of ammunition and carried it over to the end of the counter. He was excited to tell Sam about his observations.
Sam and Evelyn stood at the far side of the front counter, calculating their food and supply rations. She had been crying, her tears eroding clean streaks of skin through the dirt and grime on her face. Sam knew that she worried about this Nathan fellow and it was hard to watch her be so upset. He decided to give her a job to do to keep her from dwelling on the real possibility that her man was dead.
Convinced that she was focused on her new role, Sam walked over to the large Bengali who Pete had dubbed “Chatty”, which, to Sam’s amusement, was pretty funny. This guy hadn’t said so much as a syllable the entire time they’ve been here.
“How we lookin out there, Chatty?” Sam asked as he peeked out between the blinds that covered the door window. “You don’t mind if I call you Chatty do ya? It’s a bit easier to pronounce.”
The large man looked at Sam with a raised eyebrow. Sam couldn’t tell if it was a look of annoyance or amusement. Chatty gave a slight nod and then his expression became grim and pointed out the window. Following Chatty’s finger, Sam saw what had gotten the large man’s attention.
Although the bus obstructed the majority of their view to the parking lot, they were able to see a good part to the right of the bus. A small group of zombies were making their way through the lot. They turned their heads and looked about as they went. They were looking for something, or someone. Sam closed the blinds the rest of the way. “Stay here and keep an eye on ‘em. Let me know if they start taking an interest in us.” he whispered to Chatty, who nodded in acknowledgement.
Sam made his way to the back of the store, went behind the counter and hit one of the light switches on the wall. All the lights on the door-side of the shop turned off, while the other half of the store remained lit. Everyone in the group tensed up and looked around to see what was going on.
“Sorry folks, not trying to cause a panic, but we’ve got a few creepers outside and it looks like they’re looking for us,” Sam said in a hushed voice. “I’ve got Chatty keeping an eye on them, so if they start poking around, we’ll know.”
It took the group a moment to realize that Sam was referring to Suresh. His new nickname evoked some giggles from a few younger members of the clan.
Shawn stood up and fed shells into his shotgun. “How many of them exactly are out there?” he asked.
“We counted five that we could see, but the bus blocks a large chunk of our view, so there may be more out there that we can’t see,” Sam replied. “I don’t think you should go out there, son. They haven’t spotted us yet and if you go out there shooting, you’ll likely be ringing a dinner bell for others that may be in the area.”
Shawn stood there with his usual scowl. “Then I’ll just have to do it real quiet like,” he replied.
He walked over to the merchandise counter towards the back of the store which was serving as their weapons cache. After perusing the various items that Sam had managed to grab from the sporting goods store, he picked up a large crossbow and about a half dozen bolts. Pulling the tension wire back, he locked a bolt in place and began to walk towards the rear entrance.
Evelyn intercepted him before he could make it to the door. “Shawn, hold on a sec. You can’t just go out there and take them out with a crossbow,” she said with authority.
“And why the hell not?” he asked.
“How fast do you think you can reload that thing? Assuming that you’re a good enough shot and can hit the first one in the head, the others will know you’re there and they’ll no doubt call for reinforcements. Not to mention, they'd outnumber and get you before you could ever hope to get another shot off.”
Shawn glared at her, knowing that she was right, although he hated to admit it. Glancing around the room, he saw the concerned and somewhat angry faces glaring back at him. “Okay lady, do you have a better idea?” he asked her through clenched teeth.
She looked around at the group, who now looked back at her with an expectant hopefulness. Great, she hadn’t had a better idea in mind when she stopped this lunatic from going out there with guns blazing, but now it seemed that she was their battle strategist. She searched her mental Rolodex of research that she performed on her many novels and hoped that the scenario she pulled out would suffice for a game plan.
“Well, we need to kill them at the same time and we need to do it without drawing more of them to us. Sam, do we have any more of those crossbows?”
“I think we have one more that we could use from my brother’s stash,” he replied.
She nodded. “That’s okay, two is much better than one. We’re going to need to use
the buddy system on this if we’re going to succeed.” She looked around the group, then back to Sam. “Do we by chance have any hand to hand weapons? Axes or machetes or anything like that?”
“Oh, we’re actually in pretty good shape in that area,” Sam replied. “We have two full-sized axes, three one-handed hatchets, and about five assorted machete blades.” His face lit up a little at the fact that they were better equipped in the melee weapons department. You never have to worry about running out of ammo with a blade.
“Excellent,” Evelyn said, also a little more hopeful. “Chatty, are they still out there?” she whispered down towards the front door.
Chatty had been peering through the blinds this whole time and he turned to give an affirmative nod.
“For whatever reason, they seem to be camping outside. Maybe they know we’re in here, maybe they don’t. They haven’t seemed to have called any more to our location, so we have to assume that we’ll be able to surprise them,” she said. “Sam, are we able to get up onto the roof?”
“Yep, there’s a ladder inside the back room that leads to an access hatch up top. We can access the roof without having to open the back door.”
Evelyn’s plan was solidifying in her mind as she sized up the group. “Excellent. Who here is a good shot?”
Everyone looked at each other. Daniel raised his hand and spoke up. “I’ve played paintball every weekend for the past five years and have even ranked nationally. I can make a headshot from a seventy-five yards.”
“And I’ve gone bow hunting every season for the past ten years,” Shawn interjected.
“Good,” she said. “You two are the shooters. Daniel, I want you to position yourself on the roof, Shawn, I’d like you to take position around the far corner opposite the bus.”
“So that will take two of them out, what about the other three?” Shawn asked, pissed that a woman was dictating strategy.
“We’re going to need to take them out with blades,” she answered. “Chatty, Ethan and I will take out the other three.”
Ethan’s eyes got wide. “Whoa, um...not that I’m scared or anything, but why me?”
“Because you look like you can move fast,” was the only explanation Evelyn provided. Not having a witty comeback for that, plus not wanting to look like a pussy in front of the ladies, he waited for the rest of the plan.
“Ethan, you’ll go with Shawn to the far corner. Chatty and I will circle around to the bus. Daniel and Shawn will shoot and drop the first two. You guys will need to reload as fast as you can in order for this to work. Once the first two drop, Ethan, you need to charge the other three. Run at them as fast as you can. While their attention is on you, Chatty and I will come out from behind the bus and take out two more.”
Ethan looked pale as the plan unfolded. Shawn and Daniel looked a little nervous, yet confident in their role. Chatty just stood there nodding.
“What about that last one?” Ethan asked, the nervousness clear in his voice.
“By that time I’ll be reloaded,” Shawn said. “I’ll be able to put it down.”
“You better,” Ethan replied.
The group spent another minute finalizing the plan. Shawn and Daniel worked out who would shoot first, to avoid going for the same target, while Evelyn discussed the hand to hand assault further with Chatty and Ethan. They made their way over to the weapons and equipped themselves for the attack.
Confident that they were ready, the reluctant warriors moved to the back room. Daniel climbed the ladder that lead up to the access hatch. Evelyn held a large machete in her left hand as she gingerly unlocked the back door. She opened it a crack and peered out through the small narrow space. She couldn’t see anything, nor did she hear any movement in the small alleyway between the building and the cliff face.
Daniel opened the hatch and climbed onto the roof, closing the hatch behind him. He kept low and crept towards the front of the building. Thank God the roof was covered with tar paper. It would have been impossible to remain stealthy on gravel. He stopped just before the front ledge. He stretched out onto his stomach and placed the crossbow down. Inching forward, he peered over the side and observed the zombies below.
Evelyn opened the door the rest of the way and entered the alley, moving behind the door and down to the corner. Chatty followed and joined her at the corner of the building. Shawn and Ethan moved to the opposite corner. Sam eased the door closed behind them, keeping it unlocked in case a quick escape was needed.
Evelyn and Chatty moved first, rounding the corner and hugging the side of the building as they made their way towards the bus. After counting to ten, Shawn and Ethan left the alley and headed towards their position on the far side of the shop.
Daniel saw the five creepers standing in the lot. They didn’t appear to be paying any attention to the building and they hadn’t noticed the others, who were no doubt in position by now. He picked up the crossbow and took aim. He didn’t know which dead head he’d have to shoot, but he was thankful that they grouped themselves pretty close together. Common sense told him that Shawn would hit the one closest to his corner, so he moved his sight to one further left.
Evelyn ducked down and edged around Sam’s station wagon with the large Bengali right behind her. She reached the front of the car and peered around the fender. Their targets weren't visible through the gap between the front of the building and the bus, but she could hear their guttural growl just to the left. Shawn peeked his head around the far corner and spotted her looking back at him.
She motioned for him to wait a moment, then waved Chatty on around her. He moved past Evelyn and went to the far back-left corner of the bus and stopped, poised for the attack. She positioned herself behind the front wheel of the bus and signaled to Shawn that they were ready to go. Above, Daniel laid like a sniper, his sights centered on one of the zombie’s heads as he anxiously awaited for the assault.
Suddenly, a thwack sounded, followed by a high-pitched whisper, then a wet crunch as the crossbow bolt impaled the first zombie’s head. Daniel saw the creature fall face first onto the cement, driving the arrow further through its skull, leaving a gaping hole in the back as the arrowhead broke through. Rancid brains spilled out over the first casualty. Without hesitation, Daniel immediately released his bolt into the second creeper, nailing it through the eye and dropping it on top of the first.
Ethan sucked in three quick breaths and took off around the corner; Shawn already in the midst of reloading. Running full tilt towards the remaining three creepers, he raised the long machete above his head and screamed. The three ghouls, surprised by the sudden attack, turn towards the food sprinting right at them.
They advanced on the newest snack that had stupidly come out of hiding. Deadly tongues slithered from gaping jaws. Long, razor-sharp claws clacked together in eager anticipation of the meal which they were about to savor. A noise from behind them caught the attention of one of the three. It caught a glimpse of the largest human it had ever seen, just before it felt cold steel cleave into the side of its neck, slicing through leathery skin, muscle, tendon, and bone. Then the world went topsy-turvy as its head spun, landing on the icy pavement with a thud.
The commotion alerted the nearest creature. An immense human had swung a large axe with all his strength and was still in the follow-through of his attack. Knowing that the human was vulnerable, the zombie lunged. All momentum halted as a female stepped from behind the bigger human and brought something large down on its head.
Evelyn felt the machete’s blade bury itself deep into the creeper’s head. The crunch of the skull made her queasy. The squish of the brain made her nauseous. The force of the impact startled her and the monster hit the ground hard, causing its head to open up, spilling the now liquefied head jelly onto the asphalt. The machete was extremely sharp and had gone completely through the head and had lodged itself into the spinal column. She pulled hard at the blade, jerking it back and forth, finally freeing it from the corpse.
; Chatty had placed himself between her and the last creeper, which was now too far away for either of them to kill. Ethan was now in panic mode, the creature a mere ten feet and closing. Through all the action, he thought he heard someone sneeze. THWACK! The arrow entered his calf and exited through his shin, shattering the bone. It continued its flight, embedding itself into the dead-head’s leg.
“AW FUCK ME!!!!” Ethan screamed as he crumpled to the ground, clutching his ruined leg.
The zombie kept advancing, not even phased by the arrow protruding from its leg. Leaning over Ethan, it lashed out its forked tongue, embedding the toxin barb deep into his shoulder. THWACK! Daniel’s arrow entered one temple and burst through the other, leaving a trail of brains and blood in its path.
Evelyn and Chatty rush to Ethan as he pulled the barb from his shoulder and shoved the corpse aside. Shawn emerged from his spot behind the corner and walked towards the others, systematically scanning the area for any other threats. Daniel jumped up and ran back to the hatch. Slinging the crossbow on his back, he slid down the ladder, almost landing on Sam, who was still keeping watch at the back door.
“Jesus Christ, son, what the hell is going on out there?” Sam asked.
“Shawn shot Ethan in the leg. He’s hurt real bad, but we got all the creepers,” Daniel replied frantically.
Sam pushed by Daniel and entered the store in a whirlwind. “We got wounded coming in! Alison, you’re the doctor here, what do you need?”
Alison looked dumbfounded. She was still in the early stages of med school and had yet to be exposed to a trauma situation first hand. “Uh, well...um...I don’t know what kind of wound I’m dealing with yet...”