They were running out of time.
Chapter 5
Neal sat silently on the lower steps of the mausoleum. He had not turned away from the baby cemetery since Jessica was taken by the undead creatures. In just one week Neal had lost his entire family. What kind of man was he that he couldn’t defend his loved ones?
Emma was across the mausoleum trying to give Neal some space while discussing matters with Thomas across the way. Thomas was perched on top of the gravestone with his feet put squarely on the six inch width of the top. It felt good to be in a new position, even one as strenuous as that.
“We’re going to have to make a run for it at some point,” admitted Emma. “There is no other way off these tombs.”
“I know,” said Thomas. “But the water is getting deeper. There’s already a puddle a couple of inches deep over here. And the ground is muddier. We won’t be as fast running through it.”
“I guess we should have run when we had the chance earlier,” said Emma.
“No,” said Thomas. “We still would have been caught. We’re just delaying the inevitable, now.”
“Help, is still on the way,” Emma said to not only reassure Thomas, but also herself.
Then like an answer from Heaven, a patrol car pulled up next to their cars on the street in the cemetery. Its siren let off a short yell announcing to the four survivors that the police had arrived.
“Thank God,” said Cara. She got to her feet on the mausoleum and waved her arms high in the air to help them notice her. “Help! We need help!”
The two officers, William and Lois, got out of their patrol vehicle. Lois looked over the hood of the car from the driver’s side. She eyed down the four people sitting on top of the cemetery monuments.
“Third report like this today,” said Lois. “What’s the deal? Some internet thing I missed?”
“I really thought we were done with this shit after the Batmaning,” said William.
Lois bent down back into the car to get on her radio. “It’s just more people huddled on top of things. Any word yet from the other cars about why people are doing this?”
“They haven’t reported back yet,” answered the radio operator on the other end of the line.
“Fine,” said Lois. “No back up required. We’ll handle it.”
“Ten four,” responded the operator.
“We need help!” Cara shouted again. “Are you listening?!”
The police officers looked over at Cara. They stepped forward onto the muddy landscape of the cemetery grounds.
“No!” shouted Emma, followed by the others. “No! Stay off the grass!”
William and Lois put up their hands to try to calm down the four shouting individuals. “I need everybody to be quiet,” said Officer William. “You all need to step off of the gravestones now. This isn’t a playground.”
“Get off the grass!” Thomas shouted.
“Is this a protest?” Lois asked.
“Get off the grass!” Neal yelled. “How hard is it?”
“He said to get off of the gravestones,” Lois scolded Neal.
“Fuck that. You’re gonna have to make me,” said Neal. “I have every right to sit here.”
“No,” said Emma, trying to regain control of the situation. “You don’t understand. There are things under the ground. They will grab you. Get off the grass.”
William continued marching closer to the group, pissed off at Neal’s attitude. His posture showed no time for games. “Step off of the gravestones, or I will have you on the ground. That is an order.”
There was hesitation from the four people perched on the gravestones of the cemetery. They stole glances at each other, waiting to see what the others would do.
“I said get on the ground!” William shouted.
“Do as he says!” Lois backed up.
“We can’t get on the ground,” Emma tried to explain once again. “Please, you have to get off the grass.”
Thomas looked out to the ground beyond the two police officers. He saw the churning mud signaling the return of the undead creatures. They were on their way.
“I’ve had enough of this,” said William. He pulled his gun out of the holster and pointed it directly at Emma. “Get on the ground. That is an order. No more threats about getting off of the grass.”
Emma froze. She put her hands in the air, but otherwise was too afraid to move.
“Why the fuck won’t you listen to us?” Cara asked.
Lois unholstered her gun as well and pointed it at Cara. “Get on the ground, now. You are disobeying a police officer.”
“We are in danger!” Cara shouted. “You are in danger!”
“Fucking pigs,” said Neal. He spit in the officer’s direction. “We pay your salary. Get those guns out of our faces and listen to us. Get off the ground.”
Thomas didn’t say a word. He dropped his body to the ground, making sure to hit the mud as hard as he could.
“No!” Emma shouted. “What are you doing?”
“Get him,” Lois told William. “I’ve got my eye on the others.”
William changed his direction and turned left to approach Thomas.
“It’s the only way,” said Thomas. “They have to see.”
“No,” said Emma. “Get up. Get off the ground.”
“Stay right where you are,” instructed William. He didn’t notice the death trail coming up from behind.
Thomas rolled hard to the right. He slapped the ground with his hands and feet.
The sudden movement caught William off guard. He went to fire his gun at Thomas, but the ground below him shifted. He tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. The gun went off in his hand, firing wildly into the air.
Thomas continued rolling until he was back on his stomach. Then he jumped to his feet and hopped into the air. The ground below him opened up and undead hands reached out for him. They tore at his shirt and jeans. The attack slowed down Thomas’ momentum, but he was able to crash onto a new tombstone slightly closer to the mausoleum. It was thicker than the last one he had been on, offering at least one bit of solace.
“What the hell was that?” Lois said. Her gun pointed directly at Thomas now.
“Get off the ground!” Emma repeated. She could see the death trails converging onto Officer William.
William rolled back up to his feet. The mud hampered his movements. Every time his body shifted he sunk a little deeper into the soft earth.
Then an undead hand burst from the mud and grabbed hold of William’s foot.
“Holy shit!” William yelled. He tried to kick his foot away from the creature, but its grip was too strong. Its nails dug into his shoe all the way to his toes. Then another hand shot up and grabbed William’s other foot.
“Fuck!” William yelled. He fired his gun at the ground. Out of panic he aimed at the two hands that were grabbing his feet. One shot missed, but the other went straight through the undead hand and right into his foot. He screamed even louder than before.
“Will!” Lois yelled. She ran toward her partner to help him out. As she ran she watched as William dropped to one knee on the ground. The hands did not stop. Two more hands shot up out of the ground. They grabbed his leg and pinned it down to the mud.
William struck at the monstrous hands with the butt of his gun. Bones cracked and chipped, but the hands never let go. The ground continued to loosen up. William was sinking into the mud.
Lois got to her partner. She grabbed hold of his chest from behind him. She braced herself and started to pull him back up. The undead creatures sensing they were losing their newest prey pulled harder on William.
“Please! Stop! Stop! Let go!” William screamed. Two more hands ripped through the ground and grabbed hold of William’s legs.
Lois could feel her feet begin to sink into the mud. William was getting heavier by the second. Her fingers struggled to stay locked together.
&n
bsp; The undead hands dug their nails into William’s legs to get a deeper hold on their latest victim. Blood trickled down and sprinkled the grass below the human tug of war.
Another pull was all that was needed. Lois’s hands broke apart and William was free to get pulled down into the ground below her feet. William continued to fight being dragged below, but he could not escape the grip of three undead creatures.
William crashed into the mud. He twisted his body and grabbed hold of grass and more mud to keep him from behind dragged any deeper. Then two more sets of hands sprung up and wrapped their arms around William’s back. Their nails cut into his spine. William screamed out in pain as he was pulled underground.
His head was the last thing to see the surface. Finally, one last hand broke through the ground and covered the top of William’s head. Its nails dug into his forehead and scalp. Blood spilled down his face as he was pulled below the surface.
Lois scrambled to her feet. She watched in shock as William was pulled into the ground beneath her. Not knowing what else to do, Lois fired several bullets into the ground where the undead monsters had emerged from.
The four witnesses jumped in their spots on the gravestones with every gunshot.
“Get off the grass!” Emma yelled again, but her worries went unheard against the thundering sound of the gun.
“Where did he go?” Lois finally said.
She would soon find out. More hands broke through the surface of the ground and reached up for Lois to join them. Lois shot at the ground and the undead creatures several times, but every hit did nothing to stop the onslaught. The hands continued their pursuit of Lois without halt.
Their claws pierced through her uniform and dug into the skin of her legs. Lois was dragged deeper into the ground with each pull of her limbs. Blood and tissue was ripped from her leg as the undead pulled her down to their level.
Lois screamed out in pain. She was knee deep in the mud and sinking deeper. Her own blood pooled around her as her body was torn apart by the deadly sharp nails of the undead.
So Lois ended it all. She took one last shot with her gun and shot herself in the head.
The screaming was over. The struggle was done. Her body fell limp to the ground. The undead paused for a moment.
“Oh, my God,” said Emma.
The others were silent. Their latest hope of escape had just taken her own life.
Then the undead creatures began their process again. This time there was no fight. Lois’ body sunk into the mud with ease.
Nobody said another word as the cemetery ground was cleared out and once again it was just the four of them stuck in the middle of the cemetery with no more help on the way.
Chapter 6
Every one of their cars sat motionless on the edge of the street. Emma’s car and Neal’s van were beginning to tip into the sinkhole that the cemetery was dropping into. Thomas’ truck looked nicely secure on the street along with the cop car.
Emma watched her car for no other reason than to keep her mind off of the situation. She had a few library books in the backseat. She was going to return them that weekend. If the car was sunk into the ground would the library forgive her? What would the insurance company say?
“Do you think mom and dad are down there?” Emma asked.
“What?” Cara asked in reply. “You can’t be serious.”
“If it’s the dead coming after us then why not?” Emma asked.
“You sound like the other lady,” said Cara. “I don’t want to think about it.”
“I was wondering that too,” said Thomas. “My friend is buried here. I wonder if he’s one of those things.”
“Why are they after us?” Emma asked.
“Maybe we pissed them off,” said Cara. “I’m sure mom wasn’t too thrilled with me.”
“Mom loved you,” said Emma. “She just wished you spent more time with her. That’s all.”
“How about you?” Cara called out to Thomas. “Did you piss your friend off?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Thomas.
“Oh, shit, you did,” said Cara. “What’d you do?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Thomas again.
“Fine,” said Cara. “Because we’re so busy and all.”
Thomas stayed quiet. He lowered his head and thought of Mathew. It seemed only fair to Thomas that Mathew would be one of the things that were after him.
Emma quieted down as well. She was upset she ever brought up the subject. She wanted to understand what was happening to her, but the reality was there was no way to know, and it was probably for the best that they never found out why the dead were killing the living.
She dazed off at the sight of her car for some time when suddenly a lone stranger began to walk along the road into the cemetery lot. Emma beamed with delight as she pointed in the man’s direction. Thomas turned around to watch the stranger stroll along the street side with earbuds properly jammed into his head and a joint sticking out of his mouth.
Tyler’s hair was long and curly. It blocked a lot of his peripheral view and he didn’t see the four stranded victims on gravestones at first. He walked without a care in the world, relaxed by the feeling of his next hit, and soothed by wonderful sounds of nu wave rock.
“Get off the ground!” Thomas yelled out to Tyler. He waved his arms with vigor to get the newcomer’s attention.
Emma joined in and began to jump up and down on the steps of the mausoleum. “Get off the ground!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
Their actions caught the attention of Cara and Neal. Cara rushed over to Emma to see what was going on.
“Holy shit,” said Cara. “Is he here to help?”
“Get off the ground!” Emma shouted again, not paying any attention to her sister.
“Where’s his car? Is he another officer?” Cara wondered out loud.
Neal stayed up on the steps. He looked out to see Tyler continue his stroll along the road. Neal waved his arms with little energy. His enthusiasm was gone since Jessica had died.
Tyler took another hit of his joint. He had Evanesence turned all the way up on his Ipod to drown out the sounds of the fracking site, but still noise got through. He could hear the constant pounding of the drills, and the softer sounds of high pitched screaming.
The young man looked over to see the four survivors sitting on gravestones in the cemetery. He hesitated. His surprise caused him to drop his joint to the asphalt below. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them the four stranded visitors were still there.
“Okay,” said Tyler to himself.
“Get off the ground!” Thomas yelled again.
Tyler looked over at Thomas with confusion. The music was still blaring in his ear and he couldn’t fully understand Thomas or any of the others.
Finally, Tyler took out his earbuds as he walked forward to get a closer look at the four strangers sitting on top of gravestones in the cemetery.
Tyler took his first step off of the street and onto the muddy grass below. It was a good six inches now from the street to the watery ground of the cemetery.
“Stop!” Emma yelled out.
“Get off the ground!” Thomas repeated.
Tyler stopped in place on the grass. He didn’t understand why they wanted him off the ground. “What’s going on? Are you guys okay?”
Unnoticed by the group, several death trails started to make their way toward the spot where Tyler had stopped. Only small ripples could be seen on the surface of several puddles that were forming across the graveyard.
“Get off the ground!” Thomas repeated.
“Why?”
Then Emma threw one of the remaining candles onto the ground below. She threw it as hard as she could to make the most noise possible as it splashed into the muddy water.
In just a matter of seconds several creatures reached up and grabbed their newes
t prize. The hands erupted out of the water with a loud splash. Tyler nearly fell backward when he saw the gnarly undead hands sink their nails into the candle as they pulled it underground.
Tyler stumbled backward. He nearly tripped on the rising level of the street as he moved back. Instinctively, he climbed for the nearest high ground he could find which was Thomas’ truck bed.
Just as Tyler’s feet left the mud on the ground several undead hands shot out of the water grabbing for Tyler. Tyler caught a glimpse of the decrepit hands before they re-submerged back into the mud and water.
“What the hell is that?!” Tyler shouted out from the safety of Thomas’ truck. He panicked and jostled from one end of the truck bed to the other between the two canoes securely tied to the frame of the truck.
“We don’t know,” said Thomas.
“But we need your help,” shouted Emma. “Do you have a phone? Can you call for help?”
“Fuck that,” cut in Cara. “We can’t wait for more help to come along. Where’s your car? Drive out here and pick us up.”
“I walked here,” said Tyler. “I’m going to call for help.”
“Good! Thank you!” shouted Emma.
Tyler pulled out his phone and dialed 911.
Meanwhile, Thomas turned back to Emma and the others. A thought was gnawing at him. “Why wasn’t he attacked earlier?”
“What?” Emma asked.
“He’s been walking this whole time,” said Thomas. “Why wasn’t he grabbed already?”
“Maybe they didn’t notice him,” suggested Emma.
“They notice a candle hitting the ground. They’d notice somebody walking for a mile,” said Thomas. He looked back over at Tyler standing in his truck bed talking on the phone.
Emma was doing the same. She stared at Tyler looking for anything that would make him immune to an attack. She looked down at the road which was now eight inches higher than the ground. Stay off the grass repeated in her head.
“Stay off the grass,” said Emma out loud. “He’s been on the street. Not the grass. They only attacked him when he walked onto the lawn. They can’t reach through the asphalt.”
We Woke The Dead Page 4