We Woke The Dead

by Kroll, Dane G.

“Yes!” said Thomas agreeing with Emma. “Yes! Okay, so we just need to make it to the street. Then we’re safe. Cara is right. If we get a car going then we can drive us all to safety!”

  “Yes!” shouted Cara overhearing the conversation.

  “There are four people out here, plus me,” said Tyler over the phone to the emergency operator. “I don’t know what’s going on. Something is under the ground. Hands grabbed a candle. They attacked me. Please, just send help.”

  “Guy!” Thomas yelled out, waving his hands to grab Tyler’s attention.

  “They’re going to send help!” Tyler shouted back.

  “How long?” Emma asked.

  “They said about half an hour,” said Tyler.

  “Are you fucking serious?” asked Cara. “Tell them to get their asses over here!”

  Tyler went back to the phone. “They really need your help.”

  Tyler nodded his head as he listened to the operator speak with him.

  “Come on,” shouted Tyler. “Fuck you. This is an emergency. I’m not tripping balls. I know this sounds strange, but it’s scary as fuck.”

  Thomas rubbed his temples at the sound of Tyler freaking out over the phone. He hoped the emergency services were still on their way despite Tyler’s rudeness.

  “Do you think you can drive one of our cars and come get us?!” Thomas shouted to Tyler.

  Tyler pulled his phone away from his ear. “Just come and help us! I’ll stay on the line if you will.” Then Tyler turned his attention back to Thomas. He put his phone in the back pocket of his jeans, still connected to the emergency operator.

  “I can throw you my keys,” said Thomas. “You’re on my truck. These things didn’t grab you already because you were on the street. Okay? Just drive down here and get us back to the street, and as far away as possible. Can you drive a stick?”

  “No,” said Tyler, shaking his head.

  “Fuck,” said Thomas, defeated by the last bit of information.

  Thomas turned to the other three. “How about your cars?”

  “Automatic,” said Emma.

  “Mine, too,” said Neal.

  “Okay, we can do this,” said Thomas. He tried to hide his discouragement. Thomas was closer to the street than the other three. It would be a longer throw for Emma or Neal. He wasn’t sure he could count on them to make the distance.

  “You just have to get the keys to the street,” said Thomas. “They’ll be safe there.”

  Emma and Neal nodded their heads. They both looked at each other with their keys in their hands.

  “Who wants to do it?” Emma asked.

  “I got this,” said Neal. “I’m stronger.”

  “Oh good,” said Cara. “Save us with your big strong arms.”

  Neal gruffed, but he did not fight Cara on that. Neal was the man in their situation. He turned to look at the street. Mentally, he began to plan out his throw. He didn’t want to overthrow the keys and have them land on the other side of the road. It could be just as dangerous over there.

  “Hurry up,” said Cara.

  “Shut up,” said Neal. “I only have one shot at this.”

  Neal took one more deep breath. He wound up his arm and finally released the keys into the air.

  The keys soared over the graveyard. They jingled in the air then began to fall. Unfortunately, the descent of the keys ran into one of the gravestones. The keys bounced off of the stone, dropped toward the ground where they collided with a potted plant. The plant fell with the keys to the ground, well short of the street.

  “Fuck you,” said Cara.

  The disturbance aroused the undead creatures into action. Several trails of mud and water formed on the surface as they honed in on the keys.

  The ground began to churn around the gravestone where the keys landed. The familiar rotting hands broke through the surface. The claws clamped down on the flower pot that fell with the keys, and it was dragged down below the surface. To everyone’s stunned surprise the keys were left untouched on the surface.

  “We can still get them,” said Emma. “They’re still there.”

  “Fuck that,” said Cara. She grabbed Emma’s keys from her hands.

  “Hey!” Emma protested.

  Cara ignored her sister. She turned to Neal. “Softball. This is how you throw.”

  Then Cara threw the keys as far as she could. Emma’s keys soared through the air higher than Neal’s ever went. They all watched the keys on their descending arc. Cara had a smile on her face. It was looking good. The keys were right in line with Tyler.

  The keys hit the ground. But just four feet away from the street. They made a little splash in the pool of water that was forming roadside.

  Cara dropped her head in defeat. “Fuck.”

  “You almost had it!” Tyler shouted, proud of Cara. “I can reach them.”

  He jumped down from the truck bed to the asphalt. Quickly, he ran to the edge of the road and stretched out to reach the keys that had landed in the water.

  “No!” Emma shouted in unison with Thomas.

  Tyler reached as far as he could without taking a step onto the watery lawn before him. He was still a good foot short of being able to touch the keys submerged in the water. Then the water splashed and several hands fought for possession of the distracting keys. Tyler shot back onto the road. He grasped his hand, comforting himself that it was alright.

  Then the water was calm again, and the keys were gone.

  Chapter 7

  “This isn’t over,” Thomas tried to reassure the others. “We can still do this.”

  “How?” Cara asked. “Asshat over here fucked up his throw, and mine was just short.”

  “Those keys are still out there,” said Emma. “We’re going to have to run for them.”

  “She’s right,” said Thomas. “I’m not too far from his keys. If I can get to them then I can throw them the rest of the way to the street. We’ll be safe.”

  “You can’t outrun those things,” said Neal.

  “Especially, with the water rising,” said Emma. “You’ll be too slow.”

  “I’m going to need a distraction,” said Thomas.

  “We’re almost out of candles,” said Emma. “There are two left. That won’t be enough.”

  “Somebody is going to have to run out into the yard with me.”

  “Fuck that,” said Cara.

  “It’s the only way,” said Thomas. “Somebody can just take a step or two off the steps. Make some noise. When we see the things coming toward you I’ll begin my run. When they get close get back on the steps. That should buy me some time to make it to the keys.”

  “What if they don’t all come to us?” Emma asked.

  “It’s just a risk we’re going to have to take.”

  “You’re the only one with keys left,” said Emma. “You shouldn’t be making this run. Why don’t you be the distraction and one of us runs for the keys?”

  “I’m not running for the keys,” said Neal. “One of you girls can do it.”

  “I’m closest,” said Thomas.

  “Then you can be the distraction,” said Cara to Neal.

  “I’m not getting on the ground,” argued Neal.

  “And they say chivalry is dead,” said Cara. “This is your fucking fault.”

  Neal reached out and grabbed hold of Cara by the arm. He held her tightly enough to slightly bruise the side of her forearm as he pulled her close. “Watch your mouth, bitch. I just watched my wife die.”

  “I’ll do it,” interrupted Tyler.

  The sudden generosity was enough to grab the attention of the rest of the group. Neal let go of Cara’s arm. She roughly pulled it away and stepped out of Neal’s grasp.

  “Are you sure?” Thomas said, having to stay focused on the overall danger at the moment.

  “Yeah,” said Tyler. “I can rush back to the street. No problem.”

  “Okay,” sa
id Thomas. “Thank you. We can do this. We just need to communicate. If any of you see something getting close to us, shout it out. We can do this in chunks if we have to. We just need to be on the lookout.”

  Thomas turned to Tyler. “Are you ready?”

  Tyler nodded his head. He took a deep breath. Then he jumped the now foot drop into the watery lawn in front of him. Filthy water splashed all around him, soaking his pants in the process. He kicked the water and mud as hard as he could to generate more of a presence in the water.

  Then four trails emerged on the surface. They were all coming for Tyler. “They’re moving!” Emma shouted to alert Tyler.

  Thomas began his run. He splashed down into the mud and water and ran as hard as he could toward the keys that were nearly lost in the rising levels of the water.

  Tyler remained where he stood. He watched Thomas push forward through the sludge forming all over the cemetery. The death trails were clearly visible in the water, all on approach to Tyler. The creatures were getting faster. As they got closer to Tyler he could see better details of the undead monsters digging and swimming toward him.

  Their bodies were caked in mud and oil. Pieces of flesh and bone protruded from various parts of their bodies. Their nails were stained yellow, the same as their teeth.

  “Get out of there!” Emma shouted.

  Tyler shook off his mesmerized sight of the creatures. He jumped out of the water and back to the safety of the road. Almost as soon as Tyler was on dry land the creatures turned their attention to Thomas who was still splashing in the water on his run toward the keys.

  “They’re coming for you, Thomas!” Emma yelled out.

  Thomas abandoned his run. He hopped on to the nearest gravestone. It was just in time. The water churned underneath him. A whirlpool was forming around the gravestone that Thomas secured himself on. Several hands reached out for their prey, but they found nothing.

  The water was deep enough that Thomas could look down and see the creatures more clearly. Three bodies swam in circles around him, emerging in and out of the muddy dirt below. Thomas caught the glimpse of remnants of clothing. Whatever was attacking them was once human.

  Thomas composed himself. He repositioned himself on the top of the gravestone, ready to run the last little bit for the keys. They were almost home free.

  The whirlpool died down as the undead creatures disappeared below the surface. Thomas looked over at Tyler. He nodded that he was ready. Tyler did a quick stretch to warm himself up for another jump into the cemetery lawn.

  Tyler jumped into the water in the same location. But this time the mud was much softer. It had been disturbed from both Tyler’s previous jump and the oncoming threat of the undead creatures. Tyler sunk deeper into the water than last time. His left foot was completely encased in mud.

  To his horror, he couldn’t pull his left foot out of the ground. Tyler was trapped.

  “Shit!” Tyler yelled out. “I’m stuck!”

  The death trails were on their way toward Tyler.

  “Get out of there!” Emma yelled out.

  “I can’t,” said Tyler. He pulled his left leg as hard as he could, but his foot would not budge. The more he struggled the more the mud took hold of him. Sludge made its way into Tyler’s shoe; further taking hold of Tyler’s foot.

  Thomas shook his head. He watched as the creatures got closer to the immovable Tyler. “Don’t move!” Thomas shouted.

  Thomas slid off of the gravestone and began his run again toward the keys. He made sure to hit the water hard with every step. He needed to draw the attention away from Tyler.

  Tyler didn’t breathe. He watched as Thomas fought through the rising levels of water to get to Neal’s keys. The three trails at the surface of the cemetery turned around and made their way toward Thomas.

  “Hurry!” Emma shouted. “They’re coming!”

  Thomas ran as fast as he could. The water was slowing him down, but he was almost there. With a quick glance behind him Thomas could see the three creatures on their way. He still had a sizable lead, and he needed every inch of it.

  The headstone was just in front of Thomas, but he was moving too fast. There would be no good way to stop without completely falling over the tombstone and causing more problems. Thomas did not stop moving. He reached his arm down into the water near the tombstone as he ran straight past it.

  The keys were right where Thomas remembered them landing. Thomas grabbed a hold of them and rounded the headstone. He threw the keys as hard as he could toward the street and continued running away from the three oncoming predators.

  Tyler watched as the keys flew over his head and landed on the safety of the street. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief and shouted for Thomas’ accomplishment. “They made it! We got the keys!”

  Thomas did not hear him. His only thought was making it to safety on the mausoleum where everybody else was. He could easily crash there and still be safe.

  Tyler continued his celebration as he watched Thomas make his final run toward the mausoleum. The three creatures were still on his tail. They were getting closer, but Tyler knew Thomas could make it.

  Then Tyler felt a tug on his left foot. He looked down. A hand reached up and stabbed him in the leg with its overgrown nails. Tyler cried out in pain. He tried to break free, but his foot was still stuck in the mud.

  Tyler thrashed around. He tried to fight off the undead hand that was clawing Tyler to his knees. “NO! NO! NO!” Tyler shouted.

  A fifth creature sprung from the water to grab hold of Tyler’s right leg. The added attack brought Tyler to his hands and knees. The sharp pain of the nails in his legs was sending his body into shock.

  The water splashed into his face. Tyler could taste death in his mouth. He failed to crawl away from the two creatures. Then a sixth undead attacker broke through the surface right below Tyler’s head. Its arms reached up and wrapped its hands around the back of Tyler’s neck. For a second he stared directly into the hollow eyes of one of the animated corpses. Then the creature opened its rotting jaw and bit down on Tyler’s nose as it pulled him underwater head first.

  Tyler’s body stopped its spasm as the creatures pulled him completely below the surface. All the while, an emergency operator on the line heard every last jarring scream.

  Thomas crashed into the mausoleum wall. Then he collapsed onto the stone steps. He was out of breath and desperate for air. Nobody came to his aid. The other three were standing in solemn silence as they were still coming to terms with losing Tyler to the undead.

  The keys were now safely on the street.

  That just left the four of them stranded on a monument in the middle of the cemetery. The water was only a foot deep, but they might as well have been on an island in the middle of the ocean surrounded by sharks.

  Chapter 8

  “You moron,” screamed Neal. “Why didn’t you run for the street? Now the keys are over there and we’re all stuck over here!”

  “I wouldn’t have made the street,” said Thomas. “The things were in between us.”

  “So you just throw the keys away?” said Neal.

  “They would have been useless in my pocket. Besides I still have my keys, and the other keys are on the street.”

  “Great!” said Neal. “You’re just as worthless as the ladies.”

  “Shut up,” said Cara.

  “We are all going to die out here!” screamed Neal. “Those things are going to rip us apart.”

  “No thanks to you either!” scolded Cara. “What have you done this whole time except bitch and moan and use a shit toss with your own keys. We wouldn’t be in this mess if you had a better arm.”

  “I told you to watch your mouth,” said Neal.

  “Make me,” challenged Cara.

  Thomas and Emma were stepping closer to the arguing pair. They both feared making any rash moves, hoping the situation would deescalate itself.

  “I have had en
ough of you,” said Neal as he grabbed Cara by the arms. Then he shoved her toward the stone steps of the mausoleum. Thomas dove down to catch Cara before she rolled into the water. Her foot brushed up against the muddy water before Thomas was able to pull her up out of harm’s away. Below the waterline one of the undead creatures broached the surface then disappeared back into the hazy pool.

  Emma cut off Neal from stepping any closer to Cara or Thomas. She stood her ground in front of Neal.

  “Don’t you dare touch her,” said Emma.

  “She needs to be taught a lesson,” said Neal. “A little consequence for her mouth.”

  “Not by you,” said Emma.

  Then Neal slapped Emma across the face. Emma fell to the ground unprepared for Neal’s strike. “You all need to be taught a lesson.”

  Thomas charged forward. He shoved Neal back into the wall of the mausoleum. “What’s your problem?” Thomas asked.

  Neal shoved Thomas back. The two men stared each other down.

  “Hit me,” said Thomas. “Do it.”

  Neal did not move. He balled his hand into a fist, but never raised his arm. Thomas stared Neal down, standing between him and the two women.

  Neal smirked. He waved off Thomas and took a step back away from the situation. The three others could hear Neal let out a small laugh like this whole thing was nothing to him.

  “You need to check yourself,” said Thomas. “We can’t be attacking each other. When we’re safe we can deal with this shit then.”

  A tremor struck across the cemetery. The water rippled as it spread from one end of the graveyard to the other. Cara fell into Thomas’ arms. She wrapped her arms around his chest and neck and he held on to her afraid she would fall back toward the water.

  Emma was still on the floor when she looked out at the street. The ground dipped a whole foot this time. The water at the bottom of the entryway of the mausoleum raised two steps. The grass of the cemetery was only visible through the murky water now.

  Emma’s entire head hurt. The sting of Neal’s slap was still very present. She could already feel a bruise forming. Looking up, Emma saw Cara in Thomas’ arms. He was checking on her once the tremor died down. Emma dusted herself off and got back to her feet.