The first few feet were easy. Then Thomas struggled to lift the upper half of his body up and over the ledge several feet above his head. He pushed his feet into the ground and planted his hands deep into the asphalt. His chest lifted above the surface. Then he got one leg over. It was quickly followed by his entire body. He rolled over onto the surface. His roll didn’t stop until he collided with the wheel of his truck. He was never so happy to see his vehicle ever in his life.
Back down in the sinkhole, Emma caught up to Cara at the edge of the cemetery. The section they came upon was deeper than the area Thomas had found. The wall was over ten feet high.
When Emma brought her head above the water she could see Cara scratching at the walls trying to climb up. She would make it a couple of feet then slide back down into their watery grave.
Cara screamed and cursed at her failings. She started to pound her fists into the dirt out of frustration. She was so close.
Emma came up to Cara. She wrapped her arms around her sister and hugged her.
“We’re going to make it,” Emma said to reassure both of them. “We can do this.”
Cara nodded her head. Tears filled her eyes. Emma nodded her head with her sister. They were almost a mirror image of each other.
“I’m so sorry,” said Emma.
Cara shook her head. They could talk about anything else later.
“Just give me a boost,” said Cara.
Emma obliged. She took a deep breath then planted her feet on the ground. Her head was now completely under water. Cara climbed on top of Emma’s shoulders. She couldn’t see over the surface of the street, but she could reach it.
Cara started to lift herself onto the street. Emma grabbed hold of Cara’s feet and started to push her up. The extra momentum got Cara over the edge. She breathed heavily, relieved that she was finally safe from the dangers of the pit below her.
“Pull me up!” Emma shouted, now back to the surface of the water.
Cara looked over the edge at her sister ten feet below her. Emma looked like a lost puppy at the foot of her door. The fire was getting closer. Another tremor rocked the cemetery. Cara could feel the street crack under her.
“Pull me up,” said Emma again. She looked directly at Cara. Cara looked down at Emma. Her expression folded into a frown. Cara shook her head. Then she disappeared.
Emma rushed over to the wall. “Cara! Cara! Come back! Pull me up!”
But Cara was gone.
Chapter 12
“Help me!” Emma yelled out from the bottom of the fiery pit she was left in. “Help me! Cara! Come back!”
But Cara was no longer there to listen. She had begun her limped walk toward Thomas’ truck. She could see its tail lights illuminated through the hazy smoke that blanketed the area.
Thomas sat in the driver’s seat of his truck. His foot tapped rapidly against the gas pedal. He had to move. He had to go. The street was starting to sink along with the rest of the cemetery. His truck could still make it. It could climb through the elevated ground, but there was always a limit.
Still, Thomas couldn’t bring himself to go yet. Emma and Cara were still out there. The water level was rising as the street was becoming a part of the sinkhole consuming the entire area.
Then Cara popped up in the rearview mirror. Thomas jumped up in his seat. He rushed out of the truck to help Cara the rest of the way. She was walking slowly with a limp.
“Where’s Emma?” Thomas asked when he got close to Cara.
“She didn’t make it,” said Cara, not bothering to stop to talk. She just kept limping her way toward the truck.
Down in the pit, Emma continued to cry out for help, but her desperate pleas were drowned out by the roaring fire and the sound of rushing water.
The sinkhole broke through the street a hundred yards away from Emma. The water and muck rushed through the cemetery as it found new ground to drown and contaminate.
Emma grabbed hold of roots sticking out of the ground as the water rushed past her. Flowers and decorations were tossed around the surface of the water. Then as the ground was washed away by the rushing waters, caskets of the formerly dead began to rise to the surface.
A casket floated directly toward Emma. She ducked down, but did not let go of the tree root that held her in place. The casket slammed into the wall of dirt and crushed her hand. Emma wanted to scream under the water, but she managed to hold in her pain. The casket continued on its path leaving Emma behind. She swam back to the surface. Her hand was numb from the collision. Emma once again called out for help that wasn’t going to come.
She looked up. The street was closer to the surface than before. Emma readjusted on the tree root. She wrapped her arm around the root with her elbow acting as the hook. It relived the pressure on her crushed hand.
The water continued to rise to the surface of the street. Emma kicked hard to keep her head above water. She could swim to the surface if the water kept rising like it was. She breathed deeply to remain calm. Emma needed a clear head. She couldn’t panic.
Then the wall of dirt she clung on to for life began to shift. Emma clawed at the dirt as it loosened and fell into the water around her.
“No,” said Emma. “No. No. No.”
The tree root came loose. Emma flung back several feet into the water. She kept hold of the root and pulled herself back to the wall.
Then one of the undead breached through the mud of the edge of the sinkhole. Emma saw its long nailed claws first as it dug free from the earth. Then it broke through into the open. It was face to face with Emma. Its hollow skull looked deep into Emma’s eyes. Then it let out a guttural scream and continued to claw its way forward toward Emma.
Down the road, Thomas climbed back into his truck. Cara was secured in the passenger seat. She waited on Thomas to start the engine so they could get out of hell.
“Ready?” Thomas asked.
“Please, let’s just get out of here,” Cara said through tears.
He started the truck. Slowly, he began to move forward. The street was breaking up and becoming uneven. They began to ascend up the sinkhole. Thomas prayed for every inch they advanced. The sinkhole could give at any time and they would be dropped straight into the water, still trapped in the truck.
“Faster,” said Cara. “Let’s go.”
“We have to do this safely,” said Thomas. He kept his eyes on the road ahead of him and the road behind. He could see the water was still rising in the area. Already the spot where the truck was previously parked was being flooded.
Then Thomas saw her.
The truck rolled to a stop as Thomas watched through the rearview mirror. Emma was out in the water fighting against one of the undead.
“I thought she was dead,” said Thomas.
Cara sat up straight in her seat. She rapidly looked behind her through the rear window and back again at Thomas.
“Oh, my God,” said Cara. “I… I didn’t know.”
“We have to get her,” said Thomas.
“What?” cried out Cara.
“She’s still alive,” said Thomas.
“She’s… she’s…” stumbled Cara. “The water is getting too high. Those things are back. You can’t go out there for her. We have to go.”
“She’s your sister,” said Thomas.
“I don’t care,” admitted Cara. “Let her go!”
Thomas glared at Cara. Then he turned off the truck and pulled his keys out of the ignition. “I’m going back for her. Wait here if you want.”
Then Thomas got out of the car. He rushed over to the truck bed and undid several of the straps. His canoes loosened up and dangled freely on their rack.
“What do you think you are doing?!” Cara screamed.
“I’m going back for Emma,” said Thomas.
“No!” said Cara. “Give me the keys!”
Thomas did not reply.
“Give them to me!” Cara yell
ed from the passenger seat.
Thomas was done arguing with her. He quickly grabbed his canoe from the rack on his truck bed and rushed out toward the water rising over the street.
Below in the sinkhole, Emma bashed her fists against the undead creature trying to rip her apart under the water. Every kick was for her life as she struggled to stay on the surface. Emma struck the skull of the monster several times. Then there was a crack and the undead corpse stopped fighting.
The body drifted away and Emma fought hard to swim away back toward the street that was even lower than before. Then another undead corpse grabbed hold of Emma’s leg, pulling her below the surface of the water.
Cara watched furiously as Thomas got in the canoe and made his way out onto the lake of fire to rescue Emma. The water was still rising. It reached the wheels of the truck. Cara climbed onto the side of the truck to continue to watch Thomas. He was now paddling along the surface of the water toward Emma.
The second canoe dangled teasingly near Cara. She looked down at the water again. The levels were rising. She looked out to the edge of the water. It was only twenty yards away. There was no wall to climb. It came right up to the edge of the ground.
“Fuck it,” said Cara. She climbed onto the truck bed and grabbed the remaining canoe from Thomas’ truck. She wasn’t a fool. She wasn’t going to wait for anybody. Cara was going to survive. That was all that mattered.
Emma kicked at the newest undead corpse attacking her. She aimed for the head on her first attack. Her foot cracked the jaw and broke the neck of the monster causing it to die once again. The body floated to the surface next to the fleeing Emma.
She reached the street she desperately was seeking. The water trickled onto the surface. Emma rolled onto the relatively dry land. She was clear of danger. Her body wanted to rest. But that was wrong. There was no time. She was not clear of danger. She had to move. She had to keep going.
Emma sat up. She looked down the street. The truck was stationary on the middle of the path out of the sinkhole. They had left her. Water was surrounding the truck up to the bottom of its doors. Emma got to her feet. She could still make it.
Then she looked straight ahead. The street was gone. Water was rushing by just five feet in front of her. The part of the street she had found sanctuary on was nothing but an island in the middle of the lake of hell.
Undead hands began to reach up out of the water. They clawed at the asphalt. With every second they gained another inch closer to Emma. Emma dropped to her knees. There was no place left to go.
“I can’t stop,” shouted out Thomas. “You’re gonna have to jump on board and hang on.”
Emma looked up. Thomas was paddling his way toward her through flames and muck. She laughed. Fear, tears, every other emotion was gone. There was nothing left but joy at the chance of surviving one more moment.
She jumped back to her feet. The undead hands could sense her movement. They jumped to life clawing more aggressively at her. She remained out of reach as she watched Thomas make his approach.
“I’m going to slow down to turn around,” instructed Thomas. “That’s your window!”
Emma nodded her head. She bounced on her feet. Thomas paddled harder on his final approach. Then he dipped his paddle down into the water. His canoe began to shift. The tail end swung close to the asphalt island Emma was trapped on. She took two steps for a running start and jumped.
The undead hands reached out to the sky for Emma, but she was out of range. Emma collapsed inside the canoe. The boat rocked. Water splashed inside before Thomas could steady it fully.
“Are you alright?” Thomas asked.
“I’m fine,” said Emma. “Go!”
Thomas grunted and moved faster. He paddled as hard as he could to get back to safety. Emma carefully sat up in the canoe. She was careful not to rock the boat as much as she could. She looked out to the fiery water behind her.
The undead corpses were following them.
Across the fiery flooded cemetery, Cara steadied herself on the canoe. The edge of the sinkhole was in sight. Behind her the truck was almost completely submerged underwater now.
With little experience on the canoe Cara paddled weakly through the water. Every stroke was rough against the water’s surface and she could never go in a straight line.
The tremors continued, rocking the canoe back and forth. Cara tried to keep going. Then the bottom of her canoe began to collide with objects in the water. Cara thought it was just the headstones or other pieces of debris. Then a hand shot up out of the surface.
Cara screamed and tried to strike the hand with her paddle. She was too slow and the hand was gone before she could make contact.
“Stay away from me!” Cara yelled at the undead corpses.
She paddled forward once again. As she continued her feet began to feel cold. She looked down. The canoe was treading water. The canoe was flooding from a hole in the bottom of the craft. Water and a piece of duct tape floated near Cara’s ankles. Cara kicked her feet at an attempt to get the water out of her boat. Then she tried to ignore it, hoping that she could paddle herself quick enough to make it to the edge, but the water was coming in faster and faster.
“Nooo!” Cara screamed.
Then more hands jolted out of the lake. They grabbed several parts of the canoe and wrestled to tear it all apart. Cara stopped paddling and tried to hit as many of the undead corpses as possible. The water was up to her waist. The canoe was almost completely submerged as the undead arms began to wrap around Cara.
Cara swung the paddle as hard as she could. It did no good. The undead corpses had too great of a grip on her. Cara abandoned the paddle and she picked at the arms that had a hold of her. She tried to pry off the arms with all of her strength, but slowly she was being dragged underwater.
Suddenly, a corpse shot out of the water straight at Cara. The corpse was fresher than many of the others. Soggy, and in a lucky dress only worn on special occasions, Cara thought she recognized the face before the undead tackled Cara and overturned the canoe.
Thomas paddled as fast as he could to get him and Emma out of the lake. At first, Emma remained at the tail of the canoe. She watched the water’s surface. Any time one of the undead approached she was quick to attack it. Soon hands started to pop up all around the canoe. Emma jumped to attention and repositioned herself to strike out at the majority of the canoe. Hand after hand grabbed hold of the rim of the canoe and Emma responded with a punch to the fingers. It was rarely much damage, but it was enough to break the hold and let Thomas continue on with their journey.
“We’re almost there,” said Thomas.
Emma looked forward. Solid ground was visible up ahead. She struck another hand clawing at the canoe. She looked back up and the ground was even closer. “We’re going too fast.”
“Hang on,” said Thomas.
Emma abandoned her defensive maneuvers. She braced down on the floor of the canoe. Thomas did his best to turn the canoe at their current speed. Water rushed up from the wake of the canoe, spilling inside. Then the canoe collided with the edge of the sinkhole.
Thomas and Emma were jarred forward from the impact. Emma looked up. They had made it. It was only a foot or so to the top of the sinkhole. They were safe.
“Let’s go,” said Thomas. He stood up in the canoe and reached out his hand for Emma’s. She grabbed his hand and he helped her step out of the boat and onto solid ground.
Once Emma was secure she turned to help Thomas out of the boat. He took his first step. Then before his second the canoe was pulled out from under him. He crashed onto the ground with his lower body landing in the water.
“No!” Emma screamed.
The undead corpses were quick to grab hold of Thomas’ lower half. They began to drag him down, back into the mud, water, and fire.
“Go!” Thomas yelled at Emma.
Emma had no time to react. Thomas was pulled under before she could m
ove.
She shuffled her body several feet farther away from the water’s edge. The tremors echoed in the background. Emma stood up. She couldn’t take her eyes away from the surface of the water.
They were all dead.
People she had hardly known. Her sister was gone. Even all of her memories were being washed away. Her mother’s body was in there somewhere. Her father. It was all gone; turned into a nightmare of water, fire, and death.
The fire raged on. It reached the trees that surrounded the sinkhole. A pillar of smoke rose into the sky. Tears ran down Emma’s face as she mourned for the others. Thomas sacrificed everything to get her to safety. There was even a tear for Cara who had abandoned her. Emma could not come to feel anger toward her own sister.
Finally, Emma started to walk away. It was the only thing she could do. She had to keep moving. The ground felt solid. The hard pavement under Emma’s feet was comforting. The sinkhole may have ended, but the undead were still under her feet. Emma thought she could almost hear the feint sound of hands pounding against pavement, working to break free from their hell.
We get out what we put in. The dead were under the ground, once buried in peace; now no longer resting, disturbed by the living.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dane G. Kroll graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Film and Media Studies. He is the writer of the fantasy series Eluan Falls and several other books. Every now and then giant monster movies become his obsession. Realm of Goryo was the answer to that problem.
To show your support or looking for future updates, please check out:
danegkroll.com
facebook.com/danegkroll
@DaneGKroll
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We Woke The Dead Page 8