by T. L. Frost
Chris nodded “Yeah, that’s it in a nutshell. What do you think?
“I think you’re nuts.” Said Harry.
“Barry, you in?” Asked Lynn.
Barry gave a big grin “Hell yes mate. Anything beats sitting around here on my arse all day.”
“That makes three of us.” Said Chris turning back to Harry “What do you say Harry?”
“Like I said you’re nuts.” He replied “But if I see one more stick of candy or bar of chocolate I’ll probably throw myself off the roof. I’m in.”
“Good man.” Said Chris with a smile “I’ll make a list of everything we need, feel free to throw in any ideas. It’s going to be a busy few days.”
The group was suddenly more energetic now that they had a purpose. Making their own fate instead of sitting around waiting for it to just happen. Chris kept them all busy, looking for anything they could use to help with the escape, then practicing their roles for when the day came. They all worked hard, sleeping better than they had done in a while and when the day came, they were all eager to get on with it.
“Harry you ready?” Said Chris quietly into a small child’s walkie-talkie as he crouched out of sight on the roof.
“Ready.” Came the tense reply.
Chris picked up the second walkie-talkie, since they only operated in pairs he had to have one for each member of the group.
“Lynn you ready?” He said.
“Roger, Lynn ready, over.” Came her tinny voice.
Chris shook his head, he was sure she was smiling as she answered. He picked up the third walkie-talkie.
“Barry you ready?”
“Fuck yes mate, let’s do it!” Said Barry.
Chris looked around with his binoculars again, the zombies still wandered around aimlessly, the barriers and surrounding planted areas stopping them wandering too far, nothing much had changed out there in the last few days, but he was hoping it would change very soon. He picked up the first walkie-talkie again.
“Harry, go when all is clear.” He said.
Then he waited, this part was dangerous. Harry waited downstairs by the door they had used to enter the building. Chris risked a look in front of the building and saw a few zombies there, one or two occasionally bumping into the metal shutters. After a few minutes he heard a quiet metal on metal sound as Harry manually raised the shutter in front of the door a little.
“Shutter up.” Came Harry’s quiet voice on the walkie-talkie.
“Ok Barry, your turn.” Said Chris into another walkie-talkie.
“Package on its way mate.” Came Barry’s reply.
Barry was at the far end of the big line of retail units. He had climbed across the roofs and waited near the front until the signal was given to start. Slowly, hand over hand, he lowered a box on the end of a rope, rattling and electric buzzing came from the box, and as it got lower, some nearby zombies started to take notice.
“Merry fucking Christmas you fuckers.” Said Barry as the box touched the ground, spilling out its contents.
Toy robots and cars moved off in all directions, batteries and wind up mechanisms driving them on. Some beeped, some talked in metallic voices, others just raced off randomly. The zombies turned to watch, some moving towards the new sounds, others followed and pressed forward into the gathering crowd. On the roof Barry could hear the moans rising, shuffling feet approaching below.
“Package delivered, on my way back.” He said into his walkie-talkie.
Then as he stood he picked up some glass covers they had removed from the store’s lighting. Out of sight from the gathering zombies below, he threw them as far as possible then ran back towards where Chris waited. The glass covers smashed against the ground like little explosives. As one, most of the zombies nearby turned and looked. Moans rising at the back of the crowd from the ones unable to see what was happening. More and more zombies wandered over to the area, some stopping and tearing the noisy toys and robots apart.
“Looks like it’s working mate.” Said Barry as he joined Chris.
Chris nodded “So far…” He picked up a walkie-talkie “Harry, your turn.”
They waited and watched. From below a large remote control fire engine sped forward, it circled around the crowd of zombies who had torn apart most of the other toys. When it got to the other side it stopped and Chris saw a large remote control ambulance head towards the multi-story car park, stopping near the entrance. The fire engine burst into life, flashing lights and sirens blaring, the zombies looked up and walked towards it. As they approached a recorder on top of the engine started playing, shouts, screams and insults came from it, loud and distorted, the volume turned up to maximum.
“Was that your voice I just heard?” Asked Chris.
“Yeah mate.” Answered Barry with a grin “Lynn thought my voice might annoy them more, cheeky cow.”
Chris grinned back as the zombies got near to the fire engine. Before they got hold of it, the engine reversed, drawing the zombies further from the store. The moans were loud now, angry and agitated. The zombies at the back pushing forward, biting at nothing as they sensed the possibility of prey.
“Almost.” Said Chris to himself “Just need one or two to scream and they’ll draw in the rest.”
Another recorder on the ambulance started playing. A similar recording as before, shouts, screams, insults, all blasted from small speakers at full volume. Some zombies fought to get to it, others still headed for the reversing fire engine. The zombies were clawing at each other now, trying to get to the sounds, going in two different directions. The lights and siren on the ambulance came on, adding to the noise, and from the rear of the crowd, unable to see the fire engine or ambulance, a zombie pushed forward and screamed. The sound spread outwards like a ripple, the zombies already worked up and looking for food took up the call, joining their screams to the growing noise, pushing against each other in a mad rush to get to the source of the recorded voices. Suddenly hundreds, maybe thousands of zombies were screaming, rushing together, fighting to climb over each other. All around more zombies piled into the area.
“Fuck me!” Said Barry as the noise grew and grew.
Chris watched in awe for a few minutes then picked up the third walkie-talkie “Ok Lynn, take care of any stragglers back there.”
There was a pause then Lynn replied, sounding slightly shocked.
“Ok… I mean yes, roger that.” She said.
Barry and Chris ran to join her at the rear of the building. As they approached they saw a toy helicopter take off from the roof, flying over their escape route. As they joined Lynn, crouching out of sight, music started playing from a recorder taped underneath the helicopter.
“Is that Thriller?” Asked Chris.
Lynn smiled, the shocked look on her face disappearing “Yeah, thought I’d see if they could do the dance.”
Chris shook his head “You’re enjoying this way too much.”
Barry just laughed. The helicopter buzzed around the area behind the store, down the route to the ambulance and back. A few zombies who were still there spotted it and chased after the toy, hands reaching for it as Lynn buzzed it around their heads, drawing them away from the area. One of them screamed at it as they ran but its voice and that of the music was drowned out by the noise coming from the horde behind them at the front of the building. When they were far enough away Lynn dropped the helicopter onto the low roof of a fast food outlet, leaving the zombies clawing at the wall underneath.
“Time to go.” Said Chris taking the last walkie-talkie “Harry, time to get the hell out of here.”
“On my way.” Came the reply.
They all arrived at the bottom of the stairs by the fire-exit together. Nervous looks and final checks showing their apprehension. Chris put his hand on the door release and looked at the others. His lips curling with amusement at the sight of them, it had been Lynn’s idea and he thought it was a good one as they stood in the dimly lit stairway. Luckily the store was full of
costumes and make up. They stepped out into the bright but overcast morning light, each one clutching a weapon from the store. Each one wearing a zombie costume and matching make up. Chris pointed his baseball bat in the direction of the ambulance and they headed off. The way was clear and they moved quickly, some zombies passed by in the distance, heading in the opposite direction, drawn by the noise, but paid them little attention. They got within sight of the ambulance and watched for a moment but all seemed clear.
“Want me to buzz it to be sure?” Asked Lynn, raising a spare helicopter she was carrying.
“No it looks untouched.” Said Chris with a smile “No need for dancing zombies right now.”
They reached the ambulance quickly, Chris letting them all in through the rear door, then locking it behind them. They collapsed with sighs of relief, smiles all around.
Chapter 7
“We made it.” Said Harry “I still think this is nuts but I’m glad to be out of that store.”
“Too right mate.” Added Barry, grinning “The sound of them things walking around all day and night moaning was doing my nut in. Not that it’s exactly quiet here.”
The screams of the zombies could still be heard in the distance, though they were getting quieter, the sounds of the recordings blasting out at full volume had stopped.
“So what now? We just head off into the sunrise and see the sights?” Asked Lynn.
“Anywhere apart from here will do.” Said Harry.
Chris nodded agreement “Yes we need to get out of here, the route north is clear after the next on ramp, we’ll take that, see where it takes us.”
Everyone agreed and Chris started up the ambulance, the others keeping a lookout as he drove. As they got near the road leading to the motorway Chris stopped, looking around.
“What is it, did you see something?” Asked Lynn, sounding a little worried.
“Just down that road.” Said Chris nodding “There’s a small supermarket, we won’t get far without supplies.”
He looked around at the others, worried expressions on every face.
“What do you think?” He asked them.
“Well we won’t get far on this.” Said Harry lifting up some candy he had brought.
Chris looked at the dials on the ambulances dashboard, not liking what he saw.
“One more thing, we need more fuel.” He said “We have enough for maybe fifty miles, it’s not much.”
“There are still cars parked around here.” Said Barry “I could syphon some tanks.” He reached up to a shelf and pulled a plastic tube from a packet.
“Everyone agree?” Asked Chris looking around.
They all nodded agreement, though nobody looked happy about it.
“It’s do it now or do it in fifty miles.” Said Harry.
Chris turned off the road, heading down towards the supermarket. The car park held about a dozen vehicles, nobody moving and no sign of any zombies.
“Maybe they all headed for the Mall.” Said Lynn hopefully.
“Could be.” Said Chris “But let’s be careful. Barry, you and Lynn get as much fuel as you can. I’ll go inside with Harry and have a look around.”
Barry quickly grabbed some containers and jumped out of the back of the ambulance with Lynn. Chris turned the ambulance so it faced the way they had come.
“Right then Harry, it’s just you and me.” Said Chris.
Harry nodded, grabbing a heavy steel bar he had taken from the toy store. Chris grabbed his baseball bat and together they went to look around the supermarket. The inside was dim without the lights and as soon as Chris opened the entrance he was hit by the smell of rotten meat and other food.
“That’s absolutely rank!” Said Harry.
“I guess they won’t have any freshly made pizzas ready today.” Said Chris pulling his shirt up to cover his nose “Let’s not hang around long, grab anything that doesn’t need cooking.”
Stepping inside, Harry found an abandoned trolley and headed for the tinned food section, Chris followed keeping a lookout. As they passed the tills he saw dried blood pooled around the checkout. He pointed it out to Harry, who just nodded and continued into the store. Chris was tense, looking around he peered into every shadowy recess, expecting something to jump out. Harry started filling the trolley, piling tins into it as fast as he could while looking around for danger.
“Grab some tin openers.” Said Chris quietly, his voice sounding loud to himself in the dark, quiet store.
They continued down the aisles, avoiding the freezers and fresh food sections where the food was rotten. Chris found another trolley and started filling that too.
“Might as well make the most of it, don’t know when we’ll get the chance again.” Said Harry grinning as he lifted some bottles of whiskey.
Chris grinned back and helped himself to a few bottles too. When the trolleys were full they headed back to the entrance, both relieved that the store had been zombie free. As they pushed out through the doors, bright sunlight making them squint, Chris saw the others by the ambulance and waved.
“This should keep us going for a while!” Said Harry happily.
“Psst!” Chris heard the sound and turned to see Lynn and Barry crouched behind a parked car, then looked back towards the ambulance.
The two zombies there turned together, stopping for a second as they saw Harry and Chris dressed as zombies, pushing trolleys. Then one of them tilted its head back and screamed. They charged forward, going straight for Harry who was closer. He managed to push his trolley into the first one, knocking it over but the other jumped on him, forcing him backwards as he tried to reach for his steel bar. Chris watched, frozen in surprise for a second, then turned just in time to see the first zombie jump up and rush at him. He lifted his baseball bat from the top of his trolley and swung it, a wide hurried swing, powered by fear and instinct. The blow landed on the zombie’s shoulder with a loud snapping sound sending it stumbling sideways, its arm limp and broken. More screams came from the distance. Chris knew they didn’t have much time and swung again, overhand this time, smashing into the zombie’s head, knocking it to its knees. Again and again he swung, until the creature was lying still on the ground, its head smashed to a bloody pulp.
“Fuckers!” Came Barry’s voice.
Chris turned to see him dragging the second zombie away from Harry, its teeth pulling a large chunk of flesh from his arm as it moved. Barry spun and threw it to the ground, moving forward and kicking it, again and again, snapping its neck. He moved backwards, breathing hard and watched as its mouth continued opening and closing. Lynn stepped next to it and drove the end of a sharpened pool cue through its head.
“Is he alive?!” Asked Lynn as Chris rushed to Harry’s side.
After checking for a pulse Chris just shook his head, Harry’s throat had been bitten and he had choked quickly on his own blood.
“He’s dead. Dammit!” Said Chris.
A scream sounded, not too far away.
“Get the fuel and food in the ambulance, quickly!” Said Chris as he grabbed a trolley, pushing it towards the vehicle.
They quickly got everything inside, pushing the full trolleys up the ambulance’s ramp, then Chris jumped in the driver’s seat and started the engine. Screams sounded again, closer now, and Chris pulled away, winding through the entrance to the supermarket’s parking lot. As he got near the road leading to the motorway he hit the accelerator.
“Some of them things are chasing us, go faster!” Shouted Barry.
The ambulance was big and slow, it wasn’t gaining speed fast enough and Chris could see the zombies getting closer in the mirrors as he weaved around corners, a small group of them cutting across curves in the road until they were right behind the ambulance. Barry tipped over the trolleys, spilling their contents onto the ambulance’s floor.
“Open the door!” He shouted to Lynn as the zombies were almost upon them.
Lynn opened the rear door and Barry kicked out the shopping trolle
ys, straight into the group of chasing zombies, sending them tumbling all over the road and each other. Lynn closed the door.
“Nice shot soldier boy.” She said.
Chris headed up the curving ramp, onto the motorway, the way ahead was clear, heading away from the Mall. As they passed by the supermarket, the road overlooking it, he thought he caught a glimpse of someone standing there in the car park, someone in a blood soaked security guard’s uniform.
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Part Five: ISLAND
Island
The zombies clearly didn’t like water but still they came day after day, their numbers increasing. The approach was protected as well as possible but some still got through, the tide revealing the road that led to the island. The professor scanned the view with some binoculars as the water slowly began to retreat. There had been a big build-up of the creatures overnight. He knew if this kept up, they might have to leave, and nobody wanted to go out there again.
Chapter 1
Chris stood on top of his the ambulance and looked towards the island with his binoculars. He had stopped in a car park overlooking the coast, the island with its castle dominating the view. As he climbed down, Barry and Lynn who had been on lookout, joined him.
“What’s the deal?” Asked Barry, glancing over towards the coast.
“Looks like a pretty good set up.” Said Chris “Only way in is when the causeway is revealed at low tide for a few hours.”
“Just one problem.” Said Lynn “The entrance is blocked, no way can we drive in there, and there is no way I’m going to walk through that.”
The start of the causeway was blocked by tourist buses and trucks, partially submerged under water, leaving no route to walk past, an open top double-decker right in the centre with the words ‘Welcome To The Holy-Island Experience’ painted large down its side. Walking wasn’t an option anyway, the barricade had attracted a large crowd of zombies, wandering around moaning, occasionally bumping into the parked vehicles. Others trickled in from nearby towns and villages, increasing the numbers and the noise.