by T. Gault
Jim and I hoisted the rope back up onto the roof to set up for another person. We decided that Sid would be the next to go. If somehow we lost the rope or it just became impossible to lower anyone else, we needed to get anyone that couldn’t fight for themselves off of the roof first.
CLICK, “Matt, you guys ready for another one?” I asked over the radio.
PFFFF, “Yeah, but we are going to have to make this quick. Curtis is pretty worried about Frannie and it’s hard to keep him concentrated on getting the rest of you,” replied Matt.
CLICK, “Sid is coming down next,” I said.
We tied Sid into the harness and tested the weight. Sid was substantially heavier than Frannie. He looked almost as uneasy as Frannie was, though, about going over the side of the building.
“You sure about this bud? You fellas better hold onto that rope tight, OK. I, um, never told you, but I’m kinda afraid of heights. I think I would rather be eaten than be dropped from this building,” said Sid, trying not to look over the side.
“Hey, this is Jim you’re talking about. Just a minute ago, I was a big, strong guy. We got this. You just make sure you’re ready to get yourself out of that harness down there,” said Jim.
The van pulled up below the rope again, crushing a few of the carriers against the wall. Curtis backed the van up to get room between the van and the wall. Beth and Tracey began to lower Sid over the side of the wall and Jim and I held on as tight as we could. The rope burn on my palms was making it very painful to grip the rope, but I held on anyway. We lowered Sid as slowly as we could, but the weight difference between Frannie and him made it very hard to carry the load.
We heard the commotion down below again, but this time it was different. It sounded like there were many more of them this time. I could hear the crowd below, thumping against the side of the van.
PFFFF, “Hold the rope! Hold the rope! There’s too many of them!” Matt yelled.
BOOM! BOOM! I could hear Matt’s shotgun down below.
Jim and I grabbed the rope tightly and tried to stop lowering Sid to the ground.
BOOM! I heard Matt’s shotgun report again. Then I heard something that made my heart drop.
“AHHHH! AHHHHH! Get them off of me!” Sid was screaming below.
“Pull him back up!” yelled Jim.
But when we started pulling, there was no weight at the other end of the rope.
Beth turned and looked at Jim and me. “Matt got him inside the van, but I think they bit him. It looked like they got him a few times.”
I pulled the rope back up to the roof and rolled over to get the radio. CLICK, “Matt, did they get him? How bad is it?”
PFFFF, “Well, they took a pretty good chunk out of his arm. He passed out while I was pulling him into the van. At least I think he passed out. That wouldn’t have killed him,” Matt said.
“What, does that mean? I mean for him. What are we going to do?” asked Beth.
“I’ve seen enough of these and you’ve all seen the end results. There is only one way to stop him from changing and you all know what that is,” said Tracey.
“Wait, Matt said he was bitten on the arm,” I said. “Matt, where on the arm was Sid bitten? Which arm was it?”
PFFFF, “Um, looks like his forearm. They took about a handful of his arm,” said Matt.
CLICK, “Okay, but which arm was it?” I asked again.
PFFFF, “Left,” answered Matt.
I looked at everyone else on the roof and cracked a smile.
PFFFF, “Look, I think I should go ahead and put one in his head and save us and him the trouble,” said Matt.
CLICK, “No, no, no. He already had a bite on his left hand and they had tied his arm off with a...um, what did she call it...”
“Tourniquet,” said Tracey.
CLICK, “Yeah, a tourniquet. There is no blood flow to the rest of his body. The bite is isolated. Tracey says she doesn’t think it will cause him to turn,” I said.
PFFFF, “Well, I’m not sitting next to him. Who’s next?” said Matt.
We hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. We all looked at each other and none of us wanted to be put into the same terrifying situation Sid had just gone through. We changed our tactic now that we had moved all of the injured from the roof. I tied the rope to the top bar on the ladder to the roof and threw the other end over the side. After untying the harness we had just enough line to put us on the ground level. Jim had been rock climbing before and he gave us a few tips on how to make our way down the wall. I had never climbed over anything with a rope before. I was more than a little concerned about falling from the roof. Jim showed all of us a few times how to walk backwards to the edge and to hold the rope under our butts to make it easier on our hands, but it still looked scary.
“Look, the best thing to do would be for Jim to go down first so he can help bring everyone down safely,” said Tracey.
CLICK, “Matt, we’re just about ready. This is going to happen fast and we’re going to need both you and Curtis to cover us while we get into the van,” I said.
PFFFF, “Well, just remember you don’t get any do-overs on this one,” said Matt.
Tracey gave her halligan to Jim. He was built a little better to swing it around. Jim dropped it down to the ground level so his hands would be free. He then winked at Tracey and Beth and took up his position on the edge of the roof.
PFFFF, “Let’s do this and get out of here,” said Matt as the van pulled up next to the building.
Jim quickly disappeared over the side of the wall and made his way to the bottom. He made it look so easy. He picked up the halligan and readied himself for the carriers. Matt got out of the van and stood covering the gap between the rear of the van and the wall and Jim stood covering the gap between the front of the van and the wall. Curtis started to get out of the driver’s seat, but Matt told him to stay put.
“Let’s go, we don’t have all day!” yelled Jim.
I knew Jim was just trying to motivate the rest of us to take that first step, but every loud noise our group made drew more carriers to us. Beth took up her position on the wall to go next. She looked very nervous about going down the wall. She dropped her mannequin arm down to the ground before trying to go over the wall. Looking down, she appeared to become disoriented, then tripped on the ledge and fell over the side. The rope tightened as she vanished.
I ran to the ledge and looked down to her. She had managed to hold onto the rope and slammed into the wall about five feet below the roof. I could see that she was struggling to breathe. The force of her smashing into the wall must have knocked the wind out of her.
“Just keep holding on. Breathe slowly. You can’t work your way through this,” said Tracey, next to me.
“Hand under hand. Start moving down the rope. It’s not that far,” said Jim from below.
Beth began to slowly work her way down the rope while Matt and Jim had started smashing and slicing through the first few carriers moving in on the van. Tracey stepped up to the ledge next just as Beth made it to the ground and stepped into the van.
Tracey didn’t look at all concerned. “This is just like one of the drills the fire department practices. Well, minus the corpses trying to eat you,” said Tracey as she jumped away from the ledge and repelled her way down the wall.
I let out a breath and thought about how close Beth had come to falling all the way to the asphalt. I could still go down the ladder and fight my way through, I thought as I walked to pick up the rope. I shook my head and stepped off of the ledge. My backpack full of ammo made me feel very lopsided as I started sliding down the rope. About halfway down the wall it hit me: I had left the video camera on the floor of my truck. I stopped midway and thought about climbing back up, but decided to try for it after I got down. I stepped onto the asphalt, into a small puddle of coagulated blood, looked at Matt and shook my head.
“What, we’ve got everyone! It’s time to get out of here!” said Matt.
“I left it in the tr
uck. I can’t leave without it. I can’t!” I said as I slowly stepped backward toward the front of the store.
“What? The truck?” said Tracey.
“No, the video camera,” said Matt, shaking his head as he started to follow me away from the van.
I took off in a sprint with my sword in hand. With the large quantity of them in the area I didn’t have time to cautiously take on each one as they stumbled into my way. As I rounded the corner to the front of the building I could see the sizable crowd standing in the front parking lot of the store. The sheer number of them made me stumble for a second, but I couldn’t just let the camera go. I stayed as close to the wall as I could and tried to shove and kick the carriers to the ground. I could hear the mass of rotting meat starting to excite as I moved in front of the store. BOOM! click click BOOM! I could hear Matt’s shotgun cutting into the crowd, but when I glanced behind myself I couldn’t see Matt. Part of me wanted to run back and make sure he was okay, but every second I wasted added to the size of the horde.
I turned back to face the front of the store just in time to see that one of them was standing directly in my path. I tried to quickly slice into its skull, but I was too close. I tumbled to the ground on top of the corpse and the force of my attempt at swinging my sword caused me to throw my sword about ten feet in front of me. I rolled over and saw that I had crushed the carrier’s skull with my knee when I fell. I scrambled to my feet and shoved two more carriers out of the way to pick up my sword. As I picked it up and looked for the front door to the store I realized I was standing in at the tailgate of my truck.
THUMP, CRUNCH, THUMP! I turned and looked back into the parking lot just in time to see the van plowing through the carriers. But the van wasn’t coming to me. It was leaving.
“Crap! No!” I said as I turned to run toward my truck. I decided to try to get into the back of the truck for some cover. I slashed through the neck of a carrier that was standing in front of the tailgate just before I opened the camper hatch and pulled myself inside. I turned, pulled the hatch closed and slid across the bed, all the way against the cab. I closed the window between the camper and the cab, but the dried, putrefied blood in the track of the window from the carrier the night before made it very difficult.
I sat staring at the crowd wondering how long it would take for them to get inside. I checked my gun and I still had a full magazine. Some of the shambling bodies had been watching me the whole time and were gathering around the truck, but most of them had been more interested in the van when it left. Then I remembered that I still had my walkie.
CLICK, “Curtis? You still on here?” I said. I sat and waited for about two minutes with no answer.
PFFFF, “Hey, you’re not dead. What in the world were you doing there you moron?” said Jim.
CLICK, “Look, I had to get something out of my truck, but I don’t know if I’ll make it out of this now. I’m trapped in the back of my truck,” I responded.
PFFFF, “We were going to try to get you or at least wait for you, but they were starting to surround the van,” said Jim.
CLICK, “Is Matt with you guys?” I asked.
PFFFF, “No, we thought he stuck with you?” said Jim.
CLICK, “I haven’t seen him. I heard his shotgun, but he never made it to the truck,” I said.
PFFFF, “I’m sorry man. I know he was your wingman,” said Jim.
CLICK, “Yeah,” I responded.
PFFFF, “Look, we can try to come back and get you after we unload Sid and Frannie,” said Jim.
CLICK, “No, remember what you said earlier? If we all can’t leave, then that’s just how it is. I’ll figure this out. I don’t think they are going to get into here and maybe if I just sit still, they will leave,” I responded.
PFFFF, “We’re not just going to leave you there bud,” said Jim.
CLICK, “I can’t ask you to do that and risk anyone else,” I responded.
PFFFF, “I tell you what”...PFFFF...”ive me....cation....r a pickup”...PFFFF...”be there....morrow...” PFFFF, said Jim as he started to go out of range.
CLICK, “You’re breaking up, but I think I know what you said. Pick me up at the Game Stop, the Game Stop. I’ll be there,” I said as quickly as I could.
PFFFF...PFFFF...PFFFF. All I could hear was radio static in response.
I wasn’t sure if Jim had heard me or not, but I guessed I would find out the next morning.
I sat listening to the desperate thumping outside the truck. The carriers outside reminded me of how it felt to look for a light switch in the dark. They knew there was a way into the truck somewhere, but they just couldn’t find it. They were just not smart enough to pull on the hatch to the camper. They would push on it, but couldn’t figure out that they needed to pull. I watched as the sun slowly dropped below the horizon and the orange light began to wash over the swaying heads in the crowd. I thought for a moment that the image would make for a good picture. The thumping outside the truck slowed and weakened with every passing hour.
Several times I thought about trying to open the window to the cab of the truck and taking a chance on driving it out, but logic got the better of me. If it didn’t work I would be dead for sure. They would pour into the broken passenger’s window and that would be it. I also thought about how much more comfortable the bench seat would be compared to the rubber mat on the bed of the truck. I also found myself wondering if I would see Matt walking around in the crowd and what he would look like as a carrier.
I sat with my eyes locked on the tailgate for as long as I could and decided that I would make a break for the Game Stop as soon as the crowd started to thin out. The thinning I was waiting for just never seemed to come. The last few days had not allowed for restful sleep. I was exhausted. I was terrified of falling asleep in the bed of the truck and waking to the horror of being eaten alive. I fought the sleep for as long as I could. I tried slapping myself, pinching myself and planning my escape but my eyelids became too heavy to hold open and I lost the struggle.
Dream #4...
It is dark out. I am standing in the bushes and I know that there is someone else with me. I turn and see my dad leaning up against a tree next to me. He is visually inspecting a building sitting across from us. The building looks very old and badly maintained. I can see that the windows have been boarded up and that there is a sign on the left side of the building.
Dad has his Glock in his hand and I have a pump shotgun. My sword is missing but I look at the butt of my shotgun and see that there are a lot of blood smears covering it. Dad keeps his eyes locked on the building, “I’m not sure this is worth it. Some of the boards have been pulled off. I think it’s already been hit,” says Dad.
I see a carrier come stumbling out into the roadway and it sees me. I know it sees me but I am not concerned. Dad is also not worried. The corpse walks directly toward me and attempts to pick up his pace. He is too rotten and torn to move very quickly. Just before he is within striking distance, I raise the butt of my shotgun. I smash the stock into the face of the carrier and watch it flop to the ground. It is not dead. I slowly lean toward the corpse and look away from it. I am checking for more. I suddenly slam the butt of the shotgun into the skull of the carrier. It stops moving completely.
“You know, what the heck? We are low on ammo and we haven’t come across anything like this in weeks,” says Dad as he slowly walks out toward the store. I follow behind and keep my eyes on the tree line surrounding the area. The hunting supply store is small. We walk around to the back of it and see a back door. The metal door has been partially pried open, but does not appear to have been unlatched. I think I can fit through the opening if I take off my book bag. Dad cannot fit through the opening.
“I think I can fit,” I say as I start to remove my book bag.
“I think we should forget about it. If someone did make it inside, they might still be in there,” says Dad.
Just as I slide my leg inside the door, Dad grabs my should
er and points to a window next to the door. I quickly pull my leg out and look at the window. I can see a shape inside, but it’s difficult to see what it is in the dark. I pull a small flashlight out of my pocket. The flashlight has a strange cover over the bulb. It has only a small hole cut into it and allows a small amount of light to show through. I point the flashlight at the window and see a man dressed in a hunting gear sitting in an armchair. He has been shot several times and appears to have been partially eaten. He is also starting to move because of the light. The carrier does not appear to be able to get out of the chair. The heat from the days of sitting in the leather chair have caused the blood and other fluids to dry and become like a glue. He does not have the strength to overcome the hold in the chair. I look at Dad and give him the thumbs up. I start to walk back toward the door.
“Just be careful and don’t take chances. If there are more in there, you do what you can and get out,” says Dad.