The Zombie Principle

by David R Vosburgh

  The Corporal also wanted to get a wider view of the building to see if there were any more problems coming from the either side. Fortunately, there was not. They only had to deal with the ones in front of them.

  Stephen raised his axe one more time and waited for the next victim. Corporal Levine, however, never let another get close enough as he dispatched the remaining infected. The last one falling at his feet, its head detaching from its body as it landed.

  They gave themselves a second to survey the situation; making sure all the zombies that were lying on the ground were indeed no longer a threat. Stephen stood over a man with a sport coat and dress slacks. He thought he had seen movement. Not wanting to get too close, he poked at it with the end of his axe.

  It suddenly reached out its left hand and grabbed Stephen’s right ankle. He reacted by chopping down hard with his axe on the left arm of the zombie and removing it at the elbow. He shook his leg vigorously trying to get the arm off his ankle. Finally, it came loose. Realizing his job was not finished; he gripped his axe and proceeded to remove the thing’s head just above the shoulders.

  “I think we got ‘em all,” said Corporal Levine.

  Stephen said nothing. He was staring down at the stub of an arm lying on the ground next to him. His body ached. He had lost count of how many times he had swung the axe. Shaking off his fatigue, he thought of Nick and the girls; and then Dave, he wondered where the hell Dave was.

  Nick and Lucy led the way with Kim and her kids just behind them. They passed the checkpoint and slowed down as they approached the visitor’s center. It was located on the north side of Screaming Eagle Boulevard. There was a small employee parking just to the west that contained a few cars.

  The building was a small one story structure with handicap parking in the front and regular parking to the east in a long but narrow lot. It had double glass and wood doors. Nick looked through them and saw no movement inside.

  They approached slowly, Nick holding Kim’s glock in his right hand. Pushing on the door to the right labeled ENTER, Nick entered first with Lucy right behind him. Kim followed holding Danielle’s hand tightly as Jason walked in backwards, checking their rear and holding his club out in front of him.

  Once inside, Lucy turned around and closed the door tightly behind them. Nick quickly scanned the room. There was an information counter directly in front of them. Brochures littered the countertop. The walls were decorated with murals of helicopters and soldiers. There was a Coke machine just to the left of the door and a snack machine to the right.

  Benches lined the wall to the right. To the left was a small open gift shop. It was filled with t-shirts, coffee mugs, books, and other commemorative items. To the right there was a sign directing visitors to the restrooms. The far end of the counter to the left had a partition that could be raised in order for employees to move from behind the counter and onto the floor.

  Nick moved to that hinged partition and lifted it up. He moved slowly behind the counter. Looking to the floor he spotted a body lying face down. Startled, he dropped the gun on the floor. The noise did not seem to bother the unidentified body in front of him.

  “What is it?” asked Kim.

  Nick did not answer immediately; he bent down and picked up the gun. He flipped the safety off and pointed it at the body. Taking a few steps closer, he kicked its feet and then stepped back. Nothing happened.

  “Nick,” Lucy said impatiently.

  “There’s a body here. I think it’s dead,” Nick finally said.

  A closer look revealed the mystery guest to be a male; probably thirty-five or so. The darkness made it increasingly difficult to see. There was blood near the head but not a lot of it. Nick was not sure what to do. As he saw with Dave, this guy might suddenly sit up and look at him. He needed to be sure, especially if was leaving the girls here.

  He was, however, concerned with the noise the gun would make. Looking over the counter he surveyed the visitor’s center. He thought he spotted something that might work. Heading back through the partition and onto the floor he went into the gift shop.

  He grabbed a commemorative pillow and accompanying blanket. Lucy watched him as he went back behind the counter. He placed the blanket on top on the counter and stepped to the front of the body near the head. Hunching down he placed the pillow just above the head. Placing the barrel of the gun up against the other side of the pillow he steadied himself. Counting to three he pulled the trigger. The pillow exploded but did muffle the sound quite a bit. It was still loud but probably would not have been heard outside of the building.

  Standing back up he grabbed the blanket and covered the body. He shoved the gun back into his waist as he moved back to where the unfortunate man’s feet were, lifted both up and began to drag him to the lobby floor. He lifted the partition and started to move when he stopped and turned to Kim.

  “Um … Kim you might want to …” he said as he glanced down at the kids.

  “Yes, thanks,” she replied turning her kids away from the counter to look out into the night through the front doors.

  Nick dragged the body around the front of the counter and headed toward the bathrooms. There was some blood but the blanket had caught most of it. He arrived at the bathrooms; the men’s room to the left, ladies to the right. He dropped the corpse’s feet and drew his gun again.

  Remembering the rest area in Virginia and the frightening experience there, he entered the men’s room carefully. It was a small one person and at the moment, Nick was the only one there. It was the same in the ladies room. He dragged the dead body into the men’s room.

  A check of the remaining areas found nothing of immediate concern. There was a back door near a small office. He found a maintenance closet where he stole a broom and headed back to the information counter where Lucy and Kim were still standing.

  “This place is safe for the moment,” Nick said. “Try to stay out of sight.”

  He turned to Jason.

  “You’re the man of the house; keep your mom and sister safe.”

  “Okay,” Jason said looking up at his mom.

  Nick handed the broom, an industrial style with a thick handle and a long rectangular bottom, to Lucy.

  “Put this through the handles of the front doors when I leave. It may not keep them out but it’ll slow them down. Oh, there’s a back door that locks from the inside. If they’re coming through the front door, use the back one to escape,” Nick said.

  “Thanks,” Lucy said.

  If he stayed another minute he might not have wanted to leave. So, with nothing else to really say he nodded nervously and headed for the front doors; he was about to open them when he turned back around.

  “One last thing, if you need to use the bathroom, use the ladies room … that includes you Jason.”

  Without waiting for a response, he opened the door and went out into the twilight in search of Stephen.

  Captain Morris stood in the gunner’s cupola trying desperately to contact Major Bradley. He began to fear the worst after several attempts went unanswered.

  He was staring out onto a large open field with bodies and body parts strewn about like so much trash. His men were doing a great job but were getting dangerously low on ammo. They would soon need to retreat back to the convoy and use it as defilade. He was also worried about the quickly fading daylight.

  He was about to switch back to channel two and communicate his instructions to the men when he heard his comm link crackle. A second later, Major Bradley’s voice was heard coming through a fair amount of static.

  “Bradley, over.”

  “Major, we are currently engaging nearly a hundred infected and have killed as many, maybe more. Convoy secure for the moment, over,” Captain Morris responded.

  “Casualties? Over.”

  “None, over.”

  “Good work Captain. We are currently assisting the group we saw land that plane earlier. I will explain when I return, over.”

  “ETA, over.
”

  “Unknown at this time, over.”

  “Copy, I will keep you posted, over and out.”

  Captain Morris switched his comm link back to channel two and spoke quickly.

  “Listen up, I need all personnel to gear up and fall back to the convoy. Take elevated positions and prepare for hand to hand.”

  He looked down as the men began to retreat to the convoy opening up a wide berth for the Captain to unleash the fifty caliber.

  Nick stood in front of the visitor’s center, it was that time of the day after the sun goes down but the moon and stars have yet to achieve full luster. He looked back to the convoy and thought it now seemed awfully far away and where he last saw Stephen and the corporal was even farther.

  He was suddenly exhausted. He was not in the physical shape that Stephen, as a football player, was. He was a history major, not a lot of call for physical activity.

  Looking south just past the entrance, he noticed something for the first time. It was probably because it was now dark enough to more easily make out. He spotted headlights. The thought of driving back to Stephen was very appealing. He might even be able to take out a few of those things along the way.

  Moving out of the parking lot he crossed the very eastern end of Screaming Eagle Boulevard and made his way to Route 41. Turning right he got a closer look at the headlights and more importantly the vehicle they were attached to. It was a very old red pick-up truck. The engine was still running which would mean the keys were in it. The driver’s side door was also wide open.

  Piled high in the truck bed were bales of hay. A few were spilled on to the road. It appeared that the truck had come to a sudden stop and the driver fled out of the driver’s seat. Of which, there was no driver in sight.

  Nick approached the truck moving to the driver’s side. He peered around the open door as he reached into his waistband to remove the Glock. He jumped around the door and pointed the gun at the front seat which was empty. As was the passenger’s seat.

  He relaxed for a moment and looked behind the seats. There was nothing but an old rope and a red gas can. He started to get into the truck when he heard a rustling noise coming from the back of it. He hesitated and then backed away from the door and took a step toward the truck bed.

  Emerging from the bales of hay were two infected. They were both dressed in overalls and a plaid shirt. A large floppy farmer’s hat sat atop one of them. Hay protruded out from everywhere. They looked like two undead scarecrows. They were having trouble moving as it seemed their legs were stuck, sandwiched between bales of hay.

  Nick raised his gun and aimed it at the zombie in the hat. He was startled when he heard a voice coming from behind him. Turning around he saw a figure coming into view out of a few trees that lined the side of the road.

  “Don’t waste your ammo, kid,” said Chester Boone.

  “Use this,” he added.

  Chester threw a red road flair at Nick. He reached for it instinctively and caught it.

  “Take the top off, strike the flair with it, and toss it in the truck bed … then run like hell,” Chester instructed.

  Nick did as he was told. He removed the cap and struck the flair once, then twice. It finally lit on the third try. He reached back and threw the burning flair into the truck. The dry hay and the gentle breeze created a quick firestorm. The back of the truck was quickly ablaze.

  The zombies succumbed to the flames rapidly as they flailed their arms violently but to no avail. The heat became unbearable, as Nick turned and ran.

  He was right behind Chester as they bolted up Screaming Eagle Boulevard. Nick found his second wind as they crossed the median and passed by the checkpoint. He could not resist the urge to turn around and look back. He slowed down and looked just in time to see the truck explode into a giant fireball that illuminated the convoy and the field next to it along with the dead bodies of the infected.

  Chapter 34

  Finally

  Gunner pulled the trigger on his Walther P99 only to hear the click of an empty chamber. He did not have time to replace it with another cartridge so he bent down and retrieved his throwing knife beneath his pant leg. With surprising speed and uncanny accuracy he flipped the knife underhand connecting with the approaching zombie’s left eye. It fell to one knee then collapsed onto its back.

  He moved forward a couple of steps and bent down. Grabbing hold of the handle he pushed the knife in a little further and twisted slightly before removing it. He wiped the blade clean using the dead zombie’s own shirt before sheathing it in his ankle holster. He now had a second to replace the empty clip.

  Gunner and his men were now alone on the roof with the Doctor’s test subject. He dropped to a knee and placed the black bag on the ground. He unzipped it, removed the restraints and distributed them as before. He stood back up leaving the bag right where it was and extended the pole with the rope on the end.

  Their quarry was still standing in virtually the same spot as when they had first arrived. He had turned around, however, when Gunner and his men started shooting and just stood and watched. He did not try to run or attack, he just stood there.

  He was now about fifteen feet from Gunner and looking directly at him. Gunner thought he had an almost quizzical look on his face. As if he was surprised that the other infected on the roof had failed to halt Gunner and his men from advancing. Speaking of his face; it was subject to the typical deformities that he had seen on other zombies he had come in contact with, only not as severe. He retained and almost human appearance.

  All of that was interesting but not relevant to why Gunner was standing on this roof. His job was to capture and bring this thing back in one piece and that was exactly what he was going to do.

  He approached the test subject with the pole in his hands. Ludvig followed behind with the leg irons, Stefan with the hand cuffs, and Mikael with the muzzle. Number 5 began to move to his right, shuffling along the edge of the roof. Gunner instructed Mikael to move further to the left and cut off what appeared to be an escape attempt.

  Number 5 noticed this and stopped in his tracks. Looking back toward where he had just come from he saw Stefan approaching. He gazed down at the roof for a second before raising his head and staring directly at Gunner who was now only six feet away. Turning his head he glanced down behind him, over the side of the roof and onto the ground below. Looking up again he offered what could practically be called a smile.

  Gunner sensed trouble. He was less than five feet away when he charged forward, pole outstretched, just as Number 5 took one step off the roof. He began to fall backwards as Gunner loosened the noose and lowered it quickly over Number 5’s head. Both feet were now off the ground as Number 5 began to tumble off the roof.

  Gunner was able to apply the lasso and tighten it just as Number 5 started to free-fall off the rooftop. The weight of the test subject falling would have likely either pulled Gunner off the roof with him or separated the head from the rest of its body if not for Stefan arriving just in time.

  Reaching down Stefan was able to stop him from falling by grabbing Number 5’s left arm. This, combined with Gunner pulling him back up onto the roof, stabilized everyone for the moment. Gunner then used his considerable strength to pull his target back onto the roof. He tightened the lasso even more and pulled forward attempting to get Number 5 away from the edge once he had him back on the roof. Stefan moved behind the zombie as Gunner moved him forward. He reached for the left hand and applied the first hand cuff.

  Number 5 seemed to regroup quickly as he suddenly swung his left hand violently, knocking Stefan off balance. As Gunner tried to regain control, Stefan’s right foot slipped on the slick surface of the roof. He tumbled backwards, his momentum carrying him away from the zombie, as he went head over heels off the side of the roof.

  The three story fall ended on a patch of grass on the northwest corner of the property. Stefan likely had broken a rib or an arm or worse, but unfortunately that would not matter. The
front of the hospital was still full of infected despite the large group that had moved around to the rear. It was only a matter of seconds before they were on top of Stefan. He did not stand a chance.

  Gunner pulled with all his might and hauled the test subject forward and finally down to the ground. It continued to thrash about and attempted to get back up. Ludvig came up from behind and plowed his left knee into the small of the zombie’s back. Gunner moved forward a foot or two so he was directly on top of the zombie and pushed down hard on the pole trying to keep the creature as still as possible.

  Ludvig, leaning down over the zombie’s feet, applied the leg restraints; the left leg first then the right. He then stood up and turned around facing Gunner then reached down and grabbed the hand cuffs attached to the zombie’s left hand. He found the right hand pinned under the zombie’s body. He pulled it out and wrapped it behind its back locking the two wrists together.

  With the patient secure, Mikael carefully lifted its head up by grabbing the hair and pulling. He placed the muzzle over the mouth and secured it by pulling the strap on the back of the head. He moved quickly away and let Gunner get the zombie to its feet.

  It continued to struggle but with its hands bound and feet chained together it was useless. Gunner used the pole as leverage to push the zombie up. Once on its feet, Gunner moved behind it and pushed forward. There was enough slack in the chains so that the zombie could shuffle along.

  Ludvig retrieved the black bag and grabbed the last of the ammo. He zipped it back up and threw it down the hole in the roof and then climbed down. Gunner and Mikael stayed on the roof.

  Mikael lifted the zombie’s feet and lowered it through the opening as Gunner steadied it. Ludvig grabbed the legs as Mikael fed Number 5 through the hole. Once through the hatch and on the ground, Ludvig moved the zombie out of the way so that Gunner and Mikael could come down.