The Dead Rise (Book 1): Zombies and Chainsaws

by Evans, Mike

  He yelled trying to interrupt the gunfire. "Guys quit wasting your shells! He isn't going down."

  Chuck yelled, “Well what the hell do you want to do?”

  Jude walked up firing a slug through its face tearing through its nose, and what was left of its brains painted the wall behind them. The men all watched holding their breath, when it slid to the ground not getting up the men let their breath out each of them giving a small thank you to God.

  Jude said, “We need to hit them in the head. Is there a reason this needs to be so damn difficult.”

  Chuck who was surveying what amount of ammo they had available stared at the few boxes they had. "Uh yeah, things can get worse Jude."

  Pete said, “Why? I mean how are things going to get worse?”

  Chuck held up three boxes that were half empty. He said, "Because this place doesn't have shit for ammunition on hand. It's a small town he probably has no reason to have that kind of firepower available to him. This is probably the biggest thing that's ever happened in this town."

  Pete looked to Jude and said, “Okay boss. We made it to the jail and we are still screwed, but now we are trapped, what do we do to get out of here?"

  Jude leaned against the desk rubbing his hand through his hair and trying to work things out. He said, “I - I don’t know, there are hundreds of them just in the lobby. There’s no way in hell we are going to get out of there. I wonder if you can light those things on fire. Do you think that might kill them?”

  Pete said, "It's an idea but they are already dead I don't think that is going to happen though brother, I mean Christ man look at them. Half of them are decayed past the point that family wouldn't even recognize them if they came up."

  The door started to buckle. It did not take long for the door to bust open. The men grabbed what shotgun shells there were and the shotguns and sprinted through the only door that was available to them. Had, they known in advance they were heading into the lock-up facility section of the jail, they would have tried just about anything to not make that their final destination.

  Pete said, “What in the hell are we going to do now?

  Chuck looked behind them seeing the dead were quickly filling the small space. Chuck said, “We don't have enough shotgun shells to take all of these out. I think we’re screwed.”

  Jude saw there was one and only one option available to them. He did not take a vote as there was no time to hesitate about his short-term plan to keep them safe. The door to the front office began to splinter and break open. Jude walked backward and when he looked behind him there was the only other door in the building smiling back at him. He pushed through the door and the three ran realizing the horrible issue; that it led back to the jail cells which didn't have another door to exit to freedom. Jude hesitated for only a second before opening a jail cell and pushing Pete and Chuck in.

  He slammed the door behind him not hesitating for a moment because he did not have one to waste. The door shut firmly but without a key did not lock. Jude opened it again and slammed it shut a second then third time screaming in rage when it wouldn’t lock. He looked down at the floor and saw his leather belt. He stripped off his thick belt and wrapped it around the cell bars quickly. He turned around to a confused looking Pete and Chuck and screamed at them, “Don't just sit there staring at me assholes get your belt off and get them around these bars or we really are fucked.”

  The two men stared for just one more moment before realizing Jude was saving their lives. The two pulled off their belts and mimicked what Jude was doing securing the door for as long as they could to keep the dead from chewing through their worn leather belts.

  Once the three men had the door secured they took a few steps back making sure to stay out of reach of the dead not even wanting to get a scratch from one of them as they didn’t know what it would do.

  Chuck said, “That was great thinking Jude, now how do we get out of here?”

  Jude looked around at the jail cell which surrounded them the only thing that was not covered in bars was a brick wall behind them which had a small window that none of them would ever fit through. Jude sat down on the cot and said, “Well Chuck I can't say that I had time to think it through that far. I would say that unless help comes we are going to be spending some time in this here cell. There were not a hell of a lot of options when we decided to run without knowing where we were going to end up.”

  Pete said, “Maybe we will get lucky and the sheriff will come back.”

  Chuck nodded crossing his arms and leaning against the wall staring at the massive number of dead who were fighting to try and bust through the cell. Chuck said, "The only problem with that is he probably won't have enough bullets to take that many out. I think this might be it, guys."

  Chuck slid down to the ground putting his feet out in front of him and pulled out a crumpled pack of smokes. He lit one up drawing hard on it and was starting to think that this would be the last place he would ever see. Jude had not lost hope, but he was realistic about the horrible conditions they were currently experiencing.

  Pete said, “How long do you think it will take them to figure out they can chew through those straps there?”

  Jude said, "You know that is the million dollar question. I am hoping we don't have to find out. I hadn't seen anyone in town on our run here. It is Saturday morning, but I would think there are still a few people out there that have not been eaten."

  Chuck laughed and said, “And are you saying if there are people left alive the first thing they are going to worry about is who got thrown in the drunk tank last night?”

  Jude went to say something but realized he totally agreed with what Chuck was saying. Jude said, “So waiting is a crap idea. Does anyone else have any ideas?”

  Both men shook their heads in frustration. They watched as one of the dead began to gnaw on the leather belt. It slowly started to make progress on destroying it. Jude walked over resting the shotgun barrel on the bars and aimed it at its head Chuck said, “What the hell are you doing Jude? Do you know how loud that is going to be?”

  Jude put his left hand over his ear trying to do what he could to lessen the damage and nodded his head. He said, “Yes Chuck I do know how loud it is going to be and that is why I am going to cover my ear. If I were you guys, I would do the same thing.”

  Pete said, “We are going to be deaf after this day.”

  Chuck said, “Pull the trigger Jude. It is better to be deaf than dead.”

  Jude took aim and fired the gun. It was nothing if not mind bending how loud the report of the shotgun was when it went off in a small space. The positive thing about all of the dead being so close was that it not only took out what used to be a man standing in front of the cell but the three men and women behind him as well.

  Chuck yelled only because he could not hear anything and said, “Jude keep doing that. If you get enough of those things piled in front of the door they will not be able to get close enough to the metal to chew on the leather.”

  Jude looked to Pete for agreement and the man was already nodding his head. Pete said, "Fire that son of a bitch and kill those bastards, Jude."

  Jude did not need to be told again. He fired off the shotgun in two quick successions watching in joy as dead after dead fell to the ground. He hoped this time they would really stay dead and that this would be their final resting place.

  When there were enough of the dead in front of the door to the cell Jude stopped firing. Jude said, “I cannot hear a damn thing. What the hell was I thinking?”

  Chuck walked up taking the shotgun and patting him on the shoulder. Chuck said, “You did a good thing that was a good idea, and if you had not done that those son of a bitches would already be in here and eating this lovely thing that I like to call a body.”

  Jude said, “I don't know if I would go quite that far Chuck but I am glad to say that we are still alive, and it looks like we are going to stay that way if we can just stay in the cell for a little bit long
er.”

  Chuck said, “It doesn't look like anyone is going to come anytime soon to free us. I would have to say we have a better than good chance of staying in this shit hole for quite a while.”

  Pete got up off the floor and adopted the cot. He fully stretched out and Chuck said, “What exactly do you think you are doing Pete?”

  He smiled crossing his legs and closing his eyes on the thin worn mattress. “I ain't going nowhere for a long time I think and I just gotta say that if I'm going to be stuck in hell, then I might as well be comfortable as well. Besides if I didn't take this here cot, I know damn well that you were going to take it."

  Chuck crossed his arms shaking his head, a look of being disrespected. He said, “I don’t know what in the hell you are - oh goddamn it you are skinny, get your little ass over, there’s plenty of room for the two of us to sit on that cot. Sorry Jude we need someone manning the shotgun and those dead heads trying to eat through our damn belts. Besides if I go and stay standing without my belt ya’ll are going to see a side of me that none of ya want to see, Lord as my savior I'm telling the truth on that one brother.”

  Jude held up his hands motioning for him to keep it. “God knows that isn’t anything I want to see Chuck. It is okay, I need to think, if I sit down I’m pretty sure I'm going to fall asleep and that isn’t going to do a hell of a lot of good for me, now is it?”

  He looked over at Chuck and Pete and they both had their heads down and their ball caps pulled down over their eyes already. Jude whispered to himself, “Oh Christ, I was just kidding about falling asleep, apparently being hung over is more important than trying to figure out how to get out of this damn situation. What the hell are we going to do now?”

  Jude leaned against the wall staring at the dead unsure what to do next. He stared at the bars seeing that they were planted strongly into the cement. The bars themselves were at least a half-inch thick and there was little that he would be able to do even armed with a shotgun to be able to get rid of that. They would only break away at the cement and it wouldn't be enough to damage it to the point where they would be able to break any of them free and leave. He looked down the hall there were a hundred of them and they filled a room that was barely big enough for twenty people. The new dead were being pushed out of the way by those newly risen. Jude watched as they moved, it was slow but it worked for them and they worked together to get what needed to be done finished. It didn't take them more than twenty minutes when they started eating at the belts yet again.

  Jude said, "You guys better wake up, shit is still going down. I'm going to fire the shotgun. I didn't want to make the two of you guys piss your pants."

  Jude didn’t give it more than a second their teeth while old and yellowed were as sharp as they needed to be to gnaw through the belts on the bar. Jude racked a fresh shell in and started firing without remorse. Heads split into mouths opening to gnaw stayed that way as they toppled to the ground. Jude fired his last shot and reached for a shell which was not there. He looked to Chuck and Pete. He screamed, “You guys I need your shells. I need them like fucking now!”

  Pete and Chuck pulled out pockets spilling what little contents they had on them which was only a few lose dollars and change in them, but they had no ammunition.

  Jude yelled, "You've got to be shitting me if we are out of ammunition! What the hell are we going to do now? We can't shoot them if we don't have any fresh shells. Son of a bitch!"

  Chuck said, “You aren’t quite filling me with confidence here Jude.”

  “Chuck I can’t say I have a lot to be optimistic about. If we can’t keep them out then hell it was nice knowing you guys brother,” Jude said.

  The dead ate through two of the belts, only the middle one remained. As the last belt began to give away the three men ran to the door putting their boots up against the bars to keep the cell door from opening. The dead pushed against the door slowly their weight was enough to make the men start sliding backward, the three's faces were covered with sweat and the dead's hands slowly started to get in between the doors and they wedged themselves through. A rattle made them jump but when they looked up they realized that it didn't come from in front of them but from behind. A large heavy chain was hanging through the window of the prison.

  The three men saw it swinging there and Jude said, “Can you hold the door shut guys.”

  They both nodded yes but their expression did not fill him with very much confidence and he slid backward jumping up and pulling himself up on the bars looking out. He saw Roger attaching a chain to the front of a garbage truck.

  Jude screamed, "Roger, you're alive!"

  Chuck and Pete both craned their necks just barely keeping the dead from getting in. Chuck yelled, “No shit, he’s alive?”

  Jude gave him a thumbs-up and said, “What do you need me to do?”

  Rogers finished attaching the heavy chain to the front of the truck and yelled back, “Give me a second Jude, let me get this damn thing hooked up on here.”

  Jude watched as he connected it and when he came back Roger yelled up to him, “Slide that chain back through so I can connect it.”

  Jude did as told and Roger grabbed the long chain bringing it down and sliding a heavy bolt through it. He said, “Give me a second we will get ya’ll out of there.”

  He jumped into the truck and backed it up until the chain got tight. The engine revved louder and the slow crack started to be heard. Jude took a few steps back waiting for the concrete to break watching intently for the chain that was around the bars to give way. He heard a snap and the chain fell to the floor. Jude ran up looking and saw Roger sitting there in the truck hitting the steering wheel as if he hated the thing.

  Jude yelled, "What the hell are you going to do now?"

  Roger got out looking at the chain and said, “Get back, I got one more idea.”

  Jude yelled, “What do you mean watch out? What are you going to do now?”

  Roger slammed the door shut and floored the giant truck backward. Jude's eyes opened wide he understood completely what Roger was going to do. He dropped down off of the bars running backward stopping within a foot of the cell doors forgetting about the dead trying to reach through and get them. Roger smiled bringing the truck up to speed and drove it with no regard for the wall straight into it. It crashed into it crushing the bricks; they fell free giving the room the three men desperately needed to escape. The three men covered their head trying to keep the bricks from crushing in their skulls.

  Pete screamed, "Back it up Roger there's enough room for us to get out now, we need you to back it up."

  Roger stuck his head out the trucks window. He yelled, "I can't back it up, the truck is dead. I messed it up when I slammed into the wall. There ain't any way to back it up, you guys are going to have to squeeze through I'm sorry but I don't know what else to do."

  Jude said, “Pete, then Chuck and myself. Pete get your ass moving now!”

  Pete pushed up off of the ground he didn't need to be told twice. He leaped for the hole. Roger grabbed his outstretched hands pulling him across the hood and to the freedom outside. Once Roger had pulled Pete through the hole he let go of him letting him fall to the ground.

  Roger screamed, "Chuck get your ass up and get moving brother it's time to go!"

  Chuck said, “Jude you got this for a second?”

  Jude screamed, “Get your ass moving we don't have a choice quit wasting time we can’t spare!”

  Jude watched as Chuck disappeared getting the same treatment as Pete had landing on top of him. Jude looked back to see the final belt breaking and the force of the dead pushed him fully back as they flooded the cell. Jude sprinted launching himself through the hole, head first only leaving himself seconds to spare.

  Jude rolled off of the top of the hood and gave Roger the biggest hug he ever had. Jude said, “Holy shit Roger, I can't believe you are alive! You just saved our ass brother. What happened to you when we split up?”

  Roger s
hrugged and said, "There ain't nothing to it man. Once I realized I was on my own the only thing I cared about was keeping enough distance between me and them. Once I lost them, I circled back around to the sheriff's office hoping you guys would have waited for me. Which it kind of seems like you did wait for me, although it did not look like it was by your own choice."

  Chuck said, “Hell we would have waited for you man, but as you can see that choice was definitely made for us. Where did you get the garbage truck?”

  Roger said, “It was already in idle parked back into the alleyway to the diner.”

  Jude said, “You do realize that usually garbage trucks have garbage men that accompany them right?”

  Roger nodded and looked a little bit green when he said, “Yeah I know that they have garbage men smart ass. But by the time I arrived it looked like the two men that had been with the truck, had been turned into meals of the dead.”

  Pete said, “That sounds pretty damn gross man. God bless them though for leaving the truck.”

  Roger said, "Bet your sweet ass you ought to be thanking them. If it hadn't been for this truck you guys would probably still be in there. Considering the fact we don't know shit about this town or who to talk to for if I didn't get you out of there, you would have probably turned into one of them if they left enough meat on the bone for that to happen."

  Pete said, “So what do we want to do now boys?”

  Jude said, “I think that we should probably get to our van, and get the hell out of here. There isn't anything in this town worth sticking around for.”

  Chuck said, “You know this whole thing has been just a little bit stressful. I think I could use a little break before we start our next round of craziness.”

  Moaning came and it echoed down the alleyway. The four men looked around the side of the truck staring at the end of the alleyway where it opened to the street. The dead came from around the corner moaning and swaying in motion as they walked towards the men.

  Jude said, "It doesn't look like we are going to have time to rest. I think you're going to have to suck it up, so we can get back to the van. You'll have a good four hours to sit on your ass on the ride home and back to the land of normalcy."