The Dead Rise (Book 1): Zombies and Chainsaws

by Evans, Mike

  Chuck thinking the same thing said, “Do you think the buckshot is actually going to be able to do anything to those things?”

  Jude said, "Hell if I know Chuck. I'm figuring out a new plan it seems every other minute. All I do know is I'd rather have this than not. The worst case scenario, if they don't kill them, we can sure take a shot at one of them in a knee."

  Leslie said, “Do you think they have any more of those axes in this place? I feel like I'm walking around naked without some kind of weapon. Just seems stupid.”

  Chuck smiled and just got punched in the arm. He said, “I'm growing on you. I'm growing on you.”

  They found a fire extinguisher sign on the wall and went over. Leslie found herself an axe she could take with her. The only one walking without a weapon was Joanne but she carried her materials and the samples. The four of them made their way back to the front entrance of the factory. When they looked out they saw the dead swarming through the parking lot. They looked all around again trying to find a way to make it back to the van, something that seemed to be getting harder and harder for the four of them to do. Jude saw just barely in the distance an entire field worth of tombstones sticking up from the ground. He pointed to them and said, "How in the hell can a town this small have so many fucking dead people in it. Do these people not live long or something?"

  Leslie said, “Seems like we have been here forever. Even if you go to school it seems like you still end up coming back to this town eventually. There is nothing better at least before today anyway then what small town living could provide.”

  Chuck said, “You know what I'm from a small town, I can appreciate that Leslie.”

  Leslie said, "That is good to know Chuck. Let's get this done so you can go home. I don't need you around me any longer than needed."

  Chuck said, "You know words like that can hurt. You know you're going to miss me. Like I said I'm growing on you."

  Jude said, “I think I'm done with pulling distraction duty with these damn things. The way I see it this place already has all the chemicals to bring hell on the world right? So what do we care if we trap the dead in there? They can't become more dead right?”

  The other three nodded and Chuck said, "So can I assume at the least you have a plan, Jude?"

  Jude said, "Yes I have a plan Chuck don't worry buddy. But I do have some probably bad news for you, Chuck."

  Chuck said, "Oh shit, oh no what is it, what's the bad news? You're going to make me be what they come after huh? You're going to make me bait damn it. Oh don't do that to me Jude please don't do that to me, buddy."

  Judy said, "Yeah it's not all that great of an idea now is it. No, I was just going to say you're going to have to run. These things are walking pretty slow, but it's still not a guarantee they aren't going to catch up to us."

  Chuck said, “If it's going to save all our asses, I'll make sure I can get my ass moving. You don't worry about that, just make sure we all stay together everyone. If there is one thing I learned in the Army, you don't go off alone.”

  Leslie said, “You were in the army?”

  Chuck pumped his arm proudly. He said, "You bet your sweet ass I was honey I mean Jude and I signed up on the same day. Why do you like a man in a uniform? I mean mine probably wouldn't fit, but it still looks damn good on me."

  When Leslie smiled shaking her head it was that second that Chuck began to realize that yes he really was starting to grow on her. Leslie said, “Don't go getting carried away with yourself we could just take it one day at a time.”

  Chuck said, “Oh God please give me more than just one day to live. Just give me at least one more day damn it.”

  Jude said, “Are you done? I mean are you happy now she doesn't completely hate you. You might have, you know a little chance in hell. You ready to listen to my idea?”

  Chuck said, “Yep hit me up buddy let's get this show on the road.”

  Jude said, “Well actually it's a pretty simple plan to tell you the God honest truth. What I want to do is pry open these doors and then we lock them in the open position. When those things, I mean the dead start coming for us, that's when we get our asses running. We get moving through and then we go out one of the back doors and we'll shut those damn things in there then we get our happy asses in the van get the fuck outta Dodge.”

  Chuck clapped his hands together jumping a little with excitement at the prospect that they might actually pull this thing off. “Now that's a hell of an idea, that's why I get shit done! Yeah, buddy."

  Chuck walked up confidently to the front doors opening the first set in the lock so that they could not close and then on the second set he started hammering on the glass until he had every last one of the dead's attention gathered. He swung the door open and started screaming, “Hey you stinky son of bitches. Why don't you get your wrinkly old dried up asses in here and try and eat me you dumb shits!"

  Jude said, “You know if there is a way to piss off the dead, you’d probably be the one capable of doing it. Thanks for making sure everybody was ready before you decided to go to do that. That was a really good idea damn it Chuck.”

  Leslie said it, “That liking him thing seems like it comes and goes, doesn’t it?”

  Chuck said, “Damn it, damn it, damn it.”

  The four ran with everything they had to run back past Phelps and Steven not stopping to look at them this time. Jude saw the dead coming in following them through the door. Unfortunately for Jude when they ran out of the room they went to leave but there was a second door this one was already open. The dead had already been strolling in one at a time single file, and yes they were in there and they were very much in search of a new meal.

  Joanne yelled, “We got to go back we got to go back while there's still time!”

  Jude said, “There is no going back we committed to this and we're going to do it. Get that damn axe off your back or your machete. I don't give a shit but get something and start cracking fucking heads open.”

  Jude who had learned his lesson today and not wanting his axe to get stuck again went up to the first man that was stumbling and blocking his way and brought it down with the force of Thor smashing it into the man's skull denting his head and brought a second vicious blow down in the exact same spot rupturing and splitting it open.

  Jude screamed, “You do it just like that. You smash their damn heads in and you don't stop until they stop getting up. Now do it now everyone. Joanne you stay in the back.”

  Joanne took a long few steps backward and watched the other three bringing down the head one after another into the dead’s heads. She was unsure what she would do if something came from behind here but at this particular moment to all inspired by the awesomeness that this group was able to handle on their own without the help of any gun.

  Jude kept the lead with Leslie and Chuck falling behind to his left and right keeping enough distance to make sure they weren't going to get hit with one another's axes. It was within a minute they had fought their way far enough to make it to the doorway.

  Joanne screamed as loud as she could as hands gripped her from behind. The three turned around and Jude was already walking back toward her. She screamed, "Jude get the samples to the CDC."

  Jude wasn’t giving up on her and in one swift movement brought the axe up over his head and with every ounce of force he could put into the swing he brought it down hard and fast screaming as loud as he could in a war cry as the axe head which was only a few inches away from Joanne’s face planted itself in the dead’s face. She could feel the cool liquid hitting the side and back of her head. The hands gripped her tighter for just a moment and then loosened and they fell off sliding down her back creeping her out even more; something she didn't think she was currently possible feeling worse.

  Jude took his machete from his waist and brought it down on the second one behind her, pulling her behind him and out of harm's way with his free hand. He took the last out gripping the dead by it's tie and jammed the machete up and
under its chin not stopping with the plunge until he could see the top of the machete sticking out of its head. He looked back ready to go breathing heavily and yelled to Joanne. "You need to open your eyes. We need to get moving, and we need to do it now. Come on, let’s get outta here."

  Joanne did open her eyes, but she did not run she pulled him into her giving him a very tight hug and a long, passionate, wet kiss on the lips. Jude looked at her and Chuck chimed in and said, "Goddamn it he gets all the ladies, not like some but like all of them."

  She broke the kiss and Jude just stared blankly. He said, “What was that for?”

  Joanne said, “I was pretty sure I was dead. Like I didn't think I had a chance in hell when those cold hands gripped me from behind.”

  Jude said, “We don't leave anyone behind we don't have to. There was no way I was leaving you. You're the most important one out of all of us, let's get out of here before any more of those things come.”

  They ran out the side door making sure to keep their distance from the dead that were scattered along the floor. When they made it outside they saw they still had some stragglers sitting around.

  “What are we going to do about those?” Chuck said.

  Jude said, “We are going to do the same thing we've been doing all day man - cracking heads.”

  Chuck figured that was what he was going to say and walked up taking a baseball swing towards one of the dead and missed its skull and connected the back end of the axe head with its jaw ripping it from its place, and leaving quite a gruesome sight. It fell forward trying to get Chuck, but Leslie brought her axe down connecting the sharp end of the blade with its head.

  Chuck smiled with admiration in his eyes for Leslie and could tell there was something special about her. Jude moved past her swinging twice and taking out two of them and leaving the group with a clear enough path to make it back to the van.

  Jude screamed, “This is our chance let's go, go, go, go.”

  The three of them followed running with everything they had and diving through the van Jude held the door open pulling people up.

  Jude got behind the driver seat, and yelled, “We need to get some gas for these chainsaws, there's no way in hell we're going to make it wherever we need to go. We're bound to find more of these things.”

  Chuck said, “Well we sure as hell aren’t going back into town for any gas. We can try and hit up a farm see if they have their own gas reserves.”

  They sped out of the parking lot not wasting any time. Leslie pointed at the direction to get them back on a two-lane highway that would lead them far enough to where they could try and get to a news channel. Based on how they had done in town before, the group were thankful when they found a gas supply that wasn't dangerous. They topped off all of the chainsaws and the extra gas cans, and took the farmer's gas cans as well filling those up giving them enough gas to be able to run the chainsaws for hours as long as they did not have to abandon another vehicle. There would be no way to transport it without a car. They knew they would have a war on their hands and they drove into the sun ready to fight.

  Epilogue

  The four made it safely, or as safe as one could be in the waking of the dead rising without, any harm to themselves. When they arrived in a large city they stopped fighting their way past a horde of dead, and got on the news and relayed the information to people about how to protect themselves. They told them the fight was theirs and it would not be a quick one. But if everyone tried to fight together the war was one they could win little did they know it would not be a quick one

  The End

  By Mike Evans

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  Other Titles

  The Orphans Vol I: Origins –sample below

  The Orphans Vol II: Surviving the Turned

  The Orphans Vol III: Strangers

  Buried: Broken Oaths Buried – sample below

  Gabriel: Only one gets out alive Gabriel Link – sample below

  Pitch Black (Gabriel Book 2) Pitch Black Link

  Coming soon

  The Orphans Vol III: Strangers

  The Rising

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  The Orphans: Origins Vol I

  The teens were lined up in prone positions across the edge of the roof, stationed on top of the abandoned government building in Virginia. Everyone had a job to do: The trusted were in charge of picking off the Turned, while newbies were handling clips and refilling them as quickly as they could. The bullets were flying out of the rifles and dancing on the ground.

  In another time on another day, these teens would have been nodding off in a class somewhere, worried about whether a girl liked them or if they would be asked to the prom.

  Pulling triggers as fast as they could, in their sights a group of day-ones they could tell weren't freshly turned. They had worn clothes and sunken cheek bones—even the signs of frostbite which, being close to nightfall, were hard to see. They still had the hunger for flesh as bad as the day they had turned.

  The ground was covered with bodies. The heads looked like bombs had gone off in them, and the marksmen were aiming only for the skull. The Turned were trying to get through the wreckage. They weren't trying to take the building—they only wanted to eat every living person then move on to find more.

  The leader of the group showed no emotion or excitement; he merely selected another target. His shot exploded the creature's head, going in the back and blowing apart the chin. The girl beside him tapped him on the shoulder and shouted above the noise. "Shaun, you've been at it for hours. You need to take a break. There are plenty of people here willing and able!"

  Shaun never took his eyes off his prey, sighting them through his scope. "There's plenty of room for them to slide in, Ellie. Go tell someone else to take a break!"

  Ellie looked down at the row of teens. She watched through the blasts as the Turned fell at an unbelievable rate; it gave her the lightest shred of hope. "You need a break or you won't be any good when we really need you!"

  A group of Turned were clumsily climbing up the side of the wall. Shaun, who had seen thousands upon thousands of these things, had never seen them do this. He reached and grabbed Ellie's arm, pulling her to the edge. He pointed and argued. "Look, they're learning! They're climbing and they've never done anything like that before. Hell, the only reason they get through doors is eventually they figure out to rip them off! We're going to need to clear the Turned on the ground so we can make it to a different spot."

  Shaun waited for one to jump to a new ledge, grabbing hard. He drew his backup gun, a twelve-gauge shotgun, and blew its face off. Only its skull and the skin peeled back from the sides remained. Its bloody tongue hung out as its body spun, scraping and bouncing off the brick on the way down.

  Ellie watched, realizing she couldn't change his mind. "Can't you trust me to keep the wall safe?"

  Shaun laughed. "Remember—you have to earn trust."

  Ellie kicked him in the leg. "You don't trust me!? Are you effing kidding me!? And you can't kill them all yourself, Shaun. It's impossible! You need help! We need help!"

  Shaun fired one more shot, rolled to his back, and looked up at Ellie. The sun was setting over her shoulder, and his eyes couldn't feel more tired. "Of course I do,” he chuckled. "You've been with me longer than X-74's been around, but can you point out anyone who's been here a year ... hell, even six months?"

  He pushed up off the ground. "You! You!" he shouted, pointing at a couple of the newbies. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and carried his shotgun. "You two sit on my spot! If it moves, you kill it! Nothing gets close—do you understand me?"

  They nodded
assent and quickly took his place. Shaun heard them talking and shook his head. He didn't care what people thought; he just wanted a moment’s worth of peace and quiet. Even when it was quiet he was tortured with the echoes of growling, screaming people in pain and gun blasts.

  He went into the building and found an office. He stripped off his gear and stretched out on a couch of little comfort. Thinking back to how it had all started, he brought out an old journal and a pen. It was as simple as standing up for a girl and setting the fate of the world on fire.

  Gabriel

  Chapter 1

  Broken Promises

  May 2018, Operation Homebound

  The sun had been down for hours in the South American jungle. The warm tropical climate was still making the temperature hot enough to be miserable. Gabriel wiped at his brow as the sweat poured from every pore on his body. It was making his gear feel at least thirty pounds heavier. The face paint that he used to camouflage his face and scalp with was just another thing to retain the body heat.

  He stopped trudging through the forest and stared up into a wooded canopy that stretched into a heaven he did not believe in. He reached over his shoulder and took a small tube from his camel pack and drank a few small sips. Gabriel set his high-powered, long-range rifle against one of the trees. He listened for a moment, hearing the strangers of the night screaming their wild cries into the darkness. Their echoes engulfed everything around him.

  He stared curiously into the dark ahead. At first, he dismissed what he was seeing. It seemed unreal, the images making no sense. But after he saw it steadily for a few minutes, he gave it his undivided attention. Gabriel could just barely make out a light that seemed to glow brighter every second. He realized what he was staring at was the gentle glow of the end of a cigarette. No self-respecting sniper would have a cigarette in the middle of the night if they knew what they were doing and wanted to come back out of the massive jungle.