Eric made his way up the rickety stairs, the whole frame jostling back and forth with every step he climbed. Poking his head through the hole, Eric spotted Tina and the twin girls.
"What's going on, Eric?" Ted was behind Eric and his voice was irritated.
Eric strained his neck to look at Ted. "We're leaving."
"What? Where are you going? You're just going to leave us here?" Anger raised in Ted's voice, his mouth curled into a snarl.
"No, we aren't leaving you behind, I want you to come to the military base with us." That was only a half-truth: Eric wanted the girls to come with him, but Ted could rot away here in this attic for all he cared.
"You hear that, girls, the soldiers will protect us now." Tina hugged both of the twins at the same time. They clung to her, their faces still displaying their fright. "Thank you, Eric."
Ted remained oddly silent. Eric felt unsettled by his strange reaction. "Tina, head back to the big military Jeep, we’re leaving right away." Eric entered the attic and turned towards Ted. "Ted, I need to speak to you alone before we go."
Ted didn't seem too impressed by Eric's statement, but he stayed still. "Tina, take the girls, I'll be right behind you." Eric watched as Tina ushered the girls past him and down the stairs, and listened until he heard the door close behind them as they left the cabin before turning to look back at Ted.
"What?" Ted challenged Eric.
"You're going to tell me where that underground base is located, or I'm going to leave you behind." Eric got straight to the point.
A strange smirk formed on Ted's lips. "You get my girls to safety at the military base, you can have these." Ted pulled the chain holding the three passes out from underneath his shirt.
Eric couldn't believe his eyes. "What are those?"
"It's a way inside the base. I swear you can have them once we arrive at the military base." Ted tucked the chain back into his shirt.
"What's stopping me from killing you now and taking them?" Eric placed his hand on the handle of his gun, dangling from its holster on his hip.
The smirk on Ted's face was replaced by a smug smile. "You want to explain to everyone why you killed me in cold blood?"
Eric felt his blood pressure rise; he truly hated this man. "Fine, lets go."
Eric stomped down the stairs and waited for Ted at the back door. The freezing cold wind had blown snow into the porch -- Tina must have left the door open on her way out. Eric stepped outside into a swirl of wind and powdered snow. The sun was fading fast; the sky was nearly pitch black already. They didn't have much time to make it back to Corner Brook before nightfall would completely take over. For unknown reasons, the zombies were always more active at night.
"I just need to grab one thing, wait here for me!" Ted started Eric as he came up behind him.
Eric didn't want to wait here for Ted, isolated and alone from any witnesses. "You have five minutes, I'll be at the Jeep. If you're not there, we leave without you." Eric turned to leave.
Ted's boots made crunching noises as he walked through the accumulated snowfall on the grass. As Eric watched him go, he wondered why Ted was heading off into the forest. He had an uneasy feeling Ted was up to something, a feeling that grew as a sense of seclusion crept over him from the trees surrounding him. Not wasting another moment in these backwoods, Eric sprinted towards the rest of survivors waiting for him at the Jeep.
David eyeballed the man as he made his way up the driveway, his brown jacket plastered with the slaughtered remains of the horde of zombies that had swarmed the area. The man looked oddly familiar to David, and he figured it was probably that cop that interfered in his confrontation with Jason Cook. David could see the dark red blood of those creatures soaking in his grizzled beard. He looked like a tenacious, stout man and since he wasn't wearing army fatigues, David assumed he was that prick from Fox Island. The man vanished inside the cabin. David wanted to make a move, but he couldn't risk the military getting involved with him. It appeared they were on this man's side, and David also had no idea where that young girl's loyalties laid.
SNAP
A tree branch crunched underneath a footstep just behind him. David turned to see that it belonged to one of those stumbling, oafish, undefined test subjects of the failed super soldier serum. Its jaws snapped as it picked up David's scent, a frothy spit foaming from its mouth as it sensed a meal of flesh within its grasp. A dark red hole resided where the creature’s right eye should have rested and a deep gash ran above its eyes and into the hairline.
The wound was too precise: this was one of the foul creatures from Fox Island. They had performed cruel experiments to see how much damage the test subjects could take and still keep going. David stood stunned for a moment in disbelief that the freak had managed to wander so far in search of food. That didn’t even touch the matter of crossing the deep waters of the ocean surrounding the island.
David felt a strange sense of relief. Somehow the serum they tested on him didn't turn him into a mindless, shambling predator. He even gained strength far beyond his comprehension, and resilience to the cold weather. David felt comfortable in his old hoodie and a pair of jeans as the wicked winds whipped a brisk, wintery blizzard all around him.
With unspeakable strength, David pushed the corpse backwards, sending it toppling over a tree stump and crashing hard into the snow covered ground. The cabin door opened and David was momentarily distracted by the sudden noise. But it was long enough for the corpse to crawl towards David and lock its grip on his foot. The teeth clamped shut, ripping off a hunk of flesh, blood spilling over the white snow.
"Shit." David did his best to stifle his cries, but the unexpected pain jolted his senses. David tore his leg free from the creature’s mouth, driving his foot down on the evil creation’s skull. A gush of stale-smelling reddish-brown fluid rushed out of the eye socket as David crushed the brain. Thick chunks of brain matter flowed out of the eye socket with the flood of dense gloop, mixing with the fresh, bright red blood from David's wound.
Arguing could be heard from the driveway: two male voices bickering about something David couldn't quite pick out. Then David could hear footsteps approaching, the wet, crunching sounds of a more coordinated individual heading right towards him. The thick branches slid off Ted's beige winter duster as he emerged from the clearing, the needles of the tree scraping off the slick surface. Ted stood still, his jaw dropped as he looked at the carnage in front of him. David could tell that Ted was on the verge of screaming, so he quickly closed the gap between them and shoved his hand over Ted's mouth.
"Keep your mouth shut," David whispered into Ted's ear.
The frightened man nodded in acknowledgement of the commanding order. With Ted's moist breath against his hand, David strained to hear anyone else approaching their location. After several moments of fearful silence, David removed his giant hand from Ted's mouth, but raised his finger to indicate he still wanted Ted to remain silent.
"Did anyone follow you?" David kept his voice as low as possible.
Ted looked like a frightened child, and he cowered at David's gesture. "No..." Ted whimpered like a coward.
"What the hell is going on?" David demanded an answer from the shrivelling weakling.
"They're on their way to Howley, but they're going to the military base tonight!" Ted wouldn't look at David, keeping his eyes glued to the gory mess behind David.
David let go of his grasp on Ted's jacket, sending him stumbling backwards with the release. "You just make sure you get Jason alone, and the military or that frigging cop better not be around."
Ted looked even more terrified now than before. "I... I... I don't know how to get rid of Eric." His voice trembled with fear. "But I know they are heading to Howley."
"Just find a way." David scowled at Ted. "Now get out of here, and don't forget I'm watching you." David pushed Ted back towards the cabin. Ted stood still for a moment before hustling through the woods; David could hear Ted's footsteps as he scrambled
down the driveway.
"Christ," David moaned to himself. How was he going to keep an eye on Ted now? His plan was slowly unraveling in the same way his mind was spiralling out of control. David tore a strip off the shirt of the zombie, using the fabric to make a bandage for his wound. The soiled cotton was probably the worst thing he could use, but David figured he would be immune to infection with the super soldier serum coursing through his veins. David tightly tied the makeshift gauze around his leg, and trudged off through the woods in search for transportation to get him to Howley before Ted and the others arrived.
Nick's head was pounding. The large lump on the back of his head was to blame for the radiating pain. They had headed back to Hank's house after Jason left to rescue Eric. The climb up the ladder nearly turned into a disaster as Nick lost his balance, woozy from the head injury. Nick figured he suffered a concussion from the soldier in the parking lot. He had wanted to return to the safety of the old paper mill, but the thought of making the trek back to the paper mill alone made Nick uneasy. A few scattered candles that Hank had pulled out of a drawer cast dancing shadows on the wall to dully illuminate the room.
Craig was unconscious. His entire body had been completely obliterated by Kevin's rage fuelled attack, and now his ravaged body occupied the right side of the bed. Hank paced back and forth between the upstairs windows; he was paranoid that someone had followed them. Sasha had fallen asleep in the ancient recliner with the floral fabric that had seen better days. The walls in the hallway were plastered with old wallpaper that had started to peel back years ago. The bedroom they had all gathered in was painted a very dull pink. Nick imagined that the house had belonged to an elderly couple with all of the ancient artifacts and old pictures hanging on the walls. The floorboards creaked with every step Hank took, and the crepitated noise was starting to get under Nick's skin. They needed a place to stay, and with nowhere else to run, Nick decided to trust Hank and remain here until morning.
"No one followed us here." Nick was frustrated with the constant squeaking of the old wooden floor.
Hank stopped and stared out the window through the curtains. "You can never be too sure anymore, you can't let the wrong people in."
Nick wasn't entirely sure what that meant. It had only been three weeks since the dead had risen, could people really lose their humanity so quickly? "We have to leave to catch up with Jason early tomorrow morning." Nick didn't want to have an argument this late at night.
"Well, you should get some sleep, we have to head to the military base first. We need to secure a vehicle, I have a friend there that owes me a favour." Hank dragged a chair over next to the window, the wooden legs groaning as it rattled across the floor.
"It must be a big favour." Nick couldn't help but wonder why Hank looked so familiar.
Hank sat down in the wooden chair, pushing the curtain back to get a better look outside for a moment, before pulling the black shade closed. "Just a few roamers lurking around out there, we should be fine. They will lose interest in the light soon enough and be gone by morning."
"How did you manage to survive here in the city?" Nick pictured tens of thousands of zombies shambling around the city. There were more of the dead walking the earth than the living nowadays.
"Kept quiet, stayed alert, and did whatever was necessary to survive." Hank leaned far back into the chair, his legs stretched out so that his feet were touching the wall.
Whatever was necessary to survive?
"Have you been alone the whole time?" Nick didn't think it would be possible to survive on your own. You'd wind up going insane after all that time with no one to talk to.
Hank seemed at a loss for words. "No, I had a friend who went missing about a week ago..." Hank trailed off, his voice carrying a heavy burden.
Nick couldn't help but think about all the people that had turned into one of those creatures, or into their meals. The world was wrought with suffering; no one was left untouched by the vast devastation that was rocking humanity to its very core. Nick took a moment to wonder about his parents and his thoughts carried him towards the hellish possibilities. A mournful silence fell over room as the two men pondered their painful losses at the diabolical hands of those flesh-eating monsters.
As Calvin lay prone in the back of the Jeep, every jostling bump sent a searing pain through his body. The muscles in his backside were so tight and bunched together it felt like a knot had been tied in his back. Calvin even had difficulty finishing his thoughts, as the agony didn’t allow his mind to function properly. The radiating pain brought forth an uncomfortable burning sensation in his abdomen, making him want to vomit.
Eric had put Jason in the back of the vehicle with them to make sure Ted didn't try anything with Calvin injured and defenceless. Tina and Jack rounded out the group of survivors in the back while Dana, Stella, and the twins were up front in the cab with Eric.
The vehicle rocked as the tire thumped over something in the road, sending a burning pain that licked up Calvin's back like a scorching fire.
Calvin's whimpers caught Ted's attention, causing the cruel man to laugh at Calvin. A ball of fury and pain rose up in Calvin's stomach as a fit of rage washed over him.
"Fuck you, Ted!" Calvin managed to bark.
Ted started to stand up, but Jason shot him a defiant glare. "Don't even think about it, Ted," Jason warned him. Tina urged Ted to sit back down, and ignore Calvin. She coaxed him into a conversation and soon they talked amongst themselves as the Jeep sped down the highway.
An endless wave of pain started to crash into Calvin's nervous system, sending pain shooting throughout his body in an endless current of torment and misery. Jack had stood up and taken off his plaid jacket, draping it over Calvin in an effort to make him more comfortable, but it didn't help.
"They will have something for the pain at the military base, we should be there any moment," Jack said, hoping to comfort Calvin. The gesture was appreciated, but ineffective all the same. The Jeep slowed to a stop, then accelerated as it made a sharp right turn.
"We are in Corner Brook now, Eric just turned off the highway!" Jason exclaimed as the vehicle rumbled downhill, moving much slower now that they had entered the cluttered city streets.
#
The headlights of the Jeep drew a lot of unwanted attention in the complete darkness of the fallen city, the only beacon for miles around. Shambling corpses were drawn towards the bright light beams as it crept down West Valley Road towards the military base. Decrepit bodies shuffled out from every shadow as Eric looked around. He knew they would be in dire danger if they got stuck here. With only three guns and very limited ammo, they would be outnumbered and overwhelmed by the unrelenting waves of the undead.
"Eric... They're everywhere." Dana tried not to alert the twin girls, but they had already noticed the dead bodies lurching towards the Jeep. Their whimpered cries were growing louder with every passing moment.
Eric made a sharp left, the tire rocking up onto the curb, rattling the Jeep as it hit the hard cement. "Shit." Eric could hear fists slamming into the side of the Jeep as the Jeep slowed to a crawl. Eric looked in the rear view mirror: three dishevelled cadavers were beating their bloodied limbs into the side of the Jeep.
"Eric, you have to speed up." Stella said, her voice frantic.
Eric pushed the accelerator all the way down. The back left tire spun out in the muddied lawn before the Jeep lurched forward, a spray of mud flicking over the zombies as they raced by. The Jeep rocked furiously as the tire jumped over the curb, jarring a pile of papers loose from the visor above.
"We're going to be fine, we’re almost there." Eric tried to sound reassuring, but his fluttering heart rate made the words rush out. The bumper slammed into a body, a spray of red mist caught in the headlights as the body collapsed underneath the Jeep. "Fuck." The Jeep rattled as the body caused the tires to bounce around, making it difficult for Eric to control the direction they were heading in. He barely avoided slamming into two more
walking corpses as he straightened out the vehicle’s path.
The twins’ whimpers turned to frantic screams of terror. They dug their faces into Dana's coat, muffling their cries. "Eric, get us out of here." Dana seemed flustered as the girls sought comfort in her, her discomfort something separate from her fear of the creatures.
Eric continued to push the Jeep down the road, not letting up on the gas, afraid of getting surrounding by the ferocious flesh-eating monsters as they scuffled towards them. The Jeep rumbled down to the bottom of the road, and Eric sharply cut a left turn onto Mt. Bernard Avenue. He pressed the sluggish vehicle up the last hill before they reached the military base, a swarm of zombies shuffling behind them.
The giant chain-link fence blocked the entrance to the base, but Eric could see four posted guards just beyond the metal barrier. In practised precision, two of the men pulled open the gate while the other two covered their position. The lead man must have spotted the horde of corpses following the Jeep because he quickly ushered them inside, guiding them inside the compound. Once Eric pulled inside the gate, he heard the metal door clang shut and men yelling out orders.
"Sir, cut the engine." A soldier rattled the window with a clenched fist, pointing towards keys.
A chain-link fence made a clattering noise as the dead bodies pressed against the outside wall, their moans had become deafening. Eric turned off the ignition and rolled down the window. "What do you want us to do?" Eric asked the man below him.
"Warrant Smith told us to keep you safe, get inside. We will deal with the horde."
Eric turned towards the girls inside the cab with him. "Alright, get inside. I’ll get everyone out of the back, we'll meet you inside." Stella opened the passenger door and waited to help Dana get the twin girls out of the high cab.
Eric headed towards the back of the Jeep, Jason already had the flap pulled open and Ted had already made his way out of the tented bed and was pushing his way past one of the soldiers.
Zombies on the Rock (Book 2): The Viking Trail Page 14