A roaring boom informed them that the back door had given way to the unyielding, ferocious force of the undead. The moaning rang through the house -- they must have been able to smell the living flesh. Nick could hear the shuffling of their awkward steps headed directly towards them.
"Hurry." Sasha called out from the yard as she wrestled with the gate. The build up of snow made it nearly impossible to move, the door brought up solid in the thick, white powder.
Nick and Craig trudged through the snow. They got down on their hands and knees to scoop the snow out of the gate's way, making enough space to squeeze through the gap. Once they reached the next yard, they heard glass shatter. Zombies waded through the glass door, unhindered by the sharp barricade. Nick latched the gate shut behind him and turned to notice a throng of shuffling corpses had littered the street. Something was drawing the zombies across their path; was it the scent of human flesh?
The wind carried the boisterous rumble of a diesel engine as it climbed the hill on the road behind them. While that must have been the signal drawing all of the flesh-eating monsters upon them, it was also their only chance of escape. With Craig's injuries and Sasha's crippling terror, Nick didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of saving them alone in this dead wasteland surrounded by those ungodly creatures.
Nick could see the glimmer of headlights as the vehicle climbed the steep road. "Hurry, this way." Nick led the way in between the two white houses. An ambulance stopped just ahead of them as they rushed towards the alley.
Suddenly the blinding beam of light shone on them as the vehicle spun sideways and got stuck in the snow. They all had to put their hands up to block out the glare from the beam of light. Craig shambled towards the ambulance, his traumatized body impeding his movements. Nick heard the backdoor on the ambulance burst open, a silhouette appearing in the high beams glare, a gun raised and aimed at Craig's shuffling corpse. Realizing that Craig looked like one of those creatures, Nick had to leap into action before the stranger lined up his shot.
"Noooo!"
Eric had the shot lined up. The shambling cadaver held its hand in front of its face, but Eric knew the powerful revolver would tear through the dead flesh with ease. Eric pulled the hammer back, his finger ready to pull the trigger when something peculiar happened. One of the zombies dove forward to protect another member of the herd, and let out a familiar scream.
They weren't zombies -- they were survivors caught in the headlights of the ambulance. The reflective stripe on the man's paramedic jacket sparkled in the bright light, while the curly blonde hair of the woman behind them glowed.
"Nick?" Eric called out, hoping that he had stumbled across his friend.
Nick lay on top of the stranger, protecting him from the line of fire. "Eric?" Nick poked his head up.
"Guys, it’s fine!" Eric called out. "Nick, come on."
Nick climbed to his feet as Sasha rushed past him and ran straight towards the ambulance. "Eric." Sasha was overcome with relief at the sight of help.
"Sasha, get inside the ambulance. Jason and Ted, help me get this vehicle moving." Jason and Ted lumbered out of the back and plodded through the snow to the front bumper.
"Eric, they're behind us," Nick warned Eric. Whatever his plan was they had to act fast.
Eric stared off into the distance, past the alley between the houses and watched as the shambling shadows swarmed towards them, drawn to them by the roar of the engine. Eric didn't recognize the stranger, but could see the dire situation his battered body left him in. "Nick, we have to get out of here, gunshots will draw more of those freaks right on top of us. They've swarmed the military base."
Nick helped Craig climb into the back of the ambulance and threw his bat into the back, then rushed over to join Jason and Ted at the front of the vehicle. "On the count of three?"
"Dana, when I give you the symbol, try and back up." Eric shouted out to his wife. She gave a ‘thumbs up,’ indicating she understood.
Eric turned to look over his shoulder. The shadowy figures began to take form as they crept closer. They were still far enough away not to be an immediate threat, but if they didn't get the ambulance moving right away, the dead would soon overwhelm them. Eric held up his hand and motioned for Dana put the ambulance into reverse before he rushed forward to join in the struggle to budge the ambulance. The tires spun out, spitting up snow into their faces, but the ambulance was lodged in place. It only moved about six inches back. They all groaned desperately with exertion to no avail. "Crap." Eric punched the front grill.
Jack jumped out of the backend and ran to driver’s side window. "Dana, cut the wheel downhill and try and move forward."
A woman wearing a filthy red dress shirt led the pack of zombies shuffling towards them. Her left ear was completely missing and dried blood stained her shoulder. Dana pressed the gas, the diesel engine rumbled and the vehicle rocked slightly forward and slipped downhill. Two frail looking creatures sauntered into view: their black dresses were covered in gore, and one of them had an arm missing from the elbow. The cadavers were only twenty feet away now -- Eric could smell the decrepit, decomposing flesh.
"Now, try and back the ambulance up again!" Jack shouted out. He joined the men, determined to dislodge the stranded vehicle.
The engine revved up and they all pushed the bumper with their combined might. The ambulance finally gained some traction and jolted back about two feet. They had just enough clearance to drive down the road now. Eric spun around just in time to notice the zombies were only five feet away now. Their ghastly moans rang in his ear.
"Get in," Eric ordered them. Ted and Jack ran towards the back of the ambulance while Nick and Jason advanced towards the shuffling corpses.
Nick stretched his arm behind his back and removed a sharp blade that had been strapped to his back. Swinging the blade wildly, the ancient metal missed its target and sliced effortlessly through the rotten flesh of the woman's shoulder. Dark blood gurgled from the wound, but did little to slow the creature’s advances. Nick shoved his forearm into the dead flesh of the dead woman's chest, her snapping jaw distorted at an awkward angle towards Nick's neck. Nick swung the sword in a downward arc, hacking off the leg and sending the creature crashing into the snow.
Eric turned to see Jason tackle the other decrepit female zombie into the ground, pinning the frail frame and burying her beneath the snow. Jason withdrew a short blade from his hip holster and drove it down forcefully into the eye socket. Eric rushed forward, flipping the gun in his hand so that he grasped the barrel of the gun. Smashing the butt end of the revolver into the nose of the lady wearing the red dress, a flood of blood discharged from the nostrils. Eric threw his shoulder into the creature's gut, sending it crashing into the snow. The ambulance started to turn downhill; they left the backdoor open so they could watch the carnage take place from the safety of the back. Eric drove his foot onto the creature's chest, hammering the handle of the gun into the cranium of the zombie over and over again. When Eric finally looked down, a pulpy mess bubbled inside the creature’s skull where its face should have been.
"Eric!" Jason barked.
Four more shambling cadavers had crept up on them from the alleyway, catching Eric off guard. "Get to the ambulance."
Nick was still entangled with the female zombie, its outstretched arms reaching out with deadly clutches, its cold fingers wrapped around Nick's leg. Jason ran to Nick's aid, chopping off the creature’s arms with the deadly blade. Blood rushed out of the severed limbs and washed over the snow. Nick maneuvered the long blade back and found the right angle, slashing at the freakish creature, and burying the blade deep into the skull.
The army of the dead was closing in on them now, blocking off all but one escape route. Dana slowly started to accelerate the cumbersome vehicle downhill, realizing that their window of survival was quickly closing. Nick and Jason untangled themselves from the lifeless body and made a break for the open doors of the ambulance. In an effort to buy them pre
cious time, Eric lined up the iron sight of his revolver with the devilish grins of the dead soldiers advancing on them.
BANG-BANG, BANG-BANG, BANG-BANG!
The chamber of the gun emptied quickly, and Eric dropped the closest corpses, trying to clear a path forward for the ambulance, but the throng of corpses was never ending. Eric ran as fast as he could towards the ambulance as the vehicle was starting to rapidly pick up speed. The undead were piling into the road from all over, threatening to block the ambulance's path. Dana couldn't slow down or they would all be at risk.
Out of the shadows, four men on horseback emerged from the alleyway just behind them. Two men coated in furs and barbaric clothing demolished the craniums of the walking corpses, swinging their clubs in savage arcs. Hank sat high in the saddle of one of the horses, swinging the bladed end of the pickaroon at the exposed skulls from above, dispatching the shambled corpses with ease, and clearing a path for Eric to reach the ambulance.
Every time Eric's foot hit the ground it was treacherous, the slick pavement threatened to send Eric into a tumble. He could feel his boots sliding underneath him with every step, and Eric grappled with gravity to stay upright. Jason's outstretched arm reached for Eric as he raced towards the ambulance, while the zombies reached out for him as he sped past the lurching corpses.
"Eric!" Jason bellowed. Eric managed to grasp hold of his hand as Jason made one final lunge for Eric. Jason yanked Eric inside the crowded ambulance as it rumbled down the slippery road. Nick slammed the doors shut as Dana reached the bottom of the hill. The ambulance skidded across the icy road as she made a sharp left turn. The vehicle rocked violently as it collided with a wayward corpse, blood spraying onto the windshield from the impact.
Eric pushed his way to the front of the ambulance and looked at his wife as she navigated through a sea of shuffling corpses that lumbered aimlessly towards the roar of the engine. "Where should I go?" Dana veered right to avoid sideswiping another zombie.
"Take the arterial route out of town, back towards the cabin. We'll meet up with Warrant Smith and figure out a way to get to Howley." Eric felt Patch nudge her head into Eric's thigh.
Dana steered the ambulance towards the old highway that would lead out of town, pushing the ambulance forward at a break neck speed. The threat of getting stuck again weighed heavily on Dana's mind, so she made sure not to slow down for anything. The horses trotted past the ambulance as they led the way out of town. Hank looked back at the ambulance, an exhilarated expression on his face.
A searing pain shot through Frank's back. The last few hours had been a complete blur. He couldn't remember how he ended up lodged on this table, or even how he got inside this cabin. The table hurt his hip so Frank decided to roll over onto his backside. "Fuck." Frank felt something sharp dig into his back, and he had to reach out awkwardly to get a hold of the object. Pulling it from his back proved to be a painful decision, but once it was done, Frank looked at the needle in his hands. The syringe on top was filled with a murky, white extract, tinted slightly rosy by the blood mixed in.
"Frank." Doctor Winston rushed down the stairs. "How are you feeling?"
Frank's ribs were tender, his backside was aching and bruised, and his lungs were inflamed, but he could breathe. "Much better." Frank could remember the horrendous feeling that curdled his blood when he couldn't breathe. Anything felt better than that unnerving feeling.
"Are you breathing okay?" Doctor Winston rummaged through the first aid kit on the counter.
Frank breathed in deeply: his lungs burned, but the air filled his chest. "My chest is a little sore, but I can breathe." The bouquet of disinfectant, coffee, and a tinge of copper rushed into his nostrils.
Nathaniel held a tube of ointment in his hands. "You have a few broken ribs and a punctured lung; what in God's name happened out there?"
"I was in a car accident... The others didn't make it." Frank's head started to spin. Just thinking about those barbarians made him sick to his stomach. "Where is the man who saved me?"
Nathaniel showed no emotion for the loss of Chris or Matthew. Frank wasn't surprised, the doctor kept mostly to himself, rarely interacting with the other members of the camp. Nathaniel spent most of his time with Ruth, occasionally tending to the medical needs of the survivors when they needed his attention if he happened to be sober. The end of the world brought out people's true nature: Nathaniel was a competent doctor, but a coward who turned to the bottle for comfort. "Do you mean that Viking that brought you here?"
"He didn't take anything, or cause any trouble?" Doubt heavy on Frank's words. He was still terrified by the alarming attire of his saviour.
"He saved your life, Frank. Who... What was he? Where did you meet him?" Nathaniel pulled on a pair of latex gloves.
Frank cringed as Doctor Winston rubbed the antibiotic ointment over Frank's tender wound. A wave of pain flooded over his body. "We have to find them." A tear rolled down his check. Every muscle in his backside felt like a smouldering fire, the ointment igniting the torrid flames.
"You aren't going anywhere. You need some rest." Nathaniel took out some gauze and tore off a large portion to place over the wound. "Where would they even be?"
Frank was stumped. He had absolutely no idea where the strangers had originated; he only knew that he ran into them on the highway outside Deer Lake. "I have no clue, but they could be dangerous."
Nathaniel paused as he applied the bandage over Frank's wound. "If they're as dangerous as you say, what do you expect us to do? You're the only person here capable of dealing with these degenerates."
"We need to keep each other safe, we can't wait here and do nothing." Frank sat upright. He could feel the broken ribs rubbing against the bruised flesh.
"What did they want?" Nathaniel helped Frank get down from the kitchen table.
Frank limped over to the couch, gingerly lowing his body onto the cushion. "I don't remember exactly." Nathaniel's words angered Frank. Those savage Vikings could demolish these weaklings that Frank had rescued. They all had various skills, but no one would stand a chance in a fight with one of those freaks. "If they show up at the gates or inside the community, give them whatever they want." Frank let out a defeated sigh, admitting to himself that he was battered and broken. Frank just preyed that the Vikings meant them no harm.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
DAWN
Tina kept the twins close to her; they huddled into her as she wrapped her arm around them. Jessica had proven herself to be braver than her sister, while Katie couldn't hold back the frightened shivers and tears of terror. Ted had stopped trying to console his daughters, leaving Tina to take care of them. Instead, Ted had backed himself into a corner, trying to keep as far away from Calvin as possible. Calvin had passed out, the medications causing overwhelming drowsiness he could no longer fight against. Jack and Stella sat on the wheel wall with Jack holding her hand. Meanwhile, Nick and Jason discussed heading to Howley, trying to figure out the safest way for the whole group to get there.
A stranger Tina didn't recognize sat against the barricade separating the driver's seat from the back. His wild beard was caked with blood and his face was swollen beyond recognition. The man could barely open his eyes, his lips were cracked, and a trickle of dried blood stained his neck. Whoever this man was, he was close to death. Eric had joined Dana and Officer Humber upfront in the cab, and sunlight had finally begun to trickle through the windshield as dawn approached. Tina poked her head up front a few times, staring out the window. She still couldn't believe the entourage that accompanied them down the old highway. Three Vikings and a hooded man, all on horseback, guided the convoy through the vast wasteland, dispatching any wayward souls that crossed their path.
The ambulance slowed to a stop, the crust of snow shattering underneath the weight of the vehicle. Jason made his way up front, blocking the view of the windshield. Tina could feel her heart beating faster with anticipation as an overwhelming urge to kick the back doors open and ru
n away popped into her brain. What was waiting for them outside? Had a horde of zombies blocked the road ahead? The door creaked open and Tina could hear footprints in the snow as someone left the cab. Jason turned around and walked straight for the back. As the double doors swung open, a cold burst of air sent an icy chill throughout the ambulance. The wind whipped hardened pellets of snow at Tina's face, and the twins cuddled into her, looking for warmth and protection.
"Stay alert," Jason warned them. A loud crunch echoed into the ambulance as his feet broke through the top layer of crusted snow.
"What's going on, Jason?" Nick pushed past the rest of the survivors, trying to figure out why they had stopped.
With Jason gone, Tina peered out the front windshield at the man wearing the black hoodie. A bandana covered his face, adding to the mystery. The stranger sat on top of a sturdy looking brown horse; its main was a long flowing mess of tangled black. Tina looked out of the back opening, but couldn't find the other riders. They must have been alongside the ambulance. A large eighteen-wheeler truck, equipped with a massive steel plow on the front, blocked the path of the ambulance. Snow was piled high in front of the massive vehicle with the road virtually bare behind it. Tina could see the blades of the helicopter resting at an angle, tied down to the trailer.
"I can't believe we made it out of that city alive." The sight of the soldiers thrilled Tina. Their green camouflage attire stuck out like a sore thumb against the vast white backwash of the snow, but they were a welcomed sight all the same.
"Who is it?" Nick asked. Tina had nearly forgotten that Nick hadn't made it back to the cabin.
“Warrant Smith and his battalion." Tina was glad for their protection. They had dispatched the throng of zombies at the cabin with precision, proving their worth.
Zombies on the Rock (Book 2): The Viking Trail Page 18