He marched up and swung, decapitating zombie after zombie. He bashed one with his fist. It slammed hard against the asphalt. He was ready to swing down on it but realized he killed it outright.
More came. Dad swung at them, cutting off arms, necks. They flailed lifeless around him. Dad motioned Ray to follow them as they marched forth. Dad grabbed one and tossed its light form under the Hummer as it drove along, easily running over the zombie.
"Oh my God, that was a child," Duanne gasped, safely seated within the car.
Jake was behind and to one side of Dad. He dealt with a few himself. He had a machete and hacked at their form. He wasn't hitting the neck area too well. He'd hit the shoulder or torso. He was nervous and hadn't got the form down. He did well in practice, but when actually fighting crazed zombies that bobbed up and down, it was different. The brain's read on it was confusing. He hadn't yet got it down in real fighting. His brain's electric impulses were all over the place, making his swings unsure.
But even with his irradic swings, he was still a decent fighter, staying calm. He twirled and tripped a few, knocking them down. They didn't have strong grips, especially in the cold morning. He was finally able to swing down on their skulls to finish them. He got a routine down and kept doing it. His brain finally found electrical pulses it could focus on.
As they reached, he got his sword arm under, let them come in thinking he was exposed, then raised his sword arm quickly and turned. It was a jujitsu style move. He put a leg out as he strong armed them causing them to fall over hard.
Then he swung down on their skulls as they bobbed around confused or tried to get up.
Dad was still taking the brunt of them, but they never crowded. It finally ended as Dad and Jake marched along.
Ray drove right past the gate where Steve, Tom and Stu were. They watched from behind. Steve shook his head.
Ray ignored them, keeping his focus on the road ahead and making sure he didn't cause any more noisy mishaps.
Duanne was chilling in the back seat. He saluted the gatekeepers as they passed.
7. Hollywood Treasure
They finally got to the opening for Sunset. Dad stopped, waving Ray to wait. He peered out from the piled up cars on either side. It was like a wall with a gate they were about to go through.
"Like an old western, and there be injuns in there," Duanne hummed.
"We just drove through that a few days ago," Ray reminded.
"Yeah, but we raced through it like crazy mother fuckers," Duanne responded. "I can't even remember. Ernie just went bat shit crazy to get here, like this was the end, the answer. Thought we were gonna be saved!" He sighed.
"Alright, keep it down," Ray sighed back. "Ernie with all that prepping couldn't even chill. He wanted to be saved so bad."
"Spoiled rich fat S.O.B.," Duanne said, meeting Ray's look in the rear view. "Gonna miss him."
"Yep."
Dad marched out, turning the corner. Jake stood there peering and waiting. Randall scooted by and turned his bike past the wall of cars.
"We supposed to go?" Ray wondered aloud. Both of them shifted a lot in the enclosed Hummer, creating that leather scooting sound.
Duanne sat forward in the rear seat, peering. "Nah, wait till he waves us on."
Jake turned and waved them to follow as he headed around the wall.
"Okay go, go, go," Duanne said.
"Chill man, let me drive," Ray glared in the mirror then remembered and looked forward.
"Alright," Duanne realized, putting his hands up.
Ray drove quietly, turning the Hummer nice and easy out to Sunset Boulevard.
Duanne peered about at the walls of smashed up cars, buses and trucks. He whistled amazement. "Didn't look at it before."
"None of us did, we just followed Ernie. 'Gotta get to the school! Get to that knight!'" he remembered Ernie saying.
They drove slowly as Dad walked along. It was wide and open with huge drag marks of vehicles being pushed aside down the street on and on. There were lots of dead zombies, most as indiscernible smears spread down the boulevard. The space looked geological, ancient, and evil.
There were only a few crawling, dragging zombies. Dad calmly detoured to each one and killed them with a slow stab. He waved Randall to stay back. Randall just sat and let everyone including Ray pass as he drove the Hummer.
Duanne and Ray watched as they slowly drove forward.
"See how he stays calm and kills one not to alert the others," Duanne said, shifting loudly in the back.
Ray nodded, wisely focusing on driving steady and away from any protruding cars.
Dad knew the street and headed that way. He suddenly swung a quick flash of blades then stood still. Several zombies they could not see dropped across the armored knight from behind a wall of cars.
"Shit, he's good," Duanne sighed.
"Why's he stopped?" Ray wondered curiously as he stopped the Hummer.
Jake snuck up behind Dad, but saw his gauntlet motioning him to hide. He stood up against the pile of cars out of sight of the street.
Suddenly, a flurry of zombies attacked Dad. He swung and swung, stepping back with each attack. Heads plopped and arms flipped in the air. Dad stepped back behind the cars, letting the zombies get to him.
Jake was ready, jerking with each dropped zombie, preparing his signature jujitsu move. Dad then stopped and all the zombies were dead. He stood still and waited. Jake was bent and ready behind him. Randall came up on his bike, scooting close to Ronan. Both said something to each other, nodding.
Duanne and Ray suddenly exhaled in the Hummer. They didn't realize they were holding their breath. Both sighed relief, shifting in the leathery seats, impressed with Dad and Randall's calm demeanor.
Ray looked at the rear view to Duanne for buddy relief. But around Duanne's head was a flash of horror: zombies were running up behind Duanne's calm face. They were coming up from behind, heading to Dad and Randall.
It was a split moment of jolting fright that caused Ray to honk his horn. He didn't think. He just saw them come up, race past him to them. He knew they didn't see the charging zombies. There were just three. Why did he do it? He just honked without thinking.
Dad, Jake and Randall turned, more stunned at the honk than the three zombies rushing up. Even the zombies were surprised. They turned midway between the Hummer and Dad, snarling yet confused.
Dad stomped back, obviously angry. The zombies barked in excitement.
Ray exhaled. Duanne punched the back of Ray’s seat hard.
Ray coughed out, "I'm sorry!"
Zombies came out of the side walls, a half dozen here, a few there, all down the way.
Dad quickly killed the three barking ones. He motioned for Jake to get in the Hummer. Jake was shaking. He wasn't ready for this. Duanne saw his shaking. He knew Jake was a worthy fighter but also knew this stuff was hard: putting oneself out there, waiting, exposed, being constantly aware, and then fighting frantically in moments of horror.
Duanne wasn't sure he was cut out for it either. He gasped a little.
Dad got to the driver side window. He tapped on the glass with his bloody sword. Ray teared as he rolled down the window just a bit.
Dad spoke through his helm but Ray spoke first. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."
"Stay in there, don't move, don't do shit. Do nothing till I die or they die, got it?" Dad hissed through his helm. "If I die, drive that way till you die. Got it?" Dad motioned down Sunset and away from the school.
Ray nodded, holding his sobs as best he could. Duanne and Jake exhaled choking breaths but stayed as still as they could.
Dad turned suddenly and violently, slashing at zombies as they charged in. He bashed and slashed, smashing zombies against the Hummer and wall of cars. He moved about with them, moving along the cars to hide the action from as many as he could.
The zombies didn't seem to notice Randall. He sat calmly on his bike and waited. His face was hidden behind his m
otorcycle helm and he didn't move.
"Why doesn't he go?" Duanne whispered.
Ray huffed quietly, holding in his sob. Jake quivered in the leather seat. He was either nauseous or had a headache.
Dad saw the amount coming up ahead and waved Randall to go. He did. He gunned the bike and raced ahead, turning a long line of rambling zombies his way.
Zombies ran past the Hummer. Jake quietly exhaled, "Don't move. Don't alert them."
The other two knew not to move. Their eyes followed, glancing about, but when their heads moved, Jake reminded them again through clenched teeth, "Don't move God damnnit. Don't move."
Dad hacked up and down, taking nearby zombies out. It wasn't a massive crowd of them, just a few dozen spread out as Randall lured the rest up the boulevard. Dad marched out and past the wall of cars, out of sight from the Hummer. Zombies rushed after him.
They couldn't see him now. Ray tilted his head closer to the slit of the open window to listen. A zombie suddenly ran by super fast. Ray gasped and almost yelped but he knew, instinctively, to shut up. He held his breath to choke in the yelp. The zombie ran past and followed a few others around the wall of cars.
They could hear Randall racing away as he turned off some side street, then his motorcycle noise faded away as a large gathering followed that way.
They waited and waited, sweating and misting up the car. The engine was still running but it was a low hum. They were so scared that they didn't even move to adjust for comfort. Each shift was a loud leathery squeak. Instead, they sweated profusely and got dizzy. The windows were covered from their steam.
Jake was the first to move slowly, to adjust his seating, to get a kink out of his back muscles. The leather of the Hummer screeched. But they were hidden in the hot moist steam. Nothing seemed alerted. The others adjusted slowly, carefully. Ray breathed out the small opening of his window. It was high so he couldn't see well. This window wasn't as steamy as the rest, but still difficult to peer through. Most of what he saw there was the wall of cars on one side.
Duanne finally whispered, "Can you see anything?"
The front and rear windows were the least misted. Ray was going to look, but first he peered through the rear view to see if any more surprise zombies were coming. There were a few back there meandering with jerks, obviously trying to discern what brought them to the area.
He took a deep slow breath then looked forward, angling himself a bit to try to see more. He raised his hand, moving it up, scraping his own armor against the steering wheel which sounded loud. They all cringed as he did.
"Dude," Duanne breathed.
Ray nodded. He slowly, with shaking hands, wiped a bit of the mist away to see. Each wipe felt like an exposure to death, to beasts lurking all around them. Ray did it out of impatience. They were there for several minutes, going partially insane with not knowing. He wiped to see. It was streaky and messy. He couldn't see much, just a wall of blurry cars stretching off down Sunset Boulevard.
"Drive up?" Duanne pondered.
"He said wait here. And if we do anything, it's to drive that way and die," Jake reminded.
They sat silently for what seemed like an eternity. However, they weren't sure if much time had actually passed. Duanne's eye lids grew heavy. Jake seemed lost in his sweating discomfort. Ray was like an impatient dysfunctional child. He was shaking and appeared ready to jump out and go crazy. But he bit his lips, scrunched his face and twisted his gloves around with a tight grip on the steering wheel.
And then the giant steel man stood out from the wall of cars. Ray saw him. His sudden scoot also alerted Duanne and Jake who looked up.
Dad's armor and sword were drenched in black blood.
"Badass," Duanne sighed.
He slowly waved them forward.
"Go, go," Duanne said impatiently.
Ray suddenly lurched the Hummer, but pulled his foot off and let it coast. "Sorry."
"Too many 'sorries' damnit!" Jake huffed.
Ray gritted and calmly drove the car toward Ronan. He turned and walked down the street.
They turned the Hummer to see a path of dead zombies that led to one of the houses.
"He led them in there, then killed them inside to break their alarm thing... system," Duanne noted.
"So when you fight them, find a place to hide or retreat to that won't alert more," Jake agreed.
"Isn't that what we did? Fighting them from our homes?" Ray recalled.
"We used gunfire," Duanne remembered. "We had swords but we didn't swing right, or whatever it is. We thought we swung right. We swung hard but got tired, missed. They bit that guy, then Larry. Then we opened fire."
"You ran," Ray said, his eyes narrowed, "and hid."
Duanne tensed his temple, his veins, as he shot a glare back at Ray. It was hard to tell since both were in helms and had face masks on.
"It's okay," Jake said, ignoring them and watching Dad. "We all ran, hid. Everybody did."
Duanne and Ray looked down a moment.
"But not now, I'm getting out," Jake opened the passenger door quietly.
Ray slowed the Hummer. Jake hopped out and snuck up behind Dad.
Ray looked around and fully stopped the Hummer. "Well, we're here."
Duanne nodded and got out. He took a deep breath, looking around the dismal neighborhood. Several homes were bashed in. A horde demolished them when they attacked.
Duanne turned and went around as Ray got out quietly. Dad and Jake waited for them, unsure which house to go to. All were large mansions with various designed yards and fencing. Large SUVs blocked the streets on the first day so the streets were clear of jammed vehicles. The block had decent coverage with high shrubs and dense trees. Everything was a bit dry and brown but still thick.
They finally saw Randall. He was slowly scooting his bike along a narrow path through some cars. He appeared calm. He must have evaded the large group he led off. He cruised in and waited. Dad waved for him to keep watch and be ready again.
"Like a well oiled machine," Duanne said, motioning now to Ernie's home. They walked through a small gate in a stone wall. It had some willow tree coverage and one side was blocked by shrubs. The house was boarded up and protected.
Duanne went to the door and opened it. It wasn't locked anymore. In the vaulted foyer were lots of crates and supplies. "Let's take this stuff. It's most of the stuff. We were gonna take it before but realized it was too much. So we were like, let's just get to you first, then come back for it. It was Ernie's idea."
Dad entered, seeing the supplies. It was food and prep stuff. The place was a mess but it was a good mess.
Duanne motioned to a door. "Gotta see this." He went down some stairs. The light didn't work but he pulled out a flashlight from a shelf. He knew where everything was.
It was difficult for Dad to stomp down the narrow stairs to some basement. He banged up against the exposed wood beams and shelves of hardware and supplies.
Below was a steel door. Duanne opened it. The light inside worked. It was a decent sized room, much of it emptied out with the supplies above. But the guns and swords were still there on the wall and table.
Dad felt it was appropriate to take off his helm and show his expression of stunned joy.
"Right? Huh?" Duanne waved about.
Ray and Jake came down as quietly as they could.
Duanne pulled a two-handed claymore sword off the wall and motioned for Ronan to take it. There were several other swords.
Dad stared a moment then realized what it was. He sheathed his own sword and took the claymore.
"It's fucking real! Like made for real. It ain't no movie prop or display. Ernie got shit that was real," Duanne emphasized.
"Guaranteed, he always said," Ray added.
"That's right!" Duanne chuckled.
Both then said together, "Guaranteed!" They chuckled a bit, remembering poor Ernie.
Dad set it down and motioned for the large scabbard. He fiddled with that around his
armor as Jake, Duanne and Ray examined the extra M-4s.
"Oh man, oh man... how much ammo did this guy get?"
Duanne and Ray's eyes widened and glistened. "A lot."
They got back, quietly, carefully, loading as much as they could.
They now had a plethora of military M-4 fully automatics and civilian AR-15s at the ready. It was amazing to behold.
Duanne, Ray and Jake set them all out on the tables as everyone gathered. The kids squeezed through. Charlotte hugged her own M-4 while managing to be the kid team lead, caressing the new ones.
"Huh, you like that?" Duanne high-fived the kids. Ray got a few high fives from them too. Amy leapt up and got some as well.
He and Ray noticed Charlotte examining them more like a pro than a kid. She put hers down and lifted them up. She charged them with sudden strength and speed, making sure there wasn't a bullet in the chamber. She looked down their sights getting a feel for them.
They had a ton of ammo and accessories. It looked like some fancy Hollywood prop display or the real deal, in a military armory for a squad of soldiers.
"Still use the 22s for daily stuff," Dad said. "We got plenty of ammo for them in little boxes. Keep these for the big ones, for when it gets crazy," Dad reminded.
Jake answered, "Agreed!"
The kids 'ahhed', holding their little 22s.
8. Salvage Run
They left the playground fence open. Tom and Stu hid in plain sight amidst the dumpster and barricades in their armor.
Dad and Randall rode around on their motorcycles, just a few blocks out, then back. A small horde of zombies followed. They drove into the playground. The area was wide open.
As the small horde lumbered in, Howie drove forward with the Hummer. They had bolted a metal gate to the front radiator grill. They made something of a scoop shape out of it that knocked the zombies to the sides. Howie drove forward as Dad and Randall drove past him.
"Hope this Road Warrior shit works," he mumbled.
The zombies meandered in as Howie smashed into them. A score were easily mangled and flung to each side and under the tires. He turned and swerved around as more entered. He drove into them again, taking out scores at a time.
Knight of the Dead (Book 4): Realm Page 5