Lockdown: A collection of ten terror-filled zombie stories

by mike Evans

  Without warning, the sound of metal scratching across metal flooded her ears.

  "What the hell?" Alessia looked to her right to see the elevator door coming at her. She fell backwards, her butt landing on the corpse's face. Alessia rolled off as fast as she could, the feeling of a nose still freshly implanted in her crotch.

  "I think I'm going to be sick." Alessia's stomach lurched as her face hit the cold floor. She gagged, but nothing came up. She was thankful she hadn't totally lost her lunch like Laurel.

  "Uh, we got another problem," Laurel said. Alessia rolled over to see that the door had closed on the corpse.

  "At least he’ll be easier to drag away," Rick Moranis said as he pushed up his glasses. "It must have been some kind of safety override."

  "Yeah, well, if I hadn't fallen back, I'd be joining this guy." Alessia pointed to the half-corpse. The building was beginning to feel more and more like a death trap to Alessia. She'd have expected the elevator doors to maybe slam on the dead body, but not slice the man in half.

  "Turn around," Alessia instructed the man.

  "Why?"

  Alessia walked over and turned the shorter man around to examine his back.

  "Oh shit." Laurel said.

  "Yeah." Alessia agreed.

  "What are you ladies going on about?" The man demanded.

  Three bloodied vertical cuts ran down the back of his yellow polo.

  Laurel

  Laurel inspected the clean slices of the polo and the bloodied lines imprinted in the back of Rick Moranis. It would never have occurred to her that a tower with commercial businesses would have a fail safe that shut elevator doors during lockdown or razored edges that popped out. Of course, it would make sense that they'd still be allowed to let people up. If you took too long, you were obviously up to no good.

  Why not cut you in half to solve that problem? she thought.

  "Does anybody want anything to eat? I know the code to the inventory room," the librarian looking customer service rep offered as she handed Laurel some toilet paper. Laurel patted the man’s wounds carefully keeping the blood off of her.

  "Ow! That hurts." Rick Moranis-wanna-be squealed.

  Laurel felt like she should ask his name, but every time he talked, it sounded like nails screeching on a chalkboard. He didn't seem to be a bad guy, but so far, the only person who impressed her in the entire situation had been Alessia. The rest of them would be winning Darwin Awards in the apocalypse.

  "Well, it looks like the extra perks I paid for were put to good use," Abie Black said as he walked down the hallway assisted by his cane and an unsteady hand braced against the wall. Laurel grimaced every time she saw the man walk. His gait betrayed his bad hip for sure. You just knew he was one of those elderly types who would shatter into a million pieces if they fell. That was all they needed, another injured person or worse, a dead one.

  "Mr. Black, why don't you sit down? We can get you anything you need." Laurel said. She looked over to Alessia, hoping the girl would get her drift and go help the man. Alessia’s dark brown eyes shifted back in forth as she tried to guess what Laurel wanted. Laurel tilted her head towards Abie Black.

  "Yeah, Mr. Black, let me get you a chair." Alessia said as she backed away towards the nearest office. She rolled her eyes and scowled at Laurel.

  "Abie, what other extras did you pay for on this floor?" Laurel casually asked the old man as she continued carefully patting the back of Rick Moranis.

  "Huh, dearie?"

  "What other extras did you pay for? Like, if we try to open a window, will a bomb go off? Or, what happens if we break down a door down?" Laurel tried to think of other possible scenarios the old man would have thought about.

  "Hmmm, well, I think the poison on the blades to the elevator was a really good idea. Let me think…"

  Alessia rolled a desk chair underneath him.

  "Wait, there was poison on those blades?!" Rick Moranis yelled.

  "Oh yeah, you got cut?" Abie asked as he half-twirled back and forth in the rolling chair like an entertained child.

  "Yeah! I got cut. What's going to happen?" Rick Moranis shrugged off Laurel, stomped over to the old man, and grabbed him by the collar.

  Laurel didn't think he looked like Rick Moranis anymore, this was like a mini Bruce Willis in Die Hard.

  Abie Black laughed, "Oh dear boy, I'd be terrified, but your heart is starting to race already. I can see how flushed your face is getting. Sweat is trickling down your forehead."

  Laurel looked at the old man in horror. His frailty was apparently only surpassed by his cruelty.

  Rick Moranis fell to the ground twitching and writhing in pain. Foam spewed from his mouth as his nose began to bleed. He gasped for one last lungful of air then stopped breathing. Laurel lunged for him, readying to perform CPR.

  "It’s no use. You'll just poison yourself," Abie said in an almost sing-song voice.

  The lights flickered. Thump. Abie swiveled the chair around toward the opposite end of the hallway.

  "Ha! Chubby-butt tried to break into the snacks."

  At the end of the hallway, the librarian-like customer service rep was slumped over on the wall opposite the inventory room. Laurel could see smoke rising from her charred hands.

  Laurel gulped. That could have been her.

  Abie Black clapped his hands in delight as he cackled, "This is going to be fun!"

  Alessia

  Alessia gently nudged the charred body with her Converse sneaker. Black ash smudged the white rubber tip. She bit her lip, afraid to say what was on her mind. This reminded her of the stories her mother told her about the cartels back home. Some of those guys loved to mess with people. You could just be minding your own business and then- Blam!- you were in a field being forced to huff cocaine while you helped chop up bodies. She'd always kind of thought her mother was full of shit. There was no way anybody was that crazy. Sure, Alessia had run with a crew and some of those guys were messed up, but none of them had been smart enough to really, truly fuck with somebody.

  Alessia felt a cold hand on her upper arm. It was that Laurel girl, she knew it. Only some white girl would be gently grabbing people she didn’t know and thinking it would be comforting. To make it worse, Laurel cozied up beside her and leaned her head on Alessia's shoulder.

  In a low voice Laurel whispered, "We need to tie that sick old fuck up. I think he's going to try to kill us."

  "You think?" Alessia couldn't resist putting a little sarcasm in there. It was all that she had left. Even she was terrified.

  "How many of us are there?" Laurel asked.

  Alessia had to think about it. There'd been several panicked people who passed through the doors.

  "Not counting our good friend Rick, or the charcoal brick here, I'd say there's eight plus his family." Alessia guessed.

  "I don't know if we can count on his family to help. There's no telling if they are in on it with him." Laurel let go of Alessia's arm and leaned over. She gently pushed the old lady's eyelids down, but her attempt to close her gaping mouth failed. Alessia joined her and helped slide the woman flat to the floor.

  "You girls are truly precious," Abie said from the end of the hallway. He rolled towards them, using his cane and hand against the wall as leverage. Both women backed away from the old man. They both looked toward the inventory door then the next.

  Alessia pulled a stainless steel piercing from her ear and tossed it at the doorknob. A spark flew.

  "Damn."

  The wheels of Abie’s chair squeaked closer. Alessia pulled out another piercing and tossed it at the next door, another spark flew.

  "Where can we go?" Laurel asked.

  "Oh dammit to hell," Alessia said. She looked toward Derek Black's office. It was the only door slightly ajar.

  "How bad can it be? The family seems pretty harmless." Laurel said as they narrowly missed the fury of Abie's cane before slamming the door behind them.

  "Whew. That cane probably has some
jacked up Peruvian dart poison in it or some shit,"Alessia said as she laughed off her fear.

  Her relief was short lived.

  Fayth Michelle sat surrounded in blood, guts, and dismembered family members eating flesh as though she were at a picnic with all her favorite treats.

  Alessia said the first thing that came to her mind, "Find a weapon."

  Laurel

  Remember your training, remember your training, Laurel silently chanted to herself. She took long deep breaths and tried to remember everything her father had taught her. Her vision kept telescoping in and out. One minute, she felt she was in the mix of blood and guts, the next she felt like she was a thousand miles away. Unfazed, Fayth Michelle though, the hungry undead woman continued to devour the flesh in front of her. Laurel scanned the room for anything that could potentially ward off Fayth Michelle if the pint-sized blonde decided to turn on them. There was a dark mahogany coat rack in the corner that looked sturdy enough to stave her off. Luckily for them, there were a couple of umbrellas in there too.

  Laurel slid towards the rack. Alessia saw what she was going for and moved in sync with her. Once they were there, Alessia mouthed, Now what? Laurel shrugged. She hadn't thought that far in advance. Alessia pantomimed a couple of stabbing motions, then acted as though she'd harpooned Fayth Michelle in the neck. Her imaginary catch was escorted to the door, then released out in the hallway. Laurel understood the silent suggestion would also eliminate Abie. Alessia gently tossed a trench coat on the floor and placed Derek Black's Bee-Prepared ball cap on her head with the bill in the back. Laurel pulled the cache of umbrellas out one by one setting them to the side. She held her breath as she pulled each one out hoping not to make a sound.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  "Ladies, I'm bored. Come out and play," Abie yelled through the door.

  The two stayed silent.

  Taps became full out thumps on the door as Abie lost his patience.

  Fayth Michelle looked up. Laurel watched, horrified, as the previously dead woman crawled to the door. Fayth Michelle growled to herself in a language that was probably only known to her. Her movements were rigid and awkward as she reached for the door. Laurel could have stood motionless studying the phenomenon all day.

  A slap to the arm from Alessia brought her back to action. Alessia pushed the coat rack at Laurel. Normally, Laurel would have been impressed with the craftsmanship of such a solid piece of work. It was actually heavy and was meant to hold whatever was placed on it. It wasn't some cheap thing that would fall over with the first raincoat. She grasped the bottom allowing Alessia to lead. Their position reminded Laurel of a battering ram.

  Alessia looked back to Laurel and nodded. The two moved forward, their speed increasing with each step, as the coat rack neared the back of Fayth Michelle's head, Alessia pointed the sharp edged hooks at the base of her skull. Laurel instinctively pushed all the weight from the base forward. A sharp, gristly crunch sound was confirmation they'd lanced their target. Alessia pulled up and Laurel complied tilting the base back. The once cute blonde wiggled back and forth as Laurel held pole upright.

  Alessia inspected their work, "You think we can toss this on him?"

  Laurel held on tightly to the coat rack. It was solid wood and heavy, but she felt like a deep-sea fisherman trying to keep his marlin from jumping back into the ocean.

  "I think we need to know what else is booby trapped on this floor." Laurel wanted Abie Black dead as much as Alessia at this point, but letting the old fart die while there was still so many active dangers wasn't the best idea. The sadistic old man seemed to have been waiting for a day he could turn his business into a house of horror.

  "You're right. But what do we do with this thing?" Alessia looked at Fayth Michelle with disgust. As shitty as Fayth Michelle had been to Alessia in life, Laurel suspected that Alessia probably would have looked at her like that anyway.

  "I'm not sure. Maybe toss her at the window and see--" Laurel's thought was interrupted as she felt a cold wet hand grasp her leg. She couldn't contain herself. She screamed, releasing her hold on the coat rack as she attempted to pull off the hand with no body attached to it.

  Alessia

  Fayth Michelle’s tiny grabby hands and clicking teeth narrowly missed Alessia as the bloodied undead bumblebee of a blonde and the coat rack toppled to the ground.

  "For fuck's sake! Why'd you let go?" Alessia yelled at Laurel.

  Laurel sat on the ground and desperately pulled at something on her leg. Alessia looked to make sure Fayth Michelle was still attached to the coat rack and went over to Laurel.

  "What the hell?" Attached to Laurel's leg was the well-groomed hand of a man.

  "It won't come off!" Laurel panted like she about to have an anxiety attack.

  "Stay calm. Let me help you." Alessia looked on the desk for anything that would pry the fingers open. She walked around the desk and opened the top drawer. Inside she found a large pair of scissors and letter opener. One of the two could potentially cut the fingers off. Before she could walk around the desk, she heard a faint clicking sound. Curiosity got the best of her. Since Abie was so crazy, it could be a bomb ticking off, for all she knew. She pulled out the large office chair to inspect.

  It wasn't a bomb.

  Underneath the desk, in the back crevice, something round was rocking back and forth. Alessia grabbed her useless cell phone from her back pocket and turned on the light. Derek Black stared back at her as his teeth gnashed away at some invisible thing he was determined to eat. Part of his spinal cord flopped back and forth, giving the impression of a creepy tadpole. Alessia shoved the chair back in place. Derek Black's head was the least of their problems right now. They could address him later.

  "Let me see if I can pry it off," Alessia said as she squatted next to Laurel. Alessia inserted the letter opener beneath the index finger. She used the leverage of Laurel's leg to pry it off. It wasn't easy, and the mechanics of how the hand continued to work without a body were beyond her. As Alessia pried up each finger, she placed the closed blade of the scissors underneath. The fingers grasped at the cold steel. After the pinky finally released, the hand closed around the scissors. Alessia flung them both in the corner.

  "Phew," Laurel said as she shook her leg. "That scared me to death."

  “Really? That scared you?”

  Alessia scanned the room. Blood and body parts were scattered everywhere. They hadn't noticed before, but the hand and Fayth Michelle were not the only moving pieces. An eyeball near Alessia's foot twitched as the pupil attempted to focus in and out. It occurred to Alessia that if Fayth Michelle was intact and Derek's head was under the desk, there were two members of the Black family missing.

  "I don't think this is over. Where are dumb and dumber?" Alessia asked.

  Laurel stared at the floor. "Maybe somewhere in all this." She waved her arms over the mess.

  "I don't think so. The head of the chief dumbass is under the desk. Do you hear that chattering? It isn't just her. It's him."

  "Where could they be then?"

  A loud thump answered the question.

  "Girls, are you going to come out and play or am I going to have to start turning things on in the room?" Abie's voice came through the door in a high-pitched screech.

  Laurel

  "Why does it smell like some stinky-ass almond lotion my grandma would wear in here?" Alessia said as she pinched her nose.

  Laurel took a deep inhale in. She spat on the front of her shirt and covered her mouth and nose with it.

  "You are so gross." Alessia's face was curled in disgust.

  "Do it. Now," Laurel yelled. Alessia complied, shaking her head in disdain.

  "Ladies, what are you going to do? You've got about 5 minutes before you start getting sick at your stomach," Abie yelled.

  Laurel scanned the room. They didn't have much in the way of options. They couldn't seal themselves off in the closet; the undead brothers made that impossible. If they tried to break t
he glass on the window, it could end up electrocuting them or worse. They had to go outside, face Abie, and deal with whatever else could be ready to attack.

  Fayth Michelle rolled back and forth on the floor as she struggled to pull herself free from the coat rack. Laurel thought about it a little more. Abie was probably a psychopath from way back, but he didn't cause his family to return from the dead. He had no control over that. She wasn't even sure Fayth Michelle had killed everyone. Maybe one of Abie’s sick weapons or had at least maimed them to the point it was easy for Fayth Michelle to tear them apart.

  "Laurel, what the hell is this stuff? I feel like I need to crap my pants, and my head is killing me." Alessia gagged through the words.

  "Hydrogen cyanide. There are far better ways to poison a person, but it gives us roughly 15 minutes. He wants us to have time to play." Laurel pushed herself up. She walked over to Fayth Michelle and examined the coat rack ensuring it was secure.

  "We’re shoving her at him, right?" Laurel asked. Pantomiming was not the best form of communication when it came to war tactics. She wanted confirmation.

  Alessia nodded. Her eyes widened. She darted behind Derek Black's desk and ducked underneath. Laurel couldn't see what Alessia was doing, but she could hear the bumping of a head and elbows as she struggled. Laurel thought she heard Alessia say, Come here, damnit. But, she wasn't sure.

  Alessia popped back up holding her trophy-- Derek Black's severed head. Laurel couldn't believe what she was seeing. Alessia held the CEO of the Bee-Prepared Apocalypse Prepping Company by the head of his hair as his eyes moved back and forth, his teeth clicked, and his spine wiggled.

  "What do you propose we do with that?" Laurel asked.

  "It’s a bomb, of course. We'll toss it in the old fart's lap, then shove his dear sweet granddaughter at him," Alessia said with pride.

  "Well, let's do this," Laurel said as enthusiastically as she could through her t-shirt. The smell of spit and cyanide were beginning to mix. It wasn't going to be long before they were both on the floor, muscles tightened, and vomiting their guts out.

  Laurel yelled, "We're ready, Abie. It's time to play!"