by Crae, Edward
“Take the first exit,” Drew said. “The major shopping center is just outside town.”
“Good,” Dan said, not wanting to go through the mess ahead. “What kind of stores are around there?”
“The usual. Big outlet stores, Wallyworld, home improvement, junk food. There’s a sporting goods store we should hit, too.”
Dan pulled up to an intersection, looking for the tall store signs that would tell him where to go. Drew was at a loss.
“I think it was to the right,” he said. “All the fucking signs are down.”
Dan pulled out, turning right. They went slowly, eyeing the roadside, trying to see through the fog of debris. There were gas stations, fast food restaurants, strip malls, and lots and lots of dead bodies.
“Jesus, man” Dan said. “It’s like fucking Somalia, or Saigon.”
“Even worse,” Drew replied. “Detroit.”
Dan glanced at him. “You ever been to Gary?”
Drew laughed. “No, no no. No Gary for this boy. Fuck that shit.”
There was a water tower off to the right; what was left of one, anyway. The giant tank had been split open, leaving a gaping hole in the side. The letters LAFAY were still visible. Under it, a storage facility had been crushed by the weight of the water, its cinder block and orange garage door units were crumbled and open to the air; ripe for the looting.
“You think there’s anything interesting in any of those?” Dan asked.
“Sure. If you wanna loot some man caves or granny attics.”
He was probably right. Anything interesting would probably be gone by now. Even if there were guns in any of them, they had enough of their own to fight a small war with Cuba.
“There,” Drew said, pointing off to the left.
Dan saw the familiar architecture he was looking for, complete with the letters WAL*M emblazoned in big letters. It had apparently lost the rest somehow. Dan pulled into the nearest drive, making his way slowly into the maze of lanes that led to the various parking lots. They were all half full, with cars that were damaged or destroyed, most of them with their doors open and their windows smashed.
Bodies lay everywhere; half eaten or killed in other, more criminal ways. In addition to the hordes of roving mutants, there was quite the military style assault here.
“So fucked up, man,” Dan said. “This is insane. I can’t believe those cocksuckers would kill innocent people who were just trying to survive, or get away.”
Drew shook his head. Pauli seemed to be affected, too.
“Look at that,” Dan said, pointing to the front of the strip mall.
All of the windows had been broken, and merchandise—most of it crap—lay scattered around. There had been some looting after the fact, it seemed. Even the sub shop at the end had been raided. No doubt by hungry folks just looking for a bite to eat.
“Wallyworld is behind this mall,” Drew said. “It’s a big one, with a shipping center. I bet Jake is in the back somewhere. That would be the safest place, I’m guessing. Turn here.”
Dan turned the wheel to follow Drew’s direction. The lane wound around landscaping; retaining walls, planters, and small rock gardens. There were a few bodies on the side of the road, and a compact car that was flipped over and smashed. There was glass everywhere, but Dan rolled right over it, hearing the crunching sounds as they passed by. Pauli began whining and jumped into the back seat.
“He doesn’t like it here,” Drew said.
“Yeah,” Dan replied. “I don’t either.”
Finally, they rounded the side of the building, passing the lone trailers that were parked in neat little rows to their left. Several dumpsters were lined up after them, some left in line, a few of them scattered and plundered. Dan turned left around the corner, following the lane with the store’s receiving area to their left.
There were trucks parked in each loading bay, and many empty trailers and shipping containers arranged in a maze-like formation that was at least fifty yards wide. There weren’t many details that they could make out on the building itself; a few metal doors, some railings, and more and more bodies.
“What the hell happened here?” Dan wondered out loud. “Why were there so many people here?”
“This is a major hub,” Drew said. “And the shopping center is the only one around for miles. Lafayette gets a lot of traffic from the nearby towns.”
“I can’t see shit. I wish there was some way to communicate with him.”
Drew pressed the sunroof button, standing up in his seat to poke his upper body out to search. Dan drove slowly, skimming the edge of the property along the narrow lane. Drew bent back down to grab a rifle, grinning at Dan before going back up.
“See anything?” Dan asked.
“Just dead people,” Drew said. “Maybe a few pigeons.”
Dan suddenly pictured mutant pigeons parading around with messed up faces, and squawking like harpies as they dropped mutant shit on statues.
“Man, those containers are like a maze,” Drew said. “Reminds me of a Deathmatch map.”
“I hope there are lots of spawn points,” Dan joked.
“Wait!”
Dan slowed to a stop. “What?”
“I see a shuffler,” Drew said. “Around the stacked up containers with the red one on top.”
Dan spotted the stack. There were three of them; two blue and a red. He watched it carefully, waiting for the shuffler to appear. He heard Drew pull back the charging handle on the M4A1.
“I wouldn’t shoot it with that,” Dan said. “Too loud. You might attract attention.”
Soon, the shuffler rounded the corner, and Dan could see it full on. It was a woman. Her clothing was ripped and stained; her skin was pale and badly damaged. Her ragged, blonde hair hung in greasy, matted locks that moved very little. But it was her face that caught Dan’s attention. His mouth was rotted away, revealing the crooked, yellow teeth underneath. Her nose was partially missing, and her left eye was dangling from a thread of putrid nerves and veins. It swung and banged against her skin as she shuffled along.
She appeared oblivious to her surroundings, and wandered aimlessly; in no particular direction and with no real purpose. Drew squatted back down and plopped into his seat.
“I think she’s harmless,” he said. “The forum post said the shufflers may or may not attack.”
“I wonder what they do, then,” Dan said. “What do they eat?”
“Maybe they don’t.”
They sat in silence, watching the woman stumble along and disappear behind another stack of containers. As soon as they lost sight of her, a scream erupted. She appeared again, grasping the edge of the container as something attempted to drag her back. Dan’s heart thumped, and he stared, wide-eyed, as a claw enveloped her face and ripped off her head. She fell to the ground as her attacker dragged her body out of sight.
“Jesus,” Dan said.
A strange cackling sound was heard, followed by the ripping and crunching of flesh and bone. Drew looked at him, mouthing the words, what the fuck?
Dan punched it, racing around the perimeter. They caught sight of something white and gangly disappearing over the top of a nearby container, disappearing from sight. Dan turned back to the lane, rounding the shipping area to look for another place to stop.
“What the fuck was that?” he said.
“Another one of those stalkers, maybe?” Drew said, his teeth gritted, and his brow scrunched.
As Dan sped along, the sound of metallic banging followed them. The shipping containers seemed to shake and jostle with the impact of something landing on them as Dan passed them.
“Fuck!” he shouted. “It’s following us.”
As they rounded a corner, a shipping container appeared right in their path. Dan swerved to avoid it, having to steer into the maze itself. The container shook as their pursuer landed on top of it, and as Dan squealed the tires to avoid hitting another, something impacted the roof of the Hummer.
�
�Shit!” Drew shouted, turning in his seat.
Dan punched the gas, reaching out with his other hand to close the sunroof. Pauli barked and whined behind him, and the cackling, jingling sound erupted through the opening above. Dan swerved, punched the gas, slammed on the brakes, and repeated. The thing wouldn’t budge. The sunroof had gotten stuck, and now he could hear the gurgling growls of the monster echoing through the opening. Drew fired his rifle.
The bang was deafening inside the vehicle, and Dan was caught off guard. He squealed around another turn, slamming the side of the Hummer into a shipping container. He heard the banging of the creature hitting the metal surface as it was thrown off the Hummer’s roof and into the corrugated sides. He stepped on the gas, and the engine drowned out the creature’s howls.
They had shaken it, but now they had another problem.
Shamblers appeared from behind the many containers, streaming over the railroad fence in the distance. They sped toward the Hummer, their red eyes burning with hunger, and their rotting teeth clacking and gnashing. Dan stepped on the gas, plowing through them almost effortlessly. They bounced off the bumper, or were thrown into the windshield with the impact, where they clung on and glared at the two men with lusting hunger.
There must have a thousand of them. They mobbed around the Hummer as it sped by, some of them jumping onto the hood; some grabbing onto the bumper and holding on as they were dragged along.
“Persistent fuckers,” Drew said, standing up through the sunroof.
Dan heard him fire several times, shooting the clingers off the hood and the bumper. Dan swerved to shake them, plowing through more of them as he sped straight toward the building. Off to his right, he could see an open container. Its door was just wide enough for a Hummer to fit through. Seeing as they had nowhere else to go, he headed straight for it.
“Get down!” he shouted. “We’re going in!”
Drew dropped back into the seat. “What are you doing? We’ll be trapped!”
“We can fight them off,” Dan said. “There’s nowhere else to go. If we need to, we can get out the other side.”
Drew grabbed his shoulder as the open door came barreling toward them. “They lock from the outside, by the way,” he said.
Dan squealed the brakes as they passed into the container. The Hummer slammed into the opposite door, jostling it and rattling the chains that held it shut on the other side. They stood, poking out the sunroof with their rifles ready, and turned toward the opening behind them. The horde closed in quickly, clogging the opening with its writhing mass.
Dan and Drew opened fire. Bullets tore through the mutated flesh, splashing black and green blood into the air as bodies fell by the dozens. Dan’s heart raced with excitement and terror all at the same time.
The shamblers continued coming; crawling over each other as they clawed their way inward. But they were met with dozens of 5.56 rounds, and the two men growled and howled as they ripped the attackers to shreds. Dan emptied his magazine, dropping it and loading another. One shambler got past their barrage, scrambling up the hood of the Hummer. Dan fired a round right into its face, and its head exploded in a gush of brains and black blood.
“Raaaaaaargh!” he screamed like Rambo, sweeping from side to side with his carbine.
Drew loaded up again, and fired indiscriminately, his bullets exploded the heads of the attackers one by one. Then, he ducked back into the Hummer.
“Cover me,” he said.
Dan reserved his rounds, firing only head shots. He only missed a few times, but he managed to keep the horde at bay as Drew did whatever he was doing. After a few seconds, Drew appeared again, a grenade in his hand and a grin on his face.
“Take cover,” he said, pulling the ring and tossing the grenade out the opening.
An explosion shook the container, and the back windows were splattered with guts and chunks of zombie flesh.
“Jesus Christ, that was loud,” Dan said.
They stood again, reloading as the distant horde rushed to replenish their numbers. The grenade had blown all of the shamblers in the opening to pieces, blowing them away in a large radius. Chunks of flesh littered the ground, and the massive pool of putrid blood was growing.
But still they came.
They resumed their barrage, taking down the charging creatures as they neared. Dan could hear another gun in the distance. He turned to Drew. He had heard it, too.
Thockthockthockthock, the gun fired. It was slower than a full auto rifle, but the sound told Dan that it was high caliber. Maybe an M60? Shamblers fell in the distance, taken down by the gunman outside. Dan grinned as he continued firing. Jake must be out there somewhere.
“I think he found us,” he said.
“Yep,” Drew replied, switching to burst mode and firing again.
The container suddenly shook as something impacted the roof. Dan and Drew looked at each other in terror.
“Fuck,” Dan whispered. “He’s back.”
The shamblers at the front of the container began to flee. Even they were terrified of the creature that had made its appearance. Dan lowered himself back into the cab, grabbing his Barrett. He stood up again as Drew slapped in another magazine. Outside, the hissing and jingling began again, and the sound of heavy footsteps was heard from above.
Eight curled claws appeared around the top edge; long, sickly white, and spindly like bone. A low clicking growl followed, and Dan pulled back the bolt on his rifle in preparation.
Outside, the thockthockthock grew louder, and shamblers continued to fall in the distance.
Drew fired, striking the metal roof. Sparks flew as the rounds ricocheted, and the creature’s hissing increased in ferocity. Pulling its claws back, the creature leaped to the ground in front of the opening, crouched and poised to charge.
It was sickly white, with glossy skin that showed blue veins underneath. It was still mostly human in shape, but ghastly and skeletal. Its human face hung in shreds, revealing the hollow eyes and horrifying mouth. The bottom jaw, lined with transparent, dripping fangs, was split in the middle, and its top jaw was nothing more than a slab of jagged bone. It opened its jaws impossibly wide, and a snakelike tongue darted out, whipping around menacingly as the creature stalked forward.
Drew fired a burst, striking the creature in the chest. It stumbled back, howling, but kept coming.
“Dude!” Drew shouted. “Shoot the fucker!”
Dan snapped out of his trance, raising the Barrett. He was too close to aim, but fired anyway. The gunshot burst loudly in the container, and the creature was thrown back, tumbling over and over but landing on all fours. It hissed and glared as Dan pulled back the bolt to fire again.
Then, with lightning speed, it galloped forward on all fours, scaling the bumper with a single leap. Dan and Drew dropped back into the Hummer as it passed over the sunroof. Dan put it in gear and stomped on the gas, squealing the tires, and lurching forward with a jolt. The back wheels slid to the side, causing the Hummer to catch the front corner of the container.
“Shit!” he cursed. The creature scrambled atop the roof, bouncing off the container’s back wall.
Dan slammed the Hummer into reverse and punched it again. They shot backward, slamming into the wall just as the creature clawed its way toward the sunroof. Drew pulled out his Glock, firing several rounds out the opening as he pushed the close button. The creature screeched and thrashed as the 9mm rounds slammed into its face.
Dan slammed the Hummer into drive, and punched the gas, shooting out of the container like a bullet. Then, as the creature began scratching at the sunroof, he slammed on the brakes, pitching the thing off the roof and onto the parking lot in front of them. It rolled several times as it impacted, smoothly landing on its feet. Dan punched the gas again, bashing into the stalker and rolling right over it.
“Again!” Drew shouted.
Dan went in reverse, grinning evilly as he heard the crunching sounds of the tires rolling over the stalker again. As i
t came into view again, he growled, shifting into drive for one last roll over. Then, a deafening boom sounded to their left, and then again in front of them. The stalker exploded in a massive cloud of vile fluids and chunks of white and gray flesh. It splattered to the right, leaving a small crater in the asphalt.
Dan recovered, turning his head to the left. From a cloud of smoke, a giant figure of a man appeared, casually walking through the debris. He wore a long, black leather trench coat, a black bushman hat with spiked buckles, and rounded mirrored sunglasses. He stalked toward them with a sawn-off, lever-action repeater in one hand, and a large LMG hanging from a shoulder strap on the other. A grenade launcher was taped to the LMG, its barrel still smoking, and a huge duffel bag was slung over his left shoulder.
As he approached, the horde of shamblers began to close in again. He turned, firing into their ranks and dropping them like flies. Dan laughed as he noticed how casually the man plowed through them with the machine gun. He honked the horn, pulling forward and turning toward the man.
“Get in!” he shouted.
Jake lowered his machine gun, turning with a wide smile as he reached for the door handle, leaning toward the driver’s window.
“It’s about fuckin’ time,” he said.
Chapter Thirteen
“You could have picked a better place,” Dan said as he stomped the gas.
They plowed through row after row of shamblers, and Dan felt the satisfying splat of their bodies slamming into the bumper.
“Well,” Jake replied. “They picked it. I don’t know why.”
Drew gave him a fist bump. “Where did that awesome machine gun come from?” he asked.
“National Guard guys gave it to me,” Jake said. “Along with some other shit.”
The horde ahead seemed never ending. Dan plowed through them one after another, but there seemed to be no end in sight. He swerved and spun, dodging the containers and wrecked cars, all while trying hard to hit every shambler he saw.