Zombie Rush

by Joseph Hansen

  The window opened smoothly and she hopped up on the ledge. Looking back at the two immobilized kids whose eyes watched her escape, she felt a certain kind of triumph. She felt guilty about feeling that way; she should be mourning the obscene death of her mother. Feeling relief at finally being able to get out of the hellhole where she came for a simple routine checkup, hands suddenly grabbed her roughly from behind and dragged her backwards out the window.

  Chapter Seven:

  Das boot

  Lisa always thought people who talked to their pets were idiots, yet here she was talking to two dogs that she didn’t even know. Strange as it seemed, the way they looked back at her made her feel that they understood what she was saying. Both dogs turned their heads when the banging started outside the door. Lisa could tell from miscellaneous punctures and gashes cut in the steel shell that there were a lot more zombies out there than just the few at the door. She slipped over and peeked out the small, soot-encrusted and paint-spattered window. What she saw was enough to just about make her bowels release… the yard was full of zombies. All it took was for one of them to see where she hid and the rest would follow. The yard looked like a revised version of Woodstock with a lot more gore and blood.

  Something slammed against the door so hard it bent the panel in and stressed out the hinges. She ran back to the dogs and searched for something she could use for the pups. She found a large cotton rag that looked as if it were left over from an old t-shirt. She tied one end to her empty bandoleer belt up by her chest and the other down by her hip, forming the balance into a type of satchel.

  The border collie was starting to prance nervously as the hound faced off against the door that was beginning to buckle more with each hit it sustained from what had to be runners charging and slamming against the exterior. The collie kept running up and down a set of stairs, becoming more agitated as time went on.

  Lisa gently picked up the pups and placed them in the makeshift satchel, praying that they would settle down and not try to get out. Having just fed, they seemed more than content to sleep, allowing Lisa a chance to focus on other things—mainly getting out of there. She tied the top off with a bootlace taken from what had to be their dead master whom she de-animated when she entered.

  The collie kept hitting her hand with her nose and running up the open rail-less staircase that looked in better repair than the entire structure. Three times she did this until Lisa finally decided there was no other option but to follow her in hopes of finding a place secure enough to hide. The stairs led to a deck built in under a roof overhang with newer matching patio furniture, a nice BBQ grill, and—even better—a solid door.

  Forgetting about the zombies for just a second, she took a minute to sit down in the cushioned chair and look out on Lake Hamilton. She felt like she had been running for days instead of just hours. The Zs hadn’t broken through yet but it wouldn’t be long before they would; she just needed a breather for a second. She saw a few boats out on the lake and one of them looked familiar. Unfortunately, there was only one person on it, meaning Benson and his kids hadn’t made it that far yet. She scanned the island, looking for Benson and his group. All she saw was zombies, but then again, what else would she see? Up high like she was, she had a good view yet most of what she saw was shuffling dead people. Fortunately, she did see some open roads if she could get to them. Then she saw another group of townhouses that stood apart from the rest because of the mass of dead surrounding it. Right outside the door of one of the private entrances was a horde camped out that stretched around to the back. She knew instantly why. She also knew that they weren’t getting out without her help.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” she said. A small whine from above got her attention and she looked up to see the collie looking down on her from the roof peak. A scratching at the door as well as a human head trying to fit through the doggie door opening on to the raised balcony snapped her back to reality.

  “How in the heck did you get up there?” she asked and the dog looked to its left.

  Lisa saw a small pad that snaked around the edge to a ladder that led up to a steel pathway that looked as if it had been recycled from the catwalks of a stadium or factory. She walked the roof peak as if she owned it, searching her path out the whole way and actually feeling safe for a moment. This was the first time during the whole morning that she actually could plan her steps as her canine accomplices sat watching her, waiting for the stranger to make a move.

  She stopped at the end and pulled out her cell phone to see if she could drop a quick text message.

  Did you find a condo to hole up in? she wrote. She waited a couple minutes after sending it, knowing that he probably had to search for his phone if he still had it with him.

  Yeah, how did you know?

  Your fan base is pretty large. I'll draw them off. Looks like the extortionist is still waiting on the lake.

  Better hurry.

  Mke me a sndwich, hungry from pulling your S out of the fire.

  K, down to my .40 mag. You have to clear it out good.

  I do my best.

  A steel spiral staircase brought Lisa and the dogs down to a smaller roof that looked out over an empty fenced-in yard, causing her to wonder what the owner of this shack intended to use it for. She watched as the collie wagged her tail, touched noses with the hound, and then went over to the corner, where she leaped down onto a compost heap and out into the yard.

  “Ahhh, I think I see how she ended up pregnant,” Lisa said to the hound that wagged its tail and followed after the collie. They made their way to the gate, where all three peeked out to see a clear alley—much as it had been seen earlier from the roof. The collie started to go one way, but Lisa had other plans. The dogs followed her as she made her way through yards and alleys, to finally end up behind the crowd of zombies swarming the condo.

  They reached some bushes and she hid with the dogs. The foliage was adjacent to a service road, which was filled with Zs that they had to get past before reaching the building with the condo. After that, there was a parking lot, a grassy area, and then nothing but beach. The Zs in the parking lot were spilling out onto the grassy area before the beach, complicating the straight run she had foreseen.

  The collie barked suddenly, surprising Lisa. When she turned to see the dog pointed away from her and becoming agitated, Lisa realized that the luxury of planning was over. She checked her sidearm to make sure it was readied and that her two remaining extra mags were where she could grab them quickly.

  “We need a boat to get to Justin,” she said aloud before she started running out in full view of the zombies. She screamed “Benson!” twice before she emptied her broken Mossberg into the crowd. The horde didn’t hesitate in their pursuit of the lone woman running with the collie by her side. Easy prey was impossible for their single-purpose minds to resist.

  She noticed the hound missing and was curious, until the runners who were getting too close were suddenly tripped up from behind, causing her to wonder just how smart these dogs were. Did they really have a grasp on this? She changed her focus to the boats but didn’t see anything that she could just push off and get to deep water quick enough. Zombies that had been bulldozed off the bridge were coming out of the water, so she didn’t want to swim unless it couldn’t be avoided. She was running away from the bridge and the water was thinning out the number arriving on dry land but they were still there. She wouldn’t have to time to confront even one before she would be overwhelmed.

  A glance behind her showed what must be a hundred or more of the undead spread out in pursuit of her and the dogs. Then, over the roar of the moans and slapping feet she heard an annoying buzz that sounded like a scooter horn sounded repeatedly. She glimpsed toward the lake and saw Justin keeping pace with her as he gradually came closer and closer to shore.

  He sped ahead of her at least a hundred yards and held steady off the end of a dock then took the revolver she had given him and waited. He was on the far end of the isla
nd away from the bridge so she hoped that there weren’t any of the undead wading toward the enterprising young man. She tried to increase her speed but she was already going faster than she had ever run before. Justin whistled and waved his arms. Seeing the potential for escape, the dogs pulled away; leaving Lisa suddenly feeling abandoned as they easily outdistanced her.

  The slapping feet of the runners grew closer with every step, and after seeing them run, she knew she couldn’t stay ahead of them for much longer. She hit the dock as the pontoon was already pulling away. The multitude of footfalls were so close behind her that it made her skin crawl as their feet started slapping on the slats of the dock virtually in time with her own. She felt something latch on to her collar and try to drag her backwards.

  Backwards was death and she knew it. She lurched forward, breaking free of the grip then she launched herself off the end of the dock. She landed with her abdomen bent over the deck of the boat, her legs and feet submerged as the boat pulled out to deeper water. The hound suddenly had her hand and began to drag her up onto the deck as the collie grabbed the other sleeve. Hands from under the water grabbed at her legs as Justin appeared with his revolver, shooting as the boat steered itself backwards.

  “Thanks,” she said, safely on the deck. “Now head back that way so we can get Benson and his kids.”

  “Kids? I hate kids,” Justin whined.

  “I think there’s one kid you’ll like.”

  “Okay, but I keep the dogs.”

  “Not this time, scammer; they’re not mine to give,” she replied as she sat down and pulled out the three puppies who squirmed restlessly in her hands, causing the collie to become a mass of nervous energy. She set them up in a makeshift bed between two coolers and the console before she looked at the hound. He sat at attention and awaiting her instruction. She found it strange that he had stayed with her; she thought when she let him loose that he would have run away. There was something special about him; his dedication seemed to be beyond most human standards.

  After noticing the puppies had instantly begun to suckle, she looked for Benson. She stripped off her vest and readied her .40 knowing that she was going to have to use it.

  Several gunshots called their attention to the condos. “There they are,” she said as she pointed.

  The trio was running toward some docks, leaving behind three motionless zombies on the ground. She wanted to tell them not to head for docks until the pontoon was closer, but with two kids to worry about Benson really didn’t have much choice. Lisa grabbed the rail as the pontoon suddenly took off with the triple pontoon hull instantly achieving plane.

  “Holy crap! I didn’t know pontoon boats were this fast,” she screamed above the roar of the twin outboard engines. She watched Benson quickly getting closer, pushing his kids out onto the dock and turning to face four Zs—two of which were runners bearing down on them.

  Who the fuck does he think he is… Wyatt Earp? She tried to stabilize herself to shoot at the zombies approaching the trio. The dock was approaching quickly—too quickly—and she began to think they were going to run into it. Benson had shot one of the runners dead center in the forehead but its momentum carried it forward and into his legs. He was struggling with the other and Lisa just couldn’t get her aim steady enough at the speed that they were moving. She could have just trusted in Justin’s abilities, but he was only a kid and for all she knew, he was planning on running right through the dock itself so she screamed for him to slow down.

  “Hang on!” Justin returned and luckily Lisa did so as he threw the shift into neutral for a couple moments, allowing the rpms internally in the drive to slow down before slamming the shift into reverse. They hit the dock but not enough to damage the boat. Lisa was about to leap when the hound vaulted over her and with a second bound, cleared the children who were crouched down trying to keep their balance.

  “Get on the boat, kids, hurry,” Lisa said noticing that Justin was already getting anxious and was holding his gun over the side, waiting for something to surface. A shifting of the pontoon directed her gaze to the stern just in time to see a head popping up over the gunwale.

  “Everybody to the center!” she shouted.

  Although she wanted to go help Benson, she couldn’t leave the boat or it would be swarmed from the waters below.

  “Justin, watch that side and be ready to move.” Her last words were very nearly drowned out by the sound of her .40 as the head of the first turned into a spray of blood mixed with chunks of skull and gray matter out the back. Two more shots cleared the back temporarily and she moved to the starboard side. Damn it, they just didn’t have enough shooters.

  From inside the condo, Benson had heard her shout his name. After the shots that followed, he saw Krissy trying to keep Danny from opening the door. He couldn’t help it; he was conditioned to answer the door when someone knocked. He was getting a pretty good grasp on what was happening, but it just didn’t seem to be sticking one hundred percent quite yet. Danny was a bright kid but his syndrome made certain judgment issues a problem.

  “Okay guys, get ready to go,” he said as he looked out the window and watched as Lisa ran away with the horde close on her heels. He couldn’t see how she would make it and shook his head in wonder; this morning she was nothing but the bitch who shoved a lot of capable people out of her way to get a job. Rumor had it that her looks had secured the promotion, but now he knew differently… she was a fighter, more so than Nobles or Traynor, and maybe even Krupp. She had put her neck on the line for him and his children several times that day already and that was something that he would never forget. Somehow he knew that she was going to get away from the horde. He didn’t know how, but he knew that she would find a way; she was just that kind of person.

  There were still a couple zombies out there, but he had to make a move before more came. The docks were empty except for a small sailboat that looked as if it had seen much better days, but it was better than nothing. There was no escape from the island except by boat, and if that meant casting themselves adrift and floating for god knows how long, then he would do it.

  “Okay guys, get behind me and stay right on my tail. Danny, you have to do exactly as Krissy tells you,” he said and continued quickly before Danny could voice his typical complaints. “I know she is not the boss of you, but for just a little while you have to do as she says because Daddy is going to be busy, okay?”

  Danny nodded, though he couldn’t help his petulant lower lip from showing.

  “Okay, follow me,” he said as he kicked the door open, instantly putting three bullets in three heads before moving out and away from the building. He would have given anything to have just one more person there to watch his back but as it was, he had to run while constantly turning in all directions. Two more fell to his forty before he saw the runners coming at him.

  “Krissy, untie that sailboat and get you and Danny on it,” he said as he readied himself at the shore end of the dock. He didn’t care how many times he got bit; he would not let them get to his children. He shot the lead one dead center of its forehead, but the impact wasn’t enough to stop its momentum. The zombie fell into his legs, forcing him back and throwing off his aim so that his second shot barely grazed the skull of the other runner. He felt the lack of tension from the trigger when his slide locked back on an empty mag, his last round from his last magazine spent. He shot his left hand out to stop the next creature from bowling him over. It was all he could do to keep the bitch from sinking her teeth into any part of his anatomy.

  His training extended beyond police and military, yet here he found himself struggling with a woman half his age and half his size, so crazed with bloodlust that he could barely keep her at bay—even with the firm grip on the front of her blouse. He struggled to kick the fallen Z off of his legs and was fighting to stay on his feet when he saw two of the shufflers coming up on him from behind the crazed girl. Benson knew his time was done; he was never going to see the smiling face of
his daughter when she went on her first date, the look of joy when Danny accomplished something unexpectedly, or the overwhelming love in his wife’s eyes. Unless the hand of God came down from the heavens itself, he was going to be swarmed.

  People always think that if a dog were to attack you, it would be with his teeth, but what they don’t realize is how dangerous their paws and sheer weight are—especially with momentum. It was exactly what Benson felt as the hundred-pound hound brushed past him, knocking the zombie out of his grasp and into one of the slower ones coming up. He had never seen the dog coming and had no idea where it had come from, but it was there helping him. So when a third zombie fell upon the canine, it was Benson’s steel-toed tactical boot that smashed into its temple, snapping its head to the side and killing it for the second time. He moved in on the runner that was trying to get up, stomping on her head several times as the dog distracted the shufflers who were crawling back to their feet as many more bore down upon them.

  Screaming from the end of the dock sent him into a panic. He turned, thinking that somehow his kids were being attacked, only to find Justin and his pontoon already pulling away. He ran with the strange hound toward the boat and both easily leaped the distance to land safely on the deck, where Lisa was still shooting the last few hangers on.

  Getting down on one knee, he hugged his children then he looked at the dogs before shrugging to Justin as if to say, What the fuck?

  “I don’t know; Lisa found them,” Justin said.

  Danny was instantly drawn to the puppies that were still being fed by the border collie and the hound sat there looking at him as if he were an old friend.