Dead Hunger_The Cleansing

by Eric A. Shelman

  Everyone else did.

  “Anything?”

  Everyone responded in the negative.

  “Dude, remember,” said Nelson, “Max said the walls were really easy to break through. I say we start some strategic kicks. We’ll find the right one.”

  Everyone started kicking at once.

  Gammon practically fell forward through the wall on his first impact. He caught himself before falling, and staggered away from the hole in the wall, plaster dust coating his face and coughing out the fine powder.

  He looked around the room at Flex and the others and said, “It’s that awkward moment when you accidentally reveal you’ve got a genetically engineered, bionic leg.”

  Flex smiled, but moved over to the hole Dave had made. “I’m not sure what building this is,” he said. “Not gonna recognize it from the basement anyway.”

  Dave, dusting the silt-like powder from his clothing, moved inside. “It is the bank, Flex. I’ve been exploring down here. It’s fun to look at stacks of hundred dollar bills, even if cash doesn’t have any value anymore. Anyway, there’s an old vault over in that corner they quit using years ago. Stairs are there,” he said, pointing.

  Flex pulled out his radio. “Punch, come in. It’s Flex, and I got a crew with me. You read?”

  Silence greeted them. Flex popped the battery compartment open, pulled out the rechargeable 9-volt battery and touched it to his tongue.

  He jerked it away. “It’s got juice,” he said, as he put it back in and turned the radio on again.

  “Maybe we’re still too deep,” said Charlie. “They sure used to build thick ass buildings.”

  “And long ass tunnels,” said Nelson.

  “Yeah,” said Flex. “Everyone okay? Ready to move?”

  “I need some food first,” said Taylor. “Anyone else? I have some Nature’s Crunch granola bars. They’re way better than Dad’s, even with all the preservatives.”

  “That’s just hurtful,” said Hemp. “But that said, I’ll have two, if you can spare them.”

  “Shit, girl,” said Trina, peering into her pack. “Looks like you robbed a fucking dollar store. You got room for anything else in that pack?”

  “Nobody ever thinks about eating during a damned zombie apocalypse,” said Taylor. “If I don’t eat, I get shaky and bitchy.”

  “Yeah, and from what I recall, your shakiness goes away fast, but the bitch lingers,” said Dave, holding out his hand for a bar.

  “I will pull your hair,” Tay said to Dave, pulling out another double pack of crunchy granola bars, but dropping it on the floor before it was in his hand.

  “Nice,” said Dave. “I guess it’s already too late to avoid the latter.”

  “You kinda started it, right?” smiled Taylor.

  “I kinda did. It’s my comedic calm before I turn into a highly skilled zombie killer.”

  “You’ll need to work on both,” said Trina. “And don’t mess with my sis.”

  Flex smiled and finished off another granola bar, chasing it with a half bottle of water. He passed it to Trina and she downed the rest.

  The two girls had been exactly like sisters since they were brought together by the worst tragedy in human history. Since then, they’d prayed together and stayed together … and had become as close as any two young women could.

  “Wash ‘em down and let’s get movin’,” said Flex.

  “You’re like a waiter who brings the main course before I’m done with my salad,” said Nelson, his mouth full of half-chewed granola bar. He quickly shoved the last two pieces in and dusted his hands on his jeans. “Okay, I’m ready,” he added, his words nearly unintelligible through the mouthful of food.

  “Rachel would be appalled,” said Charlie. “Talking with your mouth full like that.”

  Nelson shrugged. He swallowed quickly and pulled a pipe from his pocket, and a small tin. He took a pinch of the pot and stuffed it in the bowl. “Anyone else?”

  “I don’t like laughing in the faces of zombies,” said Hemp.

  “Game faces on now,” said Flex. “We find Punch and whoever he’s with, and we figure out a way to get to the clinic, and fast.”

  “And be careful going up the stairs,” said Hemp. “Silence is golden until we determine the status of the main floors.”

  “I’m always stealth,” said Charlie, holding her crossbow.

  “The Saiga shotgun strapped across your back makes you a big fibber,” said Dave.

  “You’ve already started with Trini and Tay,” she said, her eyebrow raised. “Sure you want to poke the mama bear?”

  “The beautiful thing is, you girls all love me too much to ever hurt me,” said Dave. “Nel, lead the way, Subdudo dude.”

  “Gladly, bro,” said Nelson. In his right hand he carried a 3” brass throwing star and a stainless steel backup of the same size. Switching his headlamp on, he started up the steps. Flex brought up the rear.

  *****

  “It’s a dead end here!” called Max, who had gone ahead. “Isis! We can’t go back, right? There’s too many of them?”

  Isis had dropped back to walk with some Kingman residents who had begun to panic in the dark tunnels. She explained their strategy and the plan in as much detail as possible, and a lot of patience. Max hoped it would be enough to calm them and convince them to cooperate.

  Isis was about twelve feet from the front, and at Max’s alert, she hurried through the crowd to stand beside him. “Did you push on some of the stones?”

  “There are no seams and no symbols,” he said. “Nothing I’ve pushed does anything. I’ve been kicking the damned thing, ala Nelson.”

  Gem looked toward the back of the group. The murmur from the crowd had grown louder and more fearful because they had stopped moving forward. “Everyone without weapons, up by Max and Isis!” she called. “And don’t push! If you have a gun, or you’re on WAT-5, move to the rear, now!”

  She felt something tugging at her top, and she turned to see a frightened Colton. Gem knelt down. “Colt, I know you want to help, and I promise you, the time will come. It’s not now, okay? I need you safe, so get up by that wall and be ready when Max and Isis figure out our next move.”

  “Okay, Gemmy,” he said. “I’m … scared.”

  Gem put her hand on the side of his face and kissed his cheek. She knew he liked to put on the tough act, but the look in his eyes gave him away, and to admit his fear outright was just not like him.

  She pulled Colton in for a quick but firm hug. When she pulled back, she said, “You be brave like I know you are, and you’ll be fine. Now get your little butt over to the wall, okay?”

  He nodded and she saw a change in his eyes. Not much, but a resolve slipped in to force his trepidation to the side – at least for the moment. As he ran toward the wall, Gem turned to shoulder her way through the crowd. Fighting her nagging pain, she finally reached the rear of the group.

  They had been moving at a good clip for probably a quarter mile or more, and had put some distance between them and the nearest rotters.

  “These guys are moving slow,” said Gem to some of the others with weapons. “In fact, I want to keep them back from us, so let’s run back and meet them.”

  Everyone knew what she meant. She fell in beside them, and it did not take long to locate the horde. When they did, Gem was shocked. “Oh, my God,” she whispered. “How many … look at them all!”

  “Can’t count ‘em,” said Victoria, who held a stainless steel .38 revolver. “Gem, we can’t make a dent in numbers like this.”

  “I know,” said Gem. “The best we can do is find a place to put a wall between us.”

  “Unfortunately, didn’t Isis say we hit a wall up there?” Victoria’s eyes were frightened. Gem had seen her in any number of situations, but never caught in an underground tunnel system with a wall on one end and a horde of Hungerers and Mothers at the other.

  The huge horde of abnormals advanced, albeit much more slowly than they normally
would have. Gem saw everyone appeared to be mesmerized by the size of the pack.

  “Back away then,” said Gem. “Quickly everyone. Let’s get back to Max and Isis. They’ll figure out a way through.”

  As one, the armed group turned to run back toward the front. When Gem reached Max and Isis, she said, “I’m not one to be negative, but if you don’t figure something out, we’re going to die. That horde is enormous, and they’re not that far back.”

  They both stared at her, their subdued red eyes concerned, but Gem saw no lights come on. Nothing.

  “Seriously, you can’t be out of ideas!” she said. “Giving up isn’t an option!” Gem switched on her headlamp and began searching the higher walls and ceiling of the tunnel. Her eyes fell to the flowing water channel. Something caught her attention. “You guys have banged and kicked on all these stones, right?”

  “Yes,” said Isis. “There is no way through here. We chose the wrong tunnel.”

  Colton, standing beside Gem, again began to cry. He dropped to his knees and sobbed. “Baby, what’s wrong?” asked Gem, easing down beside him.

  “I used my boat to pick this one,” he said. “This is my fault! We’re in trouble and it’s my fault!”

  Gem took the boy by the shoulders and turned him toward her. “Colton, stop it! We didn’t teach you to cry when you make an error, or even if you just think you did. We taught you to stand up and figure out how to fix your mistakes, got that?”

  He nodded and sniffled.

  “Okay,” said Gem, wincing as she stood. She went back to the edge of the flowing water.

  “They’re coming!” shouted a man. “We can see them now!”

  Which means they can see us, which always puts a little pep in their steps, thought Gem.

  She quickly pulled the headlamp off and lowered it to the water’s surface. An image on the side of the channel came into view. It was the Freemason symbol, fully carved into the arched stone just above the low arch over the waterway.

  “Isis, look at that!” She pointed.

  “I didn’t see it,” said Isis. “Gem, that’s the way. It was always the only way!”

  “In … the water?” asked Gem. “Is it deep enough for us to get below the arch?”

  The arch was only two feet or so above the water, but it was wide enough for most human bodies.

  “It’s going to be cold, but we need to organize people and fast. I need someone on the other side of that wall and I need them there now. To receive the others.”

  “What if there are others over there?” asked Max.

  “Then we kill them,” said Gem. “There can’t be as many as are coming now.”

  Gunfire erupted behind them and everyone jumped.

  “Time to go!” shouted Max. “Gem, here!”

  He reached into his pack and pulled out a tattered box. From it, he withdrew a 1-gallon freezer baggie and gave one each to Gem and Isis. “Put your headlamps and radios in here before you get wet.”

  Gem took it and followed his instructions, then tucked it down the front of her pants. “Good idea, Max. How can we get these pails of urushiol down there?”

  “I only have the occasional good idea because Hemp’s my dad,” he said. “As for the buckets, they’re made of waxed paper. I’d say everyone that has one just fold the top over and pinch it while they go through.”

  He then called out over the growing noise of the panicked crowd, “Everyone, take off your headlamps and put them in a baggie from this box by the water channel. You’re all about to get wet! Just pinch the tops of your urushiol pails together and fold them over, but bring them with you no matter what.”

  Isis said, “Gem, with your injured rib, you need to get through to safety first. You help Colton through, and he can help the others when they get under.”

  “I can do it!” Colton said, and Gem was sure he felt it would redeem him in some way.

  “Then let’s go, soldier,” said Gem. “C’mon.”

  She slung her Uzi over her back and stepped down into the trough. The water was around a foot deep, and it was cold. Colton followed her in.

  “I’ll go first,” she said. “You stay close enough that you can grab hold of my feet if necessary, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Gem lowered herself down to her stomach and moved the additional two feet to the arch where the flowing water seemed to disappear.

  The pain was excruciating. She found herself frozen in place, unable to move.

  “Gem, what’s wrong? You must go now,” said Isis.

  “Then I’m going feet first,” she said. “Can’t lie on my stomach and can’t go in head first on my back.”

  “Just go, Gem,” said Victoria, glancing back, twitching and grimacing at every round of gunfire ringing off the walls around them.

  A man’s scream shattered the tunnels, and Gem took action. She stood at first, then sat on her butt in the cold water, pulling herself further along the stone channel.

  “It’s getting deeper!” she said. “The base of the channel angles downward here! You behind me, Colton?”

  “Yeah!” he said, his voice wavering from the brisk, flowing water.

  “Okay. I’m going.” Gem pulled herself forward and her head went under the arch. She felt the floor beneath her angling more sharply, and soon the algae-slick bottom of the channel was like a Slip-n-Slide. She picked up speed.

  “Oh, shit!” she screamed, when she felt the stone surface beneath her end. She found herself plummeting through nothingness for at least two full seconds, then she plunged into a cold pool of water that had to have been in excess of ten feet deep.

  Knowing Colton was right behind her, Gem kicked her feet and paddled to clear the landing point, hearing the splash when it came behind her. She turned and searched for him. “Colton!” she shouted.

  He bobbed to the surface and spit out water, breathing hard. “Mommy!” he said.

  There it was again. “Swim to me, Flexy!”

  The boy began swimming and she held out her hand and pulled him to the edge. There didn’t appear to be any way to easily get out, but she could see that the pool, which had to be around thirty feet in diameter, tapered narrower up ahead. A sheer wall the same height as the rest of the tunnel bordered the east side of the pool, and the walkway continued south on the west side. The water level was only a few inches below the path’s level, so it should be fairly easy to climb out and back to dry land.

  It was slightly darker, so Gem waited for her eyes to adjust as she treaded water. She could not see down the tunnel beyond fifteen feet or so.

  “Are you guys okay?” came Max’s voice from above them.

  “Yes!” shouted Gem. “There’s a good drop, but it’s into water. Send the strong swimmers first, and they can help the others. Hurry!”

  One by one, the people came through. The men and women who came first swam out and helped the weaker swimmers to the edge.

  As this went on, Gem said, “Colton, follow me. We need to move to where it’s shallower so we can crawl out.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Gemmy, you just called me Flexy.”

  Gem, who was pulling southward along the edge of the pool, stopped and looked the boy in the eyes. “Colt, I know. It just seemed so natural, I forgot about it the second his name came out of my mouth. Sweetheart, you remind me of him in some ways.”

  “Go, mommy,” he said.

  She stared at his face and felt her emotions rise to the surface; she was unable to stop the tears.

  Turning away so as not to frighten Colton, Gem realized that the child knew very well what he had done. And she knew what she had done in return, though unaware of it at the time. They had exchanged wishes.

  He wanted his mommy; she wanted her son. They had one another.

  Gem continued to grip the edge of the trough as she pulled herself along until her feet touched bottom and the large, circular pool narrowed back into a fast-flowing channel. On her tiptoes, she walked on the slimy stone surfac
e until she was standing in knee-deep water, fighting the current around her legs.

  This channel was wider than the one that had led to the waterfall. Gem took four more steps and sat on the edge, reaching to retrieve her baggie. She put the headlamp on and turned it on.

  Looking around, she was relieved to see it was clear. The tunnel did continue south, but there were now three choices, all with adjacent water channels.

  Screams filled the chamber as the Kingman citizens dropped even faster from the channel above, splashing into the chill water. As Gem turned her head toward the now wildly churning pool, she could now see that the once clear water was tinted with red, and she didn’t need to ask herself what it was.

  Paper pails bobbed briefly, then sank down into the water.

  “Grab those buckets of urushiol!” she shouted at anyone who could hear, but she only saw one swimmer reach out and snatch one just before it sank below the surface. The woman struggled to stay afloat and hold onto the pail of crucial oil, but as someone behind her reached out and clutched at her arm, it, too, overturned and disappeared below the surface.

  Some of the screams above Gem died suddenly, and she hated to imagine why. The noise in the chamber was overpowering as the cascading waterfall and the panicked survivors splashed down.

  “Work your way toward me!” shouted Gem, realizing nobody knew what she had discovered about the tapering bottom yet. “It gets shallow again as it narrows back into a channel!”

  She turned to see one bent paper pail right near the edge of the trough. She called, “Colton, push that pail of urushiol against the far wall and do your best to count everyone as they get out of the water, okay?”

  “Okay,” he said, standing with purpose and using his foot to slide the wet bucket to the wall. He then positioned himself near the edge, giving a hand up to those who needed it and standing clear for those who didn’t. He counted each person out loud, beginning at three, including himself and Gem.

  By the time Max and Isis made their appearances and everyone was stationed and organized, there were only sixty-four survivors left.