Dead Hunger_The Cleansing

by Eric A. Shelman

  Everyone stood just outside the bank building and watched. Flex sought out Hemp and moved to his side. “Buddy, do you really think they’re dying? Or are they just weak from a lack of food?”

  “We know from the Mother’s head in the glass canister at the Three Sisters Bar laboratory in Concord that they die without the earth gas, Flex.”

  “Yeah, but you only tested that theory on Mothers.”

  “Despite their enhanced abilities, it would not likely play out any differently,” said Hemp. “I mean, flesh may give them a brief burst of energy, but I can’t see it sustaining them for long.”

  “I’d say let’s avoid the whole tunnel thing, but it’s still damned congested at street level,” said Flex. “Looks like they keep moving in from Wichita and other points of the compass.”

  “Imagine the numbers in cities like New York and Los Angeles,” said Hemp. “The numbers here are no comparison, but even they are unfathomable.”

  “Let’s get back to our families,” said Flex.

  “Say no more,” Hemp said.

  They moved into the bank, Punch and Dave pushing the gurney over the threshold.

  The group found it as empty as when they’d left it. Closing the door after themselves and retracing their steps, they found the opening to the tunnel system.

  “Think we can carry this gurney down?” asked Dave, staring at Hanna and Travis, both fast asleep. Beauty stood close by, protective of her only child.

  “We can try. Slow and steady,” said Punch.

  The group worked their way down.

  At the bottom, Flex stepped in water. “What the hell?”

  “Where did this come from?” asked Taylor. “It was bone dry earlier.”

  Dave and Punch emerged, leveling out the gurney successfully. “This floor’s too uneven to use the wheels,” said Punch. “Dave, you up for carrying it?”

  “No choice, Punch,” he said. “They’re both pretty light.”

  “Roger that,” said Punch.

  Flex looked ahead at the dark tunnel stretching out before them. “If you’ve got a run in you, then use it, folks,” said Flex. He turned to Punch and Dave. “If you guys need a break carrying that gurney, Hemp and I can fill in. Let us know. For now, I’d say we’ve got about a mile to go, so let’s try to chew up that distance as fast as we can.”

  “Dad, that’s some choice wording right there,” said Trina.

  They had jogged south no more than a sixteenth of a mile when the water was over their feet. Sloshing through it was becoming more difficult, and Flex found himself breathing harder with each step.

  “This is not good,” said Hemp.

  “What does it mean?” asked Punch, breathing hard. “It’s getting deeper the further south we go.”

  “The Freemasons often incorporated protective measures,” said Hemp. “I would not be surprised if they designed this system to alternately flood specific chambers, the water eventually receding.”

  “You mean there’s a chance the way we came is no longer passable?” asked Flex. “Hemp, it’s not very deep yet.”

  “It could be that something is blocking its flow up ahead of us, causing it to back up,” conceded Hemp. “The way it’s getting deeper as we proceed south makes me draw the conclusion that the floor of the entire tunnel system – not just the water channel – descends as it approaches the river.”

  “So it’s going to continue to get deeper as we move toward them?” asked Dave.

  “The water channels all seem to flow generally south,” said Hemp. “Assuming I’m incorrect about this being an intentional design by the Freemasons, this backup would therefore indicate we’ve got a clogged drain of sorts up ahead.”

  “Our people could be in trouble then,” said Flex. “Right? There are a shitload of Artesian wells pumping water into these water troughs. We’re way back here, and they’re far ahead where it’ll be deeper. We don’t even know how the hell far they’ve gotten.”

  Charlie pushed past them, her boots slogging through the water. “Then let’s quit engineering and analyzing and fucking around with all the speculation and hypotheses and get moving,” said Charlie, pushing past the men and taking the lead. “If they’re in trouble, none of that shit’s going to save them.”

  The group pushed on. Less than an eighth mile more, the water was up to their hips. Dave and Punch held the gurney high, but Flex could tell that they were struggling.

  “You guys need help with that now?” he asked.

  “I can make it a bit longer,” said Punch. “Dave? You okay?”

  “For a little while,” he said. “It’s that awkward moment when you’re trying to keep physical pace with a mean Gyrene from Aberdeen.”

  “I prefer leatherneck,” said Punch. “Hang in there, Davey.”

  “Keep your eyes on the water,” said Lola. “Something just brushed against my leg. Something big.”

  “This water’s not flowing,” said Hemp. “It’s pooling, like it’s backing up. I believe that confirms my latter conclusion.”

  “Everybody with a headlamp, keep your light trained at the water,” said Flex. “Get your knives out, and if anything comes at you, stab it and move on.”

  “I can’t be very efficient with Lily over my shoulder,” said Lola, pulling one knife out and holding it in her left hand. “I can handle one, but using it might be a different story.”

  “You may want to float her in the water,” said Hemp. “Irreverent as it may seem, you could tether her to you using some rope.”

  Lola looked at Hemp, then at Punch, who nodded.

  “It’s a good idea, Lo,” he said, hitching his knee up to hold his end of the gurney against the wall as he pulled a length of twine from his pack. She took it.

  “She’ll move through the water more easily and you’ll have your hands free,” said Punch. “Or I can take her.”

  “Not carrying that thing you can’t,” she said. Lolita Lane stashed the knife away and dropped Lily into her arms. “No. I said I’d get her to her mother, and I will.” She leaned forward and kissed the wrapped bundle, then lowered her into the water. She looked at it for a moment, pulled her knife out again and cut a small hole in the side.

  Everyone watched in silence as Lola knotted the twine, pulled Lily’s rigor mortised hand out through the hole in the shroud, and slipped the rope around the child’s wrist, cinching it tight. She tied the other end to her belt and again began slogging her way through the water.

  As the group resumed their southern push, they encountered several bobbing rotters. Quick stabs with the knives handled them, but Flex worried about how many they didn’t see. “This shit is like swimming in a fuckin’ shark tank,” he lamented. “Glad I’m wearin’ Levis.”

  “I’d rather be wearing Levis and leather chaps,” said Nelson. “More protection. But I guess that would just be kinda strange looking.”

  Everyone kept their hands out of the water unless they were stabbing at Hungerers. Suddenly, Charlie’s voice filled the cavernous, stone tunnel. “Stop! Stop!”

  Flex squinted his eyes to see. Ahead, the darkness seemed to shift and roil. It was as if the thick black space ahead of them was alive.

  “Jim, you still got that X-Files flashlight?” Charlie asked.

  “Right here,” he said, pulling the mini MagLight from his sleeve pocket and passing it to Charlie. She directed the beam ahead.

  “Ho-ly deadheads, Batman,” said Nelson. “That’s a swarm of rotters right there.”

  Pushing into one another in the distance were what might have been a thousand or more zombies, their backs to the group. They had crammed together so tightly that they filled the ancient stone tunnel from wall to wall, dozens of them even standing in the water trough.

  “Maybe the source of the blockage is ahead them, out of view,” whispered Hemp. “The well water is building, but it doesn’t make any sense because it should still flow around them and through the doors. I don’t understand what’s happened.”
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  “Whether or not you understand doesn’t matter,” said Punch. “The question is how to get through them.” He looked at Dave. “This gurney’s not working anymore. Too deep. I’ll carry Hannah if you’ll take Travis.”

  Travis was the size of a three-year-old. Dave nodded. “On three.”

  They counted off and each reached down to pluck their allotted child from the gurney and rest them over their shoulders as gently as possible. Neither child awoke.

  “We cannot move into that horde without WAT-5,” said Hemp. “So we need to figure out an alternative path.”

  “That ain’t gonna work for me,” said Flex. “Hemp, Gem’s that way,” he said, pointing at the backed-up rotters. “She could be trapped somewhere down here for all I know. So could Max and Isis, Serena, Rachel, all of them.”

  He knew invoking those particular names would motivate his friends beyond the need for more words to inspire them.

  “I got it!” shouted Nelson.

  Everyone turned at once.

  “What is it, Nel?” asked Gammon.

  “We wake Travis up and tell the lil’ dude to really push out his siren call. I know it’s natural, but he’ll need to push out that beacon as much as he can and for as long as he can. We move in closer until the abnormals are drawn to him, then we walk ‘em back this way.”

  “To where?” asked Charlie. “We’re back here.”

  Nelson said, “On our way here, I spotted another symbol on the wall a little ways back,” said Nel. “Those always mean passages. We do the old Pied Piper routine and just walk them up and out of here, back to the street.”

  “How did you see the symbol under the water?” asked Beauty.

  “Because,” said Nelson, “The water level was still like three feet deep and it caught my eye when my headlamp hit. I know how to open pretty much all of the doors now.”

  “I get your plan,” said Flex. “He’s right. If we can draw ‘em away from whatever’s got ‘em backed up, we can try to clear it and keep moving, WAT-5 or not.”

  “It’s worth a try, I suppose,” said Hemp. “Yes, let’s try it.”

  “Okay, Nel,” said Flex, his mind constantly turning to Gem and the others now. “Let’s go get that door open. That’s a good idea, brother. Damned good.”

  “Shorten that to bro, Flex,” said Nelson. “It sounds way cooler. Anyway, thanks. Let’s do it.” Nelson turned and pushed his way back through the water.

  Flex asked, “Who’s escorting Travis?”

  “I am,” said Beauty. She had not uttered ten words since they left the clinic.

  Flex saw by the look in her eyes that she felt extreme guilt over Lily’s death. He said, “I know Travis is your son, but are you sure?” he asked. “You’re not going alone.”

  “I understand that,” she said.

  “I’d offer,” said Jim, “but I was useless back at the clinic.”

  “No,” said Flex. “Not you, Doc. Dave, will you go with her? We’ll make sure we get to Serena, Ben and the others as fast as we can.”

  “Okay,” said Dave. “But let’s get this going. Just hearing their names I’m freaking out.”

  “Follow me, everyone.” Flex turned and pushed after Nelson, who was a good fifty yards ahead and not slowing. Charlie held her light on him, and as they all watched, he stopped suddenly. A moment later there was a loud splash and Nelson went straight down into the water.

  Flex, who was already in the lead, ran. He pushed his knees though the water and pumped his arms, trying to reach the spot where Nelson had gone under. Punch took off after him.

  Flex was just ten yards away when Nelson burst back to the surface with a raspy gasp, filling his lungs with air and coughing. Water cascaded off his hair.

  Flex reached him and grabbed the material of his shirt, holding Nelson’s face above the surface. A gray-green hand with only three fingers came up with him, clutching at Nelson’s shoulder. The rest of the abnormal was just visible beneath the water.

  Flex grabbed it by the wrist and twisted it, causing the fingers to release. As Nelson pushed away, Punch moved forward at speed, reached down with both arms, and bear-hugged the rotter just beneath the surface.

  Luckily, the creature’s back was to Punch as he lifted the emaciated zombie and spun it around, heaving it toward the wall behind him with a loud grunt. Its head smashed into the rock and exploded before it sank into the water.

  “Dudes!” sputtered Nelson. “Thank you. I have no idea how that skinny fucker got the better of me.”

  “Looked in the mirror lately?” asked Flex. “You ain’t exactly burly. You okay? Any bites, scratches?”

  “No, bro,” said Nelson, spitting. “I think I’m good.”

  “Good work, Punch,” said Flex.

  “Just reflexes, buddy,” said Punch, still breathing hard.

  The others had reached them. “Jesus, you okay?” asked Charlie.

  “Yeah, Charlie, thanks. It’s just up here,” said Nelson, returning his attention to the reason he’d run ahead in the first place. He searched the wall. “The water’s deeper than it was earlier, but I also noticed a strange stone above the other symbol.”

  “That is excellent news,” said Hemp. “But you’re right. The water has risen another foot. Can you find the marking, Nel?”

  Nelson looked up, nodded, then reached down and felt along the wall. “Yeah. Right up there’s the weird stone I saw. The symbol’s a carving. So it should be right down here.” He continued to run his hands along the wall beneath the water’s surface. “Found it!”

  “Okay,” said Hemp. “The way the door opens – in a pivot rather than outward – should allow any water pressure that might otherwise prevent it from opening to equalize.”

  Flex saw Dave looking back down the tunnel. A moment later Gammon said, “Everyone else will need to walk back around that curve right there so you’re out of sight of the rotters. If this doorway leads up and outside, after we get them all following us, you can push forward again.”

  Still pressing on various spots on the wall, Nelson said, “I don’t feel anything down there that might open it.” He looked up and pointed at the odd-looking rock. “I think it has something to do with that stone. There aren’t any others like it, so I’m pretty sure. It’s … Flex, can you give me a boost?”

  Flex, still breathing hard from his last experience with Nelson, nodded. “Why the hell not?” He interlaced the fingers of his hand and made a stirrup for Nelson to step in. Steadying himself on Flex’s shoulders, he stepped up. When he got his hands beneath the protruding stone, he pushed upward.

  The door moved.

  “Told you!” shouted Nel. “Not the same as the other doors, but it’s even easier.”

  “They may have developed alternate methods of latching these doors over the many years it must have taken them to build this system,” said Hemp.

  “Okay,” said Nelson, hopping down. He shouldered the door and it pivoted. The water began to rush around their thighs until it equalized in the stone, spiral staircase inside the wall. It reached the third step before it stopped rising.

  “Make sure there’s a way out up there,” said Trina. “Hurry, and let us know if you need help.”

  “Be careful, Nel!” said Taylor.

  Nelson ran up the steps. A few moments later, it sounded like an avalanche inside the corridor. Bricks began tumbling out of the opening and splashing down into the water. Everyone jumped back.

  “What the hell!” said Punch.

  Nelson emerged, dirt and dead grass all over his head and face. “There’s no door up there. I stuck my head out.” He spat dirt from his mouth. “Whoever goes can get to the street, but there’s still a heck of a zombie parade heading south. Anyone get hit by a brick?”

  “We’re all alright,” said Hemp. “If you just stuck your head out, how did you see the street, Nel? What building is up there?”

  “Not a building,” said Nelson. “I just saw dirt from underneath, so I pushed m
y arm through it and it just caved in. It’s like a pile of rubble up there. Why would they have steps leading to nothing?”

  “It’s not nothin’, man,” said Flex. “It’s outside. Maybe there used to be a building there.”

  “That would explain the rubble he mentioned,” said Hemp. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a baggie. “The WAT-5 was in this baggie. There’s just powder left, but when you’ve reached the point where they’re all through, see if you can put Travis out again with it. It should be enough.”

  “What for?” asked Dave.

  “Because you’ll need to get to safety and you don’t need to draw rotters with you the whole way. Got enough ammo?” asked Flex.

  Dave nodded. “Plenty.”

  “Now, Beauty, Dave and Travis, move toward those rotten dudes and chicks down there and be enticing,” said Nelson.

  “I’ve been naturally enticing to those nasty beasts since 2011,” said Dave. “Don’t know why that would change now.”

  “Wait,” said Lola.

  “Hurry. The water’s getting deeper,” said Hemp.

  “Where do they go once they clear this enough for us to pass?” asked Lola. “We’ll be down here and how will they know where we end up?”

  “There aren’t many choices,” said Hemp. “Logically, this tunnel system intersects with buildings, and the channels pour into the river. The armory and the train depot are the southernmost historic buildings in Kingman, so it’s likely we will end up emerging from one or the other.”

  “So once we get up, we just get our asses to one or the other,” said Dave.

  “Exactly,” said Hemp.

  Beauty approached Dave Gammon and gently nudged her son. He stirred, and she leaned forward. “Travis, wake up, my love.”

  He opened his red eyes. “What happened?”

  “You’ve been asleep, sweetheart,” said Beauty.

  As Flex watched her speaking to her son, he realized she had overcome the detached version of motherhood that Maestro had instilled in his Magas, and Beauty loved her son with the passion of any human mother.

  “I’ll carry him,” said Dave. He moved Travis to face him in the gloom. “Travis, we want you to open your mind and call to the Mothers. Don’t resist it at all.”