by Hunt, Jack
In that moment a Z sunk its teeth into the guy’s neck from behind. Its buddy tore at the man’s arm, ripping a large chunk of flesh. He screamed. Wasting not even another second, I twisted the key as hard as I could and it clicked. I felt the lock come loose and the restraints slip off. By now there were over ten of them in the room, and what made it worse was three of them were those fast-shuffling fuckers that moved like apes.
Here I was out of my restraints but now surrounded by the undead. I was back to where I was before, except this time I didn’t have a gun on me.
DEATHMATCH
I fell back against the stage. My arm reached for the assault rifle the guy had over his shoulder before the biters began chewing on him. I didn’t have to worry about the others coming back in, as ten of the crawlers moved towards the door and must have attacked some of the men outside. Gunshots were going off. Another Z stumbled trying to make its way to the flesh feast that had once been one of the Colonel’s men. It tripped and fell right into my lap. I held my breath. I didn’t move a muscle. Unlike Chicken McNuggets over there who was currently being chewed alive and screaming, I was already covered in the rotten flesh and decayed blood of Z’s. I knew this was it.
Its fucked up face came close as if trying to gauge if I was one of them. If it had a nose, I imagined it was performing a smell check. Was this how they discerned between the dead and the living? I turned my head to the side ever so slowly as I tried to stop myself from gagging. The smell coming from its mouth was worse than anything I’d ever smelled.
I thought I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my chest. The very sound caused panic. If I could hear it, could the Z in front of me?
Then it turned. Just like that. It crawled back and began gnawing on the thigh of the guy. It had worked. Holy shit! I had nearly crapped my pants. Something clicked inside of me in that moment. I had stared death in the face and was still alive. Was it luck? I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. I scraped the floor with my nails as I pulled at the strap that held the rifle. Eventually it gave way and I had a hold of the end of the gun. I stumbled back and got up doing my best Michael Jackson Thriller impression, in hopes that they wouldn’t pay any attention. Somehow I don’t think it worked. One of them let out a blood-curdling scream. It turned towards me with a gleam in its eyes.
It began to shuffle towards me, picking up speed like an overgrown ape about to score big with a female. In that precise moment I knew two things: One, my cover was blown and two, I needed a fresh pair of underpants.
The shuffler moved faster than I had ever seen one move. It had no qualms about it. It knew I was alive. Like a rabid animal, it came at me snarling, spewing blood from its mouth and letting out this cry as if someone had taken away its bottle of milk.
I raised my gun just as it launched into the air and shot it. Losing my balance, I fell backwards. I saw another coming. That’s when I started unloading my magazine. I straightened up while keeping my finger on the trigger. The gun jerked hard in my hands as it wildly released bullet after bullet into their skulls. Blood splattered. I had one eye on the doorway from where they had come. I was trying to gauge if I could make it. I had never been through the tunnel system below our saloon. It had always been kept closed. How the fuck did they get through? I had no way of knowing if there were hundreds more down there. All I knew was it was meant to connect with the tunnels beneath the museum. There was no way I was going to be able to get out the front. If I didn’t get killed by the Z’s, I would likely get a bullet in me from scar face or his men. The shots ripped through their skulls like butter. I made a mad dash for the door that led to the basement, convinced it was safe when no more emerged.
I was a few feet from the door when I heard the snap of gunshots over my head. I dropped to my knees for the final few feet. Like a slip and slide from when I was a kid, I leaned back slipping forward on guts and blood while continuing to fire wildly in the direction of the main door. That’s when I ran out of bullets. It clicked empty. Shit!
With my survival instincts kicking into high gear I didn’t stop to think about how many Z’s were behind me. As soon as I cleared the doorframe and made it into the top part of the stairs, I slammed the door closed and locked it. The basement had always been an area my father never wanted us to enter. I was pretty sure he thought we were going to knock over cases of alcohol. Though Dax said it was because of the mine. It was unstable. That’s why he closed it off. Outside the door I could hear gunfire. I knew I had little time to get the hell out of there before the Colonel and his goons would come busting through the door looking to reenact Iraq torture methods.
* * *
“You think he’s telling the truth?” Specs asked.
Before the zombie chaos ensued, I had been sweating both physically and mentally as we peered over the ledge of the building towards the Black Dog Saloon that was further down the block. I handed the binoculars to Baja so he could take a look.
“Shit. How the hell did he get himself caught?” I said.
“Dax, you can’t keep blaming Johnny.”
“No?” I spun around to face Jess.
All five of us had heard the megaphone. Only a few hours had passed since I’d last seen Johnny. I thought it was best to give him time to cool off. I didn’t imagine this was going to happen. Then again, we didn’t expect to be fighting against other humans when the world around us was collapsing in on itself.
Izzy had managed to extract the bullet from Specs’s shoulder. She patched him up, and while I could tell he was in pain he said he could still function. Baja and I had been boarding up the entrance to the mine. We anticipated getting a visit from the men we’d pissed off earlier that morning. We weren’t taking any chances.
At first we thought it was a joke. I could barely make out what was being said. It was only when I stepped outside that I was able to make sense of what he was yelling. My mind immediately went to Johnny. Where was he? We had rushed upstairs to check on the others just in case any had made their way in through the roof.
It came as a crushing blow. They had us by the balls and they knew it.
We’d been laid out on the roof for the past ten minutes listening to this Colonel rant. Finally I was able to put a face to the voice that we’d heard that morning. He looked just as insane as he sounded. A part of me wanted to get closer, fire off rounds and kill them right where they stood. But who knew what he’d instructed his men to do if we opened fire.
We couldn’t see Johnny. But we could see the Colonel. In his arrogance and stupidity he had stepped out in the middle of the main road and was yelling at the top of his voice as his men kept their eyes peeled for Z’s.
“Come on now. Lay down your weapons and come out with your hands on your head. I guarantee you will not be harmed. We have killed one of yours, you’ve killed one of ours. There need be no more bloodshed,” the Colonel yelled.
I rolled away from the edge.
“Well, we have two options. We call his bluff, open fire, and possibly kill the men who are very likely going to kill us the moment they get their hands on us, or we wait for them to come after us, which is what they are going to do if we don’t come out.”
“I think you missed one other option,” Izzy said.
“Enlighten me?”
“The one where we surrender.”
I burst out laughing. “Are you serious? You really think he’s going to let us walk? He and his men will probably rape you both, keep you as sex slaves, and kill us.”
“I think we can defend ourselves.”
“Against Z’s who don’t think. But these aren’t Z’s. They have already taken out Specs’s father.”
Specs’s father had never been in the military, but he knew enough about weapons and combat that he could have easily taken down three men with his bare hands. They had to have surprised him, at least that’s what Specs figured.
“Excuse me while I find the humor in what you are saying,” I continued.
�
�You always were a jerk, Dax,” Izzy said.
I cleared my throat while mumbling a reply.
“What was that you said?” Izzy replied, looking over at me with her eyes narrowed.
“I said, and you were always a royal bitch.”
“That does it. I’m out of here.”
“Guys. Guys. Shut the hell up. We have bigger things to deal with here. They have Johnny,” Baja said.
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“Well, are you willing to risk his life?” Specs asked.
“This is so fucked up,” I replied.
It was at that exact very moment the sound of gunfire rang out. We thought they were firing at us, but when I peered through the binoculars. I could see they were firing back into the saloon. But at what? That’s when I saw them. Four Z’s stumbled out followed by another three.
“Holy shit. If they have got Johnny inside there, he’s in trouble now. Specs, Baja, come with me. Jess and Izzy, go back inside and stay out of sight, this could get ugly fast.”
* * *
In the basement it was dark and damp, the way I remembered it. We’d come down here often, regardless of what my father said, just to steal a case of beer. He never knew we stole a case each week, as he was shit at keeping inventory. I held the butt of the unloaded assault rifle out in front of me as I moved towards the far end of the basement. The door to the mine wasn’t sleek and cool-looking like the one Baja’s father had. No tours had ever gone through here. The door was worn, but when I caught sight of it, I realized how they got in. It wasn’t broken as I imagined. It was wide open. Someone had unlocked it. It had to have been his men. Idiots! They had let Z’s in and now they were going to pay for it. I heard from behind me the door at the top of the stairs being kicked in. That was followed by a series of gunshots. They were firing their way in. Darkness or not, I would have faced a worse fate if I hung around. I dashed through the doorway into the pitch dark, fully expecting to find death waiting for me on the other side. I kept my rifle ahead of me. My eyes adjusted to the darkness. The air carried the scent of death. I moved down the tunnel using my one hand to feel the walls. I was deathly scared of falling into a shaft. There was a good reason why my father closed this up.
I thought I was making progress. I had lucked out. Then I heard an all too familiar moan.
* * *
We had made it across the buildings until we were one building down from the saloon. Now what you need to know about the saloon was that the front was mainly made up of glass. There was a reason why. People could see everything that was going on inside. It was the same reason why restaurants put you near the window, even though all the other tables were empty. If they could make it look like they were busy, others would enter. It worked too.
“Can you see him?”
Specs held the binoculars and adjusted the lens focus.
“Nothing. All I see is Z’s inside and the Colonel and his men fighting back.”
I rolled over. “How much ammo have you got?”
Baja checked. He had three magazines left, and his handgun, which had a full mag. Specs had one mag left. I had two. Beyond that we had knives but they would be of no use.
“What do you think?” Specs asked.
Without replying, I rolled back over and took aim at one of the guys standing outside. The shot hit him right in the forehead. His head bounced back against the window and he collapsed to the ground. Before his pal could register where the shot came from, I had unloaded another one. It hit him in the chest. He collapsed, his body tensed and he fired off a round.
“Dax, what are you doing?” Baja said.
“Putting my trust in my brother.”
The other two glanced at each other before they too joined in. Bullets snapped through the air as the Colonel’s men retreated back into the saloon.
“Right. Spread out. After you fire a shot, move again. Right now they don’t know how many of us there are. No one survived the blast in Matt’s house. So keep moving, fire then move. We want them to think there are more of us than there really are. Maybe they will think twice about trying to come after us. At least if we can hold them at bay for one night, it might give us time to think about what to do next.”
Baja dropped two men. “And your brother?”
“I hope to God he makes it out of this.”
* * *
Deep below the saloon, I was pushing forward in the dark. My eyes had adjusted and I was now able to see the ground. How many tunnels were down here? Did this one go over to the museum or deeper underground? I could hear the sound of voices echoing in the tunnel. They weren’t far behind. Without me, they knew they had no bargaining chip. No one knew this town like we did. After a few more minutes I came to a T-junction. This had to be it. I turned left and bolted towards the door that would be at the end of the tunnel. Sure enough, there it was. I reached it and turned the handle. It wouldn’t move. I pushed my shoulder into the door. Again nothing. Shit, they had either locked it or blocked it off.
This couldn’t get any worse.
Bam! A gun went off and I heard the walls begin to shake. Someone was shooting at something. Again I shoved my shoulder against the door. Desperation was taking over. If I stayed in here, I would be either be shot or die from the whole place collapsing.
I felt another shake and chunks from the wall started to drop.
FIGHT OR FLEE
I had nothing to lose. I began hammering on the steel door with the butt of the rifle. With all the commotion and shooting going on outside, the chance of being heard by the others was practically zero. I had no other option except to go back the way I came and by the sounds of gunshots and moaning echoing that wasn’t going to happen.
I had never thought about how I would die only that I would one day. I never imagined it could be below the town I had grown up in. I cast a nervous glance over my shoulder as the gunshots stopped. Now even louder than that was the snarling of Z’s. All my banging was leading them this way. I began hammering hard, and yelling.
“Guys. Let me in.”
It was a surreal moment. When the sound of wood being broken on the other side could be heard, it couldn’t have come a better time. Through the darkness of the tunnel behind me I could see movement. At first it was subtle. I found my eyes played tricks on me in the dark, but this was no trick. Staggering forward, filling up every inch of the tunnel were walkers. Their mouths opening and snapping shut. Legs chewed to bits, jaws barely connected, and stomachs missing.
“Hurry up.”
“We’re moving as fast as we can.” I heard Izzy on the other side. I held my rifle up, ready to feel the full brunt of their force. There was no chance in hell I would be able to hold them back without bullets. There were too many.
I heard a bolt unlatch, the door swung open, and I fell back into the museum, in between Izzy and Jess who were standing either side of me. We had no time to shut the door, both of them aimed their weapons and unleashed a flurry of bullets and arrows into the group. As the first line fell, the others toppled over gnashing what little they had together. Jess tossed me a Beretta and still on the floor, I fired round after round.
“Go.”
We weren’t going to be able to hold them back. Making matters even worse, all the gunfire had attracted other Z’s in from the street. I rose to my feet and ran in the direction of the main door, firing at them.
“Izzy, Jess. Now!” I cried out. They kept backing up while continuing to shoot. Once they made it to where I was, we raced up the stairs, slamming the door to the apartment.
“What now?”
“The roof.”
That was the only safe place. That flimsy front door wouldn’t hold even if we stacked a cabinet behind it. One by one I hoisted the girls up through the skylight. They then reached down, took both of my hands, and yanked me up. Once clear, I closed the skylight. I stared down as the undead broke through the door and entered Baja’s apartment.
“Come on. The
others will need us.”
We ran to join the others. When we reached them Dax looked relieved instead of pissed off, which made a change. He grabbed me by the scruff of my collar and pulled me in tight, patting me on the back.
“I thought you were gone. Don’t ever go off like that again.”
“I’m sorry, Dax.”
“I can’t lose you, dude. You’re all I’ve got.”
I nodded.
“Right. If you guys are done having a Hallmark moment, maybe we can get the fuck out of here,” Baja added.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
They all began walking off. I stood in place.
“I can’t go yet.”
“What?” Baja said.
“They are holding women and maybe kids at the shelter.”
Dax whirled around. “How do you know?”
“He showed me. Said there was nothing we could do to stop change. Eventually everyone would fall back into basic instincts. He said we either joined him, or died.”
“How many?”
“I don’t know, I only saw two women. Young girls.”
“It’s too risky, man. As much as I would like to help…” Baja trailed off.
“He’s right, Johnny. Didn’t you hear what dad said, the government if it still exists, might have given the go-ahead to bomb towns.”
“There’s no way they would do that. Who knows how many living they could wipe out?”
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. We need to get away from here. If any of dad’s messages did get through. Who knows, when they might hit this town?”
They continued walking.