by Travis Tufo
“I don’t know about that Eli.” Shaun had different ideas on the subject.
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe we should stay here a little longer. I mean, we already went to the trouble of clearing it out, risking our lives to do so. Look around man, this is the first time we’ve been surrounded by what we need and there aren’t any infected in sight.” As Eli took in his side of the argument, Aurora stepped in.
“You know, you have a point, Shaun. But how did we end up here?”
“How did we end up here?” Shaun asked in confusion.
“Yes, how? We were all sitting around wondering what move to make next and we came up with the brilliant idea to come to Walmart. It worked out, yeah, but how long until someone else out there gets the same idea? It obviously isn’t that hard to break in; we did it.”
“Ahh, you’re right. But maybe one more night is just enough. I mean if we leave now, we are going to end up sleeping in some car on the side of the road or something.” Shaun leaned towards her argument but fought for one last night. The four of them looked at each other, not one of them really knowing what the better idea was, but they all agreed that if they locked the back door, they could stay one last night.
“Well it’s settled, one last night. And if that clock is correct, we still have a few hours of the day left to mess around.” A cheesy smile popped onto Eli’s face.
“Mess around? Shouldn’t we get supplies?” Niva was concerned.
“Ohh, we can save that for the morning! You guys wait here and I’ll be right back.” Eli ran off like a little kid in a candy store. It was one of the few times they’d seen anyone so excited since the fungus started its takeover. The three of them just looked at each other wondering what was going on.
“It finally happened. Eli lost his mind,” Shaun joked.
“He must have cracked under all the pressure,” Aurora was quick to join in with the fun. Moments later, Eli returned to the snack aisle with a shopping cart full of paintball guns, BB guns, and all the C02 canisters and BBs he could get his hands on.
“Eli, I don’t think any of those toys are going to kill an infected.” Shaun said. Eli blew him off as he filled a paintball gun and put in a canister.
“Eli? Hello…crazy man?” he continued, trying to get Eli’s attention. Eli finally turned to Shaun and shot him with a paintball, nearly point blank.
“Ow! What the hell, Eli?” Shaun cried as he wiped green paint off his shoulder. Next thing Shaun knew, Eli had thrown a paintball gun and supplies on his lap.
“You got two minutes.” Eli started loading another hopper, then a third; now he was holding two fully armed rifles, one in each arm like Rambo.
“All of you!” Eli shouted. Simultaneously, their eyes widened and they rushed to the cart full of goodies, took everything they needed then ran off into the store, leaving an eager Eli standing next to a near empty cart. A few seconds passed, not even a full minute, then Eli shouted out.
“I’m a coming!” He ran off, guns leading his charge, looking for his first prey. Shaun was at the front of the store hiding behind a cash register, trying to get his gun loaded. Niva rushed to the clothing section and threw on whatever clothes she saw first to cushion the sting of the paintballs. Aurora, on the other hand, made a half circle back to where they all started, she made it her own game to hunt Eli, staying a few aisles back and stalking him as he marched across the store. The first place Eli stopped was Electronics. He just stared at the wall of display TVs. He practically had to refrain from drooling. He raised both guns and fired off round after round, shattering glass all over the ground. His smile was contagious as he blew out every single screen. Satisfied with his moment of destruction, he set out after a living target. He heard rustling in the women’s clothing, so that’s where he headed.
“Come out come out!” He rounded the corner and in an instant got lit up by Niva, laying prone by the babies’ outfits. Pink paint was what Eli was wearing within seconds. Aurora saw this as her perfect chance to strike. She ran up and unloaded on his back. He was like a double sided crayon, pink on one side and blue on the other.
“Not fair! Not fair!” Eli tried to return fire but he never landed a shot on either girl. Meanwhile, poor Shaun was still upfront fiddling with his gun.
“Damn it. Leave it to Eli to give me a faulty gun,” he mumbled. Then he heard a clicking noise; it was his gun finally working.
“No way!” He shot a few rounds into the air.
“Awesome!” He then shot all over the store hitting registers, monitors, carts, you name it; Shaun peppered it all in yellow paint.
“Oh I’m coming for you, Eli!” An evil grin found its way onto his face.
“Me too!” a voice boomed from outside. It might as well have been the devil himself crying out. Shaun was the only one who heard it, as the others were far away shooting off their guns.
“What the hell?” Shaun turned to look out the entrance. He couldn’t see anything except the pile of bodies in front of both doors. He observed the piles long enough to see that something strange was happening to the one on the left. He saw it moving every couple of seconds. He was about thirty feet away; out of curiosity he started to inch his way towards it.
“What’s going on out there?” he whispered to himself. Then one last body moved; it was on the far left of the pile and it was pressed against the glass, that is, until it was pulled off the pile by someone. Shaun could now see the towering dark figure standing on the other side of the door. It was David.
“Knock knock. Would you like to come out and play?” He exposed his sharp teeth in a grimace. Shaun’s body looked like it had gone through a freezer. The blood drained from his face and he was layered in goose bumps. David raised his hammer, and smashed it against the glass doors, shattering them instantly.
“Eli!” Shaun took off towards the sound of paintball guns.“Eli! We have a problem.” The group, still having fun, finally heard Shaun’s cry for help.
“What the hell is going on?” Eli and Aurora grabbed their real guns, Niva, terrified, dropped her paintball gun and followed behind them. Sweat poured off Shaun’s face as he met them in the clothes section.
“It’s that guy with the sledge!” Glass shattering and boot steps could be heard at the front of the store. Aurora’s jaw dropped and Eli, in a split second, rushed towards the front of the store. When he got there his jaw joined Aurora’s on the ground. David had smashed open all the doors and let the piles of bodies fall inside, creating a small terrain of corpses, and even worse, access to the store. David was nowhere to be found, but what could very easily be seen were waves of infected in the parking lot heading towards the freshly opened Walmart. It looked like black Friday as the swarm of infected started storming the front doors. Aurora flew by Eli with a machete out, rushing towards the first few infected that stumbled into the store. Niva had only just caught up to Eli when he too joined Aurora at the front. Together, they cut down the first dozen infected, but they were quickly being overrun and had to retreat.
“There’s no way we can defend this,” Aurora yelled as she motioned to Eli to fall back.
“We didn’t even get any supplies.” Eli turned towards Niva, and now Shaun, as he caught up to her.
“You two go get whatever we need to survive and we will hold off as long as we can!” Spit flew from his desperate mouth as he yelled his commands before returning to aid Aurora in the bloody fight. Shaun looked to a frightened Niva, but before he could try to cheer her up or take her with him to run for supplies, he saw a shadowy figure approaching from behind her.
“Niva look out!” He rammed his shoulder into her, sending her to the ground as a sledgehammer just missed them both and crushed the tile next to them. Eli and Aurora didn’t hear this happening. Shaun looked up and saw David readying himself for another swing.
“You should have died and been burned to ashes by now boy!” David lifted the sledge above his head. Shaun dove to David’s ankles, tri
pping him up and sending him to the ground.
“Niva! Get out of here!” Shaun said as he crawled onto David and started beating at his face. David laughed as his teeth cracked, his nose broke, and blood spilled from newly formed gashes on his face.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Shaun screamed at David, sending punches fueled by hate. He simply whistled in response, absorbing the blows.
“Shaun!” Niva cried back as she ran off to safety. One of David’s mutant dogs was rushing towards him. Before he could react, it had dove into the air and latched its jagged, broken teeth deep into Shaun’s forearm, knocking him off David. David stood and watched as his hell hound bit down so hard it shattered Shaun’s forearm. Shaun’s intense screaming finally caught the attention of the two fighting at the front.
“Shaun’s in trouble!” Aurora yelled. But they couldn’t move; they were surrounded and fighting for their own lives in a ring of the undead. Every now and then they caught a peek of Shaun struggling on the ground, slowly having his life bled from him. David laughed the entire time, until he looked up and saw Niva crying about thirty feet away. He smiled and whistled once more; this time a slightly different pitch, and like clockwork, his other dog came out of nowhere and ran towards her. Shaun saw her run screaming from the rabid animal and felt a fire deep inside himself. He’d had enough of being thrown around by this dog and he needed to act fast. With his good arm he reached into his shoe and grabbed the small knife Aurora had given him. The dog that was locked onto him ripped a large chunk of meat from his shoulder and started to eat it. Shaun gritted his teeth at the pain and took this as his opportunity to strike. He flung his blade as hard as he could and stuck it deep into the hound’s eye. It whimpered for just a second and fell onto its side, thrashing around on the ground.
Shaun stood up and forced the bottom of his foot towards the knife sticking out of the beast’s eye. He sent that blade from one side of the dog’s head to the other until it connected with the tile on the other side. The dog was dead, and before David could do anything, Shaun had taken off towards the animal who was still in pursuit of Niva. Each step took a huge toll on his new wound. The pain was immense and blood flowed from it, leaving behind a dark red trail. He was far behind them but he was determined to save her. David saw this and made another whistle. The dog stopped dead in its tracks and turned around to face the sprinting Shaun. It was too late for Shaun to stop running when the second hound leapt into the air after him. They connected hard and tumbled to the ground, Shaun’s back hitting the floor first. Niva was no longer in danger, but the hound had managed to bite and sink its teeth into Shaun’s throat midair. Niva couldn’t do anything but watch as the dog mangled Shaun’s throat. Eli finally broke through the wall of infected and started to shoot towards the dog feasting at Shaun’s air hole. The first shot missed, followed by a second that connected with its hind leg, but nothing was stopping this dog. Niva cried as she watched Shaun embracing death. He no longer showed any pain, instead he just looked up at the ceiling with a half grin on his face, and blood spurting from his neck. Eli finally lined up another shot, but one last whistle and the blood soaked warrior returned to its master. Eli wanted to take a shot at the two of them as they rushed off deeper into the store but he had to go and see Shaun.
“Eli, we have to get moving!” Aurora yelled as she forced herself away from the crowded doorway. Eli knelt down next to Shaun, holding his bloody hand in his as he watched his new friend being engulfed by death. It was like Eli could sense the Grim Reaper’s presence hovering above them.
“Shaun…I’m so sorry.” Eli was choked up. Shaun couldn’t respond, couldn’t tell him that it wasn’t his fault; instead he smiled. Blood seeped from his mouth and Niva wept in the corner. Aurora came sprinting by and grabbed Eli by the shoulder, pulling him to his feet. She never stopped moving, only slowed down slightly to yell back to Niva.
“You too girl, we got to get moving if you don’t want to be next!” At first, Niva didn’t react, but finally, with one last good look at Shaun, she chased after them, infected following only feet behind her.
“Where are we going?” came from Eli’s mouth as he whizzed by aisle after aisle.
“To get that shit head!” Aurora said as she stayed a few steps in front, leading them to their target. They eventually got to the back of the store where they had first entered.
“There he is!” Aurora yelled closing in on David, who was just exiting the building. Once Eli locked his eyes on David, he started to sprint faster, quickly passing Aurora and rapidly closing in on his target. David had just shut the door behind him and Eli threw his shoulder full force into it like an NFL linebacker, nearly breaking the door off its hinges. The reinforced fire exit door hit David hard and sent him to the ground. His hound was nowhere to be seen in the fast approaching night. David quickly got to his feet and squared up, ready for a fight, his sledge in hand.
“I’m going to blow your goddamned head off your shoulders!” Eli growled in hatred. Before he could make a move, he heard a scream from inside the store. It was Aurora. The only thing he could see was the dog attacking her, and then David forced the door shut, locking it.
“Now, now, don’t make any promises if you aren’t going to be able to fulfill them just because my hound is hungry,” David said grinning.
“Who the hell are you?” Eli said as he pulled out his revolver and pointed it towards David, squeezing the trigger ever so slightly. Another scream came from inside the store and he made the mistake of taking his eyes off his target. He glanced to the building, feeling helpless, giving David just enough time to knock the gun from his hand with the hammer. The gun hit the ground and skidded a few inches away.
“You can call me the judge! And this…” He raised his sledge high into the air, “is my gavel!” He swung his hammer downward with awesome might, Eli had to dive to get out of the way. The tip of the hammer just missed him as it crashed into the concrete reducing the part it hit to rubble.
“After I kill you, I’ll wear your fucking flesh!” David was losing control, his eyes were fixated on Eli and spit, mixed with blood, flew from his mouth. Eli got back to his feet, now up against the wall, even farther from his gun. David readied his weapon again and immediately swung it, Eli ducked to a deep squatting position and once more evaded death by mere inches. The cold steel of the hammer combined with the great might of David’s swings easily tore brick from the wall. Eli, still in the crouched position, reached out and grabbed David’s ankle but David wasn’t going to trip again. Instead, Eli stood up and swung a hard punch right at his face, still bloody from Shaun’s punches. His fist connected hard against the big man’s cheek bone, cracking it on meet. David stumbled back, dropped his hammer, and pulled two small blades from his boots. He held them fisted downwards, the better to slice a target to pieces as opposed to just stabbing them. Eli watched helplessly, his own back-up weapon was long gone, stuck inside some infected at the front of the store. David lunged at Eli, swinging his small blades in an X-motion. Both blades hit Eli in the chest, cutting the same symbol into his skin, ripping his shirt nearly off.
“Your flesh is weak!” David roared. Eli backpedaled to get away before David could cut him again. Through the pain he could see a horde of infected coming towards them. In his mind he thought he might be able to stall long enough for them to arrive, then he just had to out run David.
“They won’t save you,” David growled. Eli looked back at him with horror in his face.
“How did you…”
“I told you. I’m the judge! That means I decide who dies and who lives! And today, I choose your death!” David dove back towards Eli, this time one knife missed and the other cut his forearm. At this point, Eli was going to bleed to death before anything else. He back pedaled again, like a boxer getting beat bad. He needed a plan, or a miracle.
“This time I won’t be so gentle.” David’s smile was the scariest part of the entire scene—not the blades, not the bloo
d, not the infected—the emotionless evil coming from the man’s face. David dove towards Eli one last time, but this time Eli jumped forward to meet him half way. They collided hard and David wrapped his large arms around Eli, stabbing both blades into his back on either side of his spine, but the cuts were shallow. Eli roared as they punctured his skin. He grabbed David around his waist, locking his hands in the back, and lifted him straight into the air. Anyone watching the fight would be readying themselves for the inevitable “ohhh!” to come from the audience next. Eli, like an all-star college wrestler, forced David to the hard concrete beneath his own weight and might. Eli, following the strategy Shaun had set earlier, climbed onto the now empty-handed David and began to pound at his face, only Eli’s punches were much stronger. About six punches in, Eli looked up to see that he was eye-to-eye with an infected. Staring right back at him was a man with half his face bitten off, exposing an empty eye socket and mostly dried muscle. The infected screeched horribly and Eli jumped off David. On the other side of the infected man’s head was a fungal stem the size of a large tree branch. Eli rushed to the door, noticing that there were now all sorts of infected surrounding him, easily in the double digits. He pounded at the door, hoping for an answer, attracting the attention of every single infected closing in on him. David saw this happening and stood up. He stumbled around for a second and finally regained balance. His bloody, bruised face managed to send a wink Eli’s way.
“I’ll be back for your corpse,” David said before he ran off, leaving Eli no way to stop him. He heard movement on the other side of the door and then a voice.
“Eli?” It was Niva.
“It’s me! You need to let me in!” He was worried that Aurora hadn’t made it, but even more worried about the infected trying to rip his skin off that he held back with both arms against the wall. He heard a clicking noise and then the door next to him opened. He rushed in, pushing the infected off him first. The second he entered the building and looked around, he wished he hadn’t. All around were infected, easily hundreds, and there, in the middle on the floor was a bloody mess that was Aurora. Next to Aurora was the second dog, dead, cut in half.