Our Undead

by Theo Vigo

  Margaret: It wasn't your fault. It was that plumper's fault.

  Lynn: Yea, but… I know what you're going through, and what you're going to have to go through.

  Margaret: I'm… sorry about your dad, but it's the tiniest little graze. My dad can handle it. He'll be fine.

  Lynn: The tiniest scratch is all it takes.

  Margaret: He'll be fine.

  A scraping sound from a near-by cubicle frightens them out of their conversation.

  Mariam: What was that?

  Margaret: Wait here a minute…

  Margaret scoops up her bat and crawls over to where the sound came from, a cubicle that is crammed full of garbage from around the office. Chairs, papers, filing cabinets and even a couple of desks are all stacked up in this one cubicle, as if someone had attempted and succeeded in making a sturdy fort. Margaret taps the fort looking pile of office junk with her bat and waits for something, anything to happen, but nothing does. Her mom crawls up behind her.

  Mariam: Margaret, don't do that. Just leave it alone.

  Margaret taps the pile again and notices a small space in the debris, a hole to the inside. She can't see through it to the inside, but she tries the first thing that comes to her head.

  Margaret: Hello… is… someone in there?

  At first nothing answers.

  Mariam: It's nothing, Margaret. It's just a stack of garbage. Something must have just shifted in the pile, and it made that sound. Come back over here and sit down.

  Margaret figures her mom is probably right and begins backing away from the heap of supplies.

  HiddenVoice: You.. have to leeavve… the building.

  A soft voice whispers weakly out of the space in the office supply fort. Margaret and everyone else in the vicinity stop and listen hard to what they thought they just heard. The three men are still off in the neighboring cubicle discussing plans.

  Margaret: Hello? Dad, come 'ere!… Hi, are you okay in there?

  HiddenVoice: There are… monstersss… in the building…

  Gary: What's happening?

  The men enter the situation cluelessly.

  Margaret: There's someone trapped in this rubble.

  Gary: Well, we have to get him out.

  HiddenVoice: NO! DON'T doo thaaat…

  Silence.

  HiddenVoice: It's… aaargh…too late for me. Just… aaaa-haaaaaaa…just…

  Margaret: Dad, he said that those monsters are in the building.

  Gary: Then we have to leave. We'll head back to the ground level.

  Mariam: But what about this person?

  Ben: (approaching cubicle fort) Excuse me sir… or ma’am… but we really think it would be best if we helped you out of there. We have weapons. We can get you out safely.

  Mariam: Ma’am! …Sir!

  HiddenVoice: … dooon't use it… don't use…

  Margaret: Don't use what?

  HiddenVoice: Don't call f…for….

  A prolonged exhale escapes the furniture fort in the cubicle. It sounds like whoever is inside is letting the air out of a balloon.

  Margaret: Sir?… Ma’am? Sir?! Don't call for what?

  Ben: I'm getting him out…

  Ben rushes at the fort, ready to begin disassembly.

  Lynn: NO!

  Ben freezes and everybody watches in shock, the girl who has been relatively quiet since they all left the hostel.

  Lynn: Whoever is in there is dead now, and if they got bitten or scratched by one of those things, it's too late for them! We should leave before it.. before whoever that is turns!

  Rogers: "Turns"!? What d'you mean, "turns"?!

  Lynn: Turns into one of those things!… like… my father did.

  The statement places a giant lump in Margaret's throat. She tries not to, but she can't help looking in her father's direction. Gary tries not to and succeeds at not making any eye contact with Margaret or his wife. He looks down to his feet, possibly in shame, or maybe just to ignore the inevitable. As a matter of fact, in that moment everyone ignores the fact that Gary has been scratched.

  Roger: I don't know if this girl is talking sense or if she's just delirious, but I don't wanna hang around and find out. Let's get the hell out of here.

  Away from the group, in the elevators' area, still no lights indicate whether or not the elevators are working. How could they be when the building's power had been out for God knows how long? The indicator lights aren't working, no, but the lifts still seemed to be functioning just fine, as the door of the elevator that Ben called earlier slides open with a ding. Inside are at least twenty trapped zombies. If they could, they would cry cheers of joy for escaping their hanging steel prison, but they merely lumber out of their cage and begin walking scattered over the second floor. Back in the office, the group of survivors is ready to leave.

  Gary: Okay, come on. Back to the stairwell, then we'll head down stairs.

  They all start heading back down the office aisle, back to where they came from.

  Margaret: …but what did that person mean by… Oh, no. Hey, Ben. The elevator. Ben! You called the elevator!

  Ben: Yea?

  Margaret: He was telling us not to call something. I think he meant the-

  Margaret is interrupted by a sharp scream from Karen. Ahead of the group, she is the first to witness the group of walkers that have escaped from the elevator Ben had called. The zombies become well aware of the group as soon as they round the corner into the desk area, Karen's scream certainly contributing to that, and now the walkers are jogging gracelessly down the aisle after them.

  Gary: Back! Back! Back! Everyone, back this way!

  From behind the group Gary calls for everyone to turn back. It doesn't take too much convincing and everyone quickly starts back up the aisle, panicked but trying not to trample over one another. Ben and Gary who were at the back of the group are now in front, leading the way back down the messy aisle. Margaret and Mariam are behind them, Roger is next and Lynn and Karen are now on the tail end with zombies right behind them. About five or six metres stand between them and certain death.

  Gary: There's another way around!! Come on!!!

  All is as well is it can be. The group is being chased, but their chance of escaping is looking rather high, as even in a jumbled up cluster, they are able to move faster than the flesh hungry predators. Everyone may have escaped safely, had they not have had to cross the improvised cubicle fort again. Ben and Gary pass it safely, still calling out to the group and encouraging them to follow strong. Margaret and Mariam pass by it safely, and even Roger runs by the fort unharmed. It is when Lynn and her mom pass by that the wounded hand from inside the miniature quarantine decides to strike out. Its scrawny fingers narrowly miss Lynn's heels but get a firm grip on her mother's left leg. Karen falls straight down, her face coming in direct contact with the floor.

  Lynn: MOM!

  Lynn turns and tries to help her mom back up to her feet, but the unrelenting hand make it terribly difficult. She tugs as hard as she can on her mom's wrists, fighting against the poor hidden soul that had most definitely turned. It may have been sickly before, but now the trapped person fights against Lynn as if it is in perfect health.

  Lynn: HELP ME!

  Ben squeezes past Margaret, Mariam and Roger, to get to Lynn and her fallen mother. He drops his bat when he reaches them and takes hold of Karen's wrists to help Lynn pull her mom free. The Australian man's power is a definite asset and he and Lynn are able to get some ground on the fiendish hand in their game of tug-of-war, where Lynn's mother plays the part of the rope. They pull so far, in fact, that the man made shelter in the cubicle comes tumbling down, it's undead prisoner becoming revealed. The stack of chairs and all the rest of the office furniture fall down like a tiny avalanche, and it's transformed occupant snarls and barks at them from beneath the mess of office appliances. It still refuses to let go of Karen's leg. Even with kick after kick to the head the zombie, who turns out to be a female, won't release her
grip.

  It doesn't take that long before their five metres of breathing room is expired and the approaching crowd of zombies come upon Ben, Lynn and her mom. The first few savages take the path of least resistance and set themselves on top of Karen's legs and lower body. Benjamin has no choice but to let go of her and pick his bat back up. Lynn stubbornly continues trying to pry her mother away from the hungry undead, but it's hopeless. In less than thirty seconds, Karen's legs have literally, already been chewed through to the bone. Even the revealed stranger who had tried to warn them is now gnawing on Karen's left ankle. She cries out in agony, screaming her daughter's name and the name of a man that is unfamiliar to Margaret; Landon.

  Gary: IT'S TOO LATE! BEN! LYNN! COME ON!!

  Lynn's tears are a mirror of her mother's, in full stream. She had already lost her father, so as long as her mom still has an ounce of life in her body, Lynn will never abandon her. She doesn't stop at Gary's call, but persists trying to pull her mom away from the festering flesh eaters that have the middle aged woman stuck fast to the office floor. Benjamin also ignores Gary, but is doing a fairly good job of keeping the rest of the pursuing zombies at bay. He swings his bat hard into one zombie's skull, sending it flying into one of the near by abandoned cubicles. He swings again, downward, hard and fast and drops another zombie, but just one man is no match for a horde of zombies, even a smaller sized horde such as this one. He misses his next swing, and the escapist zombie manages to get a hold of Lynn's short blonde hair. It pulls down on her violently, and she immediately falls on top of her half mutilated mother. The zombie that grabbed her, in turn, falls on top of her. Two more follow, and they begin snapping out pieces of the back of her arms and legs.

  Ben does his best to thrash the skulls of the zombies that have placed themselves on top of Lynn and her mother. He is able to subdue one, but his heroic endeavors, however gallant, do nothing but give the zombies the upper hand. With all of his focus on saving the fallen women, Ben doesn't react quickly enough to stop the walkers who come at him from the left. In no time at all his left forearm gets bitten, causing him to drop his bat.

  Margaret can no longer handle just standing around. Even though she may not know most of these people personally, it isn't in her personality to let bullies be bullies, and these zombies are definitely bullies. She squeezes her bat's handle and starts a blind charge toward the melee gone awry, but bounces into Roger's wide frame that blocks most of the office aisle. He too, is gripped by fear paralysis, watching as the blood bath in front of him plays out.

  Margaret: Get the FUCK out of the way!

  Proving useful, although by accident, Roger's big body gives Gary the chance he needs to grab his daughter and hold her back.

  Margaret: Dad, let go!

  But the man knows it's too late for the fallen. The four remaining survivors watch as the Australian lion-heart charges through the crowd of twenty like a pro wrestler from hell, throwing elbows into chins and shoulders into chests. He too, knows that it is too late, so he tries to take out as many as possible, for the group. Zombies go falling to the floor and into cubicles but soon enough, the man is totally surrounded, and overpowered.

  Gary: Come on!

  Gary takes Margaret by the arm and drags her along with him. His daughter finds it hard to take her eyes off of the flooding of bodies that surround Benjamin. She can still see the heads of zombies bobbing up and down in the middle of the swarm, as she is dragged through the aisles and out of the office through a door on the opposite end from where they had entered. Finally able to take his eyes away from the swarming mini horde, Roger looks behind him and sees that no one is there anymore. He realizes that the group has left and runs after them, fleeing Benjamin's curtain call.

  Margaret and her family run through the gloomy outer halls of the second floor, heading back to the stairwell they had used earlier. They turn a corner and head down a corridor, straight for the red glow of the exit sign. Three stray zombies occupy this hallway. Gary readies his lead pipe, Margaret her bat.

  Mariam: Where's that other man?

  Gary: (glances back) I don't know. He should've been right behind us.

  Margaret brings her bat around and down into the first walker. It's head flies into the adjacent wall before it collapses. Gary holds the lead pipe with both hands, twisting them into it for a good grip. He drops the second zombie promptly with a blow to the head as Margaret runs by them and thrusts her bat into the crown of the last one. With all zombies felled, they hear the heavy breathing of Roger as he cuts around the corner, running to catch up with them.

  Gary: There he is! Come on!

  The three family members continue for the exit sign. Roger is not too far behind. On the way, they pass the elevator section from earlier. The first three pass it without a second glance, focused on the plan, but when Roger passes it by a few seconds later, he sees that one of the elevator doors is open. He looks at the family running ahead, and then looks at the open door. He decides to take the opportunity for a quicker escape down the elevator and goes for it.

  Margaret, her mother, and her father reach the emergency exit, and Gary goes through. His wife follows right after. Margaret is about to enter, but she looks back instead and doesn't see the man she so detests.

  Margaret: What the…

  What could've happened in the last twenty metres and if something did happen, where is the evidence? She would've heard screams or seen a zombie, or something. This is nothing but suspicious, and she chooses to investigate. She traverses back up the hallway and turns cautiously into the elevator section, but sees nothing.

  Roger: HEEELP!!! GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!

  She hears Roger's annoying voice. It sounds like he's calling out to her from inside of a tin can. She walks slowly into the middle of the smaller hallway of elevators, scanning the lift doors and comes to find one of the doors partially open with a light flickering inside. She walks to it and notices something else moving in it.

  Margaret: Roger?!

  The head of the body inside comes into view. Again and again, it moves from left to right, giving each eye a chance to look through the fifteen-centimetre space that leads to the outside.

  Roger: Hey! Girl! Uhhh… Mary!.. Mary, help me out of this thing! The door! It's jammed!

  Margaret: Heh… You were trying to ditch us.

  Roger: No! Look, please! I was just… testing it.

  Margaret: Yea, I'm sure you were… You're such a thoughtless, inconsiderate, dimwitted, chicken shit… Waste of a human life.

  Roger: No! Please! You gotta believe me! Just… maybe you can push the button or try shoving the door open from your side! The buttons won't work in here! Where's your dad?! He could probably do it!

  Margaret looks to the left and sees the undead coming back out of the office through the original door the survivors had used when they had first got there. They must've been finished with Lynn, her mother and Ben and heard Roger's blatant howling. Margaret knows she doesn't have much time, but she takes some to move in a little closer to Roger's useless way out. She peers in at the trapped man.

  Margaret: (leaning in even closer) My father's not coming, and I hope you enjoy this because you deserve it.

  Roger: WHAT?! YOU… GRRR!

  Roger's arm fires through the gap in the elevator door in an attempt to snatch Margaret's neck, but she quickly dodges it. His arm flails around crazily, but he can't reach her for the life of him. He sees that it's useless and withdraws. From the inside of his metal cage, Roger can see Margaret's serious face staring back at him.

  Margaret: … Oh yea, and you're a fat-ass!

  With that, Roger sees her take one more look to his right, and then take off in the opposite direction.

  Roger: NOO!!! COME BACK!! YOU BIT- MARGARET!! MARGARET!! YOUR NAME IS MARGARET!!! MAAARGARET!!!

  But she has already rounded the corner, heading for her parents. Roger presses his face up against the gap as he calls out to her, but his chubby cheeks don't al
low much give. He pulls and tugs on the door, trying to create a bigger space, but it's no use. He smashes all of the buttons again and nothing works, so in frustration, he backs up for some running room and plows his full weight into the door. To his surprise, he actually indents it. He starts to feel a slight glimmer of hope. He could actually break his way out of this thing. So much for his weight being "good-for-nothing", he thinks to himself and backs up for another go.

  He slams his body into the two halves of elevator door again, and this time he makes the gap even bigger, so big in fact, that a person of average weight may just be able to fit through. A few more big hits like the first two, and he would be out of there for sure, so he backs up for another. He charges hard for another smash but has to put on the breaks when this time he is met by some familiar undead faces. His weight makes it hard for him to stop in time, and he ends up running right into them anyway. The closest few zombies grab on to his shirt and try to get at his head, but being quite powerful, the man is able to pull himself away. His back slams into the back wall of the elevator, and his eyes fill with a dreadful hopelessness. The unthinking group of zombies jam the widened entrance, but it wouldn't be long until one slips through, and then the rest. Margaret can hear Roger calling her real name as she passes through the emergency exit and it closes behind her. She never once looks back.