by RR Haywood
On my feet and I slash as I rise up killing two more and seeing everyone else surge forward with a fresh burst of energy. The horse rears, kicks and spins with her sheer size clearing space which eases that pressure giving us a slight advantage we can exploit. There is no time to think or dwell on where the hell a horse came from. That’s it the same horse as yesterday is obvious from the markings and the way she moves and I see Meredith run under her stomach narrowly missing being kicked.
‘Blinky…axe…’ Charlie shouts running towards the horse as Blinky reverses her grip and holds the shaft out to be taken by Charlie as she runs past. Fluid. Organic and with instinct. Don’t think. Do. Charlie lets that instinct take over and snatches the axe one handed runs to the horse and grips the mane, with a vault she’s on the horses bareback clamping her legs into the sides as the axe rises up and slashes down clearing three away. The horse rears feeling the weight of the rider and that instinctive pulsing harmony keeps running. Horse and rider. The most harmonious relationship between man and beast and they give a sense of completeness. The weight of Charlie gives balance and direction and the power of the horse extends to Charlie who grips that mane as the beast rears up again giving momentum to the axe coming down.
Heels in and the horse jolts forward gaining amazing speed within a few strides as she runs into the ranks of the infected that get hacked and bludgeoned down by the axe wielded by Charlie. Never still for a second. Always in motion. Running then turning and rearing up before slamming down. Spinning on the spot then a jolt and they’re off again causing mayhem and giving chaos within the depths of the horde.
We stop giving ground and once more find we can hold our position. We still can’t get out but each spin and turn of this battle means the difference between dying now or living another few minutes. The survivors huddle together with Major Hawthorn working like a demon to keep them as tight as possible. The children at the back protected by the adults at the front and our few in front of them.
We fight and each time that line builds against us so Charlie rides through behind that first line creating just enough space for us to push them back. As the horse goes on so they rally and surge back in and we fight once more to hold what we can until Charlie can bring her back with her axe slashing down left then right left then right. The horse powering on four legs and using her broad shoulders to ram them down and her head swats them aside. She gets as bruised as we do but pain is not important. Our pain does not matter.
Night now and I did not see the transition from day to dusk to darkness but it’s here and that night sky takes the infected and turns them into a frenzied suicidal horde that charges as one driving forward for the final kill. The time is now. This is over. They know it. We know it. We stood and we tried but…is that a siren?
Holy shit that’s the fire engine. Loud and clear and getting closer with the sirens warbling and the air horn blasting to tell us to hold on. Hold on. Just seconds now. Hold. We grit our teeth and feel the crushing push coming against us. Driven back and pressed into the survivors with infected hands reaching past us to rake the skin and in so doing they infect those behind us. Chaos erupts as the tight huddle implodes with a cacophony of screams and none of us know which way to fight. Blackness from the pressing horde blotting out the moonlight. We’re giving. Yielding. Fragmenting as skin is opened and heads get through the gaps to bite into the flesh of the living.
The roar of the engine mingles with the siren and air horn blasting rough tunes. The aim is off and the infected getting hit from behind by the truck are pushed into us making the crush that much worse and there is no way of knowing who we grip and who we fight now. Swept along on a tidal wave of bodies that writhe and howl and scream. No sense, no order. Just random chaos of pressure and pain. I can’t breathe. I can’t see or do a thing to make it stop.
Metal brushes my shoulder spinning me round and I bounce down the length of the fire engine as it slews a path too close to the survivors. People are killed but the infected are taken away and as I’m dumped face down I gain the awareness of there being space around me. Don’t think. Do.
Back up and I run for our group shouting for them to run, get up, run. Go. Go. Go. I kick and push them to get going and some do. They start fleeing for the northern exit road as my team wade in grabbing children and adults alike to their feet. A man is pulled to his feet by Marcy who spots the rake marks down his arms. She pulls her pistol shooting him through the head and discarding him. We can only care for that that live and stand a chance. The older ones are pushed aside. Those too big and too unfit to move are brutally ignored. Blinky shoots a woman taking the back of her head off for screaming in pain at having three of her fingers bitten off. This is war. This is necessary. We must protect those that can live.
The body of Major Hawthorn is spotted lying with his guts around his ankles but his hands are round the throat of an infected that he took down with him. Captain Thompson on his feet staring at the open wound on his arm then looking up into the cold eyes of Blowers pointing his pistol. The Captain comes to attention and snaps a salute. Blowers stands tall, salutes back then fires. A glance and he moves on for there is work to do.
I don’t know how many survivors we had to start with but I know we have less now. Adults that limp and gasp for air and water. Children staring dumbly from the horror they’ve seen but they get screamed at to move and keep moving.
‘CHARLIE,’ I shout her name casting round to see her riding back towards me with her face streaked with blood.
‘Sir?’
‘AHEAD, GO AHEAD.’
‘Sir,’ she snaps her heels urging the horse on and past the survivors being herded and pushed together by every member of our group and Meredith relentless in her care.
As we push on inching towards the road so the fire engine siren comes back towards us and starts another journey through the square killing more and trying desperately to keep a space between us and them.
On we go. Not running but lurching with limbs so weary and I see Marcy and Paula in the middle with the children urging them on. Shouting to keep going and gripping the hands of children left without adults. Clarence carrying a girl nestled in the crook of his left hand while his right grips the sledgehammer ready to defend her to the last.
We stagger and trip. We go down from the debris underfoot and the slickness caused by so much blood. Flies buzz in front of our faces and through something worse than hell we wade and growl.
Charlie rides hard and stops skilfully next to me, ‘Mr Howie, clear road ahead. Car park for the supermarket and the petrol station.’
‘Nick? Mo? You got legs left?’
‘Fuck yeah,’ Nick heaves for air not a few feet away looking drained to the point of passing out, ‘what do you need?’
‘Both of you, run ahead…petrol station…’
‘Yep, Mo?’
‘On you,’ Mo spits to the side and falls in running beside Nick to sprint ahead.
‘Clarence, give her to me,’ Charlie takes the child from his arms to place in front of her on the horse, ‘another one…quickly…’
‘Here,’ Paula lifts a child into the air that’s grabbed by Cookey who runs the little girl to Charlie and up onto the horse.
‘Hold on,’ Charlie drops the axe to the floor and leans her arms round the small bodies before shouting for the horse to run.
The rest of us run on. Wheezing and we don’t sweat now as we don’t have enough fluids left to waste with sweating. We get hot, too hot, dangerously hot. Mouths dry up and our throats burn. Legs feeling like rubber but still we yell and get them into the road with a sense of at least getting out of the square. Howls behind us and still they charge but the fire engine goes through the first lines once again giving us space to run away.
The desperation grows but we get into the road and down past houses that look silent and frightening with black gaping windows and doorways. Quieter here but that just makes it worse too because we can hear the awful ragged breathin
g coming from our own chests. They’re still behind us and we have to stop and deal with those that break away to charge in and still we kill and drop more blood. Swaying and lurching but constantly moving.
Seconds go by. Maybe minutes but it feels like hours until Charlie is galloping down the centre of the road towards us.
‘TWO MORE,’ she shouts ahead as the smallest children are lifted and handed over. Again she leans forward holding them in place before turning and yelling for the horse to go and she does. She flies on powerful legs that hammer across the tarmac racing towards the supermarket.
‘Car park,’ Nick’s voice gasping on the radio, ‘go left for petrol…ahead supermarket…’
‘Yep,’ I pant my own reply into my shirt and push on.
‘KEEP GOING.’
Dave finds his voice bellowing at the survivors from behind giving them all a burst of energy as I feel the pace pick up for a second.
The fire engine drives behind us stopping suddenly then crunching into reverse before going back and into the thick lines giving chase.
Some still get past but Dave is our saviour and in him we trust. He drops back giving the rear protection and all the rest of us can do is pound on urging and pushing the children and adults to keep running and dragging them up when they fall or trip.
‘NOT FAR,’ Charlie shouting as she gallops back down the road, ‘TWO MORE.’
Another two children lifted up and away she goes urging the beast to go faster. It takes forever. The road never ends. The fire engine doing what it can and Dave getting busy with multiple kills but they even get past him. Meredith whips round savaging anything that gets too close. We chop and stab and if we injure them instead of killing then we let it be because moving on is the objective now.
Charlie comes back taking two bigger children and away galloping towards the supermarket that surely does not exist because we would have been there by now.
I see it. The entrance to the car park and the oversized signboard for Tesco. Supermarket straight on. Petrol station is left.
Through the open vastness of the car park I see Charlie galloping to the side of the building and dropping the two children down before turning and coming back towards us and I wait until she’s back with us before drawing breath to shout.
‘My team with me…I need some adults too. Anyone without children will come with us…children go ahead…the rest will go left and draw them into the fuel station. Nick, you ready?’
‘Almost…’
‘Be ready. We have to draw them with us…children go ahead….adults with us…’ I feel like a bastard. Separating them from their own but the infection has to see enough of us to follow. My lot understand and get into them pushing adults out from the gaggle of children. They leave mothers clutching babies and some fathers holdings sons and daughters but the rest will be bait with us. Little ones. Future. That is all that matters.
‘GO…’ I wave the rest to go, ‘Charlie…get them to the supermarket.’
‘YOU HEARD HIM…MOVE,’ she screams and uses the horse to make them run on into the car park.
‘Form up…spread across the road as though we’re making a stand,’ I heave for air, gasping with ragged snatched breaths. ‘Reginald, we’re going to lead them to the petrol station…understood?’
‘Understood.’
‘Nick?’
‘Yep, Dave, you got any grenades left?’
‘I have a few.’
‘Keep one for detonation.’
‘Understood, Nicholas.’
‘You’ve still got grenades?’ I ask shaking my head in disbelief, ‘what the fuck, Dave? We could have used them by now.’
He just shrugs and looks past me down the road, ‘I was saving them.’
‘What for? The fucking apocalypse?’
‘I do not like using them unless we have to.’
‘Have to? Oh my God you are insane.’
‘I am autistic not insane.’
‘Oh low ball,’ I say with a tut, ‘that was a cheap shot.’
‘Focus,’ Paula says through gritted teeth, ‘how close are we letting them get?’
‘Few feet,’ Clarence replies for me and turns to look across the car park and the children being urged on by Charlie on the horse and Meredith running beside them, ‘at least they’ve got Meredith with them.’
‘Aye, right…game faces on.’
‘Fuck your game face,’ Marcy says lowering her head and looking exhausted as the rest of us, ‘this is the only face I can do right now.’
‘And she still looks great,’ Paula mutters rolling her eyes.
‘What’s the plan, Boss?’ Blowers asks between his own ragged breaths.
‘Plan? No fucking plan. We run through that petrol station and blow it up.’
‘Got it,’ he says swallowing painfully, ‘good plan.’
‘Shit plan,’ Marcy grumbles, ‘all your plans are a bit shit.’
‘Moaner,’ I say turning to face the road.
‘Leg humper.’
They’re close now and slowing down to gather up before they rush in for the final battle. I drop down into a crouch holding my axe in a double grip, ‘come on…COME ON…’
‘FUCKING CUNTS,’ Blinky roars at them, ‘FIGHT US…FIGHT…’
‘Blinky, where is your axe?’
‘I gave it to Charlie, Dave.’
‘What have you been using?’
‘Knife, Dave.’
‘Then where is it?’
‘It got stuck in some bloke’s skull. Lost it, Dave.’
‘Take one of mine. Does anyone else need a weapon?’
‘I’m good, Dave,’ Cookey says.
‘We done?’ I ask over my shoulder, ‘Paula? Any last minute admin?’
‘Er…did we ever find out who stole Clarence’s socks?’
‘Who the hell are you people?’
‘Shit, sorry mate,’ I say quickly, ‘I forgot we weren’t alone then. My bad.’
‘Forgot? How the hell can you forget…’
‘INCOMING,’ I shout over whoever is moaning behind me and watch the horde come running down the road and the clever bastards are holding form and rank this time. No ragged charge but together as though ready to use sheer weight of numbers but fuck you, we have a plan.
‘Dave…how far do we have to get away?’
‘From what, Mr Howie?’
‘From the bloody petrol station we’re about to blow up. How far do we have to get?’
‘Far.’
‘Oh.’
‘Very far.’
‘Oh. Fuck.’
‘Great plan, Howie.’
‘Got a better one?’ I ask her.
‘Well you won’t be seeing my backside tonight if we all blow up.’
‘Whoa,’ Cookey blurts, ‘nobody told me we were doing this.’
‘Children are secure,’ Clarence says, ‘and maybe we should think about…’
‘RUN,’ I scream letting them get too close. We burst away sprinting for the entrance to the car park and taking the left lane towards the petrol station. ‘NICK….’
‘WE SEE YOU…STRAIGHT THROUGH THE PUMPS…’
I glance back to see the fire engine driving up from behind them squashing a few as it goes but we really did leave it too late and they’re like just beyond arms reach behind us. Dave, the cocky shit, drops back a bit and kills as he runs. The bodies he drops trip a few more but we’re still seconds away from being caught because they can run all day but we can’t.
‘Reginald…How…How many…behind us…how…many?’
‘Oh hundreds, Mr Howie. Possible more than that.’
My body needs oxygen so my airwaves open wider to draw more in but all I get is the acrid stench of petrol and diesel that has been pumped over the forecourt and the head of a pipe snapped off that spews more out gushing over the hot tarmac. The thought of running into a petrol station flooded with fuel while wearing radios and carrying metal weapons that could clang and spark is n
ot a happy thought.
Our feet splash through puddles of fuel as we get closer to the pumps and I see Nick and Mo Mo running out of the kiosk to join us. I would tell them well done but not one of us can speak. So we run and sprint and go through the pumps that make us want to gag and puke. Everything about this new world causes discomfort and now our eyes water from the fumes and our throats burn even more.
We have nothing left to give. We are on zero. Running on empty through a petrol flooded station that will have huge tanks of fuel underneath us. We get through and start on the exit road barrelling down towards the car park. We have to make distance but we can’t get so far that we risk being unable to detonate.
‘NOW…BLOW IT NOW…’
Reginald in the fire engine driving into the car park and with his position of height we have to trust what he can see.
‘Dave…’ I pant. The grenade comes out of a pocket. The pin gripped between his teeth and he bites it away. Stops and throws it high into the air back towards the fuel station.
‘RUN…’
Dave ordering us to run and you know when Dave tells you to run that something bad is about to happen.
So we run. We gain speed and sprint while crying from the pain. Some of the adults drop back and get taken down by the infected. One trips and is left where he lies to be devoured.
The first pop is dull and for a second I turn as though to ask Dave what he was going on about. A dull bang and I can even hear windows smashing and the metallic twang of the pumps being blown apart and fragments striking hard surfaces. Then a secondary explosion that ignites the fuel and a third that plumes the flame across the ground towards the pipe still spewing the liquid out. Then a fourth as that pipe explodes and the air starts to fill with flame
Then it goes bang. A big bang. A really big fucking bang that heaves the ground under our feet as the tanks go up sending tons of concrete and steel bursting in every direction. Hundreds of infected killed outright. Simply removed from existence as the air supercharges with heat that flows up into the air with a mushroom cloud of broiling flames that roll and widen by the second. The shockwave takes us off our feet and every single being running on that exit road is knocked down. Flames scorch our backs. Heat threatens to engulf us and for a second or two I cannot draw air into my lungs as the wind sucks back into the vortex of fire behind us.